addicted vol 1 | rafe cameron

𝟔 | 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

After I enter the party again, I engage in small talk between my family and the Carrera's on the deck. I look out into the crowd to see Sarah dancing with her dad.

"Where did you get the flower crown?" Kie asks.

"I found it lying around." I lie.

"That doesn't even make sense. Flower crowns are gifts from dates." She looks around me for any guy that could've given it to me. I stare at her and anxiously wait for her to speak. "Where were you just now?" she asks.

"I went to the bathroom. Why?"

"No reason." she says and looks off to the side.

After what feels like forever in the torture of small talk, I notice Rafe walk through the double doors. He smiles at me and goes over to Wheezie and Rose. Soon after, I see a security officer pushing JJ through the building and out onto the deck. He has his hands behind his back.

"Look man, I can walk myself. I got legs, can you see that, brother?" He taunts the security guard as people start to look at the commotion he's causing. I notice John B among the crowd. "Mr. Dunleavy, I see you got your drink. Good, that's really nice of you, I'm actually gonna down that." JJ takes the old man's drink and gulps it down. What in the world is he doing?

As the officer continues moving him along, JJ starts to point out people in the crowd and shout random things about freedom. Eventually, Kie yells at the man to let go of JJ, which leads JJ to shove the security officer off of him and start to walk away.

"Hey, mandatory power out at Rixon's, Kie and Juli. Pope, you as well, all right?" JJ walks backward toward the water with John B. "Rixon's Cove, let's roll."

Mr. and Mrs. Carrera beg Kie not to go, but she runs off into JJ's arms anyway. Pope takes his apron off and follows John B, to Heyward's disapproval. I hesitate and look at my parents.

"No, Juli, let's go." My mom tries to wrap her arm around me. "Come on."

I look at Rafe and mouth 'I'm sorry' before running after my friends.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

At Rixon's Cove, JJ and Pope start a fire while the rest of us find logs to sit on. John B eventually explains this crazy discovery he made about the location of the gold and his plan for finding it using the Plat Maps that Sarah found.

"Wait, wait, hold on. Sarah... why Sarah?" Kie interrupts.

"This is gonna be good." JJ says, throwing another log into the fire.

"Sarah, um... she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where I got the letter." John B explains.

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kie stares at him in disbelief.

John B swallows hard. "Yeah, um—"

"He was macking on her." JJ interrupts.

John B raises his hands in the air. "I wasn't macking—"

"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron." JJ insists. "Actually, speaking of macking, anyone wanna talk about the fact that Juli is one hundred percent macking on Rafe Cameron? I mean, like, are we seriously just gonna ignore that?"

My face immediately heats up in embarrassment. "What the hell, JJ?"

"Yes!" Kie shouts and points at him. "I knew I wasn't going crazy!"

"I mean, first you've been acting weirdly distant and secretive, then you dance with him tonight, and then you both disappear for what.. twenty minutes? And now you have that stupid ass flower crown on?" JJ continues to ramble.