THE PICTURE OF YOU -rafe cameron-

034; barry's realization

A quarter past eleven that night,
Rafe rolled up to the island club on his red dirtbike, stopping by the flowerbeds. The sun had almost settled completely on the horizon, leaving the island with a golden orange hue. Rafe turned the engine off, leaving the keys to dangle. He got off of the bike, resting his back against it. He pulled his helmet off, setting it aside as he waited for Myra. Rafe crossed his arms over his chest, gazing around the large building and up onto the sky above him. A few pink clouds lingered upon her darkening sky, but they were soon to be gone.

Myra emerged from the front doors of the building a few minutes later, her backpack bouncing against her back as she rushed over towards Rafe. "Sorry I'm late" she spoke in a hurry as she approached him. She was dressed in the same tank top and light blue shorts as before back at the grocery store. "Late? I didn't even notice" Rafe shrugged, dismissing the fact that she was in fact twenty three minutes late. He had been late too, besides he hadn't expected her to be out right away. Her shift ended eleven after all.

Myra flashed Rafe a kind and thankful smile, stopping by his bike. Rafe smiled back faintly, not able to hold it back. He then grabbed the extra helmet he now owned, handing it to the pouge girl. Myra took it, her fingertips brushing against his. She tied her hair back into a low ponytail before she put her helmet on, getting ready to go. Rafe glanced at her for a moment longer, taking notice of the say she moved so gently. He then pushed his hair back with his right hand before he shoved his helmet down onto his head.

The kook and the pouge. The two of them drove through figure eight, Rafe pressing on the gas of the bike as Myra held on tight with her arms wrapped around his torso. Rafe liked the feeling of her small arms and hands clinging to him. He could feel the warmth radiating off of her, even though there now was a harsh wind surrounding them. They reached the bridge separating the two sides of the island, crossing it over to the cut. Leaving Rafe's clean cut fancy neighborhood, entering Myra's home base.

Rafe parked his bike by the edge of the dirt road out by Barry's trailer home. He leaned it against a tree, storing the two helmets away. He then turned to Myra, gazing at her in the darkness. She was looking up at the sky, admiring the way the stars shone so clearly out in the most rural part of the cut. Rafe's gaze trailed along her tanned face, scanning each and every inch of it before he finally let go, following her gaze up into the sky. Myra took a deep breath, feeling at home. "You don't get this out on figure eight" Myra hummed, turning her chin down to look at Rafe. "Huh?" he asked, a little taken aback. "This clear star filled sky" Myra clarified, nodding gently to against the sky above them, "you have too many lights on all the time to see it out by your house"

"Yeah... yeah, you're right" Rafe confessed, letting his eyebrows fall into a slight frown. It was rare for him to admit that someone else than him was right, but she so undoubtedly was. The stars just weren't the same out by his house. They had street lights, lanterns in the garden, lights by the pool and lights by the docks and lights by the driveway. Everything was lit up, pushing the bare darkness away. He hadn't thought about it in that way before, but they were so very dependent on electricity, all the time.

"Do you wanna head in?" Myra asked in a bubbly manner, smiling at Rafe. "Uhm yeah, sure" he spoke, drifting back to reality. Once more he had let his thoughts wander, making him distant. Myra began to skip towards the run down house, with Rafe trailing closely behind her. The steps to the front porch wobbled a little as they walked up to the front door that stood wide open. Rap music was blaring from within the house and people lounged around everywhere.

"Would you look at this" Barry's loud voice rang out over the music, a slurring of his words evident "look who it is... it's the pretty pouge princess and country club himself, coming into my house together". Barry approached the two of them, making them stop close by the door. He looked to be in bad shape, a fresh cut by his lip and a bruise on his shoulder. His hair was knotted at the back of his neck and he had purple tinted bags underneath his dark eyes. In his hand he held a dark green glass bottle of beer, with about a quarter remaining in it. Rafe pulled his shoulders back, raising his chin a little, as if he was entering some kind of defence mode. Myra took notice of the way his jaw clenched. It made her question if he was unhappy with the way Barry had blurted that out, as if Rafe didn't want anyone to think that he had came here together with Myra.