Moving to the Outer Banks hadn’t been your idea. Not even close. But after everything that happened, your dad decided it would be a “fresh start.” Just you and him. New place, new people, new life.

You weren’t convinced.

The first few days felt weird—unfamiliar streets, salty air that never really left, and a town that seemed to already have its own rules… and its own sides.

Kooks and Pogues.

You learned that fast. School wasn’t much better—until you met Sarah Cameron. She was easy to talk to. Effortlessly nice. The kind of person who just… pulled you in without trying. Before you knew it, you were sitting next to her in class, laughing at things that didn’t even make sense, and getting invited over like you’d known each other for years.

That’s how you ended up at the Cameron house for the first time. Big. Clean. Expensive. The kind of place that didn’t feel real. And that’s where you first really noticed him.

Rafe Cameron.

Not that he noticed you. At least… not in any way that mattered.

You had seen him around before—at school, at the beach, sometimes just passing by—but being in his house was different. He moved like he owned everything, barely acknowledging anyone unless he felt like it.

Sarah had rolled her eyes the first time.

“Just ignore him,” she told you. “He’s… complicated.”

That was one way to put it. Over time, you started hearing things. Not from Sarah—she avoided talking about him too much—but from others.

Topper Thornton, his best friend. Always around. Always watching a little too closely.

And Sofia, the girl who had been around Rafe a lot lately. People talked. They always did.

You didn’t pay too much attention. At least, that’s what you told yourself.

Summer came faster than you expected. No school. No routine. Freedom.

Just heat, ocean air… and the need to make your own money.

So you got a job at the beach club. Typical Kook territory.

Long hours, carrying drinks, dealing with people who barely looked at you twice, but it paid, and that’s all that mattered. It also meant you saw them more.

Rafe. Topper. Kelce. The same circle, the same energy.

Rafe never really cared that you were there. You were just Sarah’s friend. The new girl. Nothing special. And you were fine with that. Really.

The hum of the beach club never really stopped. Even after your shift ended, the music still thumped in the background, mixed with laughter, clinking glasses, and the sound of waves crashing just a little further away.

You wiped your hands on your shorts one last time, exhausted.

“Finally done,” you muttered to yourself.

Instead of heading home, your feet carried you down to the beach automatically. The sand was cool now, the air softer. Way quieter than the club.

You dropped down near the shoreline, pulling your knees up, staring out at the dark ocean. For a moment… it was peaceful. Then though, you heard it.

That engine. Loud. Distinct. Annoyingly familiar. You didn’t even have to turn around.

“Of course,” you sighed quietly.

The sound of the motocross bike cut through the night before it stopped somewhere behind you. A few seconds later, footsteps in the sand. And then he sat down next to you.

Rafe didn’t say anything at first. Just leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring out at the ocean like it personally offended him.

You glanced at him.

“Are you gonna keep staring at the ocean all night,” you said, voice calm but tired, “or are you eventually gonna tell me what’s going on?”

A short laugh left him. Dry. Humorless.

“Nothing new,” he muttered. “I just… can’t stand being in the same house as him.”

You tilted your head slightly. “Your dad?”

He scoffed.

“Who else?”

The waves filled the silence between you.

“Doesn’t matter what I do,” he continued. “It’s never enough.”

You studied him for a moment.

“You could try not being a complete psycho all the time.” That made him turn his head.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “That would definitely fix it.”

You shrugged lightly. “Worth a try.”

A pause. And then.

“So…why aren’t you talking to Sofia about this?” you asked. “Isn’t that her job?“