The bonfire blazed on the Outer Banks beach, throwing golden light across the sand. Music thumped in the background, and the Pogues and Kooks were gathered together—the rare night where they could all mingle without someone storming off in a fight.

Rafe Cameron leaned back on a log, his drink in hand, laughing with Kelce, Topper, and Barry. He had just finished bragging about some dumb stunt he pulled earlier that week when movement at the edge of the fire caught his eye.

He blinked, doing a double take. A girl was walking toward them, and for a moment, he thought she was new.

“Whoa… wait,” Rafe muttered under his breath, the smirk fading from his face. He could barely look away. “Who is that?”

Kelce turned, squinting through the firelight. “Dude… I… I don’t know. Someone new?”

Topper’s jaw dropped. “New? Yeah… she’s… wow.”

Barry whistled softly, shaking his head. “Okay… that’s… a lot.”

The girl was walking with effortless confidence, a dress hugging curves that made every one of the guys’ heads turn. Her hair flowed behind her, catching the firelight like flames of its own, and there was a self-assuredness in the way she moved that immediately made Rafe’s chest tighten.

“Dude… seriously,” Kelce said, nudging him. “Check her out!”

Rafe’s hands tightened around his drink. He didn’t know what it was, but there was something… familiar about her. Something tugging at a memory buried deep beneath his arrogance. His blue ocean eyes narrowed slightly, trying to place her face.

Before he could figure it out, a Kook sprinted over, practically out of breath. “Uh… that’s… that’s John B’s little sister!”

Rafe froze mid-sip. “Wait… what?”

Kelce, Topper, and Barry all turned, their faces showing shock. “John B… has a sister?!” Topper exclaimed.

Rafe’s mind raced. John B’s little sister? That… that girl?

The Kook who’d brought the news pointed toward her, still a few feet away, laughing with some Pogues near the fire. “Yeah… she just got back. Nobody told us she was coming back to the Outer Banks.”

Rafe’s smirk returned—but this time, it was different. Calculating. He felt a mix of curiosity, awe, and something he hadn’t felt in a long time: respect. She had clearly changed since she left two years ago. She wasn’t the shy, bullied girl everyone remembered; she was someone completely new… someone who could hold her own in a crowd full of Kooks and Pogues alike.

Rafe glanced at his friends, who were still gawking. “Step back, boys,” he muttered. “We’re gonna find out exactly what we’re dealing with.”

Kelce whispered, “Dude… she’s… hot.”

“She’s John B’s sister,” Rafe said, tone flat but with a dangerous edge. “So… whatever game we’re playing, we need to be careful.”

Rafe’s mind was already racing, imagining the tension that would come when he finally had the chance to talk to her—or challenge her. The bonfire crackled, sparks flying up into the night, and Rafe felt that this summer was about to get a lot more interesting.

Across the fire, Y/N laughed at something Pogue-side, unaware that every single Kook had just stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of her. She had returned to the Outer Banks, and for the first time, she had the power to turn heads… and maybe stir up trouble.