You and Rafe had been best friends since forever.

Both Kooks, both rich, both growing up in the same world. Your parents were best friends, always had been. Vacations together, country club dinners, parties—your lives were intertwined from the start. So, naturally, you and Rafe were too.

It was never weird. Never complicated. No feelings, no bullshit. Just you and him, always. Sneaking out in the middle of the night, sitting on the beach until sunrise, driving around in his truck with no destination, getting into trouble just for the hell of it. You covered for each other, lied for each other, had each other’s backs no matter what. You were his person, and he was yours.

But at some point, things shifted.

Not all at once. Not in a way you noticed right away. But slowly, little by little, you started spending more time with Sarah. She got caught up with the Pogues, sneaking off to be with John B. And since you and Sarah had always been close, it was easy to get pulled into it. It wasn’t intentional, not really. But it happened. One night at the Chateau turned into two. One conversation with JJ turned into an inside joke. One moment of “I’ll just hang” turned into this.

Avoiding Rafe became easy. Maybe even intentional.

At first, he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t the type to chase after people, wasn’t the type to beg for attention. But you could feel it. The way his texts became less frequent. The way he stopped waiting for you after school. The way his usual spot next to you at parties stayed empty.

And now, standing in front of him, face to face for the first time in weeks, you felt the weight of it. The shift. The loss.

His jaw was clenched, arms crossed, blue eyes locked onto you with something between confusion and anger. “So, what?” His voice was sharp. “You just—what? Switched sides?”

You exhaled. “It’s not about sides.”

He let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Silence. Heavy. Uncomfortable.

His voice dropped lower, quieter.

„Are we still friends?”