Rafe had kept his eye on you all night. It was weird. He’d never felt this need to keep track of a girl he was with before. He’d always been content to do his own thing at parties and let his date do the same. It had certainly never occurred to him when he was dating Sofia to care about if she was having a good time. Or be counting down the moments until he could be alone with her. But it was all different with you. Watching you laugh, smile, joke around with your friends, it stirred something inside of him. Maybe it was because no one aside from Sofia, knew there was anything going on between the two of you. And even she didn’t know the extent of it. He’d fallen for you. And he wanted everyone to know it. To know that you were his.

When you tilted your head at him towards the back of the house, he was instantly on his feet. He walked off down the darkened hallway, laying in wait. His arm reaches out and grabs you by the wrist, tugging you against him. His heart, the one everyone thought he didn’t have, melted a little bit when he heard your soft giggle. His eyes greedily roamed over you, tugging you closer.

“Hi” you say softly, smiling up at his handsome face. It’s insane the effect this man has on you. It’s like rational thought flies right out of your head the minute he touches you. “Prying eyes. We should be careful” you murmur. Sofia was your friend, and you’d yet to tell her that you and Rafe had moved from a casual fling to something real. Everyone else was still under the false impression that Sofia and Rafe were together. The breakup had been kept quiet for appearances sake.

You could see in the set of Rafe’s jaw that he was over pretending he was Sofia’s, that he wanted everything out in the open now. Consequences be damned. He shakes his head, his hand moving to your jaw and holding it firmly in place. And then his lips were crashing down on yours in one of those kisses that made everything else disappear.

“You have got to be kidding me. I’d expect this of Rafe, but not you!” You and Rafe pull apart, his arm goes protectively around you as you both face Sarah. Sofia, Ruthie and Topper stand behind her, all wearing different looks that range between confusion, anger and judgment.

“We’re not doing anything wrong. Tell them Sofia” Rafe says. He waits for her to speak up and say that her and Rafe had been broken up for months now. But she just shakes her head, before turning to look at you and he knows that she isn’t going to clear anything up. She’s going to play victim.

“I can’t believe you’d do this here. You really are trash” she glares at you, her words harsh and cold. You open your mouth to protest, but nothing comes out. Because you do feel guilty that it’s coming out here, in a way that is causing her hurt and embarrassment. Sarah is still glaring at you. Topper doesn’t seem to know where to look and Ruthie puts her arm around Sofia to protect her from you.

“Hey! That’s not fair and you know it, Sofia. Don’t you ever talk to her like that again. You’re not innocent here” Rafe growls at Sofia, immediately jumping to your defense. He wasn’t going to stand there and let her and the rest of their friends judge you. Not when they didn’t have the full story. If it came down to you or Sofia, he would choose you every time. He takes your hand and intertwines your hands together. His eyes darken as he stares at the group in front of you both, daring any of them to say anything else to you.

“You can tell them or I can, your choice” he challenges her.