Chapter Text
"Stop it, Rafe, seriously." You say to Rafe while laughing and walking away from him.
You two had just come back from the beach and Rafe had the amazing idea of pinching you whenever you would be lost in your thoughts, knowing very well that you are ticklish in various places of your body.
Rafe takes off his helmet and gives you one of his signature smiles as a way to show you that he isn't done with you. You pass him the helmet that you had been wearing on your drive back to his house and he grabs it after stepping off his bike.
You walk in front of him inside the house and Rose's voice is the first thing you hear, making the two of you, roll your eyes.
"Rafe, make sure to be wearing a t-shirt when walking inside the house, you never know when we have visitors" Her voice sounds from the living room, and it got closer as she finished her sentence, "Oh, Y/N... Haven't seen you in a while"
You nod at her without saying a word and Ward appears behind his wife, also peeking to see you.
"Y/N!" He says excitedly before walking over to you and pulling you into a hug, "We believed you and Rafe weren't dating anymore. You used to hang out here so many times"
"Yeah." You say while pulling away, "We've been hanging out more at my house... For no specific reason."
Oh, there is a specific reason, 100%. And that is that your house is, most of the time if not always, empty, giving you two a lot of freedom and silence to do something that would result, many times in being interrupted, when at the Cameron's.
And no, they did not get the message when walking in on you mostly naked. Rose especially. She would obnoxiously knock on the locked door to then just ask Rafe if he could help her with carrying something.
You will never forget that. Not only was it annoying, but also extremely embarrassing.
"Why don't you stay over for dinner?" Ward offers and Rafe holds in a frown.
There hasn't been one family dinner with you present that didn't end early. Rose and Sarah obviously hate you, for different reasons, and they like to make it very clear when spending time with you.
Sarah hates you over you two being old friends and you starting to date her brother. And Rose? Well, she just doesn't like you. Rafe isn't her favorite stepchild, therefore, she ends up hating you too.
"Sure" You answer with a fake smile, hating the way Rose is staring at you.
"Great, why don't you two go take a shower and change back to your normal clothes, and we'll see each other in... Maybe an hour?"
You nod at Ward and look back at Rafe, who just looks like he's more than ready to get out of there. You give Ward and Rose another quick fake smile before grabbing Rafe's hand and pulling him over to the stairs.
You ignore Rose's whispers in disapproval to her husband and start making your way to Rafe's room.
"Looks like you're staying here whether you like it or not" Rafe teases you as you start walking through the hallway.
"Unfortunately," You answer him.
Giggles fill the hallway as Sarah opens her bedroom door and you two frown when noticing each other's presence.
Before you two could start expressing your hatred towards each other, Rafe opens his bedroom door and pulls you in. Sarah glares at you until you get off her field of vision and the door is closed behind you right as you step into the room.
Rafe lets go of your arm and you jump into his bed, laying on the comfortable mattress and soft sheets, sideways. You close your eyes in satisfaction and then you feel something, or, in this case, someone, heavy laying right on top of you.
"Rafe you have the whole rest of the bed to lay on." You say as your boyfriend snuggles his face onto the crook of your neck.
"You're more comfortable." He says with his voice muffled.
You wrap your arms around his neck, and he moves his head back to look at you.
"Who's going to take the shower first?" You ask him, ruining the mood before it could build itself.
"The both of us can take a shower at the same time." Rafe says before pecking your lips.
"No, we cannot"
"Why not?" He asks with his smirk slowly becoming a smile, hovering over you and moving his lips closer to you.
A knock on the door stops you from answering and you smile as you hear Wheezie's voice.
"Hey, Rafe? Is Y/N here?" She asks from the other side of the door and Rafe takes a deep breath before putting his hands next to your body and pulling himself up to stand.
You stare at Rafe's bare back as he walks to the door. He opens it and you see Wheezie right away, her eyes travel from her brother over to you laying on the bed comfortably.
"Y/N!" She says excitingly before shoving Rafe to the side and jumping in his bed to lay down beside you. Her arms hug you from the side and you smile at her.
"Hi!"
You wrap one of your arms around her as well and Rafe sighs while closing his door.
"Well, if you two would excuse me, I'm going to take my shower." He says in a low voice and you chuckle at his annoyance as he makes his way to his closet. Knowing very well, now, that this was the reason you were talking about.
You follow him with your gaze to stare at his annoyed expression and you can't help but find it amusing.
"Do you want to know the new gossip in my school?" Wheezie asks you and you back at her, still smiling.
"Sure"
(...)
After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, in your case, changing into some shorts and one of Rafe's shirts, you two walked out of the bedroom right in time.
You could still hear Sarah and her friends all the way back in her bedroom, laughing and talking as loud as they could.
As soon as you made your way downstairs, trying not to show your annoyance towards the middle Cameron sibling, Rose sets her eyes right on you.
"Finally!" She exclaims, "Where's Sarah?"
"In her room?" Rafe answers as a question. 'Since when does he know about his sister's whereabouts more than anyone else?', he thought.
While you, on the other hand, only thought: 'can't she hear the girl's screams and laughter from here?'
Rose moved right past you to go and look for her stepdaughter, who refuses to acknowledge that she is the last one that needs to come down to have dinner.
You lean back on Rafe as you wait at the lobby of the house. Your back is glued to his chest while his hands teasingly move over to your shoulders to squeeze them. You turn back to look at him once bored, and grab his hands, moving them away from your shoulders.
You lean your chin on his sternum and wrap your arms around his torso, breathing the smell of his cologne fresh on his skin.
"Where is Wheezie?" You ask him since the last time you saw the girl was before you went to take your shower.
"Ran back to her room as soon as she was alone with me" He answers, and you roll your eyes at his choice of words.
You're sure Wheezie didn't go back to her room because she was sitting alone with Rafe, she probably just wanted to go get changed or something.
"Stop it. Not everyone in your family hates you" You whisper to him, "Only Sarah and Rose"
Rafe doesn't answer and lowers his head over to yours, making you smile at him. You hop on your tippy-toes to give him a quick kiss and before he could do anything back, somebody's steps are heard at the top of the staircase.
Rose and Sarah appear and both you and Rafe move a bit back from each other.
Sarah's friends are also standing behind her, probably on their way back to their houses, and they are now severely silent. It's like a totally different friend group.
"Wheezie?" Rose calls over when she steps down the stairs.
The smaller girl peeks out of the living room and smiles a bit at her very frustrated mother, she walks over to you and Rafe and leans on to your side.
"Let's all go to the table, come on." Rose says when taking her eyes off her daughter.
You move your hands over Wheezie's shoulders as she does what her mom orders and she practically pulls you with her to outside of the house. Rafe follows you as Sarah says her goodbyes to her friends, and as soon as she's done with them, she stares at her brother's back in annoyance.
You take a seat next to Wheezie as she continues to smile and giggle at you, and Rafe does the same, sitting on your other side, laying his arm on the back of your chair. Rose and Sarah sit in front of you and Rafe, and Ward appears right from inside the house.
"What a sight, all my family seated for dinner." He says out loud with a quite joking tone and Sarah rolls her eyes.
"Let's just ignore that some of us aren't a part of this family as much as they would like to" She comments in a murmur, but loud enough for anyone to hear.
You and Rafe look up from your phones at her with a serious expression and she offers you a quick fake smile.
"They've been dating for some time, sweetheart. Y/N is already part of the family" Ward comments to his daughter, who shrugs at his words.
Rose leans back on her chair at her husbands' words and looks over at the door of the house to see if the maids are finally coming with the food. She doesn't care for the conversation, anyways. In her eyes, this relationship won't last.
After some seconds of awkward silence, Ward looks at everyone at the table and tries to ignore everyone's expressions of annoyance and hatred towards one another.
A maid steps out of the house with some of the food, and Rose almost sighs out of relief. 'Finally!'
More maids step out of the house and they quickly surround each member of the Cameron family and you to serve the warm food. You thank them, just like some members of the family (except for Sarah and Rose) and everyone dives in their meal.
While sitting in the silence and some annoying presences, you looked out at the sea, watching various types of boats pass by. Some more expensive looking than others, but you can't help but notice how some people stared at the family sitting on the porch, most in awe.
"So, Y/N" Rose starts, looking up from her food at you, "Have you decided on a college yet?"
"Yes, actually" You answer, gaining Sarah's and Ward's attention, "UNC in Chapel Hill"
"Isn't that-" Ward starts and Rose finishes the sentence for him.
"The one Rafe is going"
Sarah rolls her eyes and looks down at her food, not finding the conversation good enough to interrupt. Ward nods at you and then gives you a small approving smile.
"That's great." He says, filling the awkward silence at the table.
You nod at him with a small smile as well and look over at Rose, who is still looking at you.
"I hope Rafe didn't influence you into that choice." She says.
"He didn't actually" You answer, grabbing your glass and sipping your drink, "My parents did"
Rose nods, clearing her throat as if to show that she heard you, yet wants to say something about it.
"Why not out of state? Or any other in North Carolina?" She asks.
"I didn't want to."
"Why no-"
"I think that's enough questions, sweetheart." Ward says, stopping his wife before she could continue her interrogation.
"Just curious, that's all."
"I understand, but it's a good college. Even if it's just to be close to Rafe, she's choosing one of the bests" Ward says, defending you.
Rose doesn't answer and Rafe leans back on his chair, already done with his food and, unfortunately, this conversation. Sarah looks up at him and then at you, but before she could say anything, Rose lifts her head, interest written on her face.
"How did you two meet again?" Rose asks and you can't help but chuckle softly at her question.
"They've been dating for years, honey. You are only interested now?" Ward asks, finding it funny as well.
"Through Sarah" You answer before Rose had to justify her question.
"Oh, yeah. How could have any of you forgotten?" Sarah asks sarcastically, wiggling her way into the conversation, grabbing everyone's attention, "She literally used me to get through to Rafe"
Rafe rolls his eyes at his sister's words and she catches it.
"Don't act like it's not true"
Everyone at this table is more than used to this conversation. At least for the first year of dating Rafe, this conversation was all that you heard at the dinner table.
Rose is already regretting making her question and pleading God, through her mind, to shut the mouth of the girl next to her.
"We all know this" Ward says, looking at his daughter, "There's no need to bring it up again"
"I think there is," Sarah says, making you sigh and Wheezie looks up from her phone, "You used our 5 years of being best friends to go fuck my brother. How can you even sleep at night?"
You grab your cup and lean back on the chair, making Rafe almost smirk as you get comfortable to answer her back.
"I sleep very well, actually"
"Oh, I'm sure. Fake is just your natural state of mind"
"You know me so well" You answer sarcastically.
"I do. I had to deal with you for years, remember? I know you better than you do yourself"
"I'm sure."
"You're so infuriating, you know that?"
"Yap."
"I-"
"Okay, girls. I think we're done here." Rose says, while Ward stares at the two of you, interested.
"But I-" Sarah tries to say.
"Just shut up, Sarah." Wheezie says from beside you, with a 'tired-of-this-bullshit' tone, catching everyone by surprise.
Everyone stares at the smaller girl, some with widen eyes, and she quietly stares back. Wheezie is never one to defend anyone in arguments, she just sits back and watches, but, for the looks of it, not today.
"So, you're on her side, now?" Sarah screams (aka, screeches).
"For fuck's sake" Rafe whispers while staring at the ground, beside you.
"What, Rafe? Why are you saying that? Please enlighten me!"
"Jesus Christ, Sarah. Everyone is just over with your bullshit" You answer while staring back at her, "Can you please just shut the fuck up and mind your own business?"
"I am, actually" She quickly replies, "Because it started being my business right as you started to use-"
"Use you, Sarah" You finish for her, "We already know that! You don't need to say it every fucking second of your day"
Sarah is fuming while looking at you. If it was possible, smoke would be coming out of her ears from how much her blood is boiling with anger.
While everyone else at the table just stares at you two, not even moving a muscle. Some finding it so entertaining that they can't look away and others just want it to end as soon as possible.
"Maybe I do! Since you seem to like to ignore everything I sa-"
"You're kinda hard to ignore, you know?" You ask with a calmer tone, "Your squeaky voice just enters everybody's ears like god damn needles" You point at your ear, mimicking the needle.
"Oh really?" She asks with a scoff.
"Want me to record it for you?" You ask sarcastically, "Maybe you can get a grip on how annoying you are"
Sarah takes a deep breath as those words come out of your mouth and as she was about to reach for her full glass of water, a hand stops her – Rafe's.
"You're not throwing it at her" He says with a somewhat annoyed yet calm tone.
"And why not?" She asks while trying to yank her hand away from his grip, but failing.
"Because some of us are just quicker" You reply while standing up, pushing the chair back with your legs and gripping your own cup.
Water splashes with Sarah's face, making everyone, but Rafe, loudly gasp.
"Hopefully this will help you with waking up to the world and realizing that it doesn't revolve around you," You exclaim, putting down the glass cup back on the table, "And for fuck's sake, understand that I did not use you to date your brother"
With that, you walk around your seat and away from the table, planning on walking home after all this bullshit.
Sarah stares at the table in silence, water dripping down your face and hair. Rafe had let go of her wrist right as the water collided with her face, obviously also shocked with what you just did, but not really surprised.
Everyone's face, except for Ward's and Rafe's, are formed with wide eyes and open mouths.
Rafe moves away from the table before standing up on his feet, grabbing your phone from the table (knowing very well that you forgot it after all of this). He shoves it in his pocket and walks off to follow you to the driveway of his home.
"Well," Ward starts, leaning back on his chair, "Does anyone want dessert?"