#kelce

you learned at an early age that rafe never liked going home.

he didn't have to say it, not aloud atleast but it was obvious from the start that his life wasn't as clean cut and perfect as his family always presented it to be.

you originally met him because you lived opposite him in figure eight. when ward would go out for "business" and rose would go with him, leaving sarah and him alone, the cameron's would often pay your parents a decent amount to take care of them while they were gone. sarah would always dip down to the beach with your father, always leaving you and rafe by yourselves.

at first it was awkward, but like gravity you two soon found your footing. and it then became tradition for the two of you to spend time together, when your house was just you and rafe's.

even though the pair of you didn't go to the same school, every year for the next seven, until you guys were fifteen - the year that everything changed - he'd be the first on your birthday list, the one you always went over to when you scraped your knee.

sometimes, too, he would come over to your house in the evening. and whenever your mother would offer for him to stay for dinner, he'd swallow and pale and shake his head. "thank you but no thank you, ms y/l/n" he'd say, as you'd walk with him out. even at eight, he was eerily polite. "my father won't like it."

you weren't smart, then. you'd never understand why mr cameron wouldn't allow it. he seemed like a respectable man and so you saw no harm in asking. "why won't your father like it?" you'd asked. and to that, rafe would only give a thin-lipped smile and shrug. "he's always been funny." when your face would crinkle, he'd nudge you. "another time though, i'm sure."

that 'another time' never came.

Rafe gets caught spying on reader thru windows (feat. Topper & Kelce)

Rafe sighs again dramatically on your shared a bed as you get ready in front of him. He hates your friends and hates that you even go out with them. He’s almost entirely convinced they’re trying to find you a different man. 

“How’s this?” You give him a spin, showing off your outfit. A short black dress with a low cut. But to Rafe, you might as well be wearing a napkin. 

“Hell no, showing too much.” He protests for the fifth time that night.

“Rafe..you gotta let me wear something..” you whine, already searching for something else.

“How about you change into that slip I bought you and come get into bed with me,” Rafe smirks as you turn and stare at him unamused.

Eventually though you find something, Rafe was still hesitant, but seeing you become upset led him to giving in. A denim mini skirt with a halter top and of course with something underneath the skirt since it was just a dinner. Rafe didn’t know why you had to dress so beautifully, anyway. 

By the time you were in the car, Rafe hadn’t let go of you once, clinging onto you the whole time. A look of defeat fell on his face as you really shut the car door in front of him. It was cute, really, seeing him pout for once over nothing.

“Bye I guess.. dunno why you gotta go..” he huffs, standing like a child. “I’ll be back before 11. Make sure you feed the fish.” You smile, giving him a quick kiss before backing out of the driveway.

“Stupid fucking fish..” Rafe mumbles to himself as he walks back inside, kicking the air like a petulant child. He sighs as he stops in front of the tank, watching the various fish swim around in what he felt like was stupidly large. Why do they need 20 gallons? “Bet you don’t have to worry about losing your girl, huh?” He sighs, maybe genuinely losing his mind—he was talking to a fish, for fuck's sake. 

That was when Rafe had a brilliant plan. Maybe the fish were wiser than he thought(he’s just insane.) He immediately called Topper and Kelce to explain his master plan. 

“..you’re gonna stalk her from outside?” Kelce asked hesitantly. “Hell yeah, why wouldn’t I? It’s not like she’ll see us out there.” Rafe huffs triumphantly, believing fully in his plan. 

“Wait..us? As in me and Kelce too?” Topper says as he and Kelce look at each other. 

And that’s how they find themselves in Rafe’s truck looking into the restaurant with binoculars. “This is so stupid.” Kelce scoffs as Topper nods along. “This is low even for you Rafe, what if she catches us?” he adds.

“Shut the fuck up, both of you, they can’t see- “Rafe starts, only to be cut off by his phone ringing. You were calling. “..us” 

“Great, we’re caught. I knew this was stupid,” Kelce and Topper argue, never initially agreeing to this. “Shut up! Both of you! Just be quiet while I answer. She won’t suspect anything..” Rafe says before answering the phone.

“Hello? Baby?” Topper and Kelce hold their breath.

“Rafe. I know I don’t fucking see you and your stupid ass friends in the parking lot.” 

Silence. “What..? No..baby I’m at home,” 

“I have your location Rafe.” Fuck.. the three men sigh as they realize they’ve really been caught. “Get your ass in here or go home. But just wait til I get there. All of you.” You say before hanging up the phone. The guys sit in silence before deciding to go inside. That’ll be better than letting the anger marinate with them waiting at TannyHill right..? 

The dinner was awkward at first. The guys sitting nearby at a different table—humiliated as the girls just laugh at them. Of course as punishment for spying they had to pay for everyone, not that it was a huge deal but still, a $60 bottle of Bordeaux and everyone got dessert? For fucks sake..

Later that night, Rafe sits there pouting on the bed, trying to get you to talk to him.

“Please, baby.. I’m sorry.. I just missed you.” 

“It was barely 30 minutes, Rafe!”

“I love you too much…?” 

“You’re clingy.”

Rafe sighs as he just accepts the title. Whining as he rolls over onto you. “Then let me be clingy..don’t throw me away baby..” 

“Gosh, you are such a big baby..” You roll your eyes as you take him into your arms, resting his head on your chest. “I’m your baby..” Rafe mumbles quietly, only becoming soft like this when he was tired. 

“Mhm.. you’re my baby, I know you’re tired.. go to sleep okay?” You hum softly, running your fingers through Rafe’s hair or lack of as he drifts off with a faint ‘hmm..’, knowing he got away from trouble with you again. 

you were about to be gifted a pretty new car for your birthday but you still didn’t know how to drive so the boys said they’d help teach you! you stood in the shade picking at your nails as the boys planned an easy enough route for you to practice on without hitting anything or anyone. 

“can we get going pleaseee, you guys can trust me- i read a car manual once, i know how things work….”

“fine, we should be alright i guess…” rafe mumbles as he opens the drivers side car door for you to hop in, he sticks out his hand for you to grab to help you climb into his truck. with rafe in the passenger seat next you, top and kelce in the back you put on the seat belt and place your hands onto the steering wheel to wait for instructions. 

“i can’t believe you are lettin' her use your car man.” kelce shakes his head with wide eyes 

“it’s better than lettin’er practice in one of yours, mine the safest one if anything were to happen.” rafe turns his head back to you “j’us don’t crash…kay?”

“mmhm…how do i start?”

rafe, with his tendency to stress easily, guiding you through the basics of starting the car and adjusting the mirrors. his hands grip on the steering wheel as he instructs you like a child to put your foot on the brake pedal.

"kay, slow and steady now babydoll" rafe says, his voice stern yet soft, letting go of the wheel so you could try keeping it straight. "we don't want to accelerate too quickly, jus' easeee onto the gas...not too much!" you press down on the pedal with your foot as the car moves forward a few inches then breaks suddenly causing everyone in the car to jolt forward. 

“jesus!!…” topper breathes out, both him and kelce then grip onto the handles on the inside roof of the car.

"oh god, i'm sorry!" you wince

“s’alright s’fine just try- try again…” topper encourages as you place your foot back on the gas pedal again

slowly you start to get the hang of it, cruising slowly down the street at a decent pace, everyone seems to be relaxed as you are gaining confidence behind the wheel. then your phone starts to ring, you look down to were you set it down near the cup-holders which causes you to lose a little control of where you are going and makes the car swerve slightly and speed up. 

“EYES ON THE ROAD!” they all shout boyishly, panicked and clearly stressed. rafe’s hand flies out in front of you to emphasize its importance.

“that might be kie, can i get it?” 

“NO!!!” they all shout again

“jeez, ohkay!”

kelce mutters little prayers under his breath "please, let us survive this.” you let out a nervous yelp when up ahead you see a squirrel just chilling in the middle of the road.

“what do i do!”

“JUST SLOW DOWN!” “EYES ON THE ROAD!” the boys shout overlapping their panicked voices, you scream and squeeze your eyes shut and turn your head away.

“NO HEY! DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY!?” rafe shouts all rambly

“ohkay!” you hit the breaks just before the squirrel scampers off up a tree.

“ALRIGHT OUT.” rafe commands, pushing his hair back out of his face, then unbuckling you. “I’m driving the way back, switch.”

as rafe gets out of the passenger seat and rounds the hood of the car to get into the driver seat as you climb over the armrests to get to your new seat. 

“jesus kid…you know what?...you wanna go somewhere in your new car? call me and i’ll take you wherever you wanna go….s’dangerous havin' you out on the roads like this.” rafe huffs as he starts the car again.

“we almost died!” topper lets scoff almost in disbelief at how things took a turn.

“I got slightly distracted! wasn’my fault.”

𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘦

pt 2

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You shouldn’t have come tonight. That much is clear now.

The bass is rattling the picture frames on the walls of the giant Kook house, a beachside monster that belongs to someone’s dad, you’re not even sure whose. The lights are low, just glints of neon LEDs wrapped around the stair banister and the corners of the ceiling. You can barely hear yourself think. People you don’t really know keep brushing past you with drinks sloshing in red cups, laughing too loud, shouting half-remembered inside jokes across the room like they own the air.

And Rafe’s beside you.

Well... he was.

He’d been different all night. Not the usual sharp-edged, biting, mean Rafe, at least not exactly. But not sweet either. More like… distant. Anxious. Off. He’s wearing that white linen button-down that he always leaves open too low, and he’s got this wired energy in his jaw like he’s constantly clenching it to hold something in. Every time you leaned into him, trying to anchor yourself, his arm over your shoulder, your head on his chest, he didn’t really hold you back. His hands just kind of hovered.

And then he said he was going to the bathroom.

That was almost an hour ago.

You don’t wear a lot tonight, but you hadn’t exactly planned on dressing scandalous—just a tiny, sparkly, strapless top and a little black mini skirt, something light ‘cause of the heat, something cute. You’d flat ironed your beautiful long hair, because rafe says likes it out, he says it makes you look “too sweet for the shit you put up with.” And maybe it was stupid, but you wanted to look good for him. For once. Like before.

You broke up with him a month ago. You’d sworn you were done.

It had been awful. The late nights, the mood swings, the drugs. The silence. The rage. You’d ended it in a whisper because that’s just who you are, you can’t scream, you can’t throw things, you just cry until your voice disappears and then you let go.

But a week later, you ended up in the passenger seat of his truck outside a party just like this one. The windows fogged. His voice cracked. He cried. Real tears, heavy and raw. He looked at you like you were the only thing keeping him tethered to the Earth.

“I’ll get clean,” he swore, forehead pressed to yours. “I’ll change, I will. I’m done with that shit. You’ll see. Just… don’t leave me.”

And you, stupid, soft, niave thing that you are. you believed him.

Because you love him.

God, you love him.

-

And so now you’re here, alone in a crowd of people you wish you didn’t know, feeling sick from the vodka someone poured way too strong in your soda and sicker from the fear rising like smoke in your chest. Something’s wrong. You feel it. Not just in your body, not just the way your head’s swimming, but in your bones.

You brush past a group of girls near the kitchen island, laughing so loud it rings in your ears. You nod when one of them—Jules, maybe—says, “You seen Rafe?” with a half-smirk like she already knows the answer.

“I’m looking for him,” you say softly. You don’t add anything else.

Your feet carry you down the hallway, dizzy and nauseous. You hate this kind of drunk, the slow, hot, heavy kind that sticks to your ribs. You don’t feel right. Your thoughts are foggy, slow. Everything feels two seconds delayed.

You stop in front of the stairs.

And then you go up.

The music softens the higher you climb. Upstairs is almost too quiet in comparison, just the dull beat leaking through the floorboards. You turn down the hall, lightheaded and buzzing with something like dread.

Then you hear them.

Laughter. Male voices. A door creaking. Something that sounds like a bottle tapping glass.

You push open the first door.

Empty.

You try the second, and this time the sound spills out loud and clear—Topper’s voice, that fake-loud laugh of his that means he’s trying too hard. Kelce too, talking over someone about something you can’t catch. Girls giggling. The smell hits you first, alcohol and something sharper, chemical, sour.

Your stomach twists.

You open the door slowly.

And there he is.

Rafe’s sitting manspread on a low leather sofa, surrounded by people who don’t care about him. A girl’s practically in his lap. His eyes are red. His smile doesn’t even look real. There’s a coffee table in front of him... lined.

Coke. Everywhere.

Your breath catches.

He sees you.

And something about his face shifts, he looks angry, brows furrowed, jaw tight. But he also looks... scared, upset, something like it, his eyes are filled with dread.

“Get up,” you say quietly, and it doesn’t even sound like your voice. “Rafe, I wanna go home."

Topper laughs. Kelce mutters something about “shit timing,” and the girls barely notice you at all, like you’re just another thing in the room. Background.

“I’m not done,” Rafe mutters, standing up slowly, brushing the girl off him like she’s nothing.

Your chest aches, and you don't even know why, how did you not expect this? how did you not see this coming? it is rafe after all.

“You said you were done with this,” you whisper, still frozen in the doorway. “You promised.”

He runs a hand through his hair. “Babe. Don’t start.”

“No,” you say, and your voice is shaking now, but not loud. Never loud. “Don’t call me that.”

You don’t want to cry. You already feel like throwing up.

“Come on,” he mutters, pushing past the coffee table, grabbing your arm. “Let’s talk outside.”

You don’t resist. You can’t. Your legs are jelly and your brain is fuzzy and your heart is a hurting... again. You follow him out into the hallway and the door clicks shut behind you.

He turns to face you, eyes wild, teeth gritted. “You always do this.”

“What?” you say, confused.

“So what? your done with me again, your just gonna leave? You think your so much better then me huh?.”

“I never said that,” you say, barely above a whisper.

“You didn’t have to.”

Silence stretches between you. You look at the floor. You don’t know how to breathe.

“I love you,” he says suddenly. His voice breaks again, like it did that night in his truck. “You know that, right? You know I fucking love you. I’ve never said that to anyone else.”

“I can’t believe you,” you whisper. “You lied to me.”

“I made a mistake.”

You blink at him. “You promised me it was different, you were actually gonna make an effort this time.”

“I’m trying—”

“No,” you say softly, and this time you step back. “You’re not.”

He looks panicked. The hallway light makes his face look hollow.

“You said you’d get clean,” you say. “You said you would never ever hurt me again.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear—”

“There’s always something,” you whisper, and your hands are trembling now. “There’s always a reason, a party, or a bad day, or whatever you can come up with to make it okay.”

He stares at you like he’s begging you not to move, and begging himself not to make it worse.

“You’re a liar,” you say, and it cuts your throat to say it. “And I don’t want to be with someone I don't trust.”

He steps forward, and his voice is sharper now, angrier. “You’re just gonna leave again? That’s what you do, huh? just run away when shit gets hard.”

“Don’t,” you say quietly. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

“You’re being a bitch,” he snaps. “You don’t even fucking know what I’m dealing with.”

And that’s the moment something in you. Some last, small piece, breaks.

Your voice doesn’t rise. You don’t scream. You don’t slap him or run or make a scene.

You just look at him with your wide, soft eyes and say, gently,

“Rafe… I can’t do this.”

His mouth opens, then closes.

“Please,” he whispers. “don’t leave.”

You don’t move.

“I need you.”

You shake your head. “You need help.”

He doesn’t answer.

And after a minute, you walk away.

Down the hallway, down the stairs, past the music and the smoke and the people who barely notice. You find your bag. You leave.

You don’t look back.

────── ⋆⋅ 𖤓 ⋅⋆ ──────

Hi guys, I'm a pretty new writer, that's probably obvious in the not so great quality of my writing. I'm super open to ideas, requests and making more parts so just lmk.

Also if you do want a pt 2 to this just lmk! i can tag you in it too if you'd like!