✗ | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 ; rafe cameron

EIGHT

Weekend mornings were always a hassle for the two siblings living in the Stratford household. Since their father had been leaving every now and then, he made strict rules to dust the exterior of their boats, check the oil, to polish the decks and all of the other chores to keep up with boat maintenance.

"Ris, did you filter the oil?" Riley called out to his sister from the other side of the yacht, scrubbing the decks.

"I'm doing that right now." Iris yelled right back from the main port, before finishing up and meeting up with her brother on the deck where their boat was planted beside.

"I'm heading out with my friends later tonight." Riley suddenly said, breaking the silence between the two siblings.

"Again? For what?"

"They're streaming a movie, we were just planning on watching."

Iris just sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn't come back home in North Carolina just to see her brother leave every 10 minutes for him to hang out with his friends. "Okay. Your life anyways. Can't control it." She shrugged.

~

Later that evening, Riley's friends came out to pick him up as they were all going to head to that movie all together later.

They were all in the Stratford's backyard, snacking on whatever food was leftover from previous nights. Iris headed down to the kitchen to just refill her water bottle when Rafe Cameron saw her through the tinted kitchen window that he looked in from the backyard.

He ran into the house without any questioning from the boys and leaned against the doorway that separated the back area and their kitchen. Iris rolled her eyes at the boy and started to head back to her room when Rafe stopped her with words.

"You're not even gonna say hi to your brother's best man?"

Iris turned around to face him and looked at Rafe with no expression so that she wouldn't give him any idea. "Uhh, lemme think about it. Um, no."

"What's wrong? I thought we were finally getting along the other day."

"I'm just not up for small talk right now." The young girl scrunched her nose as she shook her head.

"Wha- Okay. Any plans for tonight?" Rafe asked. Iris raised an eyebrow at the boy sitting at the dining table across the room from her.

"I don't think you understand the idea of small talk." Iris hesitated before actually just answering Rafe's question straight up. "Also, no. And before you get any ideas, I'm not free either."

"You realize you just contradicted your whole sentence?" Rafe looked at the girl in obvious confusion.

"Really? Did I? Oh well, english was never my greatest subject." Iris was about to head back to her room before she was stopped once again.

"Down for another adventure today?" Rafe asked the girl eagerly. He actually really hoped to hang with the girl.

"No." Iris said without hesitation and continued to walk back to her room, without Rafe behind as he just went back to his friends in the backyard.

As soon as the 18-year-old girl closed her bedroom door, she jumped, startled, at the figures who were waiting at her bedroom window, knocking. She made her way to open the window to find herself in front of her friends, Kiara, JJ and Pope.

"Holy shit, you guys almost gave a heart attack!" Iris was heavily breathing, as she struggled to take a sip of water from her gatorade squeeze bottle. "Also, you might have to leave because my brother and his stupid friends are leaving soon to watch a stupid movie."