𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓

CHAPTER FIVE let the games begin

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I WATCHED AS John B's brown van moved towards the side of the dirt road where I was sitting. I had been waiting for about 20 minutes, and I couldn't lie and say that I wasn't getting a bit impatient.

The Twinkie came to a sharp brake, blowing dust into my face and causing me to cough. I had already finished my 3rd cigarette in the time I was waiting for them, and I didn't need dust in my lungs on top of that.

The window rolled down to reveal JJ's face behind the wheel, grinning like a kid in a candy store.

"Ready to fuck with some Kooks?" he smirked, the side door opening after his sentence.

"Y'all let this guy drive?"

"Not voluntarily." John B glared at the blonde boy.

"This is like the first time I've seen you wear makeup, what's the occasion?" Kie said in admiration.

"Well, we're making a statement by showing up anyway, why not look good doing so?"

"That's my girl!" she pulled me in for a hug, her coconut body spray hitting my nostrils instantly.

JJ turned sharply as he pulled into The Boneyard parking lot- which was just a dirt clearing labelled as a parking lot to appear fancy. The bottle of liqueur rolled out of my grip and fell on the floor, making the group all reach to ensure it was still intact.

"Careful, JJ. We've only one bottle, don't go breaking it." Pope yelled.

"Wait, Cami got booze and you're only telling me now?"

"Yes, dipshit, I got booze. Eyes on the road." I snapped my fingers, causing him to return his focus to driving.

The van stalled as we felt the ignition switch off, signalling that we had parked. Everyone was far too excited to notice JJ's awful parking job, but I couldn't care any less.

The sun had started setting over The Boneyard, the golden light catching the waves. Loud party music was blasting from several speakers, yet was still drowned out by the noise of hundreds of Kooks talking. The group looked at each other one last time before heading towards the sand, ready for hell to unleash once people noticed who and what we were.

I tucked my cigarette pack safely into the front pocket of my shorts, freeing my left hand as the right stayed firmly around the neck of the glass Peach Schnapps bottle. We finally reached the large crowd of Kooks, JJ running straight for the table of drinks.

My eyes made contact with several unhappy faces, word spreading fast that we decided to show up at the party. A smirk made its way onto my face, happy that my plan to make these rich assholes angry was starting to work.

"Ugh, if it isn't the Kook princess herself." Kie groaned at the sight of Sarah Cameron.

Sarah and Topper walked into the party hand in hand, as if they were royalty. I never had anything truly against Sarah, but I hated Topper more than anything. It was always Kiara who hated her because of something that happened in her Kook year; something that she'd never talk about, for some reason.

"Ew." I said, taking a gulp of liqueur.

"I'm gonna need some of that after you. God, I can't look at them without feeling sick." she covered her eyes, reaching out for the bottle.

As soon as she got hold of the alcohol, Kie closed her eyes and chugged a quarter of the bottle's contents.

This is what I meant when I said this drink was lethal.

"I'm gonna go find JJ, make sure he's safe." she smiled at the mention of his name.

"Ahem, whipped, ahem." I coughed.

"Don't start." she turned back before walking off into the crowd.

I took another sip of booze before I felt a hand grip my forearm, pulling me far from the group of Kooks.

"What the—"

The smell of weed and expensive cologne made me realise just who had pulled me. Amidst the pain from being dragged, I could make out the cold touch of a signet ring against my skin.

Rafe.

"Did I not tell you to leave?" he raised his voice. "The fuck are you and your little Pogue friends doing here?"

"Pleasure to see you too, Rafe. Y'know, I kinda miss last night's scruffy hair, don't you?" I teased, ruffling his gelled hair.

His hand let go of my arm, leaving a fairly large red mark.

"Wow, did your daddy not teach you how to properly treat a girl?"

Before I could catch a final breath, he brought the same hand up to my neck, applying pressure under my jawline but not enough to cut off my air circulation. He tilted my head upwards, his face towering over mine.

"Was I not being clear enough?" he said softly, increasing pressure to the side of my neck.

"I need you, and your little friends, to get the fuck out of here like we agreed. Remember the deal? We both agreed to that, Camille Fox, it's time you live up to your side of the agreement."

I stared into his eyes before taking my hand and placing it on top of his, helping him apply even more pressure.

"If you wanted to choke me, you'd need to go harder, right here." I watched the expression on his face change drastically.

"Listen, Rafe Cameron. This is our side of the island. You're on Pogue land right now. If anything, you should be the one leaving. So either you let us stay, and I promise peace on our part, or you'll regret it."

I felt his eyes trace my body, looking me up and down before he noticed the bottle in my hand. He took hold of it and brought it up to his lips, my hand still attached. He took a long sip before letting go, linking his eyes back on mine.

He brought my face even closer to his, the sweet scent between us growing thick. His lips were merely a few centimetres away from mine, a few drops of alcohol still lingering on them.

"Get out of my sight, slut." he whispered, letting go of my neck.

"Fuck you."

I took another long sip of Peach Schnapps, wanting to get as drunk as possible so I could forget what just happened.

I was not going to let myself be turned on by Rafe fucking Cameron.

"Hey, Cami. You kinda disappeared for a bit, you okay?" John B's voice sounded from behind me.

"Me? Yeah, yeah I'm great!" I stuttered, trying to keep composure.

"Okay.." he raised his eyebrows. "Look, if you wanna go home—"

"You know what we should do?" I interrupted him. "We should go swimming."

"Camille."

"What? I wore a bikini for a reason."

"You're drunk." he sighed.

"And you're high, evens it out."

I looked at him with puppy dog eyes, making him laugh and shake his head.

"Fine, but only if you stop pulling that face."

I immediately tore the flannel from off my arms, throwing it onto the ground beside the now-empty bottle of liqueur. I quickly unbuttoned my shorts, kicking them off along with my Converses. John B pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it on top of my clothes.

We both ran for the water and dived straight in, not taking notice of the crowd watching us. All the alcohol in my system decided to hit in that very moment, making my vision spin. Once John B came up from the water, I threw my arms around him and straddled his muscular torso, turning to face the crowd.

Almost the entire party had turned to look at us, looks of disgust and shock on their faces. I felt John B's hands trail down my lower back, keeping a hold of me whilst the next wave hit us.

I kept my eyes fixated on the audience we had gathered, scouring through each person until I caught sight of Rafe. He tensed his jaw as he watched us in the water, rubbing the nape of his neck similarly to yesterday in The Wreck.

In an attempt to ignite more rage in him, I took John B's hands and moved them to my ass. With my vision becoming more clouded due to my smudged makeup, all I could make out was Rafe shaking his head before turning to say something to Topper.

"Cami, we should get out."

"One more thing." I said, still facing Rafe's direction.

I took John B's face in my hands before I leaned down to kiss him, the taste of weed, salt water, and beer filling my mouth. I felt another wave hit us before I tore my lips away, returning my gaze onto Rafe.

All he could do was shake his head, his jaw almost breaking from how much he was tensing it. I winked in his direction before I watched him turn into the crowd, clearly not being able to bear the sight of me and John B.

Mission accomplished.