𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟒

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR crimson gowns & crimson noses

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KIE STARED AT me and Noah emptily. Her mouth was slightly hung open, both from shock and disgust. I bit my bottom lip as the 3 of us stood in silence, waiting for what the girl had to say.

"No. Cami wouldn't— you wouldn't go out with a Kook, right?" she stuttered.

"I'll explain later. I promise it's not how it looks." I reached out for her hand, only for her to move away.

"You better have a damn good reason."

The boy pulled me away once Kiara turned her back, his fingers digging into my skin. My chest started to warm up with the hatred I felt for him, knowing I only had so much composure left in me before I broke loose.

"What is your problem?" I shouted, seeing that I was being led into the country club's locker room.

"No, the hell is yours?" he spun me around, his face towering over mine. "We have a deal, or would you rather run back to your Pogue friends and tell them who you're really with?"

"You're a psycho."

"Thank you, I try." he dug his nails into my skin again.

"Can you not let me speak to anyone else? Surely you don't want to be glued to someone like me for the whole night?"

"Fine. Go talk to whoever the fuck you want." he spat. "Just know that I can take you for myself whenever I feel like it, so make the most of your time."

"Touch me again and I swear to fuck I will cut your dick off and shove it down your throat." I inched closer to his face, ripping myself from his grip.

I scoffed as Noah walked away from the locker room, leaving me alone for the first time this entire party. My hands moved through my hair, tidying my appearance before I moved to the main part of the club.

Stumbling around the various wooden tables, I eventually reached the bar in one piece. The only stool that was left was surrounded by old men; not an ideal seat, but thankfully it was far away from Noah.

"How can I help you today, miss?" a voice came from across the bar, the familiarity slightly confusing me.

"I'll take a— JJ?" I looked up to see the blonde boy suited up, his scheming grin plastered on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Shh." he placed a finger over his lips, his secrecy not being of any surprise to me.

"Okay..." I raised my eyebrows, nodding despite my hesitation. "I'll take a vodka soda."

"Without the soda?"

"You know me so well." I laughed. "Put that on Noah Cameron's tab."

He glanced up at me with his head tilted, something I noticed he would do when anyone other than him had a devious plan. I was quick to notice the variety of bruises scattered across his skin, confirming that things had been equally crazy for the Pogues as they were for me.

Without saying anything else, he placed the glass in front of me and sprinted off- validating my previous skepticism.

Turning to see where he was running off to, I caught a glance of Amelia in my peripheral vision. Though I couldn't see much of her and her bright red gown, I was familiar with the feeling of her eyes piercing through me- and I could tell she was looking in my direction.

My lips pursed around my straw, taking in as much vodka as I could. The sight of the girl and the newfound alcohol in my system sparked a burn in my chest, growing progressively with each stare she casted in my direction.

Spinning on the barstool I had been sitting on, I gained full focus of Amelia- seeing her flocked in a group of her clones. Her friends all had identical spray tans and the same bitchy look spread amongst them, laughing in sync at what she was saying.

I threw the plastic tube over my shoulder, downing the rest of my drink in a heartbeat. The taste of vodka wasn't one that I necessarily adored, but I needed the high alcohol percentage to carry me through the rest of Midsummers.

"Slow down on that drink, you might end up just like your mommy!" one of the girls shouted, the others breaking out into a sequence of nasally giggles.

That bastard.

The only person who knew about my mom was Rafe, and him telling Amelia came of no surprise to me. After all, the 2 of them were dating- and I was stupid to think what I had with him went anywhere beyond that.

"What did you just say to me?" I questioned, feeling all of my pent up anger start to resurface.

"You heard her." Amelia stepped forward.

"No, I don't think I did." I stood up from the stool, angling my head down to directly face her.

"You might wanna be careful with your alcohol intake, Camille. We wouldn't want you to be plugged up like mommy dearest, now would we?" she repeated, the laughter from the group behind her growing with each word she spoke.

My eyes darted down to my hand, seeing Rafe's signet ring still on my finger. I tensed my jaw before swinging my fist directly into her face, making sure the gold hit the centre.

A series of exclamations came from the surrounding club members, everyone's heads turning at the impact of my punch. Amelia clutched onto her nose, the blood on her skin coincidentally matching the colour of her dress.

"What's going on with my mom has fuck all to do with you." I pushed her shoulders back, causing her to stumble into one of her friends.

"That was my nose, you bitch!" she shrieked, her eyes widening at her now-crimson hands.

"Don't cry too hard. Daddy will buy you a new one."

My head knocked to the side as her palm made contact with my cheek, leaving behind a print of her blood. The entirety of the bar had now turned their focus to us, everyone looking as if they had never seen a fight in their lifetime.

"You fight like a fucking princess." I shouted, pushing her once again. "Hit me harder, cunt."

The girl fell against one of the wooden tables, giving me the opportunity to stand over her. My fist made contact with her face once again, Rafe's ring only adding to the damage she induced.

"You're bat-shit crazy!" a girl from the crowd screamed.

My anger had put me into a half-conscious daze, which was only amplified by the vodka in my system. Landing one last hit into Amelia's cheek, I grasped my hands around her throat. She let out a few desperate breaths, making it clear to me that I had cut off her airways.

"Not so mouthy now, are ya?" I spat, throwing her back into the table.

"The hell is going on? Camille?" Rafe's voice sounded behind me.

The hold I had on the girl remained stern, only my face moving to look at the boy. His neat hair was now scruffy as I had always known it to be, making me wonder what shit he had gotten himself into. He caught onto the blood on my face, muttering a variety of profanities under his breath.

"Look at your little boy toy coming to save the day." I said to Amelia, watching her struggle to breath.

"Get this sadistic bitch off her!" another one of her friends exclaimed, shortly followed by the feeling of Rafe tearing me away.

No matter how much I attempted to resist his grip, he swiftly pinned my hands behind my back. I blew a few strands of hair out of my face, wanting to get as clear a view of Amelia as possible. Seeing her hunched over in pain brought me too much satisfaction, knowing she would regret everything she had said to me.

"Watch your fucking asses around me. All of you!" I yelled, Rafe cutting my words short once he placed his hand over my mouth.

He dragged me out of the bar, leading me to the outdoor part of the club. The late evening breeze made me shiver, contrasting the heat I had just felt moments ago. We reached the exterior of the building, my back swiftly making contact with the wall behind me.

The boy's eyes cleared the surrounding area, ensuring the both of us were far from anyone's sight. He peeled his hand away from my face, the expression on his face remaining unimpressed once he noticed my smirk.

"Is this shit funny to you? You could've seriously hurt her."

"Good. That was the point." I chuckled, seeing my efforts go to good use.

"I'm serious, Mills." he softened the tone in his voice.

"Dont fucking call me that. Especially not after you told Mills number 2 about May."

"What are you on about?" he brought his hand up to his hair, running it through the dark blonde mess.

"She knows about what happened to my mom." I repeated. "I only told you, and somehow she knows too."

A soft sigh escaped his lips once he realised the severity of the situation, letting go of any tension that was left in his face.

"Remember Dr. Moore from the hospital?" he asked.

"No."

"He's her dad." he continued, ignoring my response. "He must've told her, fuck."

A wave of guilt started to overcome me. I had every right to be angry at Amelia, but I had also let my pointless anger for Rafe get in the way. I leaned against the wall, taking in the fresh air around me.

"Quite the girlfriend you've found for yourself." I switched the subject.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"You don't have to lie." I shook my head. "I've handled enough shit today, I'm basically immune."

"I'm not—" he tightened the hold he had around my wrist. "I'm not lying."

"All right, damn."

Noticing my obvious discomfort, the boy dropped my wrist out of his hand. His eyes screwed shut as he threw his head back, his palms running over his face. It looked as if something was internally killing him, and I couldn't lie and say that it didn't kill me to see him like this- no matter how mad I was at him.

"I need to stop hurting you." he broke the silence between us.

"What?" I chuckled out of confusion, least expecting those words to come out from his mouth.

"I keep hurting you. I can't keep doing that."

"Rafe, shut up." I said quietly, not trying to anger him even more than I had previously.

"No. I've hurt you in the past, I hurt you last night, and I'm hurting you right now."

"Rafe, stop." I placed my hands over his, trying to tear them away from his face.

"I care for you, Camille. I care for you too much. I've never cared for someone before, and instead I'm hurting you."

My palms cupped the sides of his face, bringing him closer to me. I took a sharp inhale before crashing our lips together, tangling my fingers in his hair. Whether it was my lack of sobriety or his words, all I knew was that I wanted to kiss him.

Or rather that I needed to.

The boy's arms fixed to my waist, pulling our bodies closer together. Feeling his skin against mine brought back that sense of comfort and safety I felt around him, regardless of what stunt he could've pulled moments ago. For a moment I seemed to forget everything around us, only focusing on our kiss.

"Let go of him!" Kie's voice shouted from the party, causing me to tear away from the boy. "You can't just boot him."

I moved my head from around the wall, attempting to understand Kiara's sudden outburst. Although I knew she was mad at me after what happened with Noah earlier, I couldn't help but still want to make sure she was okay.

"Ignore her." Rafe took my face into his hands, linking our eyes together. "I can only have you for so many moments, I can't waste this one too."

As much as I wanted to stay with him, I knew Kie- and she wasn't the type of girl to just shout over nothing. I planted one last peck on his lips before backing away from the wall.

"She's my friend, I can't just ignore her."

I shot a short smile at him and ran off, hearing a rather loud commotion start to break out. Considering I was still wearing Sarah's heels, running became a much harder task than it usually was.

My eyes fell on the same blonde boy I had spoken to earlier, seeing him break free from security. I stood still in utter shock, JJ rapidly taking notice of my presence.

"Camille, pleasure of you to join us. Rixton's Cove. Let's roll." he pointed me out of the crowd, everyone starting to face in my direction.

Kie and Pope exchanged a series of glances between each other before both looking at me. I was as equally lost as them, but some part of me knew to trust JJ. Even if he wasn't the smartest Pogue, any situation that involved him was sure as hell a wild one.

"Kie, c'mon." he signalled to her again. "Workers of the world unite, throw off your chains!"

Much to their parents' dismay, the pair both started sprinting after the boy. I took a hold of my dress and followed after them, trying my hardest not to twist an ankle. The entirety of the country club had started to stare at us, looks of disgust and embarrassment painted on all their faces.

The rest of the group had now reunited, the 5 of us equally pleased to see one another. Catching up to Pope and John B, I pulled the boys into a short embrace. Their familiar scent of Old Spice deodorant and weed brought back the happiness I always felt whilst in their company; something I had grown to miss over the past weeks.

"Welcome back to the Pogues, Cami." John B wrapped his arm around my shoulders, helping pull me along with the speed of the others.

"If y'all told me we had to run I wouldn't have worn heels." I laughed.

"Maybe if you were around we could've given you a heads up." Kie smiled back at me. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, by the way."

"Don't get me started."