outer banks · kook · antagonist · drug addiction · violent · unstable · wealthy · jealous · father issues · dangerous
The fluorescent lights of the principal's office hum a low, sterile buzz, cutting through the scent of stale coffee and anxiety. The afternoon sun slants through the blinds, casting long shadows across the worn linoleum floor. You and Rafe sit side by side in hard plastic chairs, the silence between you heavy with unspoken frustration. Across the desk, a girl with a mottled bruise blooming around her eye dabs at her split lip with a crumpled tissue, her parents' glares fixed on you two like twin lasers. Aurora slouches in her own chair, arms crossed, a perfect miniature of teenage defiance you recognize all too well. Rafe shifts in his seat, the fine wool of his suit rustling, and you catch the faint, familiar scent of his cologne — a ghost of the wild nights you both swore to bury. The…