the deal (snippet) - rafe cameron

a/n: my first public writing piece ever! please be nice, i’m sensitive :) let me know what you think and if i should publish the entire thing. this is a small part of a bigger series that i want to do and also this is not the first part, just the first part that i wrote! i’ve been wanting to do an OBX rewrite for a long time, please let me know what you think! this is a snippet of a rewrite of ep 6 of s2.

Series Summary: Rafe Cameron and Josephine Whittaker. The couple of the Outer Banks. Nobody knew how they made it work. He was brash, arrogant, and viewed pogues as nothing more than the scum on the bottom of his shoe. She was soft-spoken, kind, and despised the social and financial hierarchy. Polar opposites who somehow fell in love. But when the two are caught up in a whirlwind of events surrounding half-a-billion dollars in gold and a historic cross, their love will be tested to the fullest extent.

Preview Summary: Jo goes to make a deal with an unexpected ally.

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x OC (*Rafe isn’t in this snippet, though)

Warnings: swearing, mentions of drugs (weed), Barry being a little creepy, not edited

Leaves crunch under her feet after every step. She already sees the beginnings of the mud that caked the bottom of her white Steve Maddens making their way to the sides, becoming more visible the more they trekked through it. She cringes, thinking about how much of a bitch they’re going to be to clean. Her mom was going to have a whole fit if she caught sight of them. She briefly wonders why she wore sneakers, but remembers it’s because her only other options were her sandals and it’s better her shoes be caked in mud rather than her feet.

Y’know what, I’ll just buy a new pair, she thinks as she steps in a particularly deep patch of mud, effectively ruining her current pair. She never stops walking though, her end destination being worth more than ruining a $75 dollar pair of shoes.

She finally stumbles upon the rundown trailer, a place she’d only ever been once before, but had never set foot in. She remembers seeing it through the passenger window of Rafe’s truck, but only for a short moment before he was grabbing what he needed and pulling out of there faster than he had pulled in.

She knew he didn’t want her there longer than she had to be.

She hesitates going up to the front door, realising how out of place she must look. Her stark white jeans, crop top, and (formerly) white shoes are a stark contrast to her surroundings. She’s grateful she didn’t drive because she’s sure her all-white BMW convertible would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb even more than herself.

Climbing the few steps up to the porch, she hesitates again. What was she even going to say? She had rehearsed it over and over again on the way but suddenly couldn’t remember anything she was going to say

Fuck it, she thinks before raising her fist and knocking on the screen door three times. 

“Who is it?” a gruff voice shouts from within the house.

“Um, I’m looking for Barry,” she shouts back, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. 

She hears footsteps approaching and she takes a couple seconds to take in her surroundings. The wood is rotten and the floor beneath her creaks with every movement, the off-white, gray-ish color the house had faded into making the house seem dingier than it probably once was.

Not dingy, no, that’s rude, she thinks. Old, just old, She decides.

The screen door swings open, startling her out of her own thoughts. She has to move back quickly to avoid it hitting her, the floorboard beneath her letting out a discouraging squeak.

She comes face to face with Barry, or so she assumes. She hadn’t formally met him, only heard his name from around town and from Rafe a couple of times, but it wasn’t hard to tell. His black hair is pulled back in a ponytail and his outfit consists of a worker’s jumpsuit stained in what looks like grease. He leans against the doorframe with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, eying Jo with curiosity.

“Now, what’s a pretty lil’ thing like you doing out here?” he asks, eyes raking down her body.

Everything she practiced goes out the window and the only thing she can manage is, “I need your help.”

He tongues the inside of his cheek and chuckles.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place,” he says with a smirk. He opens the door a little wider and beckons her inside, the smell of weed becoming so strong Jo has to resist the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust. She knows he’s got the wrong idea of what she wants from him, so she figures she has to say something else quick.

“Now, I usually save my good shit for the regulars, but for a pretty lil’ thing like yourself I could–”

“It’s about Rafe.”

Even though his back is turned, she can see him visibly tense at the mention of her boyfriend’s name. She doesn’t know whether or not to take this as a good sign, so she takes a tentative step inside the house. He turns around slowly to face her, making her regret the step she just took. Then he starts to laugh.

Wait, what?

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Barry chuckles, cracking himself up even more, “If it isn’t Mrs. Country Club herself. A pleasure to finally meet you, princess. ”

She cringes internally at both the nicknames he’d given her.

“You two are quite the talk of the town, y’know? Kook prince and kook princess. Try to bring you up around Country Club but he goes apeshit. Said he doesn’t want you involved in this shit,” he smirks. “If only he could see you now.”

“Can I explain or are you just going to keep making fun of me?” she says with a sudden burst of bravery. The frustration and lack of sleep from worrying had manifested itself into a short temper these last few days and her patience was wearing thin. 

Barry’s face doesn’t falter, only throwing his hands up in mock surrender before taking a seat on the couch.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mrs. Cameron?” he jabs, kicking his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. “What’s your name again, sweetheart? Jessica? Jenny? Julia?”

“Josephine.”

He snaps his fingers in the air as if he finally remembered even though she knew he couldn’t give less of a fuck. 

She takes a deep breath before speaking, afraid that if she doesn’t start now she’ll lose her courage.

“Rafe needs help. Like actual, real help. The longer Ward is able to tell him what to do, the worse he’s going to get and I’m afraid of what’s going to happen when worse comes to worst,” she starts, willing herself not to cry in front of Barry. She has a gut feeling that he wouldn’t be the most sympathetic. 

“Rose isn’t going to do anything about it as long as Ward’s involved. I don’t want Wheezie to be involved any more than she is. He doesn’t trust Sarah. He doesn’t trust anyone right now except for me and, for some reason, you,” she states as she crosses her arms defensively. She wishes she could do this on her own but she knows deep down that Rafe opens up more to Barry than he does to her. She ignores the pit in her stomach that forms at that thought.

“We’re his best shot at getting the help that he needs.”

Barry’s face has dropped from the amused grin he had before, his jaw now clenched with a scowl. He kisses his teeth before scoffing, “What makes you think I want to help him, let alone you?”

“Because I know you’ve noticed. And I know you’ve been letting him stay here from time to time,” she challenges. Though they never crossed paths often, Jo knew Barry had been Rafe’s first point of contact with this whole Ward-John B-Sarah situation. Another blow to her chest.

“As for me,” she says, reaching into her crossbody slowly just in case he thinks she has a weapon, “I have this.”

Barry’s eyes lock on the wad of cash between her fingers and she knows she’s got him. If she’d learn anything from being a kook, it’s that everyone has a price. Wildly unethical, but necessary when you lived in a place like the Outer Banks. She throws the wad towards him, watching as he catches it and begins to inspect it.

“And how do I know you won’t fuck me over like your lil’ boyfriend did?” he asks, never taking his eyes off the cash.

“Because there’s more where that came from,” she promises. “And I know you’ll be able to do it.”

Barry ponders for a moment before his amused grin returns.

“Alright, princess, you got yourself a deal.”