a/n: thank you for sending a request! 💞
the night air was thick with humidity, wrapping around you like a suffocating blanket as you stood at the edge of the cliff, the ocean roaring below. you could barely hear the crash of waves over the thoughts echoing in your head.
you weren't sure how long you'd been standing there, staring down at the churning water, wondering if it would be cold or if the impact would hurt. maybe you wouldn’t feel anything at all. it had been a long time since you'd felt anything. the idea of nothingness, of silence, was comforting. it wasn’t the first time you’d come here, but tonight felt different—like you were actually going to go through with it this time.
you weren’t supposed to be here. you weren’t supposed to be feeling like this. on the surface, you had everything. good grades, parents who gave you everything you asked for, a big house, the life of a kook. but no one really saw you. you felt like a ghost floating through your life, invisible even in your own skin.
your phone buzzed in your pocket, a half-hearted reminder that people still existed in the world beyond this cliff. but you didn't want to check. it was probably just more messages you didn’t want to deal with—more people asking things from you without actually caring about you. a voice whispered in the back of your mind, asking what it would be like if you just… disappeared. would anyone even notice?
the sudden shout startled you. your heart leaped in your chest as you turned to see a figure walking toward you, emerging from the shadows. the moonlight barely touched his face, but the voice was unmistakable.
you exhaled sharply, turning your gaze back to the ocean, wondering what the hell he was doing here. rafe, of all people. the bad boy of the kooks. the person you least expected to see in a place like this, and definitely not now. he was the last person who’d ever care about something like this—or someone like you.
“hey, are you…” his voice trailed off as he got closer, and for the first time, you could feel his presence, not just hear it. it was like his energy was magnetic, pulling you toward him even when all you wanted to do was stay on the edge, teetering between decisions.
“what do you want, rafe?” you said, your voice hollow, drained of emotion. you didn’t even look at him.
“i could ask you the same thing,” he muttered, coming to stand beside you. he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, his gaze sweeping over the cliff. “you shouldn’t be here, you know.”
“i’m here every night,” you replied quietly, your voice almost drowned out by the crashing waves. you hugged your arms around yourself as the wind picked up, chilling you to the bone despite the summer heat.
“yeah, i know.” rafe's voice softened, like he was trying not to scare you. “that's why i'm here. i’ve seen you a few times.”
you finally turned your head to look at him, confusion flickering across your face. “you’ve been watching me?”
rafe shrugged, but there was something in his eyes—something vulnerable and raw. it wasn’t the cocky, careless boy everyone else saw. “not watching you. just... noticing. you don’t exactly blend in, standing on the edge of a cliff like that.”
you stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure him out, but rafe cameron was a puzzle you weren’t sure you could solve. and you were too tired to even try. “well, i’m fine. you don’t need to worry about me.”
he let out a dry laugh. “no offense, but you don’t look fine. and i’m not leaving until you step away from that ledge.”
you turned your body fully toward him now, your eyes narrowing. “why do you care? you don’t even know me.”
rafe tilted his head, studying you in a way that made you uncomfortable. like he was seeing right through you. “maybe i do know you. maybe more than you think.” his voice was calm, but there was something stormy beneath the surface.
you scoffed. “right. like you know anything about me.”
“i know what it feels like,” he said, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. “feeling like no one’s paying attention. like nothing you do matters. you get stuck in this cycle, and no matter what you try, you can’t break out of it.”
his words caught you off guard. you stared at him, your heartbeat quickening. rafe cameron, the golden boy with the messed-up home life, the kid who always seemed to get in trouble, was relating to you?
“don’t act like you understand,” you muttered, but the words felt weak even as you said them.
“i’m not acting,” he replied simply, his eyes meeting yours. the moonlight caught his face, casting shadows over his sharp jawline, and you could see the weariness in his features. “i get it. you feel like you’re at the end of your rope, right?”
you didn’t answer. instead, you turned back toward the cliff, your gaze locked on the horizon where the sea met the sky. “what’s the point? nothing ever changes.”
rafe was quiet for a moment, his gaze flicking between you and the ocean. “maybe things don’t change,” he said finally. “but you do. you can. you don’t have to be stuck here.”
his words hit you like a punch to the gut. you didn’t know why, but something about the way he said it made you believe, just for a second, that he might be right. that maybe, just maybe, there was a way out of this dark place.
but then the familiar wave of doubt washed over you, and you shook your head. “it’s not that easy.”
“i know it’s not,” rafe said softly, his voice laced with understanding. “but it’s not impossible either.”
you felt a lump rise in your throat, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the weight of everything hit you all at once. the loneliness, the pressure, the suffocating feeling of being trapped in your own life. tears stung your eyes, and you tried to blink them away, but one slipped down your cheek before you could stop it.
rafe noticed. he took a step closer, and without saying anything, he gently reached up, wiping the tear away with his thumb. his touch was surprisingly soft, careful, like he wasn’t used to handling things this fragile.
“it’s okay,” he whispered, his voice almost lost in the sound of the ocean. “you don’t have to do this alone.”
you didn’t say anything, but the way he was looking at you—so intensely, so full of something you couldn’t quite name—made it impossible to pull away. his hand lingered on your cheek, his thumb tracing lightly over your skin, sending shivers down your spine.
before you could even process what was happening, he leaned in, his lips brushing against yours in the softest kiss, like he was afraid you might break if he pushed too hard. it wasn’t desperate or forceful. it was just... real.
you closed your eyes, leaning into him, feeling the warmth of his breath against your skin, the steady beat of his heart through his chest. for the first time in a long time, you didn’t feel like you were drowning.
when he pulled back, his forehead rested against yours, his breath shaky as he spoke. “i’m not letting you go back to that ledge, okay? not tonight. not ever.”
you nodded, your eyes still closed, letting his words settle in. for the first time, you believed him.
rafe’s hand slipped from your cheek, his fingers finding yours, lacing them together as he gently tugged you away from the cliff's edge, back toward the world you weren’t sure you could face alone.
but with him, maybe you wouldn’t have to.
“come on,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “let’s get out of here.”
you didn’t say anything, but you didn’t need to. you followed him, your hand still in his, the weight of everything that had been crushing you easing with every step.
and when he turned to you one last time, his eyes soft and full of unspoken promises, you knew this was a new beginning.
