( SADIE )

i remain seated on the beige furniture, refraining from biting my nails as i listen in on the conversation audible from the kitchen.

"you could've atleast asked me first" finn drops his head into his hands, sighing.

"i'm sorry! i'm not very good with these type of things" noah defends.

"then what on earth made you do it?!" caleb adds, pacing back and forth around the kitchen.

"okay, guys, can we not put too much on noah" millie inquires, patting the top of his head. "maybe he's right? i mean, if it wasn't for rory lying to sadie then she would never have gone through with it"

finn furrows his brows. "wait- what do you mean?"

"rory told sadie that faye broke up with her before she came onto her" the brunette girl states. "she got into sadies head with all that bullshit"

finn nods, steadily starting to understand. "okay, but it still doesn't make it right what she did"

"i know, i'm not saying it does" millie starts. "i just think that they can try again. sadie can apologise, faye can forgive her, and they can live happily ever after" the girl chimes.

a smile graces my lips upon hearing millies comment. however, regret gnaws at me for how badly i hurt faye. my actions, though unintentional, were a huge betrayal of her trust.

i understand why she doesn't wish to speak to me, i wouldn't either. but at the same time, what i want more than anything is for us to be able to talk again. i miss our conversations, i miss what we had.

after what happened with rory, my mind was consumed by doubts about the decision i made and the potential consequences to come. it hadn't hit me until i left that rory could be lying, that maybe she's just cheating on faye.

— ★ —

( FAYE )

i twist the handle, taking a step back as the door swings open and immediately shuts back on its own. letting out a sigh, i reopen it, staring at finn.

"oh yeah, i forgot to tell you, gravity doesn't exist here" finn grins.

i chuckle before making a dash for the bed and leaping onto it. "mines more comfortable, loser"

finn rolls his eyes. "whatever. how are you doing? you know, about sadie"

"i'm okay" i softly exhale. "i'll just avoid her presence for the entire week"

finn arches a brow. "sure you can do that?"

"mhm" i affirm with a nod before standing up. "i'll just run away anytime i see her but still be around all of you when she's not around"

he blinks at me for a moment before chuckling. "alright, good luck with that"

i furrow my brows at him before smiling. "thank you" i say it as more of a question, exiting his room.

— ★ —

the day was passing by in a breezy way so far. i had stayed upstairs with millie, finn and gaten watching old disney princess movies.

caleb, noah and sadie remained downstairs making dinner for everyone. the aroma of lasagna creeped it's way to the top floor, leading finn and millie to rush downstairs.

"they didn't even stay for the end" gaten sighs in disapproval, making me nod.

"how can you not stay for rapunzels ending" i scoff. "they're monsters"

"hey so, are you just not gonna talk to her at all?" he inquires. "i mean, there's no way you can steer clear of her for a whole week when living in the same place"

i remain silent, aware he's right. how can i possibly overlook an entire person, especially when we sleep in the same house? there's no way to pull this off. staying apart from her isn't solely hindered by us living together; it's my own inability as well.

i miss our long talks, staying up on call with her talking about life and it's many hindrances. i miss her presence, i miss those nights where she stayed a bit longer, the two of us lying in the darkness of my bedroom floor while staring at the neon light up stars i glued onto my ceiling years ago.

"let's just see what happens" i shrug.
exiting his room.

— ★ —

as we all gather downstairs for dinner, there's a palpable tension present in the air. i scan the table, spotting the only empty seat, which is next to sadie. in a silent but deliberate move, i choose to sit next to finn instead, causing gaten to get up and take the seat next to sadie.

the heaviness arises in my chest as me and sadie make accidental eye contact, looking away immediately. the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife, and everyone seems to sense it.

noah tries to lighten the mood with a chuckle. "well, this seating arrangement is... interesting. who's up for never have i ever?"

millie jumps in. "or we could tell childhood stories"

"or maybe we should have a staring contest between faye and sadie" caleb smirks, causing finn to choke on his water.

somehow, this seems to ease the tension. sadie and i exchange small, awkward smiles as we notice our friends attempts at fixing this.

"actually, i'm down for never have i ever" sadie shrugs, chewing on her food.

i nod. "me too"

"never have i ever" millie thinks for a moment. "jumped off a waterfall"

no one but herself drinks, all of us laughing at the absurdity of the question.

"literally only you are rich enough for shit like that" i shake my head.

finn chimes in. "alright, my turn. never have i ever gotten lost in a foreign country"

everyone at the table but me drinks, causing me to scoff and throw my arms in the air. "i'm not a celebrity, i can't travel the way you guys do"

"nah, i don't travel that much" gaten shrugs. "sadie, though" he directs my attention to her. "she's been to every continent"

sadie chuckles. "it's not fun staying in one place"

gaten nods an "mhm" before adding. "oh, never have i ever sent a text to the wrong person"

this time everyone takes a sip.

"thank you, finally something inclusive" i roll my eyes.

"i accidentally texted faye spoilers for season 4 instead of noah" finn sighs. "she attacked me when i didn't tell her more"

"you left me on a cliffhanger about byler!"

as the game goes on, the atmosphere becomes much more relaxed. me and sadie find ourselves engaged in the game, occasionally exchanging glances and small smiles.

however, after dinner, when cleaning the dishes, sadie and i somehow return to our no speaking policy. there are no smiles sent from either end, just unintentional eye contact which is immediately cut off.

the others seem to notice the way we went back to level zero. they exchange confused looks between one another, causing me to interrupt.

"uhm, i think i'm gonna go to bed" i speak softly before putting away the polished plate. after receiving nods and sharing goodnights, i sprint up the stairs into my designated room.

i wonder what happened. things were starting to look good, yet i somehow felt the need to steer away from her again. does she feel the same way? am i just crazy? why can't i make up my mind? maybe i'm the problem in all this.

i sit on the edge of the bed, pondering the events of the evening. one moment, we're smiling at eachother and in the next, we can't bear to make eye contact.

it's as if a switch inside me keeps flipping, toggling between wanting to reconnect and protecting myself from further hurt.

on one hand, i want to forgive sadie. the thought of forgiving her hadn't even crossed my mind until a few hours ago, when we were laughing together once again. i miss that.

on the other hand, the betrayal still stings. the image of her with rory remains etched in my mind, appearing every now and then to haunt me. the trust that was shattered is not easily repaired. what if i let my guard down and forgive her, just for her to sting me again?

★ authors note ,,

oopsies