TWITTER

amy
@fandomfanatic_
hi everyone! me again! this just in!
drew running away from charles &
rhea at the gala tonight. thoughts?

12:21AM · dec 15, 2024 · 583k views

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post your reply REPLY

kenz @drewlover99 · 30m · · ·
girl. don't play w me right now
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amy @fandomfanatic_ · 28m · · ·
@drewlover99 i'm so sorry, this is
a win for rhea. how will he recover?
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kenz @drewlover99 · 22m · · ·
@fandomfanatic_ ur right. i feel
bad for him lmao. 1/0, rhea's side
💬 193 🔁 1.1K 🖤 1.4K 👁️ 8K

. . .

REAL LIFE

rhea exhaled softly as charles disappeared into the crowd, the warmth of their easy conversation lingering even as she turned back to the table. she reached for the bottle of wine and poured herself another glass, watching the deep red swirl in the glass before taking a slow sip. she wasn't in a rush to leave just yet, not when the night still had that lingering hum of possibility in the air.

"oh, and what's a gorgeous woman like you doing drinking alone?"

rhea glanced up just as billie slid into the seat beside her, one arm draping lazily over the back of the chair, eyes glinting with mischief.

rhea smirked, playing along immediately. "waiting for someone to sweep me off my feet, obviously."

billie gasped, placing a hand over her heart. "tragic. let me fix that. can i buy you a drink, pretty lady?"

rhea laughed, shaking her head. "you're ridiculous."

"and yet, you're still here."

rhea just rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her wine. she liked billie's energy. light, teasing, always keeping things fun.

but then billie's attention snapped to something across the table, her expression shifting from playful to utterly scandalized. "oh my god. is that..." she paused, leaning forward like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "is that the pulp fiction zippo lighter drew won from the auction?"

rhea followed her gaze, eyes landing on the item sitting in front of one of the now-empty seats. the seat where drew had been earlier.

she blinked. "what the hell? he saie he was leaving."

billie scoffed. "girl, there's no way he just left without it. this is, like, a prized possession kind of thing. he's definitely coming back."

rhea hummed in agreement, still staring at it. as if on cue, billie suddenly got up, walked right over, and grabbed it off the table like it was hers. she turned back and plopped it in front of rhea with a smirk.

"are you leaving?" she asked.

rhea shrugged. "i don't know. i'm waiting for natalia to finish talking to all her friends first."

billie grinned. "then this can stay with you in case he comes back."

rhea stared at the item in front of her. "great. love being the designated lost and found."

billie laughed, sliding back into her seat like she had all the time in the world. she stuck around, chatting about the night, the people, the fact that charles was probably lying about his karaoke skills until, eventually, rhea spotted movement from the corner of her eye.

and then came the moment.

billie's eyes flickered past her, then widened in pure delight. "oh, no way," she whispered, barely containing her laughter.

rhea turned just in time to see drew and his friends approaching the table, except the second they reached where he'd been sitting, they suddenly froze.

"wait," jonathan said, voice sharp with panic. "where the hell is it?"

drew's head snapped toward the empty space on the table, his face immediately dropping. "you've got to be kidding me."

chase was already checking under the table like it had magically fallen there. "bro, it was right here."

madelyn groaned, dragging a hand down her face. "oh my god, this is why you don't just leave stuff behind."

billie was thriving in their distress, leaning back in her seat with a smirk. rhea, meanwhile, just raised her glass to her lips, barely hiding her amusement.

. . .

REAL LIFE

drew was already having the worst night of his life.

okay, maybe that was dramatic. but still. first, he had humiliated himself in front of rhea. actually, he fled like some loser. and now? now, he had somehow lost the one thing he absolutely should not have lost.

the damn pulp fiction zippo.

"bro, how do you just lose a movie prop?" jonathan asked, barely holding back a laugh as he leaned against the table.

"i don't know, man," drew muttered, running a hand down his face. "i had it, i swear. i—"

"maybe you dropped it when you were making your super smooth escape," austin added, grinning.

drew groaned. "not funny."

it was totally funny. but only to everyone else.

he was still trying to retrace his steps in his head when a voice cut through the noise of the gala.

"odessa!"

there, standing a table away, was billie. and in her hand? his lighter.

next to her, laughing at the whole situation, was rhea.

he wanted to die. he wanted to melt into the floor and never come back.

before he could even react, odessa, who had been mid-conversation with someone and austin perked up and dashed over. "wait, what? what's going on?"

billie grinned, holding up the lighter. "your dumbass friend left this behind."

odessa's eyes widened, then she cackled. "ohhh, no way. this is his?"

drew wanted to disappear. right then and there.

odessa turned to rhea, still grinning as she twirled the zippo between her fingers. "we're gonna have a smoke, wanna come?"

drew felt all the blood drain from his face.

rhea tilted her head slightly, considering it, her fingers still wrapped around the stem of her wine glass. she looked so relaxed, so unbothered, like she hadn't just witnessed him making a complete fool of himself twice in one night.

then, she smirked. smirked.

"hm." she tapped her nails against the glass. "tempting. but i think i'll stay here."

drew exhaled maybe a little too obviously before realizing odessa was watching him.

and she knew.

"aww," odessa pouted dramatically, nudging his arm. "too bad, huh, drew?"

he didn't take the bait. just shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered, "yep, real shame."

billie rolled her eyes. "alright, you losers coming or what?"

odessa tossed the lighter toward drew. he barely caught it, fumbling it for a second before shoving it into his jacket. he did not miss the way rhea's lips twitched like she was holding back a laugh.

he should've just left the damn thing behind.

. . .

TWITTER

charlie
@charliekai
so apparently drew starkey is really
good at running away. i don't think
i've ever seen someone panic so fast
anyone got a clip? #drewisnotokay

12:45AM · dec 15, 2024 · 674K views

💬 6.3K 🔁 203K 🖤 439K ⬜️ 329K

toot toot
@kikitheuberdriver
hes a runner hes a trackstar
#drewstarkey

12:49AM · dec 15, 2024 · 948K views

💬 8.4K 🔁 394K 🖤 549K ⬜️ 348K

. . .

INSTAGRAM

◯ zoomies563 • • •

♡ 💬 ➤ ☖

liked by hichasestokes and 20,398 people

zoomies563 : drew is me around girls

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◯ britishbarbiegirl · 1h
omg chase liked LMAO

◯ celebritynews · 1h
oh nah 💀

◯ mckellarbrite · 1h
you tagging them is vio

◯ drewlover99 · 1h
OH MY GOD ITS BEEN LIKE 20
MINUTES

◯ iwanaplayamongus · 1h
rhea w

◯ stephenkingsley · 1h
fair. she a baddie

◯ hichasestokes · 1h
this is crazy work chef

dec 15, 2024

. . .

a/n: locked in rn. and im so sorry im dragging out this post gala thing so much