"YOU'RE FUCKING KIDDING ME, RIGHT?" Drew couldn't believe what he just heard. "What makes you think I'd do that?" He hissed through gritted teeth.

The harsh tone of his voice caught the attention of nearby customers in the restaurant, but it wasn't really a concern to him anymore.

He was filled with rage when Vanessa, his publicist, told him to break up with his girlfriend and fake a relationship with her best friend, Amaya Gilbert, to increase his popularity in Hollywood.

"Drew," Vanessa says calmly. "You have to understand that this is for the good of your career."

Drew could not help but scoff at that, "For my career or for her career?" He points to Amaya who was just listening intently to their conversation, clearly annoyed by his opposition to their scheme. "Because my career has nothing to do with my relationship, Vanessa." He slammed his hand forcefully on the table, knocking a few condiments.

"Let's all discuss this professionally." Heidi, Amaya's publicist reminds them, particularly to Drew.

Drew looked at her sternly before sighing heavily, "I'm not gonna do that to Adelaide."

"It's only for a few weeks, Drew." Amaya begged. "Addie would want you to do this for me."

He shook his head at that, scoffs and said, "You're a shit friend, Amaya. I hope you know that."

With that, Drew stood up and left the restaurant, ignoring Vanessa and Heidi's calls. He couldn't care less if they'd ruin his reputation as a result of his disagreement to their proposition; he would never betray Adelaide like that.

The next morning, Drew was awakened by the sudden flash of light and the continual clicks of a camera shutter. He instantly shot up upon seeing Amaya laying him, practically nude.

"What the fuck, Amaya?!" He shoved her out of the bed and quickly stood up, distancing himself from her. "What the fuck are you doing?! How did you get in?!" He shouts, venom laced in his tone. It had looked like something happened between them since he was pretty much naked, too.

Amaya recovered from being pushed on the floor and straightened up. She stood in front of a frustrated Drew, wearing nothing but a skimpy lingerie, playfully waving her phone in the air.

"Drew, all you had to do was end things with Adelaide, you know? It's quite a simple favor." She sighs in a teasing manner as she slowly approached him. "How do you think she'll react when she sees this photo?"

Drew swallows the lump in his throat as he looks at the picture. Surely enough, the photo of him and Amaya laying in bed looked pretty deceptive if Adelaide were to see it without an explanation.

"I-I'm sorry, Addie." Drew whispered, refusing to make eye contact.

Adelaide was quiet amidst their conversation. However, the heavy tears that flowed out of her eyes was evident that she was clearly upset by the suddenness of their breakup.

Drew was disappointed at himself for caving in to Amaya but he figured breaking up with Adelaide was better than hurting her because of something he didn't do.

It was kind of a selfish act, really.

A month passed and it was still the same, depressing state for Drew; he hadn't been sleeping properly and the only time he'd go out of his apartment was when him and Amaya had to go out and pose for fake paparazzi photos.

After almost a week of fake dating, Amaya had gotten all the public attention she wanted, and was already in line for an upcoming movie directed by Julianna Johnson.

Other than going out with Amaya, he'd most likely spend his time doing nothing at his apartment. His once energetic nature was now replaced with glumness, and the whole cast had noticed it, too. They were thoughtful enough to visit him regularly, especially Madelyn considering she lived right below him, as a matter-of-fact. But he just wasn't the same anymore.

They didn't blame him nor did they blame Adelaide. They just thought their breakup was a bit unexpected after almost three years of dating.

When the article about his breakup with adelaide and his newfound relationship with Amaya dispersed on the internet, the cast started spamming him with messages.

Rudy had concluded that perhaps Drew was being held hostage by Amaya which made him laugh. For a slight second, he considered whether or not he should tell them the truth of the matter.

Ultimately, Drew confessed to them all that had happened the past few weeks and thoroughly explained everything including the moment when he was blackmailed by Amaya.

"Wait, for real?!" Rudy exclaims, a shock expression written on his face. "Dude, she's literally the personification of sweet but pyscho!"

"So, you woke up and she was already laying beside you?" Madison repeats. "TBH, that's hella psychotic but how did she even get in?"

Drew sighed in frustration and rubbed his face, before looking down on the floor.

"Dude, you could just tell Addie the truth and save yourself from all this distress, you know?" Chase nudges him.

"Yeah, I think Addie would give you the chance to explain." Madelyn nods. "She's still in New York though and you can't do that through social media, that's a red flag!"

"I just..." Drew sighs. "I knew how much Amaya meant to her. I guess I thought I was being selfless."

A few days later, Drew was scrolling through his Instagram homefeed when he stumbled upon Madelyn's post; it was a picture of her, Madison, and... Adelaide.

So, she's back.

He nibbles lightly on his lower lip before sending a message to Madelyn.

drewstarkey
how is she?

It was Friday late in the afternoon when Austin called Drew to invite him over for drinks, alongside the others.

"Maybe next time, man." He yawns.

"Come on, dude." Austin groans. "It might lead to the elimination of the entity that's causing you to become boring." He jokes.

Drew cursed at his statement before agreeing to go.

He couldn't even remember how many drinks he had consumed when he began dancing along to the beat of the music, while the others simply followed the random actions he was doing.

A few hours later, they all had bid each other goodbye and went on their separate ways, leaving Drew with Austin who had already sobered up.

"Goodnight, buddy." Austin murmurs, while Drew just stared blankly at the ceiling.

He didn't bother to reply as he was too exhausted and weak to do so. Austin had already turned off the lights in the living room and left the kitchen lights open before he went to his room.

The stillness of the night caused a faint ringing in Drew's ear which made it hard for him to fall asleep. With a small grumble, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and squinted at the bright numbers displayed on his screen.

2:51 AM.

Without much contemplation, he tapped on Adelaide's contact number, hoping that he could hear her voice so he could fall asleep. When she didn't answer, Drew began mumbling a series of curses under his breathe and started to dial her yet again. This time, he began to feel the state of languor and dozed off as he listens to the faint dial tone of his phone.

Drew woke up the next morning with a mild headache. Austin was considerate enough to leave a glass of water by his side and two pills of ibuprofen that rested on a small plate. After downing the painkillers, he walked towards the kitchen where Austin was sitting, casually sipping on a glass of what looks to be avocado milkshake.

"Hey." Drew said in an undertone, before walking to the sink.

"Dude, you better check this out." Austin yelped once he spotted him.

"Whar now?"

Drew nearly choked on his own saliva upon glancing at Austin's laptop. It was Amaya's Instagram post.

"Is that your hand?" Austin questions.

"Fuck, no." Drew made a face.

Austin snickers at that and shook his head before scrolling past the post.

"Do you... Do you still love her?"

Austin hadn't mentioned a name. But, Drew knew exactly who he was pertaining to.

"I don't think I'll ever stop loving her, man."

The next day, Drew was peacefully scrolling through his Instagram feed once again when he caught sight of Adelaide's post which was uploaded just a few minutes ago. She had looked so heavenly and mesmerizing that Drew couldn't even refrain himself from commenting a heart. It took him a moment to realize what he had done before he hurriedly deleted the comment, muttering a couple of foul words.

As expected, his phone was buzzing with numerous notifications from the OBX groupchat. Just to tease them a little bit, he sent the blind man walking emoji, while leaving them on seen. Drew chuckles lightly when Madelyn said that she just wanted this ship to sail. It was somewhat impossible for that to happen as of the moment considering they weren't on speaking terms and the whole Amaya situation was yet to be disentangled.

A few days later, Rudy called Drew saying they'd be picking Jonathan up from the airport and then head straight to the KTV place where the girls were waiting.

"Oh my gosh, JD! I can't believe you're finally here!" Adelaide squealed in excitement before engulfing him into a hug.

Drew's jaw tightened at their proximity, but did his best to ignore the feeling of jealousy. She wasn't his to claim anyway. Fortunately, Rudy cleared his throat which broke them both apart. When Adelaide turned to look at him, it felt like his whole world just stopped. It was kind of like a cliché moment, really, but it had been months since he last saw her and he had completely forgotten how beautiful she truly was.

"You can take the picture from here."

Drew could notice her hesitance, probably because they'd be right next to each other. However, his heart practically did a back flip when Adelaide started walking towards him.

"Hey, didn't you ride an uber here?"

Drew's ears perked up when Madelyn said that and turned his gaze to Adelaide. When she turned to look at him, he felt a little hopeful that perhaps she still gave importance to his opinion.

"I'll drive her home."

He quickly spun around on his heel and walked away, heading to his car. He didn't want her to refuse his offer which was why he turned around, knowing damn well that Adelaide would follow shortly after.

"I got your back, man." Jonathan whispered as he walked past him to go to Adelaide. "Actually, is it okay if I'll sit in the back? I'm gonna take a quick snooze." Drew tried to conceal the growing smirk on his lips by sliding in the driver's seat.

"I think you might have forgotten the part where we're already broken up."

Drew could practically feel her annoyance towards what he said and decided go keep his mouth shut. A few seconds later, Adelaide reached forward to turn on the radio and a break up song played faintly in the background. He wanted to make fun of her for not asking permission but given that she was probably pissed at him for what he said, he chose not to.

Instead, he started humming along to the lyrics of the song. As soon as they arrived in front of her condominium, Drew was taken aback when Adelaide immediately got off. He looked down at his feet and sighed heavily, tapping the steering wheel with his thumb.

Before he could hold himself back, he blurted out, "I'm sorry, Addie."

Although he didn't really know why he apologized; perhaps it was because of what he said in the car or because he had chose to hurt her instead of telling the truth.

The next morning when Drew woke up, he was surprised to see a message from Adelaide.

adelaidebauer
hey. thanks for the ride
last night btw :)

he felt a wave of panic rushing through him and he immediately got up to his feet. he combed a hand through his hair and licked his bottom lip, before typing.

drewstarkey
no problem 😊

"No problem, smiley face?" He muttered to himself. "Why does it sounds so fucking weird?" He asked no one in particular. His uneasiness disappeared when Adelaide replied with an 'okay bye'. He chuckles softly at that and massaged his chin slightly before reacting to the message.

Two days following their short interaction in Instagram came Chase's birthday. It would be held in Madelyn's apartment since their restaurant reservation was cancelled to the last minute. Drew had gotten down to Madelyn's apartment a few hours before the others arrived and informed everyone that he'd be the one to open the door.

"You just want some one and one with Addie, huh?" Madelyn smirked at him.

Drew scoffs and exaggeratedly says, "No."

"Okay." Madelyn shrugged.

Drew sighed and put his arms up in defeat, "Okay, you caught me." He chuckles.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Chase cuts in. "She deserves an explanation, Drew."

For what seemed like the umpteenth time, Drew lets out a heavy breath. "Okay. I'll try to talk to her tonight."

Moments later, a knock on the door sounded off. Drew instantly stood up and headed towards the door.

"Hey." He smiled. Adelaide had stared at him with an indescribable expression before Madison cleared her throat.

"Thanks."

Drew could practically feel his stomach warm up when she acknowledged him. He couldn't help but hold a smile before shutting the door and went back to the living room where the others were.

They were all having such a great time just conversing with each other and laughing, waiting for Austin and his so-called girlfriend, Tania. That was until a loud knock on the door interrupted their conversations. Drew then rose up from the couch to get it, thinking it might be Austin. To his utter surprise, Amaya stood in front of him with a sly grin.

"Hi, babe!"

ೄྀ࿐ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ˊˎ-

word count is 2351 <333

btw this is all a flashback
hence why some dialogues
are repeated 👀