˚　 ⋆⁺₊✦⁺₊ 　 ˚　.˚ .　 ☁.　　. 　 ˚　⁺⋆₊　.˚ .　. ✦⋆⁺₊ 　 ˚　. ☁ ˚　.˚　 ✩₊˚. ☾ ⋆ ⁺₊✧  　　˚　⁺₊ . 　 ˚　.　　⁺₊✦₊　　 ☁ 　˚　　 . 　⁺₊✧˚　　 . 　 ˚　⁺₊˚ .

So, Evie might have slightly overreacted.

She realized that only when she returned to England, and felt an empty pit in her stomach, a result of leaving Franco on bad terms.

She knew she'd been reasonable in calling him reckless, he totally was. But that didn't mean he meant for a major crash to happen.

He was still a rookie, after all, and rookies make mistakes. Evie knew that. But the absolute terror she'd felt when Alex had stayed in his car for a moment too long, was enough to make her act illogically.

She knew that now. She regretted having burst out on him and not contacting him at all after. He'd sent a few texts, but her phone had been discarded on her nightstand for hours, guilt creeping its way up to her mind, banning her from replying.

Back to reality, though, so she had to get up and get ready for classes. It was already Wednesday, and it took Evie an extra effort to get out of bed that morning.

Wednesdays sucked. That, combined with the ruination of a perfectly promising relationship, was enough to make the day harder.

Reluctantly, Evie picked up her phone from the nightstand on her way to the bathroom, choosing to check all the other messages she'd been ignoring.

ollie
yoooo eve

you disappeared

did u get home safe?

kimi
earth to evie??

are you alive bro

evie
hi guys im so sorry for disappearing

ollie
it's okay

everything okay?

evie
debatable

i kinda lashed out on franco on sunday

kimi
cuz of the crash?

evie
yup

but im realizing it was kinda stupid

but im too much of a coward to tell him

ollie
dude no

you should talk

communication 🔥🔥

kimi
agreed

evie
i doubt he'd wanna talk now

ollie
are u dumb

evie
yeah

ollie
yeah

anyway yeah he'll wanna talk

he's like obsessed with u

kimi
right

he probably feels bad too

evie
sigh

we'll see

ty guys :)

i'm gonna be late bye bye!!!!!!

ᯓᡣ𐭩

Exiting one of the most challenging classes of her degree felt like freedom to Evie. The moment her feet dragged her outside of the auditorium, she felt the weight on her shoulders get lighter, though still present.

"This semester is going to be so long," Bea, Evie's classmate-friend said, dropping her head back in complaint, her dark braids hanging gracefully against her back, as they walked through campus, urgent to reach the gates and leave.

"Is it too late to drop out?" Mina asked, bumping her shoulder into Bea's, her own long, bleached hair swishing as she moved.

"Definitely too late," Evie confirmed, ever the logical person of the bunch. Tragic irony.

The three of them continued walking, the long cobblestone path surrounded by trees never-ending. The only thought occupying Evie's mind was her texts, when she was going to open them, what she was going to respond with, if she would even respond at all.

Blocking out Bea and Mina's newfound conversation, Evie spiralled, thinking about all the possible outcomes. She thought about apologizing to Franco, and him blocking her, or him forgiving her, or him having already forgotten her. All this only working to discourage her from texting him at all.

She forcefully shook the thoughts off, refocusing on her friends' voices.

"Woah, who's that?" Mina asked, pausing suddenly, causing Evie to crash into her back.

"Bro," she mumbled, gently pushing Mina by her shoulder so she could take a look at the apparent spectacle.

What she didn't, in a million years, expect to see, was Franco Colapinto, at her university campus, making his way to her.

Evie short-circuited, her feet staying planted firmly to the ground as she watched the boy that'd been occupying her mind for days take careful steps toward her, as if she'd set off like a bomb with one wrong move.

"What are you doing here?" Evie managed, taking a step to meet his eyes directly.

Franco pursed his lips, trying to figure out what to say. Evie didn't know, but he'd spent the entire flight curating an entire monologue, only for no words to come out of his mouth when he finally faced her.

"I-"

"I'm sorry," Evie interrupted him before he even began speaking.

Seeing him in person brought back everything she'd felt these past few days, reminding her that she had to talk to him, before she lost the courage to do so. And she probably owed him a bigger apology.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, and then ignoring you," she continued. "I was scared and wrongfully took it out on you, I shouldnt've. I know you didn't mean to cause an accident or anything, I just... Yeah. I'm sorry."

Franco regarded her for a long moment, before taking another step forward, closing the distance between them.

"I'm sorry too, for doing that stupid overtake in the first place. I can't imagine how scary it must have been to watch that. You don't have to apologize to me, I understand."

"Thank you, but I did have to. I was stupid too," Evie said, her eyes dropping to her shoes.

Franco reached out a hand, using it to lift her chin back up, their eyes meeting again. Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, leaving her body heating up, this time in a good way.

Evie smiled, the weight on her shoulders now fully disappearing. She sighed contently, when it hit her. Turning around, she found her friends still there, watching the scene unfold with grins plastered on their faces.

"Sorry about that," she said, quickly approaching them.

"Are you kidding? Why didn't you tell us you had a boyfriend?" Bea asked, a bit too loudly, fully entertained.

"He's not... Um, whatever. I'll see you tomorrow?" Evie asked, cheeks flushing.

"Sure, lovebird," Mina said, winking at her.

Evie shook her head, then went back to Franco, waiting for her with his contagious smile, definitely having heard the 'boyfriend' comment.

"So, when did you even get here?" she asked before he could say anything, grabbing his hand and leading them to the exit.

"This morning."

"What? When did you have time to come here? How did you even know I was here?" Evie rambled, furrowing her brows.

Franco shrugged. "I have my ways."

"I'm glad you came."

"Me too."

───────

dear reader!

no pacing, we die like men

hate this but there's one chapter left so yass