__________________

— NOT MUCH HAPPENED after they both fell asleep in the car. besides the relentless teasing from both friend groups when they woke up, the redness that creeped up on their cheeks, and, well, the realization that had dawned on the two of them when they parted ways to go back to the hotel rooms. they still had another day or two left on the trip.

raelynn was in love with him. and tristan was in love with her. they were just too blind to see the look in each others eyes. the glint. it was there. everyone else saw it but them. you could hear it in the silence, see it whenever they breathed around each other. it was painfully obvious. and so, the scheming had began from lyla, jacob, amelia, olivia, miguel, madeleine, becca, and brady.

trislynn 4life
becca 🌛 has added brady, miguel, olivia, jacob, lyla, madeline, and amelia to the chat!

becca 🌛:
ok LISTEN. everyone needs
to hear me out here before i
scream

brady:
the name??? i'm already
in.

madeleine:
she could be setting us up
for murder not getting our
favorite couple together.

brady:
i retract my last sentence

olivia:
OH MY GOSH
YES
PLS
IM TIRED OF THE 140K WORD
FRIENDS TO LOVERS SLOWBURN.

lyla:
part of me wants to block you
for that but honestly, you're real for this.

miguel:
😨

becca 🌛:
ANYWAYS. not murder. but HEAR ME OUT!

becca 🌛 has sent one attachment

becca 🌛:
this was them just a few days ago. i
have made my life goal to get them
together, and i need yalls help with this!!!!

miguel:
they make me sick to my stomach but sure
why not

becca 🌛:
BEFORE ANYONE CONTINUES...
the president needs to tell us if she
allows this or not

madeleine:
president?

becca 🌛 has added lynnie 🐋 to the
groupchat!

lynnie 🐋:
you're kidding.

becca 🌛:
PLEASE PONDER ON IT

lynnie 🐋:
THIS ISNT AO3 WHAT DO U THINK IS
GONNA HAPPEN??? HE COULD HATE
ME OR SOMETHING GUYS BE FOR REAL

jacob:
after that statement im begging YOU
to be for real.

amelia has changed her name to 'mels 🪱'

mels 🪱:
sorry i wanted to be included on the
emoji name. ANYWAYS, lynn he literally
chokes on his own spit whenever you
look at him.

madeleine:
and DON'T try to disagree it's so
painfully obvious like actually

lyla:
every time i see you two it makes me
ill to know you aren't together.

brady:
SPEED THE SLOWBURN UP ‼️

becca 🌛:
wait i have an idea
post on instagram. a little photo dump

lynnie 🐋:
why would i post on instagram i just did
like a month ago

becca 🌛:
raelynn.

⚪️⚫️⚫️

⚫️⚪️⚫️

⚫️⚫️⚪️

raelynn_lewis: feeling huah huah huahhhh recently (LET MY FAMILY GO BECCA!!!!!)

LIKED BY: tristanpravong, brady_hepner, amelia.johnson, olisokay, lylajoness, and 147 more.

OPEN COMMENTS

tristanpravong: hey can i have ur hand in marriage
^ raelynn_lewis: maybe 💯

lylajoness: tristan sleep with one eye open im gonna take ur girl
^ raelynn_lewis: mr steal yo girl!!!!
^ tristanpravong: lyla im in ur walls.

madeleinemcgraw: prettiest girl!
^ raelynn_lewis: i literally love you

user17: ew that lighting makes her look so bad

user9: what is this 🤣
^ user26: hey!! guess what!! ur gonna start coughing in 3 days. i'm behind you.

trislynn 4life

becca 🌛:
i deserve an award for this

lynnie 🐋:
he texted me and asked
if i wanted to hang out at the park later
WHAT DO I SAY BRO

jacob:
you can't be serious

madeleine:
SAY YESSSSS

lyla:
NOWS THE CHANCE GIRL GO

lynnie 🐋:
OKAY OKAY I TEXTED HIM AND SAID
SURE GOOD LORD
i'm gonna croak
i hate my life
this is so scary
IN SVARED OF MEN

brady:
you scare them too

lynnie 🐋:
this is how you get blocked

— THE GRASS CRUNCHED underneath her feet, a cold breeze blowing in as she walked past the sign of the park, looking around. the swings creaked, and she glanced at them, seeing the man she had found herself falling for after trying so hard not to feel anything for anyone. it never ended well when she did.

raelynn could only hope that maybe, just maybe, he would be the one, and she would be able to finally find the missing piece to her puzzle so it can finally be completed after so many years. after a few seconds (of what felt like an eternity,) she listens to the mulch underneath her shoes as she walks towards him, watching his head lift at the sound of her footsteps, and he nearly tripped trying to stand up to greet her. tristan quickly walked towards her, his arms wrapping around her neck, hugging her tightly.

of course, she hugged back, smiling a bit at how quick he was to hug her. "hi, tris." she murmured into his chest, pulling back to get a better view of him. he grinned down at her,  pulling her towards the swings. raelynn couldn't quite remember how long it had been since she last was on a swing, and if she even remembered how to swing despite it being an easy process, but she still followed along, sitting on the swing next to him.

she pushed her legs forward and then back, kicking the mulch underneath her, her fingers tightly gripping the metal of the swing. "what did you call me here for?" rae asked, observing him once he began to swing. she would stay low to the ground, and he would continue to amp in speed and height, finding it hilarious on how high he could go on a child's swing. she feared the wind would get too strong at some point and would be too loud for her to hear him, but she knew he wouldn't have invited her here if he knew the winds would get bad.

finally, he looked back over to her, parting his lips to speak. "i wanted to talk to you! you know, about everything." he stated, quickly darting his gaze back to the ground. rae watched his shadow move against the mulch, the street lamps being their only source of proper light. besides the moon, of course, but it didn't offer them much light even if they wanted it to. "i wanted to ask you something," tristan paused, slowing down as he came to a stop on the swing, clearly getting a bit nervous over this whole ordeal.

for what, she wasn't sure yet. only time would tell.

"well? go on. i'm listening." she replied, tilting her head to the side against the metal chain of the swing, silently hoping he would answer her soon. from the dim light, she could see his cheeks turn slightly red, and it began to dawn on her what was really happening behind those pretty eyes of his. what was going on in his mind that she couldn't see or hear without him voicing it, nonetheless acting on it like she hoped he would.

he was going to ask her out, wasn't he? raelynn bit the skin on her inner cheek, going over a thousand answers to stand with in her brain, to either protest against his words, or agree with them and go with whatever would spill out of his mouth like honey water out of a fountain. she waited.

but boy, the few words he said were the last things she hadn't prepared for.

"i think i'm in love with you?"

ruru speaks! 💤
this slowburn is making ME tired
and i'm the one writing it