MIDNIGHT SKY.
﹆ . ⁺ . ✦ ﹒₊˚𓂃 ★﹒₊‧
⌞ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗒 .ᐟ ⌝

MESSAGES  |  PRIVATE
╭・␥ 📱 ★﹒active now

participants:
drew starkey   ⤑   future bf
saige halley   ⤑   saige

TODAY 1:07 AM

future bf
hi
aree yiu awakw?

TODAY 1:18 AM

saige
wth drew?
it's the middle of the night

future bf
can i see yoy?

saige
are you drunk?

future bf
np
ni
no

saige
bruh
where are you?

future bf
pook
pool
i want to see you
:(

saige
you big baby
i'm on my way

future bf
okay baby
😁

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Without much contemplation, Saige slipped off the shared bed with Madison, shoved on her slippers, and padded out the villa. The path to the resprt's pool was quiet, but the place was still buzzing with life. The soft hum of an acoustic band playing and the occasional splash reminded her the night was still alive, even if there were less people.

She hated how Drew had her heart in the palm of his hand. Even when she was hurting, one text from him was enough to pull her back, her resolve crumbling into nothing.

Her eyes swept across the pool area, searching for Drew. When she spotted him slumped on one of the lounging chairs, her breath hitched. He looked... broken. The glow of the pool lights illuminated the tired, almost distraught lines on his face.

"Hey," Saige's voice was soft as she walked over to him, taking the seat beside him. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Drew's head lolled toward her, his gaze glassy but intense. "I... I need to talk about earlier," he slurred. "I need to talk to you."

Saige held his gaze, as if urging him to go om. Drew looked back at her, his eyes filled with turbulence that it seemed to cloud the vivid blue of his irises.

He blinked slowly, his lips parting. "I just..." He mumbled. "I'm so... confused?" He added then let out a low laugh, like he was laughing at himself. His gaze drifted lazily to her, lingering in a way that made her heart race.

Saige quirked an eyebrow, trying to mask her unease with humor. "I can tell." She joked. "Want to tell me why?" She whispered softly.

His expression flickered, the laughter fading. "Daniela." He choked out. "She... she wants to talk. Fix things. Wants to... figure out what went wrong."

Saige's stomach dropped. The familiar ache settling in her chest as she fought to keep her expression neutral, even as nausea crept up her throat.

"That's..." Saige struggled to find the right words. "Great news?" She managed, her voice betraying her forced optimism.

Drew studied her, his eyes narrowing as if he was trying to read her thoughts. Then, he shook his head, rubbing his face with a groan. "I... I don't know, Saige." He dropped his head on his hands. "I keep going back and forth. I care about her—I do. But... I have you."

Saige froze. In that instant, it felt as though all her hope hope had condensed into a single, trembling thought—the question that she'd been asking herself all this time: Did he like me back? Her chest tightened, the weight of his words sinking into her.

"You don't have to worry about me, Drew." She finally replied.

"You don't get it,"  he muttered, his jaw clenching. "I care about you, Saige. More than I should. And... it's not fucking fair to you. None of it is."

Saige's heart beat faster, a mixture of confusion and hurt rising in her chest. "Is it the alcohol talking right now or is this Drew talking?" She asked, her voice steady, though her insides were anything but.

Drew blinked, almost surprised by the question. His gaze wavered, then finally met hers. "It's me." He murmured, though the unsteadiness in his voice made her unsure.

Saige didn't know what to feel anymore. His feelings, tangled up with confusion and alcohol, were almost impossible to navigate. She wanted clarity, something that could finally make sense of whatever it was between them.

Her mind drifted to what Jonah had said earlier that night—talk to Drew. Lay it all out. But how could she? How could she open up to him when he was a mess himself? How could she expect him to understand?

"It's just not fair." Drew mumbled once more, his eyes glassy as they locked on Saige, pain flickering between them. "To you."

"Stop telling me what's fair, Drew." Saige sighed, her frustration creeping into her tone. "Just be honest." It felt like she was begging now, desperate for the truth, for his confession, for something real.

Drew remained silent, the weight of unspoken words hung in the air between them. Saige then stood up abruptly from her seat, a wave of aggravation washing over her.

"If you just texted me to come here and not talk to me, then I'll go." She said, her voice barely above a whisper, before turning to leave.

Before she could take another step, Drew held her back. He was standing now, right in front of her, with the same turmoil in his eyes, this time, it was accompanied by something Saige couldn't quite place. Expectancy? Guilt?

"Please don't go." He whispered.

Saige let out a deep sigh, feeling a headache starting to form by his mixed signals. "I don't know, Drew. This is just as confusing for me as it is for you."

Drew slowly let his hand fall to his his sides. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Are you really?" Saige frowned. "Look... if you want her back, just do whatever you want." The words were like a punch to gut for her. "We both I'll still be here anyways." She added with a bitter laugh, though it was more of a sigh of resignation than anything else.

Drew frowned at that. "You'd be okay with us getting back together?"

"Do you want me to lie?"

"No."

"Then, no, Drew." Saige said quietly. "I can't keep pretending that this isn't hurting me, okay?" She paused, taking a shaky breath. "But yes, it's still your decision. So, I guess I'm just a fool for you because even if you'd hurt me, I'd still let you."

"I never wanted to hurt you, Saige." Drew said lowly, the weight of her words sinking in. "I didn't... I didn't know it would be like this. That we would end up like this. I thought—God, I thought you understood." He turned away from her, his figure radiating an irritation that only made the distance between them feel wider.

Saige's breathe was shallow as she watched him. She didn't trust her voice enough to respond so she watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose in distress.

"You knew," he turned to her, his eyes full of conflict. "You knew how messed up I was about her, and you still... God. Is this the reason why you wanted us to get closer? To make me fall for you?"

His words were like a slap to Saige's face that she couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes. "God, What? No, I did it because I wanted to show you that love doesn't have to be complicated! That it doesn't have to hurt!"

"That's the exact same thing, Saige!" Drew shook his head, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You don't get to do this," he said, his voice cracking, almost as if he was about to cry. "You knew what I was still dealing with, and you... you took advantage of that. You can't expect me to feel the same."

"I told you I wasn't expecting anything, Drew! I'm just—" She struggled, the lump in her throat tightening, on the verge of choking her. "I just thought maybe you felt it too."

"I do feel it, Saige." Drew exclaimed, his voice trembling. "Fuck, I do! But this isn't easy for me!" His words cut through her like a knife, sharper than she thought was possible. His gaze diverted to something in the beach, his jaw tightening, as if the answer he wanted to tell her was caught somewhere between his mind and his heart.

"You think this is easy for me?" Saige's gaze was steadied at him, her voice wavering. "I didn't ask for this," she choked out. She was trembling from the obvious cold of the midnight air and the hurt seeping through her skin. "I didn't want to fall for you even more than I already had but I did, Drew. Because I knew she was still in the picture. But it's not my fault that you treated me the way you did these past few weeks."

The silence only seemed to grow louder, drowning out the world around them, but Drew couldn't escape the truth in her words. She was right—he knew it. The past few weeks they had spent together hadn't just been something to him; they had been everything.

Every laugh they shared, every lingering touch, every moment he reached for her without thinking—it had meant more than he allowed himself to admit. He had told himself it was platonic, but the way he clung to her, the way her presence calmed the storm in his mind, betrayed the lie.

And now, staring at her under the midnight sky, he knew without a doubt: he had fucked up.

He exhaled shakily, his fists loosening as his gaze found hers. His expression was a storm of its own—confusion, regret, and something raw that he wasn't ready to name. His eyes betrayed him, screaming all the things he couldn't bring himself to say.

Saige stepped closer, her voice trembling but fierce. "I like you, Drew." Her eyes were glistening, and her words sliced through him like a blade. "And you can't possibly tell me that in those moments we've been spending together, you thought of her. Because it sure as hell didn't feel that way."

Her voice cracked on the last words, the weight of her vulnerability hitting him like a punch to the gut. Drew's breath hitched, the storm within him raging as he stared at her, water dripping from his face.

"So, there. I said it. I like you." Siage's voice wavered. "But if you have nothing else to say to me, then I'm leaving. Because this—whatever this is—is obviously not working. Not when she's still in your mind." Saige said, with a finality, before she turned to walk away.

Drew didn't realize what he was doing until it happened. One step, then another, and suddenly he was behind her, his hand reaching out to grab her arm.

"Wait." He said, his voice breaking.

Saige froze, her back stiff as she refused to turn around. Her eyes squeezed shut as if willing herself block out the pull of his presence. Because who was she kidding?

This was Drew fucking Starkey.

The guy who had her—every piece of her. Mind, body, and soul.

Drew stepped in front of her, his hands reaching up to cup her face, trembling as they brushed against her skin.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, his voice thick with regret. His gaze burned into hers, raw and unfiltered, his emotions spilling out in a way words couldn't convey.

And then, before she could respond, he kissed her.

It wasn't soft or hesitant—it was desperate, almost frantic, as if he was pouring every unspoken word, every buried feeling into that single moment.

His lips pressed against hers with an urgency that made her knees weak, and for a heartbeat, Saige froze, her throat closing up. Then, her hands instinctively found their way to his chest, clutching at his shirt as if anchoring herself to him.

When they finally pulled apart, Drew's forehead rested against hers, their breaths mingling in the cool night air. She stared at him with wide eyes, his thumbs brushing against her cheeks as though he was afraid she might vanish if he let her go.

"You're important to me," Drew admitted, his voice trembling under the weight of his words. "You make me feel alive, like I can finally breathe again. And I don't want to lose you, Saige. I don't think I could handle losing you."

His eyes searched hers, as if hoping she could somehow make sense of the storm raging within him.

"But I'm not gonna deny that... I still have this baggage," he continued, his voice breaking. "Things I can't seem to shake off, things that keep pulling me back no matter how much I want to let go. I don't know how to deal with it, Saige. And I don't know how to have you without hurting you in the process."

The silence between them felt suffocating, weighed down by what he was saying.

Saige's expression softened, her gaze steady but full of questions. She didn't interrupt, didn't fill the space with empty words, but her eyes held something that scared him as much as it comforted him: hope.

And it broke him, because he didn't know if he deserved it.

"I want to try," he whispered, his voice almost inaudible. "I want to try to be someone who can give you what you deserve. But I'm scared, Saige. Scared of failing you. Scared of losing you. Scared that... if I try to hold on to you now, I'll ruin everything."

Her breath hitched at the rawness in his tone, and she took a small step closer, as if the distance between them was unbearable. "Drew," she said softly, "you don't have to be perfect. I'm not asking for perfect. I just... I just want you to be honest—with me and with yourself."

Drew clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as if the pain could ground him. "I want you, Saige," he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. "But I don't know if wanting you is enough when I still have all this... weight holding me down."

The honesty in his words was a double-edged sword, and Saige felt the sting of it even as her heart swelled with his confession. "Then let me help you carry it," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You don't have to do this alone, Drew."

He shook his head, his jaw tightening. "I don't want to drag you into my mess. You deserve more than that. More than me."

"Stop deciding what I deserve," she sighed. "You don't get to push me away because you're scared, Drew. I'm here because I want to be. Because I want you."

Her words struck him like a bolt of lightning, leaving him raw and vulnerable. He looked at her, standing there with every ounce of her heart laid bare, and for the first time, he allowed himself to believe—just for a moment—that maybe she could handle his broken pieces.

But the fear lingered, gnawing at him. Because as much as he wanted to believe, the weight of his past still overshadowed everything he could offer her.

GWYN'S NOTE.
ఌ︎
guys, saige having a weak spot for drew represents me because if this were me and drew did this, i'd still want him. i live for the pain, obviously.

also, would you guys read a rafe cameron au fanfic of mine? let me know 'cuz i might have something in mind :)

anyways, don't be a silent reader plz!!! TYSM FOR 12K YA'LL R INSANEEE ILY