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

MESSAGES  |  PRIVATE
╭・␥ 📱 ★﹒not active

participants:
drew starkey   ⤑   drew.
saige halley   ⤑   S ❤️‍🩹

TODAY 4:09 AM

drew.
hey, baby.
i know it's been a while.
but i can't fucking sleep and i
can't stop thinking about you.
all the damn time, you're in my head.
please know that i never wanted to hurt you
or break your heart, and i hate that i did.
you didn't deserve any of it, okay?
delivered quietly

TODAY 4:20 AM

drew.
saige, i know you need space right now,
and i'm trying to respect that.
but i can't keep quiet anymore.
i need you to know that you matter to me, okay?
so much more than i ever showed.
delivered quietly

TODAY 4:29 AM

drew.
i'll give you the time you need, however long that is.
but please, promise me we'll talk.
i can't let this end like this.
i'm not letting this go.
i'm not letting you go.
delivered quietly

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

    Two weeks.

    Saige had promised herself she'd give it two weeks. But as the days dragged on, she realized those two weeks had already slipped through her fingers. Her resolve began to crumble, piece by piece, until it felt like all the pain had melted away, leaving only a hollow space filled with an overwhelming yearning for Drew.

    She couldn't deny it—she'd done everything she could to keep herself from going back to him. She threw herself into work, spent endless hours binge-watching movies with Raella (though they both agreed—no rewatching Outer Banks, despite it being their favorite ritual). She even restricted herself from buying iced coffee, as the simple act reminded her too much of the pain in his eyes when she'd turned her back on him two weeks ago.

    Two weeks without iced coffee felt like hell—but it was necessary. Though, no matter how hard she tried, Drew remained in the back of her mind, like an unfinished book, waiting to be read.

    And it didn't help that in those two weeks, he hadn't made it easy to forget him.
   
    Every day, without fail, something was waiting for her. An iced coffee left at her receptionist's table, accompanied by a sticky note in his messy handwriting: Your favorite. Hope it makes today a bit easier. I miss you. A bouquet of forget-me-nots, carefully handed over by Madison, at his request. And then, there were the emails and messages.

    Fucking emails! Who even does that?

    She'd unblocked him last week, and since then, not a day went by without him sending her a message. Not asking for forgiveness—just reminding her of her place in his life.

    She'd roll her eyes at it but deep down, she couldn't deny the flutter it caused in her chest. Saige would catch herself grinning like a lovesick teenager, realizing she missed the banter—the teasing, the playful smacks, the way she'd laugh at him for finally working up the courage to flirt with her.

    But she couldn't help but relish the thought of being sought after. After all, she had done the same to him, only to be hurt time and time again.

    Now standing in her kitchen, Saige stared at the latest delivery: a small, carefully wrapped box with a card attached.

    I miss you and our rooftop thing.

    Inside was a bracelet, its charm shaped like a star. Her heart clenched. Maybe the star was a symbol of all those nights spent beneath the midnight sky, talking, sharing moments that felt endless. She could feel her eyes sting, the weight of it all rushing back.

    She hated how desperately she craved his presence.

    Maybe two weeks had been enough. Enough waiting. Enough proving. Her resistance was weakening, and she longed to hear his voice again. Two weeks had felt like an eternity.

    "Another delivery?" Raella's voice broke through her thoughts, her tone dripping with amusement.

    "Yep." Saige sighed, quickly wiping away the tear that had slipped. "He's relentless."

    Raella paused, eyes narrowing with a smirk. "Ohhh, so you're telling me you're not enjoying this?"

    Saige walked over to the kitchen counter and sank onto the stool, her head dropping into her hands. "Is it bad that I feel bad for him?"

    "Nah," Raella snickered. "He's gotta grovel a lot harder if he wants to prove you're the one."

    "Maybe I am the one." Saige whispered to herself, almost too quietly to hear.

    "Are you insane?" Raella shot her a look, raising an eyebrow. "The guy's been drowning you in gifts for two weeks straight! Of course you're the one." She laughed, grabbing her bag of Lays from the cabinet. "And seriously, have you seen the messages he sent to me and Bailey? 'Please tell her I'm sorry. How is she? Is she at work now?'" Raella mimicked dramatically, her tone dripping with mockery. "He's completely whipped."

    Saige rolled her eyes at her cousin but couldn't suppress the smile tugging at her lips. "So, should I... go to him?"

    "Fuck, no!" Raella responded instantly, her tone firm. "Let him come to you, babe. You've already done enough chasing. Now, it's his turn."

    Saige nodded thoughtfully, her resolve firming. Just a moment later, Madison walked into the kitchen, waving her phone in the air.

    "Guys, Cline wants to have another movie marathon," she said. "Ya'll up for it?"

    Saige felt her throat tighten. A movie marathon with the OBX cast? And with Drew in the room? The thought was exciting, but it twisted something in her stomach. She hadn't seen Drew in two weeks. Now, she'd be in the same room with him—so close, yet painfully out of reach.

    "How 'bout you, Saige?" Madison asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

    She blinked, trying to steady herself. "Yeah, sure."

    "Oh my god!" Raella squealed. "She's gonna see Drew again!"

    Both Raella and Madison squealed in unison, caught up in the excitement. But then they turned serious, their attention shifting to Saige, who was wearing a smile she couldn't quite hide.

    "You sure you want that?" Madison asked carefully. "Seeing him again, I mean."

    "Yeah," she sighed. "I think two weeks of not talking to him or even talking about him has been pure torture." Saige pouted, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders.

It was as if, for the first time in a while, she felt like herself again—the girl who'd jump at any chance to talk about Drew, to tease him, to be around him.

    "Oh my god, yes!" Raella grinned. "There's our Saige!"

    Madison shot her a wink. "Come on, let's get ready."

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

    "Did she say Saige's going?" Drew asked Madelyn, who was deep in her TikTok rabbit hole.

    "Dude, you've asked me that three times. Three. And for the third time, yes," Madelyn groaned, not even looking up. "Go get ready or something, your girl's actually coming, not just in your dreams."

    "Fuck yes!" Drew practically yelled, jumping off the couch in excitement and nearly knocking over a glass on the coffee table. "Shit." He muttered, quickly steadying it.

    "Relax, man," Austin said with an amused grin, sipping his orange juice. "It's just Saige, not the queen."

    "She's the queen of his world." Madelyn added with a smirk, watching Drew recover from his near disaster.

    "Wait, I'll be right back. Imma shower." Drew said to both of them, already halfway to the door.

    He practically ran out of Madelyn's apartment and took the elevator down to his own unit. Two weeks without talking to or seeing Saige had been torture. Now, he was a bundle of nerves and excitement—like a puppy waiting for its owner to come home.
   
    But Austin was right.

    It was just Saige.

    Just Saige. And yet, his pulse quickened at the thought of seeing her again. She was the girl who stood by him, even when he didn't deserve it. The girl who could make him smile without even trying. And now? Now, he was certain about one thing: Saige was it for him.

    And he was going to prove it—no matter what it took.

GWYN'S NOTE.
ఌ︎
do ya'll forgive me now? <333