the afternoon sun cast long shadows in the living room as matt and bella sat on opposite ends of the couch, a palpable tension hanging in the air between them. it had started as a minor disagreement—something about dirty dishes and chores—but it had quickly spiraled into a massive fight that had exposed their insecurities and long-held grievances.

the silence was sickening. and arabella's brain was running a million miles per minute and her heart raced as she replayed the words that had cut deeper than any knife.

"maybe i should've just gotten with aria instead," matt had said in a moment of anger, his face twisted with frustration.

"i mean, we all know that for one, she's prettier, she knows how to clean the house, and she is a good kisser."

"matt how do you even know that?"

"you don't need to know bella. it's not that serious anyway."

the moment the words left his mouth, silence engulfed the room, heavy and suffocating.

aria, arabella's younger sister, had always been the "perfect" one in their family's eyes—bright, bubbly, and effortlessly charming. very classy, and was able to please everyone who ever lied eyes on her. arabella, on the other hand, often felt like she had to prove herself.

matthew's offhand comment struck a chord that reverberated through her very core.

as bella's thoughts ran through her head over and over again, repeating matt's horrible words, she couldn't help but cry.

"why would you say that?" bella asks.

"i'm not lying" matt says. "she's prettier than you anyway"

"okay matt— cut the bullshit." bella demands.

"there is no bullshit" matt says, walking out of his house, slamming the door.

as bella begins to cry harder than she ever has, she hears someone run down the stairs of the sturniolo household.

"oh shit— belly what's wrong?"

nick was always here for bella.
since arabella had met the triplets in 4th grade, and bella had been the first person nick had came out too, they had a bond as close as anyone could have. nearly as close as nick had had with his brothers, but with a friend, in a fully platonic manner.

"oh—nick- it's nothing. it's just been a long day" bella says, wiping off the mascara that had previously been rolling down her cheeks.

"bell, i've known you since we were like fetus's. what is wrong. nothing isn't an answer anymore."

as bella explained what had just happened between her and matt, nick had grown more and more frustrated.

"we were talking about the dishes in the sink, and the  messy floor in his room, and stuff like that, and i apparently set him off... i must've said something wrong. i—i don't know nick. but he got so mad... he started yelling at me, and saying how aria would do the things that i can't do, and then—then- he said that he wishes he got with ari instead of me." bella says, breaking down on the last sentence.

"oh my fucking god. i'm going to kill him." nick says, cracking his knuckles.

"and it's never his fault... what a coincidence."

( , AUTHOR'S NOTE ————! ★彡 , )——————PLEASE READ!!
————————— . . . ( ,DISCLAIMERS ! ' )
[] WARNINGS . . . this book will contain strong language, personal challenges, sad scenes, and intimate scenes.

[] DISCLAIMERS . . . characters in these books are owned!! do not steal them!! I tagged the owners of the designed characters!! (note: i do NOT own matthew sturniolo or any other characters who could be added.)

  [] COPYRIGHT. . . new characters that have been added through applications will be owned by that specific person. i mentioned the creator. please do not steal my plot idea for from the dining table (this story) or the plot to meet me in the hallway (the sequel to this story.)

[] CREDITS/SHOUTOUTS. . . n/a

[] INFORMATION. . .. heyyy!! i hope you enjoy this first official chapter of FTDT!! next chapter will add on more to this sad matt and bella drama..
and you will also be introduced to some of the other characters including: april, aniyah, and asher!! (i just realized that all of their names start with the letter a lmaoo)
also i'm sorry this first chapter is kind of short, i promise they will eventually get longer as the story grows!!
——————————————————————word count: 715
©-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫, 2024