it can't be too good to be true, could it?

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five days after outer banks season one premiered on netflix, director jonas pate already emailed his first drafts and ideas for the second season.

the show had been an instant success, both due to the brilliant production and the fact that everyone in the world was forced to stay home and watch television.

three days after the united states went into mandatory lockdown because of growing coronavirus cases and serious risks to public health, elle constantly watched the local news channel to track the amount of cases soaring in a bright red line on a graphic.

she's thankful that her boyfriend and her friends were safe as they were all quarantining in her large apartment. her and drew shared a bedroom, rudy and austin shared the couch— and, surprisingly, chase and madelyn shared the guest bedroom.

derrielle had been so busy with her and drew's relationship that she had gotten so blind to the signs of the budding romance between the cast mates. she's happy for them, they're adorable.

her phone buzzes on the couch cushion next to where she's perched, distracting her worried mind with something to do in these troubled times.

new message! 6:21 pm.
JONAS PATE
hello elle! i hope you are doing well and are safe and healthy. i know we all need something to distract us during these troubling times, so i just emailed you some ideas for season two!

🤫🤫DO NOT TELL THE CAST 🤐 i don't want to get their hopes up in case netflix doesn't renew it.

read over it and let me know what you think.

ELLE JOHNSON
hello jp! i hope you and your family are safe as well!

JONAS PATE LOVED THIS MESSAGE at 6:28 pm.

thank you for sending me this, it's just what i needed.
i'll give you feedback asap.

✍︎︎

car horns blare from the urban city life below, startling the writer from her concentration. the glass door of the balcony was open for ventilation into the shared apartment. it was a good idea at first, but now, she's regretting the noise pollution.

elle looks up at the time on her computer screen, only an hour has passed, dinner should be ready soon.

drew and austin planned on hosting a bbq for dinner on the roof of derrielle's building, that way they don't have to worry about disrupting their quarantine or bother any of the neighboring tenants due to boys' rowdiness.

it was derrielle's place before they all moved in.
they gotta respect the rules, drew made sure they would.

"dinner's almost ready, derry!" the actor calls to her from the rooftop.

elle smiles to herself, thankful she didn't close it. "okay! just let me finish skimming this one section!" she laughs, realizing that she'll have to tell him what she was reading later. sorry, pate.

"why don't you just text her?" chase asks, eyebrows raised as he laughs at his friend.

"she's right downstairs," he shrugs, taking a sip of his ipa as he makes his way from the edge, and towards the grill where austin and maddie were cooking. "besides, i don't have my phone on me. i'm trying to take a break from tech."

"what's she doin' anyway?" rudy asks, pulling out a beer from its package on a nearby table.

"reading something," drew bites his lip as a warm smile creeps onto his face. it always shows up when he's thinking about her.

"at least she's not looking at the news, that's a good sign," mads chimes in, knowing that he was worried about derry's unhealthy fixation on the influx of COVID cases.

drew nods, putting down his drink and helping austin layout the barbecue chicken.

"do you want me to go get her?" madelyn asks, as she's been done setting the outdoor table.

"sure, thanks sis."

"no problemo, drewsky," the blonde salutes the boys good-bye, races back into the building and into their apartment.

✍︎︎

"hey, dj? where are you?" maddie calls out to her best friend in the living room as she pulls on a sweater from her bedroom. "it's time for dinner! austin made us popcorn chicken, he swears it's a family recipe but i think that's bullshit."

her eyebrows furrow as there is no reply back, just silence swarming her eardrums. it automatically forces the actress to search the apartment in concern. "elle? c'mon! this isn't funny."

"mads, i'm in here," derry answers, unlocking the single bathroom door with a worried expression on her face. "sorry, i just needed a minute alone."

"are you okay?" maddie asks, noticing how red derrielle's eyes were from crying. "what's wrong?"

"nothing," she shrugs, walking out of the bathroom with a frustrated sigh. "i'm just stressed."

"don't tell me you were looking at those numbers again."

"no. no, i wasn't," elle shakes her head, her feet carrying her back to where she ran away from even though her heart couldn't take it anymore.

"you better not be lying to me," madelyn scolds, following her best friend into the open floor plan. "you know, drew's getting really worried about you. we all are."

"i know that, but you guys don't have to be," elle turns, posting herself up on a nearby wall. "and i'm really excited for dinner. lemme just charge my computer in the kitchen."

"nah ah!" the actress yells, holding up her pointer finger into the air as she remembers what her brother on set said ten minutes earlier. "new rule: no more tech."

quickly stepping into the kitchenette, maddie's eyes flock to the stickered-computer case left ajar on the granite countertop. the white sliver of screen luring the girl like flies to a bright light.

"mads, no!" elle yells for her to stop but it's too late.

madelyn quickly opens the laptop, her triumphant smile falling as she realizes it wasn't a virus case tracker, it was a secret document. her mind rereading twelve words over and over again as she tries to figure out what the hell is going on.

THERE WILL BE A LOVE INTEREST
FOR RAFE CAMERON IN SEASON TWO.

END OF ACT ONE.
✍︎︎

fez speaking!!

dun dun dunnnn. 😈😭😫🥺

sorry if it's shorter than you expected,
only 1075+ words.

WOWWW. I CANNOT BELIEVE
WE MADE IT TO THE END OF ACT ONE
HOLY SHITBALLS

TYTY THANK YOU FOR 67K READS
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH <33
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