* 𝓵𝓾𝓼𝓱 / 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖 .

deep down, harlow knew that this guy had done nothing wrong. not 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎, anyway. he hadn’t cheated on anyone, but he was definitely a heartbreaker. which wasn’t a good thing 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇. hearing how much pain her new friend had been in when he had ended things, was why harlow was 𝒹𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 this. she swallowed & looked at andrè, who walked past the group in the hallway & her 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀 eyes followed the male’s every move as he continued forward. if it hadn’t been for her friends asking her to do this, she most likely wouldn’t have spoken to him. not because he wasn’t handsome, but because he 𝒹𝑒𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎 was, but she had a feeling the two of them were pretty different. 

she raised an eyebrow at the male & the words coming from his lips. crossing her arms over her chest, she tilted her head a little to the side. “ 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎, a ) i didn’t think you did & b ) i was just here to check if you were doing okay, ” she replied, shrugging her shoulders deciding to use the “ i don’t believe the rumours ” card. “ but you know 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉, babe? if you’re going to be rude about it, i’m going to just leave you alone, ” she said, turning on her heels to 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒, hoping that it would catch his attention somehow. that it would make him curious enough to talk to her; to tell her to stay or 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 like that. 

         if only she was not seen with his ex, then maybe he would have had a better disposition around her. that and maybe if she had NOT caught him at the wrong time, then maybe, just maybe he would have been nicer to her. he was extremely cautious about dating girls within the same groups so he had always been unpleasant whenever it came to his exes’ friends. not that she would be interested in him but what purpose could she possibly have with him if not a, to date him, or b, tell him he’s an asshole. either way, those two choices were more than the chances of her asking him to be her friend. 

          the words she had uttered had taken him aback, the femme gaining her classic confused look, eyebrows scrunches, mouth agape, brain trying to connect as to why she would be doing the almost non existent third option.     “ you - what? ”    he let out, almost a whisper, letting the girl continue her tirade at him for being rude. it took a few moments for the other’s words to sink in on him and he had decided that maybe, he didn’t need another woman to curse at him, this time, for no particular reason.    “ wait. ”    he let out, sighing in the process, now he feels like he owes her.     “ i’m sorry. it’s just been rough. ”    he excused himself lamely, not that it mattered, it was an attempt to make her understand anyways.     “ maybe we can try again? ” 

in the years after callie had left him, a lot had changed for topher, his daughter, diana, had moved out on her own, he had gotten tenure at work, he had adopted a dog - plenty of positive things, and yet, there was still something missing. closure, perhaps. he never could quite put his finger on why callie had just disappeared like that. thins were going well for them, better than well, really. things were great, at least he thought that they were. maybe he had been wrong all along. 

the last person he expects to see on his doorway that night is her, gently nudging the excited dog away as he opens the door, only to resist the urge to slam it again. “uh…hi?” for a minute topher’s sure he’s hallucinating, blinking a couple of times. “what are you doing here?”

            by now, she was sure that topher has caught callie’s attention, the child staring at him as the two of them were busy in their own worlds - or maybe it was just charlaine who was. she was pretty sure the aura would be awkward but his question drove a knife through that expectation and for some reason, charlaine open her mouth then close it again, unable to find the right words to answer his painfully straightforward question.     “ uh... ”      she released, she was pretty sure she was making a fool of herself and was kind of tempted to just tell him she made a mistake and run off. but running off once was enough, she had to stay now.    “ is it alright if we come in? ”    her voice was soft, almost shy even, guilt lacing her tone as she knew that she deserved a no from him.

jakob was both happy and sad when cassandra had told him about her plan to move across the country. he, of course, was happy for her, but sad for himself, knowing how much he’d miss her. the two of them had been best friends for as long as he could remember, and he couldn’t imagine not having her in his life. even though jakob knew that they’d still stay in touch, it didn’t feel like it’d be the same. they’d make it work though, they always did.

jakob isn’t sure what time it is when he rolls over to find the other side of his bed empty, frowning to himself as he sits up. “cassandra?” he calls out, but gets no answer. getting up, the blonde rubs his eyes, wandering across the room to find her sitting at his balcony. “what are you doing up? is everything okay?” he asks, studying her face. “you know you can stay in bed with me, right? you don’t have to sleep here.” 

          cassandra was so lost in the moment that she did not notice him stir. only when he had spoken her name did she break her thoughts and let her eyes focus on him shifting from the bed until their eyes met. she gives him a small smile as he rises, her eyes trying to take in his view in the moonlight. she chuckles at his concern, shifts his body so that she was facing him and her feet were on the floor.     “ everything’s good. just couldn’t sleep fully. i guess i’m still feeling a little bit... ”     she paused for a bit, her feet shuffling,     “ ecstatic for being here. ”     she gave him a grin, then she proceeds to set her cup on the sill, and walked towards him.      “ you should go back to bed. i’ll join you shortly. ”     she says, caressing his cheeks.