𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚢 ~ 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐲

𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎

"guys this is Riley and today's her birthday" Austin said excitedly. "Riley, those are Maddie, Chase and Drew!" the two guys wished me "happy birthday" in sync, cheerfully, as Drew walked out of the room angrily, slamming the door. "what was that about?" Maddie frowned, pointing at the door. Austin and Chase looked at each other in confusion, shrugging their shoulders.

i quickly got out of the bed "that's on me" i said, causing them to set their eyes on me. "what? you two know each other?" Austin asked in disbelief, his blue eyes scanning every movement i made as i picked up my clothes off the floor and rushed  to the bathroom to quickly dress up. i could barely hear their whispers from the other side of the door.

by the time i came out of the bathroom, they quit talking and their eyes were all set on me. "can you please tell me what's going on between you and Drew?" Austin pleaded. i sighed "absolutely nothing. we used to date, but i haven't seen him for years" i explained. Austin sighed, i couldn't tell if he was relieved by my answer or not.

"now i really have to go, thank you for everything Austin. guys, it was nice to meet you" i said before making my way out of the door, leaving them with an extremely confused look on their faces.

without even realizing it, i was running through the hallway. but before i could reach the elevator, i bumped into someone. i looked up to meet two blue familiar eyes."running away, very Riley of you" he said sarcastically.

i rolled my eyes "as far i can remember, you're the one who ran away earlier" i teased him. he shook her head "really Riles? Austin?" he let out a bitter laugh. "i met him last night and i didn't know he was your friend until i saw you this morning" i said coldly.

"mmh, thank you. that makes everything less awkward" he said sarcastically. i crossed my arms over my chest, visibly annoyed by his demeanor.

"what happened to your hair?" he questioned, referring to my now pink hair. i chuckled at his question, last thing i was expecting was a question about my hairstyle.

"i dyed it. you know what they say, women change their hair to get over a breakup" i joked. "did it work?" he questioned with a rather more serious voice. i shook my head in response, looking down.

"how are you doin?" he asked truthfully, surprising me. "i had sex with a stranger the night of my 21st birthday because my best friend dumped me in the middle of the night. i think i'm living my best life!" i joked and he laughed. god, i missed his laugh. it took everything in me not to tell him. "Miles is here?" a hint of excitement in his voice. "i wish he were. i'm here with my college friend, Emily" i explained and he nodded, looking away.

"i'm sorry for yelling at you. i'm not mad about you and Austin, i just wasn't expecting to see you like that after almost three years" he said softly after moments of awkward silence "but i'm totally okay if you want to, uhm, date him i guess" he said, scratching his neck embarrassed.

i laughed bitterly "thanks but i'm not interested in a relationship at the moment" as my phone started buzzing, indicating that someone was calling me. "sorry i gotta take this" i said, pointing at my phone. he nodded "when are you leaving?" he questioned. "tomorrow" i said before picking up the phone as he walked away, probably going back to Austin's room.

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after leaving Austin's hotel, i took a taxi and i got back to mine to meet Emily. she apologized for dumping me yesterday, blaming it alcohol but honestly i wasn't paying her enough attention by as my mind was somewhere else. since i met him, i couldn't get him out of my mind. there were too many things i wanted to ask him. how was his life, where he was staying, how he met his new friends, if he was seeing someone, if sometimes he wondered about me.

suddenly my phone buzzed, pulling myself off my thoughts. i checked it and there was an instagram notification.

INSTAGRAM
austinnnorth55 followed you.

austinnorth55
hey

rileycarson
hey!

austinnorth55
i swear i'm not a stalker
drew gave me your instagram
i was wondering since it's your bday if you wanted to join us tonight in chase's hotel room
we're throwing a 'party' tn for rudy's bday

rileycarson
r u sure drews ok with that ?

austinnorth55
yup. he told me that he was good with it

rileycarson
k then
can i bring my friend?

austinnorth55
ofc. room 367
se u there at 7pm?

rileycarson
yeah

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"are you sure you wanna go?" Emily questioned as we were in the elevator, heading to Austin's hotel "i mean, you clearly aren't over him". "Em, i want to. i miss him to much to miss this chance. he even unblocked me on instagram after almost three years" i mumbled. "woah, that's progress" she said sarcastically, causing me to hit her arm playfully "i just don't want you to get heartbroken again" she said softly. i gave her a hint of a smile "i'll be fine" i reassured her.

by the time we arrived at the hotel, Austin was waiting for us seated in a sofa in the hall. "he's waiting for you... how cute" Emily chuckled. i rolled my eyes before i stretching my hand as a gesture for him to see us. as soon as he noticed me, he moved over towards us "hey!" he grinned, hugging me like we were close friends. "this is Emily. Emily, this is Austin" i introduced them to each other and we quickly exchanged a few words before heading to room 367.

inside their room there were less people than i had expected. i quickly recognized Maddie and Chase, talking with another blonde guy. then there were other four boys dancing in the middle of the room. Drew was seated in the bed laughing with a brunette with a drink in his hand. my heart clenched as i internally prayed that she wasn't his girlfriend. Emily was right, coming here was the dumbest idea ever.

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