It happened on a Tuesday morning — the kind of morning where the sky was too bright and her coffee tasted too bitter. Olivia was curled up on the couch in her apartment, scrolling through her phone before heading out to a writing session.
A notification popped up: New post from PopBuzzCelebrity.
She almost swiped past it, but the headline caught her:
Joshua Bassett & Sabrina Carpenter spotted getting cozy in Los Feliz.
Her thumb froze.
She tapped before she could think twice.
The first photo was harmless enough — the two of them sitting outside a café, drinks in hand, sunlight catching in their hair. But the second... Sabrina leaning in, Joshua's smile soft, the kind of smile that always felt private when it was directed at her.
The article didn't say much — Disney stars seen together... could this be something more? — but the pictures didn't need words.
She told herself not to overthink. Maybe it was staged. Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe she was being ridiculous. But her chest still felt tight.
⸻
That afternoon, she was at a coffee shop with Iris Apatow and Madison Hu. The three of them were crammed into a booth, laptops open, pretending to get work done.
"Are you even listening?" Iris asked, nudging her foot under the table.
"Yeah," Olivia said automatically, eyes on her phone screen.
Madison leaned over, catching sight of the article still open in her browser. "Oof... so you saw it?"
Olivia exhaled slowly. "Yeah."
"They could just be friends," Iris offered gently.
"Mm," Olivia replied, noncommittal. She appreciated the effort, but the picture had already burned itself into her mind.
⸻
That night, she sat at the upright piano in her bedroom, the room dim except for the warm pool of light from her desk lamp. Her fingers moved across the keys without thinking, landing on a progression that felt fragile, like it might break if she played it too hard.
And I just can't imagine how you could be so okay now that I'm gone...
The lyrics weren't complete yet — just scraps and fragments. Lines about car rides and stoplights, about the sting of watching someone's life keep moving when yours is stuck.
She thought about the first time Joshua let her drive his car around the studio lot, laughing when she stalled. About the way his hand brushed hers when he passed her a guitar pick.
And then she thought about that photo — Sabrina leaning in — and her voice caught in her throat.
⸻
A few days later, they crossed paths on a street near the studio.
"You've been... distant," he said, falling into step beside her.
"Have I?" she asked lightly, eyes fixed ahead.
"If I did something—"
"It's fine, Josh." Her voice was steady, but her pulse wasn't.
He studied her face for a second, as if deciding whether to believe her, then nodded. "Okay."
She watched him walk away, wondering when okay started to feel so final.
⸻
That weekend, she stayed up past midnight, scribbling in her notebook. The words came faster than she could keep up with, spilling out in uneven lines and crossed-out phrases.
It wasn't just about Joshua anymore. It was about the helplessness of being left behind, of watching someone choose someone else, and the strange way the world kept turning anyway.
She didn't know it yet, but the song she was writing would leave her bedroom, cross oceans, and belong to strangers who'd never met her.
For now, it was just hers. The only place where the truth could live without being interrupted.
BINABASA MO ANG
Default Title - Write Your Own
Fanfiction📜 Description: In the golden haze of summer, Olivia and Joshua shared inside jokes, late-night drives, and melodies that felt like they belonged to only them. But when Sabrina enters the picture, their unspoken connection begins to unravel. Songs b...
