*stephanie's pov*
i woke up to the smell i could only know to be pancakes. i opened my eyes and looked around to see myself in a bed that was probably brennen's, because there was a star wars blanket draped over the window on the opposite side of the room. i stretched and stepped out of bed, my jeans and shirt still on from last night.
all the events filtered back into my mind, but i pushed them away.
breakfast first.
i walked out the door and into the kitchen to see a girl with brown hair and tan skin flipping pancakes.
was that- oh, that was brennen's sister.
"hey! come sit down, brennen will be back soon," she smiled warmly.
"you're brennen's sister, right?" i asked, my voice raspy.
"yeah, i'm jessica. you can call me jess." she walked over and handed me a plate of pancakes, then sat down across from me on the couch.
"where'd brennen go?" i said, shoving my mouth with the pancakes she made- which were so fucking good, by the way.
"he went out to ralph's to grab a few things, he should be back any second now," as she replied, the door clicked and we heard it open, "that's him."
brennen came through the kitchen door and smiled comfortingly.
"hey steph, hi jess!" he said softly, coming to sit next to me with his ralph's bag.
"what'd you buy?" i asked, taking another bite of my breakfast. all that was on my mind was colby right now, but i kept trying to block it out. i had to stop.
"i got you some stuff," he answered, "chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream because that's your favorite, a stuffed giraffe because you love them too, and i threw in some brennen merch because you didn't get yours yet." he smiled, pulling out all the stuff he brought me.
"thank you so much brennen, but why'd you buy me all this and give me your merch and stuff? you didn't have to waste money on me," i hugged him tightly.
"well, i know you're sad about, um... you know who, and this is all the stuff sam told me you liked. i wanted to try and make you feel a little better."
"you're so cheesy. haha, thank you," i chuckled, pulling on his original maroon brennen sweatshirt.
"well on that note, i'm gonna get going, mom needs me back home. i'll see you later brennen, bye steph!" jess got up and waved goodbye, then left through the front door.
"why was she here?" i turned back to him.
"because i didn't want you to be alone while i was gone," brennen smiled again.
god, why is he being so nice?
"okay, brennen. cut the crap. why are you treating me so nicely? did you do something wrong?"
his face dropped, and then his voice became more sad and quiet.
"i just didn't want you to be so hurt about what happened with colby last night."
why would he even care? i'm not worth all that trouble.
"well, i appreciate that, but you don't have to worry. i'm hurting, sure, but you don't have to go through the trouble to help me,"
"of course i do, steph, are you fricking nuts? you're one of my closest friends, i love you, all i want to do is help," he said loudly, "i'm sorry. i just wish you wouldn't think that you aren't worth caring about."
my heart swelled up a bit when he said that. the only other person who ever said that was colby.
"i'm sorry, i'm being a jerk. i'm just angry." i hugged him one more time before i knew we'd have to talk about what happened.
the second i pulled away, he gave me the "it's time" look, and my throat closed up. how could i possibly explain it?
"uh-ahem, okay, uh, well i had- i had lost colby about an hour earlier. i was looking forever until i found a room on the other side of the house. i walked into it, and there he was, making out w-with-" i choked up, beads of tears starting to form in my eyes.
god, i'm so weak.
"shh, it's okay, steph. it's okay," brennen grabbed my hands and held them.
"so you saw colby kissing corinna?" he asked.
"yes."
"or did you see corinna kissing colby?"
what?
what does that even mean?
"what are you trying to say?"
"you don't think maybe it was corinna's fault that this happened?" he suggested calmly.
"corinna? what do you mean? i don't even know her, and colby was drunk. he knew i wasn't enough for him, so he turned to corinna instead." i replied, becoming more confused by the second.
"that's not it at all, steph. listen- i know corinna, and i almost dated her. she cheated on me with a handful of guys behind my back."
"what?" my body boiled. she cheated on brennen? what kind of bitch is this girl?
"yeah. i think that corinna may have tricked colby before he knew what was happening. he wouldn't go to her for anything, you mean too much to him. he knows what she did to me. and he was drunk, remember? he probably didn't understand what was happening until it was too late." brennen said, and my brain switched perspectives.
it all makes sense.
colby didn't know what corinna was doing, she did it in purpose. she knew he had a girlfriend.
colby didn't know what to do, and i screamed at him and pretty much told him that he broke my heart.
oh my god, i'm such a bad girlfriend.
"but why would corinna do that? does she even know who i am?" i asked, my head and my chest aching.
"probably not. but she knew colby had a girlfriend, and she likes to ruin relationships," brennen nodded.
"oh my god, i wouldn't let him explain, i yelled at him, i screamed at him, fuck, this is all my fault, oh no-" i started to ramble, but brennen cut me off.
"this isn't your fault at all. you saw colby and another girl kissing and you assumed he was cheating, but you didn't really know. you were pissed, that's totally okay."
"but brennen, i told him that i thought he didn't love me anymore."
"you think that's true?" he chuckled quietly, "no. steph, he still loves you. he never stopped. you were both just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
fuck.
"damnit, brennen, i probably broke his heart."
"you still love him?"
"yes, you idiot. he's- he's the love of my life." my heart skipped a beat, but also made me want to punch myself for saying it.
"do you want me to tell him that?"
"what would it change?"
"everything."
•••
*colby's pov*
i looked in the mirror after i got out of bed.
i had dark purple bags under my eyes from getting twenty minutes of sleep, my lips and skin were dry from all the crying i did, and my head felt like a hurricane of pain from my major hangover.
god, i look like shit.
oh well.
i walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs to the kitchen, where i found sam sitting and eating taco bell with aaron, corey, and elton.
"it's 2 in the afternoon, did you just wake up?" corey asked.
"wow, you look like shit." elton said abruptly.
"thanks." i replied rudely.
"elton, stop," sam punched elton's arm and got up, walking over to me, "how are you feeling, colby?" sam asked, the only sincere one so far.
"well, i have a hangover and my heart is broken, so, i guess like crap." i said sarcastically, only loud enough for him to hear.
"i talked to brennen today, and he told me how stephanie was doing,"
"h-how is she? how much does she hate me?" my eyes widened, my heart breaking at the worst possible things she could be feeling towards me.
god, i love her so much. why'd i have to go and ruin it all?
"she doesn't, actually." he answered.
"what? of course she does, she thinks i cheated on her," i said, a little loud, but the other guys didn't raise their heads.
sam grabbed my arm and dragged me into the living room, away from the others.
"brennen told her corinna did it."
it felt like a lightbulb had turned on above my head. of course he knew, why didn't i think of that? after corinna cheated on him, we both discovered the kind of girl she was.
"oh." was all i could say.
"she said she still loves you." sam grabbed my shoulders.
she said she still loves you.
my heart blew up like a balloon, and my head spun harshly, but this all felt good.
stephanie still loves me?
after all the pain and heartache i must have caused her, after all the trouble she's been through with and without me-
she still loves me?
"what do i do?"
"i think you know." sam smiled at me.
"it's not too soon? this all did just happen last night,"
"no, i don't think it is."
i nodded, a smile growing on my lips, and i ran upstairs quickly.
i changed out of my sweatpants and into my black jeans. i threw on my periwinkle sweatshirt, because that's stephanie's favorite color.
i wore my vans and my beanie, because she said i looked cute in them one time.
i ran out of the house without saying goodbye, and i raced down the traffic-filled parkway in my corolla to make my way to brennen's house. i called brennen while i did.
"hey, colby." he answered after the first few rings.
"she said she still loves me, right?" i asked, hope filling my lungs.
"yes, she did," i could hear him smile on the other end of the line.
"leave your front door unlocked." i hung up and made the turn into his neighborhood. the second i saw his apartment, i pulled up and practically ran out of the car and darted up his stairs.
i stopped in front of his front door, gaining back some breath and trying to hike up my confidence, or whatever was left of it.
she still loves you, i replayed sam's words in my head as i pulled out my phone.
i texted brennen:
colby: what is she doing right now?
brennen: she's watching the nightmare before christmas, lol
colby: will she talk to me?
brennen: i think she will. just get your ass in here, i can't see her sad anymore.
i turned off my phone and slid it in my back pocket. i twisted the doorknob and the door swung open, leaving me with no choice but to go inside.
i came in and closed the door behind me, and brennen stood in the kitchen. he hugged me and gave me a smile of reassurance, and i walked over and opened the kitchen door.
i saw a head of short brown hair turn, and those eyes that i miss for too long met mine.
"h-hi." i said quietly as i walked over to the couch where she sat in her jeans from last night and brennen's sweatshirt, eating a tub of ice cream.
she didn't reply.
i took her tub of ice cream and put it on the table, then i grabbed her hands and lifted her off of the couch.
her legs went wobbly as she stood, her eyes wide and her face pale and scared.
"i know it's kind of early for me to be here," i started, "but i couldn't help it."
she nodded, still scared and eyes bulging like a deer in headlights.
"stephanie, if there's anything i could possibly do to make this right, i'd do it in a heartbeat; but right now, all i can do is look you in the eyes and promise you that i did not kiss corinna. she kissed me while i was drunk, and i didn't know it was happening until it did."
she nodded again.
"please say something," i pleaded. her silence was deafening.
"i'm so sorry." she said, starting to cry.
"me too," i did the same.
it was like a movie "que the music" kind of moment.
•••
(third person)
they both went in for a kiss at the same time, and as their lips touched, the spark was stronger than it ever had been before.
the passion was stronger than it ever had been before.
everything just became stronger.
her lips tasted like ice cream and tears, and his tasted like home.
her skin was soft and delicate, and her body melted into his touch.
she fell apart in his arms, but at the same time, she was slowly being put together again.
her embrace mended his heart like a permanent bandaid, and the bond that they just created wasn't one to be broken.
people could try.
storms and fires and lightning strikes could try.
knives and swords and guns could try-
but nothing would ever break these two apart.
there's always been an underlying faith in both of their hearts, after everything they have gone through, from love and happiness to pain and loss and suffering.
that faith was in each other.
that faith was in love.
and if true love really does exist, they shared it.
and the existence of that true love would never falter.
•••
*stephanie's pov*
i pulled away from him, lightheaded. my eyes searched inside his blue, pool-like irises to find nothing but a look of hope.
"it's only been about 11 hours without you and i was already broken," he chuckled to himself and he held my hands.
"same here."
"i'm sorry i hurt you." he apologized.
"i'm sorry i hurt you," i repeated.
he wiped away my remaining tears with this thumbs and kissed my lips again.
"i love you with everything i have," he smiled, butterflies rooting themselves in my stomach.
"so, what are we going to do about corinna?" i asked.
________________________________
(AN: HEYO ANOTHER UPDATEEEE
probably bc i won't update for a little while bc school starts again tomorrow fuck
but wowie they got back together quick! i guess true love can't wait 💓
i hope you guys liked this chapter!
what do you think they're gonna do about corinna? let me know in the comments !!
i love you guys so much, thank you for supporting me and reading this chapter.
i'll see you in the next one !!!!!