9

Stella woke up to a pounding headache and the blinding glare of sunlight through unfamiliar blinds. Her mouth was dry, and her body felt like it had been hit by a truck. She blinked hard, trying to piece together where the hell she was.

The room was neat, but not in a cozy way—more like rich-kid sterile. She recognized this room. Her eyes landed on the framed photo on the dresser.

Oh God. She shot upright, heart skipping. This is Rafe's room.

Her stomach dropped. The night was a blur, but she was fully clothed in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants that were rolled in order to fit her waist, with a blanket half-tangled around her legs. She looked down—alone in the bed.

Then she heard a soft snore and leaned over the edge. There he was. On the floor. Passed out, arm over his face, sleeping peacefully.

Panic flared in her chest. Did she really just wake up in her best friends brother's bed? She climbed out as quietly as she could, tiptoeing across the room. She cracked the door open and slipped out into the hall.

The house was quiet.

She her way towards Sarah's room and froze when she opened the door. Sarah and Topper were tangled in the bed, a complete mess—hair everywhere, clothes nowhere, and legs spreaded on top of each other.

Stella blinked. "What the—"

Before she could back out, she turned and smacked straight into Kelce. He flinched. "Jesus." They both groaned, squinting at each other. "You good?" he rasped.

"Do I look good?" Stella croaked,

"Fair."

They just stood there for a second, too hungover to speak, too aware of everything that might've happened last night. "What time is it?" She finally asked, breaking the silence between them.

Kelce shrugged, "Check your phone, I can't find mine anywhere."

She patted the pockets of her sweatpants. Nothing. No phone. She patted again, harder this time, like that would change the outcome. Still nothing. "Seriously?" she muttered, exasperated.

Kelce squinted at her. "Whose clothes are you even wearing?"

She shot him a glare. "Don't even ask," she snapped, pressing her fingers to her temples like she could squeeze the headache out.

With a sigh, she turned back, dragging her feet toward Rafe's room like it was a walk of shame—even though nothing had happened. She pushed the door open slowly, trying to be quiet.

She spotted her phone on the nightstand. Carefully, she stepped over his arm and reached for it—

"Forget something?"

She yelped, nearly falling backward.

Rafe squinted up at her, groggy, voice still thick with sleep. "Fuck, Stella. Relax."

"Well, then don't sneak up on me like that," she muttered, grabbing her phone off the table with one hand placed on her heart dramatically.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his face. His hair was a mess, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke again. "You blacked out on the beach, and Sarah and Topper were already in her room—doing whatever... So I didn't know where else to take you."

Stella blinked, processing. "So you just... brought me here?"

"Didn't exactly have a lot of options." He yawned.

She stood there for a second, still awkwardly holding her phone. "Right."

Rafe leaned back on his elbows, still looking half-asleep. "You're welcome, by the way."

Stella rolled her eyes, trying to fight the heat creeping up her neck. "I didn't ask you to play babysitter."

Rafe smirked, unbothered. "Didn't have to. Watching you trip into the house last night was the best entertainment I've had all week."

She rolled her eyes again, clearly done with the conversation. "You're impossible." Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room, heading straight for Kelce who was across the hallway still rummaging for his phone.

His laughter echoed after her, but she didn't care. She had better things to do than deal with Rafe's crap.

Stella held the phone between her shoulder and ear, pacing across the room. "I'm fine, Mom. Really. I just ended up going home with Sarah, okay? It wasn't a big deal." She winced as her mom's voice carried through the receiver, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, I know it was stupid, but I'm fine. It's over now." She paused, listening, then sighed. "Yes, I promise I'll be careful. Okay, love you too." She hung up, tossing the phone onto the couch with a muttered groan.

She rubbed her forehead and muttered, "She's been on my ass more than usual lately."

Kelce, sprawled out on the couch and barely awake, raised an eyebrow. "What, doesn't your mom always gives you crap like that?"

Stella groaned, dropping her head back. "Yeah, but today she's extra on my case about last night. And I don't even remember half of it."

Rafe, lounging lazily by the window, chuckled. "Sounds like a typical Tuesday for you."

Stella shot him a look, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, well, you didn't have to deal with her this morning."

He smirked, completely unfazed. Sarah, who had been quietly listening, raised an eyebrow and spoke up. "Seriously though, what happened last night?"

Kelce snorted and shot her a teasing grin. "All I know is that Stella's fucking a Pogue."

Stella's jaw dropped, her face burning with embarrassment, not even remembering which Pogue she might've lied about. Sarah leaned in closer with a mischievous grin. "You have to tell me more about that."

"Later," Stella teased, before standing up and straightening her shirt. "I need to go home, I feel like shit."

Kelce, who had been lounging on the couch, groaned as he pushed himself up. "Same. I feel like I got ran over by a truck." He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair, then gave her a lazy grin. "I'll take you home, neighbor"

Stella shot him a grateful look as they both made their way out the door. The early morning air felt good against her skin, even if it only did so much to calm the dull throb in her head.

They piled into Kelce's beat-up truck, and the drive was quiet at first, the radio playing some old classic rock song that neither of them bothered to acknowledge. The sun was already high, and Stella just stared out the window, still trying to piece together the fragmented memories from last night. It didn't help that her brain felt like mush.

Kelce broke the silence. "So, seriously, what happened between you and Rafe last night? He just, like, disappeared after you guys... you know, got back to the house."

Stella's eyes flicked to him, her stomach twisting slightly. She wasn't sure how to explain it, considering how little she remembered. "I... don't really know. I mean, I kinda remember an argument, but that's about it." She winced, rubbing her temples. "Then we were just, like, laying out, watching the stars. And I guess after that, I blacked out or something."

Kelce raised an eyebrow. "Watching the stars, huh?" He glanced at her, amused. "You sure that's all you were doing?"

Stella shot him a side-eye, clearly trying to avoid the question. "It was just stars. That's all I remember, okay?"

Kelce snorted, but he didn't push it further. Instead, he shrugged. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you're not in his bed, huh?"

Stella let out a sharp laugh. "Ugh, don't even. I'm just trying to forget all of that."

"I wouldn't want to be in that bed either, I wonder how many girls have been in there..." Kelce pondered, taking a turn down their street.

Stella didn't respond, but she couldn't help but feel that weird mix of relief and confusion swirling in her chest. She was starting to wish she'd never let herself get caught up in whatever mess was going on with Rafe.

i didnt know what to write for this chapter so ummm bare with me