The house was quiet, except for the soft hum of the oven preheating. The evening air was thick with the scent of freshly cut grass, filtered through the kitchen window. Clara and Raya stood side by side, their hands dusted with flour as they worked on a batch of cookies. Their conversation had stalled after a few tentative attempts, and the air between them felt heavier than it should. Clara, normally vibrant and easy to talk to for Raya, was unusually silent. Her eyes occasionally drifted toward the mixing bowl, but her mind was elsewhere.
Raya, who could usually read Clara like an open book, was aware of the tension but didn't know how to approach it. She had seen the way Clara looked after the party, and felt the energy shift in the car as the night had progressed. But now, Clara seemed more distant than ever, or rather, in her own space. It was as though a wall had gone up between them, and Raya wasn't sure how to tear it down.
"So…" Raya began, trying to sound casual as she worked the dough, "you think Isaac will be okay?" Clara looked at Raya with a sassy face. "Right right, no Isaac talk, Just cookie making, sorry" Raya apologized sarcastically. Clara didn't say any words. She pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her eyes focused on the dough. She could feel the weight of the question, and she could also feel Rayas gaze piercing the side of her head.
"He'll be fine," Clara muttered, almost to herself. "He'll survive. We've had worse fights"
Raya glanced over at her, eyebrows furrowed. "This one didn't seem like the 'worse' to you Clara? You've been avoiding him all day. And..."
"And what?" Clara snapped, though it lacked the bite it normally would have had. "And you think I should just pretend everything's fine? Like we didn't just—" She stopped herself, taking a deep breath, trying to steady the emotions that seemed to be bubbling up at the most inconvenient times.
The silence that followed was thick, the weight of unsaid words hanging heavy in the air.
Raya set her spoon down, her hands suddenly still. "Clara, this isn't just about Isaac, it's about me too. You probably don't even realize it but right now, you're avoiding me too. What's going on? You don't have to hide it, we're best friends Clara."
Clara exhaled, slowly, before she set the spoon down and wiped her hands on a towel. She leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "I'm thinking about breaking up with him," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Raya's heart skipped a beat. The words were not what she had expected. Not after the fight, not after everything. "Wait... What? Clara—are you serious?"
Clara nodded slowly. Her gaze was far away, as if she was trying to work through something in her mind. "Yeah. I think I need a break. From everything. From him, from the island... Maybe I'll leave for a while. Just go somewhere quiet, get some space."
Raya blinked, trying to process the words. She set her hands on the counter, searching Clara's face for any sign that this was some kind of joke. "Clara, you've been with Isaac for... what, two years? And now you just want to walk away?"
Clara's lips curled into a small, bitter smile. "What choice do I have? I can't keep pretending like it's fine. We've been growing apart for months. And that fight Last night... It was the last straw. I'm tired, Raya. I'm tired of this entire gig."
Raya could feel the weight of Clara's sadness seeping into the air. She was used to Clara's wild energy, the way she could light up a room with her laughter or her sharp wit. But now, all of that seemed dimmed. "Clara, don't make any decisions in the heat of the moment. You're upset, I get that. But don't throw everything away. If you leave the Island, imagine what you could come back to. You might be mentally ready to leave, but who knows when you'll be mentally ready to come back."
"I don't want to," Clara admitted, her voice softening. "But sometimes... sometimes you have to let go. Even if it hurts."
Raya watched her closely, feeling a pang of sympathy. She knew that Clara had been struggling with her feelings for Isaac for a while. But this—this felt different. This felt like something deeper. Something that could break them both if Clara wasn't careful.
"Have you talked to Isaac about this?" Raya asked gently.
Clara shook her head. "No. I'm not even sure how I'd bring it up. It's just... it's just not right anymore, Raya."
"What about his parents, have you talked to them about it?" Raya asked, both of their faces become extremely serious as they realize what waits at the end of the road Clara wishes to take.
The room fell into another heavy silence, broken only by the soft ticking of the clock on the wall. Clara didn't know what the future would hold, but she knew she couldn't keep pretending. She couldn't keep hurting herself by staying in a relationship that had long since lost its spark.
---
Meanwhile, at home, Etien was pacing frantically in his bedroom. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, each one faster than the last. His chest felt tight, and his hands shook as he fumbled with his phone. He had been replaying the events of the party over and over in his mind, the way he and Clara had kissed in the heat of the moment. The way it had felt like everything he'd been holding back had finally broken free.
But now? Now he was filled with nothing but regret.
Should he tell Isaac? He couldn't. He couldn't risk losing his friendship with Isaac over a stupid mistake. He had been drunk, caught up in the moment. It hadn't meant anything—at least, that's what he told himself.
But the guilt gnawed at him, a constant ache in his gut.
Etien had always been good at hiding things. Good at pretending everything was fine when it wasn't. But this? This felt too big to hide. Way bigger than Isaac telling him to spy on Clara and way more dangerous. And if Isaac found out, it could tear everything apart.
Laying on his couch Etien wishes he had something to talk to about this, and his feelings. To Etien, he's always being left out, always alone. Isaac has Charlie now, and Raya and Clara are stuck together with super glue. He was the only one who felt like he was missing his other half, but that's when he realized–
He quickly pulled out his phone and thumbed a message *"Hey, I know I usually leave you alone since you left and whatever but…I need help…. with girl stuff, not really sure what the hell I'm doing"*
He stared at the screen for a moment, his leg shaking anxiously, hoping for some kind of reply, but after a few minutes of silence, he realized he wasn't going to answer anytime soon. He let out a fat sigh and let his phone drop onto the couch as he flung his head backwards, feeling the weight of it all settle over him.
Just as he was about to send a follow-up message, the doorbell rang. Etien startled, his heart racing for a moment as he rushed down the hallway. His mind was racing about who it could be, 'maybe Clara told Isaac, or maybe someone saw us?'.
When he opened the door, there stood Charlie, looking unusually serious. "Oh, it's just you," Etien says relieved. The two exchanged a quick nod, but Etien could tell something was off. Charlie wasn't one for long, drawn-out conversations. Etien understands that Charlie's the type to never seek someone out, he makes it very apparent that he runs on his own time.
"What are you still doing in your underwear in the middle of the day?" Charlie asked, give him an awkward look up and down.
Etien covers his crotch quickly and laughs awkwardly "Come in, take off your shoes, i'll go put some pants on" Etien muttered, stepping aside to let Charlie in before running upstairs to his room.
Charlie walked in and flopped onto the couch, his hands stuffed into his hoodie pockets. He looked around Etiens house and noticed that everything laying around was his. Charlie had always wanted to know more about Etien, his home life always seemed so mysterious. What was even weirder is how everyone would always try to avoid the topic like it was a taboo or something.
Etien, walking down the stairs while tying his sweatpants, finally asks Charlie what made him stop by. As Etien flops onto the other side of the couch Charlie turns to face him "We should talk about last night"
Etien froze, his stomach twisting. "What about it?" Etien thought that Charlie had found out. He was getting itchy, he was getting nervous.
"I think we should stop trying to help Isaac and Clara get back together" Charlie says, immediately Etien could feel his body ease. For a moment he actually felt happy, until he realized what Charlie had said.
"Wait what?!" Etien says lost.
Charlie sighed, rubbing his face as if trying to shake off the exhaustion of the conversation that had been brewing in his mind. "I think it's time we stopped trying to fix things between them. You know, trying to get them back on track. They're done, Etien. They're not going to work."
Etien swallowed hard. "Sooo what are you saying?"
"I'm saying..." Charlie leaned forward, his expression darkening, "Maybe it's better if we just let them implode. Let them break up, because right now, we're just holding onto something that's already falling apart."
Etien recoiled, his heart sinking in his chest. "You think so?"
Charlie nodded. "Yeah. And I get what I'm saying might be hard for you at the moment, he is your best friend after all. But you have to admit, were way in over our heads with this"
Etiens mind raced. Was Charlie right? Should he just step back? Let Clara and Isaac mess themselves up? Or did he owe it to them to try harder, to fix whatever was broken before it was too late?
Suddenly the worst thought popped into Etiens mind, that maybe if Isaac and Clara broke up, what happened at the party wouldn't be as bad, that maybe if they officially break up, It might even be okay to pursue Clara himself. An unusual serious expression appeared on Etiens face as he contemplated this decision.
Before he could respond, the sound of a text notification broke the silence. He glanced at his phone and saw the message was from Isaac
Isaac: "You okay? Usually I'd have 20 missed calls this late in the day"
For a moment, Etien didn't know how to respond. What did Isaac expect him to say? That everything was fine? That thing are just normal? That he betrayed him?
---
Elsewhere, Isaac laid alone in the icy grass, the cold earth pressing into his back as he stared up at the night sky. He had spent the last hour replaying everything that had happened at the party, everything that had gone wrong. However his mind kept circling back to one moment—one conversation—that had stuck with him longer than he cared to admit.
It had been when he and Charlie had been sitting alone on the deck, their voices low in the cool night air. They had talked about everything and nothing all at once, it was the one quiet moment of that night, but something about that conversation had felt... important. Like it was a moment where they'd connected in a way that felt deeper than anything Isaac had felt in a while.
Isaac reflected on this moment so many times, and all he could think about was Charlie's story. Since he had gotten here he has barely spoken about how his life was in the city. As a matter of fact usually when they talk it's about himself and Clara. Isaac wondered if he was finally gaining Charlie's trust, if they were getting closer. But then he shook the thought away. Charlie probably hadn't thought anything of it. Why would he? It was just a conversation, it was just a story to calm him down.
Still, Isaac couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in his chest. The thought that something had shifted, that something had changed between them, even if Charlie didn't know it. Even if Isaac was the only one who felt it.
With a frustrated sigh, Isaac rolled onto his side, his hand brushing against the cool grass. He wondered if things could ever go back to the way they were before. With Clara, With Raya and Etien. Before everything started unraveling. Before everything got so... complicated.
But deep down, he knew better. Things had already changed too much.