Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning feeling strangely refreshed. Honestly, one of the best sleeps of my life–easily in the top ten. Enzo was still knocked out on the couch snoring, so I decided to sneak out and bring breakfast. There’s a little bakery right down the street, so I walked there and picked up cookies and cinnamon rolls. After that, I stopped by Starbucks to get a coffee for myself and a cold iced chocolate for Enzo, with a lot of whipped cream, just how he likes it.

When I got back to the apartment, I gently shook him awake. Naturally, I had a pillow thrown straight at my face. Once we’d calmed the chaos with sugar and caffeine, we started talking about the shoot later that day. “So”, Enzo started, “So what?”, I shot back, already knowing what was coming.

“We have to go to the shoot again today”

“Yeah, I know, what’s your point?”, I asked, pretending not to see where this was headed.

“You know… She will be there”

“Who’s she?”, obviously I knew to whom he was referring to but I really wanted to avoid this conversation.

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know!” he groaned. “I’m talking about Sabrina! Obviously”

I sighed heavily. “Yeah, I guess she will be there, since she’s literally the face of the whole campaign”

He gave me a pointed look. “You think I didn’t notice? I told you you’d eventually tell me what’s going on with her”

“Going on? Nothing’s going on!” I said quickly. “It’s just that–“

“It’s just that you’re in loooove with her?”, he said in a mocking-playful tone.

“What?! I am definitely NOT in love with her! I don’t even know her!”, I snapped–but even I didn’t believe myself, and Enzo knew it. There was no way out of this one.

“Oh, please” he said, grinning. “Girl, you’re basically her biggest fan”

“Oh, shut up”, I muttered. “I’ve just– seen some interviews. That doesn’t mean I know her.”

“Yeah, right. Some interviews? You’re, like, obsessed with that girl”

“Obsessed? I’m not obsessed. I just admire her work, okay?”

“Pff, come on y/n, it’s me you’re talking to. You literally cried when I went to her concert in Amsterdam without you!”

“In my defense, that was a valid crush out. I had a meeting, and you know it. No need to rub it in tho” 

“But I brought you merch!”, he protested, laughing. “Anyways, that’s beside the point. What was the point? Oh yeah, you’re in loooove“

“Okay, bye” I stood up and started walking toward my bedroom to get ready for the shoot.

“Wait! I’m just messing with you, come on!” Enzo called after me. “Ugh, y/n you’re so dramatic sometimes, I swear”

I pretended not to hear him and put my headphones on. As I got dressed, I played emails I can’t send, start to finish. Because, well– I love it.

This time, I actually put effort into my look. I looked… decent. Not amazing, but definitely not a disaster either. I wore an oversized Betty Boop t-shirt, baggy jeans and my jordans. Gold chains hung from my neck and wrists, and I threw on my Versace sunglasses for the finishing touch. I kept my makeup light– mainly because I’m bored of removing it later– but I also want the dark circles under my eyes disappear, so I settle on a middle ground. I topped the outfit off with a black NY cap and headed out to the building where we were shooting the campaign. I wanted to be there early, before the chaos hit, to take a better look of the surrounding and settle in basically.

(y/n’s outfit)

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I arrived at 8:30 and the place was still quiet– only a few people were there; the cameraman, the director, and some of the crew members.  I greeted them with a quick “good morning” and made my way to the same spot I’d claimed last time. It was comfortable and out of the way, in a few words, perfect.

As I walked towards my usual seat, I turned my head to the right and I saw her. 

I froze. 

She was there, wearing flare jeans, a light blue puffer jacket and a black high-neck top. She had her golden hair half-up, half-down, which only added to how beautiful she looked with the sunlight bathing her from behind. It looked like something out of a movie and for a second, everything else just… disappeared.

Should I talk to her?

Nah. I should probably not bother her wi-

I didn’t even get to finish the thought, when she looked up and caught me staring from across the room.

What. Do. I. Do.

Instinctively I half-raised my hand in a small, awkward wave and gave her a nervous smile. I felt huge relief when she waved back smiling, so I gathered all my courage to go and talk to her.

“Good morning. Here early, huh? How so?” I said, smiling, though I was absolutely struggling to form clear sentences being that close to her

She smirked, “Didn’t want Emmanuel calling me again to yell about being late. Apparently someone here complained last time and I’m really pissed off about it”. My cheeks flushed instantly, but I managed to keep my cool, at least I thought I did.

“Yeah like, who would even do that-“

“I know it was you”, she cut in. And just like that, I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole. My cheeks were on fire and my knees felt like they were about to die. “I- I didn’t mean-“, I couldn’t fucking speak, this was so embarrassing.

But then, after a moment of the heaviest silence ever, she chuckled. “Oh relax, I’m just playin with you!”, she said laughing softly. “I’m not mad or anything. Honestly, you were kinda right, I shouldn’t have run that late. So… sorry for that”.

Wait.

Wait.

What?!

Did Sabrina Carpenter just  apologize to me???

This got to be a joke right? Right??

After staring at her for a good ten seconds, my brain decided to do it’s job and function again. I snapped out of it and quickly started apologizing, like a kid who’d just broken a vase at home.

“Oh no no no no, I’m the one who should apologize! I shouldn’t have called Emmanuel, waiting ten more minutes wouldn’t have killed me. I’m so, so sorry”. She chuckled, clearly amused. “Okay, calm down there. Are you always this nervous around people y/n?”.

She remembers my name? 

OH. MY. GOD.

“N- No, I don’t usually…”, fuck did i just stutter?! 

“You don’t usually what, y/n?”

I had to say something, preferably something that would get me out of this situation. So I decided to change the subject. “Hey, I was wandering…”, I noticed her eyebrows shoot up, like she was bracing herself for the nonsense I was about to talk. “If you want to, I mean, no pressure or anything, but, I mean– if you’d like to see the footage we’ve shot so far for the commercial… over coffee or whatever… you know…”

She was quiet for a second. And I was sweating, cuz what if she said no? Then she opened her mouth and I swear I stopped breathing.

“Yeah, coffee sounds good and that footage of me better be good, okay?”

Oh thank God. The relief I felt in that moment? Indescribable.

“Okay, so let’s say after we’re done with the shooting?”, I asked as casually as I could, when in reality I was screaming inside.

“Sure”

That was it. That had to be the best day of my life. 

“Okay then”, I said, turning to head back to my spot– smiling like a goddamn psychopath. Thankfully, Enzo wasn’t coming to the shoot today, so I wouldn’t have to deal with any of his interrogating questions 

💋  

I waited for hours. Hours. 

Ugh, why is this shit taking so long… I suddenly noticed some of the crew packing up and heading out, which could only mean one thing– they were finally done with the shoot. I looked at my phone- 4:26 p.m., holy shit. I felt like I was there for an eternity. Probably because I had absolutely nothing to do except sit and wait and overthink. I’d been there for what, 8 hours? At least I had my book. That was my only salvation. I’d read it before, but I loved it so much that I keep coming back to it. How can’t I adore ‘The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo’? This book is a masterpiece. Emotional brilliance at it’s finest.

I closed it gently, held it tightly and started heading towards Sabrina. Calm down y/n, it’s just work.

“Hey! Ready to go see that footage we were talking about?” I said, and for a brief second, panic set in– what if she didn’t hear me and I had to repeat myself? As an introvert, that’s like a top 10 worst-case scenario, I’m not even kidding. 

She turned around and looked at me, and I immediately sensed something was off. The way she looked at me- soft, almost sad. And, was that… pity? 

No.

I had to be imagining things. It couldn’t be anything that bad, right? We were about to hang out. I was about to spend time with the most perfect girl I’d ever laid eyes on. It had been forever since I felt anything close to real happiness, and I thought maybe this would be it.

“Y/n… I’m so sorry but…” 

But? But what? No. Please don’t say it. Don’t do this.

“I can’t today, something came up and-“

Fuck. It felt like getting hit by a bus. Then it backed up and hit me again. 

And again. 

And again.

“My boyfriend wants to have dinner with me and I have to get ready. But we can still go for that coffee tomorrow”

Wait… Boyfriend? Please, tell me I heard wrong… No, no, no, no… Boyfriend? 

That can’t be right. She has a boyfriend? Why? Who is he? WHY?!

I was surely feeling bad before, but now I felt physically ill. Like I might throw up, pass out, or both. She has plans with a man? 

Ew.

“It’s okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then!”, you just stubbed me with a knife, right in my soul, but… I don’t have the right to complain. 

You are not mine. 

What the hell was I even thinking? That you’d fall in love with me if I showed you the footage? Or that, that coffee would magically turn into something more? 

I’m so naive sometimes it physically hurts.

💋 

I took a taxi back to my apartment. Walking wasn’t really an option- I felt dizzy and completely out of it. My legs were weak, and my heartbeat was loud, like my whole body was trying to shut down. I just needed to get home. 

When I arrived, I barely remember taking the elevator. Everything felt like a blur. I reached my floor, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. And there he was, Enzo. He was cooking, pasta with pesto. I love pesto.  He turned around when he heard the door. 

“Hey bitch, where have you been? Did the shoot run that long or… were you with that girl Sabrina, huh?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t even look at him. I just went there and hugged him. 

And I cried.

“Oh baby, shhh” he whispered, holding me tighter.

“She has a boyfriend Enzo! A guy… a goddamn boyfriend!” I choked out between sobs, and just saying it out loud made me want to hit my head against the wall.

So I cried harder.

Because, deep down, I had actually believed that maybe, just maybe, she could be mine.

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Heyyy! 😝 Hope you liked this one! I know that last part is awful, but it’s a slow burn, sooo… 

Anyways, thanks for reading this, and i literally have SO many ideas for the next chapters, but i’d love to know what do yall think happens next in the comments 💌

✨okay, byeeee✨