ログインCODE BLUE{Playlist Suggestion: "Liability" by Lorde / "Falling Down" by Lil Peep}~EMMA POV~The siren was literally screaming inside my head.It was so loud I could not hear myself think, which was probably a good thing, because my thoughts were terrifying. I was sitting on a metal bench in the back of an ambulance, my knees bouncing up and down uncontrollably.Chase was lying on the stretcher in front of me.He looked... wrong. He looked small. His skin was gray, like old paper, and his lips had this weird bluish tint that made me want to throw up."BP is dropping!" the paramedic in the front shouted. "Give him another epi!""Chase," I whispered. I reached out and grabbed his hand. It was cold. Not cool—cold. Like he wasn't there anymore."Miss, I need you to let go," the paramedic in the back said. He wasn't being mean, just fast. He was trying to stick a needle into Chase's arm."I can't," I choked out. "He... he doesn't like needles."Which was stupid. Chase practically lived in
CONFESSIONAL{Playlist Suggestion: "Secret" by The Pierces / "Traitor" by Olivia Rodrigo}~CHELSEA POV~The knock on the door was rhythmic.I knew that knock. I froze in the middle of the living room, a towel in my hand from wiping down the counter. I looked at the door like it was a portal to another dimension.I hadn't spoken to Zoe properly in days. Not since I started dodging her calls. Not since the photos.I opened the door.Zoe stood there. She was wearing her oversized denim jacket and holding a large pepperoni pizza box in one hand and a six-pack of soda in the other. Her expression was a mix of annoyance and resignation."I am still mad at you," she announced before I could say a word. "Like, really mad. You've been a ghost, and you're a terrible liar."She pushed past me into the apartment, kicking the door shut with her heel."But," she continued, setting the pizza on the coffee table, "I missed my best friend. And I figured you were probably starving and brooding."My th
PANIC BUTTON{Playlist Suggestion: "Ribs" by Lorde / "Medicine" by The 1975}~EMMA POV~For the first twenty minutes, I actually thought we were going to pull this off.Jason's house was packed—like, fire-hazard packed—but Chase didn't seem to mind. I kept my fingers locked through his, acting like a human shield against the elbows and the spilled drinks.He was quiet, looking around with these wide eyes like he was trying to memorize the chaotic ecosystem of a high school party. We passed the kitchen, where a couple was aggressively making out against the fridge. Like, full-on devouring each other.Chase stopped dead. He blinked. Then he looked at me."Do they know they're in a kitchen?" he whispered loud enough for me to hear over the bass. "That's unsanitary."I snorted, covering my mouth. "It's high school, Chase. Hygiene is optional.""Gross," he muttered, but he was grinning.We kept moving. I spotted my friends from the café—Sarah and Mike—by the sliding glass doors. I pulled
LATE BLOOMER{Playlist Suggestion: "Electric Love" by BØRNS / "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry}~CHASE POV~The cab smelled like pine air freshener and old cigarettes.I sat in the back, my knee bouncing up and down so fast I thought I might vibrate right through the floorboard. I checked my phone for the tenth time in two minutes.Emma: 'You better not be bailing on me, Lynch.'Emma: 'The music is bad. I need backup.'I smiled at the screen. My thumbs flew over the keyboard.Me: 'Relax. My chariot awaits. Or, you know, this yellow taxi with a check engine light on.'Me: 'ETA 2 mins. Prepare to be dazzled by my ability to stand in a corner awkwardly.' I hit send and leaned my head back against the seat.I couldn't believe I was actually doing this.The last time I went to a "party," I was twelve years old. It was a birthday party at a bowling alley, and I spent the whole time feeling dizzy because my body was already starting to attack itself, I just didn't know it yet.After the diagnos
WHICH K?{Playlist Suggestion: "Illicit Affairs" by Taylor Swift / "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish}~CHELSEA POV~The noodles were cold.They sat in the Styrofoam bowl in front of me, a congealed lump of sodium and regret. I twirled my plastic fork into them, but I couldn't bring myself to take a bite.I sat at our tiny, wobbling dining table, wearing nothing but a pair of old shorts and a white tank top that had seen better days. My hair was thrown up in a messy bun, but strands kept falling into my face, and I kept aggressively tucking them back.My phone screen glowed on the table.Kade: 'When are you coming? I'm going crazy in here.'Kade: 'Nurse Ratched just threatened to take my phone away.'Kade: 'I miss you, Chels.'My heart squeezed painfully. I missed him too. I wanted to go to the hospital. I wanted to crawl into that narrow bed and hide in the crook of his neck until the world stopped spinning.But I couldn't.Because going to the hospital meant risking running into
BRO CODE{Playlist Suggestion: "Brother" by Kodaline / "I Lived" by OneRepublic}~KADE POV~"You suck at this. I don't care that you're the Captain now, your defensive strategy is trash."Denver laughed, mashing the buttons on the controller I had forced him to bring from the dorms. "Shut up, Kingston. You're just mad because I'm winning.""You're winning because I'm on narcotics," I grumbled, tossing my controller onto the hospital blanket. "Rematch. Once the room stops spinning."Denver set his controller down on the tray table. The TV screen blinked with the 'GAME OVER' screen, filling the quietness of the sterile room. For the last hour, it had felt almost normal. Just two guys, a console, and stupid trash talk.But as the game music faded, the reality of the beeping monitors and the huge black brace on my leg rushed back in.Denver leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. The laughter faded from his face."How are you holding up, man?"I stared at the ceiling tile I had







