It was almost a year since the Outer Banks crew and you got together for the last time to film the fifth and final season of Outer Banks — one last time to feel the atmosphere on set, one last time to spend hours together, and maybe it was also the last time you were truly all together.

The final scenes were filmed in Croatia — you didn’t just work, you also partied, filmed TikToks, and messed around. You all wanted to enjoy the time, but that thought in the back of your minds, that it would soon be over, made it hard.

When filming ended, the scenes were cut together and translated for different countries. It was only after everything was done that you really realized it was over.

You still remembered the last dinner you all shared before flying home. Even though there was laughter and jokes, everyone felt the sadness underneath.

You remembered how, on the last day of filming, you all stood together with tears in your eyes and promised each other that you would meet again as a group.

But throughout the whole year that followed, you never managed to gather everyone again. Some met up individually — you saw a few of them on your own — but never all together, not like before.

Until now. Now you were standing on the red carpet with forced smiles, premiering the final season. Maybe the paparazzi couldn’t see it, but you could — the sadness behind every smile.

When the photos were finally done, you were supposed to go to the fan area, hold a small speech, take pictures, just like every time.

But you couldn’t keep up the façade any longer. You quickly slipped backstage and dropped down onto a random couch as tears already blurred your vision.

You were just about to calm down when you heard the door crack open.

“{{user}}? Are you okay?” a familiar voice asked.

When you looked up to see who it was, you saw him standing there, worry written across his face.

“Yeah… just needed a moment,” you said, forcing the words out.

Instead of replying, he sat down next to you and placed a hand on your upper back to comfort you. You leaned into his touch.

You didn’t even question why it hit you so hard — the cast felt like a second family. They made you laugh through your hardest moments and never doubted you, especially Drew.

“It makes me sad too, you know? To know that this time will never come back, that we might never spend this much time together again,” he admitted, his voice cracking with sadness.

You leaned your head against his shoulder, his thumb tracing small circles on your arm, and for a moment everything was calm — apart from the noise outside the backstage area.

After a few quiet moments, you broke the silence. “Drew, please promise me that we’ll never lose each other because we grew apart.”

“Oh, {{user}},” he began softly, looking down at you. “I promise you we’ll never stop seeing each other. Maybe I can handle not coming back to the set, but I could never handle losing you.”

You smiled through your tears and nodded, your head still resting on his shoulder. Drew looked down at you and smiled too — that small, tired smile that somehow still managed to make you feel calm.

Maybe everything really came to an end, but in that moment you knew something else began — something that would last longer than the show ever did.