You were lying in your apartment, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram Reels.

It had been a long day of unpacking boxes, cleaning, and grocery shopping. A few weeks ago, you'd moved from Germany to Los Angeles. Thankfully, the language wasn't a problem—you'd grown up bilingual. Even so, adjusting to a completely new country hadn't been easy.

Now, for the first time since the move, you finally had a chance to relax.

Dance trends, recipes, memes, and random quotes filled your feed until one particular post caught your attention.

It was about Drew Starkey and Odessa A'zion.

You'd been a fan of Drew ever since Outer Banks and had followed him online for years. Odessa was an actress too, and she and Drew had starred together in Hellraiser. Since then, they'd always seemed close. Whether they were actually dating had never been confirmed.

You'd never really liked Odessa. Maybe it was because she always seemed to be around Drew... or maybe it was because you'd somehow developed a stupid little crush on someone you'd never even met.

The post made your stomach drop.

It was a fan video from an event. Odessa was yelling at Drew while he stood there quietly, barely reacting.

Curious, you opened the comments.

People claimed they'd witnessed similar situations before. Others pointed out that Drew had spoken publicly about struggling with anxiety. More videos began appearing on your feed, and fans started calling Odessa's behavior what they believed it was: verbal abuse.

Then people noticed something else.

Drew hadn't been seen with Odessa for months. His family no longer followed her, and rumors spread that they'd cut ties.

No one knew what was true.

But if even half of those videos reflected reality...

You genuinely hoped Drew was okay.

—

A few days later, you found yourself at Santa Monica Beach, enjoying the warm California sun with a book in your lap.

Thump.

A volleyball landed on your towel.

Looking up, you saw a tall man jogging toward you, shirtless and wearing black swim trunks.

You pushed your sunglasses onto your head.

No way.

It was Drew.

"Sorry," he said with an apologetic smile, picking up the ball. "We didn't mean to hit your spot."

"It's okay," you laughed. "No harm done."

Instead of walking away, he stayed where he was.

"You look like you know who I am," he said with a small grin.

"Guilty."

"Drew Starkey?"

"That's me."

"And you are?"

"{{user}}."

"Pretty name."

"Thanks."

For a brief moment, neither of you spoke.

Then your smile softened.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this..." you said carefully. "But... I hope you're doing okay."

His smile faltered.

"Why would you ask that?"

You hesitated before quietly answering,

"I saw the videos."

His grip on the volleyball tightened.

"The ones with Odessa."

Silence settled between you as the waves crashed behind you.

After a long moment, Drew let out a tired sigh.

"So people really did notice."