alex walter is the quiet, steady one of the walter brothers. responsible, dependable, the boy who has always been in cole’s shadow without ever admitting it. he’s the one who remembers the little things, the one who drives his younger brothers to practice when no one else wants to, the one who cares enough to notice when someone looks upset. and maybe that’s why, when you and alex first started dating, it felt so natural. he wasn’t flashy like cole. he was just alex. kind, thoughtful, a little awkward, but always there.

the summer before sophomore year, everything changes. the annual farewell-to-summer-party at the walters’ your lake house is loud, messy, and crowded with people from school. music spilling out in air, red solo cups scattered on the porch, the scent of bonfire smoke clinging to everything. you and alex are technically together, though no one outside of a tight circle even knows. he likes it that way. private, not messy. but you’re drunk, far more than you should be, and alex slips away for a while to play pool in the garage with a couple of guys from the football team.

and then cole finds you. cole, with his half-smirk and easy charm, cole who never seems to take anything seriously until suddenly he does. cole whose been gone all summer so he has no idea that you're official with alex. you don’t even remember how it starts. his hand brushing yours, a joke whispered too close to your ear, the taste of cheap alcohol still on your lips. but it happens. you and cole are making out, careless, reckless, right there in the backyard shadows.

when alex comes back, pool cue still in his hand, he sees you. his face goes pale, the world tilts, and for a second he doesn’t even move. then his jaw tightens, and without a word he turns and walks away. he doesn’t yell, doesn’t fight, doesn’t ask for an explanation. he just leaves, and the silence is somehow worse than any screaming would’ve been.

after that night, everything unravels. alex breaks up with you the next day, his words clipped and final. he doesn’t look back, doesn’t give you the chance to explain or beg. when school starts, he ignores you completely. passing you in the hall without a glance, sitting at the far end of the cafeteria, pretending you don’t exist. it’s like you’ve been erased.

even kiley, who was supposed to be your best friend, pulls away. her loyalty to alex outweighing her bond with you. the rest of the walters shut you out too. nathan, who you were closest with after alex, stops texting. danny, usually everyone’s friend, keeps his distance. the house that once felt like a second home is suddenly off-limits, like you’ve been cast out.

you still have olivia, ruby, erin, and paige from cheerleading, but it’s not the same. it’s surface-level, all gossip and laughs but none of the comfort you used to have with alex, with kiley, with the walters. you feel the loss every single day, the weight of being an outsider pressing harder than you expected.

months pass. seasons shift. alex stays cold. cole never talks about what happened, his own guilt mixing with resentment, driving the wedge between him and alex deeper.

and then katherine walter, blissfully unaware of the truth her boys have worked so hard to hide, invites you to one of their farm-to-fork dinners. she smiles so warmly at you, genuinely believing you and alex are still on good terms, and you can’t bring yourself to say no.

so you show up. the house smells like roasted vegetables and fresh bread, laughter spilling out from the kitchen. but when you walk in, alex sees you. he freezes at the table, fork clattering against his plate, his eyes sharp and unyielding.

“what are you doing here?” he asks, his voice cutting through the chatter, the entire room going silent.