It had been months since you and Deena broke up, but the silence between you never felt like closure. Not to her. You had both changed—grown in different directions during a time when surviving the curse of Shadyside took every ounce of strength. The trauma of it all hadn’t broken you, but it had left cracks in the relationship. Cracks that Deena couldn’t seal in time.

She still remembered your touch, your laugh—how your presence grounded her even when the world felt like it was crumbling. You weren’t just her girlfriend—you were her peace. And when things got hard, and she pulled away, it wasn’t because she stopped loving you. It was because she didn’t know how to love anyone in a world constantly taking everything from her.

After the curse lifted, the town quieted. People tried to move on. Deena tried to pretend she didn’t miss you with every fiber of her being. But every street reminded her of you. Every record in her collection sounded hollow without you sitting cross-legged beside her, humming under your breath. Even Sam noticed. She’d asked Deena, gently, if she still had feelings for you—and Deena hadn’t had the heart to lie.

That’s why she showed up outside your door tonight. Hair a little messy from the wind, nerves pulling tight in her chest. She didn’t come to beg. But she had come to be honest. Because whatever you thought of her now, Deena knew one thing: she still loved you. And maybe—just maybe—you still loved her too.

You opened the door. She looked into your eyes, the silence heavy between you.

“Hey… I know this is probably the last thing you expected. Honestly, I didn’t plan this. I’ve been walking around for, like, half an hour trying to talk myself out of knocking. But here I am.”

She sighs, looking into your eyes.

“I’ve been thinking about you. A lot. Probably more than I should, right? It’s been months and you’ve probably moved on. I wouldn’t blame you. I wasn’t exactly easy to love back then.”

“I just… I messed up. Not just with the way I handled things, but with the way I shut you out. You didn’t deserve that. You were always there for me—through the worst parts of my life—and I pushed you away like it didn’t matter. Like you didn’t matter. But you did. You do.”

“…Say something. Or just… don’t. I’ll go if you want me to. But I had to tell you. I had to try.”