Midnight Rain - Drew Starkey

Chapter 1

Have you ever met someone that you just instantly hit it off with? Like they were meant to be in your life? Like your soul had been searching for them this whole time and finally was able to rest once you met them?

That's the only way I can describe my relationship with Drew: meant to be.

And I don't mean as lovers. Drew and I have always been just friends.

I mean, there are times when I'll catch him staring at me from across the room, or we'll be doing a scene together and it feels a little too real. But I try not to read too much into it.

I couldn't imagine ruining my friendship with Drew over a fleeting moment. What we have is just too good for that. I don't know what I'd do if I lost Drew as a friend, which is exactly why I will never bring any of that up.

Drew and I didn't know each other before we started filming the Outer Banks. Of course I'd heard of him, as he was friends with my brother, Chase Stokes and my best friend, Madeline Cline. But before we all had to quarantine together before filming, I'd never met him face-to-face. I'd always thought he was cute, though.

I've been in several movies that sky-rocketed my fame, but I've never done a television show before, so the change of pace was new to me. It takes a lot longer to film a show than it does to film a movie, so I've had to adjust. I spend most of the year filming with this crew, so we've grown super close super fast. And despite knowing (and being related to) some of the other cast members before the show, I've grown closest with Drew. We've always just clicked.

"Starkey, Stokes, not you, the female one!" Jonas Pate, our director called out for Drew and I to film a scene.

We are currently in the middle of filming season one. We've been filming for a few months now, so  we only have a couple more months left to film. Most of my scenes are with Drew since I play his girlfriend, so we spend the majority of our time together.

Drew and I meet up with Jonas, who starts going over the scene with us.

"Okay guys, this scene is the one where McKenna and Rafe are walking on the beach, and she notices he's been doing coke. You guys take it from there, okay? Let's roll the cameras!" He pats us on the back before going back behind the cameras and sitting in his Director chair.

Drew gives me a small smile and asks, "you ready?"

I return the smile and take his hand, preparing for the scene. "Ready," I confirm.

"Aaaand action!" Jonas yells, and the cameras are rolling.

Drew and I start walking down the beach together, hand-in-hand. I look down at our intertwined hands before sneaking a glance at his toned abs. I quickly look away, suddenly remembering we're being filmed, and I don't want to seem too obvious.

"Thanks for meeting me here today, I really needed to get out of the house and away from my dad," Drew said as Rafe.

"You know I'm always down for a romantic walk on the beach," I tell him, internally cringing at the words I was just forced to say.

Drew let's out a chuckle. "Oh, trust me, I know," he laughs, and for a second I forget we're filming because the interaction between us right now is so natural, as if we're just best friends right now and not playing each other's significant other.

"Why were you dying to get away from your dad? Did you guys have an argument?" I questioned.

"He's just been getting on me a lot about the business, and I'm trying my best, I just wish he could see that," he reveals, running his fingers through his hair and letting out a deep breath as if he's stressed.