bed chem | drew starkey

CHAPTER 13

MID-LATE NOVEMBER 2023

As Aurora and Mia sat at the kitchen counter scrolling through potential outfits for their upcoming trip to London, Aurora's phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen, seeing notifications from her group chat with tom and zendaya.

"Oh, perfect timing," she muttered, unlocking her phone.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"I was just about to text tom and daya about meeting up while we're in London," Aurora said, quickly typing out a message:

spidey gang

aurora
hey lovebirds!! i'll be in london for the wonka premiere next week! any chance you two are free to hang out?

daya
yes
tom
no

daya
ignore him. can't wait to see you
tom
no bc i need some time to get prepare the list of stuff i need to ask you

aurora
what kinda stuff should i be scared

daya
no
tom
yes
i meant no

aurora
stop
if you two start interrogating me, i'm calling security

daya
oops
tom
😘😘

Aurora sighed and set her phone down, her eyes narrowing in mock suspicion.

Mia peeked over from the couch, raising a brow. "What?"

Aurora groaned, crossing her arms. "tom says he's making a list of questions to ask me. i already know they're going to start something."

Mia smirked knowingly. "oh, you know it's about devin—and probably drew."

Aurora rolled her eyes, though a faint blush crept to her cheeks. "I'm not completely clueless, Mia. I just—ugh, they're impossible."

Mia laughed, leaning back dramatically. "I hope they record it. The world deserves to see you squirm."

Aurora grabbed a throw pillow and tossed it at her. "Don't even start. You're just as bad as they are."

Mia grinned, unbothered. "Well, you better start prepping your answers now, Miss Wonka Premiere. It sounds like London's about to be fun."

Aurora sighed dramatically, though a small smile tugged at her lips. Despite the teasing, she couldn't deny how much she missed her friends—and how much she was looking forward to seeing them again.

────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────

Aurora lounged on the couch, scrolling aimlessly through her phone as sunlight streamed through the windows. It was a slow morning, the kind she cherished but rarely got. She'd spent the last twenty minutes catching up on her notifications, liking a few fan edits and skimming headlines she wasn't sure she wanted to read. Her mind wandered back to the Wonka premiere and all the preparation that would inevitably come with it.

Her phone buzzed with a new email notification. She glanced at the sender—her manager, Amelie—and opened it. The subject line read: "finalized schedule for Wonka Premiere." Aurora sat up straighter, skimming through the details.

As her eyes landed on the date, she froze.

The same day as Devin's first game.

She blinked at the screen, rereading the email just to make sure she hadn't misread it. A small wave of guilt bubbled up inside her, but underneath it was something much more potent: relief. She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, setting her phone down on the coffee table.