the dream team

don't forget about me

Grayson x Rhea/ Rhea x The Gang

Au: if Rhea left everything and everyone she ever knew to get away from the things that haunted her the most.

The air was thick and tense around the group as they all laid in the dark. They were at Grayson and Ethan's house, strewn out amongst Grayson's room.

Grayson and Rhea laid together, hands intertwined on his bed, Elizabeth and Aaron on blankets on the floor, Alex and Sage on the couch wrapped up together, Jack on a small air mattress, Ethan simply wrapped in his own cocoon of blankets on the foot of Grayson's bed.

No one knew what to say, and no one could say anything without getting upset.

Rhea laid there, her head on her boyfriends chest, tears silently falling from her eyes. This was tearing her apart inside, and although there was no way around it, it was something that seemed to weigh her down.

She was leaving the next day, traveling across the world to find herself, find pieces of herself she couldn't find in Oregon.

Grayson listened to his girlfriends breathing, his heart breaking with every single tear that hit his chest. He didn't want to believe that this was the end, but it was, and it was killing him.

The gang had spent every single second, from the time Rhea woke up that morning to this moment together, laughing, hanging out, getting into trouble like they always did. They had just gotten back from a long drive, listening to music with the windows down and laughter ringing in the wind.

It was one of their favortie things to do, and it was somethin they needed to do before their group was no longer whole anymore.

There was a sniffle from across the room. "Just-" Ethan cleared his throat. "Just promise me that you'll remember us."

Rhea tried hard to hold a sob in. "How could I ever possibly forget you idiots?"

Ethan smiled sadly in the dark at his best friend, hoping the words would hold. Elizabeth and Sage were wrecks, not knowing how to process what was happening. It was always the three of them. It was supposed to always be the three of them.

Elizabeth, Rhea and Sage were a package deal--the three musketeers if you will. They were closer to each than anyone else could've imagined and they needed each other. They didn't know how to deal with the fact that it would be just two of them.

Sage and Elizabeth had bounced from group to group before meeting Rhea in ninth grade, who introduced them to Aaron and Alex, which led them to meeting Gray and Ethan, and from there they just clicked.

"There'll be cooler people in London," Aaron said, sadness in his voice. One of his best friends was leaving, and on top of that, it was basically destroying his girlfriend, which ultimately destroyed him too.

Elizabeth spoke up, "Exactly. They'll be people more interesting then us, more fun- and-and you'll eventually forget about us."

"Guys-" Alex tried to hold the peace. They hadn't fully talked about Rhea leaving yet. The gang had been supportive of her, knowing about the hell that she dealt with while living in her house but they were distraught inside.

Half of them wanted to selfishly tell her not to go, and the other half wanted to wish so deeply that she'd change her mind on her own.

"They're right." Jack spoke up. Rhea's heart was in shambles. She knew that it was hard for them, but all of their feelings coming out at once was making her more sad than she ever imagined.

"Every time we hang out from now on, there's gonna be something missing. When El and Sage have sleepovers it won't be as loud and I won't hear your annoying ass laugh anymore." Jack didn't want anyone to know about the rear falling from his eye, so he wiped quickly.