TWO WEEKS HAVE passed since the chaos of Sam and Colby getting arrested and life for the Traphouse crew had calmed down. But still, there was this lingering feeling all around them from such a traumatic event, one that still hung over them like a shadow.

And Rosalyn, despite Sam and Colby's reassurances that she didn't need to, had been by their sides throughout their recovery. Which, in having her unwavering support only deepened their admiration for her.

Today, however, Jake Webber had all but dragged her to a party in West Hollywood, one he, Tara, and the rest of the gang were eagerly attending.

Rosalyn wasn't thrilled about Sam and Colby going to a party so soon after their ordeal. She didn't want them to rush through processing what happened. But after much assurance that they were fine now, and after some coaxing, she found herself tagging along.

The party was slightly smaller than the ones at the Traphouse, which was comforting to Rose. The house sat perched on a hill near the Hollywood sign, its driveway overflowing with parked cars. This forced her, Tara and Jake to leave theirs down the hill as they trudged up to the mansion on foot.

The moment they stepped inside, Rose was greeted by the potent scent of alcohol and the deafening bass-heavy music. She stuck close to Tara and Jake, nibbling on a plate of snacks she'd found in the kitchen while her friends occasionally stole bites.

At some point, Tara slipped away and returned with a shot of vodka and lime, much to Rose's horror.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Rose hissed, glaring at the shot. "You know I don't drink, and you stole that?"

Tara giggled mischievously. "Come on, you've never tried vodka."

"For a reason," Rose retorted, crossing her arms. Most of the time, Alcohol had been a touchy subject for her ever since her childhood, having a father who reeked of it. There's only been some occasions in which her friends (mostly Tara) were able to peer pressure her. It lessened her fear of it every time, but even so, she drank with caution.

Jake chimed in with a teasing grin. "Don't be a pussy, Rose."

"Yeah, and you're about to have none if you don't shut up, Webber," she shot back, making Jake laugh as he raised his hands in mock surrender.

Still, Tara persisted, "Just this once. Maybe you'll surprise yourself with how much you like it."

"I won't be surprised when I want to puke it out later. That's for sure." Rose rolled her eyes. Tara continued to stare at her with this pressuring look in her eyes before it worked. "Alright, fine," she sighed, motioning Tara to give her the two things in her hand.

With a smirk smudged, Tara excitedly handed them over and watched Rose mentally get herself to drink the shot.

It took a lot of inner willpower to do it. And as much as they thought they were helping, Tara and Jake's encouraging words of "Drink it!" repeating on both sides, wasn't doing it's job.

Bracing herself, Rose muttered a quick, "Screw it," before downing the shot in one swift motion, immediately regretting it. "Oh my god," she coughed, stuffing the lime in her mouth to counter the burn. "Tara, I'm going to kill you. That was awful."

But even with her threatening words, Tara and Jake laughed together in amusement.

Though still coughing out the aftertaste of the vodka, Rose says, "I hope you know you're also going to be designated driver now."

Tara grinned. "It's alright. I've already got it covered," she replied, wrapping her arm around Rose, only to be pushed away.

Before long, the rest of the gang arrived, including Kevin, Aryia, Xepher, Reggie, and Mike. Rose was making her way toward Colby for a hug when a cheerful voice interrupted.

"Colby!"

Rose stopped in her tracks as an unfamiliar girl darted into the room, her wavy brunette hair bouncing and her smile aimed squarely at Colby. Rose stepped aside, watching as the girl flung her arms around him. Her hair is a wavy brunette, and her smile gleams solely in Colby Brock's direction.

"Adelaide!" Kevin exclaimed, recognizing her instantly.

Adelaide? Who the hell is Adelaide? Rose thought.

Bumping Tara's shoulder, she asked, "Who's that?"

"Adelaide Jane. Instagram model."

"Oh," Rose murmured, her gaze drifting back to the pair. She watched as Colby and Adelaide exchanged whispers before Colby turned to the group with a sheepish smile.

"Alright, we've been meaning to tell you all something," he began, everyone's attention immediately darting towards him.

"And you all have to promise not to tell anyone—well, yet," Adelaide pressed.

"Whatever you bid us to do, Addie," Ayria assured, almost in a mocking tone.

They all snort at his joking manner before Adelaide suddenly caves her fingers into Colby's. "Well, since you guys are our...friends, we both wanted to give you guys the news first before anyone else but Colby and I—are officially dating!"

Immediately, the whole vibe of the room changes as the group erupts with excitement, and everybody eagerly going to Colby and Adelaide to congratulate them.

Well, except for Rose.

She only blinked, her smile frozen as the news sank in. She hardly knew Adelaide at all, yet something about her set Rose on edge. Still, she forced herself to smile politely as she watched Colby take in the love from his friends about his new friend.

It was all around confusing.

But boy, was she so pretty.

Before Rosalyn could even leave the room however, she heard Colby calling out for her.

Turning back, Colby grabbed onto his girlfriend's hand and dragged her by Rose. "Hey, I completely forgot to introduce you to Rose, but this is her," Colby suggested.

"Hi," Addie said, offering a handshake with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm Adelaide, if you didn't know that already."

Rose reciprocated the smile. "Rosalyn, though everyone just calls me Rose," she replied, though something in Addie's grip felt oddly aggressive.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to meet you, Rose. You seem—nice."

"Thanks," Rose nodded and laughed lightly, still woozy from the shot she had earlier. "I gotta go—but uh see you two later," she sputtered out before walking away.

Time felt confusing for most of the night. It was like her hopeful mood was gone from her grasp and Rose had no idea why. No explanation came to mind that made sense, and the whole time she was there, were spent dozing off wondering why she was feeling so strange.

But as she went to look for Tara after she went to the bathroom, Adelaide cornered her in the kitchen.

"Hey, Rose, right?"

Shifting her attention to her, she nodded cautiously. "Yeah, it's Rose."

Addie grinned. "Can we talk for a bit?"

It seemed like a harmless question, right? And judging by her demeanor, it didn't look sketchy at all.

"Oh—oh okay," Rose obliged and followed to an empty corner of the house where barely anyone was around.

"So, how long have you known Colby?"

Rose's lips parted. "Uhm. Probably about a couple of months now...Why?" she asked.

And in a flash, Addie's once innocent smile dropped, and a look of seriousness plastered her face. "Because I'm going to need you to back off of my man now."

What—in the actual fuck. Rose thought.

Disbelief coursed it way through her body hearing this. She couldn't believe what she heard. This was something that jealous girls would say in the movie, and Rosalyn didn't think anyone would think of her as a threat to their man. Especially when it came to Colby fucking Brock.

"Excuse me?" Rose sputtered out.

"You heard me, Fairchild," Addie spat. "I've seen your posts on Instagram. How close you two have become. I don't need some slut to start messing with my man."

"Slut?!" Rose exclaimed, louder than she intended to. Now it wasn't all disbelief that she was feeling. Soon came in hurt. "I'm not a slut."

Addie hummed. "Sure, you may not be a slut. Because god knows that nobody would be able to put up with your chubby self."

That, was brutal.

"What is your problem?" Rose demanded, her tone sharp with disbelief. They had barely exchanged words for an hour, and now she was being fat-shamed. Fantastic.

"My problem? My problem is that I've been pining over Colby for two years now, and now that I finally have him after all this time, I'm not able to let him be distracted by someone out of his league."

With a shake of her head, Rose assured, "I don't know why you already have a problem with me being friends with your boyfriend, but I can guarantee you one thing." She takes a bold step up to her, something that in her sober state, she wouldn't have the guts to do. "I don't want to date Colby fucking Brock at all." She added, "Maybe don't date a guy that you think will cheat on you with someone else. Because jealousy doesn't look good on you."

The words landed like a slap, and Rose didn't wait for Adelaide's response. She spun on her heel and walked away, her pulse racing.

Seriously? Someone told her to back off a man she had zero romantic interest in. Could her night get any more absurd?

The interaction left her dazed, her emotions tangled in disbelief, irritation, and, to her dismay, a flicker of hurt. The sting of Adelaide's words—calling her a slut and "chubby"—lingered longer than she wanted to admit.

Sure, Rose had grown used to the occasional cruel comment online. Social media trolls didn't faze her as much as they used to. But hearing it said to her face, from someone she barely knew? That hit differently.

For the rest of the night, Rose made herself scarce, avoiding both Colby and Adelaide. She hoped no one noticed how she stayed on the edges of the group, but of course, someone did.

And that someone was Colby himself.

He didn't know why he noticed. He didn't know he suddenly cared because of it.

Well, of course, he cared. Of course, he noticed. How could Colby Brock not? This was his friend. A friend that he had spent months getting close to. Someone that he knew he could trust in the sea of many untrustable people in Los Angeles. Why wouldn't he have noticed?

It became clearer that something was going on when he couldn't find her anywhere in the house.

"Hey," he said, tapping Kevin on the shoulder.

"Yo, what's up?" Kevin asked.

"Nothing, just—have you seen Rose by any chance?"

Kevin shrugged casually. "Yeah, dude. She just left with Tara and Jake. Why?"

"She left?" Colby repeated, his voice flattening.

"Yeah, like five minutes ago bro." Kevin then quickly takes notice of Colby's changed demeanor and raises a brow. "Did she not say bye to you?"

Colby shook his head. "No," he muttered. "I think she's ignoring me though."

Kevin's eyes widened. "You're fucking with me."

In his mind, Rosalyn Fairchild would never ignore Colby Brock. Sure, they've only been friends for six months or so, but judging by what Kevin has seen irl especially on social media, the two were practically best buds by now.

He shrugged the thought. "No way. Rose wouldn't ignore you, man."

"Then why was she avoiding me all night?" Colby asked, his tone edged with frustration.

Kevin shrugged at the question, though a smirk wanted to form on his lips hearing it. He would've been lying if he said he was actually happy about Colby and Adelaide getting together. After meeting Rose a couple of parties ago, Kevin grew to like Rose more than Addie herself. And if anything, he was somewhat crushed seeing that Addie got exactly what she's been wanting for ages now; aka Colby himself.

"I don't know, bro. I think that's just something you have to ask yourself," Kevin assured.

Meanwhile, as Tara drove them home, she noticed Rose staring blankly out the window, her expression distant. Something that was never good in her books.

"Thinking about things you shouldn't, Miss Fairchild?" Tara asked lightly, though her concern was clear.

Rose didn't look away from the passing streetlights. "I'm just tired."

Tara frowned. "You sure?"

"Mhm," Rose hummed noncommittally, giving nothing away.

Tara's frown stays on her lips then. She had the urge to tell Rose that she could blantly tell that she was lying. But she didn't.

It was unlike her in a way. When it came to everyone else, Tara was person who pressured you to tell you what was wrong, all for good reasons.

But when it came to Rosalyn, she just knew her bestfriend needed to sit in her own silence for awhile before she got to opening up, which kind of reminding her of flowers.

With enough love, care, and time, flowers bloom beautifully, just like her bestfriend.

By the time they reached home, Rose dragged herself to her room. She didn't bother changing out of her party clothes or wiping off her makeup. Instead, she collapsed onto her bed, too drained to care.

Rosalyn Fairchild was just tired.

But just as sleep began to pull her under, her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Groaning, she buried her face in her pillow before reluctantly fishing it out.

pretty boy colby
hey, just wanted to see if you were alright

Rose shut her eyes, the weight of sadness pressing down on her like a heavy rainstorm. She felt like a dick, which she kind of was ignoring one of her closest friends for the rest of the party.

And now, there he was, checking in on her. Asking if she was okay.

Her thoughts churned, bubbling with negativity. She kept thinking about how she didn't deserve his concern, didn't deserve to have a friend like him, not after the way she'd treated him tonight. It made her heart sore.

The haze of the vodka shot had long since faded, leaving her sober and fully aware of her spiraling thoughts. She recognized this pattern all too well—these were the kind of thoughts she grew up with, some being things her old parents used to say.

She used to go to a therapist growing up, and they once told her that healing wasn't linear, that even with progress, trauma had a way of resurfacing when she least expected it. Maybe that's all this was—her past reaching out to remind her of its grip.

It was exhausting. And cruel.

Rose let out a shaky exhale, her fingers trembling as they hovered over her phone. Eventually, she steadied herself, bringing her thumbs to the keyboard to type out a reply.

rosey posey
Yeah, I'm fine

Meanwhile, back at the Traphouse, Colby laid in his bed, phone in hand, staring at her reply.

There was something about the way her words read—flat, detached—that didn't sit right with him. Maybe it was the emptiness between the lines, but he could feel it. Her reply wasn't the truth. Not even close.

pretty boy colby
you sure?
kind of seemed like you were ignoring me tonight

Rose let out another groan, burying her face into her pillow.

Of course, he noticed. Of course he fucking did.

What did she think was going to happen? Subtlety clearly has never been her strong suit, and now here she was, caught in the emotional mess she tried—and failed—to hide. She should've known better.

She never meant to worry him. At least, she didn't think she did. But he had to be worried—why else would he be texting her this late? Quarter to midnight, and he was still thinking about her.

rosey posey
what?
you didn't do anything colbs
tara made me take a shot of vodka
and I think it made me be in a
weird mood all night
sorry for making you think there
was something wrong

pretty boy colby
no it's fine
I understand
I just needed to make sure

rosey posey
oh okay
well uh I should probably get some sleep
goodnight

Colby frowned, his eyes lingering on her message.

She hadn't added the moon emoji—the one she always used when she texted him goodnight. Most people wouldn't have noticed such a small detail, but he did. He didn't know why it mattered so much to him, but it did.

Still, he brushed the thought aside, telling himself it was silly to dwell on something so minor—or to let it bother him at all.

pretty boy colby
okay
don't let the bed bugs bite

rosey posey
and don't let any demons
posses you at night

pretty boy colby
well that's kinda hard considering
im now a ghost hunter

rosey posey
whatever brock
just get some sleep mf

pretty boy colby
awww there she is
there's the rosey that I know

rosey posey
SLEEP BITCH

pretty boy colby
okay FINE I WILL
geez
well goodnight rosey sleep well 🫶

He'd ended his text with a heart emoji—a simple, sweet, unassuming little heart.

How... nice.

To most, it might've been a minor detail, something easily overlooked or brushed off. But to Rose, it carried more weight than she cared to admit, even to herself.

rosey posey
I'll try

pretty boy colby
try harder

rosey posey
how about u try sleeping and not being a menace to me for one night

pretty boy colby
nahh

rosey posey
GOODNIGHT COLBY

pretty boy colby
goodnighttt

With that small but funny exchange, both Rose and Colby turned off their phones, letting the stillness of the night envelop them. Unbeknownst to either of them, this was just the beginning. The start of something greater, something they wouldn't fully understand until the pieces began to fall into place.

lani's talking!

the adelaide arc is beginning, how do we feel? old viewers of the og version of this book will remember her and hate her all the same 😁😁

but anyways, this is the first chapter I've written for 2025! WOHOOOO happy new year everybody! hope you all had a good New Year's Eve!

but as always, I just wanna say thank you for the love and support you've given this story, even with my inactivity. it is very much appreciated and I will see you all later!

byeeee <3