Farah sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night. she was home alone with the exception of Petunia, her french bulldog, and was bored out of her mind. usually she would be completely engrossed in watching her favorite show, criminal minds, but tonight was different.

she couldn't seem to concentrate for more than a minute on the show and would get distracted rather easily. eventually she decided that it would be best to turn it off, and so she did.

she then got up to make herself some tea, something that she found herself doing more often at nighttime.

she was filling a pot up with water when the front door slammed shut. Farah practically jumped out of her skin, a quiet yelp passing through her lips.

"jesus christ— Drew, what the hell?!" she spun around to see the tall boy stalking through the kitchen. he brushed past her and stopped at the fridge, yanking the door open and pulling a water from the shelf. he shut the door and left without saying a word to the girl.

Farah sighed, figuring that his date with Amanda didn't go well. he repeated what he did with the front door when he entered his bedroom, causing Farah to  jump yet again. she frowned before turning one of the burners on and putting the pot on to boil.

Farah looked down to Petunia who was sitting by her feet, looking up with watery eyes. she shook her head at the dog before returning her attention to the water that was still heating up. while she waited, she got her cup down from the cupboard and placed a teabag on the side.

once the water was heated up to her preference, she poured it into her cup and left the teabag to steep. once it was ready, she took it back to the couch and sat down, being extra careful to not spill her tea. instead of resuming her show, Farah decided that she would spend her time watching tiktoks.

the girl spent almost an hour watching tiktoks. she was so engrossed in one of her videos that she didn't even notice that Drew had sulked out of his bedroom until he sat down on the couch beside her.

"hey bub. you okay?" Farah looked up and locked her phone, placing it face down on her lap. she took in his posture; he was slumped against the couch, his shoulders hunched forward. he shrugged his shoulders, a subtle frown still present on his face.

"yeah i guess so" he muttered, earning a frown from the girl.

"do you wanna talk about it?" Farah questioned hesitantly. Drew remained silent for a few moments before shaking his head.

"not really. it just-" he cut himself off, and shook his head again in dismay. "it wasn't a good night for me is all."

"oh. i'm sorry." she said quietly, turning her body so that she was facing him. Drew furrowed his eyebrows in response.

"what're you sorry for?"

Farah sheepishly shrugged her shoulders, regret washing over her for a brief moment.

"i'm sorry that you had a bad night." she said quietly. Drew waved her off as if to say don't worry about it.

"i've had worse dates with her, honestly. it's nothing new." a silence came over the pair, the only sound coming from the ceiling fan that hummed quietly as it turned.

after a few minutes of silence, Farah spoke up. "do you wanna, i dunno, go out and do something? i'm bored."

Drew hesitated for a moment before agreeing to go. Farah was the first to stand up, walking her now empty mug to the sink.

Drew had gotten up and disappeared into his room, most likely to grab a coat and his shoes that he had forgotten about once he got inside. Farah did the same thing— going off to her room to grab a hoodie and sneakers. she walked back out into the living room and sought out Petunia who was still in the same place as she was earlier. Farah bent down and began to scratch the dog's head.

"bye Tuna, see you later." she cooed before standing up straight.

"so...what're we doing?" Drew questioned curiously as they walked out of the apartment.

"i dunno. we can just drive around until we figure something out, i guess." she responded with a shrug. Drew slowly nodded his head, being content with her answer.

"sounds good to me."

+ (song suggestion: quarter past midnight by bastille) +

"Drew! you just ran that red light!" Farah yelled, smacking the boy gently on the arm as he joyously laughed. he turned to look at her for a brief moment, the street lamp illuminated his already bright smile.

"no cop, no stop baby!" he yelled back while still laughing. Farah simply rolled her eyes at the boy. usually she wouldn't condone this behavior, but the backroads of Charleston were typically quiet at night, making their law breaking habits a lot easier to get away with.

"next time stop at the red light, you idiot. i don't wanna get into a fucking car wreck cause of your dumb ass."

Drew just let out another chuckle. "you got it, baby" he mocked, reaching over to pinch her cheek. she swatted his hand away, earning a laugh from the boy.

Misery Business by Paramore started to blare through the speakers of Drew's car as he turned down another side road. Farah gasped and started to dance along to the song. she practically screamed along to the song, making Drew smile contently.

the song was soon over and the chords for English Love Affair started blaring through the speakers. both Drew and Farah gasped, turning to look at each other with grins on their faces. this was one of their favorite songs to sing to in the car.

Farah showed it to Drew when they had first met, revealing to him that it was her favorite song at the moment. that night he made it a point to learn all the lyrics so that when they were in the car together, he could sing along with her.

"it started on a weekend in may!" they both shouted at the same time.

"i was looking for attention, need an intervention." Drew passed the invisible mic to Farah who sang the next line.

"felt somebody looking at me with a pearly white complexion, feeling the connection." Farah pointed between her and Drew while wiggling her eyebrows, causing the boy to laugh.

"when the lights go out she's all i ever think about. the picture burning in my brain, dancing in the rain means i can't forget my english love affair!"

Drew occasionally glanced over to watch as Farah danced along to the song. the passing street lamps and occasional stoplights shone down on her face, illuminating it in a way that he had never seen before. sure, they had many late night carpools on the way home from work, but none of them like this. they were both happy and wide awake, two key pieces in their joyful adventures.

after miles of driving, Drew finally decided to pull into a random parking lot for one of the beaches. when the car stopped, Farah furrowed her eyebrows. "why are we at the beach?" Farah asked, her attention focused on the dark sky above them.

"there's no people. we'll have the entire beach to ourselves!" Drew said simply as he got out of the car. he jogged to the backseat where he rummaged around for a towel that he discarded a few weeks ago. once he found it, he walked back to the front of the car and waited for Farah.

when she got out, she grinned at Drew. the boy grinned deviously at her, which caused her face to falter. she knew something was up, and she was preparing herself for whatever he was going to throw her way.

"race ya?" he questioned before taking off towards the water. Farah groaned loudly.

"oh my god, Drew!" she laughed and ran after him, trying her best to catch up. however, Drew reached the beach well before she did. as she ran through the sand, her foot slid, sending her face first into the cold sand.

"oh god, are you okay?" Drew laughed while approaching the girl.

"yeah, i'm fine." she laughed as she rolled over and sat up. Drew dropped the towel before holding out his hands to help her off of the ground. when she was on her feet, Drew quickly picked her up by the waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"Drew! i swear to god if you throw me in the ocean i'll break your fucking kneecaps!" she threatened, earning a boisterous laugh from the boy. Drew inched closer and closer to the water, which made Farah more anxious. she quickly balled up Drew's shirt in her fists for good measure as he continued to walk. "you better not." she warned tediously.

"i'm not! i'm not." Drew laughed and walked a few feet back to their towel. he set the girl down and in retaliation, punched him square in the arm.

she glanced down at her feet as he groaned in pain and saw that there were so many sea shells sitting there. she bent over and picked one up before holding it out to him.

"look, Drew. isn't this one so pretty?"

he hummed in response, but he wasn't looking at the seashell. he was looking at Farah who was smiling, her gaze fixed on the seashell. the way that the moonlight shined on her hair and illuminated her face made Drew look at her for a few moments longer. there was no doubt that she was absolutely stunning to him.

"hey" he cupped her hands in his, causing her to look up. "wanna go star gazing?" he nodded to the towel he dropped on the sand moments ago.

"sure, why not?" she smiled and grabbed Drew's wrist before pulling him towards the towel. the two laid down, having just enough room for the both of them on the towel.

they looked up at the stars, fully admiring the view that they rarely got to see.

"hey Fay?" Drew questioned softly after laying in silence for a while. the girl turned her head to look at the boy, her eyebrow quirked in question.

"thank you for tonight. it really made me feel a lot better." Farah smiled at Drew's confession.

"of course, Drewy. that's what best friends are for."

"right" he chuckled. "best friends."