Jul 10
BRINITY NATION TONIGHT IS THE FINAL VOTE GRAB EVERY DEVICE YOU CAN VOTE ON AND VOTE FOR BRINITY. MESSAGE ALL YOU'RE FAMILLY AND FRIENDS MAKE SURE THEY VOTE BRINITY TOO. WE MUST LET TRUE LOVE WIN !!!
seen from Japan
seen from Austria
seen from Russia
seen from Bulgaria
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Pakistan
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Canada
seen from China
seen from Pakistan
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from United States
seen from Australia
BRINITY NATION TONIGHT IS THE FINAL VOTE GRAB EVERY DEVICE YOU CAN VOTE ON AND VOTE FOR BRINITY. MESSAGE ALL YOU'RE FAMILLY AND FRIENDS MAKE SURE THEY VOTE BRINITY TOO. WE MUST LET TRUE LOVE WIN !!!
hopeless, ch 5
trinity x bryce, love island
summary: feeling increasingly left behind as everyone around her settles into relationships, trinity begins to question whether she's simply too much for anyone to love. a casual invitation to a bar from her best friend might be the first step toward changing that.
authors note: bryce pov special wow
other chapters here!
bryce wakes the next morning with a half-deflated balloon resting against his bedroom ceiling.
the number three had followed him home sometime after midnight, its ribbon looped around his keys after zach insisted he needed to keep it. bryce had been too tired to remove it when he made it inside, heading straight to bed.
his phone rests facedown beside him. bryce reaches for it before he is fully awake, already aware of whose name he hopes to see. several notifications wait on the screen. sincere has sent pictures of the left-behind damage, while kayda has posted a photo of zach facedown beside their bathroom toilet.
nothing from trinity, but bryce opens their conversation anyway. he considers sending something.
did you make it home?
too much time has passed for that.
sorry zach ruined the ending of the party.
that would at least give her something to answer, but bryce doesn’t know if zach is the real reason she left so suddenly.
he had returned from helping sincere to find the couch empty. by the time someone explained that kayda had taken zach and trinity home, the elevator had reached the lobby. for the rest of the night, bryce had been left wondering what might have happened if no one had interrupted them.
bryce’s phone vibrates against the blanket as zach’s name appears across the screen. he answers almost immediately.
“yo. how are you alive?”
“i don’t know,” zach mumbles, his voice sounding rough and distant. “i barely remember leaving last night.”
bryce laughs, getting out of bed. the hardwood floor is cold beneath his feet as he walks toward the kitchen.
“i know kayda was pissed she had to drive us home early,” zach continues. “but it’s not my fault i’m a lightweight.”
bryce opens the refrigerator and takes out a bottle of water. he leans against the kitchen counter, waiting for zach to mention trinity. and when he doesn’t, bryce hates himself slightly for being disappointed.
“did trinity say anything in the car?” he asks eventually.
there is a pause on the other end.
“about having to leave early?” zach questions. “no. she wasn’t complaining at all. weirdly quiet though from what i remember.”
“oh.”
zach releases a laugh that immediately turns into a groan. “you’re asking if she said anything about you.”
bryce twists the cap off the bottle. “i just wanna know if she had fun.”
“dude, you’re asking the wrong guy. like, half my memory is gone.”
bryce leans against the kitchen counter and looks toward the windows across his living room. a thin layer of sunlight stretches across the floor.
“honestly, i’m not sure if she likes me.”
usually, this is not something bryce needs to question—he has dated before. specifically, he knows how to recognize flirting. trinity’s attention at the party had seemed obvious, especially when she stayed beside him for most of the night. but, she is also naturally teasing. bryce doesn’t know whether her behavior means she likes him or if it’s simply because she’s comfortable.
zach takes long enough to answer that bryce already regrets asking. “i don’t think she does.”
“what makes you say that?”
“to be honest, she doesn’t like men easily. kayda’s been trying to get her to come out with us for years. i was surprised she even showed up at the bar that one night.”
“what does that have to do with me though?”
“i think she likes talking to you,” zach says. “but i don’t think she actually likes you.”
bryce looks down at the floor. he has spent the past week assuming the connection is mutual because he wants it to be. maybe trinity only sees him as someone new and entertaining. maybe the almost-kiss existed more in his mind than hers.
“damn, bro.”
“i’m just telling you what i think,” zach states.
bryce closes his eyes briefly. zach’s opinion shouldn’t matter. he was barely conscious by the end of the party and has never shown a particular ability to understand what anyone else is feeling. still, doubt has already entered bryce’s mind.
“alright,” he responds. “well, thanks i guess.”
bryce stands in the kitchen for another minute, staring at trinity’s conversation on his phone.
he just needs to ask the only person whose answer matters.
after a moment, he presses the call button. the ringing begins before he can reconsider.
trinity answers after the fourth ring.
“hello?”
her voice is softer than usual, clearly still affected by sleep.
“hey. sorry, i didn’t mean to wake you.”
“well, you did. what do you need?”
bryce releases a quiet chuckle, though it fades quickly. “i guess i’ve been in my head about what happened at the party. when i left you at the couch, i didn’t realize sincere would need me for that long. by the time we were done, you were gone.”
“genuinely, don’t worry about it. i kind of forgot,” she says casually. “zach was a lot. and kayda was my ride so we had to leave, like, as soon as possible.”
bryce moves toward the windows, suddenly unable to remain still. zach’s voice enters his mind, but he pushes it away.
“i wanted to ask if you were busy today,” he blurts.
there is a brief pause.
“why?”
“i mean, we didn’t really get to finish talking last night,” bryce adds. “i thought we could get coffee or walk somewhere. unless you already have plans.”
“i don’t.”
the answer comes quickly enough to loosen something in his chest.
“okay.”
“okay,” she repeats.
bryce looks at the time. “i can text you a place that i go to sometimes. meet around noon?”
“that sounds good,” trinity replies.
bryce wants to ask if she has been thinking about what almost happened on the couch. instead, he listens to the quiet sound of her breathing through the phone.
“was there something specific you wanted to talk about?” she questions.
he looks toward the balloon trapped in his bedroom doorway. “nothing bad. let’s just talk when we get there.”
the call ends. bryce lowers the phone and now looks at his reflection in the dark television screen. he has two hours to figure out what he is actually going to say.
the cafe is busier than bryce expected. despite arriving almost twenty minutes early, most of the tables inside are occupied, and the line extends nearly to the entrance.
at exactly twelve, trinity walks through the door. she wears jeans and a fitted black top beneath a light jacket, her hair falling loosely around her shoulders. bryce immediately forgets the sentences he had been forming in his mind.
her expression softens before she approaches him in line. “you’re early.”
“i tried to beat the line,” bryce smiles. “what do you want to order?”
trinity looks toward the menu hanging above the counter. “you decide.”
when they make their way to the front of the line, bryce orders a coffee and sandwich for himself. for trinity, he chooses an iced latte and pancakes, making sure to take the bill as well.
while they wait near the far end of the counter, the cafe feels too crowded for the conversation he imagined. the sound of plates clattering, names being called over the intercom, and the tables close enough that everyone else can hear seems like a nightmare waiting to happen.
bryce peeks through the windows toward the riverwalk outside. “we should go out there.”
trinity follows his attention. “i’m down.”
once their order is ready, they step outside. the air is warm, though a steady breeze moves off the river. trees line the paved path while boats move slowly through the water.
it is completely different from other times they’ve hung out. none of their friends is watching their every move. just the two of them.
a low stone wall separates the walkway from the water, while several benches face it. bryce and trinity glance at each other, a silent agreement to finally rest and eat their food.
“what did you want to talk about?” she questions as she sits down.
bryce takes a drink, though he is no longer thirsty. he had spent the morning planning ways to talk to her without sounding as though he needed reassurance. none of them feels natural now that she is beside him.
“i thought you might’ve left last night because things got awkward,” he admits.
“i didn't, but it's not like i had a choice. my personal uber was leaving,” trinity states. she doesn’t sound angry. if anything, she seems amused by his concern.
some of bryce’s earlier tension fades. still, zach’s opinion stays in the back of his mind.
for a moment, they watch a boat pass along the river. the sunlight slips between the leaves overhead, moving across trinity’s face whenever the branches shift. it catches in her eyes along the small pieces of gold jewelry she wears.
bryce starts staring longer than he should. at this point, he has already been caught enough times before that he doesn’t care to stop.
“anyway,” trinity says as she cuts into one of her pancakes. “how’s life?”
“great. work is good. so is everything else.”
“you’re still a handyman, right?” she asks, winking at him. “what’s that like?”
her expression makes him laugh before he begins answering more seriously.
“i like being able to see what i finish,” he explains. “a lot of jobs feel like you do the same thing every day and nothing changes. with this, you have different things to focus on.”
trinity listens without interrupting. she has a way of looking at him that makes bryce feel as though his answer matters.
“what are your other jobs?”
“i’m kind of a dj. and a model.”
trinity’s eyes widen. “really?”
“it’s low-key,” bryce says, becoming embarrassingly aware of how closely she watches him.
he has already learned that trinity collects details and memorizes them, which makes it stranger that she hasn’t mentioned their first meeting. maybe it is the same reason he keeps it from her. he isn’t ready to explain that he has wondered about her more than once over the past five years.
the conversation eventually shifts toward trinity. she tells him more about working at the hardware store and admits she never expected to stay there as long as she has. she had started during college because the schedule worked around her classes. after graduation, she kept waiting for the perfect opportunity to appear. it never did.
“i thought i’d have more figured out by now,” she admits. “i feel like i decided my whole life in high school, and none of it has really gone to plan.”
“what do you mean?”
trinity traces one finger through the condensation on her cup. “i was expecting to start college in the most perfect way. with a perfect boyfriend and a perfect job. i’ve been single since high school, and i still work at a dumbass hardware store.”
bryce simply waits, giving her the choice to continue.
“i know i’m doing fine. but sometimes i feel like i’m just missing out.”
“on what?”
“maybe just having someone,” she continues. “and it’s because i’m difficult, i question everything. if somebody says something i don’t like, i remember it forever. and once i decide i’m done, i’m done.”
“you’re definitely not difficult,” bryce says casually, as if it is the most obvious conclusion.
“you’re trying to impress me.”
“is it working?”
“a little.”
bryce’s eyes lower toward trinity’s mouth. he wants to kiss her. he has wanted to kiss her for longer than she knows. there is no uncertainty about that part.
he lifts one hand, hesitating before brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face. his fingers barely touch her temple, but the contact is enough to make his pulse quicken.
“you barely know me,” she says quietly, a small smile appearing on her face.
“i know enough.”
bryce wants to ask what happened in her past relationships. he wants to know who convinced her that having boundaries made her impossible to love. and for a moment, he considers moving closer. there is enough space between them that he would have to trust that she would meet him somewhere in the middle.
instead, bryce lowers his hand and looks toward the river, giving himself another second to think. he wonders if he has disappointed her by choosing not to do anything.
“zach said something this morning,” bryce confesses.
trinity’s expression immediately becomes suspicious. “that already sounds stupid. what?”
bryce rests his forearms against his knees. “he said he didn’t think you liked me.”
for several seconds, the only sound between them comes from the river and the traffic passing behind the park. then she laughs, but not a nervous laugh or the polite-kind people use when they don’t know how to answer. the loud kind, which escapes her suddenly, forcing her to cover her mouth with one hand.
“yikes,” he mutters.
“zach barely knows what kayda is thinking, and they’ve been together for years. why the hell would he know anything about me?”
“oh. yeah. i guess you’re right.”
she turns toward him again, still smiling. “what made him say that though?”
“i asked him. because i couldn’t tell.”
the words are already closer to a confession than he intended to make. trinity lowers her gaze toward her hands as he waits.
“i wouldn’t be here if i didn’t want to be,” she says eventually.
it doesn’t tell him exactly how she feels, but it gives him more than he had before. some of the tension between them disappears, but he is still aware of how close they are and how easily this moment could’ve become something more.
once they finish eating, he gathers the empty containers and throws them into the trash can beside the bench.
trinity watches him stand. “are we leaving?”
“of course not,” bryce says, gesturing towards the path. “want to keep walking?”
she remains seated for another second, pretending to consider it. then she rises and picks up her coffee.
“only because i’m not finished with this.”
the conversation becomes easier again, returning to the rhythm they always seem to find once neither of them is thinking too hard about it. trinity tells him about growing up with five siblings while bryce tries to imagine living in a house that crowded. having one brother already felt like enough.
when they make their way to the end of the path, they turn around, walking back toward the cafe. the afternoon crowd has grown, filling the nearby sidewalks and benches.
at one point, someone nearly walks into trinity while looking down their phone. bryce places his hand lightly against the middle of her back, guiding her out of the way. as they pass by, he removes his hand, though he can still feel the warmth of her through the thin fabric of her shirt.
when they reach the intersection, trinity stops. her car is parked in the opposite direction from his, forcing them to separate. neither is eager to leave.
“thanks for bringing me out here,” she says.
“by the way, i’m working an event next weekend,” he mentions. “djing. the others will probably be there.”
“are you asking me to come?”
bryce scratches his head. “i thought that was pretty obvious.”
“just send me the details,” she giggles, taking a few steps backward before turning toward the street.
“bye, trinity.”
she reaches the corner before glancing back at him. “bye, bryce.”
bryce is still standing outside, watching her leave as he takes in the events of the last hour.
he is so lucky.
next ch
THE SIDE EYE FROM BRYCE!!! He HEARD KAYDA AND ZACH! I JUST KNOW!
Like THEY COULD NEVER
hopeless, ch. 1
trinity x bryce, love island
summary: feeling increasingly left behind as everyone around her settles into relationships, trinity begins to question whether she's simply too much for anyone to love. a casual invitation to a bar from her best friend might be the first step toward changing that.
authors note: i'm planning on this being a whole series so sorry this first chapter is not really beefy... next one will be better trust!
other chapters here!
trinity was kind of a bitch when it came to dating.
her past relationships, if she could even call them that, always ended badly. in high school, she’d taken every one far more seriously than they deserved. that was, until her attitude eventually got the best of her. boys her age were just too immature and weren’t capable of handling someone who challenged them.
at least, that’s what she’d always told herself.
as she nears twenty-three, loneliness creeps into every moment of trinity’s life. practically all of her friends seem to have found the one, and each conversation somehow circles back to their perfect love lives. even her shifts at the hardware store involve committed couples debating which color to paint their living room, as if determined to show her how happy they are.
trinity now sits cross-legged on her bed, watching raindrops race each other along her apartment window. her appreciation for gloomy weather has continued to grow since moving away from virginia. after years of sweating through muggy summers, the cool drizzle feels like a relief that, unfortunately, also leaves far too much room for her own thoughts.
a family walks down the sidewalk, their children making splashes in any puddle they find. the parents laugh so hard they’re almost in tears every time they get drenched.
she keeps her gaze on them for a moment longer.
am i too much for someone?
“what?”
the words leave her mouth before she even realizes she’d said it aloud.
and also while on the phone with her best friend, kayda.
she hated admitting that they met at a speed dating event during their freshman year of college. it sounded desperate whenever trinity said it out loud, though that wasn’t the case at all. she signed up hoping it’d be funny; but ironically found it hard to stay interested. most of the conversations had been painfully terrible—except for one.
he and trinity had spent more time laughing at the icebreakers than actually reading them. each card he picked up got more and more baffling, as the questions suddenly went from: “what’s your favorite pet?” to “what’s your favorite sex position?”
after practically running out of air, they eventually answered and even had the same choices: cats and doggystyle.
but before she could get his number, or even ask for his name, he suddenly disappeared. that was just her luck. she knew then it was a mistake to attend something serious as a joke, because she actually ended up disappointed in the end.
on her way out the door, she bumped into kayda for the first time. they both bonded over the strangest one hour experience of their life. two opposite ones, in fact. trinity had met someone she never saw again, meanwhile kayda had met zach and somehow never got rid of him.
these days, she's a third wheel all too often.
“hellooo? trinity?” kayda waves to the camera. “what did you say?”
“nothing. i’m just…” trinity flops onto her pillow. “i want a man.”
kayda scoffs. “trust me, girl. it’s not all it’s cut out to be.”
“what happened now…?”
“i’ll tell you later. this conversation isn’t about me, it’s about you, and we’re going to find you the best boyfriend on this planet.”
a snort escapes trinity. “okay, and where is he?”
“listen,” kayda starts hesitantly. “ignore the shade i just threw against him, but later this week us and some of zach’s college friends are going to go out to this bar, and i think you should totally come.”
“are you sure? are they like… normal?”
kayda’s face deadpans. “yes, dude. they’re normal.”
with a sigh, trinity throws her hands up in the air. “my bad! considering how much i’ve come to learn about zach over the years, i have to make sure that the other people he surrounds himself with aren’t borderline weirdos.”
kayda goes silent. maybe trinity threw that on her a little too harsh, but after everything that zach had put them through, it was difficult to feel guilty.
their sophomore year, after zach had graduated, he was convinced that kayda was cheating on him while she was on campus. he moved himself into trinity and kayda’s shared apartment with no warning, claiming he needed to keep an eye on things.
his investigation lasted almost five months before trinity finally convinced him to leave. she explained to him that he needed to stop being a “monitoring spirit” in the girls’ living space, and he reluctantly agreed.
after about ten seconds of awkward silence, kayda breaks it. “whatever. you’re right. but still, you should come.”
the corners of trinity’s lips tug upward. “i’ll think about it.”
“don’t, you’ll overthink. we’ll pick you up at nine on saturday.”
the words ‘call over’ blast onto the screen before trinity can protest. tossing her phone onto the sheets, she starts to stare out the window again but stops.
trinity knows she shouldn’t feel so sorry for herself. she also knows she’ll find the right person eventually. she had to.
but why did it feel so much easier for everyone else?
next ch
hopeless, ch 3
trinity x bryce, love island
summary: feeling increasingly left behind as everyone around her settles into relationships, trinity begins to question whether she's simply too much for anyone to love. a casual invitation to a bar from her best friend might be the first step toward changing that.
authors note: i have noting
other chapters here!
trinity could settle an argument over paint in less than five minutes. deciding how to respond to an unknown number was proving much more difficult.
“which color should we get?” the man in front of her asks, holding two paint samples beneath the fluorescent lights.
his wife tilts her head to the side as she studies them. “they kind of look the same.”
trinity takes both cards and places them beside each other on the counter.
“well,” she begins, pointing toward the first sample, “this has a warmer undertone. the other is more neutral, but the difference will depend on the lighting in the room.”
the man looks at the cards again. “so which one would you choose?”
“the warmer tone, but only because the neutral paint might look gray beside the floors you showed me earlier,” trinity continues, sliding two sample containers across the counter before either of them can begin another debate. they leave several minutes later, each carrying one of the samples and happily holding hands.
aniya, one of trinity’s coworkers, leans against the neighboring register with her arms crossed. “you should start charging people for your knowledge.”
“i wish.” trinity sighs.
before aniya can respond, trinity’s attention has already returned to her phone. she opens her messages to a text from an unfamiliar number—one that she has spent nearly thirty minutes trying to answer.
you never told me whether i passed the interview.
trinity rereads the message. her mind returns to the bar and the small smile on bryce’s face after she asked whether he was smart enough to be her trivia partner.
maybe she was overthinking her response. after all, he was just a guy.
“why do you look scared?” aniya asks.
trinity turns the phone away from her. “it’s nothing.”
aniya watches her for another second before walking toward a customer at the opposite end of the department.
trinity looks back at the number.
who is this? she types, even though she already knows.
the response arrives almost immediately.
bryce.
after a short pause, another message follows.
from the bar. in case you know multiple bryces.
the corner of trinity’s mouth lifts.
how did you get my number?
three dots appear at the bottom of the screen.
kayda.
of course. she should’ve known.
did you ask her for it?
the message sits there for several seconds longer than the others had.
she offered.
trinity narrows her eyes at the screen. it sounds possible, but it also sounds exactly like something a man would say after asking for her number and becoming shy about it. she decides not to press him.
you did pass the interview, by the way.
trinity’s fingers hover over the keyboard. was that the right response?
normally, she wouldn’t question herself this much. but now, she was starting to care that he enjoys talking to her as much as she does.
bryce begins typing, stops, and then starts again.
glad to hear it.
trinity smiles down at her phone before quickly flattening her expression when aniya walks past.
“get out of my business,” she jokes, looking at bryce’s message again. before she can respond, a customer approaches the desk carrying a can of paint. she slips her phone beneath the register and straightens. by the time she finishes mixing the sample and printing the label fifteen minutes later, she has almost forgotten about the conversation waiting beneath the counter.
almost.
the moment the customer leaves, trinity picks up her phone again.
bryce has sent another message.
by the way, zach is dragging me to your job right now to help buy shelves for his apartment. hope that’s cool.
trinity pauses. his awkwardness is almost charming, but her amusement quickly disappears when a familiar accent carries from the end of the aisle.
“there she is.”
zach approaches the paint counter while pushing an empty cart in front of him. bryce walks beside him with his phone still in one hand. the second his eyes meet trinity’s, he lowers it.
“why are you here?” she asks zach. “i saw you last night, and that was enough.”
“kayda wants me to hang shelves in the living room, and apparently i’m not allowed to buy anything until you make sure it’s correct.”
trinity looks past him toward bryce.
“hey,” he says.
“hey.”
for several seconds, neither adds anything. through text, they had managed to hold a decent conversation. face-to-face, both of them seemed far too aware that he had gone out of his way to get her number. it felt... different.
zach glances between them. “am i interrupting something?”
“no,” trinity and bryce answer at the same time.
his eyebrows rise at their response.
“let me take you to the right aisle,” trinity says before he can comment, walking around the counter and gesturing for them to follow. once they reach the correct section, zach immediately begins picking up random packages, pretending to understand their descriptions. after searching aimlessly for a few moments, he wanders farther down, leaving trinity and bryce beside the cart.
bryce glances down at his phone before slipping it into his pocket. “you stopped answering.”
“i was busy. working,” she starts. “speaking of jobs, do you have one?”
“is this your way of asking if i’m jobless?” he kids. “i have a few, actually. one being handyman work.”
trinity finds that oddly hot. since starting at the hardware store, she has grown accustomed to getting her hands dirty. somewhere along the way, she’d begun appreciating men who knew how to fix things.
“that’s cute,” she says.
bryce tightens his hand around the cart handle and looks toward the shelves rather than at her. trinity presses her lips together, trying not to smile too obviously at his reaction.
“seriously?” he asks.
“yes!” she exclaims. “i feel like hardly anyone does that now.”
“i appreciate that.”
trinity giggles, and bryce finally makes eye contact again. the awkwardness doesn’t disappear completely, but it becomes easier to withstand once she realizes it belongs to both of them.
zach reappears holding three different boxes of screws. “which ones?”
trinity takes them from him before he can place anything in the cart. “none of them.”
she returns the boxes and begins walking toward the correct section while zach follows, complaining about something she doesn’t have the energy to hear about. bryce pushes the cart while typing something on his phone, trying to hide the smile on his face.
and when trinity makes her way back to the counter, she immediately checks her notifications. a message from bryce fills the screen.
does this mean i passed the second interview too?
trinity looks up. he stands only a few feet away, pretending to study the names of paint colors while aniya rings up zach at a nearby register.
barely, she types.
bryce checks his phone.
this time, when he smiles, he doesn’t bother hiding it.
“yo, bryce. i bought the stuff,” zach says, pushing the cart towards the exit. “let’s get out of here.”
“bye, trin,” bryce mouths as he walks out the door.
for the remainder of her shift, trinity keeps expecting her phone to vibrate. it doesn’t. and by the time she clocks out three hours later, she’s annoyed with herself for getting attached so easily.
after grabbing her bag and locking the doors, she steps outside. the air has cooled considerably since the start of her shift, and darkness has settled over the parking lot. trinity makes it halfway to her car before her phone vibrates.
a selfie from bryce appears on the screen. zach stands in front of one newly installed shelf, wearing a proud expression despite the fact that bryce is clearly the one holding the drill. kayda sits on the couch in the background, smiling cautiously for the photo.
beneath the picture he writes:
thought i’d wait to text you until after you got off work. one shelf down.
trinity snickers as she unlocks her car.
how’d you know when i got off work?
the thought bubble appears almost instantly.
i might have looked up when your closing times were.
for once, she doesn’t spend minutes trying to think of the perfect response.
that’s thoughtful of you.
she starts her car and places the phone beside her, determined not to stare at the screen while waiting for his answer. it only takes him five seconds.
i try, bryce types.
trinity reads his message repeatedly before pulling out of the parking lot.
maybe someone willing to try was a good place to start.
next ch
hopeless, ch 2
trinity x bryce, love island
summary: feeling increasingly left behind as everyone around her settles into relationships, trinity begins to question whether she's simply too much for anyone to love. a casual invitation to a bar from her best friend might be the first step toward changing that.
authors note: this one took the soul out of me
other chapters here!
the feeling of trinity’s senses heightening as she walked into the bar confirmed that she had made the right choice.
she’d read online that the theme for the night was 2000’s night, which worked perfectly with the outfit she’d picked out. a plaid skirt, vintage graphic tee, and a pair of fur boots she’d spent way too much money on.
as the door shuts behind her, trinity scans the room for kayda. someone to call my lover by janet jackson pounds through the speakers while conversations overlap into one blur. once she adjusts to the dim lighting, she finally spots her.
kayda sits in a booth a few feet away, her shoulder occupied by zach’s arm as he talks with his friends. the second she notices trinity, her face brightens and she waves her over.
“thank fuck you’re here,” kayda says, standing up to meet her halfway with a hug.
“why?” she asks, concerned. “what’s wrong?”
“nothing bad, i was just getting tired listening to them flirt with each other.”
trinity rolls her eyes as she releases kayda and follows her back to the booth. at first glance, all of zach’s friends blend together almost immediately.
except for one. something about him makes her hesitate.
“about time,” zach says, interrupting her thoughts. “you look like you robbed a hot topic.”
“i hate you,” trinity quips. kayda gives zach a dirty look as she sits back down. he only smiles, clearly pleased with himself.
trinity slides into the empty space besides kayda as she begins to introduce the guys. kc and sincere— names she already knows she’ll forget within the next few seconds. she offers them both a polite smile anyway, hoping neither expects her to remember who is who.
“and that’s bryce,” kayda points.
as he looks up from his glass, his eyebrows lift slightly. his attention remains on trinity for a brief moment before he reaches across the table and offers his hand.
why did she feel like she’s seen him before?
“it’s nice to meet you,” bryce says, his voice only making the familiarity worse.
“you too,” she replies.
she holds his hand for a second longer than necessary, trying to search his face without making it obvious. maybe he was in the background of one of zach’s photos. being friends with him meant their paths might have crossed without trinity remembering exactly where.
before she can even speak, an employee steps onto a small stage in the corner of the bar and taps against a microphone. behind him, a projector displays the words y2k throwback tournament in glittery pink letters.
trinity turns towards kayda. “what is this?”
“one of the reasons i was so happy you came,” kayda answers, reaching beneath the menus on the table to pull out a folded answer sheet. “they announced it right before you got here, and zach signed us all up.”
“the winning team gets one hundred dollars,” zach adds. “so i’m taking this very seriously.”
the host explains that everyone needs to break off into pairs of two. the team with the most points after three rounds will win, with each round pertaining to a different category from the 2000s.
zach immediately places his arm more firmly around kayda’s shoulder. “obviously we’re together.”
kc and sincere quickly claim each other, because they’ve already started arguing over which of them knows more. kayda glances between trinity and bryce.
“you guys should be partners.”
trinity’s eyes move toward him before she can stop them. bryce doesn’t appear to be bothered by the suggestion. he simply sets his glass down and looks at her.
“you okay with that?”
“yeah,” trinity starts. “as long as you’re smart.”
“do you need to interview me?”
she studies him, uncertain whether he’s joking. the smallest smile forming on his face answers the question for her.
trinity slides out of her seat and moves to his side of the booth. their shoulders don’t quite touch, but the space between them is narrow enough that trinity is painfully aware of every time he moves.
the first round begins with music. a short clip of a song plays out of the speakers, each team having seven seconds to guess the title and artist. trinity recognizes the song almost immediately, taking the marker from bryce and writing the answer before the clip even ends.
he leans in closer to read the board. “you’re sure?”
trinity nods once, and the next song begins before he can question her again. this time, bryce recognizes it first. he reaches for the marker and their fingers brush as he takes it from her.
neither reacts.
they continue like that through the rest of the round, passing the marker back and forth as they alternate answers. they only disagree twice, but manage to talk through each answer before the timer runs out.
kayda leans around zach to examine their score. “why does it seem like you two are doing better than us?”
trinity sticks out her tongue at her playfully.
the host announces a short break before the second round. trinity examines the scorecard, surprised by how invested she is.
bryce rests his arm along the edge of the table. “you’re competitive.”
trinity looks at him, preparing to defend herself, but pauses when she realizes he’s smiling again.
she still can’t understand why he feels so familiar.
it isn’t only his face or voice. something about talking to him feels familiar too. their conversation moves easily, without the awkward pauses she usually has when meeting someone new. she doesn’t have to plan what she’s going to say before speaking, and bryce never looks offended when she challenges him.
“so how do you know everyone?” she asks.
“i met zach in college, but we didn’t become close until after he graduated. i know the others through him,” he says. “what about you? how did you meet kayda?”
“at a speed-dating event.”
she expects him to laugh or at least appear surprised. instead, his expression remains calm.
“really?”
“i was a freshman and thought it would be funny, but almost everyone there took it very seriously. it’s how zach and kayda met too, actually.”
bryce’s attention remains on her. “did you at least meet anyone?”
the question catches her off guard. she looks toward the stage as the host prepares the next set of questions.
“kind of. there was one guy i liked talking to, but it didn’t go anywhere.”
“that’s rough,” bryce says.
“it wasn’t that serious. we only talked for a few minutes.”
“do you remember him?”
trinity thinks about the question. “i remember the conversation more than i remember him.”
bryce looks down at the marker in his hands. “dang.”
before she can explain further, the music rises again, signaling the beginning of the next round. bryce passes her the marker without saying anything else.
a blurry screenshot appears on the projector, and every team has to identify the show it came from. trinity recognizes some of them, but bryce seems completely useless unless the show had been a cartoon.
“you didn’t watch anything else growing up?” she whispers.
“just glee, mostly.”
trinity stares at him. “we’re going to lose.”
bryce tries to keep his expression straight, but his mouth twitches. a second later, he laughs.
the sound stops trinity cold.
it breaks near the end, followed by a short breath as he lowers his head. his eyes narrow slightly, and he shakes his head as though he’s trying to recover from something much funnier than it actually is.
trinity knows that laugh.
the bar fades around her for a moment, and a different room forms in her memory. cheap tables arranged in rows. a timer counting down between her and a guy holding a stack of icebreaker cards.
he had laughed the same way when he read one of the questions.
pieces of the night return all at once. his hair is different now, and his face, though noticeably older, had gotten more handsome.
it’s him. the guy from speed dating.
“are you okay?” bryce asks, his eyebrows pulling together slightly.
“yes. yeah.”
her mind returns to their introduction. bryce had shaken her hand and told her it was nice to meet her. he hadn’t paused when she mentioned speed dating. even when she told him about the guy, he gave no sign that he understood.
he doesn’t remember her, and she tells herself that it shouldn’t matter. she hadn’t recognized him either, and their original conversation had lasted less than ten minutes.
but she remembered eventually, and apparently, he hadn’t.
the final round focuses on old technology and internet culture. trinity tries to act normally, though being seated beside bryce now feels completely different. every time he leans closer to see the board, she remembers him sitting across from her years earlier.
she wonders how she missed it. the way he studies each question before answering. the calm expression he wears whenever she disagrees with him. even the way he turns the marker between his fingers feels like something she had seen before.
they continue working together, falling back into the same easy rhythm from the music round. bryce listens when trinity is certain, and she starts trusting him when he recognizes something she doesn’t. after the final question, the host announces that trinity and bryce’s team has won by one point.
kayda screams while trinity laughs as everyone reaches across the booth to congratulate them. bryce holds his hand up toward her, and it takes her a second to realize he wants a high five.
she strikes her palm against his.
they both rise from their seats and walk up the stage to claim their prize. even zach claps as they bow together in front of the crowd, their hands linked. the host gives each of them a fifty dollar bill before sending them back to the group.
“i need to go to the bathroom,” kayda announces, standing. “come with me, trinity?”
she follows kayda to the bathroom, only to find a line stretching much farther than expected. as they wait, trinity avoids kayda’s hard stare, who's clearly waiting for her to say something.
“so?” kayda finally asks.
trinity blinks at her. “so what?”
“what do you think of bryce?”
“he’s sweet.” she answers nonchalantly.
“that’s it?” kayda retorts. “don’t act like you weren’t mrs. giggleshits throughout the entire game.”
“i’ve known him for less than an hour. ask me at the end of the night for a full review.”
kayda smiles as though trinity is about to admit something far more serious. before she can pry any further, the restroom door opens and they realize they’ve already made it to the front of the line.
when they return to the booth, trinity is surprised to find that her seat besides bryce remains empty. the space in front of it, however, is now occupied by a pink drink—probably one of the specials created for the night.
trinity sits as bryce glances towards her.
“you did really well,” he says. “i bought you this drink with my brand new fifty dollars to celebrate.”
“thank you,” she grins.
maybe she should hint at it.
she could casually mention the event again and watch for his reaction. or just tell him directly that they had met before.
instead, she reaches for her drink.
if he didn’t remember her, she wasn’t going to embarrass herself by admitting how clearly she remembered a conversation from nearly five years ago.
for now, she would let them believe they were strangers.
that seemed to be what he wanted anyway.
next ch
hopeless, ch 4
trinity x bryce, love island
summary: feeling increasingly left behind as everyone around her settles into relationships, trinity begins to question whether she's simply too much for anyone to love. a casual invitation to a bar from her best friend might be the first step toward changing that.
authors note: i posted this to ao3 and i genuinely have no idea how notes work there like why do i have two now can someone help me
other chapters here!
“do you like him?”
trinity doesn’t bother looking up from the menu in front of her. “who?”
kayda sits across from her at a small table in the back of their favorite cafe, looking far too pleased with herself. she had asked trinity to meet her for brunch the morning after hearing zach’s version of what happened at the hardware store.
“i’m serious. zach said you and bryce were acting weird.”
“fucking snitch,” trinity whispers. the server approaches their table before kayda can continue questioning her. trinity becomes lost in her thoughts while kayda places both of their usual orders.
“it felt different from the bar,” trinity admits as the server walks away.
kayda’s teasing expression softens slightly. “different how?”
“at the bar, i didn’t think anything was actually happening,” trinity explains. “we had stuff to talk about. i wasn’t sitting there wondering what every little thing meant.”
“and at your job?”
“he had already texted me. because you gave him my number.”
kayda takes her time unfolding the napkin in front of her. “he asked me if you were talking to anyone. then he asked if it would be okay if he texted you.”
the warmth spreading across trinity’s face becomes impossible to ignore. “and you didn’t think any of that was worth mentioning?”
“aww, you’re blushing.”
“okay, the point is that i knew what his intentions were when he came to the store. it made me nervous.”
kayda smiles, but for once, she doesn’t immediately make fun of her.
for a few seconds, neither of them speaks. the server returns with their drinks, and trinity pours sugar into her coffee. stirring it slowly, she feels relieved to have something else to focus on. then, another thought enters her mind. there was still something kayda didn’t know.
“actually,” trinity begins, “there’s something else.”
kayda’s face immediately brightens. “what?”
“do you remember how i told you about that one guy i actually liked talking to at the dating thingy?”
kayda’s eyebrows pull together. “the one who disappeared?”
“...yes.”
kayda stares at her for a moment before realization begins forming across her face. “no way!”
“keep your voice down!” trinity hisses. several people at the nearest table look in their direction as she sinks slightly into her chair. “i figured it out at the bar. because of the way he laughed.”
“bitch, when you say it like that, it sounds like it’s out of a rom-com,” kayda says, staring at trinity as if she has suddenly become a completely different person and leaning back in her chair. “that's insane! does he know?”
“i don’t think so,” trinity sighs. “he acts like we’ve never met before.”
“maybe he’ll remember eventually.”
“he better.”
the words come out more defensively than trinity intends. kayda studies her, but she doesn’t give her the chance to ask anything else. she reaches for her phone as it vibrates beside the table.
bryce’s name appears across the screen.
what are you doing monday night?
she reads the message twice, immediately wondering what kind of answer he’s expecting.
kayda leans forward. “is that him?”
trinity angles the phone away and asks bryce why he wants to know. his response appears almost immediately.
my birthday party. would you want to come?
something about the invitation makes her pause.
“his birthday is monday,” trinity tells kayda.
“i know. zach told me.”
trinity returns her attention to bryce’s messages. sincere was planning to reserve the rooftop at his apartment building. there would be a pool, food, and hopefully good music.
another message from him appears before she can ask for more details.
i promise it won’t be terrible.
kayda watches her silently for several seconds before pointing out that she’s overthinking again. trinity denies it, even though she has already typed and deleted three different answers.
“he invited you to the party, didn't he?” kayda asks. “just say yes.”
trinity looks back at the message.
okay. i’ll come.
nearing monday afternoon, trinity has already changed her outfit four times.
choosing something that works near water is more difficult than it should be. she eventually settles on a swimsuit beneath a white cover-up dress, sandals, and gold jewelry.
when kayda and zach arrive to pick her up, zach leans across the passenger seat to look at her. “so, do you and bryce fancy each other now?”
kayda pushes him back into his seat before he can make the situation worse. trinity climbs into the back and closes the door, already questioning her decision.
sincere’s apartment building is located downtown, taller and far more expensive-looking than trinity expected. the rooftop is already crowded when they arrive. music plays through speakers near the pool, while white lounge chairs surround the water. colorful drinks cover a long table beside several trays of food, and large balloons float near the railing.
she's still taking everything in when she notices the balloons near the pool that form the number thirty.
“he’s thirty?” trinity asks, stepping dead in her tracks.
bryce steps away from the group near the pool, dressed in dark swim shorts and a loose button-up shirt that he hasn’t bothered fastening. a pair of sunglasses rests on top of his head. his attention moves past kayda and zach almost immediately, settling on trinity. the smile that spreads across his face makes her suddenly aware of how much effort she put into looking effortless.
zach clears his throat loudly, causing bryce to finally look away, though he doesn’t appear particularly embarrassed about being caught.
trinity turns her attention toward the balloons. “so, thirty?”
“oh god,” he jokes. “i know, i’m old as fuck now.”
“i like it,” she replies, sending him a grin.
kc joins them with drinks in both hands and immediately starts teasing bryce about being sensitive over his age. he ignores him and takes the drinks, handing one to trinity without asking. it’s pink and decorated with a slice of lime.
she looks down at it. “how did you know i’d want this?”
“it’s basically the same thing i got for you at the bar,” bryce says casually.
kayda steals a sip of trinity’s drink before winking at her.
for the next hour, the group eats, drinks, and argues over music. trinity spends most of that time beside bryce without either of them discussing it. there are still moments when she wonders what he is thinking or if she is being too obvious, but those thoughts fade whenever they actually speak. by the time the sun begins lowering behind the buildings, the rooftop lights turn on. everyone has broken off from the group, leaving trinity and bryce to sit alone at curved outdoor couches near the fire pit.
“i don’t think you ever told me how old you are,” bryce mentions.
“i turn twenty-three in october.”
“so you’re twenty-two?” he asks.
she raises her eyebrows. “you’re thirty.”
bryce chuckles, but his expression doesn’t completely soften. the age difference clearly bothers him, even if he isn’t ready to admit why. trinity studies the side of his face. she has never considered herself particularly young— unless she sees herself through his eyes. nonetheless, she has her own apartment, a bachelor's degree, and a full-time job. more importantly, she has enough experience to decide who she wants to spend time with.
“does it matter?” she whispers, looking towards the pool. “we’re just talking.”
bryce looks at her then. “is that what we’re doing?”
the question causes something to shift between them. she suddenly wishes she had chosen a different word.
“you know what i mean.”
“yeah,” he says after a moment, the tension in his shoulders loosening. “i do.”
silence settles between them.
she watches the others near the pool while bryce remains beside her, their arms resting close enough to touch against the back of the couch. his hand shifts slightly, and his fingers brush hers. neither of them moves away.
trinity turns her head and discovers that bryce is already looking at her. his eyes lower briefly before returning to hers, and her heartbeat picks up despite how still everything else feels.
then sincere shouts bryce’s name, and he pulls away. the loss of contact is immediate, leaving the side of trinity’s hand strangely cold.
"guess the birthday boy is needed.”
“i’ll be back,” bryce says, standing up and pausing for a second before walking away.
trinity nods, although not sure if he means returning the couch or continuing whatever just happened between them.
next ch
I don't get worked up by some reality shows but people who watch love island and prefer zach x bryce over trinity x bryce are lowk racist
Cause if you've seen him misogynistic towards the girls and microaggresive towards trinity and still root them with bryce then that shows what you are as audiences