This is probably way too long to be a sneak peek (3.8k...) and I'm also posting this at a really weird time, but fuck it. I finished it so I'm posting it ◡̈ You get introduced to the girls in this snippet and I love them all. It's also kinda suggestive, so 18+ MDNI please. Here's sneak peek #1 if you missed it!
SHUT UP, I LOVE YOU┃WN88┃SNEAK PEEK#2
Your suitcase still sat half-unpacked near the foot of the bed now, clothes spilling slightly from one side while your brain struggled to catch up with everything around you. That was tomorrow’s problem.
For tonight, there was only France. And your hair, unfortunately, because it was still a mess from the shower you’d taken after you arrived.
You plugged your straightener into the bathroom outlet and exhaled tiredly, catching your reflection in the mirror as the plates heated. The dark circles beneath your eyes weren’t just from traveling anymore, no matter how much concealer you planned on weaponizing against them in the next hour.
At least your hair was about to stop looking like you’d been electrocuted.
From the bedroom, Lovisa was already spreading her makeup across the wide windowsill. Brushes, palettes, skincare, jewelry—all arranged with perfect precision despite the fact that she herself functioned like absolute chaos most of the time. It was pretty impressive, if you were honest.
“We should invite Alana in to get ready with us, right?” you called, the straightener clamped awkwardly between your shoulder and ear while you separated another section of hair.
The silence that followed lasted just a beat too long.
“Do we have to?”
You leaned partially out of the bathroom doorway immediately. “Lovisa.”
“What?” she asked, turning toward you with wide innocent eyes that fooled absolutely no one. She picked up a moisturizer and unscrewed the lid with what looked like pure muscle memory. “William is going to break up with her in a couple months anyway. That’s what he always does.”
“Lovisa!”
“What? It’s true.”
“That’s mean to both him and her,” you argued, pointing the straightener at her accusingly. “We don’t even know Alana yet.”
“You’re only defending him this hard because it’s William.”
“That is not true.”
“It absolutely is true.”
You opened your mouth, then closed it again. You couldn’t really argue.
Lovisa smirked immediately. “Exactly.”
You rolled your eyes hard enough to hurt and disappeared back into the bathroom before she could look too smug about it. The straightener hissed softly as you dragged it through another piece of hair, the motion repetitive enough to quiet your thoughts for a second.
Because maybe Lovisa wasn’t entirely wrong.
Not about Alana—she couldn’t possibly know anything substantial about her yet, and neither could you. But about William. You did defend him more than you defended other people. You always had. It came naturally enough that you rarely noticed when you were doing it.
William was just… like that. As if that explained anything.
You set the straightener down with a small sigh, palms braced briefly against the bathroom counter.
“Fine,” Lovisa announced dramatically from the bedroom. “We’ll be nice girls for once.”
You could hear the scrape of her chair legs against the tiled floor as she pushed herself upright. A moment later, her reflection crossed briefly through the bathroom mirror as she wandered toward the open bedroom door, still absentmindedly blending moisturizer into her skin.
“Alana?” she called toward the hallway. “Do you want to get ready together?”
A second later, Alana appeared around the corner, already halfway dressed for the night in a silky cream-colored slip dress that made the wrinkled pile of outfit options still in your suitcase feel deeply inadequate for the occasion.
“Oh,” she said, visibly brightening. “Yeah. I’d love that. I’ll go get my makeup.”
The moment she was gone, Lovisa wandered back toward the windowsill and dropped dramatically into her chair again, crossing one leg over the other as she reached for a makeup brush.
You watched her through the bathroom doorway for a second before shaking your head slightly.
“She seems really nice.”
“She does,” Lovisa admitted reluctantly. “Which honestly makes it worse.”
You shot her a look.
“What?” she asked defensively, though the corners of her mouth twitched. “I’m serious. If she were horrible, I could be a bitch in good conscience.”
A laugh escaped you before you could stop it, warm and sudden enough that it startled you slightly on the way out.
And, unfortunately, that was the exact moment Alana walked into your room.
For one terrible second, your brain immediately assumed the worst—that she’d heard enough to understand the context, that this entire week was about to become socially catastrophic before the first night had even started.
But Alana only paused briefly in the doorway, carrying what looked like three separate makeup bags balanced carefully in her arms.
“Oh good,” Lovisa said immediately. “Another girl with a chaotic makeup routine. Sunny gets ready in literally three minutes.”
“No, I just don’t bring every single thing I own when I travel,” you corrected absently, crouching beside your suitcase while you dug around for something wearable.
Alana laughed softly then, and the initial tension dissolved before it could fully settle into the room.
You held up a pair of black linen pants uncertainly from your suitcase.
“Can I wear pants and a nice top,” you asked, glancing between them, “or are we going to a dress-and-heels kind of place?”
Lovisa didn’t even look away from the mirror she faced. “Dress and heels, babe. I’m sorry, the boys picked the club.”
You dropped your head dramatically toward your suitcase. “Well,” you muttered, already digging deeper into the disaster you’d packed, “fuck me, I guess.”
“That’s generally the hope when going out in Saint-Tropez, isn’t it?” Alana offered lightly.
You laughed before you could stop yourself again. Honestly, you needed to work on that.
Did Alana have to be funny too? It wasn’t enough that she was drop-dead gorgeous?
You glanced up at her over the edge of your suitcase, and she smiled slightly before sitting down cross-legged on the bed near Lovisa’s makeup setup, looking entirely at ease despite the fact that she barely knew either of you.
Eventually, after what felt like twenty straight minutes of rejecting everything you’d packed, you disappeared into the bathroom to change before Lovisa could threaten to dress you in something of hers.
The dress you finally settled on was simple by Riviera standards. Soft white fabric that skimmed your body without clinging too tightly, thin straps resting against your shoulders, the hem short enough that your first instinct upon seeing yourself in the mirror was immediately tugging it lower.
The dress wasn’t actually that revealing or out of your comfort zone; you were probably just showing off body parts that hadn’t seen the light of day since sometime last summer. Which made you vaguely uncomfortable and as if the girl in the mirror wasn’t even yourself. She was softer, maybe even prettier, and looked nothing like the version of yourself you carried around back home buried beneath sweaters and practical shoes and coffee stains from work.
You stared at your reflection for a second more, then sighed.
“Okay, okay,” you called reluctantly, stepping back into the bedroom. “Is this alright?”
The two girls sitting in front of the window, doing their makeup, instantly turned their heads to look at you. You couldn’t read Alana’s expression, but Lovisa was transparent, her eyes going a little wide as she whistled under her breath.
“You should show off your legs more often, Sunny,” Lovisa said.
“What does that even mean?” you sighed. “Just tell me if the dress is appropriate or not.”
“It means,” Lovisa said dramatically, “that you spend too much time dressing like a divorced librarian.”
“I work with children, dumbass. I have to follow a dress code—”
“I think you look lovely,” Alana cut in warmly.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed in her silk dress the color of champagne, makeup half-finished, and dark hair clipped away from her face. Without the full polished look from earlier, she seemed simpler somehow. A lot less easy to hate.
“Thank you,” you said honestly. “You’re significantly kinder than Lollo.”
Alana’s gaze then drifted toward your wrist. “Are you keeping your bracelets on?”
Your hand instinctively brushed the stack looped there—faded thread bracelets tangled beside tiny beads and silver bangles, some old enough that you barely remembered getting them.
A couple were from old France trips. Others had been made by kids at the youth center where you worked in the evenings and over the summers, tiny, uneven knots tied with complete seriousness before being gifted to you like treasures. One very old one was from a hockey tournament William had played in Prague when you were both teens—the red, white, and blue threads from the Czech flag faded from years of wear.
You still wore them all without really thinking about why.
“Why?” you asked, admittedly a little insecure about it. Maybe they looked childish to her. “Do they ruin the outfit?”
“No, no. They’re cute,” Alana said immediately. Her gaze flicked thoughtfully back toward her makeup scattered across the windowsill. “But…” She tilted her head slightly. “You should totally do colorful eyeshadow to match them.”
Lovisa barked out a laugh so violently she nearly dropped whatever product she was holding. “Don’t give her ideas,” she warned. “Sunny is completely clueless when it comes to makeup.”
“That’s not true,” you argued weakly.
“It absolutely is.”
You opened your mouth to defend yourself further before realizing you had, in fact, used the same simple routine for close to a decade now. There was nothing remotely creative about it.
Alana laughed softly at your helpless expression. “I could help you, if you want?”
You probably made a little confused face as she immediately explained herself further.
“I went to beauty school before I started living off my socials,” she added with a small laugh. “So I promise I won’t make you look like a clown.”
Your eyebrows lifted lightly. “Wait. Really?”
That somehow made Alana feel more human too. Not just William’s gorgeous influencer girlfriend dropped randomly into your friend group—but an actual person with history and jobs and old plans that maybe changed along the way.
You looked between the two of them for a second before shrugging slightly. “Only if you want to,” you said. “I don’t want to take up your time or anything.”
“Nonsense,” Alana said, patting the space beside her on the bed. “Sit down.”
You hesitated only briefly before crossing the room.
The mattress dipped slightly beneath your weight as you settled beside her. Up close, you could see the organized chaos of her makeup collection spread across the windowsill—brushes, palettes, tiny glass bottles, and compacts that all looked far more expensive than anything you owned. You assumed part of it came with her job.
For some reason, you'd expected her to feel intimidating. You’d known she would be here so it wasn’t like her presence had surprised you. But most times when someone brought a partner on one of these trips that wasn’t already acclimatized to the group dynamics, everything would feel really off. You’d made that mistake yourself a couple of years ago and ended up breaking up with the poor guy as soon as you were back on home soil.
There was nothing worse than a partner who didn’t mesh well with someone’s friends. Which was maybe why you felt a little confused by Alana. She almost felt too normal. Too easy to be around. And you weren't entirely sure what to do with that.
Especially now that she was about to put her hands on your face. Granted, they were manicured and smooth-looking hands, but still. Stranger danger and all that.
She grabbed a palette and dipped a brush into a shade you couldn’t really see. You guessed you had to trust her with this.
“Close your eyes,” she instructed gently.
You obeyed, feeling the soft press of her fingers against your temple as she tilted your face slightly toward the light spilling through the windows. The brush moving across your eyelid tickled at first, and then it was soft as she blended the shadow into place.
For a few moments, all you could hear was the rustle of makeup products, the faint hum of music drifting up from downstairs, and the distant sound of the boys arguing about something entirely unimportant.
Some things really never changed.
“So,” Alana said after a moment, conversational now. “How'd you land the nickname Sunny?”
You kept your eyes closed. “I’m from a place in Stockholm that has sun in the name. And hockey players can’t resist an easy nickname, I guess.” You smiled faintly. “Willy hasn’t given you one yet?”
“No,” Alana said. “Just Alana.”
“I’m sure that’ll come eventually.”
Lovisa leaned back in her chair by the window—you could hear it squeak against the floor even if your closed eyes stopped you from actually seeing her. You could easily picture the smug expression on her face, though.
“Well, Just Alana,” she said. “How’d you meet William? He literally doesn’t tell us anything anymore.”
“Lovisa,” you warned immediately.
“What?” she said. “I'm being friendly.”
“But you don’t have to interrogate her.”
Alana laughed softly before answering anyway. “No, it’s okay.”
You felt the brush leave your face briefly as she reached for another palette, and you dared to open your eyes again.
“We actually have a couple mutual friends,” Alana explained. “We kept seeing each other at events and stuff. Charity events mostly. Sponsor things. Y’know?”
“No, we don't know,” Lovisa said. “Because he doesn't tell us—”
“—I think that sounds like a great way to meet someone, right, Lovisa?” you interrupted. “That's how you met August, after all. Through mutual friends.”
That made Lovisa shut her mouth instantly. You didn’t need her to intimidate Alana more.
Alana smiled again, shrugging lightly. “Honestly, William didn’t tell me much about you guys either. He said you needed to be experienced. I think I’m starting to understand that now.”
“That’s because we’re all insane,” Lovisa said.
“We’re charming once you get to know us, I promise,” you added.
Alana shook her head, smiling to herself as she brushed something softer into the corners of your eyes. You closed them out of courtesy again.
“I didn’t even realize you and August were together,” she admitted to Lovisa. “Until you called dibs on the same room yesterday.”
You let out a giggle, opening one eye just enough to catch Lovisa's reaction in the mirror. “We don’t believe they’re a couple either,” you said dryly. “So honestly, that’s a fair assumption.”
Lovisa looked scandalized. “Just because we’re not heavy on PDA doesn't mean we’re not a couple,” she defended. “C’mon, we all think that shit is disgusting, right?”
The thing was, Lovisa was probably right. Not about the PDA necessarily, but about the fact that none of you had ever really been that affectionate in public. At least not in the traditional sense.
You and the boys had spent years making fun of her and August for dating, mostly because the relationship itself had felt so absurd when it happened. One day they were two stubborn idiots who'd been friends forever, and the next they were apparently in love.
The announcement had genuinely destabilized the friend group for several weeks. Mostly because nobody knew how to act. You’d spent an entire France trip staring at them like they were participating in some elaborate social experiment. But eventually everyone realized nothing had actually changed. The only real difference was that they left together at the end of the night.
Sometimes there was a hand resting on a knee. A kiss against a temple. Small, little comfortable things. The kind that almost disappeared if you weren't paying attention.
“That’s Scandinavian romance for you, Alana,” you laughed. “Acting like friends in public even though you share a mortgage.”
“I actually kind of agree with Lovisa,” she admitted, looking at you with a sideways smile. “I hate excessive PDA too.”
“See?” Lovisa pointed immediately. “Finally. Another sane woman.” Then she pointed directly at you. “You're just single and touch-starved, Sunny. Admit it.”
“What? How did this turn against me?”
Lovisa looked overly pleased with herself.
Alana grinned slightly as she leaned closer again, dabbing something near your brow bone. “How long have you been single?”
You honestly had to think about it. Was twenty-eight years really the answer? You didn't know. There had been dates. A handful of almost-relationships. People you'd liked well enough. People who'd liked you more than you liked them. Months that looked like something from the outside until they quietly dissolved into nothing. But if someone asked you to name an ex-boyfriend? You weren't sure anyone came to mind.
“Uh…” You stuttered lightly. “Last time I dated someone was maybe eight months ago?But we only saw each other a couple of times. Nothing serious.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever been serious with someone,” Lovisa said.
You knew she wasn't trying to be malicious. Lovisa rarely was. But the comment landed somewhere uncomfortable anyway, poking at a truth you knew too well but never wanted to admit to.
“Shut up.”
“Never,” she laughed.
You pointed a finger vaguely in her direction without opening your eyes. “And for your information,” you informed her, “I'm thriving as single.”
Lovisa rolled her eyes so dramatically you swore you could hear it. Alana, meanwhile, was smiling softly to herself.
“You don’t miss it?” she asked after a second. “Having someone to come home to?”
You hummed thoughtfully. The truth was, your life had become very comfortable lately. If you ignored the dead grandpa and arguing parents, you were practically set for life, almost suspiciously so.
You had your routines.
You woke up alone in a very comfortable bed. You ate breakfast alone. You took the subway to work alone. You spent your lunch breaks alone unless a student wanted to sit in your classroom and tell you about whatever catastrophe had consumed their sixteen-year-old life that week. You went home alone. You ate dinner alone. You spent your evenings reading books or watching horrible reality television alone.
And the horrible thing was you genuinely liked it. You were so comfortable alone that an outside observer might've briefly diagnosed you with something where antisocial was a symptom.
“I bought a pregnancy pillow for cuddles,” you said after thinking about it, “and I moved into a place with a dishwasher recently, so honestly? I’m pretty set.”
For a moment, the room went silent. Then Lovisa dropped something. You opened your eyes to realize she was staring at you in horror.
“Oh, and those Satisfyer toys work better than any man I’ve been with anyway,” you added.
Alana choked on her own laughter beside you while Lovisa put her head into her hands.
“Wow,” Lovisa breathed. “She doesn’t even miss dick. I think she’s beyond saving for real, Alana.”
The sound that came out of Alana was somewhere between a laugh and a wheeze. “You seriously don’t miss anything about it?”
You considered it, and maybe there was a thing or two you couldn’t do alone.
“Okay,” you admitted reluctantly, “it would be nice to have someone rub my back every once in a while and maybe… eat me out until I see stars. But that’s it. I don’t miss anything else.”
Lovisa slapped the windowsill triumphantly. “I knew you weren’t hopeless, Sunny. We’re getting you laid tonight!”
“Oh my god. That’s not what I—”
“What?” she grinned. “This is huge progress for you.”
You swallowed the rest of your words quickly. The worst part was that both of them were laughing now. Together. Like they'd known each other for years instead of less than two days.
“Wait,” Alana said slowly. “Sunny, you actually… enjoy that part?”
Both you and Lovisa stared at her.
“You don’t?” Lovisa asked.
Alana shrugged a shoulder, looking suddenly sheepish. It was the first genuinely awkward thing she'd admitted all evening. A faint flush crept into her cheeks as she glanced down at the makeup brush in her hand.
“I mean—I do sometimes. But William is like overly enthusiastic about it.” She laughed softly through her embarrassment. “I don’t know, I guess I just don’t want it that often—”
You and Lovisa reacted at exactly the same time, both making identical sounds of horror, landing somewhere between a screech and a gagging noise.
“I’m gonna stop you right there actually,” Lovisa cut in. “I’m starting to like you, I really do, but William is basically a brother to us, and knowing he’s a munch is really gross.”
“Oh my god, Lovisa. Don’t call him that—”
“What?” Lovisa said. “It’s apparently true!”
You pressed both hands over your face, careful not to ruin Alana’s work, but you also had to hide from this nightmare of a conversation.
Secrets being uncovered about each other's sex lives weren't unusual in this group.
Unfortunately.
There were things you knew about your friends that no person should ever know. The image currently forming in your head of William and Alana ranked dangerously high on that list. Only one memory really competed with it—the year Alex and Rasmus had decided on having a threesome during a France trip and somehow forgotten there were other people in the house trying to sleep.
The less said about that week, the better.
“Did he do it even with that stupid beard he had all season?” you asked before you could stop yourself.
Silence.
The second the words left your mouth, regret hit you like a freight train.
Alana made a strangled noise, and Lovisa physically folded in half. “Sunny, what the fuck,” she wheezed.
“Wait, don’t answer that, Alana!” you said immediately afterward, slapping a hand over your mouth. “Actually, I’m leaving this room now—”
The girls completely dissolved into dying laughter while you attempted to stand up blindly, only for Alana to grab your wrist gently.
“Nope,” she said through a grin. “Sit back down. I’m almost done.”
You groaned but obeyed.
The laughter lingered long after the conversation moved on. Little bursts of it escaped every few minutes whenever someone made eye contact. You'd get it under control, then catch Lovisa grinning at you through the mirror and immediately start laughing again. By the end your stomach actually hurt.
“There. All done,” Alana said after a while, clapping her hands together.
You opened your eyes fully and turned toward the mirror.
Across your eyes was a light blue shimmer, reflecting with iridescent glitter. Closer to your eyes, she’d smudged out a navy blue shadow.
It was unlike anything else you’d ever tried, but it wasn’t overpowering. Just enough to make your eyes look a little brighter and more intense, pulling the shades from your colorful jewelry. Just enough to make you feel prettier than you had in… God. You couldn't even remember how long.
“Wow,” you said honestly. “I don’t even recognize myself.”
Alana smiled. “That’s good, right?”
You turned toward her. Toward the girl you'd expected to tolerate for William's sake and somehow ended up genuinely liking even after spending mere hours with her.
“Yes, absolutely,” you beamed, unable to stop smiling back at her. “I love it.”
i knew it, obsessed already. love sunnys dynamic with alana and the sneakpeaks of alana and williams relationship we’re getting - I can’t WAIT to see how to plays out! without meaning to sound so so pushy, but have you any idea on when we can expect more!?
thank you!! i've loved building their dynamic so so much, so happy it translated well to you!!
i have one more sneak peek planned before i want to get the full fic out, but i also need to figure out if i'm reaching the point where this needs to be a two-parter because of tumblrs paragraph limit soooo... if i have to do that i'll probably have the first part out sometime next week and save the third sneak peek for in between the two parts
shut up i just came to check if the tumblr gods had graced me with a sneak peak yet and OH MY god i can’t WAIT to read the sneak peak! will report back shortly with no doubt obsessive nonsensical ramblings of my thoughts
So this movie is an adaptation of a book and in my mind the book you get more of the octopus and you actually get to see more from the octopus point of view. But I love how they movie everything.
I actually ordered the book right after finishing the movie so I can have it as a beach read this summer!! I can't wait because I have a feeling it's going to be even better than the movie
This is probably way too long to be a sneak peek (3.8k...) and I'm also posting this at a really weird time, but fuck it. I finished it so I'm posting it ◡̈ You get introduced to the girls in this snippet and I love them all. It's also kinda suggestive, so 18+ MDNI please. Here's sneak peek #1 if you missed it!
SHUT UP, I LOVE YOU┃WN88┃SNEAK PEEK#2
Your suitcase still sat half-unpacked near the foot of the bed now, clothes spilling slightly from one side while your brain struggled to catch up with everything around you. That was tomorrow’s problem.
For tonight, there was only France. And your hair, unfortunately, because it was still a mess from the shower you’d taken after you arrived.
You plugged your straightener into the bathroom outlet and exhaled tiredly, catching your reflection in the mirror as the plates heated. The dark circles beneath your eyes weren’t just from traveling anymore, no matter how much concealer you planned on weaponizing against them in the next hour.
At least your hair was about to stop looking like you’d been electrocuted.
From the bedroom, Lovisa was already spreading her makeup across the wide windowsill. Brushes, palettes, skincare, jewelry—all arranged with perfect precision despite the fact that she herself functioned like absolute chaos most of the time. It was pretty impressive, if you were honest.
“We should invite Alana in to get ready with us, right?” you called, the straightener clamped awkwardly between your shoulder and ear while you separated another section of hair.
The silence that followed lasted just a beat too long.
“Do we have to?”
You leaned partially out of the bathroom doorway immediately. “Lovisa.”
“What?” she asked, turning toward you with wide innocent eyes that fooled absolutely no one. She picked up a moisturizer and unscrewed the lid with what looked like pure muscle memory. “William is going to break up with her in a couple months anyway. That’s what he always does.”
“Lovisa!”
“What? It’s true.”
“That’s mean to both him and her,” you argued, pointing the straightener at her accusingly. “We don’t even know Alana yet.”
“You’re only defending him this hard because it’s William.”
“That is not true.”
“It absolutely is true.”
You opened your mouth, then closed it again. You couldn’t really argue.
Lovisa smirked immediately. “Exactly.”
You rolled your eyes hard enough to hurt and disappeared back into the bathroom before she could look too smug about it. The straightener hissed softly as you dragged it through another piece of hair, the motion repetitive enough to quiet your thoughts for a second.
Because maybe Lovisa wasn’t entirely wrong.
Not about Alana—she couldn’t possibly know anything substantial about her yet, and neither could you. But about William. You did defend him more than you defended other people. You always had. It came naturally enough that you rarely noticed when you were doing it.
William was just… like that. As if that explained anything.
You set the straightener down with a small sigh, palms braced briefly against the bathroom counter.
“Fine,” Lovisa announced dramatically from the bedroom. “We’ll be nice girls for once.”
You could hear the scrape of her chair legs against the tiled floor as she pushed herself upright. A moment later, her reflection crossed briefly through the bathroom mirror as she wandered toward the open bedroom door, still absentmindedly blending moisturizer into her skin.
“Alana?” she called toward the hallway. “Do you want to get ready together?”
A second later, Alana appeared around the corner, already halfway dressed for the night in a silky cream-colored slip dress that made the wrinkled pile of outfit options still in your suitcase feel deeply inadequate for the occasion.
“Oh,” she said, visibly brightening. “Yeah. I’d love that. I’ll go get my makeup.”
The moment she was gone, Lovisa wandered back toward the windowsill and dropped dramatically into her chair again, crossing one leg over the other as she reached for a makeup brush.
You watched her through the bathroom doorway for a second before shaking your head slightly.
“She seems really nice.”
“She does,” Lovisa admitted reluctantly. “Which honestly makes it worse.”
You shot her a look.
“What?” she asked defensively, though the corners of her mouth twitched. “I’m serious. If she were horrible, I could be a bitch in good conscience.”
A laugh escaped you before you could stop it, warm and sudden enough that it startled you slightly on the way out.
And, unfortunately, that was the exact moment Alana walked into your room.
For one terrible second, your brain immediately assumed the worst—that she’d heard enough to understand the context, that this entire week was about to become socially catastrophic before the first night had even started.
But Alana only paused briefly in the doorway, carrying what looked like three separate makeup bags balanced carefully in her arms.
“Oh good,” Lovisa said immediately. “Another girl with a chaotic makeup routine. Sunny gets ready in literally three minutes.”
“No, I just don’t bring every single thing I own when I travel,” you corrected absently, crouching beside your suitcase while you dug around for something wearable.
Alana laughed softly then, and the initial tension dissolved before it could fully settle into the room.
You held up a pair of black linen pants uncertainly from your suitcase.
“Can I wear pants and a nice top,” you asked, glancing between them, “or are we going to a dress-and-heels kind of place?”
Lovisa didn’t even look away from the mirror she faced. “Dress and heels, babe. I’m sorry, the boys picked the club.”
You dropped your head dramatically toward your suitcase. “Well,” you muttered, already digging deeper into the disaster you’d packed, “fuck me, I guess.”
“That’s generally the hope when going out in Saint-Tropez, isn’t it?” Alana offered lightly.
You laughed before you could stop yourself again. Honestly, you needed to work on that.
Did Alana have to be funny too? It wasn’t enough that she was drop-dead gorgeous?
You glanced up at her over the edge of your suitcase, and she smiled slightly before sitting down cross-legged on the bed near Lovisa’s makeup setup, looking entirely at ease despite the fact that she barely knew either of you.
Eventually, after what felt like twenty straight minutes of rejecting everything you’d packed, you disappeared into the bathroom to change before Lovisa could threaten to dress you in something of hers.
The dress you finally settled on was simple by Riviera standards. Soft white fabric that skimmed your body without clinging too tightly, thin straps resting against your shoulders, the hem short enough that your first instinct upon seeing yourself in the mirror was immediately tugging it lower.
The dress wasn’t actually that revealing or out of your comfort zone; you were probably just showing off body parts that hadn’t seen the light of day since sometime last summer. Which made you vaguely uncomfortable and as if the girl in the mirror wasn’t even yourself. She was softer, maybe even prettier, and looked nothing like the version of yourself you carried around back home buried beneath sweaters and practical shoes and coffee stains from work.
You stared at your reflection for a second more, then sighed.
“Okay, okay,” you called reluctantly, stepping back into the bedroom. “Is this alright?”
The two girls sitting in front of the window, doing their makeup, instantly turned their heads to look at you. You couldn’t read Alana’s expression, but Lovisa was transparent, her eyes going a little wide as she whistled under her breath.
“You should show off your legs more often, Sunny,” Lovisa said.
“What does that even mean?” you sighed. “Just tell me if the dress is appropriate or not.”
“It means,” Lovisa said dramatically, “that you spend too much time dressing like a divorced librarian.”
“I work with children, dumbass. I have to follow a dress code—”
“I think you look lovely,” Alana cut in warmly.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed in her silk dress the color of champagne, makeup half-finished, and dark hair clipped away from her face. Without the full polished look from earlier, she seemed simpler somehow. A lot less easy to hate.
“Thank you,” you said honestly. “You’re significantly kinder than Lollo.”
Alana’s gaze then drifted toward your wrist. “Are you keeping your bracelets on?”
Your hand instinctively brushed the stack looped there—faded thread bracelets tangled beside tiny beads and silver bangles, some old enough that you barely remembered getting them.
A couple were from old France trips. Others had been made by kids at the youth center where you worked in the evenings and over the summers, tiny, uneven knots tied with complete seriousness before being gifted to you like treasures. One very old one was from a hockey tournament William had played in Prague when you were both teens—the red, white, and blue threads from the Czech flag faded from years of wear.
You still wore them all without really thinking about why.
“Why?” you asked, admittedly a little insecure about it. Maybe they looked childish to her. “Do they ruin the outfit?”
“No, no. They’re cute,” Alana said immediately. Her gaze flicked thoughtfully back toward her makeup scattered across the windowsill. “But…” She tilted her head slightly. “You should totally do colorful eyeshadow to match them.”
Lovisa barked out a laugh so violently she nearly dropped whatever product she was holding. “Don’t give her ideas,” she warned. “Sunny is completely clueless when it comes to makeup.”
“That’s not true,” you argued weakly.
“It absolutely is.”
You opened your mouth to defend yourself further before realizing you had, in fact, used the same simple routine for close to a decade now. There was nothing remotely creative about it.
Alana laughed softly at your helpless expression. “I could help you, if you want?”
You probably made a little confused face as she immediately explained herself further.
“I went to beauty school before I started living off my socials,” she added with a small laugh. “So I promise I won’t make you look like a clown.”
Your eyebrows lifted lightly. “Wait. Really?”
That somehow made Alana feel more human too. Not just William’s gorgeous influencer girlfriend dropped randomly into your friend group—but an actual person with history and jobs and old plans that maybe changed along the way.
You looked between the two of them for a second before shrugging slightly. “Only if you want to,” you said. “I don’t want to take up your time or anything.”
“Nonsense,” Alana said, patting the space beside her on the bed. “Sit down.”
You hesitated only briefly before crossing the room.
The mattress dipped slightly beneath your weight as you settled beside her. Up close, you could see the organized chaos of her makeup collection spread across the windowsill—brushes, palettes, tiny glass bottles, and compacts that all looked far more expensive than anything you owned. You assumed part of it came with her job.
For some reason, you'd expected her to feel intimidating. You’d known she would be here so it wasn’t like her presence had surprised you. But most times when someone brought a partner on one of these trips that wasn’t already acclimatized to the group dynamics, everything would feel really off. You’d made that mistake yourself a couple of years ago and ended up breaking up with the poor guy as soon as you were back on home soil.
There was nothing worse than a partner who didn’t mesh well with someone’s friends. Which was maybe why you felt a little confused by Alana. She almost felt too normal. Too easy to be around. And you weren't entirely sure what to do with that.
Especially now that she was about to put her hands on your face. Granted, they were manicured and smooth-looking hands, but still. Stranger danger and all that.
She grabbed a palette and dipped a brush into a shade you couldn’t really see. You guessed you had to trust her with this.
“Close your eyes,” she instructed gently.
You obeyed, feeling the soft press of her fingers against your temple as she tilted your face slightly toward the light spilling through the windows. The brush moving across your eyelid tickled at first, and then it was soft as she blended the shadow into place.
For a few moments, all you could hear was the rustle of makeup products, the faint hum of music drifting up from downstairs, and the distant sound of the boys arguing about something entirely unimportant.
Some things really never changed.
“So,” Alana said after a moment, conversational now. “How'd you land the nickname Sunny?”
You kept your eyes closed. “I’m from a place in Stockholm that has sun in the name. And hockey players can’t resist an easy nickname, I guess.” You smiled faintly. “Willy hasn’t given you one yet?”
“No,” Alana said. “Just Alana.”
“I’m sure that’ll come eventually.”
Lovisa leaned back in her chair by the window—you could hear it squeak against the floor even if your closed eyes stopped you from actually seeing her. You could easily picture the smug expression on her face, though.
“Well, Just Alana,” she said. “How’d you meet William? He literally doesn’t tell us anything anymore.”
“Lovisa,” you warned immediately.
“What?” she said. “I'm being friendly.”
“But you don’t have to interrogate her.”
Alana laughed softly before answering anyway. “No, it’s okay.”
You felt the brush leave your face briefly as she reached for another palette, and you dared to open your eyes again.
“We actually have a couple mutual friends,” Alana explained. “We kept seeing each other at events and stuff. Charity events mostly. Sponsor things. Y’know?”
“No, we don't know,” Lovisa said. “Because he doesn't tell us—”
“—I think that sounds like a great way to meet someone, right, Lovisa?” you interrupted. “That's how you met August, after all. Through mutual friends.”
That made Lovisa shut her mouth instantly. You didn’t need her to intimidate Alana more.
Alana smiled again, shrugging lightly. “Honestly, William didn’t tell me much about you guys either. He said you needed to be experienced. I think I’m starting to understand that now.”
“That’s because we’re all insane,” Lovisa said.
“We’re charming once you get to know us, I promise,” you added.
Alana shook her head, smiling to herself as she brushed something softer into the corners of your eyes. You closed them out of courtesy again.
“I didn’t even realize you and August were together,” she admitted to Lovisa. “Until you called dibs on the same room yesterday.”
You let out a giggle, opening one eye just enough to catch Lovisa's reaction in the mirror. “We don’t believe they’re a couple either,” you said dryly. “So honestly, that’s a fair assumption.”
Lovisa looked scandalized. “Just because we’re not heavy on PDA doesn't mean we’re not a couple,” she defended. “C’mon, we all think that shit is disgusting, right?”
The thing was, Lovisa was probably right. Not about the PDA necessarily, but about the fact that none of you had ever really been that affectionate in public. At least not in the traditional sense.
You and the boys had spent years making fun of her and August for dating, mostly because the relationship itself had felt so absurd when it happened. One day they were two stubborn idiots who'd been friends forever, and the next they were apparently in love.
The announcement had genuinely destabilized the friend group for several weeks. Mostly because nobody knew how to act. You’d spent an entire France trip staring at them like they were participating in some elaborate social experiment. But eventually everyone realized nothing had actually changed. The only real difference was that they left together at the end of the night.
Sometimes there was a hand resting on a knee. A kiss against a temple. Small, little comfortable things. The kind that almost disappeared if you weren't paying attention.
“That’s Scandinavian romance for you, Alana,” you laughed. “Acting like friends in public even though you share a mortgage.”
“I actually kind of agree with Lovisa,” she admitted, looking at you with a sideways smile. “I hate excessive PDA too.”
“See?” Lovisa pointed immediately. “Finally. Another sane woman.” Then she pointed directly at you. “You're just single and touch-starved, Sunny. Admit it.”
“What? How did this turn against me?”
Lovisa looked overly pleased with herself.
Alana grinned slightly as she leaned closer again, dabbing something near your brow bone. “How long have you been single?”
You honestly had to think about it. Was twenty-eight years really the answer? You didn't know. There had been dates. A handful of almost-relationships. People you'd liked well enough. People who'd liked you more than you liked them. Months that looked like something from the outside until they quietly dissolved into nothing. But if someone asked you to name an ex-boyfriend? You weren't sure anyone came to mind.
“Uh…” You stuttered lightly. “Last time I dated someone was maybe eight months ago?But we only saw each other a couple of times. Nothing serious.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever been serious with someone,” Lovisa said.
You knew she wasn't trying to be malicious. Lovisa rarely was. But the comment landed somewhere uncomfortable anyway, poking at a truth you knew too well but never wanted to admit to.
“Shut up.”
“Never,” she laughed.
You pointed a finger vaguely in her direction without opening your eyes. “And for your information,” you informed her, “I'm thriving as single.”
Lovisa rolled her eyes so dramatically you swore you could hear it. Alana, meanwhile, was smiling softly to herself.
“You don’t miss it?” she asked after a second. “Having someone to come home to?”
You hummed thoughtfully. The truth was, your life had become very comfortable lately. If you ignored the dead grandpa and arguing parents, you were practically set for life, almost suspiciously so.
You had your routines.
You woke up alone in a very comfortable bed. You ate breakfast alone. You took the subway to work alone. You spent your lunch breaks alone unless a student wanted to sit in your classroom and tell you about whatever catastrophe had consumed their sixteen-year-old life that week. You went home alone. You ate dinner alone. You spent your evenings reading books or watching horrible reality television alone.
And the horrible thing was you genuinely liked it. You were so comfortable alone that an outside observer might've briefly diagnosed you with something where antisocial was a symptom.
“I bought a pregnancy pillow for cuddles,” you said after thinking about it, “and I moved into a place with a dishwasher recently, so honestly? I’m pretty set.”
For a moment, the room went silent. Then Lovisa dropped something. You opened your eyes to realize she was staring at you in horror.
“Oh, and those Satisfyer toys work better than any man I’ve been with anyway,” you added.
Alana choked on her own laughter beside you while Lovisa put her head into her hands.
“Wow,” Lovisa breathed. “She doesn’t even miss dick. I think she’s beyond saving for real, Alana.”
The sound that came out of Alana was somewhere between a laugh and a wheeze. “You seriously don’t miss anything about it?”
You considered it, and maybe there was a thing or two you couldn’t do alone.
“Okay,” you admitted reluctantly, “it would be nice to have someone rub my back every once in a while and maybe… eat me out until I see stars. But that’s it. I don’t miss anything else.”
Lovisa slapped the windowsill triumphantly. “I knew you weren’t hopeless, Sunny. We’re getting you laid tonight!”
“Oh my god. That’s not what I—”
“What?” she grinned. “This is huge progress for you.”
You swallowed the rest of your words quickly. The worst part was that both of them were laughing now. Together. Like they'd known each other for years instead of less than two days.
“Wait,” Alana said slowly. “Sunny, you actually… enjoy that part?”
Both you and Lovisa stared at her.
“You don’t?” Lovisa asked.
Alana shrugged a shoulder, looking suddenly sheepish. It was the first genuinely awkward thing she'd admitted all evening. A faint flush crept into her cheeks as she glanced down at the makeup brush in her hand.
“I mean—I do sometimes. But William is like overly enthusiastic about it.” She laughed softly through her embarrassment. “I don’t know, I guess I just don’t want it that often—”
You and Lovisa reacted at exactly the same time, both making identical sounds of horror, landing somewhere between a screech and a gagging noise.
“I’m gonna stop you right there actually,” Lovisa cut in. “I’m starting to like you, I really do, but William is basically a brother to us, and knowing he’s a munch is really gross.”
“Oh my god, Lovisa. Don’t call him that—”
“What?” Lovisa said. “It’s apparently true!”
You pressed both hands over your face, careful not to ruin Alana’s work, but you also had to hide from this nightmare of a conversation.
Secrets being uncovered about each other's sex lives weren't unusual in this group.
Unfortunately.
There were things you knew about your friends that no person should ever know. The image currently forming in your head of William and Alana ranked dangerously high on that list. Only one memory really competed with it—the year Alex and Rasmus had decided on having a threesome during a France trip and somehow forgotten there were other people in the house trying to sleep.
The less said about that week, the better.
“Did he do it even with that stupid beard he had all season?” you asked before you could stop yourself.
Silence.
The second the words left your mouth, regret hit you like a freight train.
Alana made a strangled noise, and Lovisa physically folded in half. “Sunny, what the fuck,” she wheezed.
“Wait, don’t answer that, Alana!” you said immediately afterward, slapping a hand over your mouth. “Actually, I’m leaving this room now—”
The girls completely dissolved into dying laughter while you attempted to stand up blindly, only for Alana to grab your wrist gently.
“Nope,” she said through a grin. “Sit back down. I’m almost done.”
You groaned but obeyed.
The laughter lingered long after the conversation moved on. Little bursts of it escaped every few minutes whenever someone made eye contact. You'd get it under control, then catch Lovisa grinning at you through the mirror and immediately start laughing again. By the end your stomach actually hurt.
“There. All done,” Alana said after a while, clapping her hands together.
You opened your eyes fully and turned toward the mirror.
Across your eyes was a light blue shimmer, reflecting with iridescent glitter. Closer to your eyes, she’d smudged out a navy blue shadow.
It was unlike anything else you’d ever tried, but it wasn’t overpowering. Just enough to make your eyes look a little brighter and more intense, pulling the shades from your colorful jewelry. Just enough to make you feel prettier than you had in… God. You couldn't even remember how long.
“Wow,” you said honestly. “I don’t even recognize myself.”
Alana smiled. “That’s good, right?”
You turned toward her. Toward the girl you'd expected to tolerate for William's sake and somehow ended up genuinely liking even after spending mere hours with her.
“Yes, absolutely,” you beamed, unable to stop smiling back at her. “I love it.”
Unsure if you’ve already answered this question but are you ever planning on releasing more f1 fics? Strangers is so beautifully written ♡
oooh i don’t actually remember what i’ve said about this. i don’t currently have any plans for it, but oscar has been extra cute lately (don’t get me started on the 🐝 thing today) so i guess never say never?
strangers exist in like a vacuum to me because i don’t understand how i managed to write something so personal and actually have the courage to post it, so it feels really special when people say the like it <3 thank yooou
i am also deeply terrified that i can’t write anything better than strangers 🙃 i truly don’t know what possessed me
Blue!! I hope you’re doing well. I was painting today and my mind wondered to your writing, which has really followed me. Just wanted to say that your craft and talent are amazing and appreciated! You have especially beautiful female characters, they are so complex and believable and memorable. You have a real skill for developing a personality and “niche” into each character rather than leaning into tropes that women are so often written into (even if it is done subtly). I hope writing is always enjoyable and rewarding for you and good luck on your next project!!
i'm about to cry, no joke 😭 thank you??? i don't even know how to respond, this is such a lovely comment??? sometimes strangers on the internet truly are the kindest people ever. especially that you've taken notice to how i write about women because that's honestly the thing i'm most passionate about. we can't have bleak and one-sided female characters in romance writing!! (or any writing really)
hope you had fun painting!! and i've had so much fun writing this week, i feel like i'm actually gonna finish this freaking willy fic soon!!
