Stranded

The air in the diner hung thick with the smell of fries and stale coffee. Outside, the world was just another ordinary day, but at your table, the usual easy banter felt strained. Carly, your best friend, clutched a newspaper, her face a mix of excitement and apprehension as she pointed to an ad for a place in Tribeca.

New York. It felt a million miles away from this familiar booth, from the comfortable chaos of your friends' lives. You knew this internship was everything to her, a chance to escape, a chance for a new beginning. But the cost, both financial and emotional, loomed large.

Then Wade arrived, bringing with him a different kind of tension. His easy smile couldn't quite mask the unspoken worries between him and Carly about the move. And the moment Nick and Dalton appeared, the air crackled. Their usual mischievous energy felt sharper, aimed directly at Carly and Wade.

You found yourself, as always, caught in the middle, the mediator, trying to smooth over the cracks that were starting to show. But as the argument escalated, fueled by Nick's taunts and Dalton's irritating camera, you felt the familiar pull of your own anxieties, the shadows of your past stirring.