letters that staved

PART 6

Let’s keep this story blooming, 🌼! We're entering Part 6 now, and it’s time to shake things up. In this chapter, Yam and Franc take a leap into the world outside their cozy bubble. But new places mean new faces—and one of them holds a piece of Franc's tangled past. Let’s see what unfolds when comfort meets complication.

We didn’t plan the day. It just happened.

Franc was scrolling through his cracked phone while I dug through my closet like I was preparing for a music video shoot. We weren’t going on a date—not officially. We were just “going out.” But I still wanted to look like I knew how to make sunlight jealous.

“You like stripes or solids?” I asked, holding up two shirts like they were celebrity guests.

Franc didn’t even look. “Whichever makes you feel invincible.”

The audacity. The charm. I chose stripes.

We grabbed street food—kwek-kwek, fishballs, and those mystery burgers that defy both science and stomach logic. Franc ate with unapologetic enthusiasm, like he hadn’t tasted grease in years.

“Where have you been hiding all my life?” I asked between bites.

“Upside down, apparently.”

We laughed.

Everything felt... easy.

That is, until we reached the boardwalk. Crowds moved like slow rivers, and the sea breeze tangled my hair into a chaotic masterpiece. Franc stopped walking.

“What?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

His body stiffened. Eyes narrowed.

I followed his gaze and saw a guy standing by the railing. Tall. Pale. Sharp jawline and a pair of sunglasses that looked like they were bought for intimidation, not sun protection.

“Do you know him?” I asked.

Franc’s jaw clenched. “Yeah.”

And that one word had weight.

The guy spotted Franc and smiled—half polite, half painful.

“Well, well,” he said, approaching. “Didn't expect to see you alive and vertical.”

Franc didn’t reply.

“You still tangled in trouble?” the guy asked, nodding toward me like I was a prop.

Franc stepped forward. “Yam, this is Leo.”

Leo glanced at me. “Friend?”

“Something like that,” Franc said.

Leo scoffed. “Figures.”

There was tension so thick I could bottle it and sell it as perfume for emotionally repressed exes.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Leo said. “Some of us were worried. Not me, but... some.”

Franc stayed silent.

Leo leaned in closer. “Still running?”

Franc’s voice was flat. “Not today.”

Leo glanced at me one last time, then walked off like he’d just dropped a ticking time bomb and wanted a front-row seat to the explosion.

“What was that?” I asked, once Leo was out of earshot.

Franc sighed. “An old mistake.”

“You want to talk about it?”

Franc looked at me—eyes tired but open. “I will. Just... not here.”

We wandered until the boardwalk turned into quieter streets. There, beneath a rusted streetlamp, Franc spoke.

“Leo used to be a friend,” he said. “We did stupid things. Got into messes. One night, things went too far. I got drunk and woke up strung up like a joke. No one came to help. Except you.”

I took his hand.

“You’re not there anymore,” I said.

Franc nodded. “But sometimes, I still feel upside down.”

“I’ll keep steady for you,” I replied.

His grip tightened.

“You really mean that?” he asked.

“Even with the creaky fan and my cursed aunt.”

He laughed again—low and real.

“You’re incredible,” he whispered.

“No, I’m Yam,” I replied. “Incredible’s just part of it.”

We walked home slower than usual, hand in hand, knowing that whatever was coming next, it wouldn’t be perfect.

But it would be ours.

🌀 Want to go for Part 7 next? We could dive deeper into Franc’s past with Leo, or maybe explore a moment where Yam has to face something personal too. The story could tilt into heartbreak, suspense, or even a beautiful breakthrough—your call, and I’ll take us there. Just say the word, and we’re flying.