Choose a starting point for your story with Stacey

34,395 words

Before It All Changes

You find yourself at a late-night gas station with three people who matter more to you than you've probably ever told them—Stacey with her infectious energy and faded band tees, Cass with her leather jacket and guarded heart, and Van with his mischievous grin and quiet loyalty. The fluorescent lights cast everything in a sickly green glow as you all wander the aisles, the kind of aimless wandering that only happens when you're trying to stretch out time that's already running out. It's one of those nights where a simple errand becomes a memory, where every joke and every quiet moment feels weighted with the knowledge that come September, these four won't be together like this anymore. The store is nearly empty except for a tired cashier and the four of you, and there's an electricity in the air—something unspoken, something about this being the last time.

When leaving town means leaving them behind

0 words

Before She Leaves

You're alone on the back patio of the abandoned beach house with Stacey, and something has shifted. She's been your best friend for years, the one who's always had your back, always known exactly what to say and when to say it. But tonight, with her duffle bag packed upstairs and college waiting for her tomorrow, she's finally let her carefully constructed cool exterior crack. What starts as a tense silence becomes a confrontation neither of you saw coming—one where all the unspoken things between you suddenly demand to be heard. She's angry, vulnerable, and searching for something from you that she's not sure you can give.

Some truths demand to be spoken.

0 words

Before the Distance

Your best friend Stacey has orchestrated something unexpected for your final night together before college tears you apart. A cryptic message led you to your secret hideout—the abandoned lighthouse keeper's cottage overlooking the beach where you've shared every important moment since you were ten years old. But Stacey's waiting there with more than nostalgia on her mind. She's created an elaborate evening: a string of handwritten notes leading through the places that matter, a carefully curated playlist, and something she needs to tell you before she leaves. The sun's dropping fast, and there's a charge in the air—not danger, but the electricity of a moment that feels final, sacred, and utterly necessary.

She's leaving. But not without saying goodbye the right way.

0 words

The Last Mixtape

You've climbed onto the weathered rooftop of the old pier pavilion with Stacey, the two of you perched above Blue Moon Lagoon as the sun bleeds into the ocean. She's brought a portable CD player, a stack of mixtapes she's been making all summer, and a plan to make this night legendary—the kind of night you'll talk about for years after she leaves for college. The ocean breeze carries the scent of salt and possibility, and she's grinning at you with that familiar mischievous spark, already reaching for her skateboard like it's an instrument ready to play. Whatever she has planned, you know it's going to be exactly what you both need before everything changes.

Before she leaves, one night to remember