An extra in honour of Opulent Glory hitting 100K READS!!!

>timeline- after Ellie's funeral

Spencer didn't know how to feel.

The whole thing felt surreal- the pulsing lights, the music, the glittering bodies moving like nothing had happened. But something had happened. Ellie was gone. His sister, his best friend, his anchor.

Madeline had suggested the part, "a celebration," she'd said, "just the way Ellie would've wanted." Nora agreed. Oliver pulled strings. And within an hour of leaving the funeral, they'd somehow turned grief into guest lists, sorrow into sparkles, pain into an open bar.

It felt like the right thing to do. Ellie had always loved chaos, music, and dancing with strangers. But now, surrounded by all of it, Spencer only felt numb.

The percussion of the music thudded in his chest like a second, unwanted heartbeat. He abandoned his drink and made his way to the back of the club, pushing open the emergency exit door like he was drowning and finally found air.

  Outside, the night was cold. Too cold for early fall. He leaned against the brick wall, exhaling slowly, his breath curling like smoke.

  He didn't even hear the door open again.

  Madeline appeared first, her long dark coat trailing behind her. Nora followed, heels in one hand. Oliver was last, already lighting a cigarette.

  "What are you guys doing here?" Spencer asked, caught between irritation and gratitude.

Madeline gave him a small, knowing smile. "You didn't think we'd let you sneak off alone, did you?"

Before he could reply, Nora crossed the space and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Oh, Spence..."

He didn't say anything. He couldn't. His throat felt too tight to risk trying.

Oliver leaned back against the railing, staring up at the cloudy sky. "It doesn't feel right," he said. "Any of it."

Spencer shook his head. That was all he could manage.

Madeline, in her pristine white skirt- the one she absolutely should not have sat down in- sank slowly to the concrete without caring about the stains. Nora joined her, then Oliver. Nora tugged Spencer gently by the sleeve until he followed.

  Oliver pulled out a crushed box of cigarettes, offering them around. No one said no. One by one, he lit them, and they smoked in silence, the only sound the distant bass of the party still thumping through the walls.

  Spencer blew out a stream of smoke and watched it disappear into the night.

  "Spence," Nora said softly, "You know we love you, right?"

He nodded. "I know. I love you too."

There was a long pause. Then Oliver let out a quiet laugh.

"What?" Madeline asked, already smirking.

"I just remembered that time Ellie caught us smoking on your roof."

  Nora gasped. "Oh my God- and she said-"

  "'Somebody give me a blunt and a lighter before I snitch,'" Spencer finished with a bittersweet laugh.

  They all burst out laughing, for the first time that day- real laughter, messy and a little desperate.

  "Did you just snort?" Oliver asked, staring at Madeline like she'd grown a second head.

"I did not."

  "You so did," Nora said gleefully. "We have a Lockhart snort! That's history!"

"Shut up," Madeline muttered, flicking ash at them. "I will ruin all of you."

"I wish I caught that on video," Nora said, grinning. "Would've made excellent blackmail."

  Spencer smiled, a ghost of himself, then stared up at the sky. "Do you think there's a God?"

  The laughter faded.

  Nora answered first. "Yeah. I think there's... something. A pattern. A plan. Not randomness."

  Oliver shrugged. "I was raised Catholic. Don't believe in God. Believe in tradition, I guess."

  Madeline sighed. "I don't know what I am. I think I believe in a God. But I don't know which one."

  Spencer nodded slowly. "I don't know either. I feel like I do and don't. Like... both at the same time."

  "Schrödinger's faith," Nora said dryly. "Very on-brand."

  "I just... I really want to believe there's somewhere she went. That I might see her again."

  Madeline leaned her head on his shoulder. He automatically wrapped his arm around her.

  "Me too," she whispered.

  The silence returned, but this time it was gentler. Settled. Comfortable. For a moment, the stars above them seemed quieter too.

  "Should we go back in?" Oliver asked eventually.

   No one moved. They looked at each other before coming to a wordless agreement to stay for another while. They sat like that for a bit, trying to make sense of a world that suddenly felt stranger than ever.

  "You guys are my family," Spencer said. His voice cracked just a little. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

  "You'll never have to find out," Oliver said.

  "We'll always be here for you, Spence," Nora added.

  Madeline interlinked their fingers and brought it to her lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of his hand. "I love you, Spence. Forever."

  He smiled and, for the first time that day, he felt like he would be okay.

  "Forever."

♜♜♜

something short and sweet to warm your hearts ♡