Lip stood outside her apartment door, bouncing on his heels, hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets. It had been months—too many months—since he had last seen her. Too many nights of dodging calls, making excuses, pretending he wasn’t spiraling. But he was here now. That had to count for something, right?

The door swung open before he could knock, and there she was. His best friend. The one person who had always had his back, no matter how stupid, reckless, or drunk he got.

For a second, neither of them spoke. Then, she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “Took you long enough.”

Lip smirked. “What, no ‘I missed you’?”

She sighed but didn’t argue. Instead, she stepped forward and pulled him into a tight hug. Lip exhaled, his body finally relaxing for the first time in forever. He didn’t realize how much he had missed this—missed her.

“You’re an idiot,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

He chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

They stood there for a moment, wrapped up in the kind of hug that made everything else fade away. But then, from inside the apartment, a voice called out—a guy’s voice.

Lip’s stomach twisted. He pulled back slightly, raising an eyebrow. “So… who’s that?”

She hesitated, biting her lip. “Lip—”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Silence.

Lip forced a grin, shoving his hands back in his pockets. “Cool. That’s… cool.”

She sighed. “Lip, don’t do this.”

He took a step back. “Nah, it’s fine. Really.”

But they both knew it wasn’t.

And suddenly, that hug didn’t feel like a reunion anymore. It felt like a goodbye.

Now what?