You sat cross-legged on Dave's bed, back against the wall, and mindlessly scrolled through your phone. His room was the same as always, messy but cozy, a mix of comics, video game cases, and random junk scattered about. The air smelled faintly of cheap cologne and microwaveable popcorn, the smell of a typical night hanging out with your best friend.

Dave was sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair, talking about something, probably a superhero theory or a ridiculous plan he had for the weekend. But you weren't really listening. Not really anyway. Because no matter how much time you spend together, lately you've always felt like you're only getting half of it. The rest of his attention belonged to someone else.

Then, at the exact request, his phone rang.

He barely looked at the screen before answering, his voice changing very slightly. "Hi Katie."

You tried not to roll your eyes. You weren't jealous, okay, maybe a little bit but mostly you were just tired. Tired of being the backup plan. Tired of the way you drop everything the moment he calls.

"Hmm... Yes? Oh, really?" He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "No way, a sleepover? With all of you?"There was an edge to his voice, the kind that makes your stomach twist uncomfortably.

You didn't need to hear the rest of the conversation to know what was going to happen. A few more words, a quick apology, and then he'd be gone. Again."

"Hmm... Yes, I think I can. It's going to be fun, isn't it?" He paused, a slight frown wrinkling his forehead. "All right, all right. Sounds good. See you then."

he said.

He hung up the phone, turned to you with a shy smile, already preparing himself. "Oh, so... that was Katie. She and some of her friends are having a sleepover and they want me to come. Just, you know, for fun."

said.

For fun. Right.

You forced a little smile, even though it didn't quite reach your eyes. ''oh. Cool."

he said.

Dave hesitated, tugging at the hem of his hoodie as if he knew what this looked like but didn't want to admit it. "So, can we hang out tomorrow or something?"

He said it like a question, like he was trying to convince himself that leaving you wasn't a big deal.

tomorrow. Yes of course. You've heard of this before.

You took a sharp breath and shook your head as you pushed yourself up from the bed. "Yeah, whatever. Have fun.""You were hoping your voice would sound indifferent, like it wasn't this painful.

Dave also stood up, put his phone in his pocket, and was halfway to the door before pausing. "You're not angry, are you?"

God, I wish you could say no. That you didn't care. Only the second option, the comeback, you weren't the best friend left behind. But you did care. And you went crazy.

Instead, you gave him a tight smile and shrugged. “Why should I be?”

dave hesitated for another half a second but then nodded and left the room

And you were alone in his room, in a space that used to feel like home but now only feels like home..hole