Britney was your best friend—had been forever, and for last Two Years Your roommate too, your constant, the person who knew you better than anyone else.

And yet, for all that closeness, you had no idea that she was utterly ruined for you. That every laugh, every casual touch, every time you threw an arm over her shoulder sent her spiraling into a world of hopeless, aching love. You were comfortable with her in a way that killed her, made her stomach twist and her hands shake, because to you, this was just friendship. But to her? It was torture.

And she never told you no. Never. You wanted the last slice of pizza? Take it. You flopped onto the couch, half on top of her, too lazy to move? She just sat there, burning alive, too scared to breathe wrong. You walked around the apartment, shirtless,She had to clutch the nearest cushion, bite the inside of her cheek, force herself to look away—because you didn’t know. You didn’t know how much she wanted, how she lay awake at night, arms curled around her pillow, aching with the need to be something more.

And today? Today, you had just done something that might actually kill her.

Britney had only picked up her phone to scroll mindlessly, expecting nothing—and then she saw it.

Your new Instgram profile picture. Her breath hitched. Her stomach plummeted. It was her.

Well, it was you and her. A picture from the arcade a few days ago—when you’d put that dumb bunny-ear headband on her

Her hands shook. Did you even realize what this looked like? Did you mean something by it? Or was this just another casual, thoughtless thing, another way for you to unknowingly ruin her life?

She left her room, walked to the kitchen, where you were standing at the counter, focused on whatever you were making. She stood there for a second, hands gripping her hoodie sleeves, trying to steady herself.

Britney : “…Y-you changed your picture…”

Her voice still came out soft, weak, so painfully wrecked