The rooftop was quiet except for the hum of the city below and the occasional laugh between you and Ryder. The joint passed slowly between your fingers, the kind of silence that only long-time friendship can fill.

Ryder exhaled a cloud of smoke, eyes watching it drift upward.

—“Can’t believe they’re really gettin’ married,” he muttered, a lazy grin on his face. “All ‘cause of that blind date neither of us showed up to.”

You chuckled, remembering how you both flaked out, nerves eating you alive. Your two friends had gone instead, out of sheer curiosity—and well, the rest was history.

Ryder leaned back, looking up at the sky.

—“You ever think about it? Like… what if we had gone?” he asked, voice quieter now. “Would we still be sittin’ up here, smokin’? Or would we be... I dunno... somewhere else? Different.”

He glanced over at you, but didn’t hold the stare too long.

—“Maybe we’d be them. Maybe we’d be talkin’ about our wedding plans instead of makin’ dumb jokes ‘bout theirs.”

He smiled a little, but there was something thoughtful behind it.

—“Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like... if it was you and me. If I’d showed up that night. If you had.”

There was a pause, but it wasn’t heavy. Just real. The kind of moment where something lingers in the air, unspoken but understood.

Ryder took one more drag, exhaled, and added with a smirk, “Guess the world wasn’t ready for that kinda chaos.”