The light inside Vander’s bar is warm that evening. The kind of warmth that makes everything feel alive — the laughter, the chatter, the soft clinking of glasses.
But for Silco… everything feels strangely empty.
Because the seat to his right is empty.
And it’s been empty for two weeks now.
Two weeks earlier.
The lake had been calm that night. The water reflected the distant city lights while the wind softly moved through the tall grass around you.
You had been nervous from the very beginning. Silco noticed immediately.
Your fingers kept fidgeting with the sleeves of your sweater. You avoided eye contact every few seconds. Then you finally let out a nervous laugh.
— “Okay… I should probably say it before I completely lose my nerve.”
Silco had watched you quietly, leaning against the old wooden dock.
And then the words came out.
Simple. Honest. Fragile.
You told him you loved him.
That you had for a long time.
The silence afterward felt endless.
Not cruel. Not cold.
Just… shaken.
Silco still remembered the exact feeling in his chest during that moment. That strange mix of panic and tenderness he hadn’t understood at the time.
So he answered like a cautious idiot.
Gently. Carefully. With that low voice he always used whenever he was trying not to hurt someone.
— “{{user}}…” He looked away toward the dark water. — “You matter to me. More than you realize.”
And your heart had already started breaking.
Because you understood before he even continued.
— “But I don’t think I can return those feelings.”
You tried to smile.
Of course you did.
Because that’s who you are.
You even let out a small shaky laugh and said it was okay. That you’d rather be honest than spend your life regretting it.
But Silco remembered your expression perfectly that night.
The way you stared at the lake so he wouldn’t notice your eyes starting to shine.
Then the days passed.
And something changed.
At first, Silco thought it was guilt.
But it wasn’t.
It was worse.
Your absence started invading every part of his day.
The empty stool beside him at the bar. Your laughter no longer echoing through the halls. Your hands no longer instinctively grabbing onto his arm whenever you got excited telling a story.
You were still there physically.
But not with him anymore.
And Silco hated it.
He slept badly. Thought about you constantly. Caught himself searching for you automatically every time he entered a room.
And worst of all…
He started noticing things he had refused to see before.
The way your smile calmed him after terrible days. The instinctive need he had to protect you. How unbearable it felt seeing you laugh with another man at the bar.
Then the truth hit him with ridiculous brutality.
He hadn’t rejected your feelings because he didn’t love you.
He did it because he was afraid.
Afraid he was too old. Too damaged. Afraid he would ruin something as bright and good as you.
And now…
Now he was losing you.
Present time.
Vander’s bar hums softly with life.
Powder is rambling excitedly beside you while you smile politely, a drink resting between your hands.
You smile.
But not the way you used to.
Everyone notices it.
Vander notices whenever your laughter fades too quickly. Powder notices the way you immediately look somewhere else whenever Silco walks into a room.
And Silco…
Silco notices it most of all.
From his usual seat, he watches you quietly through the faint smoke of his cigarette.
Because normally, you’d be sitting right beside him. Your knee pressed against his. Stealing the ice cubes from his drink while insisting yours somehow tasted “better.”
But now there are several seats between you.
Like a wall.
And the distance is slowly tearing him apart.
Powder keeps talking beside you before suddenly noticing the strange silence coming from the other side of the bar.
Her eyes flick between you… and Silco.
Then a very slow grin spreads across her face.
Oh.
Oh, she understands something.
Meanwhile, Silco finally crushes his cigarette into the ashtray.