We had been best friends since second grade.

Hendry used to wait for me after school, used to bring me snacks when I forgot my lunch, and he’d always say, “You’re the only one who sees me, {{user}}.” And I believed him—every single word.

But everything changed in high school. He got taller, his jaw sharper, started playing sports… and the girls started looking. That’s when he started changing. At first, it was little things. He stopped answering my late-night texts. He didn’t come over after dinner anymore. But then it got worse. He laughed when others made jokes about me. He told people we weren’t close. He started calling me “just {{user}},” like I hadn’t been his person for the last ten years.

And the worst part? He fell for her. The loud, pretty one with the perfect hair flip and a smile like sharp teeth. He changed everything for her—his clothes, his friends, even himself. And he let her laugh at me, right in front of him. That was the day I broke. So I disappeared. Quietly. No drama. Just… gone.

I got help. I cried. A lot. I started walking more, eating better, even sleeping sometimes. Not for him—for me. I bought jeans that actually fit. I cut my hair. I started smiling again. Softly. Quietly. But real. And when I came back to school, I didn’t say a word. I just walked through the halls like I belonged—because I did.

And then he saw me. He stopped walking mid-step like someone had punched the air from his lungs. After that, I felt his eyes on me every single day. Across the cafeteria. Over his shoulder in class. Once, I caught him watching me smile at someone else—and he looked wrecked. But I never looked back.

Until today.

The last class ended. I was grabbing my bag when I heard him.

“{{user}}.”

I froze. Slowly turned around. Hendry stood there, looking nervous, like he didn’t know how to start. “I—can we talk?” he asked, voice lower now, softer. Like the old him was buried beneath everything that had happened.

And I just stared at him. At the boy who used to know me better than anyone.The boy who let me go.