Winwin was your best friend. From the very beginning, it was always the two of you — inseparable, laughing until your stomachs hurt, fingers brushing, shoulders leaning, hands finding each other without thought. He was gentle in a way that felt rare, the kind of person who noticed when you were tired, who remembered the smallest things. To you, he was safety. Warmth. Everything you never realized you’d been searching for.
People talked. They always did. Whispering that you looked like a couple, that the way he looked at you wasn’t just friendly. You both denied it with easy smiles, hiding behind the word best friends. But something lived in the quiet spaces between you — in the pauses, in the lingering touches, in the way your hearts beat just a little faster when you were close.
Then came that night.
You were at his house, the living room lights dimmed, a movie playing that neither of you were really watching. You were curled against him on the couch, his arm around you, your head tucked beneath his chin. It felt natural. Right. Like a truth you didn’t need to name.
And then his mother saw you two.
The air changed after that.
Suddenly, there were rules. Distance. Closed doors. No more hanging out. No more late-night talks or shared laughter. No calls. No messages. At school, you passed each other like strangers, eyes flickering away too fast, pretending it didn’t hurt. With time, the silence grew heavier. Life moved forward, and you both grew apart.
Years passed.
Winter came again, and with it, Christmas.
Winwin returned to his hometown, breath fogging in the cold air as snow dusted the sidewalks. The streets felt smaller than he remembered, quieter. Each step pulled old memories to the surface.
He stopped suddenly.
Your house.
The lights were on, the windows dim. He’d heard your family had moved away long ago. So he just stood there, frozen in place, hands clenched in his coat pockets as tears welled in his eyes.
Memories rushed through him, movie nights, stolen touches, smiles meant only for each other. Everything he never got to say. Everything he never got to ask.
The cold burned his cheeks as a tear slipped free.