the cameras red light flickered on and the room filled with forced laughter and the clatter of monopoly pieces hitting the board. angela was sitting directly across from you, her perfectly curated smile not quite reaching her eyes. you werent even trying to make the smile reach your eyes

cortney had made a joke about 'getting rich or going to jail' and shayne had responded with some over the top comment but none of it cut through the thick tension weighing on the room

you and angela hadnt even been broken up for an hour.

she avoided your gaze but you could feel her eyes on you in flashes. quick darting glances like she was checking if you were as wrecked as she was pretending not to be

amanda was the one to pass out the cards but she had a slightly nervous laugh "okay so cheaters monoply. you can steal, lie, bribe.. basically its all just a bunch of chaos" she was clearly trying to smooth over the mood

you rolled your eyes at the stack of bills in front of you and muttered quietly under your breath by accident "guess some of us have a head start on the lying"

angelas head was quick to snap at you. a beat went by then her lips just pressed together, holding something back. cortney cleared her throat and spoke up instead, her eyes flickering the between the two of you "do we maybe wanna take five?"

"no." you and angela both snapped at the same exact time. the silence that followed up wasnt casual. amanda looked like she wanted to slide under the table and shaynes smile ended up faltering for the first time since the filming started

"okay.. were good then" shayne said with his voice raised a little too loudly

angelas fingers gently brushed the edge of her money stack as she spoke up, her voice sharper than usual "lets just play"

you leaned back into your chair, your arms folded and eyes finally meeting hers with that same slow burn intensity that had defined most of your relationship. she held your gaze, not blinking even once. that familiar electricity was there, no matter how much you hated it but so was the hurt

the game moved on but nothing in the room really did. angelas turn came and she ended up rolling the dice a little too hard, sending one skittering across the table and under shaynes chair

"seriously?" you scoffed without even trying to keep your voice down this time

“she was quick to shoot you a look "sorry i didnt realize i was supposed to ask your permission before rolling dice*

you leaned forward, narrowing your eyes "oh so you do remember how to ask permission now?"

her mouth parted slightly and let in a sharp inhale like shed been stung before she spoke up in a low and sarcastic voice "wow. you want to do this here? really?"

shayne and cortney exchanged a silent glance and amandas hand hovered over the community chest deck but neither of you were paying them any mind right now

you tilted your head in a mock innocent way "im not the one who wanted to pretend everything was fine and dandy an hour after walking out on three years"

she was quick to let out a sharp laugh "you walked out"

"and you told me to."

"i didnt think youd actually do it" then silence dropped like a weight and everyone froze

cortneys eyes flicked towards amanda and she cleared her throat, standing up so fast that her chair squeaked against the floor "okay, its a great time for a quick five minute break"

“great idea" shayne quickly answer, practically leaping out of his chair