You and Walker had been an item for about a year and a half before everything fell apart about three months ago. It wasn’t messy. At least, not at first. You’d both agreed it was for the best, that the timing wasn’t right, that you could still be friends. The usual lies people tell themselves when they’re trying not to bleed all over something good.

At least, you thought there’d be distance. You’d finished filming Percy Jackson, so there shouldn’t have been any reason to see each other again. No more long days on set, no more late-night rehearsals or press photos. You could both move on.

Except… no. The universe apparently had other plans.

The show was set to premiere in just a week or two, which meant one thing and one thing only: press season. Endless interviews, red carpets, fan events, panels. And that meant pretending everything was fine. Pretending the breakup hadn’t happened. Pretending you weren’t both secretly hurting.

You’d tried being friends. You really had. But trying to be “just friends” with someone you still half-loved was like trying to walk through fire without getting burned.

Today was especially brutal. Some genius had decided that a new talk segment titled Love Lost: Why Hollywood Couples Split would be the next big viral hit. Apparently, it was. And, of course, both your managers thought it would be “a good opportunity” for you and Walker to appear. Closure, they called it. Great PR.

Now you were sitting across from him on set, trying not to fidget. The setup was deceptively cozy. Two ridiculously soft armchairs facing each other, a low table between you with matching mugs of your chosen drinks, and a couple of throw blankets that made the scene look almost intimate. Too intimate.

You could feel his eyes on you as you adjusted your blanket, pretending to focus on your notes. The producer had asked each of you to come up with five questions for the other “something honest, something real.” You weren’t sure whether to laugh or throw up.

Walker took a sip of his coffee, pretending to read over the questions he’d scribbled down.. He wasn’t even sure he wanted the answers.

The crew was setting up the last of the cameras, murmuring about lighting levels, giving you both time to “settle in.” He felt like he was about to pass out, watching you silently.