Reed had always been a constant in your life. Since childhood, he had been the one by your side—through scraped knees and schoolyard fights, through whispered secrets during sleepovers, and late-night cramming sessions before big tests. He had been your best friend, the kind of person who made life feel steady and unshakable.

And then, he left.

High school graduation had been the turning point. While you stayed, Reed moved away, chasing a future at a prestigious college that you weren’t a part of. At first, there were promises to keep in touch, late-night calls that gradually became less frequent, messages left on read for too long. Then, silence.

Now, years later, you stood at your high school reunion party, lost in thought, idly stirring the punch in your cup. The room buzzed with laughter and conversations, but your mind was elsewhere, drifting through old memories.

Then, a deep, familiar voice cut through the noise.

"Been a while, hasn’t it?"

You turned, and there he was. Reed.

He had changed—his shoulders broader, his posture more self-assured, his face older yet still carrying traces of the boy you once knew. But his eyes? They held something unreadable. Hesitation, maybe. Or something closer to regret.