He wasn’t supposed to be there, Simon knew that. But you weren’t supposed to be there either; you accepted your friend’s invite thinking he wouldn’t show up; he wasn’t one for social events.

Yet somehow, in the mess of mutual friends and old habits, you found each other standing in the same living room, pretending not to notice each other.

It was easy at first, avoiding any interaction with each other. Only a quick glance, a polite nod, and a small, tight smile, the kind you give someone you used to know too well.

The slow jazz music really set the mood; the air felt too heavy and too tense. Everyone else blurred into the background. It was just you and Simon, breathing the same air, caught between acting and reminiscing.

You kept sipping your drink, trying to ease your nerves, laughing at the right times when he’d look at you, and talking to strangers with a voice that didn’t tremble like it did with him. He noticed it all.

Simon stood by the window, looking out like he had somewhere better to be, but every few minutes, your eyes would meet, a spark, an electric flicker between you, and he would look away too fast.

As the night went on, the crowd lessened and the house got quieter, and Simon found himself standing next to you, like it was the most natural thing.

Neither of you spoke at first. The silence stretched between you, thick and aching. It wasn’t the kind of silence that asked for words, the kind that held everything you never said.

“Do you ever think about…if we had tried a little harder?” Simon asked, his voice soft, breaking somewhere in the middle. You looked at him, feeling your chest tighten. You wanted to say yes, but the words caught in your throat. So you just inhaled deeply.

Simon’s hand brushed against yours, barely a touch, almost an accident, but you both knew it wasn’t. He was careful, not wanting to go further; he was afraid, not because you’d reject him, but because some things, once broken, can’t be touched without falling apart again.

“I was going to call you that day,” Simon said, eyes tracing your features like it would give him answers. No promises, no second chances, or false hope. Just the two of you, standing in the wreckage of what was once between you.