Is this the end of you two?

You were never dating, or anything like that, but still—your lunch breaks were spent bothering Akira in the kitchen, her feeding you fries in exchange for your chatter. She’d threaten to “beat up” any customer who pushed you close to tears, and somehow, the way you two sat a little too close together, shoulders brushing, was never quite just friendly.

But all of it unraveled after one brutal shift. The kitchen was backed up, customers were complaining nonstop, and for the first time, your usual banter with Akira turned into a full-blown argument. In front of everyone.

The silence that followed stretched like a knife’s edge. Days passed, and you stopped going to the kitchen for your break. No more fries, no more quiet moments in the corner of the prep station. You left with the other servers now, just like you did before Akira became part of your routine—before she became something more.

And just like that, everything you had slipped away.