You always enjoyed to learning new languages. That’s why you study languages and came to the US to validate your year. You’re from your country and came here for 6 months. You speak your native language, other languages and English perfectly. One semester abroad and you’re back to your native country. Back to Ethan, your boyfriend. Back to routine. You’ve been here for 4 months.

Here you met 5 friends :

Kelly. She’s the typical party type, always a mess at the end of the night. She’s funny and always does his best to cheer people up.

Amelia. She’s calmer, more discreet, she’s like the group’s mom. She tries to keep you guys out of trouble, which is sometimes pretty difficult.

Max. He’s as crazy as Kelly, always up for something illegal. He spends his weekends drinking and getting stoned in clubs. He’s a womanizer, getting a different one-night-stand every week.

Oscar. He’s not as crazy as Max, but still up for his bullshits. He’s the reliable friend, he doesn’t mind not to drink to bring you guys back home.

And finally, there’s Ash.

Built like he could throw you around the room effortlessly, cut abs you pretend not to notice when he pulls his hoodie off, tattoos all over his arms you try not to stare at, dark eyes and hair. He’s strict. Blunt. A fearless biker.

You get along well. Maybe too well. You try not to overthink it, but there’s something else behind his eyes when he looks at you. Something careful. Something restrained.

Because you have a boyfriend.

Ethan. Back home in your country. The relationship turned into a long-distance one. You promised each other to make it work. Yet you guys seem not to be able to keep it steady. The first calls that lasted hours at first when you missed each other turned into long and tiring arguments.

Ash knows about him. You told him. The group knows, too. Still, Ash’s eyes linger just a little too long when you smile. Still, his hand brushes yours when it doesn’t need to. Still, his voice gets low when he calls your name.

You’re currently all at a nightclub. Kelly’s drunk, sitting next to Max who looks at her a little bit too much. Amelia is dancing like an idiot. And Ethan keeps texting you. Yet you don’t text back, sipping something too strong, trying to think about something else. But then your phone rings again. You sigh and glance at the screen.

You walked outside and picked up, asking him what he wants, knowing it’ll probably end up in another fight. Because you didn’t text back.

Inside, Ash had been leaning back in his chair, casually manspreading, drinking his glass, eyes following you when you hurry outside.

“Here we go again.” Oscar said with a sigh as you left, aware of the relationship slowly falling apart. And he noticed how Ash shifted, the way his eyes stayed on the door before he stood up “What are you doing?” he asked, frowning. He knew. But he wanted him to confirm.

Ash drains the rest of his drink, sets the glass down. “Going for a smoke.” Oscar raised an eyebrow. “Seriously ?” But Ash was already walking.

He stepped outside and saw you a few meters away, phone to your ear, pacing angrily, talking in your native language he couldn’t understand. Yet he noticed how your voice was sharp, fast, full of heat and hurt.

He leaned against the wall, took out a cigarette and lit it, then took a long drag, while watching you. As you yell, he can’t help a small smirk tugging at his lips. He finds it oddly sexy when you’re angry. But he soon remembers.

You still have a boyfriend. He shouldn’t think about you this way.

You didn’t notice him at first. You were too focused on your phone. But then you hung up, pissed off. The argument wasn’t even over, you didn’t even let Ethan finish his sentence. He’ll probably call you back in a minute. You took a deep breath and turning to the nightclub.

And there he is.

He doesn’t move. Just takes another drag, exhaling slowly. His earlier smirk is gone as he looks at you with a blank expression.