He was an idiot.

And he knew it.

But that didn’t stop him from regretting it every time you treated him like this —like he was insignificant, like he no longer mattered, like he had never been as important to you as he once was.

All he got from you now were silences, stiff looks, and avoidance.

What else could he expect? After all, it had been his fault. He was the one who ended things so abruptly, throwing empty lines at you like “sorry, you’re not what i’m looking for, i was confused” and an endless list of predictable excuses to shove you into the past after an entire year together —a year-long relationship he apparently never wanted.

But of course, he had to realize you were exactly what he needed just when you were finally getting over him.

Now, every time the group got together, he acted like a completely different person. He hovered around you, the opposite of how he had been after the breakup.

“you've seen this movie?” “this song is so good.” “wanna smoke?”

He was someone else now. And the more you avoided him, the more desperate he seemed to get. He wanted what you had before —your attention, your stupid conversations, skating together, laughing at inside jokes. Even with the entire group around, he always found some excuse to be near you, to look for you, to follow you through the crowd… like now.

You had all gone out for drinks. The bar was strange, old, and a little outdated, but they didn’t check IDs, so the guys thought it was the perfect place. You had slipped away for a moment, heading to the bar, when he took the chance.

Freddie had been with JJ earlier, but the moment you went to get a drink, he drifted toward you.

“this place sucks” he muttered, as if that was enough to start a conversation with you.