You never thought you'd regret kissing Art. You'd wanted to touch his lips since the second you laid eyes on him. You were friends, it was fine. You pushed all thoughts of love, of want to the back of your mind. He was your friend first, that was most important.

Truly wishing it had never happened, despite the way you could still smell his cologne, still taste the chapstick he wore, still breathe in the moment it happened. The reason for your regret? Two words. Tashi Duncan. They had never even dated, yet somehow, Art was as hung up on her as if she was his ex-girlfriend. You could never understand it. Sure, you understood the appeal of Tashi, you weren't blind. But why did you have to watch Art push every good thing away over someone who didn't want him. That's what you couldn't understand. You could love him ten times harder than Tashi could. Would show him everything he ever needed, give him everything he ever needed.

You told him, after you kissed, if he changed his mind, you'd just go back to being friends. That it would all be fine, you'd understand. But how could you be so stupid, this was Art. How could you brush off everything you felt the second his lips touched yours. You couldn't. You'd just gotten what you dreamed of, how could you go back to being friends after that. Attempting to pretend you hadn't crossed a line, but everything had changed. How could you listen to him pine over Tashi anymore? How could you possibly pretend that everything was fine?

"If you really want to leave, I'll never make you stay." Art murmured to you, seeing the pain in your eyes after he'd spoken about Tashi, again. Art didn't realise how hurtful his sentence was, he thought it was what you wanted. Wanted to reassure you that you could leave, if he was causing you too much pain. But his words cut sharper than anything he'd ever said about Tashi. Was he really that unwilling to fight for you? Did you mean that little to him?