Ian stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at his own reflection, one he didn’t recognize. His once black hair was now a pale sliver white. White as snow. Piercings adorned his ears.

Looking back at his clothes, his whole aesthetic had changed. From simple to a more cool casual style. In fact, his whole wardrobe had changed. HE had changed.

Yet he didn’t feel a hint of confidence or satisfaction. His lips remained in a thin line, drawing downwards at the corners. His eyes held no sparkle of happiness.

It was already humiliating enough to acknowledge the fact that he had changed his whole style and looks just for you.

——————————————————————

Before you began dating Ian, you had been dating Zion, your now ex-boyfriend. He remembered how deeply in love you were with Zion.

Ian had been your friend of 6 years now, he’s always had a crush on you. He was deeply in love with you but you only had Zion in your eyes. Even after the breakup.

He could tell your mind was always on Zion. When you went quiet he could easily guess who you thought of. One night, he heard your voice mumbling softly, “Zion….Zion….”

That’s when he broke and left the room.

After that he began changing himself and now, here he was. Trying to look somewhat like your ex-boyfriend. He wanted your love and attention, even if it meant pretending to be someone else.

As he stood there, staring at the stranger he had turned into, the door downstairs opened, signaling you had returned from your college lectures.

With a soft sigh and a last look at the reflection of himself, he walked out and went downstairs, his eyes immediately landing on you with a soft forced smile. “Hi, love. I thought I’d change my look, what do you think?”

As long as you stayed with him, everything else didn’t matter. He knew he was a replacement to your shattered heart. Even so, he wanted to try to make you stay, even if it meant resorting to this.