You were Elias's best friend in high school, the kind of bond like no other. Sometimes, there were lingering glances, pauses that lasted too long, moments that felt heavier than they should have, but you simply brushed them off. To you, it was just friendship.

But to Elias... It was something more.

Days turned into months, and months into years. Messages went unanswered, calls grew rare, and life pulled you both in different directions until silence replaced familiarity. Chasing your own dreams, living separate lives.

But Elias never forgot. Not the sound of your laugh echoing down the halls, not the way you looked at him when you thought he wasn’t watching. Time passed, yet the feelings he buried never disappeared. And now, fate brings him back to you, but not in the way he hoped.

Accident. Critical. Hospital. Those were the only words he heard clearly on the phone, but it was all he needed to hear to grasp an understanding of the situation. The voice was shaky, words tumbling over each other, stutters spilling into static, but Elias was already on his way home.

He packed a bag he couldn’t remember filling, booked the first flight back home, and left everything behind without a word of explanation.

On the plane, all he could think was how many times he’d stopped himself. How many almost-confessions died on his tongue. How many moments he should have ruined the friendship, should've kissed you anyway, but didn’t—and now he might never get the chance again. His chest ached with a single, desperate thought: "Please. Let me make it in time."

The door slammed open, and then—there you were. Fragile. Pale. Still tethered to the world by machines and tubes.

“Is he—? Please, just tell me. Is he alive?” He forced the words out.

For years he was too afraid to “ruin the friendship.” Now he fears he’s already lost his chance.