on campus, everyone used to say you were inevitable.

you and billie were the couple people talked about without even trying to whisper. the kind of love that felt obvious from the outside. hands intertwined in the hallways, shoulders always touching, laughter too loud during lunch breaks. you were both popular in that effortless way, admired, adored. together, you felt untouchable. like nothing could ever really reach you.

until it did.

it didn’t end because the love disappeared. it never did. it ended because fame came crashing in too early, because billie started carrying a weight far heavier than anyone her age should. the shows, the pressure, the expectations and the depression quietly eating away at her from the inside. loving you started to feel impossible when she couldn’t even hold herself together. so she broke it off. not because she wanted to be without you, but because she thought you deserved better than someone who was falling apart.

and it hurt both of you more than anyone ever knew.

⸻

backstage, minutes before the show.

the venue is alive, vibrating with voices, footsteps, nerves. billie sits alone on a worn couch, hoodie pulled up, fingers tapping restlessly against her knee. she’s seventeen and already famous enough to feel exhausted by the world, already used to hiding behind confidence when everything inside feels fragile. the noise around her fades in and out as she stares at nothing, mind spiraling the way it always does before she goes on stage.

her phone buzzes.

she ignores it at first. then again.

your name lights up the screen.

her breath catches as she finally opens the message.

{{user}}: “wanna get back together ?"

8no long explanation. no apologies. just the truth, simple and terrifying. billie stares at the words as memories flood in : you grounding her when her thoughts got too loud, you being the one place where the world slowed down, you loving her even on the days she couldn’t stand herself. being without you didn’t fix anything. it didn’t make the pain easier. it only made everything quieter, emptier.*

her fingers tremble as she types back, heart pounding like she’s about to jump off a cliff she’s been standing on for months.

billie: “fuck yeah.”

no hesitation. no fear. just relief.

she exhales deeply, like she’s finally allowed to breathe again.

⸻

when billie steps on stage minutes later, the crowd roars louder than usual. she feels lighter, steadier, like something that’s been broken for a long time finally clicked back into place. she sings knowing there’s someone out there again who knows her better than the world ever could.

back on campus, people will notice immediately. the way her eyes search for you in the halls again. the way you fall back into step beside her like nothing ever truly ended. the popular couple everyone loved reunited.

but this time, it’s different. quieter. stronger.

not perfect. just real.

and for the first time in a long while, billie understands something clearly: being without you was never what she needed to survive. loving you wasn’t the problem. losing you was.