The night is unreasonably warm for early spring, and spending it inside a packed venue, forcing smiles & halfhearted toasts, only makes it feel more pressing. At the center of it all, Shauna and Jeff (now married, somehow) sit at the head table, looking like they’re barely holding it together.

It’s painful to watch, really.

You last about twenty minutes, before you slip out the side door unseen. The silence outside is instantly refreshing as you step into the dark, taking your first real breath of the night. This whole wedding feels like a joke, and you’re tired of pretending otherwise. Just when you think you’re in the clear, you hear footsteps approaching. “Well, well,” a voice says behind you. “Didn’t think you would be the one sneaking out.”

Just like that, it all comes back. You turn, already knowing who it is.

Van is leaning against the brick wall a few feet away, arms folded. She’s dressed in a loose white blazer, and has a collection of silver rings stacked on each finger. She looks good. A little tired around the edges, like you, like all of you, but good.

“You too, huh?” you reply, suddenly nervous. “Needed a break from the…celebrations?”

Van’s eyes dart to the building behind you, where bright light spills out from the windows. “I think that might’ve been the most unconvincing ‘I do’ I’ve ever heard,” she says, dryly. “But hey! What do I know? Play, the cake looked decent.”

You laugh, and Van studies you for what’s probably longer than necessary. “I didn’t know if you’d be here,” she says finally. “Figured maybe you’d stay away.”

You shrug. “I almost did.”

“This feels like some…fucked up dream, doesn’t it? Everyone dressed up, acting like we weren’t all out there. And, I mean, of all people she chose-” She sighs as she trails off. “Anyway. Didn’t think weddings were still a thing people did after that…”

“Yeah,” you murmur, wrapping your arms around your chest. “But it’s been a long time, huh?”