Leons Pov
Like I didn't spend the last two years trying to forget what she looked like.
She's so beautiful it hurts. And so damn indecisive it drives me insane.
Every second she takes to pick a shade of lipstick or argue over shoes feels like a personal attack on my sanity. But I keep watching anyway—like I don't know better.
Like I didn't promise myself I'd stop caring.
Julian, who usually darts between shops like he owns every storefront, is strangely quiet today. His eyes are glued to Roman—like he's trying to read something no one else can see. I know they had a fight. A bad one. I overheard bits and pieces, but I couldn't make sense of it.
Liv cuts through my thoughts."So? How do we look?"
They all looked great. Stunning, even. But her?
She almost took my breath away.
She always did.She always does.
Everyone was staring at me after Julian's comment. I blinked, pulled myself together :"I hate her. I still hate her. Pull yourself together."
We ended up at a Japanese restaurant. There she was—sitting across from me, eating happily. She's always liked sushi... but she hates raw fish. Weird. Just like how she doesn't eat ice cream.
Who doesn't like ice cream?
Julian was talking about their business, and I already felt proud. So damn proud of her. But then my idiot mouth ruined it.
Something like,"I'd invest... if the business ever started failing."
The table went quiet. Her smile dropped. She looked... offended.
I wanted to fix it. Say something. Anything.
But Roman beat me to it.
The fight came fast. Sharp. Loud. And there she was again—tears welling up, fists clenched, lips trembling. Angry. Hurt. Ready to leave.
Julian stopped her.
She always cries when she's angry.
Julian announced he's gay.
I mean... he was always a little dramatic, a little sparkly—but it still caught me off guard.I'm okay with it. Obviously.I glanced at Roman. He looked... off. Sad, maybe? I didn't really get it. I'll talk to him later.
We headed to the bar after. The girls—Daphne, Cami, and Liv—left together. I hoped they'd help lighten the mood. Daphne hadn't said much since earlier, and it was starting to feel heavy.
Since it was a weekday, the place wasn't too crowded. JJ led us straight to a private VIP booth upstairs—perks of being the boss, I guess.
She ordered her usual—neat, bold, no sugar. Sat down without a word and just kept sipping.
One.Two.Three.Four.
Does she even stop?
I watched her from across the table. Still quiet. Still closed off. Even Liv and Cami had started exchanging glances, but no one wanted to say anything.
"Okay, but like," Liv leaned forward, trying to change the vibe, "imagine if we all actually took a vacation together. Like, left the country. Zero drama."
Cass laughed. "You mean maximum drama. We'd kill each other before the flight landed."
Julian raised his glass. "Speak for yourself. I'd thrive. I already have outfits planned for Greece, Italy, and petty revenge."
Everyone chuckled—except her.
She stood suddenly. "I'm gonna check on something downstairs."
Gone.
Ten minutes.Twenty.Thirty.An hour.
What the hell is she doing?
Why do I care?
I got up and walked out to the balcony, pretending I just wanted some air. Looked down—and there she was. Laughing. Talking to some guy I didn't recognize.
I clenched my jaw. Walked back in.
"Liv," I muttered. "Can you tell Julian to call her?"
Liv raised a brow. "Everything okay?"
"She's been gone a while. Just—check."
Julian glanced at me, smug. "Aww. Does someone miss his favorite heartbreaker?"
I didn't answer. Just gave him a look.
Julian smirked and pulled out his phone. "So… is Lady Boss gonna come back and grace us with her presence or are we officially abandoned?"
"On it, Madam," JJ said with a dramatic bow, already dialing. "If she doesn't pick up, I'm cutting her drinks off for the month."
Cass laughed. "Bold of you to assume you can survive that."
She came back after a while. Calm. Unbothered. Like she hadn't just ghosted us all mid-evening.
"Sorry," she mumbled, brushing hair out of her face. "Got caught up talking to someone downstairs."
She headed straight for the table, grabbed another drink, and poured without asking.
Roman looked up, his voice tight. "I think you already had enough. Cut yourself some slack, Daph."
She ignored him and plopped down between Mason and Liv.
Liv immediately wrinkled her nose. "Oh my god—you reek of smoke. Did you light up the entire year's supply or what? I thought you stopped."
Daphne shrugged. "Didn't smoke. Didn't stop smoking either."Beat."Was in the smoking area, talking to someone. Chill."
Then she reached into her purse, pulled out rolling paper, and started breaking up weed like she'd never stopped.
"Anyway—anyone up for a joint?"
Silence.
She didn't care. Nimble fingers, perfect rhythm. Like muscle memory.She still rolls a perfect joint.Of course she does.
Roman scoffed. "So we're back to your old ways, huh? What now? Light up, crash a few weeks, spiral, and disappear again?"
Daphne froze mid-roll. Looked up. Voice low.
"Can you not bring up the past, dude? I messed up. I know. I did it once. I fucked up, okay?"Her eyes flared. "And don't act like you haven't smoked weed. It's literally legal now. Congrats."
Tension like a knife.
Cami cleared her throat, voice cutting through the fog. "Sooo… anyway! Daph, we were just talking about taking a vacation. Jules and Pierre can come too. Make it a thing."
Julian raised a brow. "Oh? We're inviting my man now? I'm touched."
Daphne glanced between them, still visibly on edge. "Vacation, huh?"
Roman didn't say anything.
Mason leaned back, trying to smooth it over. "Yeah. Beach. Booze. No breakdowns. We figured you could use it."
Daphne let out a dry laugh. "Sure. Why not."She picked up her drink again, swirling the liquid absently.
"But school just started," she added with a smirk. "Let's wait a month or two. Unless y'all wanna flunk together. Could be cute."
Julian grinned. "Academic chaos? Say less."
Cami raised her glass. "To future flunkies."
Everyone laughed—even Roman cracked half a smile.
Daphne stood, slipping the joint behind her ear. "I'll be back. Gonna step out for a smoke."
She didn't wait for a response—just grabbed her phone and disappeared toward the balcony.
"It's just us here," Julian said as he stood, brushing imaginary lint off his shirt. "Let's go down, mingle a little."
"I'm good here," I muttered. "Need a minute."
Julian didn't push. He just gave me that unreadable look he always does, then walked off. The others had already gone downstairs, laughing like the night hadn't been awkward as hell.
Roman had disappeared earlier—said something about fresh air, then vanished.
After a few minutes, the silence upstairs got too loud. I got up, told myself I just needed to stretch my legs or whatever.
But really, I wanted to check on her.
I stepped onto the balcony.
And there they were.
Roman and Daphne.
At the far end. Just the two of them. Roman's back was turned to me, but Daphne faced him—half-lit by the dull city glow and the faint spark of her lighter.
I stopped.
Not close enough to be seen, not far enough to leave.
She lit a joint, exhaled slow. "You know, Ro," she said, voice soft, "he did wait for you."
Roman stayed quiet.
"But you were pretty clear with him," she continued. "You didn't want what he wanted. You told him things that hurt him more than you realized."
His head dropped a little. "Can we not, please?" he said. "I came out here to be alone. You're the last person I want to talk to right now."
Her voice didn't waver. "I'm the only person who knows, Ro. The only person you can talk to. Let it out. After this, I promise—you can go back to hating me."
Roman gave a sad laugh. "I don't hate you. I'm just… angry. That's all."
She hesitated, then said, "Pierre and Julian… they're not in love. They're just best friends who didn't want to be alone anymore. They're coping, not committing. And the people they love? It's not each other."
I felt my chest clench.
Roman didn't respond. Just stared at the floor.
"I'm not telling you this to make you feel better," Daphne went on. "I'm telling you so you do something. Either find the courage to accept him… or give him the closure he deserves."
Roman let out a long breath.
Then, mid-sentence, he said softly, "I don't know, Daph… it's just—"
She cut him off, her eyes narrowing. "Wow. So you still call me Daph, but when I call you Ro, it's a problem?"
He blinked, caught. "That's… different."
She tilted her head. "How?"
He hesitated, then gave in with a sigh. "You can call me Ro. Doesn't mean you're forgiven."
A faint smile tugged at her lips. "Fair."
I stayed frozen behind the wall, every word burning itself into my memory.
I shouldn't have listened.But now… I knew way more than I was supposed to. I decide to let them know
"Eww," I said, stepping out from behind the wall with a dramatic grimace. "You could've told me, you know? All those nights we spent together? No, no, no—traumatized."
Daphne froze, wide-eyed.
Roman looked like he'd seen a ghost.
I chuckled lightly, hands up. "Relax. I'm not mad, Ro. I love you, okay? No matter what. So why didn't you just tell me?"
His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
I kept going, voice a little softer now. "It's not about you liking Jules. Or guys. That's not what hurts."
I looked him dead in the eye.
"I'm just sad you didn't trust me with it. That you kept it in. And here I was, whining to you about Daphne and Julian running off together—thinking they left because they were dating." I shook my head, laughing bitterly. "And all that time… you knew."
Roman swallowed hard.And for once, he didn't have anything smart to say.
Daphne stepped forward, arms crossed, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "Wait. So you thought Julian and I were dating?"
I rolled my eyes. "Maybe."
She tilted her head. "And why'd that bother you so much, huh? You like me or something?"
I let out a laugh. "Sure. If that helps you sleep at night, go with that."
Then she turned to Roman, the teasing edge softening. "Ro, now that I do know… you can talk to me, you know? Not pretend like you're talking to me through Jules."
Roman glanced between us, a little pink creeping up his ears. "Leo… I'm sorry. Really. I wanted to tell you. I did. I just—didn't know how."
I gave him a small nod, not quite a smile, but not mad either.
He continued, "But I still wanna keep things… quiet. For now."
"Fair," I said.
Roman exhaled. "Anyway, I'm gonna grab a drink. You coming?"
I stretched, cracking my neck. "The rest of the crew's downstairs, right?"
Roman nodded. "Yeah. JJ, Jules, everyone."
"Cool," I said, leaning back against the railing. "I'll join you in a bit. Need a smoke first."
Daphne looked at me, then at Roman. "You go ahead, Ro. I'll catch up."
Roman raised a brow but didn't argue. "Alright. Don't fight."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "No promises."
He gave her a pointed look before heading inside, leaving the two of us under the soft hum of the balcony lights.
She stayed quiet for a second, arms folded over the railing, eyes fixed on the view below.
"You okay?" she asked eventually, not looking at me.
I took a drag. "Yeah. Just… processing."
"Pretty sure the alcohol's doing that for you," she teased.
I let out a short laugh. "You always have to be clever, don't you?"
"It's a coping mechanism," she said with a shrug.
"Fair." I glanced at her. "So… you and Jules, huh?"
She groaned. "Ugh. Again? You seriously thought we were a thing?"
"You were always stuck together. People talk."
She looked at me, and there was a flicker of something like amusement in her eyes. "He's my person, Leon. But not like that. Never like that."
I nodded slowly. "Guess I was too caught up in my own mess to see it."
"We all were."
The night was quieter now. Less noise, more honesty.
"You really didn't stop smoking?" I asked.
She exhaled. "Tried. Failed. Life's funny that way."
"You always were terrible at quitting things."
She paused for a beat. "Except people."
That one stung more than I wanted it to.
I didn't respond. Just inhaled deeply, letting the smoke cover what I couldn't say out loud.
"You gonna come down?" she asked gently.
"Yeah. Soon."
She gave me a small, tired smile. "Okay. Just… don't take forever. Jules might end up on the bar again."
I snorted. "Now that, I don't want to miss."
She turned, walking back inside, the door clicking shut behind her.
And I stood there, for a while longer.
Thinking about people. About the mess we all are.About what we say, what we don't. What we regret.
Then I flicked the cigarette over the edge, watched the ember vanish in the night—
—and went back inside.
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