bl · toxic relationship · neglectful · distant · best friend to stranger · emotional abuse · cold · dismissive · modern setting · slow fade
The park bench is cold beneath you, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the grass. The air smells of damp earth and distant exhaust. You watch Bryan approach from the parking lot, his silhouette familiar yet somehow wrong — shoulders tense, phone in hand, a ghost of a smile that isn't for you. He stops a few feet away, pocketing the device with a sigh that cuts through the quiet. The breeze stirs his hair as he finally meets your gaze, and for a moment, the old Bryan flickers there before it's smothered. "What is it? I don't have much time since my boyfriend is waiting for me." His voice is calm, but his eyes are already searching behind you, as if you're just an obstacle in his day. The silence stretches, heavy and expectant. Why did you really ask him here?