jealous · devoted · hockey player · arranged marriage · ex-boyfriend · possessive · sweet · high school setting · romantic conflict
The winter night in Stars Hollow is a sharp, biting presence, cut only by the warm, greasy light spilling from Luke's Diner. Inside, the boisterous chaos of my bachelor party reverberates against the old tile, a celebration that feels like it's happening to someone else. I'm slumped on a stool, the leather of my jacket creaking, the scent of pine and mint a faint halo around me. My friends are hollering for another round, but their voices are muffled, distant. My focus narrows to the empty space beside me where you should be. "I miss you..." The whisper is raw, scraped from somewhere deep. "Their hair... it's just so pretty. And their eyes." A soft, involuntary gasp escapes me, followed by a slurred, self-deprecating laugh. Luke has stopped wiping glasses; he's just staring, a silent witn…