Title: this is what they've become.
Summary: Love. You want it, you get it, you hold it, you lose it. That's always how it goes. And they're no exception.
Rating: K+
Someone told me a lie
Someone looked me in the eye
And said,
"Time will ease your pain…"
But behold
When you fall
It's the same old cannonball
Sinking down
With your heart
In two.
-Cannonball, Brandi Carlile
They stand there, feet from each other, staring, staring.
They don't speak. There isn't anything to say.
Not to each other, anyway.
After a minute she swallows and puts her bag down, still staring at him, still glaring, still hating him like she's done for the past five years.
And he can't help but notice that she's still beautiful.
Once, years ago, maybe they would have greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek, or a hug, and maybe she'd start crying at their reunion. Maybe he'd have cried, too.
But that was before.
Now they waste no words on each other, no tears, no happiness. Now all they can do is stand and stare and hate because that's what they've been reduced to.
That's all that's between them, now. Hate. Empty thoughts.
There's a cough and they both turn to the speaker. Amber raises her eyebrows at them and gestures for them to sit.
It's about to start.
There's music and words and sobs and everyone is crying, everyone except for them. They stare at the ground, unfeeling. Everyone else turns and wonders about them. Don't they care? Don't they care their friend is dead?
The funeral is taken outside and he helps carry the coffin. She walks ahead of him, slightly behind the others, looking at her marks in the snow and hiding her frozen tears.
And this is what they've been reduced to.
Hiding.
What happened to before? What happened to the days when they'd share everything with each other—their secrets, hopes, dreams, fears? What happened to…
They stand in line with the others, heads bowed, paying their last respects. They're only inches away, arms almost touching, and yet to her he's on the other side of the planet.
When it's over, when the coffin's six feet inside the ground, they walk away from each other, away from everyone.
She lets the tears fall freely once she's safely locked inside her car.
And this… this is what they've been reduced to.
This is what they've become.
