A/N Thank you so much for receiving this story with such kindness. I am writing this story as I post it, so the updates might be a bit irregular initially. Always looking forward to your thoughts and constructive criticism :)

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I do not miss him.

I do not miss him.

I do not miss him.

If I miss him, it is in the usual way that friends do. Nothing more.

As I flutter about my small kitchen, chopping up fruits for my breakfast, I think back to my conversation with Will last night.

It had been 10 days since Will had landed in Massachusetts to begin his MBA journey at Harvard and we had talked a total of 3 times. It is not like we talked everyday back when he was in London, but somehow the distance makes the duration between our calls seem longer.

I was prepping for bed, my earphones plugged in as Will showed me the cereal aisle on his phone, "Which one has the least sugar Lizzy? I really want to be healthy while I am here."

I smile and shake my head, "You and I both know you cannot do without your fruit loops in the morning, so will you just buy them already!"

He smiles sheepishly and puts in fruit loops in the basket. "What would I do without you?"

"Absolutely nothing." I poke my tongue out, my heart flipping a little. "So, are you missing London yet? Regretting leaving your cushy consulting job for the adventures of grad school?"

An expression crosses his face, sombre and hesitant, but then he smiles, "Definitely missing parts of London, but well, this is home for now, right?"

I nod absently, absolutely detesting the idea of him considering anyplace other than London home.

"How is work going? Regretting not coming with me to pursue master's to continue slogging at the arduous consulting job?" He smirks.

"Ha ha." Will and I both worked in the field of consulting at different companies, the difference being that he worked as a hot-shot management consultant while I worked with social enterprises in the impact field.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you something…" he scratches his head as he stands at the billing counter, "…this girl asked me out yesterday."

"Ah." I keep my expressions as neutral as possible, but the sudden heavy weight in my stomach makes it difficult. "Tell me everything! That is amazing Will." I smile.

He shakes his head, "It's nothing, honestly. I had gone out to the pub with friends here and she approached me, said hi, and gave me her number. I will probably not even do anything about it. But I did remember to note it down in my Lizzy updates." He smiles, eyes twinkling.

I give a small smile and try not to overthink. "You should call her up, you know. If you want to that is."

He pauses for a moment and then nods. "Maybe."

Maybe.

Such a mystifying word, isn't it?


"I liked the proposal, Eliza. It plays to our strengths while also considering their requirements. How long do you think the research project will go on for?" Charlotte, my manager (and best friend) looks up at me as she skims through the proposal that I shared with her.

"The estimated timeline should be about 6 weeks, with 2 weeks of pre-visit research, then 2 weeks of on-site visits to the selected list of schools, and then 2 weeks of compiling our findings. We will leave the selection of the schools up to the clients."

"Perfect." She snaps the file shut. "Looks like you are on top of it. Can you send it across to Richard from their team and get the contract going?"

"Will do. Will that be all?"

"Yes. Now that we have discussed that, on to more important things." She leans closer to me and lowers her voice, "How did the date with Steve go?"

I smile and shake my head, "Nothing to remember, Char. He was a nice guy, but there was no spark or connection."

She nods, "So no second date?"

"No, thank you." I move to get up when Charlotte continues. "You know, there is a good chance that one of the sites to visit would be near Massachusetts, you could visit Will?"

I flush and wonder why Charlotte mentioned it. As if reading my mind, she smiles softly, "I know you, you have been missing Will, haven't you? And don't bullshit me by saying just as a friend. I can see that you have, or are beginning to, have feelings for him."

That is Charlotte, blunt as ever.

"It is nothing like that Char. It's a silly crush, that's all." I pick at my nails as the confusion of my emotions for Will makes me overthink again.

"Hon, we have been best friends for 7 years now. I know you inside and out. And this is your friend, not your manager, talking. You can talk to me, okay?"

I nod, still looking down. I am not sure what I would talk to her about, I cannot even begin to articulate my feelings to myself.

"Are you regretting your decision, Eliza?" She whispers, softly.

I look up in her eyes and perhaps she sees more than I do, because she comes around the desk and pulls me in for a hug.

"I don't know, Char." I whisper against her shoulder.


10 Months Ago

I signal the waiter for my order and turn towards Will, nodding along as he relays his story about his colleague James? Thomas? I am afraid I cannot remember the name as I was too busy drinking up my margarita.

"And then he ended up sleeping on the curb outside his house the entire night!" Will exclaims. Maybe I should have been paying more attention, this story does sound rather interesting.

"So crazy for Thomas!" I nod along.

Will chuckles and takes a sip of his beer, "You mean Michael, of course."

I have the decency to blush. "Of course."

He smiles fondly as he stares at me and I blush further. The waiter chooses that moment to arrive and takes my order for another margarita, and a beer for Will, and is off within minutes.

"So, what are you thinking of?" I sigh, resting my face on my knuckles, looking at Will.

Will keeps staring at me for some time, perhaps some minutes, or some hours, an internal conflict brewing within him. He seems to come to a decision and nodding, takes another sip of his beer.

"I was thinking of you. Us, actually." He says casually.

Raising my eyebrow I wonder aloud, "Us?"

"Mhmm, I have been thinking. You and I have been friends for a long time, right? You know me, I know you. We have run hypothetical thought experiments about how we could be compatible. So, I was thinking that we could perhaps give it a go and see if it works. What do you say?" The words rush out of him.

I blink, confused. "What is 'it' exactly?"

"Us." He gestures to the two of us.

"Like in a relationship?"

"Yep."

"As an experiment?" I question, my eyebrows scrunching up in confusion.

He hesitates and then nods slowly, "In a way, you could say that. We look great on paper, our values, ambitions, personalities, and goals all match."

I open my mouth to speak and then close it. Confusion and a sense of foreboding war within me.

"Will, what brought this on? Is it because of Caroline?" Will had broken up with his girlfriend of 4.5 weeks more than a month back.

He shakes his head, "Nothing specifically, and no it is not because of that. Just something I have been thinking of."

I bite my lip and sit up in my seat, "Will, I get it. I do, but relationships don't work like that for me. I don't try something out and then see if we like each other, as an experiment. I mean, it is supposed to be something more than that right?"

He looks up at me at that and opens his mouth, but then closes it. Sighing, he begins, "Yes, of course. And it is, I already like you Lizzy."

"As friends!" I throw my hands up. "And that is different. Will, we are best friends. The absolute best of friends, there can't be experimenting or trying things here. I love you too much to lose you as a friend. The risk is too high!" I burst out, my eyes blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of everything.

"That is true." He nods, looking at the bottle of beer in his hand.

"And there is also George." I say softly. George was a guy I had begun talking to since a month and we were well on our way to dating each other.

Will's lips thin and he nods. "Right, George."

I keep my hand on Will's and press it, "It is just…I want to explore that, you know? And the idea of us experimenting with our friendship seems too risky. I can't lose you Will, I really really can't."

Will looks at my hand on his and then looks up into my eyes. His gaze slips to my lips for a beat and my heartbeat quickens. I peek down to his lips and gulp.

Am I making the right decision?

He keeps his other hand on mine and presses.

"Of course, you are right."

"You understand right? We are still best friends?" I whisper, holding on to his hand.

He smiles softly, "Always, Lizzy. Whatever you decide, I am always here."