The streets of Freeridge were as lively as ever, buzzing with life as kids rode their bikes down the sidewalk, music blared from passing cars, and the heat of the summer sun pressed down on everything. But for Cesar Diaz, the noise felt distant, almost like he was watching it all through a glass window. His world had shifted. The crew was still tight—Ruby, Jamal, Monse—but everything had changed since he'd fallen deep into the Santos and then crawled back out. Even now, standing on Ruby's front porch, waiting for the usual chaos to kick off, something felt off.

He glanced at his reflection in the window, the bags under his eyes, the tension in his jaw. He wasn't the same kid anymore, and it showed. The hardest part wasn't leaving the gang, wasn't the fights or the danger. It was coming back to his friends and realizing they didn't look at him the same way anymore. Especially Monse.

"I noticed when you started getting too close to me… I could tell you felt the change, now you're avoiding me…"

The door swung open, and Ruby's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Cesar! You coming in, or are you just gonna stand there looking broody?"

Cesar forced a smile, the kind that didn't quite reach his eyes, and stepped inside. Ruby's place had always been a second home to all of them, a safe spot where they could let their guard down. But lately, even here, Cesar felt like a stranger.

As soon as he stepped into the living room, Jamal jumped up from the couch, his arms flailing dramatically. "Finally! I thought we were gonna have to send a search party for you."

Cesar chuckled, giving Jamal a light shove as he sat down. "Relax, man. I'm not that late."

Ruby grinned, flopping down in the chair across from him. "You're always late these days, bro. What's up with that?"

Cesar shrugged, leaning back into the couch. "Just… been busy."

Jamal narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying it. "Busy with what? You're not in the Santos anymore. Unless you got a secret life we don't know about?"

Before Cesar could answer, Monse walked in from the kitchen, her hair pulled back in a messy bun, her face half-hidden behind a glass of water. She glanced at Cesar, her expression neutral, and sat down next to Ruby without a word. No smile, no greeting. Just… silence.

Cesar's heart sank, though he tried not to show it. Ever since he had come back from the Santos, things between him and Monse had been complicated. They had always been complicated, but now it felt like there was an invisible wall between them. She didn't look at him the way she used to—not with warmth, not with understanding. It was like she couldn't bear to meet his gaze.

"It's like I'm a ghost and you walk right through me…"

Ruby and Jamal, sensing the tension, exchanged a quick look before Jamal jumped into his usual distraction mode. "So, uh, what's the plan for today? We hitting up Spooky's taco spot or what?"

Monse didn't look up from her phone. "I can't. I've got stuff to do."

Cesar glanced at her, wanting to say something, but the words stuck in his throat. He could feel her pulling away, could feel the distance growing, but he didn't know how to fix it. Or if he even could.

Ruby, always the peacemaker, cleared his throat. "We could just chill here, maybe watch a movie or something?"

Jamal nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'm down for that. How about we finally watch that documentary on unsolved mysteries in Freeridge? I've been saying we should for weeks."

Monse finally looked up, her eyes flicking to Cesar for the briefest moment before darting away again. "Sure, whatever."

Cesar's chest tightened. The way she was avoiding him, the way she wouldn't meet his eyes—it hurt more than he wanted to admit. He missed the way things used to be between them. Before everything got so complicated. Before the gang, before the heartbreak, before life happened.

"I can't love you if you won't let me…"

The movie started, but Cesar barely paid attention. His mind was too busy replaying every conversation, every fight, every time he had let her down. He wanted to reach out, to tell her he was still the same Cesar. But he knew that wasn't entirely true. He had changed. And so had she.

At some point, the others got up to grab snacks, leaving Cesar and Monse alone in the living room. The silence between them was deafening. He could feel the weight of everything unsaid pressing down on him, and he couldn't take it anymore.

"Monse," he said quietly, his voice breaking the tension.

She glanced at him, but her eyes were guarded, like she was bracing for whatever he was about to say.

He took a deep breath, his hands gripping the edge of the couch. "Why won't you look at me anymore?"

Her eyes flickered, but she didn't say anything at first. She just stared at him, her expression hard to read. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she spoke. "It's not that I don't look at you, Cesar. It's that… I don't know who I'm looking at."

Cesar felt like he had been punched in the gut. He opened his mouth to respond, but she kept going.

"You came back from the Santos, and you say you're done with that life. But are you? Because I don't know anymore. I don't know who you are, and I don't know if you even know who you are."

Cesar stared at her, his chest tightening. "I'm still me, Monse. I'm still the same guy."

She shook her head, her voice quieter now. "No, you're not. And maybe that's the problem."

"I don't wanna fight, but I can't lie… I miss the way you used to look at me."

He wanted to argue, to tell her she was wrong, but deep down, he knew she wasn't. He wasn't the same. The things he had seen, the things he had done—they had changed him. And now, he wasn't sure how to get back to the person he used to be.

"I don't know what to say," Cesar admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Monse looked at him, her expression softening just a little. "Maybe there's nothing to say."

Cesar felt a lump in his throat as he looked down at his hands. "I don't want to lose you."

Her voice was quiet, almost sad. "Maybe we've already lost each other."

The weight of her words hit him hard, but before he could respond, Ruby and Jamal returned, breaking the moment. The lighthearted chatter filled the room again, but it felt like a stark contrast to the heaviness in Cesar's chest.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Cesar laughed at Ruby's jokes, pretended to be interested in Jamal's conspiracy theories, but his mind was still on Monse. On the way she had said those words. On the way she didn't look at him.


Later that night, Cesar found himself walking the familiar streets of Freeridge, the streetlights casting long shadows across the pavement. He hadn't told anyone where he was going, but it didn't matter. He just needed space. Space to think, space to breathe.

As he walked, the memories flooded back—him and Monse sneaking out late at night, talking about their dreams, about getting out of Freeridge. Back then, it had all seemed so simple. But now, everything was complicated.

"I'm still trying to find the person I was before you…"

Cesar stopped at the park, the one where they used to meet up before everything went to hell. He sat down on the bench, staring up at the stars, wondering how everything had gotten so messed up.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, seeing a text from Monse.

Monse: We should talk. Just us.

Cesar's heart raced as he stared at the screen, unsure of what to say. He wanted to talk, wanted to fix things. But could he?

After a moment, he typed out a simple reply.

Cesar: Yeah. Let's talk.

As he hit send, he felt a flicker of hope. Maybe they could find their way back to each other. Maybe things weren't as broken as they seemed.

Or maybe, like Monse had said, they had already lost each other.

But either way, he was willing to try.