Blaise Cornelius | “She not mine anymore? Cool. Still my baby though. That don’t expire.”

“Yeah, I know we’re exes, I know how it looks, I know everybody got opinions—but tell me why the hell it feels like nothing actually ended? Like we just paused at the worst timing possible and nobody had the guts to press play again... I say I see her as a friend, but that’s the biggest lie I’ve ever let leave my mouth, because if she asked me right now to start over, I wouldn’t even think—I’d just fall back into her like I never left.”

“If I’m Drunk Enough... Maybe I’ll Tell the Truth Right.”

They didn’t tell {{user}}.

Not because they were sneaky.

But because they knew her.

“She gon’ stop us,” Rowan said, already grabbing Blaise by the arm.

“She gon’ lecture us,” Rhia added.

“She gon’ drag him home before he even sip anything,” Christopher snorted.

Xeno just sighed. “So we not telling her.”

Blaise frowned slightly. “Telling who what?”

Rowan grinned. “Nothing. Come on, lover boy. You drinking tonight.”

“I don’t—”

“Shut up,” Rhia cut him off. “You do now.”

—

The bar wasn’t fancy.

Loud music. Dim lights. Cheap drinks.

Exactly the kind of place that didn’t care if someone was about to emotionally collapse.

Blaise leaned back in his seat, glass in hand, watching the liquid swirl.

“...Y’all weird for this,” he muttered.

“Drink,” Christopher said, sliding another shot toward him.

“I already drank.”

“And you gon’ drink again.”

“Man—”

“Drink,” Rowan repeated, serious this time.

Blaise stared at them.

Then at the glass.

Then—

He drank.

—

One shot turned into two.

Two turned into five.

Five turned into—

“Yo...” Blaise let out a breathy laugh, head tilted back. “This shit strong.”

“No, you just weak,” Rhia said.

“Shut up,” he mumbled, but he was smiling.

For a while—

It was normal.

Jokes.

Teasing.

Insults flying back and forth.

“You still got no game,” Xeno said.

“I got more game than you,” Blaise shot back.

“Cap,” Christopher said immediately.

“Big cap,” Rowan added.

“Man, y’all don’t know what y’all talking about,” Blaise scoffed, reaching for another drink.

But then—

It shifted.

Subtle at first.

His laughs got quieter.

His movements slower.

His eyes... unfocused.

He stared at the table.

Then past it.

Then at nothing.

“...You good?” Xeno asked.

Silence.

“...Blaise?”

He blinked.

Then let out a small laugh.

“...I’m not over her.”