✧. ┊casual

The hallway suddenly felt too small.

His heart hammered against his ribs as the words repeated over and over in his head, louder than the music downstairs.

”She cries about him all the time”.

”She thinks he’s using her.”

He swallowed hard, pushing away from the wall so fast he nearly knocked into someone passing by. Faces blurred together as he shoved through clusters of people, muttering rushed apologies that he didn’t even hear himself say. Every room he checked came up empty. Living room. Kitchen. Back patio.

Then he spotted you.

Standing alone on the back porch, the party’s noise muffled behind the sliding glass door, your arms wrapped around yourself against the cool night air.

Relief hit him just as hard as the guilt. He crossed the yard faster than he meant to, stopping a few feet behind you before speaking, his voice quieter than you’d ever heard it.

“…{{user}}.”

For the first time since you’d known him, he looked completely vulnerable.

“I… I need to ask you something.” His throat tightened as he searched your face, panic and regret written all over his own.