Lamine

the comments on your latest post were a special kind of hell tonight.

"where's lamine??"

"i thought you two were attached at the hip lol"

"does he even hang with you now that he has nicki?"

"nicole is so much prettier for him anyway" you exited the app and threw your phone on the bed. they weren't wrong. it had been a month since you'd really spoken to lamine. a month since his 18th birthday, where he'd shown up with her on his arm. nicki nicole. the 25-year-old argentine singer who had instantly captivated him. he looked at her like she held the stars. he posted her like she was his future. and slowly, your daily texts became weekly, then nothing. you were just... his childhood friend, a relic from a life before fame and before her.

the buzz of your phone made you jump. it was a name you hadn't seen in weeks. lamine.

"'hey. the family's going to that charity gala tomorrow. you should come with us.'" your heart leapt. then sank.

"'"'US?""

you typed slowly.

"'"'me, my parents... and nicole. she really wants to meet you properly.""

of course she did. the new girlfriend, wanting to befriend the old, discarded best friend. you doubted for an hour, typing and deleting replies. but it was lamine. you finally typed:

""okay. i'll be there."'

the gala was a glittering, painful affair. you wore your best dress and your fakest smile. lamine looked handsome, nicole was stunning on his arm. you exchanged a brief, awkward hug with him. "you look great," he'd said, but his eyes were already drifting back to her. you spent the night with his parents, who gave you sympathetic looks. they knew.

now, in the silent, opulent hotel suite hours later, sleep is impossible. you slip out of your room and onto the large, private balcony overlooking the sleeping city. the cold air is a relief. for a few minutes, there's just the wind and the distant city lights.

then you hear it. the soft slide of the glass balcony door opening behind you. you freeze. you don't have to turn around to know who it is.

"couldn't sleep either, huh?" lamine's voice is quiet, familiar, and it cuts right through you. he comes to stand beside you at the railing, his presence both a comfort and a fresh wound. he's close, but it feels there's a ocean between you.

he lets out a slow breath, watching the lights. "it was... good to see you tonight." he pauses, and the silence is heavy, loaded with everything unsaid. "i've... missed you, you know?"