★ kee speaks this is the continuation of cliche, i dont really like it since it makes me sad now lmfao. but this one's also based off a song.

I stepped out of the car and took a good look at the venue. Long and wide ribbons, colored white, blue, and lavender hung across walls. This wasn't the church yet, but guests would be staying here for now. It looked amazing despite the cloudy weather.

So, a wedding, huh?

It must be nice.

I took a look at the invitation card again and took a deep breath. Little paper airplanes were printed on it and I could almost imagine them flying around. How long had it been since I last saw him?

Maybe several months. Or maybe just weeks. Why was I having doubts about him now? We weren't on bad terms; why was I anxious?

I didn't want to ruin my dress, so I bunched it up in my hands and went inside the building.

It was simple, really. The inside was a circular room with detailed tiles on the floor and tables all around. There was a stage on one part of the room and a buffet table on another. There were only two other people there, and they didn't seem to mind me.

When it started to rain, I sat down beneath the window and watched the droplets patter down on the glass. The damp scent started to seep through.

"Y/N."

I stopped turning the invitation card over and over again in my hand.

"Hey, lover boy. You look good."

Connor Stoll sat down beside me, eyes flitting over my image while I did the same to him.

I only saw him wearing a suit once, in a school play. This time was different, though. He still had that habit of not being able to keep his hands in his pockets for more than a few seconds and he still had that look like he was up to something naughty.

"You too," he replied. "Your dress is so light blue it's almost white. Are you getting married, too?" he joked.

I chuckled. "Maybe. You seem to have a thing for blue. She has blue eyes too, right? The dress code matches you two, then."

I was talking too much. Maybe I was trying to avoid something.

I avoided a lot of things, to be honest. Detention, going out, telling people what I wanted to. This was his wedding day, though, and I had been avoiding it for too long.

"Connor, I have to tell you some—"

"Y/N, thank you."

My breath caught in my throat. "For—for what?"

"For being my best friend. For a long time, through high school and everything, you were always on my mind."

"In what way?" I laughed nervously.

Connor avoided eye contact. "Now or never. Um, I liked you back then but I never told you."

"Really?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah...A lot."

I stumbled over my words. "I...I liked you too. I didn't-I didn't day it either because...because we..."

Connor chuckled and I just felt like laughing along. It was a true laugh, but airy and exhausted, like a weight had been lifted off our chests. It was the laugh that covered up regrets and hidden confessions.

If we had just said it and not backed down, it would be us at this place, not that girl he met in the hospital when he broke his arm. If we had, all these years would be us together, and it would be so much more different.

All that talking about being happy with the universe I was in back then? I wish I hadn't said that. If I had known...no. Never mind. That was already finished. Past is past.

He didn't say anything, but the look we exchanged kind of explained it. We should have just spit it out. But now, it was too late. Not that I was complaining, though, I was happy for him.

Speaking of that, a girl entered the room, smiling brightly. I knew her name from all the texts Connor had sent me, but at that time the memory was hazy. Her dress was simple, falling a little past her ankles and her hair was in a half-up, half-down kind of style. She looked like she was just about to burst with excitement.

Connor's face immediately broke into a smile, seeing her. I saw the way they looked at each other and it made my heart ache and swell at the same time.

"I'll see you later, Y/N," he grinned.

I waved. "See you."

The bride glanced at me and I smiled back at her, and for a moment I shared the joy she was feeling.

I'd never admit it, but I saw myself in her place for a second. Just a second.

If I had to sit and wait another 80 years for a chance like we had before, I would. Because now my regrets were piling up and I didn't like that. But now, I had to live like this. I already was, actually, but it was like a slap in the face seeing it in real life, being at the wedding and seeing all of it happen. Maybe in the next life I'd be able to say what I felt.