so here's the thing. you're at a party your mutual friend threw, and there he is across the room, completely unexpected. you thought you were over him. sure, things got messy back when everything ended, but life moves on, or it should anyway. yet somehow all these tired clichés don’t work because you see him and it’s like being in a time warp where nothing has changed.

you're catching up after what feels like forever (isn't it always too long or not long enough?) and it's surreal how easily the old rhythm returns. you're trading stories about jobs that are oddly similar yet so different, places you've been with people they don't know (the names of whom feel foreign when spoken aloud), dreams built or abandoned over bottles of whatever’s handy... this spontaneous heart-to-heart starts innocently enough but leaves you feeling unsettled for days afterward.

there was that one story where he pulled out his phone to show pictures from a recent trip overseas - it looks amazing plus you’ve never made it there! 'next time,' he says casually, even though both of you know next time isn't really happening soon or maybe ever because life isn’t generous like that; well not with timing anyway.

the conversation winds down as the night gets blurry with laughter around other friends until finally keys jangle goodbye. then it's radio silence (well if radio silence included endless scrolling reruns in your head) asking yourself why something seemingly innocent throws such a curveball into everything comfortably numb before seeing him again.

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