From Strangers to Strangers (A Hello Stranger Fanfiction)

Present

"How are you, Xavier?" I ask him. Trying to sound casual, as if nothing happened in our past that took us to where we are now. We are so near each other, but I feel a huge gap between us. "It has been a while since we last saw each other."

I paused for a while hoping to hear a response from him but I got nothing. He just looks at me as if I was joking. "I missed you," I tell him. There is a drop of tear on the side of my face. "I missed you, Xavier. A lot.

"To be honest, I was shit scared of seeing you here. And I guess fate was playing with me when you were the first person I bumped into tonight," I tell him and laughs softly.

"Well," he starts. He gives me that half-smile. "I, myself, was not even sure you'd want to see me. Here."

Xavier puffs his cigarette once more as he looks at me. This time, there is a drop of tear on the side of his face but smiles through it. Seeing him like this is one of the reasons why I decided to break up with him via video call. I cannot fight this urge to wrap my arms around him. But not now, I cannot do that.

"I've never felt this weak," I say. "What have you done to me?"

He is shaken by what I said. He sneers then stares at me sharply. "Tell me, Mico," he says. His voice is suddenly loud and aggressive. "What have you done to me, too?" His voice quivers. He realizes that he went a little too loud that he immediately shakes his head and looks away from me.

That is a question I want to leave hanging. I cannot answer him especially now that he lets me see how our breakup affected him. Do I still have a chance, Xavier? I know it has been five years since our break up, but is it madness if I took his aggression as a sign that he is still not over me? Because if that is the case, then I am willing to take this risk again, and this time, I am braver and more mature for us.

"I knew I would see you here, anyway. Let's play civil for the rest of the night. For the sake of the memories that made us who we are now," he suddenly tells me. His voice is stern.

"You have made me whole, Xavier," I say. "I found myself in you."

"It does not make sense, Mico. I do not get these flowery words that you are telling me right now," He answers. "Besides, if that was true -- if I made you whole -- I wish you knew that five years ago. When it mattered."

He puffs his cigarette and sneers, "Those words...," he says. "Are not what I want to hear from you now, Mico."

I think I know now where this is going.

"How did we end up here?" I ask him. As if I do not know myself. As if what happened to us five years ago was not my fault.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he says. "I just want you to know that I always find myself running back to you, but I grew tired of it."

I know what he wants to hear from me, I will give him that.