A/N: okay, Maroon 5 was a big help while writing this so I recommend listening to both of these while reading <3
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y/n's pov - Normal
Camilo's pov - Bold
17 years later
Here I am, peacefully sitting at a cafe; it's lovely; it was decorated in a vintage style with almost everything made of wood, and the fairy lights hanging from the ceiling were the icing on the cake.
I sat near the windows, which were adorned with vines and flowers, waiting for him to return with our drinks.
While scanning the area, something caught my eye, or should I say... someone. My stomach dropped when I saw who it was, and it dropped even more when he looked at me. We locked gazes, and I noticed his smile slowly fade. When he started walking towards the Cafe, I quickly turned away.
The bell rang, and because I was my age, I decided to be mature and deal with it. I took a step forward in front of him and extended my hand for a handshake. He kept staring at me, and I did my best to return it. He shakes his head subtly, snapping out of where he was, and then completes the handshake I've been waiting for.
"y/n," he began, sending chills down my spine. Oh, how I've missed you. "h-how are you doing?" he snickers, revealing a long-concealed smile
"I've been doing great, hasn't it been a long time?" I respond, matching his vigor.
He remained silent, a smile still on his face.
"Camilo? " I call out, waving my hand in front of his face to get his attention.
"I'm so sorry, I just- I missed you," he says.
"I can't say I don't feel the same way," I chuckle, before a thought occurs to me, causing me to squint, "it was real, huh?"
He asked, tilting his head.
"I mean, us. We were real; it wasn't just a childhood love thing" I chuckle.
"Believe it or not, it's true," present tense? really Camilo? "But that doesn't mean we're meant for each other"
I looked at my table and we both sat down to continue our conversation "another thing... I realize it's late, but... Congratulations on your wedding"
His face softens, and he beams with gratitude as he pauses and pulls out the 'pendant' on his necklace. "I just-" before I could even look, the ring of the bell caught both of our attention.
I see a woman our age approaching Camilo with the sweetest smile, and I thought that has to be her. Camilo looked at her and delicately grabbed her hand "Sorry amor, I was just catching up with an old friend" he said while caressing her knuckles.
She smiles at me and waves her hand as I do the same "it's fine, I'll let you be, I'll be outside," she says as she raises the camera around her neck, hinting at what she'll be doing. She then kisses him on the cheek before leaving the Cafe.
"That must be her? well, she's as beautiful as how Rianne described her to me"
He snickers proudly, "She is... Oh, and have you been talking to Rianne? "
"Of course, she's still my best friend, just like you are with Carlos," I laughed, remembering times when we were all together. "I never thought they'd end up together, I mean" my gaze shifted to the so-called pendant of his necklace, lowering the volume of my voice "they were always fighting, but... I guess they made it work, uhm..." I paused, my thoughts wandering. I couldn't help but notice the pendant, so I simply said, "You kept it."
He looked at where my eyes were set and slowly took it off his neck "yeah, I don't- I just wanted to keep a part of you in mine, I guess"
He lifts the ring and inspects it. "I'm sorry," I say as guilt grows in my heart.
"for what?" he inquires.
"We had already been engaged, and... I threw it all away," I replied, hoping for some relief. I returned my stare to him, noticing his reassuring grin.
He sighs and shakes his head left and right while scrunching his nose before saying, "With everything that was going on at the time, it was difficult to go for our plans together. There was no point in continuing, and I know that also you couldn't see our future together."
I could, however. every single piece of it... You were present. You were never not. It would be selfish of me to say anything about it, so I brushed it aside. I feel pressure build up in my eyes, indicating that tears are on their way. "It was definitely for the better,"
He went on, obviously not wanting me to feel embarrassed, "can I ask you a question?"
I respond with a nod,
"do you regret it?"
I averted my gaze for a moment, thinking about how to respond. "Should I?" "
"hmm... no" he exhaled, finally giving me relief. "you know... thinking about it, what happened with us... there could have been a way... a way for us to be together, a lot of ways actually" he titters
"I know, the moment I ended it, I knew I lost all of you" I place both my hands on the table and defenselessly stared at them
"that's not true, I try my best so that my unfaltering support still reaches you, I try. I promise I do, but now that I have her, I have to set some limits"
"damn it, Camilo, you never fail to make your best bud cry" I sniffle as I return to face him.
He snickers "well that's what I'm here for" there was once again a moment of silence and it was broken by Camilo's unexpected question "are you seeing anyone?"
"yeah, OH yeah, he's here somewhere. We've been together for 5? or 6 months. The second guy I dated since us" to be honest? it wasn't awkward, it was just 2 old pals catching up
"almost 10 years. wow, you loved me that much?" He sarcastically shakes his head with a forced sad pout
"All right, calm down your ego, okay?"
"too soon?" " He creased his brow in interest.
"10 years isn't too soon, and besides... I was the one who dumped you, you are the dump-ee," I said with a sad pout and puppy eyes.
He scoffs and places his palm on his chest, as if offended, saying, "that hurts, that- that hurts." We laugh it out and gradually calm down. Another 'what if' enters my mind, "What if we tried back then? "
He leans back in his chair and looks away, gathering his thoughts. "It wouldn't have been that bad, we'd be traveling... a lot, that I know for sure"
My gaze shifted to the side, attempting to conjure up what could have been "yeah, it would have been fun."
After a few, he burst out laughing, laughing with his eyes closed, as he always did.
"what?" I searched aimlessly, a smile already on my lips. His laugh was infectious.
"re-remember..." he comes to a halt, catching his breath after each sentence, "that night... We were with Carlos and Rianne, we were at New York at the time... holy-wait... " he uselessly clears his throat as he continues in the same manner as before "it was raining cats and dogs... We were laughing so hard because of what Rianne did at the drugstore... our laughter could be heard throughout the entire place. We were all slipping, but we didn't care. After that..." his laughter faded, and his eyes glistened as he reflected "I asked you to dance, and we did, no one cared because it was New York, I think it happens every day for them, but you said it fulfilled your entire love life dream... dancing in the rain."
"That's not the funniest, remember when we were moving into our first house together?" I folded my arms and stared into space. "We entered a random family's house screaming in excitement, unaware that there were people inside; they screamed in terror with us, but all we felt was joy."
"Uh-huh, sure, how about when we were at the beach?" he says, nodding. " playing... Volleyball"
I sucked in a breath through a gasp, my eyes widening. "OH MY GOSH, I REMEMBER THAT, okay, that? totally your fault."
"It's not my fault you're getting jelly over a lot of girls."
"t-they were bitches, they kept approaching you when I knew they knew I was yours, they were like" I scrunched my face in various ways as I repeated their words "oH, hEy, yOu'Re So hAnDsOmE, cAn I gEt yOuR nUmBeR? like bitch? no."
"Okay," he says, raising both hands in defeat, "blame it on them, even when you hit Rianne straight in the face with the ball."
My entire body cringes at how I hit her and how it felt like a cartoon, and I confessed in guilt through a whisper "I didn't know she was there."
From across the table, he leans in closer to return another whisper, "sure you didn't, you were too distracted by my good looks"
I leaned back and tapped the table angrily, "Okay, that's enough," I joked.
"What about the time I proposed to you?" he said softly, taking his hands off the table.
"I remember everything, it was simply the best day of my life"
"care to share your point of view?"
I sit comfortably, getting ready to hear her story. "mmmkay, there isn't much to say, but I could definitely tell that there was something up with you, you were weirdly hyper, I mean... you always are, but at the time, there was something off, you know? you told me that the date we were on the night before you proposed to me was actually the time you were going to propose, but you got the chills" she teases, "looking back at all these, we were always with Rianne and Carlos, huh? I mean it was fun, but anyway, we stayed up until 12 am, and earlier that day, I saw on the news that the annual meteor shower will happen at 4 am so we decided to get as much sleep and wake up at about 3:45 to watch it. Again, very weird energy from you and I decided to say something about it, but when I was just about to, you pointed at the sky and said" she clears her throat before trying to do an impression on me, and I'm sure it was going to be bad "there it is, there it is" yeap, it was bad, but it still made the both of us laugh proving how broken our humor is "there were these big bright flashes of light going across the sky, and it was... beautiful. All of us were leaning on the railing and just laying down our wishes to the universe, I was staring at the sky, the meteor shower was already done, but you know me, I was still hoping for one to come by again. I then heard taps on the metal cutting my wishes and prayers short. I lower my head and I scan the place where Rianne and Carlos were nowhere to be found, you called my attention by saying 'amor' making me look at you and you on.."
I notice her voice breaking at her storytelling and she pauses trying to get herself together. "hey, are you okay? you can stop."
"no, I'm fine, I'm just getting a bit sentimental" She clears her throat and exhaled deeply "keeping my eyes on you, I could feel something special was about to happen, I looked absolutely shit, an-and I didn't feel... scared, not at all 'cause it- you know, it felt... right. Then you said your speech, and happy tears were everywhere" she laughs
"Want me to recite it? I still have it memorized" I went along with her, but she develops a scared look
"DON'T, please don't, that's going to make me fall all over again for you, we don't want that"
"if you say so, I'm very easy to talk to"
We remained motionless, genuine grins on our faces. "CAMILO! " She says from the opposite side of the window, drawing both my and Camilo's attention.
"that's my cue" He stands up, and I follow him; he gently takes my hand and places the ring there, but I refuse. I swiftly removed my hand from his.
"That's yours; you said you wanted a piece of me, didn't you? That's all yours." That's all that could be yours
He cautiously nods and returns it to his neck. "How about you?" he asks.
"I have this," I said, raising my necklace pendant to show him two pieces of the sun bonded together. I removed the lace from the other one and simply sewed it together. Even though we had lost each other, it was still vital to remember what we had.
He gave out a chuckle and shakes his head up and down to let me know he got it. "I guess this is it?" he sighs. His tone suggested that he was asking a question rather than making a statement.
"You say that every time we part ways."
"I know... because I don't want hope, I'll only end up disappointed"
"All right, Guapo, then... this is it."
"goodbye"
"Goodbye," I quickly nod and turn away from her.
Seeing him walk away didn't hurt as much as I feared, but one thing remains constant: I still love him.
I still love her, that didn't change one bit. As I approached Luna, her happy aura changed to a concerned and soothing one. "that was her, wasn't it?" she asks, her lips drawn into a flat line.
"y/n" Atlas gets my attention from behind, and I turn to see him holding two drinks. "Was that him?"
"Yeah," I admitted guiltily.
As a response, I nod. Was there anything further to say?
"I know you still love her, and that's fine, never rush healing," she says as she lifts her hand and softly grabs mine
"Are you still in love with him?" He inquires, his brown eyes gleaming. I was unable to respond. I just stared at the ground till I noticed him reaching for my drink to hand it to me, "that's fine, you can still love him," I said as I raise my head to return my eyes to him, giving the most grateful smile "but..."
"Thank you, Luna, I love you so much," I hug her, grateful to have her in my life
Atlas pauses and sighs before genuinely saying "let me tell you this, love me even for just a day, and I promise... I promise to love you for the rest of my life"