Ella ~
I heard the voice before I saw him. Calm. Familiar. Too familiar. "Ella…" Everything in me froze. The air felt way too heavy. My heart skipped, no, crashed against my ribs as I slowly turned toward the sound on the phone."Turn around"
There, standing under the soft orange glow of the streetlight, was a figure I hadn't seen in five years. "Asher." My feet moved before my brain caught up. My heels clicked against the pavement, sharp and frantic. Tears blurred my vision as I reached him, launching myself into his arms like no time had passed at all.
He caught me easily his arms sank around my waist. He spun me slightly as he held me tight, my face buried in the crook of his neck. "You-" my voice cracked. "You asshole… You left." His laugh was shaky, breathless. "I know. I know. I'm sorry." "I missed you," I whispered. "I fucking missed you so much, Ash."
I could feel the beat of his heart under my cheek. His scent was clean, a little musky, and still the same, wrapped around me like an old blanket. He set me down gently, brushing hair away from my damp cheeks. After a long time, I cried, really overwhelmed, clutching onto his jacket, "I thought you forgot- me." My voice choked as I looked at him low street light casting a glow.
"I never forgot you," he said softly, eyes scanning my face like he was trying to memorize me all over again. "Not for a day." I stared at him, taking in every sharp line of his face, the grown-up version of the boy who used to share hot chocolate and card games with me. My fingers curled into the lapel of his jacket. "You didn't text. Nor call. deactivated. Nothing."
"I lost everything. My phone, contacts… it was chaos when I left. But the second I came back, I looked for you. I swear." He looked like he meant it. But then, just as I opened my mouth to respond, I felt it. A gaze sharp, burning through my back, intense vibes coming off.
Sylus. I turned slightly, just enough to see him standing by the car, his posture unreadable, jaw set tight. He didn't say a word. Didn't need to, because the look in his eyes was intense, cold, and a death glare, making my stomach drop, soft gulp.
The tension was immediate. Thick, And I hated how my body reacted to it. "Asher," I said, gently pulling away from him, my voice softer now. "Come meet someone." I walked toward Sylus, still trying to collect myself. I managed to say, trying to calm myself down, "Sylus, this is Asher. My childhood best friend." I smiled faintly. "And Asher, this is Sylus, my- " what he was to me? Sylus was looking at me, waiting for me to answer, "Mutual friend." He said, gazing back at Asher, his voice cold, dead serious.
The handshake between them was brief. Firm. Too firm. They didn't speak, but the stare they exchanged said everything. Something primal. Possessive I swallowed.
"Well," Sylus finally broke the silence, eyes flicking to me. "It's getting late. I should take you home-" Asher stepped forward casually. "Actually… we were just about to catch up. I'm going with her to the apartment ." his voice was calm and confident as his arms rested on my shoulders. Sylus looked at me to say something. Tension was slashing through me. I wanted to get out of there. I blinked, awkward tension crawling up my spine. "Um, yeah...Asher will just drop me off." Sylus didn't say a word. Just nodded. Expressionless. Cold.
"Thanks for dinner, Sylus," I added quickly. "It was…really nice." He gave me one last look, one I couldn't name, unreadable that sent chills down my spine, and slipped inside his car. I felt bad suddenly.... before I could ask for his number to treat him someday, he was gone.
I exhaled. And turned toward Asher, who was already teasing.
"So a mutual hu?" He elbowed me lightly. "Shut up." I rolled my eyes, tired of the whole awkward situation. He smirked, blabbering, teasing as we walked to his car. But my mind was somewhere else... I turned to look at where he was leaning against his car minutes ago. Why was it affecting me so much? This guilt, like I was caught in a crime, was .... Not like me, Thoughts were clouding my mind. Maybe I was overthinking.
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Asher's POV~
Inside the car, the engine hummed beneath us, but my mind was anything but hazed. She sat beside me in the passenger seat, cheeks still flushed, eyes glassy from the tears she hadn't even tried to wipe. Her perfume rose, and vanilla with a slight musk clung to the air between us, and damn if it didn't feel like every inhale carved her deeper into my chest.
Five years. Five fucking years, and all it took was one hug from her after everything I had locked away. tried to push her away, only to burst wide open. When she ran toward me back there, heels clicking, arms flung around my neck like she was twelve again and we had won some match again at school. Like no time had passed, she only looked more grown up from the innocent girl I left to the much more beautiful woman. But some things never change, like her being my home, my reason to be here again.
The reason I tried to push her away, forget her. Move on. but I couldn't-. I missed her myEL. My butterfly. When I hugged her, my eyes closed, feeling every moment of it, my face buried in her shoulder, holding onto her. I looked up
And then I saw him. A guy with Cold eyes. Tall, dark hair. Perfectly rolled-up sleeves. Expressionless except for that one flicker of something sharp when she touched me. He looked at me like he was already planning my funeral. Like he had some claim on her.
And maybe he did?. But I had her first. Before everything, those memories that past belonged to us. She was mine in every way that mattered.My butterfly, my softness in a world that kept me alive. Sane. My eyes darkened as I held his gaze, dark, unwavering, cruel, making clear that "Hands off, she was mine."
Back in car, I glanced at her again, the way her hair spilled down her back, the way she kept fiddling with the end of her sleeve when she got nervous. She didn't say much. Just looked out the window like her world had been moving too fast.
The truth was, I wasn't just driving her home, I was driving straight into memories I'd buried, memories I tried to overshadow, forget, and damn, the way she smiled through her tears at that time-
Rosy cheeks, red-rimmed eyes, soft laughter like nothing had changed. It wrecked me. Because I knew the second I saw her again. "I never stood a chance against her, against her quiet pull; she was everything I told myself I didn't need, and she was the only thing my heart kept waiting for anyway."
The car came to a halt as she stepped out, mind quiet, clearly elsewhere as she unlocked and went inside her Apartment. It had every essence of her, the apartment was organized. one bedroom, A kitchen with soft white lights. A cozy couch covered in blankets that looked well-loved.
The atmosphere smelled like cherry blossoms and faint champagne. The moment I stepped inside, it hit me. I was in her world again. Not just a memory or a dream replaying in my head. And she hadn't changed a bit still fussing over me like I was some helpless idiot.
"Make yourself at home," she said, tossing me a familiar set of clothes, a T-shirt & shorts. The very same ones I'd given her years ago, after she'd spilled hot chocolate on herself during a snowstorm. Back then, I gave them to her. Now, she was giving them back.
Only... they weren't mine anymore. Not really. The shirt didn't smell like me.It smelled like her. Like her perfume. Her laundry soap. Her skin. My clothes had become hers. And I'd never been so weakened and overwhelmed by clothes in my life. I stood there, holding the pair for a beat too long before finally disappearing into the bathroom to change. When I came out, she was standing by the stove in her oversized tee and short bare legs, messy bun, tiny frown as she searched for the right mug.
God. My El. She looked like a fever-dream. Just her. In her home, she looked so young again, like back in her teens from my memory. I leaned against the wall, quietly watching her move around her tiny kitchen like this was just another night. Like, five years hadn't carved out a canyon in my chest.
"Hot chocolate?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder with a small smile. "Extra marshmallows, or do you still pretend you hate sugar?"She teased a smile lingering on her lip.
My throat tightened. Five years.Five years of silence of wondering if she'd changed.Of punishing myself for not reaching out. And now here she was, in front of me. Still the same girl who used to fall asleep during movie nights with her mouth open.Still the same girl who once told me she felt safest when I was around.
"Yeah," I murmured. "Extra marshmallows." Her smile widened slightly.The same way it used to, just before she'd call me a liar and throw a pillow at my head. We sat down on the couch, mugs in hand, knees brushing. Talked about everything.The shoot. Her boss. That flower shop guy who is devastatingly charming.
And all the while... I just watched her. So damn close. Yet somehow still just out of reach."This. This moment. This room. This version of you… is better than anything the last five years gave me."
Ella's pov~
I turned the mug in my hands, letting the warmth seep into my fingers. The air between us had gone quiet again, comfortable, but charged with unspoken thoughts. Still... there was something I needed to ask. "Hey, Asher?" I tilted my head toward him. He looked up from the mess of cards on the coffee table, a marshmallow stuck to his bottom lip. I bit back a laugh.
"How did you even know I was at that dinner tonight?" He froze for half a second. Blinked.And then looked... sheepish. That same guilty-little-boy expression he used to make when he stole snacks before dinner. "I—I actually…" he rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting my eyes, "was across the street. Y'know that little cake shop you love?"
I raised a brow. "cake shop?" "Yeah. I thought I'd grab your favorite," he muttered, voice lower now. "Chocolate strawberry mousse. Figured I'd surprise you… Maybe drop by the flower shop tomorrow morning. But then…" He glanced at me, then away again."I saw you. In there. With… him."
I blinked. "You mean Sylus?" He gave a noncommittal shrug and looked down at his hot chocolate. "Didn't look like a coworker kind of dinner," I smirked. "Were you spying?" "No," he said quickly—too quickly. "Just... adjusting my plans." "Right," I teased, nudging his knee. "So you weren't jealous?" He looked at me then, something unreadable flickering in his gaze.
"I was curious," he said slowly. "And maybe a little protective. You know me." I softened a little, a smile tugging at my lips. "You haven't changed."
"Neither have you," he said, eyes on me. " No, maybe I have." My gaze darted away at cards..." Sometimes being alone in life teaches you a lot of things... " he flicked my head suddenly." Fuck- that hurts... You come here." I snarled, setting my mug down, hitting him with a pillow before running after him. I missed these moments...a lot. more than I care to admit. "The night was a blur of old memories and late-night talks. By morning, silence was there, passed out, tired."
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The glass shattered against the wall with a sharp, echoing crack, fragments scattering like broken promises at his feet. His chest rose and fell, slow and uneven, like the calm before a massacre. "Ella," he murmured, voice low, ruined, reverent. "He saw the version of you I could never. But now..."
He stepped forward, into the dim light, eyes gleaming like a wolf who's finally caught the scent of his prey. "…Now that I've seen you … now that I've set my eyes on you. You are meant to be mine." He laughed faintly, hollowly. Unhinged. "The lengths I will go... You have no idea." His voice dropped into something colder."These demons in me? That I kept hidden in the shadow. They crave you." He dragged a hand through his hair, pacing, barely containing the storm rolling off his body.
"This desperation, this pull, it's maddening. You walk beside him, glowing like the goddamn sun, a chaos," he spat. "Yet with me, you're serenity and it terrifies me. Why?" His voice cracked into a whisper, breathless.
"You don't even know it, do you? How you're breaking every wall I carved in blood, it kills me. Because I've lived my whole life surviving storms, and then you walked in like calm, like peace I wasn't built to have... And now? Now the chaos in me won't settle unless it's wrapped in you."He turned to the window, watching the skyline blur.
"Let him keep thinking she's his." He smiled slowly, lethally, promising ruin. "That's cute."Then, quieter, more dangerous "But the fire he lit inside me? It's not jealousy, it's gasoline. Burning. Consuming. Addicted to your name in my mouth."The possession to hold you close, the craving to hear you break beneath me it's a hunger I've starved too long, I refused to accept that I could fall for someone."
He stepped over the shards of glass like they were nothing. "You will come to me," he whispered like a prophecy. "My erse mia." His gaze was dark, holding promise. "The fun has just begun, Asher." His voice dripped with venom. A grin curled on his lips, calm, confident as whiskey burned down his throat, utterly prepared to burn it all.
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