I'm feeling the exhaustion of today's shift beginning to settle on my shoulders; my muscles are sore and tense, and I have to refrain from raising a fisted palm to the area to numb the throbbing pain. Nor does it help that I've been on my feet for pretty much the entire duration of my shift, a lovely ten hours.

It's been an incredibly long day.

A groan erupts from the back of my throat. I roll my neck and release a prolonged sigh, glancing around the now empty street. There is, however, still a few shoppers lingering around outside the store-snapping pictures in front of the lights of Oxford Street-Selfridges shopping bags in hand. Not to mention the buskers that remain cooped up in their little area, singing to their hearts content, despite the lack of support.

I fix the strap of my shoulder bag in a futile attempt to relieve some of the pain, and turn to make my way to Oxford Circus Station. But my gaze stops on a blurry dot a few feet away from me. I squint and gasp when I spot the familiar figure leaning against the lamppost, hands hidden behind his puffer.

Valentino is here.

He's here.

I haven't seen him since that night-the night they brought Kenji and Jesmyn home.

He lifts his head upon my arrival, eyes catching mine. I halt in position and frown, wondering what possessed him to show up outside my work place out-of-the-blue. We haven't spoken properly in weeks; in fact, the last time we got to speak (if you could call it that) was yesterday.

And as I part my lips, questions heavy on the tip of my tongue, Valentino chooses to speak up first.

Aiyana, hi...he trails off, fidgeting with the sleeves of his hoodie. I-I don't know where to begin. I should probably start off by asking how you're-

I can't help but scoff in response, cutting his sentence short.

How about you start off by telling me what you're doing here? In fact, where the heck have you been?Did I hurt your feelings to the point where you had to ghost me?!I begin, voice raising as I continued to speak. I didn't want to cause a commotion, but the sight of Valentino had me at unease. I thought we were best friends, Val... We could've-we could've talked about it. What... what did I do wrong?

He winced in response and I almost feel bad, but I was sick and tired of having to draw the short straw and be on the receiving end of people's hate. I was sick and tired of having to become the main outlet for their anger.

And I wanted to be upset, too.

Valentino, alongside Cobie and Kazuo, has always been one of my closest friends. He's my brother, but sometimes, it doesn't feel like that.

Sometimes, he feels like a stranger.

Take right now, for example. Right now, I didn't know the man stood before me. Right now, all I could recognise was the shell of a man I called a best friend. I don't know where went wrong, or what I did wrong, but the least I deserved was an explanation; and the man that currently stood in front of me was nothing but a coward.

Well? I say, eyebrows raised expectantly. Cat got your tongue? Why are you so quiet now, Valentino?

If there was one thing that hurt more than my little debacle with Judah, it was this. It was my best friend of almost five years shutting me out; it was my best friend completely ignoring me without any explanation why. It was my best friend going ghost, instead of letting me know that he was okay.

After the night at their apartment, he apologised. And it was fine. Everything was fine. I forgave him, because we all react differently when we're stressed, and perhaps it became a little too much for Valentino, but after that? It was like he dropped off the face of the earth.

I don't know whether or not he was ashamed to face me. I had forgiven him, that was all that mattered, so why had he chosen to shut me out?

Aiyana, he breathes out, taking a step forward. His head is lowered, and that's all it takes for me to know that he's ashamed-as he should be. I'm a coward.

I know.

He grimaces, And I've been stupid.

I know that, too.

And I'm the worst fucking friend on this entire planet, and nothing I do or say will make anything better.

I know, Valentino, I repeat once more.

He almost flinches at the sound of his name. I've mad bad decisions, and this has probably got to be the worst.

I nod. You have.

I'm sorry... I- I'll be honest, I didn't know quite how to face you after the stunt Judah pulled. I... I didn't want you to hate me, too. It's-it's stupid, I know, um, and I know I went back on my promise. I said I'd beat Judah up if he ever hurt you, but that turned out to be a fucking lie. I'm... I'm ashamed of myself, he pauses to catch his breath. His head still remains downcast, eyes drilling holes into the floor, and his hands remain behind his back.

You should be ashamed.

Another wince.

I- I should've been a better friend. You've done nothing wrong. You've always been good to me... Judah may be my brother, but at the end of the day, he hurt you, and I know that's no excuse for me to not drop you a text, or visit you, but- but I was scared. And none of this still makes sense to me. I don't think I can even comprehend the words I'm saying right now; it sounds like gibberish to me, a nervous laugh slips through his lips as he shakes his head. And I'm really fucking scared you're going to hate me forever after this, but I'm so fucking sorry, Aiyana. I'm so sorry.

Is that all?I question, boredom seeping through my words.

He mumbles a quiet 'no'. I know I've let you down, and you probably hate me right now, but that's okay. I'm disappointed in myself for letting it get this far; this never should've happened. No, it wouldn't have happened if I had just stopped being a stupid prick. And I'm sorry again, for blowing up at you when you only tried to help. You've always been an empathetic person, so I don't know why I lashed out on you. You've done nothing but help me, help us, and I treated you like shit for it... so I'm sorry. I know my words hold no weight without action, but please, please don't leave. I can't lose you.

I blink slowly, exhaling through my nose as I watch him bow his head in defeat. I raise my hand and poke his bicep, I don't hate you, stupid.

He finally looks to me, and I swear I feel my heart pound quicker against my chest. He sniffles discreetly, eyes rimmed red as he blinks slowly. Please forgive me, he croaks out.

With that, he quite literally drops to the ground, knees hitting the dirty ground with a soft thud. He pulls his hands from behind his back to reveal a fresh bouquet of purple hyacinths, perfectly wrapped in brown tissue paper, a white ribbon holding it all together.

Holy shit.

His arms are outstretched, head downcast, awaiting for me to retrieve the bouquet in my hands. I already told him I forgave him a long time ago, I was just disappointed.

What are you doing? I hiss, flicking his shoulder. Get up, Valentino. People are staring.

I laugh nervously at the bystanders watching our encounter with burning curiosity; there's nothing more I want to do than run and hide. I hated the attention, and to have Valentino begging on his knees, flowers in hand, was not helping the situation.

Take the flowers, Aiyana, he instructs.

I'll take the flowers once you get your raggedy ass up, stupid rat, I attempt to pull at his ear, ignoring the hushed whispers and fingers pointing in our direction. You're embarrassing me.

I'm sorry. I truly am sorry, he begins to mutter.

Valentino, I'm going to kill you.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

If that makes you feel better, please do,was his response. And I hated that he was completely serious. He didn't even bat an eyelash.

Get. Up. Right. Now.I whisper-shouted, nudging his knee with my heeled boot. I hate you so fucking much.

That's okay. I deserve it, he reassures himself.

He still holds the bouquet of flowers, and I'm beginning to grow agitated. So I too, kneel. I grab the bouquet of flowers, one arm holding them against my chest and my free hand goes to his shoulder.

You can get up, Valentino. I accept your apology, I say slowly.

When the words leave my mouth, he tenses up. Really? I don't deserve your forgiveness.

You're right, you don't... but I forgave you a long time ago, and I really need you to get your dumb ass up. I'm ruining my trousers cause of you.

With that, he leaps forward, curling his arms around my shoulders as he pulls me into a bear hug, burying his face into the crook of my neck. I love you, bro. I'm so sorry.

I couldn't help but laugh softly, squeezing his shoulders in acknowledgement.

I missed this.

hellooooo again!!

so that was the valentino appearance; are we satisfied??

before anyone complains, aiyana deffo forgave him quicker cause yk, they're best friends (and cause she's way too kind for her own good) there'll be times when you fall out and argue, and perhaps, some of you may not agree with how quick she's forgiven him but that's okayyy. that's okay 😌

also this isn't proofread so if you spot any mistakes, no you didn't 😙

if you have any questions, drop them here xoxo

enjoy!! thank you for reading again.

stay safe guys !