Adrian didn't stay long after that.
He didn't need to.
The noise started getting to him.
The music.
The people.
The constant movement.
None of it felt the same anymore.
So he left.
No explanation.
No goodbye.
Just walked out.
—
The drive home was quiet.
Too quiet.
His hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
His mind replayed everything.
Not the game.
Not the party.
Her.
The way she walked in.
The way the room shifted.
The way she didn't look at him.
That part.....
That part stayed.
Adrian exhaled sharply.
"It's nothing," he muttered.
Like saying it would make it true.
Like it would put everything back where it belonged.
It didn't.
Because the more he tried not to think about it.
The clearer it got.
Her voice.
Her face.
"I don't think there's anything else to say."
His jaw tightened.
That wasn't how that was supposed to go.
He was supposed to be the one in control.
Always.
But tonight
It slipped.
Just for a second.
And somehow
That second was enough.
—
By the time he got home, the house was quiet.
Lights on.
But still.
He walked in without saying anything, tossing his keys onto the table.
"Back already?" a voice called.
Chase.
Leaning against the hallway wall.
Adrian didn't answer.
"Party boring or something?"
Still nothing.
Chase raised a brow slightly.
"…That bad, huh?"
Adrian ran a hand through his hair.
"Drop it."
That was enough.
Chase lifted his hands slightly in surrender.
"Alright."
But he watched him walk away.
Because something was off.
—
Adrian stepped into his room, shutting the door behind him.
Silence.
Finally.
He leaned back against the door, exhaling slowly.
For a second
He just stood there.
Then his gaze shifted.
To his phone.
On the desk.
He stared at it.
A thought forming.
Fading.
Then coming back again.
He pushed himself off the door, walking over, picking it up.
Unlocked it.
Scrolled.
Stopped.
Her name wasn't there.
Of course it wasn't.
He didn't have it.
A small pause.
Then
He locked the phone again.
Tossed it back onto the desk.
"This is stupid," he muttered.
Because it was.
It didn't matter.
She didn't matter.
That's what this was supposed to be.
A game.
Simple.
Done.
But then
His mind replayed it again.
Her walking away.
Not looking back.
Not waiting.
And something in his chest tightened.
Again.
Stronger this time.
Adrian pushed himself off the desk, pacing slightly.
Restless.
Unsettled.
He didn't like this feeling.
Didn't like not understanding it.
Didn't like not controlling it.
He stopped suddenly.
Ran a hand over his face.
"…What is this?"
No answer came.
Just silence.
And the lingering image of her
Walking away like he meant nothing.
And for the first time
Adrian wasn't sure he liked being on the other side of that.
—
He didn't sleep easily that night.
And when he finally did
She was still there.