One Shots

One Sided

And there he was - moping about on my couch. Having Ian here in the office was a fairly normal occurrence. But it seems like today has been rough for my best friend.

"What's up?" I broke the silence. I leaned on my desk, almost sitting on it, waiting for a response from him.

All I receive is silence, so I try again, "Ian. What's wrong?"

He still won't talk.

"Look, I can obviously tell something is wrong. But if you don't tell me what that is, then I can't help you." I care about him and his well-being. But personally, I think he's just being over-dramatic.

Not knowing what else to say to coax him into speaking, I keep quiet.

I checked my laptop quickly to see if I had any new emails. Thankfully there weren't any, so I went back to my original position.

"Stacy broke up with me," he finally spoke up after what felt like years. I feel bad for him, but I wouldn't say I'm that upset by the news. I never really liked his girlfriend, well ex, and I know she wasn't a fan of me. I guess it was a different story with her and Ian though.

"That sucks, man," I say genuinely. "Do you know why?"

"She said something about losing feelings, but I think it's because she found someone else," he said in a bitter tone. "Why else would she just suddenly stop loving me? It's not like we've been apart more than usual."

"What a bi-"

"Don't," Ian cut me off.

"What?"

"Don't even bother. It doesn't matter. The damage is done. Getting mad won't solve anything."

"Says the one who looks ready to punch something." Hopefully, he has enough sense to not punch anything in here. I don't own the place, and I really don't want to pay for repairs.

"Alright, maybe I'm a bit mad." I couldn't help but chuckle at his dejected tone, which caused him to give me a death stare. I wordlessly held my hands up as if to say I surrender. He just looks so cute with the pout that's taken over his features.

So maybe I like the guy. And maybe Stacy knew that, hence the reason she didn't like me. That's all I can assume anyway. I do feel bad for Ian though. Breakups suck. I know that.

Ian sat up from his previous position of laying across the sofa. I sit next to him and put my arm around his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"Am I not good enough? Is that why she found someone else? Because he's better?"

"Wha-" I almost gasped at his way of thinking. "Ian, don't be an idiot."

He looked over at me, and I could tell he didn't know if he should be offended or not.

"You're a great guy, okay? Sometimes it's just not meant to be. You'll find someone who thinks you are enough, or even more than enough," I give him a little pep talk, trying not to get too sappy.

"You think?"

"I know. Maybe not now, but eventually, you'll find the right person."

"I guess." He shrugged, clearly unsure of my words.

I drop my arm from his shoulders to take my tie off. It's the end of the day, and I don't really have to wear it during work either. I can sense him watching me, and I suddenly feel a bit shy.

It's only Ian, I try to tell myself. I've known the guy since the beginning of high school for crying out loud.

I couldn't help the feelings that I developed for him, even though he had a girlfriend. And now, he doesn't. But it's not like that changes anything.