Chan made it to the bar. Fashionably late. He couldn't bring himself to face her. Nerves were getting to him and as well as all the sadness.
But he made it. Because Renée was still his friend. He could not throw away their friendship just because they broke up. He and Ray went way back.
He walked through the door and headed towards their usual table. When their eyes met he had a whiplash. Everything came back instantly. Her laugh... Her scent... Her smile. Oh that smile.
She was sporting shorter hair and a dress he'd never seen her wear before. And holy crap, she looked amazing. Her skin shone differently, she seemed more toned, even from her face alone. Only a year passed but it seemed she'd become a completely different person.
She has always been beautiful, graced with good looks, that even transcended the Hollywood he'd say. It was more apparent now. Chan stuffed his hands in his pocket and wished he didn't put this much effort in trying to look good. He felt ridiculous. It was futile. Renée was too good for him.
..
..
..
Renée's heart plummeted. Fell straight into her stomach when their eyes met.
Chan held eye contact for far too long, longer than she could handle but she couldn't bring himself to back down. Or show that he still had an affect on her. That would be embarassing.
Chan broke eye contact first as he approached. Putting his hand to his tummy where a hoodie pocket should be but was replaced by a dress shirt. Instead, he placed his hand into his jean pocket. A smile broke on Renée's face and she hid it behind a sip of fruity cider.
She tried not to stare too much as Chan took his seat. He was too handsome for his own good. Dress shirt, gentle smile and dark curls that were a bit longer than the last time she'd seen him.
If things were as they were, she'd casually rummage through his curls and smile. But things weren't, and she was seated too far away from him. Chan greeted the table in his usual goofy light hearted manner. Renée gripped her thigh beneath the table.
Things fell into place very quickly from that point on. Renée almost forgot just how easy it was to talk to them. No pretence, no status difference held them apart. This was family.
They spent a lot of time catching up. Updating each other on everything that occurred since she was gone.
The story that caught her attention was the situationship Felix got into a few months back.
"Two!? You went home with two of them?" Renée eyes bulged out of her eyes at the scandalous story.
"Yeah, what was I supposed to say? No? Puh-lease."
"So you went home with a man and a woman?"
"Yep." He looked smug as hell.
"You really gave bisexual a whole new meaning." She joked and the entire table laughed. "This is whore behaviour, and I'm saying that respectfully, with my highest respect."
"Thank you." He chimed in a high pitch.
Once Renée had her fill in that story. She got to congratulate the last bunch of the group for graduating. She saw the Instagram posts and everything. And remembered missing them more than ever. Some part of her wished that she stayed.
"The after party was amazing. Dustin organised we go to a buffet afterwards." Jessica went on.
"Jessica got drunk over the cocktail bar. We had to work together to carry her home." Chan explained.
"Noooo..." She said in disbelief.
"Yes. I took a few months of alcohol after that. Do you remember Alessia, god bless her heart, gave me heavenly pills that got me over the morning sickness in an instant."
"Alessia? How? I thought she did law or politics... How did she find you a cure?"
"Beats me."
"Her brother has a PhD in medicine so maybe that's why." Chan explained.
"Woah, her whole family is just so educated. We used did a course with her once, remember? I remember she's insanely smart and interactive in class."
"She had a knack for knowing things. She's the one who convinced Chan to grow his hair out too."
"Really?" Renée asked.
"Yeah." Chan shrugged shyly.
"I begged you to grow your hair out before but you always refused. This doesn't seem fair." She joked.
"Life's not fair." He teased. "Wait, are you planning on going back to college, here... Abroad? Are you still working?"
"I think I'm going to go back to college here. I think I need a break. Let me get my degree than I'll see what comes next afterwards."
"Makes sense. Then you'll be free to pursue your career without your education putting you on hold." Dustin said. "Are you still going to stay near campus?"
"Yeah, it's the best option I have right now. I can't stay home, the commute would cost me a fortune."
"How about you just roommate with Chan. He just got an apartment, you know? I think it'd help since you've been apart for a year and I doubt you two would want to be apart." Felix teased as he nudged Renée playfully.
The entire table grew incredibly quiet.
Felix scratched the back of his head. Dustin let out an unusually loud cough. Chan and Renée looked at each other briefly before their gazes fixated somewhere else.
"What?" Felix defended. "What did I say?"
"Well..." Jessica began.
"Renée and I. We kinda broke up." Chan clarified. Hearing it from him broke something in her. She was still grasping on to the hope that Chan might want her back. For some odd reason.
"No." Felix quipped.
"Yeah. But it's not life ending or anything. We're still friends. We'll always be." Renée looked at Chan for confirmation. It took so much energy to do so.
"True. We wanted different things so letting go was the nicer thing to do on both our parts."
"No. When was the this? You broke up when you just arrived, how does that work?"
"It was a little while ago. During the wedding."
"No." Felix looked like he was about to fly off the table. "Why do I feel like I'm the only one who didn't know about this?"
"Don't look at me..I found out last week." Jessica shrugged her shoulders in defense.
"I mean. I guess it's alright since you're still friends. That's what important. That you still care for each other even if you're not in a relationship. But I really have to get used to it though."
"Right." The group laughed, some awkwardness that was suddenly there lingered.
"Oh. The food is here." Dustin chirped as a waitress made her way over to the group with a tray filled with food.
Renée tensed. Her stomach twisted in such a familiar manner. It caused her to be dizzy. The thought of food, the fact that Chan was so close yet so far... The laughter that plagued her mind. It was going to be a long night.
YOU ARE READING
Mistake || Bangchan
Random[ON HOLD] Christopher and Renée were always seen as the ultimate power couple, and were bound to ride off into the sunset... That was until they broke up. Now, they have been rebranded as bestfriends. Renée is now known to Christopher as his pal, h...
