Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between

Bonus Chapter: The Ones We Once Loved

A/N: Getting this thought out of my head and into this writing space. Here's how I imagined Cassie and Aika in the world of The Ones We Once Loved.  Happy reading, as usual!

Love, over-glorified as it is, feels like a dream. You fall in love, and your world changes. It adapts so you can accommodate this stranger who makes you feel things—a special friend who comes with a swarm of butterflies and visions of forever.

[Cassie]

So you say that it's all you ever do

It's been a long time since your eyes lit up like fire

You felt the guilt build-up

'cause I let by got things controlled

When I have to sweep in,  it scarred me

Five years we shared the bittersweetness of the room

Then we broke up

Because sometimes it is the best thing to do

Did it ever cross your mind that maybe you hurt me too?

But I'm not taking it against you

"Bub, I loved you in ways that I know and by all means that I can. I'm sorry if it wasn't enough. I'm sorry our love wasn't enough. I wish I could say I should've loved you better, but I know I've loved you with all I have. This pain I feel now reminds me that what we had was real. It was comforting, yet even the most beautiful things are not perfect, but I don't regret anything. It was time meant for us, and I wouldn't have had it any other way."

[Aika]

Since the beginning

I nevеr wanted anything

But to see you reach your dreams

I knеw that you just wanted me

But I had dreams of my own

And I just couldn't let them go

"Love, I hope there never comes a day that you ever doubt the love we had. We loved each other more than we should've loved ourselves, and this is perhaps why we lasted this long. We loved until it hurt, especially when it hurt, even when there was nothing left to love. I'm very grateful I met you, and I hope you continue to grow and learn. I'm always rooting for you."

[Cassie & Aika]

So I apologize, for coming into your life

Just to break your heart in pieces

And then leave you in the night

I tried my best to stay by your side

But who knew the rolling seasons

Would reveal that sometimes

We aren't meant to be the one

"Maybe we'll meet again. By then, I would have the courage to face you. I would have the bravado to look in your eyes and see the person I once truly loved and ruined. The person who spared nothing to help me find myself. The person who lost herself in loving me."

[Aika]

Things got heavy and you expected more from me

I tried to be there, to take away your tears

But I didn't notice that I was chipping away pieces of myself

'Til there was nothing left to give

I didn't even wanna live

"I want you to find your happiness just like what I have been telling you, even when it's not with me. Thank you for loving me enough to make me want to love myself. Thank you for choosing me, and this time I'm finally choosing myself."

[Cassie & Aika]

I realized there wasn't anyone's fault at all

It's just that I wasn't built

To build you up when you fall

"I'm sorry I couldn't be the one you need right now. Maybe, when things fall in the right place, when hearts have healed, I can still run to you and say, I'm home."

Maybe we were meant to be a lesson to each other

But I wish you well, I'm sorry

I wasn't meant to be the one

So goodbye to the ones we once loved

"I love you, and because I do, I give you the one thing that will make you happy. I set you free."

Song Inspo: The Ones We Once Loved - Ben&Ben