COUNTDOWN

NINE

Vegas's POV 

"You truly don't want to eat?" I ask him as I slurp my noodles. This place really makes nice noodles. 

"No. I am full." He says as he rubs his stomach.

'Then why did you even ask me to eat together if you are not going to eat.' I think to myself.

"So? A heartbreak?" he asks me.

"What?"

"The reason why you were going to commit suicide."

I take a pause before answering. It's not as if it's gonna change anything if I tell him about me and him.

"Hmm.. He left me." I say. He just nods and continues staring at me. I expected him to pry further but he stays quiet so I ask instead.

"What about you? Why were you there?"

"Thanks to my Boyfriend" He says jokingly but I can sense the hurt in his eyes that he is trying to hide beneath his smile. 

"So we both have the same reason after all." I say trying to lighten the mood.

"Not really....." He gives me yet another smile.

"How So?" I ask, taking a bite.

"You have lost your lover while my lover has lost me."

"What do you mean?" I ask him. I am not understanding what he is trying to say. 
As if you know about me and my love.

"Nothing. You finished eating? Let's go." He gets up as he takes my hand and drags me out. He stops at the counter to pay and starts looking in his pocket but then turns around and with a sheepish grin says the one thing I didn't expect him to say. " I might have forgotten my wallet. Could you pay instead?" He gives a smile. 

Again that damn smile. He can stab a person in his gut all the while smiling like that and get away with it. Also, he doesn't have money? He never intended to eat in the first place did he? 

"Yah sure." I take out my wallet and pay for the Ramen I ate. We both leave the restaurant when the not-so-stranger looks at his wrist watch again. 

"There's still time so maybe we should go for a nice walk in the garden." And it is now that I see that his wristwatch is broken. 

"Your wristwatch is broken." I say pointing towards his watch. 

He looks at his watch. "Yah I know but it still shows the correct time you know and besides it was given to me as a gift by someone precious to me."

"Your boyfriend?"

"He wasn't really my boyfriend. We were just friends." He says looking up at the sky, as his eyes twinkle in the reflection of the numerous stars.

"And you said it was a heartbreak?" 

"Yes. Yes it was. It became a heartbreak when the definition of friendship morphed into love for one of us while the other played along all the while staying where he started."

"That sucks. Being in a relationship with someone who does so out of pity." I say as my feet halt. I don't know how he must be feeling. I won't until I walk in his shoes.

I look at his back as he is walking in front of me. I can relate to this guy more than anyone. Though our relationships might be completely different, but we both still loved our Partners, more than our partners loved us and maybe that is what led to us meeting tonight.

I touch the ring on my finger and then its pair on the necklace that I am wearing. I  still keep these engagement rings together, thinking about him. Hanging onto it. A good memory of us.

Me and this stranger, we both are the different sides of the same coin. Holding onto the memories of the lost loved ones, even if they are suffocating us to death. The only difference being his smile hasn't been stolen yet.

"Are you going to walk behind me?" He suddenly asks as he stops walking and looks at me. I must be too absorbed in my thoughts that I fail to notice we have walked quite far with him walking in front and me trailing just behind.

"We can walk together you know." He says as I nod and join him. Our walk is quite and peaceful where none of us is talking. I like it this way. When was the last time I was this relaxed? When he was still beside me.

"It's midnight already. Time passed by so quickly," The younger male says after another quick glance at his watch.

"Let's go."

"Hmm....Let's go." 

We both walk towards the skyscraper. Again climbing the same stairs , the only difference this time being followed by a distinct pair of steps. 

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