You, Me, and Her

Verse 26: Nothing Compares 2 U

Halwyn never truly understood the intricacies of falling in love. The divorce of his parents had taught him that marriage was nothing but a piece of paper and now that they were separated, he began to understand that people don't hurt the same. It made him question if they had truly been in love with one another or if it was all one-sided from the start.

While his father was out, prancing with other women and actively getting married, getting divorced, and falling in love all over again. Their mother was stuck reminiscing about the times they were together. When they were happy and were not fighting, or questioning each other's worth.

When Aidan told him that he thought Nia was the one, he didn't react. He knew it could happen and he always thought he was prepared. But things started changing fast between them and every day they spent together with Aidan becoming more and more comfortable in talking about Nia, Hal acted like it would be their last.

As a best friend, he should be there for him. Cheer for him. Support him all the way through. Sometimes he asked himself if he was a masochist. Why was he doing this? What was the purpose of all this? The thing was, when Aidan was running in the wrong direction, Hal was thinking that he was running out of time.

Checking at the evidence that he had gathered; the photos, the videos, and the messages, Hal discerned that he should've stayed away. He should've not interfered. That time the only thing on his mind was to ensure that Aidan was happy before he completely disappeared from his life. Seeing Nia with another man in his own eyes made him rethink all of his decisions and he promised himself that this was the last time he would do such a thing for Aidan.

...he just wanted to protect him.

"Hal," Aidan came out from the locker room, his hair was still wet which left him no doubt that he had already taken a shower. "I thought you were joining us on the game. What happened?"

Aidan was referring to the football game earlier but Hal had other plans and he couldn't make it on time.

"My head was aching so bad," he lied. "I didn't want to inconvenience your team."

The other man merely chuckled. "You won't. Besides, you're too strong for the likes of them. Nia told me she had fun with you the other night. Was that all about?"

Hal leaned on the wall and checked his phone one more time before slipping it into the pocket of his jeans. "Is she pissed?"

"No. I mean, I don't think she was."

"We trade things about you and she lost."

The revelation amused Aidan as they proceeded to walk in the hallway. "That's foul. She won't win against you. In fact, I might as well marry you. What's she got that you ain't got?"

When Hal asked himself that question, he responded only to himself: Well, she's got you...

If he could only utter those words, he would've asked Aidan what he had seen with Nia that he didn't see in him. Realizing the answer was obvious and didn't want to sound more desperate than he already was, Hal had chosen silence and peacefully walked beside him.

And Halwyn would've walked with Aidan to the end of the world if he had asked him to. However, that same exact day, Aidan told him that he wanted to propose to Nia...

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Silence then was a luxury that Halwyn couldn't afford. When it comes to Aidan he always had something to say and he wouldn't let others say that they know the man better than him. Now, they were sitting in the park staring at each other and Hal was uncertain if this was the same man he had known for years.