Close As Strangers

Two.

Now Playing... Ending Scene

"Wes?"

It was as if seeing a ghost. There he was, yet he wasn't the way I remembered. The man standing in front of me was more grown up, more... mature. Stubble lined his defined jawline, he towered over me more than he ever had, and somehow, his green eyes appeared more vibrant. As much as I had missed him, I still couldn't forget the fact that he had left for not two years, like he said, but three. Not to mention, the way he never spoke to me even after he promised to. The wound I had worked so hard to patch up was splitting open once again.

As we took in each other, a smile broke out onto his face, and even though I tried to resist the way I felt, I ended up running to him and hopping in his open arms. His muscular arms wrapped around my small frame as I buried my head in his shoulder, and I breathed in his cologne, missing the familiarity.

"Hi, Molly." He whispered, his deep voice sending shivers down my spine, and I smiled, holding him tighter. Just as we pulled away, Nova ran downstairs, nearly tackling Wes to the ground as she hugged him. His smile grew brighter as he held her in his arms, and little giggles escaped her as she pulled away to look at him. The love they had for each other was unconditional, and even though Wes put her through a lot after he left and never spoke to her, she still loved him more than anything in the world.

"Hey, baby," Mason said, running down the stairs, "What's going on?"

I moved to Mason, wrapping my arm his waist. "This is Wes Grayson. He used to live with us before he left for London." I looked at Wes, noticing how his eyes pointedly stared at how close I was with Mason. "Wes, this is Mason. My boyfriend."

Wes' eyes met mine, and the way he looked at me felt as if I had betrayed him in the worst way. I stared back, trying to communicate exactly how he had made me feel the past three years. As soon as the emotion had fallen in his eyes, it was replaced with an emotionless, cold gaze, and I knew he was building the wall between us higher than it had ever been. I couldn't find it in me to feel guilty-- after all, he was the one who promised he wouldn't leave me the way he did and then completely ghosted me once he boarded the plane.

As I broke out of my walk down memory lane, Mason took a step toward Wes, holding his hand out as he smiled. "Nice to meet you, man. I didn't even know Molly's family took in foreign exchange students."

"You too," Wes smirked, shaking Mason's hand, "But I wasn't a foreign student. I grew up with Molly. We were pretty... close."

My jaw dropped as Wes discreetly glanced at me before releasing in Mason's hand, and the two stared at each other for a split-second before Mason wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"W-why don't we all watch a movie or something?" I asked, trying to subtly recover from the exchange between my boyfriend and... whatever Wes was to me.

I walked into the living room with Wes, Mason, and Nova following behind, and once everyone was seated, I turned the TV to Beauty and The Beast, which was one of mine and Nova's favorites. As it started to play, I took the only available seat, which just so happened to be between Wes and Mason.

Fantastic.

"Beauty and The Beast?" Wes questioned, rolling his eyes as he settled into the couch. "As if I haven't watched movie a million and one times."

I scoffed. "I can guarantee you haven't in the past three years."

Before Wes could even think of a response, Nova smacked his shin, pouting at him. "This is my favorite movie, and Molly's too. Please watch it, Wessy?"

Wes shifted uncomfortably, looking away from his sister. "I don't know..."

"Watch it and deal with it, you drama queen." I hissed, and Mason lowly whistled, which led to Wes glaring at the both of us.

Well, the family reunion is going nicely...

Half way through the movie, silent tears trickled down my face. Could you blame me? The beast was in love with Belle, but he let her go anyway because he knew it was best for her, even if it broke his heart to see the love of his life walk away. I could only hope to have someone love me in a way that he would always do what was best for me, even if it hurt one of us.

Wes snickered, while Mason wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pressed a soft kiss against my cheek. At least someone cared.

As the movie continued, my mind wandered to the night before Wes left. Ever since we were young, Wes had always hated sappy romances, and every time we watched those kinds of movies, he would groan and complain, saying I owed him big time, but every time, he would watch those movies with me, and no matter how many we watched, he always sat with me, listened to me rant about the main guy who was a complete idiot or a complete romantic, or about the story line and every little thought I had, and he would softly smile, nodding along to whatever I said. But the night before he left, I knew how much he hated watching A Walk To Remember, not because he hated the story line, but because we had watched it constantly, but he picked it because it mattered to me. And as I thought about that night with him, how happy I had been, how grateful I was to have him back in my life, I couldn't help but to feel my heart break all over again, as if he had left in the split seconds he had been back.

When I looked at him as Belle ran back home, I noticed that, even though he had snickered at me seconds before, that same soft smile was playing on his lips, and suddenly, more tears were falling, and I forced myself to look away. No matter how much of the old him was still there, he had still hurt me when he left and didn't come back, mentally or physically. There were some wounds the heart just couldn't forget.

The movie ended, and Nova started another. As Tangled started to play, Mason fell asleep, and half-way through the movie, my eyes grew heavy, and I laid my head against Mason's shoulder-- at least I thought that was who it was. A sigh fell from their lips right before I fell into a deep sleep.

***

When I awoke, the room was pitch black. I buried my head in Wes' neck, breathing in his familiar scent as I wrapped my arms around him, and his arms tightened around me.

Wait just a second...

I immediately pulled away from him, but his were holding onto me, and I couldn't completely move from him. He groaned as his eyes slowly fluttered, and he sleepily stared at me. "What's going on?"

"Just let go of me." I frowned, and he sighed before removing his arms from around me. Wes muttered "sorry" before rolling off the couch and walking upstairs. I sighed as I faced Mason, running my fingers through his soft brown hair. He appeared so peaceful in his sleep, and I smiled, cupping his cheek in my hand. I pressed a gentle kiss against his lips before resting my head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer, and I felt extremely guilty for not feeling as warm as I did when I had been in Wes' arms just a few moments earlier.

***

The next morning, I awoke on the couch to see Wes and Nova on the floor, building a puzzle together. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and Nova pointed out a piece, making his face relax. I loved to watch them spend little moments like that together. Wes was so good with her.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and Wes glanced at me before returning his attention to the puzzle. "Your boyfriend left this morning. Said he had important stuff to do."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Sounded a little suspicious to me."

I rolled my eyes, lying beside him on the floor as he connected two pieces together. "Really, Wes?"

He tried sticking wrong pieces together before he shrugged. "Just saying."

"Well, since Mason had to go, do you want to do something later?" I asked, playing with the puzzle piece in front of me. "You know, since you haven't been here for three years..."

Wes looked at me, an unreadable expression on his face, before he stood. I stared up at him, and he took in a deep breath before crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, about that... I'd rather us not be friends anymore."