In My Place [Ant x Dec]

xiii. Photograph

"Lisa and I... we're over." Anthony stated, looking straight into Declan's green eyes, waiting for his reaction.

The older Geordie's eyes widened slightly, eyebrows furrowing. It took him a few moments to register what his best friend had said, and when he did, his lips parted and his face contorted in confusion.

"I... what?" Declan confusedly asked, still not believing his ears. Could he have heard Ant wrong? Did his best friend really say to him that he and his wife were 'done'?

"I talked to Lisa when I got back home. Haven't I told you we wanted to sort things out? Well, we did," Ant explained, a strange sensation of calmness taking over his senses. "There is no chemistry between us anymore. There is no spark between me and her, we are not as in love with each other as we were when we decided to get married."

Declan just stared at Anthony, trying to find the proper words to form a coherent, understandable sentence that would not come out as obnoxious blabbering. Wait... What?

"You... Lisa... Ant... Married, you... ten years..." Dec said, his gaze fixated upon Ant's face. The younger Geordie just waited for his best friend to recompose himself patiently.

A few moments later, after Declan's mind had finally stopped buzzing with sudden questions, he said the first thing that came to his head.

"What the fuck?"

Anthony laughed at his best friend's colourful language and patted his shoulder. He kept his hand there, and slowly pushed Declan towards his living room, motioning for him to sit down on the couch, Ant sitting down next to him.
Still flustered, the shorter man kept on looking at Ant's face, trying to find any sort of sign that this was just a huge, shitty joke they would laugh at later.

But he didn't. And, eventually, he spoke.

"Ant, wha- why? How? Why?" Dec asked repeatedly, a worried look etching itself across his beautiful face.

"Why? Because she deserves to be happy, and I do too. We realized 'happy' is not what we are when we are married - at least not anymore. Dec, you know how in love I was with Lisa, you know how I used to look at her as if she held in her everything I needed... now it's just... not there anymore. It's not there, the passion, the love, the need... We can't keep on lying to each other and to ourselves anymore."

"But you can restore it, man! You can restore it all: the passion, the love, all that shite you talked about; it can be renewed! For God's sake, Anthony, what the hell is happening to you? You have been married to Lise for eleven years! Eleven years. Do you just throw eleven years of marriage out of the window just because you feel like there is 'no passion' in your relationship anymore? God, that is absolute and utter bullshit, Ant. Bullshit!" Dec raised his voice at the end of his short speech. He truly did not know why he was getting so angry over something he was not involved with.

"I think both Lisa and I were approving of this decision, otherwise we would not have made it, Dec. I am really grateful that you are protective of my relationship with my wife, but-"

"Oh God, Ant, why?" Dec repeated, cutting Ant off. "Two hours. It's been two hours since we got back here and you come up to my door and tell me you're done with your wife," he covered his face with his palms. "Is it that bad? Have your fights gotten so bad to the point that you decide to end your marriage?"

Anthony was starting to lose his patience, though he remained cool when he answered his best friend. "Yes, Declan. Are you done with your questions? I've come here to talk to Ali."