𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎; 𝚓𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚛

𝐱𝐥𝐢: 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠...

Narrator

"how to not... be awkward... when meeting... your ex... for the first time... since you broke up... and you're being forced... into a collab... with him," she frowns as she types the words into the search bar, praying a miracle would pop up on her screen and save her from this disaster.

9 ways to handle running into an ex because hiding is rarely the answer.

as her finger moves to click on the link, the door to the studio opens. "shit-" she moves to close the tab and the laptop at the same time, resulting in her diving off the stool in an effort to catch the falling laptop.

keeping her eyes level with the floor, she pushes herself back up. A pair of shoes drift into Cora's eye line. she slowly raises her gaze until it connects with the blue eyes she's come to know so well.

silence follows, both of them shuffling awkwardly as they try to subtly sneak glances at each other.

to say that it was easily the most awkward and painful encounter of their lives would be an understatement.

"hey," his voice cracks, but he quickly clears his throat.

"hey," she coughs out, regretting not clicking that link sooner. "okay uh... we need to brainstorm," Cora says, finally regaining her composure. Jaden's head shoots up at her sudden words and nods frantically, eager to leave the silence between them.

"brainstorm. right."

they both shift uncomfortably, Jaden avoiding her eyes while Cora tries to get her act together.

"so what type of song do you think would attract the most listeners?"

"a good one. shit I didn't mean- sorry"

Cora resists the urge to smile at his words, instead nodding slowly. "well that's a good idea. wanna get more specific on that?"

"uh y-yeah, I was thinking..."

•~•~•~•~•

Cora

"you'd come over, you'd come over, you'd come over, right?" I sing into the microphone, one hand hovering over the controls on my settings board. "I know you know- Jaden!"

his mouth, which is supposed to be singing along with me, is open wide as he stares at me. I swear I can feel his blue eyes breaking down all the invisible barriers in my mind, and I don't like it one bit. "Jaden..." I sigh. It's the fourth time we've tried to redo this bit, but he always misses the combined part either because he's busy yawning, picking at his nails, or staring at me.

needless to say, it's quite irritating.

"Jaden I swear to god-"

"im sorry"

his quiet whisper breaks through the rant I was about to go on, instantly making me want to break down and have a combined crying session with him. I watch sadly as his head drops into his hands, rubbing furiously at his eyes. "when was the last time you slept well?"

"... last night?"

"nice try."

"I swear!"

"okay, then let's just get back to-"

"a month," he mumbles.

my feet stop their movements, turning in his direction instead. His face slowly raises upwards, allowing me to fully look at him for the first time. Not to my surprise, he looks just as tired and broken as I do, if not more.

to be honest, the reason I haven't been sleeping lately hasn't been because of my large mess of emotions, though that definitely did contribute. It was more along the lines of me worrying about his coping mechanism with the break up. Knowing him, he would've holed himself up in his room, barely eating anything, and staying awake long into the night due to his nightmares.

"we're pathetic," a quiet laugh leaves my throat. He just gives me a pained smile and weak chuckle before standing up and joining me over at the microphones.

"would you love me for the hell of it? all our fears would be irrelevant?" he sings, looking directly at me as the words spill out of his mouth. I quickly avert my gaze, unsure of what to do since my part doesn't come up anytime soon. "If the world was ending, you'd come over right?"

yes.

"the sky'd be falling while I hold you tight"

i miss you.

"no, there wouldn't be a reason why. we would even have to say goodbye," he sings.

i still love you.

"If the world was ending, you'd come over right?"

in a heartbeat.

"You'd come over, right? Right? If the world was ending you'd come over, right? Right?"

don't leave, don't leave me, don't leave me

"now who's the one missing their cue?" my head snaps to the side to find him raising his eyebrows at me.

"im sorry"

"... fuck, i can't do this"

don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me

he leaves me.

•~•~•~•~•