A SECOND CHANCE (BrightWin AU)

Part III

Win ended up coming over an hour after Bright ate dinner without any prior warning.

"Ah," Win said as Bright lets him in his apartment room, looking up and around with his eyes. "This place hasn't changed since the last time I was here."

"Some things just never change," Bright replied somewhat slyly, but Win heard him apparently because he smiled.

"Guess so," Win said, letting his head fall back to its intended level and presenting Bright with a fainter version of his smile. "It's kind of nice, don't you think? When things stay the same way they always were."

Bright nodded. "Sure," he said quickly and slightly under his breath. "Now come on, I'd like to get this done in as little time as possible. I have other homework to do."

"Okay then," Win said, feeling a bit taken back as he follows Bright.

"I found two sites that have good information on AIDS," Bright said as he organizes the things on his desk. "I'll send you the link to the one and I'll look at the other. Just write down whatever seems important and then we'll compare notes."

"Okay," responds Win right before he exhaled. "Sounds like a good plan."

Bright doesn't dignify Win's response with words; he just stayed focused on logging onto his laptop. It's quiet for quite a few minutes after that as Win opens up the link sent to him by Bright and they begin their research. Win found himself looking over at the other once or twice every minute, each time taking note of how quiet Bright is. It's never been like him to be like that, especially not around him.

"Hey," Win says in an effort to get Bright's attention, only getting a low hum in response. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" says Bright without making any eye contact.

"Because you're being oddly quiet and you were never this quiet before...it's scary."

"Well, I can assure you that there's no reason to be scared. I'm just quiet because I have nothing to say."

Suddenly, Win exhaled, finally realizing the source of the usually talkative Bright's unexpected string of silence. "I see what's going on here," he says. Bright looked back at him. "When you say you have nothing to say, you really mean you have nothing to say to me."

Bright just sighs, which gives Win as much of an answer as he needs to confirm his theory.

"We've talked about this, Bright," Win says, his eyes focused on the back of his ex's head. "It was over the minute you decided to be unfaithful. You really don't deserve to be mad at me for ending what could have been a really bad relationship... for the both of us."

"Is that so?" Bright said, finally spinning around in his chair to look at Win. "You really think I have no right to be upset at the fact that you didn't even consider giving me a chance to redeem myself? Is it really so wrong for me to be mad?"

"Wrong not so much as absurd," Win replied bluntly, his eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't have to give you a chance because I never should have had to choose between that and dumping you. And it wasn't just the fact that you slept with someone else, it was the fact that you completely destroyed all the trust I had in you. You should know better than anyone that it's not easy for me to trust people."

"I know that, but it's not like it's my problem anymore, right?" Bright says. "It never was. And yes, you're right that you shouldn't have had to make that choice and I'm sorry you had to. But it seems to me like you didn't really have a hard time making the choice you did. Kind of like you didn't have a hard time moving on. Tell me, how long has it been since your first date with Dew?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Win muttered as he looked away and shook his head. "You have no right to be jealous, Bright. You're the one who fucked up, not me."

"Right, sorry," Bright said sarcastically. "I forgot I'm the one who made one mistake and threw our entire relationship away. I'll be sure not to forget that again."

"Bright-"

"No." Bright shook his head and hold a hand up for a moment. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. It'll only make me say something I'll regret." Bright sigh heavily and turned to face his laptop screen. Bright didn't speak for the rest of the time Win was there.

It's strange how some things change and others don't.

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A/N: Hello, hello, hello!

Do you agree with Win's reasons for breaking-up with Bright or he should've given Bright a chance to redeem himself first? Was Bright being insensitive towards Win's feelings? Let me know what y'all think of Part III.

If you have any comments, suggestions or violent reactions, don't be shy and let me know. Also, don't forget to VOTE if you like/enjoy the story. 😘