the past few months had been⌠well, about as strange as james couldâve ever imagined them turning out. it had been a blur of he and thea; finding out how they fit together as two people dating, figuring out how to balance it alongside work, how to keep it from their coworkers until they knew for sure what was going on⌠and right when it had seemed as though everything was perfect, it had fallen apart. people had found out, gotten involved and as much as james had wanted to cling on for dear life, theyâd let go because of the risk it posed. to their jobs, to their friendship⌠theyâd been adults about it. a decision that james had been regretting since theyâd made it. it was torture, working at the desk opposite her and having to pretend as though he wasnât still hopelessly in love and even though theyâd ended things because they didnât want their friendship to be ruined, nothing really felt the same anymore. james had lost his spark and with that, his enjoyment for the job. a couple of weeks ago, heâd put in his notice and asked his boss to let him tell people in his own time; he promised himself every day that he was going to tell thea before it was too late⌠and had gotten scared and backed out. he sighed and turned off his computer, looking up from the screen to find that it was just the two of them left in the office. in the old days, just weeks ago, theyâd have taken the opportunity to play one of their extensive pranks; wrapping somebodyâs computer up in christmas paper or whatnot, but james had no idea how that suggestion would go down now. in fact, he thought this was probably the perfect opportunity to tell her what heâd been keeping from her. he cleared his throat, looking over to her desk. âthea?â he asked quietly, running a hand through his hair. âcan i uh - can we have a word, before you go home?â
itâd been the worst month and a half of theaâs life, including the time sheâd had both the flu and a stomach virus at the same time. what had started out so wonderful, so magical, falling in love with your best friend, figuring out how that changed some things, how that didnât change others - all had come crashing down as soon as their coworkers found out. it wasnât intentional. or at least, thea hoped it hadnât been, but once their relationship was out in the open, people felt free to comment on it. had felt free to mock it. to make insinuating jokes that had hr looking at them a little too long. itâd all come to a boiling point neither of them could handle. and if thea had to give up their relationship to save their friendship.... sheâd keep james however she could. of course, that didnât make it easy, didnât make her any happier about their decision though they both put on a brave face about it. it certainly didnât make sitting at the desk opposite him any easier, resisting sneaking glances at him whenever their boss said something particularly stupid, fighting the urge to reach over and doodle on his pages at meetings. sheâd always known her job was boring, but sheâd never realized just how boring it was without james. for all theyâd said they wanted to preserve their friendship by breaking up, theyâd somehow lost that too, their friendship a muted pastel of what it once was. sheâd found herself searching job sites on her lunch breaks instead of ordering jello molds for their next great idea, editing her resume instead of writing fake faxes. there was nothing solid yet, but she had a few interviews set up for the next week or two, staying late to flex some hours later, leaving only her and james after work once again. she heard her name, her heart jumping into her throat, slowly letting her eyes leave her screen to see james there. god, somehow he was even beautiful now, bathed in fluorescent lighting and his hair a rumpled mess, tie slightly askew. it broke her heart. âwow feels like deja vu,â she wanted to answer, but the joke died on her lips. somehow that hurt more. swallowing hard, thea nodded, her spine rooted to her chair, yet her insides so hollow she felt sheâd blow away at a gust of wind, every inch of her aching at the delicate way he approached her.Â