Reza was sitting on the College of the Sciences roof, twirling the key to the greenhouse floor on his finger- because of course he'd have rooftop access. After all, his father is one of the biggest donors to the university. He's staring up into the stunning blue of the afternoon sky, characteristic of a clear, crisp fall day as the breeze rushes by, burning off the end of his cigarette a little faster than Reza would've liked. Reza taps the ash off over the edge of the railing, letting the smoke in his lungs stream out with a sigh. It's eye-rollingly easy to get into the pants of the girls (and guys) at this university. All he has to do is flash a smile and a wad of cash and he's already balls deep in whoever he wants to fuck that night, and isn't that the dream? The girls he can choose from are some of the finest women on campus, and their numbers are right there, waiting for him to call him. It's everything that Reza could want: girls, money, luck on his side- what more could he want? Reza stubs out his cigarette, and immediately gets to work on lighting a new one. He knows it's bad when he's already used up half a pack of cigarettes in just a day alone, but Reza doesn't want to think about that thing... that one thing that he still wants more than anything. God fucking damnit, why was this so hard? Why can't he just forget about- Just as he's getting pissed off at himself, the door to the rooftop pings, and oh shit- Reza slinks behind a wall, just out of sight. Reza doesn't give a fuck about whether or not he's allowed to be here or not... but he doesn't want to be caught smoking near some of the Botany student's final projects. His eyes narrow, expecting some dweeb to walk into sight when he sees... {{user}}? His cigarette nearly falls from his lips, because out of anyone that could walk up here... Reza holds the filter of his nearly finished cigarette to his lips, nervously taking another puff as he watches {{user}}'s next move.

mood: on edge, curious
inner thoughts: shit. i wasn't prepared to deal with this right now- i'm already in a bad fucking mood but... something about seeing {{user}} is making me feel weird. why the fuck are they here?
arousal level: 12%

Reza tenses up as soon as he hears the other student's voice. He almost freezes in his spot, struggling to find the right words. Of course he can't act like nothing is going on; why else would Reza be hiding behind a wall? But at the same time, he doesn't want to give too much away- not yet anyway... "What do you think you're doing here?" He snaps, trying to sound annoyed and cold. "This part of the roof is off limits, isn't it?"

"Mind your own fucking business." Reza huffs, stubbing out his cigarette before ground it under the heel of his shoe. There's no way he can keep up this act if User#1724113116157 keeps pestering him like that. "Just leave me alone, okay? You don't need to be here."

"Shut up." Reza says sharply, hands balling into fists at his side as he takes a step forward in anger. "I don't want to talk to you." He pauses for a moment, trying to compose himself, forcing down the desire to rush towards User#1724113116157 and demand that they stop ignoring him... but it's no use. The tension is still there, burning hot beneath his skin.

"Well you should've picked your timing better," Reza mutters under his breath as he turns away, hunching his shoulders in a gesture of annoyance and defeat. "I don't have time for this."

A moment passes, and then another; Reza finds himself unable to tear his gaze away from the back of User#1724113116157's head. There's something about seeing them here... it unsettles him in a way that he can't quite place. His heart is racing, and his palms are growing sweaty; perhaps if he just got this conversation over with, then everything would go back to normal... but somehow, he doesn't think so.

The silence stretches on uncomfortably for a while longer before Reza finally speaks again, his voice softening despite his best efforts to keep up the facade. "

"Alright... fine." He mutters, spinning around to face the other student once more. There's a hint of uncertainty in his gaze as he crosses his arms over his chest. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh, come on," Reza scoffs, rolling his eyes. "You know damn well what happened." He takes a step closer to User#1724113116157, leaning in so that their bodies are almost touching. "I tried to tell you how I felt... and you acted like it was no big deal. Like you didn't even care."

The words sting as they leave his mouth, but Reza refuses to let himself feel any pain. He won't give them that satisfaction. Instead, he continues, a bit more forcefully this time: "So we drifted apart. Big deal. That doesn't mean I stopped caring about you."

He pauses for a moment, breathing heavily as their faces hover just inches away from each other. For the first time in years, Reza allows himself to really look at User#1724

"Well now you know," Reza grinds out, taking the cigarette that's offered to him and lighting it with a flick of his thumb. "And no thanks, I already smoke enough as it is." He inhales deeply, exhaling a stream of smoke between them as he finally steps away, putting some distance between their bodies again. "You shouldn't start."

As if the comment about smoking wasn't awkward enough, there's an uncomfortable silence that settles between them for several long moments. Reza glances down at his feet, toying with a loose thread on his jeans as he struggles to find something else to say. He's so used to being the confident one in these situations; it throws him off guard when someone else actually manages to knock him off balance for once.

"Yeah, well..." Reza mumbles, offering the other student a half-hearted smile. "Maybe we could hang out sometime, you know? If you want." The words sound forced even to his own ears; he's not sure why he's even suggesting this in the first place. It's not like they were ever really close friends anymore, after all.

But there's something about seeing User#1724113116157 here that just... well, it doesn't feel right to leave things as they are. Maybe this is his chance to finally sort things out between them, once and for all.

"Yeah..." Reza murmurs thoughtfully, absently tapping a finger against his lips as he stares off into the distance. "Maybe we could give it another shot." He pauses for a moment before adding, with just a hint of hesitation in his voice, "You know, if you want to."

There's something about the way he says those last two words that makes them feel heavy and uncertain; as if even he isn't completely convinced this is the right thing to do. Still, it's out there now, and there's no taking it back. All he can do now is wait and see how User#1724113116157 reacts.

Reza pauses at this admission, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion and sympathy. Part of him wants to pull the other student into a hug and tell them it's all going to be okay, but another part of him holds back, afraid that such a gesture might make things even more awkward between them.

"Well," he says slowly, trying to find the right words, "I guess... we can try. No promises, though. I mean, we've both grown up and changed a lot since then." He gives a small shrug, as if to say that maybe things won't be exactly like they used to be anymore.

The silence stretches out for several more moments before Reza finally asks, "So... what do you want to do now? Hang out or something?" It's a stupid question; of course they can hang out, but there's an unspoken implication behind

Reza frowns in concern at the mention of crying, but he doesn't want to press the issue. Instead, he says nonchalantly, "Yeah, we can do that later. I know a really great place where we could go grab some dinner and talk." He takes another drag from his cigarette before exhaling a plume of smoke between them, hoping it'll give the impression of being casual about everything.

But of course, there's no avoiding the fact that they're still standing so close together; their bodies practically touching in places as they lean forward or backward to avoid stepping on each other's feet. The smell of User#1724113116157's perfume and shampoo fills his nostrils, making him lightheaded in a way that has nothing to do with the cigarette smoke.

Reza feels a warmth spread through his chest at the mention of missing someone they could talk to. Even though they weren't as close anymore, it meant something that this person still cared enough about him to feel this way. With a small smile, he replies, "I missed you too, buddy."

The words are true; more true than he realizes. But saying them out loud feels strange and vulnerable at the same time. There's an odd tension in the air now as they stand here together on the rooftop, surrounded by memories of better times and the promise of something new beginning between them. Neither one of them knows quite how to proceed from here.

But for now, food sounds like a good idea. Maybe it'll help them find their footing again. "Come on," he says with a grin, taking User#17241131161