No Halo

by **Will Bradshaw** Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:34 pm

LIVING SO LOUD

YOU COULD NEVER HEAR ME CRY

By no means was he looking forward to having this conversation, but Will knew that it needed to happen. It would be a horrible thing to break up with her, but what would be infinitely crueller was to keep going despite knowing that this was headed nowhere. Letting her go wouldn’t be easy, nor would it be to break her heart, but he was truly convinced that it would be for the best. Everything would suck for a while, but then she could move on from him. In the end, he was only deadweight that held her down.

He had texted her beforehand that he would be coming by ‘to talk’. A text that he would usually never send to her, so he was sure she was already worrying about what the hell he was going to tell her. Straight after class, he was headed for her place, where he had spent so much time by now. Maybe this would be the last time he was even in that room. He was nervous, but it didn’t stop him from doing what needed to be done. With a heavy heart, he knocked on her door, hoping that his text wouldn’t be an incentive for him to start avoiding him altogether. This was a talk they needed to have, however unpleasant it was gonna be.

☰

code made by kahlua of caution

by **Safiya Richards** Mon Dec 13, 2021 5:24 pm

They say that we're out of control, some say we're sinners, don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms

At first the text on her phone had gone rather unnoticed. Safiya was far too busy figuring out what the next part of her sheetmusic was supposed to look like. It was a habit of hers to forget about everything else when she was working on her music course. So when she finally did figure out the next few notes, the text had already been sent a few hours ago. And now, Will was about to come over in the next half an hour.

Half an hour wasn't nearly enough time for her to worry about the text her boyfriend sent her. It said they 'needed to talk', which wasn't the least bit reassuring. Will never sent texts like this. What had she done now? There was a lot she could do wrong in his eyes, she supposed, yet it wasn't to her own knowledge. Had she forgotten to say 'goodbye' the last time she stayed over at his place? Or was this about something more serious? It all didn't matter when she heard a knock on her door. She sighed, for a second she tried fixing the messy bun her hair was in, but it was to no avail. So she forced a smile on her face instead and opened the door. "Hi babe," she said as she held out her arms for a hug, making her already short sweater rise up a little more. He would still give her a hug, right?

Outfit

by **Will Bradshaw** Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:02 pm

LIVING SO LOUD

YOU COULD NEVER HEAR ME CRY

Will hadn’t really talked to anybody about it. Not with his roommate, nor his friends. Not even with his sister, to whom he generally was very close. No, this had been a decision he had needed to make by himself. That did not mean he hadn’t spent a significant amount of time thinking it all through. Breaking up with her would not only devastate Safiya herself, but it would also change a lot in his own life. And it wasn’t as if he had a lot going on for himself anymore anyway. Still, it felt like the right thing to do.

However, that didn’t make doing it any easier. She opened the door, smiling despite the fact that something was obviously wrong. “Hey,” he greeted her, moving in to return her hug – it would be cruel to leave her hanging, right? – but keeping it brief. He assumed she had been busy working on something, with the way her hair was tied up in a messy bun. Will liked her most when she looked that way, not all dolled-up but like a girl just existing. In any case, he was delaying the inevitable. “You got my text?” he asked her, deciding whether or not to take his jacket off. While it was a lot warmer in here than outside, he wasn’t entirely sure how much time exactly he would be spending in her room in the first place.

☰

code made by kahlua of caution

by **Safiya Richards** Sat Dec 18, 2021 4:19 pm

They say that we're out of control, some say we're sinners, don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms

Will's behaviour was worrying her. He had been so distant lately, more than he usually was. She suspected it was just the winter blues, or the pressure of the exams that were coming up. But deep down she knew something else was wrong and she feared she would soon find out what it was.

Nevertheless, Safiya still managed to smile when she saw him at her door. He returned her hug, making her smile even more, even if it was just a brief one. As she went to close the door he cut right to the chase, asking if she had gotten his text. "I have," she said as she turned around to face him. "What's the matter?" She asked him with a frown on her face. "Did I do something wrong?" She then continued, pouting a little as she looked at him with her puppydog-eyes. She couldn't stand the thought that she was somehow responsible for any unhappiness he experienced.

Outfit

by **Will Bradshaw** Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:51 pm

LIVING SO LOUD

YOU COULD NEVER HEAR ME CRY

Even he knew that he hadn’t been a decent boyfriend lately anyway, which definitely made him feel less awful about breaking up with her. Whenever she wanted to do something or go somewhere, he could barely muster up the energy to follow along. These days, he barely experienced joy anymore, no matter what he did. He preferred to be alone in his room, listen to music, play some videogames, smoke some weed, and call it a day. And who wanted a boyfriend like that?

Safiya was smiling, and he loathed the thought that he would be the one to make that smile disappear from her face for a while. She confirmed that she had received his text, to which he briefly nodded. There was no going back now. Will raised two very confused brows when she suddenly asked whether she had done something wrong. “No, no, not at all, but…” For a second, he hesitated, not entirely sure how to bring the bad news. He supposed it would be easiest – and fairest – to just rip the band-aid off quickly. He straightened his back and looked at her directly. “I think we should break up,” he said, firmly but not at all harshly. And there it was.

☰

code made by kahlua of caution

by **Safiya Richards** Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:50 am

They say that we're out of control, some say we're sinners, don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms

It hadn't been great lately, being in a relationship with Will. But there were two to blame for that. She supposed she could be more caring, find out what was really bothering him. Even though she had tried her hardest. Maybe the thing she needed to do was give him space. But that'd mean he wasn't in her life as much and she didn't know if she could take that.

There was definitely something wrong if Will was this serious but she was happy to see him nonetheless. For a brief moment, she assumed she had done something wrong, but he assured her she hadn't. A relieved smile appeared on her face, that was instantly gone when his next statement followed. All the happiness disappeared from her face and she just stared at him. He wanted to break up. And he seemed pretty adamant about it too. "But why?" She whispered as she looked him in the eye. "Don't you like me anymore?" She then followed, terribly afraid of the answer he'd give her. Probably not, he had probably fallen out of love with her if he wanted to end things.

Outfit

by **Will Bradshaw** Thu Dec 30, 2021 3:04 pm

LIVING SO LOUD

YOU COULD NEVER HEAR ME CRY

Will often found himself wishing that he could just fast-forward through certain parts of his life. Most of them were because of disinterest and boredom, however. This was different. He wished he could just get it over with without seeing the hurt in her eyes. He didn’t mean to do this to her, and he wouldn’t have broken up with her if he didn’t think it would be the best thing to do for both of them.

What he was most afraid of, he supposed, was that she would blame herself. Because this was not her fault, not at all. She had not done anything wrong. On the contrary, maybe she had done too much. He decided to just flat-out tell her what was on his mind, and as soon as he did, the smile on her face faded at once. Still, he did not retract his words. Her reaction was expected, but he sighed and shook his head. “That’s not it, Saf…” he said, not wanting to argue about such subjective matters right now. “I just don’t think we’re good together anymore.” Staying together would do them both a disservice. He would rob her of the chance to thrive, and he would have to take her into account at every step while he tried to recover from… Well, whatever the hell was going on with him in the first place.

☰

code made by kahlua of caution