✧ back2love ✧
✧ chris sturniolo x reader ✧
warnings: angst, breakup themes, emotional tension, unresolved feelings, yearning, slight fluff, mentions of arguments, exes to… maybe lovers again? summary: months after your breakup, chris still can’t seem to let you go. when an unknown number calls and old feelings start resurfacing, neither of you are sure if this is really the end...or just a pause. word count: ~2.3k
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The breakup never really felt official. Not in the dramatic way people expected. There wasn’t screaming. No blocked numbers. No dramatic don’t ever talk to me again.
Just..
distance.
Silence.
Too many arguments that ended in both of you shutting down instead of saying what you actually meant. And eventually, one random Tuesday night—
you both stopped trying.
That was somehow worse.
Because nothing actually happened.
Yet somehow—
everything changed.
Summer felt weird after that.
Empty.
Chris hated summer now. Mostly because it reminded him of you.
Because last summer—
you practically lived at his house.
Stealing hoodies.
Leaving hair ties everywhere.
Complaining when he stayed up gaming too late.
Now?
The house just felt too quiet.
Too clean.
Too normal.
And Chris hated normal.
You’d been out of town most of the summer.
He knew because Nick mentioned it casually one day.
“Saw y/n posted,” Nick said from the couch. “She’s still in Sweden or whatever.”
Chris tried to act like he didn’t care.
“Oh.”
But later—
he checked anyway.
Of course he did.
Stupid beach pictures.
Random sunsets.
A blurry mirror selfie.
You looked happy.
Or at least—
good at pretending.
The first month after the breakup?
Chris was angry.
Not at you.
Just—
everything.
The second month?
Worse.
Because the anger faded.
And suddenly—
he just missed you.
Missed texting you random things.
Missed hearing your voice in the kitchen.
Missed dumb arguments about nothing.
Even the annoying stuff.
Especially the annoying stuff.
Then one night—
his phone rang.
Unknown number. Chris almost ignored it.
Almost.
But something—
some stupid feeling in his chest.
made him answer.
“…Hello?”
Silence.
Then—
“Hey.”
His stomach dropped.
Immediately.
Your voice.
Soft.
Careful.
Like you weren’t sure if you were still allowed to sound familiar.
“…Y/n?”
“Yeah,” you said quietly. “Uh… I got a new number.”
Chris sat up straighter.
“Oh.”
Good start.
Real smooth.
A pause.
The awkward kind.
The kind neither of you used to have.
Back then—
talking to you felt easy.
Now?
Everything felt weird.
Fragile.
Like both of you were pretending not to step on broken glass.
“I still have your stuff,” you said eventually.
Chris frowned slightly.
“My stuff?”
“Yeah,” you laughed quietly. “Your hoodie. Charger. Some random things.”
Something about that made his chest hurt.
Because getting his stuff back felt—
final.
Too final.
Like once he got everything back, there’d officially be no reason to talk anymore.
“No rush,” you added quickly. “Just thought I should tell you.”
Chris leaned back against the wall.
“…You were out of town.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
The second the words left his mouth—
he regretted them.
Too honest.
Too pathetic.
Silence.
Then softer...
“Chris…”
God.
The way you still said his name.
Like you cared.
Like maybe this still hurt for you too.
“There wasn’t someone else,” you said suddenly.
He blinked.
“What?”
“The breakup,” you said quietly. “I just—I didn’t want you thinking it was because of someone.”
Chris looked down.
Because yeah.
He wondered.
Late at night.
Too many times.
But he knew you.
You weren’t like that.
“You know me,” you said quietly.
And somehow—
that made everything worse.
Because he did know you.
Too well.
“…Yeah,” he muttered. “I know.”
Another silence.
Neither of you hung up.
Neither of you really wanted to.
But neither of you knew what to say either.
Finally—
“I’ll drop your stuff off sometime,” you said softly.
Chris swallowed.
“…Okay.”
Another pause.
Then—
“Take care of yourself?” you asked.
And for some reason..that almost ruined him.
Because it sounded too familiar.
Too much like before.
“…You too.”
The call ended.
But somehow...
he missed you worse after hearing your voice.
Three weeks later—
you showed up.
At his house.
Unannounced.
Holding a bag with his stuff. Chris genuinely thought he imagined you at first. Standing there in one of those oversized hoodies. Hair messy from the wind.
Looking—
too familiar.
Too normal.
Like no time had passed.
“…Hey,” you said quietly.
His throat went dry.
“Hey.”
God.
This was weird.
You held the bag up awkwardly.
“Your stuff.”
“Oh.”
Right.
The stuff.
Chris took it.
Didn’t look inside. Didn’t care what was in it. Because all he could think was—
don’t leave yet.
“You can come in if you want,” he said too quickly.
Then immediately regretted sounding desperate.
But you hesitated.
“…Just for a little.”
And somehow—
that felt dangerous.
Nothing felt normal.
But somehow..
everything felt normal.
You sat in the kitchen like you always used to.
Complained that his house was cold.
Took your shoes off without asking.
Like muscle memory.
Like your body still knew this place.
Chris hated how easy it felt. And hated even more how hard it was pretending it didn’t matter.
You talked.
Small things.
Safe things.
Until eventually..
the silence got heavier.
Realer.
“You look tired,” you said quietly.
Chris laughed once.
“Thanks.”
“No,” you smiled slightly. “I just mean…”
You stopped.
Like you didn’t know if you were allowed to care anymore.
“…Are you okay?”
And there it was.
That stupid question.
The one he knew he shouldn’t answer honestly.
But did anyway.
“…Not really.”
You looked down.
Like maybe you already knew.
“…Me neither.”
Ouch.
Silence.
Heavy.
Familiar.
“You ever think we rushed this?” Chris asked suddenly.
Your brows furrowed.
“What?”
“The breakup.”
The words hung there.
Dangerous.
Because once you said things out loud—
you couldn’t take them back.
You looked away.
“…Sometimes.”
Chris swallowed hard.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
A pause.
Then quieter—
“I think we stopped talking,” you admitted. “And then suddenly everything felt broken.”
Chris nodded.
Because that was exactly it. Nothing huge happened.
You just—
lost each other slowly.
“You know what sucks?” Chris muttered.
“What?”
“You’re still the first person I wanna call.”
Your breath caught. The room went quiet. Because that felt too honest.
Too real.
Chris laughed quietly after a second.
“…That sounded embarrassing.”
“No,” you said softly.
“It didn’t.”
And suddenly...
for the first time in months, it didn’t feel over.
Not completely.
Not yet.
Like maybe..Just maybe you were both still standing in the doorway of something.
Not together.
But not gone either.
Outside—
the sun was starting to go down.
Neither of you noticed.
Neither of you moved.
Like leaving meant admitting this wasn’t yours anymore.
And neither of you seemed ready for that.
Yet.
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✧ taglist: @summerupdup @courta13