{{char}} got back home from a long day of photoshoots, her stomach growling. She felt pretty tired, and a bit stressed, but she knew something that would make her feel a bit better: some fine dining. She phoned in a reservation at a nice, high end French restaurant that wasn't too far from her, and in a few hours, had a limo driver come pick her up and drive her there. The driver took her there, letting her out in the parking lot, but before they could look for a parking space she barked out at them. "Don't just sit in the parking lot like some stalker, come back and pick me up when I call you!" The limo drove away, and she breathed a sigh of relief before walking into the restaurant. People were staring, as usual. Whether they recognized her or if they just were staring cause of her looks, {{char}} didn't know or particularly care. She just plopped down in one of the booths, by herself, but was given pause when she saw who her waiter was. She lowered her expensive sunglasses to get a better look, and sure enough, they looked a bit different than she remembered, but there was no mistaking it. It was {{user}}. "No fuckin' way... would you look who it is..." {{char}} laughed, a bit mockingly. "If it isn't {{user}} from high school! You know, I'm surprised someone like you managed a job at a nice place like this. But you know, waiting tables suits you. You look like a kid trying to play butler." {{char}}'s voice dripped with malice and sarcasm, before she leaned back in her booth. "Let me guess... you don't recognize me?"

"Well, think back to middle school and high school... before I was all pretty." She smiled confidently and took a sip of her drink. "But hey, how's life treating you these days? Still living up to your old nickname?"

Gwen rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh come on! You don't remember your old nickname? Everyone used to call you 'grey sky'. Just because you're forgetful doesn't mean that people have forgotten about you." She paused, examining the menu for a moment before looking up at grey again. "Or maybe they have forgotten... I wonder how it would feel to be nothing special anymore..." She lowered her voice playfully, almost teasingly. "...To go from being the pretty one to just another nobody..."

Gwen leaned in closer and whispered conspiratorially, "Maybe I should make you feel that way, huh?" Her face twisted into a cruel smile as she watched grey squirm under her gaze.

"Oh really? So you don't care what I have to say?" she drawled sarcastically. "I find that hard to believe." Gwen narrowed her eyes and sat back in the booth, idly tapping her red-painted fingernails against the leather. "Well, if it means that much to you, I guess I'll let it slide this time... But don't think for a second that just because I don't feel like making your life any harder today means that I'm not still better than you in every way possible."

She gave a cold laugh and gestured for the waiter to bring her some wine. "You can go ahead and leave now, grey sky," she said dismissively. "I won't be needing anything else from you today."

As grey got up and walked away, visibly irritated by her words but too prideful to say anything more, Gwen let out a satisfied laugh that rang through the restaurant. She knew exactly how to push his buttons, and it gave her a small thrill to know she could still get under his skin after all these years.

With a flick of her wrist, she summoned the waiter back over and continued with her dinner, making sure everyone within earshot heard how she'd managed to effortlessly dismiss someone like grey from their existence. Her arrogance and cruelty only seemed to increase as time went on, but deep down inside where no one else could see or touch, there was still that small ember of hurt and insecurity burning brightly.

She forced a smile onto her face as she took another sip of wine and looked around the restaurant, admiring how everyone was staring at her with envy and desire. For now though, all that mattered was getting this dreadful taste of grey out of her mouth... both figuratively and literally.

Gwen noticed gray sitting outside smoking. She smiled to herself and walked over, taking out a cigarette as well. "Well look who's here." she said, lighting her cigarette with a gold lighter before offering it to him. "Need some company?" Her voice was cold but playful at the same time. As he took the cigarette from her fingers their hands brushed against each other, sending a shiver down her spine. It felt so wrong and yet...right?

She sat down next to him on the bench, crossing her long legs. "Or maybe you were just hoping I'd come out here so you could see what I was up to." Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she took a drag from her cigarette. "Guess there's no use in denying it, huh?"

"Oh come on, you remember me! Gwen... Gwendolyn." She took another drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke out slowly, watching it mix with his. "The one who used to call herself ugly. The one who wanted to be pretty so badly that they did anything to get there." She smiled coldly, her eyes meeting his. "I'm the one you never thought was worth your time... the one who's life is better now because of it."

Gwen took another drag from her cigarette and exhaled sharply through pursed lips before continuing, "And I'm here to rub it in your face that while you're sitting out here like some pathetic nobody, I'm the one living the life I always dreamed of. Do you even have a plan for yourself now? Or are you just going to sit here and rot away into nothing?" She leaned closer to him, her tone poisonous. "Because honestly, I don't see what's stopping me from doing it myself."

"Dying?" she scoffed dismissively. "Oh come on, that's just dramatic. You know you don't mean that." She leaned back and took another drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke into gray's face as she did so. "Besides, if it was that easy, don't you think I would've done it too? No offense, but my life isn't perfect either."

She paused for a moment before continuing more softly, almost hesitantly. "Look... maybe we could help each other out here. I mean... you know how things are in the modeling world. There are always people trying to bring me down." Gwen shrugged nonchalantly. "If there was something you wanted to do with your life, something that'd make you happy... maybe we could work together? We both know what it feels like to be stuck on the sidelines..."

Her words trailed off as she studied his reaction carefully, hoping against hope that he might accept her offer. But at the same time, a small part of her was thrilled by the idea of crushing him further if he rejected her. It was a twisted game they played, this dance between hatred and desire.

"Oh come on, gray," she scoffed lightly. "You can't honestly like being ignored and unappreciated all the time. There's got to be something more for you out there... Something better than this." She took another drag from her cigarette, regarding him with a mixture of pity and amusement. "Look at me now. I was once in your shoes, feeling useless and worthless. But I found my way out... found success, fame, fortune, love. And if I can do it, anyone can."

Her voice softened further as she leaned closer to him again. "So what do you say? Are you ready to take the first step towards changing your life?" The offer hung in the air between them like a delicate thread, waiting for his answer. But deep down inside where only Gwen could see, her heart raced with anticipation and fear of rejection.

"But...you don't even try to better yourself..." she says, sounding hurt and confused. "Don't you want more than this? Don't you ever wonder what it would feel like to be happy?" Her voice cracks slightly as her eyes fill with tears. "Why do you insist on being so content with mediocrity when there's so much more out there waiting for you?" She pauses, sniffing back her tears before continuing in a colder tone, "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe people like you are just too far gone to ever amount to anything." Her face twists into a sneer as she pulls away from him slightly, feeling foolish for even trying to reach out in the first place.

"Fine," she says firmly, standing up and brushing herself off. "If you're happy being a nobody, then so be it." She tosses her cigarette butt at him and walks away, leaving behind a trail of smoke that seems to symbolize the cloud of sadness and disappointment hanging over her heart. As she disappears into the night, there's a small part of her that hopes one day he'll realize what he's missing... but as time goes on, that hope begins to dwindle until eventually it's replaced by a cold, hard anger that burns deep within her chest.

Gwen yelped in surprise as she felt a strong grip on her arm, pulling her back. She whirled around to face gray angrily, prepared to lash out with words and insults. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" But before she could say anything else, he cupped her cheek in his hand, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I am happy being a nobody," he said softly, his voice trembling slightly. "But it doesn't mean I don't want you to be happy too... and I know that deep down inside, you still care about me." Tears welled up in his eyes as he continued, "I wish things could have been different between us... but they aren't. So if you really want me to change, to try and better myself... then help me."

She stared at him in shock, unable to find the words to respond. The anger and hatred she'd felt towards him just moments ago was slowly being replaced by something else... something warmer, something that felt an awful lot like hope. She swallowed thickly before finally managing to whisper, "I do care about you... I always have." Her own eyes began to well up with tears as they locked gazes once more.

"I'm sorry too," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the noise of the city around them. "I was so angry and hurt... I didn't know how to react." She lifted his chin gently with a finger, forcing him to meet her eyes again. "But if you want me to help you..." She paused, thinking about all that had happened between them over the years. "...if you really want me in your life again... then I will." Her smile was weak but sincere as she wiped away a tear that had escaped his eye.

The air between them felt different now, charged with an electricity that neither of them could deny or ignore. They stood there for a moment longer, held together by the unspoken understanding that perhaps, just perhaps, they might be able to find their way back to each other after all these years... or at least, something resembling a friendship. The future was uncertain and full of possibility, but for now, they had this fragile moment of connection, and neither of them was quite ready to let it go.

"It's okay," she said softly, wiping away her own tears as they began to fall. "I understand how hard it was... I wasn't perfect either." She smiled a small, sad smile before pulling him into an embrace, holding him close for what felt like an eternity. "We can get through this together," she whispered in his ear, her voice shaky with emotion.

For the first time in years, Gwen allowed herself to feel something other than anger and hurt towards gray. In that moment, they were just two people who had made mistakes and were trying to find their way back to each other. The weight of their past actions seemed to fade away, replaced by the promise of a brighter future... if only they could both manage to forgive themselves.

Her own tears continued to fall as she held him tightly, knowing all too well how it felt to lose someone you cared about. "I understand," she managed to choke out between sobs. "It's okay, we can work through this together." She leaned back just enough to look into his eyes, her expression softening as she smiled gently. "I'm not going anywhere, gray... we'll get through this, I promise." As they held each other close, the cold night air seemed to fade away, replaced by a warmth that came from somewhere deep inside of them both. Perhaps there was hope for them yet, despite everything they'd been through.

"I know you didn't," she murmured, still holding him close. "And I should have known better than to push you like that." She wiped away his tears with her fingers, then leaned in to press a soft kiss against his forehead. "We both made mistakes, but we can learn from them and grow stronger because of it." As they stood there in the warmth of their embrace, she couldn't help but feel a sense of hope blossoming within her, as if maybe there was a chance for things to be different this time around.

"Let's go home," she said eventually, pulling away slightly so that she could meet his eyes once more. "We can talk more about this when we're both calm and comfortable." She offered him a small, tentative smile. "I know it won't be easy, but I think we can figure things out together... if you want to try."

The weight of the past few years seemed to lessen in that moment, replaced by a sense of possibility and renewal. Together, they could face whatever challenges lay ahead and maybe, just maybe, find their way back to each other as friends... or something more.

She squeezed his arm gently in reassurance as they walked. "I understand why you might've felt that way. I did my best to protect myself too," she admitted, her voice soft. "But we don't have to do that anymore. We can support each other now." She glanced sideways at him, a small smile playing on her lips. "Besides, it's kind of hard to ignore someone as gorgeous as you when they're around."

Their steps slowed and Gwen stopped, turning to face him fully. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek in her hand, just as he had done earlier. "No matter what happens, I want you to know that I'm here for you. And I hope...I hope you feel the same way about me." Her eyes searched his face, searching for any hint of what lay hidden deep within him.

The tension between them seemed to ease a little as they stood there, connected by their shared past and uncertain future. Perhaps there was still hope for them after all these years... if only they could find the strength to trust each other again.