TW: Angst, break-ups

Alone, in the vast unoccupied space of his one bedroom apartment, Chris sat down against the nearest wall with his head in his hands. Around him, there was nothing, no furniture, no photographs. Nothing. This was the place he was supposed to call his home and yet there was no indication of anyone even living there. He had officially moved in just over a week ago but had refused to even set foot through the front door, believing that once he did, it would mean accepting that everything was over, that there was no hope left in the world.

Chris brought his bottom lip between his teeth, biting hard against the smooth skin until he felt the familiar twang of metal being released into his mouth. He tried to use the physical pain of this action to distract him from the hurt that had been building up in chest but it didn't help. He lowered his eyes, his gaze dropping to the bare tiled floor he was sitting on and swallowed hard, choking back a sob as he tried to desperately blink away the tears that he could feel had started to form in his eyes. But instead, they spilled over his lashes and began to fall down his cheeks, combining with the soaked clothing that sat on his body, wet from the unexpected pour of rain that fell from the sky as he walked to his new home

How had everything ended up like this? How had it got so bad? Where did everything go so wrong?

Donned in a pair of denim shorts and a purple t-shirt, Chris headed out of the house with a smile on his face. After days of raining, droplets of water falling from blackened clouds in the sky without stopping, the sky had finally brightened into a pale blue as a feeling of warmth filled the air. It finally felt like summer had arrived. And so, Chris decided it was time for a trip down to his local pool. As the sun warmed the back of his neck, he could feel the beads of sweat begin to form as they dripped across his skin and he could think of nothing better than getting to dive into the pool, the refreshing water spilling over his warmed skin.

Although he lived in a small town, it appeared that all of the teenaged population had had the same idea as him and so he scanned the area, trying to find a sunlounger that he could temporarily claim as his own. Eventually, he spotted one that appeared to not have been claimed in anyway, there was no towel draped over the back and no bag placed underneath the plastic chair. So, relieved, Chris perched himself on the end of the sunlounger and placed his hands either side of the hem of his t-shirt and began to lift it upwards, exposing the skin beneath the fabric.

"Excuse me mate but that's mi-." An unfamiliar voice began to speak but trailed off mid sentence as his attention fell on Chris who was in the middle of removing the t-shirt on his body, leaving him bare chested. The stranger's eyes wandered over Chris, landing on the man's slightly toned chest and stomach, "On second thoughts, I don't mind sharing..."

Chris smiled nervously, lifting his head as he admired the man standing before him. Slung fairly low on his hips sat a pair of garishly bright swimming trunks that revealed slightly too much skin below his belly button although Chris certainly wasn't complaining. Every inch of the other man's skin was dripping with slick water droplets, others falling from the ends of his hair as they fell onto everything not only on him but also around him.

"Aren't you going to budge up then?" The stranger asked, a smirk resting upon his face that looked as though it should permanently be fixed there. Chris nodded and moved along the seat slightly, allowing the other man to flop onto the plastic he had been previously sitting on, "I'm Alex by the way."

"Chris." Chris replied, offering the other man the towel he had tucked into the contents of his bag, allowing the redhead to sling it across his damp shoulders to dry them from the water of the pool.

Where had everything gone so wrong? Chris couldn't help but repeat this question over and over in his head. It was something he couldn't answer, he couldn't pinpoint the decline in their relationship where everything had gone so wrong. He used to be happy. They used to be happy. But now, now it felt like summer was over and it just rained here everyday. It felt like everything good had been sucked from his life and would never return. Chris had been told that it was all his fault, that he had changed from being the carefree, fun individual Alex had met in the swimming pool to someone who was constantly stressed about work and always felt tired. He was told time after time that people make mistakes, that this was just Alex's and he would realise soon enough. But as hours turned into days and days turned into a week, Chris knew this wasn't the case. It was over, Alex's actions weren't the mistake. The mistake was his fault, it was his fault for being him. If he had managed to be the same person, everything would have been the same, everything would still be good. He wouldn't be sitting alone in an empty, unfurnished apartment, instead he would be sharing the warmth of the bed with the other man. In this case, it was him, he was the mistake...

Credit to Daisyith on Ao3