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"You're leaving me."
"W-what?" Robert could only stammer out.
Marco has been avoiding him the whole day and this is the first thing he spits out once they finally meet in the locker rooms after school.
"You're transferring." he hears Reus say. The expression the blonde wears is painful to look at, full of hurt and sadness, that showed in the way his head hung low. His eyes on the other hand held a piercing gaze that struck Lewandowski deep. Marco was seething with anger from the inside, and it only was visible from the way his eyebrows were drawn together. "Piszczu told me."
Lewy did not know how to properly respond. His face was still stuck with a mild shock and his body refused to move as he heard the last words. He did in fact tell Łukasz about the possibility of him transferring to a different high school, a sports one, one that could fulfill all his dreams. He passed all the medical tests, alongside those related to strength. The downside was the fact how far away it was. Robert would have to live in the school dormitory, only going back home on certain weekends. But...
Lewy calmed down, his expression becoming more neutral. "That's a life opportunity for me, Marco, you know th—" he tried explaining, but Reus quickly became vibrantly irritated.
"And what about me?", the shorter one snapped immediately, cutting Robert out. "What about your friends, you- you don't get it, do you?" his voice weakened at the end.
"What? Marco-", Lewy took a step closer to the other, trying to soothe his voice yet the confusion overcame it. "-you think I'll forget about you guys? Don't make me laugh."
Reus couldn't believe his ears. The Pole wasn't taking him seriously, was he?
"Are you hearing yourself?" Marco hissed with a sarcastic chuckle, taking a step back in exchange. "You already have everything you need here! A loving family, loyal friends and—" His breath hitched, the sentence left unfinished, but another question rolled onto his tongue.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Robert now took a step back himself, his heartbeat loud in his ears as his eyes jumped around Marco's face. The frustration, disappointment, betrayal... all of it, it overwhelmed him.
The harsh truth is, Lewandowski was simply afraid. Scared of the blonde's reaction to the fact he needed something more. That whatever he had in this small town didn't satisfy him, that he wanted to chase his passion for sports and that required sacrifices. After everything they both went through... he knew Marco would be devastated to hear the news. That their hangouts, teasing whispers and stolen kisses in the empty classrooms would just vanish.
So Robert stood his ground, a devoid of empathy smile painted his face, masking the remorse.
"C'mon Marco, I would've told you sooner or later." he said, shrugging his shoulders, as if the topic wasn't serious at all. "Plus, it's not like we won't see each other. I'll be back on weekends. Mostly." he smiled, but it lacked real humour.
Marco's blood boiled, ready to throw hands at the taller guy, but he felt undeniably helpless. With the sight of Lewy chuckling so easily at the fact he's just leaving him behind—it felt almost unreal. He always knew Robert could be cold-hearted if he had to, but not now. Not like this. Reus' breathing got heavier in an instant, tears threatened to fall, but he clenched his fists and narrowed his eyebrows further, not allowing himself to cry.
"All those promises, were they empty?" the German asked, keeping his voice low.
"What promises?" Robert tried to act oblivious.
"That we would be together, no matter what. It's— we're too dependent on each other, you know it!" Marco fumed, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice, but failing miserably.
"Life goes on, you can't expe—"
"I thought you loved me!"
Robert's face went pale.
Marco was on the edge, impatient and almost sobbing. He barely pronounced 'loved me', as if he was afraid of it's meaning, of addressing whatever was going on between them. To call it 'love'—it was foreign, both of them were avoiding that word for months. There were moments they shared that definitely screamed 'more than friends'. Was it the 'practicing for our future girlfriends' or vulnerability that ended with tears and reassuring touches—they didn't dare to name it, yet it kept happening and neither wanted to stop.
A strange silence settled between them for a longer moment, and Reus still foolishly believed that they could work it out, that—
"What?" was suddenly spoken out loud. But it wasn't a soft surprise or a shock filled with childish happiness. It was cold, filled with distate and something Marco didn't recognize in Lewandowski. His expression twisted in something unknown, yet it crushed every inch of hope Reus had left.
Before anything could be said, disgust left Robert's face quickly, a detached expression fell on his face instead. Nothing. Just blue eyes and nothing more stared at the blonde, the gaze so unfamiliar it sent a shiver down Marco's spine.
"You've got it all wrong, Marco." Lewy murmured and... left.
He walked right past Reus to the stairs that led to the school exit, leaving his friend with an atmosphere heavier than ever.
Marco did not move an inch, did not say a thing, nor did he try to stop the other boy.
And yet... a silent tear trailed down his cheek when Robert was already out of school grounds, jaw clenched and knuckles white as he held onto the straps of his backpack.