Leaving Before The Final Encore

While my boyfriend, Reuben Gallagher, was giving me the silent treatment, he started a project on a crowdfunding site.

The project was titled: "Fundraising for My 'Farewell, Thea' Bachelor Party."

Soon, the campaign was 99% funded.

I knew he was waiting for me to cave, just like the countless times we'd argued before, where I would end up crying and begging him to stop.

But this time, I made the final donation myself and left a comment: "Count me in."

Then, I blocked him on everything.

Three days later, his sister sent me a message.

"Reuben left you a VIP pass for the National Street Dance Competition finals. Stop hiding and come home. He'll forgive you if you just show up."

I glanced at the plane ticket on my desk and replied.

"I'm busy."

Busy indeed. I'd been accepted into the MFA program at Kingston University, and my flight for orientation was that very night.

From then on, we were in two different cities. Our paths would never cross again.

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1

The moment I saw the viral video on TikTok, I stormed down to the city center plaza and slapped Reuben Gallagher. Hard.

In the video, Reuben was comforting his dance partner, Rosa Reyes, after she'd lost an online competition. He'd pulled her into an impromptu street dance battle right there in the plaza. When the music ended, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss in front of everyone.

I stood before him now and asked, "So where does that leave me?"

He clicked his tongue, impatiently brushing away his sweat-drenched bangs as if I'd just said something ridiculous.

"It was part of the performance, Thea. Do you have to ruin the mood?"

He said, glancing back at Rosa Reyes.

Rosa's voice was a soft, saccharine whisper, her eyes welling up as if she were about to cry. "Thea, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. Please don't be mad at him..."

"Enough," Reuben snapped, cutting her off. His eyes, cold and hard, locked onto me. "I'm the one who kissed her. It's not a big deal, so why are you making a scene? What, you want to threaten to break up again?"

Threatening me with a breakup. Again.

This was the hundredth time we'd fought about breaking up over Rosa.

We had been together for four years, since our freshman year. We'd had countless fights, and every single time, I was the one who backed down first.

Reuben had probably gotten used to it.

This time, I wasn't going to back down.

I didn't even have the energy to argue. I just nodded and turned toward the street.

Suddenly, Rosa rushed over and grabbed my hand. Her rhinestone-adorned nails dug into my skin, her voice sickly sweet.

"Thea, don't be angry. Reuben really loves you. It's just... our chemistry on the dance floor is electric. Some things just happen naturally. But in his heart..."

I forcefully shook her hand off.

Disgusting.

A wave of nausea churned in my stomach.

Reuben strode over and tugged her behind him, shielding her as he glared at me. "If you can't handle it, then get lost," he bit out, each word sharp. "Don't just stand there making a scene."

Watching him protect her, I suddenly laughed.

"Fine," I said calmly, then turned and hailed a taxi.

The car door slammed shut. I didn't cry.

At an intersection, the driver shot me a sympathetic look in the rearview mirror before silently driving on.

My phone buzzed relentlessly with messages from Reuben.

"Are you done with your little tantrum?"

"Come back."

"Thea Bishop, don't test my patience."

And the last one: "You really want to break up? You'd better think this through."

I didn't reply.

The city lights blurred past the window, a chaotic smear just like the memories of the last four years.

I had been completely captivated the first time I saw Reuben dance at the university arts festival.

On our first date, my heart felt like it was going to hammer its way out of my chest.

He had once printed a design I made onto his dance crew's uniforms, had quietly kept me company during all-nighters to meet design deadlines, and had even danced for me all night long on my birthday—a private performance just for me.

But it was also him who, time and time again, chose Rosa over me.

A Discord notification for the dance crew's group chat suddenly popped up on my phone. Someone had tagged Reuben.

"Heard that video of you and Rosa in the plaza blew up. Did your girl freak out on you again?"

I had been in that group chat for four years but had never said a word. They had probably forgotten I was even in it.

Reuben replied instantly.

"Don't even get me started. It's so annoying. Now she's giving me the silent treatment, won't even reply to my messages."

He followed it with a clown emoji.

"Wow, she's getting bold! Daring to ignore you? I say, take the chance to get a few days of peace. You're always complaining about how clingy she is, right?"

"Ha, I bet she won't last a day before she comes crawling back to you."

Reuben replied: "You're right."

With that, he immediately shared a link to a crowdfunding site on his social media.

"Fundraising for My 'Farewell, Thea' Bachelor Party."

No one knew what had happened, but people started donating and sharing it anyway.

I donated too, and left a comment.

"Count me in."