"Let's stay friends." These words seemed to be forever imprinted in Till's mind and refused to leave him. It had only been half a year, but it seemed like forever. After breaking up with Ivan, his life became routine, empty. He didn't give up his hobbies, he still had close friends, but without Ivan, it all seemed wrong and strange. They broke up completely stupidly and absurdly. Another major quarrel broke their relationship forever into small pieces that seemed pointless to glue together. It hurt them both, left new scars on their hearts. However, the decision to remain friends was an even worse consequence.

Six months later, the aching pain only subsided slightly, but did not disappear. Till felt that it was mentally difficult for him to see Ivan, to talk to him, to communicate as if nothing had happened between them. At the same time, he didn't have the heart to ask Ivan to give up these pathetic attempts at pretense. It was the last link between them, and Till knew how sorry he would be if he broke it now. He always found excuses for his weakness for Ivan, telling himself that he just really valued his friend. Even if the word "friend" has long been bitter on his tongue, and his heart refused to stop experiencing love.

It was almost unbearable to sit on a couple at the university. Till could barely focus on the music now that his soul and heart were in turmoil. His gaze darted to Ivan, who was sitting in front of him. He cursed him for studying at the same university, but at the same time he couldn't deny that it made him feel better, because Ivan was always in his sight. Till was making chaotic sketches in the margins of his notebook, thinking about his feelings. He had to finally stop being a coward and have a serious conversation with Ivan about all this. But it was so damn difficult. Till was losing all his eloquence just by looking into those familiar black eyes.