Between Us, Always

Nano's POV

Band practice wrapped up, and the guys started splitting off one by one. Thame had plans with Po, obviously. Jun was off to do whatever Jun did—probably bothering Dylan until he cracked. Dylan himself had mentioned something about running errands, and that left just Per, standing by his case, wiping down his guitar with slow, meticulous movements.

I lingered near the doorway, watching him for a moment. He was quiet, which wasn't new, but there was something different about it today. Less focused, more... empty.

That didn't sit right with me.

I checked my phone. My friend was already at the theater, but I could afford to be a little late.

"Hey, Per," I called, shifting my bag onto my shoulder. He glanced up, his expression unreadable. "I'm going to catch a movie. Wanna come?"

Per blinked at me, surprised. "A movie?"

"Yeah," I said casually, like I wasn't watching him carefully. "Nothing too serious. Just some dumb action flick. Explosions, car chases, bad one-liners—the works."

He hesitated, fingers still gripping the cloth he'd been using on his guitar. "I don't know... I was just going to head back."

I nodded like that was totally fine, even though I wasn't about to let him sit alone in the apartment, drowning in his thoughts. "Come on. It'll be fun. And if it sucks, we can make fun of it the whole time."

Per exhaled a short laugh, a ghost of a smile flickering across his face. "I don't know if I'm in the mood for a movie, Nano."

"That's exactly why you should go," I said simply. "I mean, unless you prefer staring at your ceiling alone all night."

His lips pressed together, and for a second, I thought he'd turn me down again. But then, with a small sigh, he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Fine. But if it sucks, you owe me dinner."

I grinned. "Deal."

As we walked out of the practice room together, I could already tell he wasn't magically cured or anything. He still looked tired, still carried that weight in his eyes.

But at least he wasn't alone.

Per's POV

I didn't know why I agreed to go.

Maybe because Nano was annoyingly persistent in that quiet, effortless way of his. Maybe because I knew if I went home alone, I'd just end up overthinking everything until I drove myself insane. Maybe because, for all the noise in our lives, Nano somehow always knew how to make things feel less suffocating.

So, I went.

The theater was crowded, but Nano didn't seem to mind, weaving through people easily while I followed behind. He picked up the tickets, barely letting me pull out my wallet before waving me off.

"It was my idea," he said, as if that explained everything. "Besides, you're paying for dinner if you like the movie, remember?"

I rolled my eyes but didn't argue.

We found our seats just as the trailers were wrapping up. The movie started with a ridiculous car chase that defied every law of physics, and within the first ten minutes, Nano was already snickering.

"That car just did a full flip in midair and kept driving," he whispered, leaning toward me.

"Yeah, because logic doesn't exist in this universe," I muttered back.

Nano hummed, amused, and I caught the way he was grinning out of the corner of my eye. I turned my attention back to the screen, but for the first time in days, I wasn't completely drowning in my own thoughts.

The movie was loud, dramatic, and completely over the top, but I found myself relaxing into it, letting the ridiculousness pull me away from reality for a while.

At one point, Nano nudged me, holding out a handful of popcorn. I stared at him, unimpressed.

"You bought popcorn?"

"Obviously," he said. "What kind of monster watches a movie without snacks?"

I sighed but took some anyway. Nano just smirked like he'd won some kind of battle.

By the time the credits rolled, I realized that for the past two hours, I hadn't thought about my ex, the breakup, or the mess that was my life. At least, not as much.

As we stepped out into the cool night air, Nano stretched his arms above his head, then turned to me expectantly.

"So, verdict? Did it suck?"

I huffed, shoving my hands into my pockets. "It was ridiculous."

"That's not an answer."

I exhaled, shaking my head. "It was... fine."

Nano grinned. "See? Told you it'd be fun."