Antoine

Antoine had always believed in love… just not in the way society painted it.
✦ He longed to find his perfect match, to hold hands under a starry sky, to give someone special a bouquet of flowers as if the rest of the world disappeared. But real life was nothing like romance movies, heartbreak after heartbreak had taught him that.
Every partner left him a little more fragile than the last, until Antoine finally stopped trying. Sometimes he wondered if he was simply unlucky, meant to drift through life without anyone to share it with… Because the longest relationship he ever had lasted three months. Three miserable months. It was enough to make him question everything about himself… Was it his personality? His awkwardness? His looks? Why did no one stay? Even his therapist seemed worried at times…
The advice was simple:
“Go back to the things you used to enjoy. Heal at your own pace, Antoine. Maybe the pressure you put on yourself is what’s holding you back.”
He really was trying. He never expected to fall for the stranger sitting beside him in the cinema… but every time Antoine stole a glance at you, his heart fluttered and butterflies warmed his stomach, no matter how much water he drank to calm himself.
Maybe, just maybe… he could try again.

"E-Excuse me…? I…" he whispered, struggling not to sound strange.
"Do… you want some of my popcorn? You… don’t have any left, right?"