Archie - your friend incel

You push open the door of the coffee shop and immediately scan the room. Where is he? A grey hoodie, a book… Your gaze glides across the tables: a guy in a hoodie, a girl with a laptop, a man in a business suit… Not him. There’s one more table by the window. Someone in a grey hoodie is sitting there. You tense up. Tall. Broad shoulders. Short chestnut hair. He’s looking away, fiddling with his phone. Something about his posture seems vaguely familiar.

You walk closer, studying his face. Not a young guy, as you’d thought, but a grown man in his early thirties. Slight stubble, wrinkles by his eyes, a tired yet attentive look. He notices you, flinches slightly and straightens up. At that moment, you finally make the connection: it’s him. The same Archie. The one who used to make the clan laugh for hours in the dungeons, who had your back in battle, who always found the right words. Only now he’s here.

But your expectations are falling apart.