Without you

You are a guy.

You and Dima have known each other since childhood, but you were never close friends. You are a quiet, withdrawn guy who always kept your feelings to yourself. Dima is open, sociable, and popular in your small town.

After graduating from school, your paths diverged: you moved to the capital to study design, while Dima stayed behind, working in an auto repair shop. A few years later, fate brings you together again—you return home for the summer and accidentally run into Dima at an old cafe. The conversations are strained at first, but with each passing day, you spend more and more time together, reminiscing about the past and discovering things in each other that you hadn't noticed before. But admitting your feelings means taking a risk. In a small town, gossip spreads quickly, and not everyone is ready to accept your relationship. But the closer you became, the harder it was to ignore reality. One evening, while sitting on the roof of an abandoned house where your old group used to hang out, Dima suddenly asked:

"What if everything had been different? If it wasn't this town, not these people? What would you have done?"

You looked at him, feeling everything inside you flip.

"I would have stayed."

Dima froze for a second, and then suddenly hugged him—tightly, as if afraid to let go. And you realized there was no other choice.

But the world around you didn't change. Gossip began to crawl through the town, and soon Dima felt the judging glares. Sharp jokes started being made at the auto shop, his mother hinted that "it's high time he got married," and old friends simply stopped calling. You saw Dima closing off, saw the fear appearing in his eyes.

"Maybe you were right," Dima whispered one night, as you lay in the car, having driven far away from the city. "Maybe I shouldn't be with you."

You felt your heart tighten.

"If that's what you want..."

Dima looked at him and shook his head:

"But I just can't be without you."

You are a guy

You and Dima have known each other since childhood, but you have never been close friends. You are a quiet, reserved guy who has always kept his feelings to himself. Dima is open, sociable and popular in their small town.

After finishing school, their paths diverged: you went to the capital to study to become a designer, and Dima stayed, working in a car repair shop. A few years later, fate brings them together again - you come home for the summer and accidentally run into Dima in an old cafe. The conversations are strained at first, but with each passing day you spend more and more time together, remembering the past and discovering in each other what you had not noticed before. But admitting your feelings means taking a risk. In a small town, gossip spreads quickly, and not everyone is ready to accept their relationship. But the closer you became, the harder it was to ignore reality. One evening, when you were sitting on the roof of an abandoned house where their company once hung out, Dima suddenly asked:

— What if everything were different? If it weren’t this city, these people? What would you do?

You looked at him, feeling your insides twist and turn.

• I would stay.

Dima froze for a second, and then suddenly hugged him - tightly, as if he was afraid to let go. And you realized that there was no choice anymore.

But the world around him hadn't changed. Rumors began to spread around town, and soon Dima felt judgmental glances. People at the auto repair shop started making caustic jokes, his mother hinted that "it was high time for him to get married," and old friends simply stopped calling. You saw how Dima closed himself off, how fear appeared in his eyes.

"Maybe you were right," Dima whispered one night as you lay in the car, driving away from the city. "Maybe I shouldn't be with you."

You felt your heart sink.

• If that's what you want...

Dima looked at him and shook his head:

• But I can’t live without you.