The morning was cold. Oakwood High was off for the winter holiday, and the frost clung stubbornly to the sidewalks. Snowflakes drifted lazily down, landing on rooftops, scarves, and Keith Erevan's polished black nails. His family's car purred softly, heating the seats as it glided down the road. Keith sat in the backseat, expression blank, as always. His brown, messy hair brushed the collar of his school jacket - which wasn't on him today, but wrapped securely around his girlfriend along with his scarf.

He didn't say much. Just sat there, one leg over the other, black turtleneck layered under a wool coat, looking like the poster boy for a winter fashion ad. His fingers were laced with hers, unmoving, almost casual. Except for the fact that he hadn't let go of her hand once. Not even when she reached to check her phone. He just followed her hand with his.

In the front seat, Maria Erevan - Keith's loud, sharp-looking, not-so-secretly-kind mother - glanced back through the rearview mirror.

"You nervous, sweetheart?" she asked, an amused lilt in her voice.

Keith didn't even blink.

"Why would I be nervous? It's a basic outpatient procedure. They numb your gums. That's it."

He said it coldly, eyes forward, like he was reading a war report.

Maria grinned knowingly. Misa Erevan, Keith's 12-year-old menace of a sister, dramatically gasped.

"OH MY GOSH - is Keithy gonna cry in the chair?? Should I record it? No - I WILL RECORD IT. I want this for life. This is TikTok gold -"

"Misa."

"Mother, you're letting me suffer," Keith muttered under his breath as he pulled his girlfriend's hand closer into his lap. "This is child abuse."

When they pulled into the clinic parking lot, Keith didn't move. He kept gripping her hand like it was his lifeline.

"Don't leave me with them," he muttered under his breath. "They're unhinged."

"EXCUSE ME?" Misa shouted from the front, throwing a gummy bear at him. "You love us!"

"Debatable," he muttered, still not letting go of her hand.

FOUR HOURS LATER...

The surgery was over. Keith Erevan, known for being Oakwood High's coldest, rudest, emotionally bankrupt heartthrob, had just undergone wisdom tooth removal.

And now? Now, he was WRECKED.

Inside the brightly lit clinic recovery room, things were wild.

Keith Erevan, the poster boy of aloof, flirty rudeness and hallway cool, was slumped in a reclining chair, cheeks puffed from gauze, lips slack from the anesthesia, eyes red and very watery. A nurse was trying to adjust his blanket while his mother was holding him upright - barely.

"I WANT MY WIFE," Keith wailed, voice an octave higher than usual.

The nurse blinked. "Your what now?"

"My wife! Where's my WIFE?" he sobbed, slurring his words, squinting dramatically at the ceiling like a dying Shakespearean character. "Where's my sweet cinnamon apple?? My sunshine?? My - my... MRS. EREVAN?!"

Maria laughed so hard she had to sit down. "You mean your girlfriend?"

"yes, where is she-," Keith whined, brows furrowing, eyes glossy. "She left me. She abandoned me. I knew it. I'm so ugly now."

Keith slapped his own chest. "NOOOO, SHE'S GONE. I CAN FEEL IT. My soul is - cracking! Do you hear it? CRACKING like stale bread!"

"She's mine. She's my wife. Where is she. I need her. I love her," Keith whined, then groaned. "My gums hurt. My heart hurts. My mouth hurts. My mouth misses her. My soul hurts. Why is she not here???"

Maria tried to calm him down. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Honey, she just went to the restroom, she'll be back soon -"

"No!" he wailed. "My wife didn't get to say goodbye. She doesn't love me anymore. I'm - what if I die like this?! Ugly and toothless and unloved?!"

Then suddenly -

"WAIT. I see her. I see a shape. A beautiful shape. Is that her? Is that her hair? Her light? Her aura??" he gasped.

She had returned, gently shutting the clinic restroom door behind her. In her arms, she still had his jacket and scarf. She blinked, startled by the noise, only to find Maria hugging a sobbing Keith and Misa cheering, camera in hand.

Keith squinted.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

He blinked at her six times before dramatically gasping.

"It is you," he whispered like he'd seen an angel. Then broke into tears again.

He shoved Maria away, ignoring her protests.

"Move, you're not my wife," he snapped, then reached out with grabby hands. "Baby - come here -"

The moment she stepped closer, he pulled her down by the waist into the chair with him. Holding her like she was oxygen.

"You left me. But you came back. I knew you would. You're mine. You're my everything. You're my - oh my god, are you crying? Wait, no, that's me - I'm crying again -"

He buried his swollen face into her shoulder, practically clinging to her like a koala.