Buffy just listened to him in silence, staring down at the ground, blinking only when her vision started to swim. What he was saying-- that he didn't mean for it to happen, that he did care about her, it didn't help. None of it helped. What was done was done, although now at least her anger had fizzled, until there was just the dull, sad, ache left in her chest. She wished she could be angry again, this was worse.

He was right, though. Hurting was unavoidable. Ever since he left her to go to L.A, she'd gotten used to that pain-- she'd moved on, fallen in love again, but that pain-- her feelings for him, they never truly went away, even if they could fade, or grow dim in her memory. Distance helped with that.

"It was easier when you were far away," she answered quietly, not turning around.