Like the Red Rose blooms in the Oxford Garden: Chapter ten
Sometimes when your heart breaks… it feels like there is no way to fix it. No matter what you try. All the memories get left behind as something unfinished… But maybe, there is to way to fix it, A second chance. Some way to finish the story you two started writing because it was never the end, but just a part of the story… even if you have to travel far to achieve it.
You can say "Goodbye", you can say "Hello". But you'll always find your way back home.
“Was that your phone?” Nina asked as Gastón’s phone dinged.
They had been studying at the library on the evening as the term finals closed in on them. There only was about a month left before the exams, and the summer would begin.
“Oh, yeah I think it was,” Gastón reached for his phone and looked at it. “It was an email… from Renishaw.”
“What does it say?” Nina closed the book she had been browsing through, “I thought you already got the job.”
“I did,” Gastón opened the email. He would be continuing the internship he had done at Renishaw last summer, this summer. “It must be just some information.”
“He opened the email and read it through. “Huh?”
“What is it?” Gastón looked up and saw Nina’s face growing in concern.
“Oh, nothing bad,” he reached her hand in reassurance, “Just the email said that I don’t need to do the three-week intern training period there, because I was there last year.”
“Is that a bad or good thing?”
“Good,” Gastón laughed while playing with Nina’s fingers, “It means that I have three weeks free at the start of summer. So, what do you wanna do?”
“What am I supposed to want to do?” Nina looked at him. The look of slight confusion on her face was way too cute, and Gastón had to try his hardest not to get distracted.
“Well, it would be a waste if we just sit here the whole summer. There are lot of different things we can do.”
“I don’t know how to come up with something. You choose.”
“Well, if you want me to.” Gastón grinned at Nina, “We already were at Kent, but there are lot of other places here as well.” Gastón stopped to think for a moment, “but, honestly, we can just do that during the weekends if we want, so… How about we go back home?”
“Home?” Nina looked up at his eyes, “You wanna return to Buenos Aires?”
“Well… Yeah.” Gastón reached to take both of her hands to his and ran his thumps over them. “I have been thinking that for a while now. I mean, I didn’t come back last year, and honestly kind of regret it. Matteo really tried to get me to come. So, you’d like that, if we did go back? We could stay at mine.”
“Yes, I really would love that,” Nina smiled at him, “Your parents would be fine with us staying there?”
“Of course. I am not sure about their schedules right now, but if we get to be by ourselves, I’m not gonna be upset.” Gastón got up from his chair and moved to one on the other side of the table next to Nina.
“Luna will be so excited,” Nina smiled, “It would be so great to see everybody…and we can tell them.”
“Right, they don’t know,” Gastón laughed, “Almost forgot about that. If Luna and Matteo have kept their mouths shut, which I think they actually have. Jazmin would have flown across the ocean to make a video about this.”
“She’s probably never going to change in that aspect,” Nina laughed, “At least Delfi shut Fab and Chic down, but Jazmin is never going to stop.”
“We’re never going to live to see that day,” Gastón agreed, “How about we just call Matteo and Luna now, and let them know, so we can plan accordingly? And make sure nothing has actually leaked and they are just waiting to ambush us.”
“That's a good idea.”
“Well, lets not waste any time.” Gastón took his phone out and called Matteo.
“Hey!!!” Matteo appeared on the screen after a moment, “Nice to see you fancy school people. I was beginning to worry that you are beginning to forget how to speak Spanish.”
“We spoke yesterday,” Gastón snarked while changing his phone to his other hand, while wrapping the other around Nina. “Is Luna there?”
“We want to talk to you both.” Nina continued.
“Yeah, she is here… somewhere.” Matteo appeared to look around, “I think she went to the kitchen.”
Nina and Gastón looked as Matteo got up, from Mansion’s living room from the looks of it, and started walking around.
“She’s with Simon in the kitchen,” Matteo whispered to them, “Do you want to…?”
“Just don’t show the screen,” Gastón said, while their view on the video call got quite crooked as Matteo lowered the phone.
“Chica Delivery,” Matteo entered the kitchen where Luna was sitting with Simon and Ambar, “Can you come with me for a moment?”
“For what?” Nina and Gastón heard Luna’s voice question.
“We, uhm, have a phone call,” Gastón felt half bad for kind of finding Matteo’s stumblings in the attempt of hiding who he had been talking, kind of funny.
“From who?” Simon’s voice rang, “Why the secrecy?”
“There is no secrecy. It is my cousin, wants to meet my girlfriend,” Matteo continued, “And its none of your business anyway.”
“You know, if you wanna make out, you can just say so!” Ambar’s voice yelled as Luna and Matteo walked to the mansion’s stairwell.
“What does your cousin want from me?” Luna questioned as they entered her room.
“It’s not my cousin,” Mateo huffed and sat on her bed, flipping the videocall’s camera back to the front and spoke to Nina and Gastón. “I hope this means we can stop this act at some point soon.”
“Oh my gosh!!! Hi!” Luna jumped next to Matteo on the bed. “You could have just said that it was them.”
“Actually, your performance was very entertaining,” Gastón laughed.
“Glad you enjoyed it,” Matteo rolled his eyes sarcastically. “So what is up with you two?”
“Well, we want to talk with you two about something,” Gastón started talking, “You’ll probably be happy about that, since you like to complain.”
“Uuuuuu, about what?” Luna leaned closer, excited.
“We were talking about the summer, and Gastón’s internship doesn’t start until in a few weeks from starts of the summer—” Nina started explaining, “—so we thought we’d come back, for a couple of weeks.”
“REALLY!?!” Luna started jumping, “OMG! You are really planning on coming back?”
“Yeah, I think we both miss all of you there,” Gastón responded, “Plus, maybe it is time to let everyone know, about us I mean. You two haven’t told anybody right?”
“Of course not.” Matteo scoffed clearly smiling, “Everyone else is in deep darkness about you two, even if it really should be really obvious, if they just saw your faces.”
“Well, thats the plan, we want to tell everybody.”
“So, when exactly are you coming, on what day?” Matteo asked, “Because, uhm… actually, I have an idea. We’ll be at Italy for a couple of days at the start of summer, so what if we fly to you after that and then we fly back to Argentina together.”
***
“I wonder what Matteo bribed Luna with to get her on this early morning flight,” Gastón said to Nina as they were walking towards Luna and Matteo’s arrival gate at 9:35 the morning at Heathrow.
“I honestly don’t know, or do I want to know,” Nina shook her head and turned to look at Gastón’s watch, “When is it landing?”
“In ten minutes,” Gastón said pulling her closer by the waist as they sat down. “We better enjoy the quiet while we can.”
“You know you miss them,” Nina rolled her eyes at him before leaning her head in his shoulder, “But it probably will take a while until they can get off. I can’t imagine Luna and the baggage claim conveyer belt are good friends. Remember when she was convinced that she had lost her bag at Cancun during Roda Fest?”
“Good times,” Gastón laughed before brushing a strand of hair back behind Nina’s ear. He looked like he was about to lean in to kiss her when a burst of people started coming out of the arrivals gate.
There was no sign of Luna and Matteo until the crowd started dwindling.
“¿Estás seguro de que esta es la dirección correcta?” A bubbly voice all a sudden was heard at the terminal.
“Yes, this is the right direction.”
“But are you sure? We need to find them.”
“I have been here before… I am sure.”
Nina and Gastón raised their heads to see a couple walk out of the gate. Luna was hard to miss in the crowd while she was wearing a flagrantly bright rainbow summer dress.
“But are they here?” Luna was jumping on her tiptoes on the platform sneakers she was wearing, “What if they went to the wrong gate?”
“They didn’t,” Nina and Gastón saw Matteo and Luna’s heads turn towards them and they got up from the bench they had been sitting. “They’re right there.”
“AAAAAAAaaaaaahhhh!” Nina felt Gastón detach his arm from around her, just a few moments before she was tackled into an extremely tight hug. Wasn’t Luna just at the other side of the terminal? Well, maybe she had finally actually learned to fly. “I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!”
“I missed you too.” Nina hugged Luna back, and Luna tightened her grip, so it got hard to breathe for a moment.
“You look so good!” Luna still kept jumping up and down after she had released Nina, “You have not fully turned into a “posh English lady” on me?” Luna joked.
“No, never,” Nina laughed. She turned to look at Gastón who was just coming out of his own hug with Matteo.
“I honestly can’t believe this! You’re together again. True love really conquers all!” Luna gushed after tackling Gastón in a hug as well.
“I am with her,” Matteo laughed, “I honestly needed to see this in person, so now I can fully believe it.”
“You need a demonstration?” Nina saw Gastón smirk before his arm wrapped around her pulling her into a kiss.
***
“So, you are looking very well,” Matteo nudged Gastón with his elbow. They had separated from the girls at first when they had arrived at campus because Luna had wanted to see Nina’s room. “Such a different tune from the fall.”
“Well, it is hard to mask how happy she makes me.” Gastón smiled as he opened the door to his room. Oliver and Jacob had left to their homes earlier during the week.
“And everything that comes with it?” Matteo raised an eyebrow suggestively as he sat down.
“Well, I don’t have any reasons to complain,” Gastón nodded his head, “She’s amazing, in any way imaginable. Even though I do sometimes fear that Nina’s mother is getting ready to wring my neck for what we have been doing, like she probably would have when Nina was 17.”
“Are you in a relationship if you are not scared of your in-laws?” Matteo laughed, “Oh, I can finally say this in person. Congratulations, you’re no longer acting like an idiot!”
“You been waiting for a long time to say that huh?” Gastón punched Matteo lightly on the shoulder.
“Yes!” Matteo punched him right back, “I have been watching you to be the biggest mess in your life when it has come to Nina for FOUR years now… it’s finally over! I am just so happy about you two being happy.”
“I mean, I could say the same about you and Luna—” Gastón was interrupted by the door opening. Had he not locked it and the girls were coming… No, they would have heard them afar.
“I thought you left in the morning?” Gastón asked as James suddenly walked through the door.
“Series of unfortunate events… because I don’t have a car,” James leaned on the doorframe, “Dad’s picking me up…” James moved his eyes in the room and finally noticed Matteo, “...I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had company. Wait… are you Matteo?”
“En vivo y en persona.” Matteo got up from the bed, while eyeing James verily. Gastón had not really considered how this meeting would go down before this moment. Matteo out of principle wasn’t the biggest fan of Gastón’s other friends —whom he had never met until now— because he was a bit territorial about their friendship. On the other hand, Matteo did know that what he and Gastón had was never going to be broken.
“Matteo, be nice.” He said in Spanish.
“I am always nice,” Matteo rolled his eyes before offering his hand to James and switching to English, “Matteo Balsano, Gastón’s best friend.”
“James Wilson,” James shook Matteo’s hand, “Nice to finally meet you, since I have heard a lot about you. Plus, I have heard you multiple times, but never understood what was being said.”
“Yeah, Spanish can be a hard language to master… But I managed to do it once upon a time.” Matteo deadpanned. Gastón found this scene purely comical.
“So, you are flying to Buenos Aires in the evening?”
“Yeah,” Gastón answered James, “Matteo and his girlfriend flew here from Italy, so we can go back together. Nina’s showing her around.”
“Oh yeah, you finally got to meet her,” James directed his words to Matteo who threw Gastón a side glance. “I am sure you have heard all about everything to do with Nina, so you definitely can agree that it definitely was such a relief that Gastón stopped being an idiot.”
“Yeah, I have a lot of experience with him being an idiot when it comes to girls. Nina’s no exception” Matteo started saying, his side eye towards Gastón growing “But yep, I have met her… for the first time.”
“Don’t oversell it,” Gastón said to Matteo in Spanish so James couldn’t hear. “We should probably go find the girls.”
“James, I see you at the fall.” He patted James on the back as he and Matteo walked out of the door.
“How long are you gonna keep this up?” Matteo questioned as they were walking down a hallway, “These guys still don’t know about your crazy quest for the invisible internet girl?”
“Or that I knew her before at all,” Gastón shook his head, “I even told them that Luna’s name is Sol, because otherwise, it would look quite weird that my best friend's girlfriend has the exact same name as Nina’s best friend.”
“You do know that you need to tell them someday,” Matteo continued, “You can’t lie to save your life, so I am surprised that anyone has ever bought this. They’ll find out during the wedding anyway.”
“When have you become this wise?” Gastón nudged Matteo with his elbow.
“I have always been like it,” Matteo shrugged laughing, “But don’t change the subject. They need to know before the wedding.” He looked at Gastón smirking, “What? We both know that that’s the endgame here. Not like you haven’t thought about it.”
“Of course, I have.” Gastón smiled. He had thought about it, maybe a little too much for only being 20, but he couldn’t help it. That was the only future he saw in his mind. “But, we've only been together again for a little over a month. We can’t just pick up where we left off and were young. Nina’s 19. Ana would actually kill me. I guess there is no rush, if we're being realistic here. It’s not like you have any proposal plans yet either.”
“Hey! We were talking about you!” Matteo pointed a finger at Gastón.
“It’s really good to have you back!” Gastón started laughing.
“You too,” Matteo hugged him suddenly, “I honestly missed you, a lot.”
***
“Are your roommates here?” Luna asked while skipping ahead of Nina in the stairwell.
“No, I told you, Marlee and Ariana went home earlier this week.” Nina explained as she opened the door to the level where her room was located.
“Awww, thats sad.” Luna hung her head as they walked on a hallway, “They sound awesome, I would like to meet them.”
“I am sure you will,” Nina said as she opened her dorm room’s door.
“Uuuuuuu, this room is nice,” Luna gushed as they walked into the room. It was a little more bare than normal as Marlee and Ariana had taken most of their things home. “But have you been staying here alone now that they’ve gone?”
“No, I haven’t been staying here,” Nina said as she sat on her bed. “Gastón’s roommates are also gone, so I have been spending the night there.”
“Oh, right,” Luna said while jumping next to Nina, “So, do you need any help with packing?”
“I got everything sorted out yesterday,” Nina said while pointing to the suitcase next to the bed. That had been one of the only times she had actually been back in her room after Oliver and Jacob had been gone. Staying in separate rooms with Gastón didn’t make any sense when they weren’t forced to do it.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Are we going to eat or what?” Matteo and Gastón appeared through the door, “I am starving.”
*
Nina and Gastón were sitting at the table with Ana. They had arrived in Buenos Aires the morning the day before and stayed at Gastón’s house. Nina’s mom had insisted that they come to have lunch with her as soon as they arrived.
Ana knew about them already, Nina had told her parents pretty soon after they had talked to Gastón’s parents. Their friends at Buenos Aires on the other hand… still had no idea, but they had a plan… or part of it. After they were done with Ana they were going to meet with Luna and Matteo at the mansion.
According to their plan, Simon and Ambar would be the first ones to be told. Luna and Matteo had told them that Nina would be visiting. After that, they would figure out how to tell the others.
“Isla and Marco must be happy to have you back,” Ana said addressing Gastón.
“Well, they would be,” Gastón laughed, “If they were here. They’re in Columbia. They were actually quite mad, that we were coming back while they were gone. But they’ll be back next week, and I will get no peace.”
“Well, I understand them quite well,” Ana turned toward Nina, “I would be the same way if you came back while I wasn’t here.”
“Well, you never travel anyway,” Nina rolled her eyes, “So you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Why would I want to travel? Ana continued, “There is plenty of justice in need to serving right here in Buenos Aires. Not like your father, who seems to be very at home at Miami.”
“You know Dad’s very happy there,” Nina responded, “What would he need to be here anyway? I’m not here. Oh, did you get those boxes I asked for?”
“Yes, I did.” Ana said, “What do you need them for?”
“I need to sort out my stuff so I can ship some of it over.” Nina answered. She had thought she had already explained this to Mom. “I am not going to be gone forever. We talked about this. Just until I am done with my degree. If you feel lonely you can just say so.”
“Actually, have you talked to Mora lately?”
“No, not really,” Nina furrowed her brow.
“Well, she’s coming back from Milan.” Ana smiled.
*
“What are you looking at?” Nina asked as she walked back to her room after grabbing couple things from downstairs. Her mother had left to meet a client so Nina and Gastón had been left alone. They had few hours before they had agreed to meet up with Luna and Matteo.
Gastón had been standing in front of her nightstand looking at something. Nina walked behind him. He was holding the framed picture from her graduation with everyone, in his hand.
“You were very beautiful,” His head turned towards her for a moment. There was clear sadness in his eyes. “I should have been there.”
“No one can blame you for not being,” Nina wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him from behind. “You were across the ocean and had a lot of things going on. Renishaw is more than a formidable place to have an internship at as a freshman and look where it has gotten you now.”
“That's what I said to Matteo, but I was lying,” Gastón put the photo back down, “If I would have tried, I could have come to see your performance live at the River Live Fest, Luna’s party, and to your graduation. Mom and Dad have miles for the rest of my life… I just couldn’t do it. It wouldn’t have been fair to you and… I couldn’t have borne to see you, with him.”
“I can’t blame you for that either.”
“He’s not in this picture.”
“I broke up with him the day before,” Nina explained. She still felt guilty when she thought of that. “So, he obviously didn’t show up. I don’t know what happened with him afterward, except that he doesn’t work at Roller anymore. Maybe it’s for the best that we don’t see each other, I hurt Eric way too much for it to be fair for us to be friends.”
“You could never hurt anybody.” Gastón turned around and ran his finger on Nina’s cheek.
“But I have, and probably will in the future.” Nina shook her head before looking into his eyes, “Why are we even talking about my ex? There’s no point to that, he’s gone, and I am in love with you. I only hope that he is happy, the way I am.”
Gastón pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around Nina as she leaned her head on his chest. Her mind turned to peaceful almost at once.
“So, I am pretty sure your stuff isn’t going to pack itself,” Gastón said looking around in Nina’s room. “Are you taking those photos?”
“Should I?” Nina asked looking at her nightstand, “Did you pack the ones you have from your graduation?”
“Yes. I thought I’d take that whole album.” Gastón nodded, “It’s just something nice to have. Those are good pictures.”
“I agree,” Nina said, turning her head, “I’ll look through some of the books I have here, see if I wanna take any.”
She was leaning forward on the bookcase when she felt fingers trace down on her spine.
“What are you doing?” She turned around and Gastón’s arm grabbed her tight around the waist.
“Well, just a thought. I did some calculations, and we have more than plenty of time on our hands and your mother’s gone…”
“We were supposed be packing.” A smile formed on Nina’s lips as his hand moved to her hip, caging her against the wall next to the bookcase. She had no actual intention of fighting his intentions, she had truthfully thought about it herself. Gastón was just the one who acted on more daring impulses faster.
“We can 100 percent get it done, but now that we’re alone, and will probably be hounded by everyone the rest of the day when we get to the mansion.”
“Aha.”
***
“Welcome!” Luna and Matteo were waiting for them at the mansion’s gate when Gastón drove his car up to the gate.
“Is everything in order?” Nina asked Luna as they started walking across the garden.
“Yes,” Luna was practically bouncing. “Simon and Ambar are thinking that just Nina is coming.”
“Pedro’s not here,” Matteo continued, “He’s out with Delfi, house hunting. Or not house hunting exactly but looking for an apartment so they can move in together.”
“Oh, I just love surprises!” Luna jumped up.
“Lets just hope it’s a good one,” Gastón ran his hand on the back of his neck. He had been detached from the rest of the group, you couldn’t get around that fact, so he was a little nervous.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Luna looked at him. “When has love not been good news?”
“Well, it will be a surprise,” Nina reached to take Gastón’s hand, “No one knows that we even ended up at the same campus.”
“I can’t wait to see Simon’s face,” Matteo laughed.
“I’m excited!” Luna jumped again as they got to the door.
“Here we go,” Gastón shared a look with Nina and tightened his grip on her hand as Luna opened the door and four of them walked inside the mansion. The hall was empty.
“Hey!” Luna yelled inside the house and winked an eye to the others, “SHE’S HERE!”
After a moment, footstep started approaching them.
“Nina’s here already?” Ambar, wearing pastels once more, emerged from direction of the kitchen, Simon behind her. “So great that you’re back…”
Ambar’s voice trailed off as Gastón felt both of hers and Simon’s eyes focus on him. Amber clearly was attempting to minimize the shock on her face.
Simon on the other hand did not even try: “What?”
*
“You need to tell us everything,” Ambar said once everyone was sitting down at the mansion’s living room. “I mean, we knew nothing about this at all.”
“Well, it’s a long story,” Gastón said looking at Nina, “We will probably never know how this happened, but someone somewhere was clearly on my side. I have mentioned my friends before, Jacob, Oliver, James, but important to this are Ariana and Marlee.”
“Who just happened to be my roommates,” Nina continued, “So it was kind of impossible to avoid each other.”
“We bumped into her on the first day, not that I knew that Nina was there, Matteo.” Gastón shot a side-eye towards his best friend, “So I thought I was hallucinating for a second. But that being said, it was just impossible to stay away from her. Should have known that from the other times I tried that. It’s impossible.”
“We all know that fighting against something that is inevitable has no use,” Simon said draping his arm around Ambar.
“But you kept this under wraps really well,” Ambar continued, “I mean, I am gonna be honest here, many of us, me included were curious of what would become of you now that Nina had come to Oxford, but then we heard nothing.” Then she suddenly turned toward Luna and Matteo, “I also can’t believe that you two knew about this and somehow kept it secret.”
“I can keep a secret.” Luna protested.
“Well, yes, you can, but I thought you would have been bouncing off the walls.”
“She was, trust me.” Matteo remarked, “Not like they told us right away either, though.”
“It was two weeks,” Gastón rolled his eyes, “And you were the first to know before anybody else.”
“How did your other friends react?” Simon asked.
“Well, thats the thing,” Gastón smiled shortly, “They do not know. I mean they know that were together and I had to deal with month of nagging about needing to ask Nina out, not just from Matteo. All they know that I had a girlfriend in Buenos Aires who I left… they don’t know that Nina’s the same person.”
“Seriously?” Simon and Ambar looked astonished, “That kind of secret is almost impossible to keep.”
“They don’t speak any Spanish, so we don’t need to worry about saying something and being overheard,” Nina started talking. Gastón slid his arm on her waist, lacing his left-hand fingers with hers. “We know that we need to tell them at some point, but don’t exactly know how. Yet anyway.”
“It is one step at the time, right now.” Gastón continued, “Right now, we need to tell you all that we’re back together. You we’re the first ones after Luna and Matteo, then there are the rest.”
“Do you have any plan for that?” Luna asked, “Because Ramiro took Jim and Yam to Chile.”
“Thats the problem, not everyone is even here.” Nina breathed.
“I might have an idea,” Ambar perked up suddenly.
“All the help is welcomed.”
“Okay good,” Ambar continued, “Unlock your phones and give them to me.”
“Okay…” Gastón and Nina handed their phones to Ambar.
“So, I trust, when the case is two of you, that you have pictures.” Ambar looked very focused, “Preferably one where you are kissing.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Perfect. Now everyone else, mute the group chat.” Ambar chucked her own phone to Simon. “So, I have your permission to do this?” She looked at Nina and Gastón.
“Yes.”
“Great,” Ambar smiled and handed them their phones back. “Now everyone will definitely know within the hour. If I have learned anything from Delfi and Jazmin, it is that news travel quickly.”
“Well, now that thats done, tell me everything about Oxford.” Ambar continued, “It must be so beautiful.”
“It truly is,” Nina started saying, “I feel like I have learned more during this year than I have in my whole life. The language was a bit challenging at first, but I am starting to get the hang of it.”
“She is already showing signs of a British accent,” Gastón turned to look at her, “So she is definitely getting the hang of it.”
“Those two won’t speak any Spanish anymore once they return to us for good,” Matteo laughed.
“Well, we’ll see in four years.” Gastón rolled his eyes again toward Matteo.
“Four years?” Simon questioned.
“Until I graduate,” Nina explained.
“Are you coming back then too?” Ambar looked at Gastón. “I thought you’d be doing a PhD.”
“Oh no, I am not doing that,” He shook his head, “I did think about it at some point, but no. It would be way too much effort right now and masters in science and technology from Oxford will get me way ahead in life already. I can get that doctorate later if I want, but I don’t wanna spend all my twenties studying. There are other things I want out of life.”
“I am just going to sit here and pretend to know what you are talking about,” Simon laughed, “I was talking to Mom the other day and happen to mention that two of my friends go to Oxford and for a moment she did not believe that I have winded up in the such sophisticated crowd, especially with Ambar at law-school. Rico and Julio, my brothers, flat out didn’t believe me.”
“Well, everyone has their own paths,” Nina nodded, “How are you doing with Pedro and the band?”
“Still figuring it out,” Simon grimaced, “But we’re optimistic. It is really not the same with no Nico.”
“Nico still having fun at New York?” Matteo crossed his arms, “We haven’t heard of him in a while.”
“Thats the thing,” Simon continued furrowing his brow, “I am not sure… He and Ada have not worked out.”
“Maybe he’ll come back then!” Luna piped up.
“We can hope that.” Simon shook his head smiling.
“Lot of people are coming back now,” Ambar said looking down, “I mean I came back from pretty much oblivion… and honestly I should thank you.” She turned to look at Gastón. “You don’t need to be this nice to me, last we saw each other I was skating for the Sliders.”
“Actually, it was during the Open,” Gastón responded. Honestly, he didn’t see any reason to be mad at Ambar. He had heard many good things about how she had turned things around.
“I have been trying to compartmentalize the Red Sharks out of my mind.” Ambar closed her eyes.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. We’re fine. I have known you for a long time, and honestly proud of you.”
“How long have you known each other?” Simon leaned forward, curious.
“Since third grade?” Ambar counted with her fingers, “I am not doing the math right now. I went my whole comprehensive schooling at La Hoja de roble.”
“And I started there when I was nine,” Gastón added, “So yeah, third grade checks out. If I remember correctly both Delfi and Jazmin both started there in the fifth grade.”
“Did you go to that school as well?” Luna asked Matteo.
“Yep, I started there at eighth grade. Probably like a week or two after the semester actually started, because Dad’s moving schedule of course couldn’t possibly let me start school like a normal person.”
“Yep, I saved your skin during the chemistry class.” Gastón laughed.
“Thats not what happened!” Matteo countered. “I had it under control.”
“It didn’t look like it,” Gastón shook his head, “You were absolutely lost with Mr. Patrena’s whiteboard.”
“He was the worst,” Ambar huffed, “How anybody ever learned anything from his classes, is beyond me.”
Suddenly they heard the noise of mansion’s door opening.
“Have you seen this—??!!” Delfi walked through the door, Pedro trying to keep up with her pace behind her, her phone in her hand. They both stopped in their tracks as they saw everyone at the living room.
“Yes, we have,” Ambar spoke first, “Live, actually.”
“It really is true?” Delfi and Pedro turned to look at Gastón and Nina.
The Team of Jam&Roller
Ramiro: What?
Jim: IIIiiiiiiIIIIIiiiiIII!! 💗💜💚💙💛
Yam: Omg!!💙💙💙💙
Ramiro: Cool
Jazmin: I need an interview now!
Gastón: No.
Nina: No
{}
Hey! Has anyone been missing the Roller Crew? Well, don't worry, we got them back for a chapter because I miss them too. The reason why I made Simbar to be the first to find out about Gastina is because they will have a strong friendship with each other in my canon. This was the start.
Little spoiler here, but you'd know this if you've red SI: Simon and Ambar will come to attend Gastón's graduation, and they will eventually become the godparents to Gastón and Nina's second child. Plus, Simbar with Lutteo are the ones who have had to face the odds when it comes to their love, and they are the Holy Trinity of Ships, who need to be a trio. You know how I feel about that if you read MOT.
Also Gastón and Ambar, having known each other the longest, is a nod to Aliados, a show which Agustin and Valentina were both in before Soy Luna (They actually played love interests, and yes it was trippy).
And for my Swifty readers, I know that you always find a way back home is technically not a Taylor song, but she did write it so fair game
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A story in the Soy Luna universe. Simon and Ambar. Season 3.
Ao3 . Wattpad
Wherever Luna Valente is, a buzz of activity surrounds her. She’s in the middle of the cafeteria, chatting animatedly with the Roller Jam team about yet another idea she has for the costumes of their next choreography.
The words glitter and amazing come up more than twice.
Of course they do, Ambar thinks, rolling her eyes. The scene unfolding in front of her, though not unusual, still manages to annoy her. Here she is, buried in her papers trying to keep a whole business afloat, one that provides both everyone's entertainment and several jobs, while sweet, cheerful Luna Valente is picking colour themes like she doesn’t have a care in the world apart from skating. Ambar watches as the group agrees with her ideas, praising her imagination and artistic spirit.
Flowers. She suppresses her inner Miranda Prisley. For spring? Groundbreaking.
Not only they’re shamelessly agreeing with everything her -former- sworn enemy suggests, -that’s what friends are supposed to do- they are doing it in Ambar's face, and loudly. She hasn’t seen that level of excitement since, probably the last time Luna made a suggestion.
Ugh, where can one get some peace around here? Ambar wonders, looking at her folder for answers. The papers stare at her wordlessly, refusing to pick sides. The presence of the calculator mocks her, as if there’s a chance of being able to focus with so much noise around her.
She gathers up her things and gets up to leave, when a body collides with hers sending said cowardly calculator flying around, along with a few papers and a good chunk of Ambar’s dignity. The rest of it slowly evaporates as she looks up to see whose -warm- body impedes her exit.
“Not a fan of the flower painted skates?” Simon asks as he crouches to gather her things. Ambar looks down to see him smiling at her, as if he is amused by her annoyance.
"You know I prefer black and silver”. She answers sarcastically, both knowing her annoyed face isn’t about the skate colour at all. “But there’s no way Luna and her friends could pull them off, so this floral it is”. She motions to take her things as he gets up, his smile meeting her icy gaze.
"I know they can be a lot. You need some quiet to work, right?” he asks, his eyes full of understanding.
She nods, not expecting he’d get her so easily, but again, it’s Simon. Guitarist with a heart of gold. And arms of a greek god, her mind supplies unhelpfully.
"I get it, Ambar. But be nicer, they are brainstorming for the competition”. His eyes are begging her to understand. The competition and Luna are important to him.
"Should they be doing it here? If I listen to one more conversation about tulle I’m going to lose my mind, Simon!” she exclaims, her hand lifting in a desperate attempt to communicate her frustration.
Simon barks a laugh, quickly hiding it behind his hand, as if it would insult his friends. Said friends are deeply engrossed in tulle themed conversation to notice them. His eyes are still shining playfully when they meet hers. The brown orbs are focused on her and it doesn’t fail to nudge that longing in her insides that she constantly tries to push down. Maybe that’s why he does it, maybe he’s aware of the effect his gaze has on her.
Before she gets more lost in her unexplored feelings, Simon interrupts her thoughts.
"They’ll go back to practice in the rink in a few minutes. You’ll have the place almost to yourself. In the meantime, do you want to take a walk around, clear your head? I’ll have a smoothie waiting when you come back.”
Though the idea of space right now is enticing, there’s one thing missing from being perfect.
"Only if you come with me.” His eyes spark as they try to decipher her intentions. “Just a few minutes. You haven’t taken a break yet”. Damn, the last one she shouldn’t have said.
"You’re keeping tabs on me, senorita Ambar”.
"Because I am your boss, Simon.” she clarifies. As if this is the only motive for watching him waiting tables, playing the guitar, laughing at Nico’s jokes and being a goofball all day long. Her goofball, she hopes, someday.
"Right, boss”, he plays along. “Since you’re asking so nicely, I will accompany you.” he motions to Nico that he’s taking a break, ignoring his friend's dagger filled look and they head for the door.
Ambar hides her smile.
They're in this bottomless limbo these days, Simon and her. She had apologized for the secret she kept from Luna, he's trying to figure out if he'll continue to give her chances to prove herself. It seems like every interaction they have has angry undertones and there's a place in her soul that's gaping open, longing for the kind of selfless affection only Simon has ever given her. This new normal they have fallen into is a poor substitute for what she knows they can have again.
Simon's mind seems to be in similar plains. His eyebrows furrow and casts a tentative look in her way.
"This doesn’t mean I have forgiven you, Ambar. Nor that I’ll play along next time you hide something from Luna", he asserts. He casts his sight downwards and Ambar's eyes fall to his necklace. She's dying to ask about the story behind his pendant. Maybe another time, when they're alright again.
"I know, I know, Simon, I am apologizing again-"
"-or cover for you again next time you and your teammates have an evil plan. I am tired of it. I won’t do it to my friends", he says as they cross the street, the tall trees of the park welcoming them.
"You mean you’re tired of me?” She stops walking and looks at him, the vulnerability evident in her eyes. She bares her soul to him, in this moment she’s wide open.
"No, no. I didn’t mean that, Ambar.” He stops and puts a hand to her shoulder to comfort her. It’s a quick gesture, but she feels relieved. “You know I didn’t mean that”, he says quietly, almost to himself. His hand caresses her shoulder once more and returns to his pocket.
They continue walking, a veil of silence upon them. It’s not uncomfortable, Ambar thinks, but this is the park where they had such emotional conversations and the memories it brings are too emotional to ignore. They're walking along the place where she started opening up to him, all those months ago. She remembers the person she was before finding and confiding in him, how alone and powerless she felt. The memory of his kind words and understanding eyes would seem worlds away, if he wasn’t looking at her with the same openness now. Now, after everything she’d done to him and his friends, after him coming face to face with her darkness and being on the opposite side of her evil plans. He still chooses to see the best in her, even now that he has ample evidence of her worst side.
She’s feeling her emotions build up as they walk side by side, looking in front but very aware of each other’s presence. It’s almost surreal that in the eyes of the world they are on completely opposing sides, yet in their own little universe. They’re walking close, in the same direction.
Time to start bridging the gap, Ambar thinks and she feels a spark in her fingers. She closes the small distance between them, and softly caresses Simon's hand, linking their fingers together. She squeezes his hand as her eyes close, basking in the warmth of their link. Simon looks at her surprised, but she’s avoiding her eyes and looks straight ahead. She’s smiling, a secret smile she reserves for private moments. He squeezes her hand back timidly.
"Simon." Their eyes meet. "I know there are many things left to fix between us to even think about the possibility of us. I know I have more apologies to make and steps to take before I’m ready for another chance." He seems surprised by her sudden honesty. "But please, only for the 15 minutes left in your break, let’s pretend we're in that happy place where we've resolved our issues. Let's say we’re there, together. Just the two of us, like this.” she tucks her head on his shoulder, sighting happily. She molds herself to his side, basking in his warmth.
Affection doesn’t come naturally to Ambar, having grown up with a cold and distant mother figure can do that. But with Simon, it felt second nature, his body always responding to her touch.
"Pretend we’re together? Simon asks. The way he holds her, he seems to enjoy the idea of acting the part of a normal couple, without obstacles in their way. He squeezes her hand and whispers “Like a glimpse into the future?”
Hearing the hope in his voice, it almost brings tears to her eyes. This man, this loyal, loving man. She slows down their walking and finally stops in front of him. She searches in his eyes and only finds honesty and longing. They will get through this.
She untagles her hand from his, only to go for a long hug. He immediately envelops her in his arms, resting on her midriff and her hair. Ambar rests her cheek on his chest, hearing the steady thud of his heartbeat. She could stay hours like this.
“Like a glimpse into the future”, she affirms softly. Simon arms squeeze her, the unspoken emotion bursting through his skin. She hasn’t felt safer and lighter than in his arms.
She feels a soft kiss pressed into her hair. For the first time in a while, she lets herself hope.
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