Heartstrings || Joshua Hong

Chapter 11

Rina POV

School resumed shortly right after the New Year and the weeks passed by normally. Joshua and I got along with neither of us brave enough to bring up the topic of the confession, and thankfully Alex hadn't shown up again to bother me.

 Then came Saturday, January 26th. The day of Winter Formal. 

"Are you sure you don't wanna come to the dance?", Joshua asked for the hundredth time over the phone. 

"For the last time, I'd be down, but I have plans with my family tonight. Have fun with Sera, though, and tell me 'bout how it goes later!", I teased, clicking my tongue.

"Tsk, you're so mean, Rina. Alright, see you at church tomorrow then." The phone beeped as we hung up. Of course in a perfect world, I would've loved to be the one going to the dance with Joshua, but one, it was my fault for being such an oblivious dunce and two, I just couldn't ruin it for Sera, my best friend. 

 "Rina sweetie, if you're not doing anything right now, will you go do a grocery run for me? We need to get ready for the dinner tonight", my mom said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I agreed and headed out the door with her shopping list. 

I nearly screamed when I saw who was standing out on my street. 

"OH MY FUC- YAH, ALEX RHEE, YOU SCARED ME! ARE YOU A STALKER?? I'm calling the police!" I frantically fumbled with my phone, dialing 911, when Alex walked over and grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Ew, get your hands off of me, you creep!!" I shoved his arm away. Every extra minute of standing near him disgusted me to no end. 

"Rina, hey, listen to me for a sec, okay? I'm sorry for showing up unannounced all of a sudden, but I have a lot to say, so please just hear me out", he begged, "Plus, your parents shared your address with mine before you left for some reason, so yeah..." 

"What? I-I...don't know...I just-" I could feel the same hot tears threatening to fall again. 

"Please. Just this once." I really should have walked away at that moment, but the Rina from seven months ago lead me to follow him. I nodded without a word, and gestured to him to lead the way. 

Alex breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, saying, "Let's go take a walk by the beach. I remember how much you loved doing that back in Delray." I continued walking in silence. 

--

"...so yeah, that's why I did what I did back then. I was a complete coward and fool, only thinking about my own security without considering how hard it must've been for you. I know apologizing over and over probably means nothing to you now, but Rina, I'm truly sorry and honestly, I've never stopped liking you since then. Seeing you again at that park a month ago was probably the best thing that could've ever happen to me, and I'm here now humbly asking you for a second chance. Please. I promise I will never run away from you again", Alex finished, letting out a deep breath of air after his final request. 

My fingers played with the warm, powdery sand under my feet as I let all that sink in. The me from back then would've given anything to hear this from him. If I wasn't careful, I might've fallen for him all over again.

Except. Joshua Hong happened, and I couldn't choose anyone over him. Not even Alex, my first love. 

"Rina? Hello, is anyone there? Rina Song?" Alex waved his hand over my face, snapping me back into the present. 

"Huh? Oh, s-sorry. That was just...a lot to take in", I muttered quietly.

He sighed again and gave an empty laugh. "You're thinking about someone else right now, aren't you?"

I looked up in surprise. "Hm? No no, I'm just thinking." 

"It's fine, Rina, you can't fool me. Your mind's a million miles away." Alex stood up and brushed some sand off of himself, and reached out his hand to help me up. "Let's just get going, shall we? Think about what I said, and answer me later. I can wait as long as it takes." 

I couldn't agree or disagree, so I just got up and started walking back ahead of him, my brain stirring with cloudy thoughts. 

--

Sera POV 

This was it. Winter Formal. It was now or never. 

Joshua had been an absolute gentleman the whole night, showing up at my door in a clean, sleek tuxedo, matching colors with me, and paying for my dinner. I knew he was straining himself, but I couldn't have been happier. 

Around 10PM, the dance started winding down and I motioned to Joshua that we could get going. Heading out to his car, I stopped at a mostly secluded area and called out to him.

"Hey, Joshua. I...have something to tell you." I could feel my heart nearly beating out of my chest and hoped he wouldn't hear it.

"What is it, Sera?" He sounded tired. I paused. No, I had to do this.

"Joshua...I like you. I've liked you ever since freshman year. You might not remember, but you helped me out when I was getting bullied. Since then, you've always been a gentleman to me and I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being there for me when no one else was. I might just be another one of your fangirls to you, but I wanted to thank you at least once. I...really like you a lot." My cheeks probably matched the shade of red of my dress by now and I could've died of embarrassment right then and there. To my surprise, Joshua didn't run away screaming, so that was a plus. 

"Thanks for telling me, Sera. Yeah...I'm sorry I've been lumping you in with those stupid girls for all these years, but thank you for clearing it up. I'm happy that you feel this way about me, but...um...I have someone else I like right now. I'm really sorry." 
--
Flashback to one month ago (Chapter 10):

"Oh, be right back, I have to take this call", Rina said, picking up her phone and heading out of the living room. I nodded and my eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of who was calling. 

Call from "gentleman, who?"  

I smiled sadly to myself. That nickname could only mean one person.

A few moments later, Rina came back saying, "Sera, I'm so sorry, but I totally forgot I had practice today. Talk to you later, okay?" 

"Oh okay, see you later! Have fun!", I called out as she left. 

Well, that's it then. I've lost. 
--

I looked straight into Joshua's beautiful eyes and admitted, "I know, it's okay. I'm just glad that I could tell you...Thanks for a great night and best of luck to you and that lucky girl!" If I stayed there any longer, my tears would've spilled, so I looked down and made my way over to his car quickly. 

Rina Song, you better not mess this one up, girl. 

--

A/N Yay, two updates in a row since I was feeling inspired :) 

Also, I promise no more new characters will get in the way lol thank you for your patience up til now y'all