(Revised: 03/04/2023. Writing quality will go down after this, beware.)
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Ámbar checked the time on her cell phone and frowned.
After working in the nearby park for about two hours to avoid her teammates, she chanced to return to the Roller and found that, fortunately, Benicio and Emilia had left. Relieved, she'd taken a seat on one of the wide couches, where she'd been working for a while now, so she couldn't help but wonder where Simón was since she hadn't seen him at all. He was supposed to be on a break now, actually, it had started some time ago, but still nothing. It wasn't like he had to be with her 24/7, of course, but she thought... Well, normally he would've at least gone to Pedro to play some songs, but she could see Pedro and he was by himself.
After about ten minutes of constantly searching the Roller for his face, Ámbar finally admitted that she simply wanted to see Simón. No, they didn't have to be together 24/7, but if she missed him, she could look for him, right? They were dating— finally, after so long— there was nothing wrong with it.
She got up from her seat and went to do exactly that. She started by checking the lockers since that was where he had been working earlier but she didn't find him. She checked the rink next, but he wasn't there either. She was starting to think that maybe he had gone out when she finally found him inside the dressing room, playing the guitar as he sang.
She smiled to herself, listening from the door. She loved to see him in his element. Once the last chord trailed off, she came closer, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind.
"Here you are, I've been looking for you," she told him, leaving a quick kiss on his cheek. Simón tensed up immediately and got off his chair, startling her a little with how quickly he broke free of her hold. She watched bemused as he moved to leave his guitar next to the mirror.
"What? Oh, come on," she teased him, "if you tell me I can't even touch you when we're alone then this 'going slow' thing is not going to work, let me tell you—"
"Luna found out," he said gravely. He turned around but avoided her gaze. "About the switch of Felipe's number."
Ámbar's smile disappeared.
"What?" She breathed out, not managing to say much else. That was when she noticed the dejection clinging onto his frame, the slight redness in his eyes, and the tell-tale glint of held-back tears. Suddenly, she understood why he'd been singing 'Eres', and her heart grew heavy with worry. "How?"
"We were in the lockers and I was just about to tell her when Ramiro walked in and spat everything out. He thought I had already told her."
Ámbar blinked, processing what he had just said. "Wait... You were going to give me away?"
Simón must've heard the hurt in her voice because he finally looked at her.
"No. I mean, I was going to tell her but not to accuse you. I thought it would be better if she heard it from me first so she'd be more willing to listen to you after," he explained. Ámbar supposed it made sense, but she didn't really get a chance to dwell further on how she felt about it because Simón kept talking, pain evident in his voice. "But it doesn't matter, because she found out by Ramiro and now she's furious with me. She won't answer my texts, my calls... Luna doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, and it's all because I didn't tell her sooner because I was waiting for you!" He exclaimed.
Ámbar almost flinched as his words stung. Her heart was racing, flashbacks of a situation very similar to this one flashing through her memory. She tried to focus on what was happening now.
"What do you mean Luna doesn't want anything to do with you? You didn't do anything." She could understand she was angry, but completely ignoring him?
"Yeah I did something— I trusted you!" Simón shot at her, the words and the pain in them digging into her chest like a knife. "You promised you would talk to her and you didn't, Ámbar!"
"I was going to!" She exclaimed frantically. The bitter disbelief on Simón's face was obvious. "Truly!" She insisted. "I admit I was putting it off because I had a thousand things on my mind, but I was going to talk to her after the Open. But then I had other things on my mind," she gestured between them, "and that was more important— Are you really going to blame me for forgetting with everything that happened?!"
Simón averted his gaze again. Ámbar could literally see the guilt devour him alive and she felt like slapping herself. She hadn't meant to make him feel worse. Damn it, this wasn't even his fault to begin with!
Simón sat back down on the chair, dejected, looking down at his hands. "I should've told her the truth," he said quietly. "I found out and I stayed quiet about it and now I fear Luna will never trust me again."
"She will trust you."
"How?"
"Because it wouldn't be fair otherwise!" Ámbar protested. Outrage flared in her gut because she hated seeing him like this, berating himself, when all he'd done was try to do the best for everyone. "Yes, you didn't tell her but, it has been what? Two days? It's not like you've known for months," she defended. "It was just a small secret, she can't be that mad at you for that. I mean, how many other things have you done for her? A thousand. Hell, you came from Mexico just for her! What has she done for you?"
Simón shook his head, looking up at her. "One doesn't do things expecting something in return, Ámbar."
"No, but she could at least appreciate all you've done for her," she retorted.
He just looked down once more, not saying anything. Clearly, he didn't see things her way. He wasn't going to turn this on Luna, he was too good to do that, and felt too guilty. Deep down, she understood. Luna was his best friend and he felt he had let her down by being dishonest, something he hated to do, but he had done it, for her.
After some long seconds, she broke the silence. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm really sorry this happened; I hate seeing you like this." Simón kept his gaze down. She wanted to touch him to offer some comfort but she didn't dare. "I could try to talk to her," she offered. It was the least she could do.
Simón snorted bitterly. "A little late for that, don't you think?"
Resentment burned in his words and fear jumped at Ámbar's throat again. "Simón..."
She took a step forward but he stood and grabbed his guitar before she could reach him. He turned.
"I..." Simón trailed off as he looked at her, seeming unsure. He shook his head a bit. "I'm sorry, I... I wanna be alone right now."
He kept his head down as he left the room, not looking at her again.
Ámbar watched, frozen, as the door shut close, putting what felt like a world of distance between them. The room felt cold and unsettlingly quiet. She sat down, on the same chair her... boyfriend? had been sitting just one minute ago.
Could she still call him that?
Ámbar stared at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. Was she just not destined to be happy? She couldn't help but wonder. Every time things seemed to be going fine for her, something happened that made it all go down the drain. She was getting used to seeing this look of defeat on her face.
No, not everything was lost yet, she told herself. After all, Simón hadn't said anything about breaking up. He wasn't happy, that much was clear, so wanted some time on his own— she could give him that. She'd give him all the space he wanted as long as he came back to her.
Ámbar left the dressing room and went to the couch where she'd left her things. She picked up everything, gathering it in her arms, and looked to her left. Simón was taking orders like usual, moving to the bar to prepare them, but his characteristic smile was nowhere to be found. His guitar stood forgotten on the stage.
Ámbar was not going to allow things to go on like this.
Determined, she hung her purse over her shoulder and walked out of the Roller, no hesitation in her step or doubt in her mind. She was on a mission. She had made a promise, and maybe it was too late now, but she was going to fulfill it.
Luna Valente was going to hear her out.
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The mansion was the first place Ámbar thought to check. If Luna was as upset as Simón made it sound, she probably wouldn't want to go out anywhere and prefer to hide herself at home instead. Ámbar had been prepared to go all the way to the other girl's bedroom to confront her, but right as she crossed the mansion's front door, she realized it wouldn't be necessary.
"Luna."
The girl had been sitting on the living room couch with her face hidden behind her hands, but she looked up at the sound of her name. A loud groan emerged from her throat when she realized it was Ámbar. She grabbed her purse from the seat next to her and got up at once, walking away from her.
"I don't wanna talk to you," she declared spitefully.
Ámbar grabbed her arm before she could get very far. "Well, too bad, you're gonna have to listen to me anyway," she told her with a fake smile.
Luna broke free of her hold and glared at her. "I don't have to do anything, this is my house and I can go wherever I want."
She tried to get away once more, only for Ámbar to stand in her way.
"Are you seriously going to be mad at Simón when it was me who did the wrong thing?" She asked, trying to make her see reason.
"I told you I don't want to hear you," Luna stressed, almost growling, before walking past her.
"Like you didn't want to hear Matteo until he fell off that fence?"
Luna stopped in her tracks.
"Emilia told me how you regretted it," Ámbar continued, talking to the other girl's back. "What if something happened to Simón right now? Would you still say the same thing?"
It was around ten seconds of nothing. Then Luna turned around, clearly begrudgingly, and stood with her hands on her hips. Her face still showed anger, but there wasn't any sign that she would walk away again.
Ámbar took it as her cue to speak.
"Listen, Luna..." God, how did she even begin? She hadn't thought about it before barging in here. "If Simón didn't speak with you, it was so that I could do it first. He told me to talk to you many times, but I was very busy managing the Roller and the Flash Open and I couldn't find the time to do it. ...And I also wasn't very eager to, to be honest," she admitted after a pause. "But here I am."
Luna raised an eyebrow, annoyed, urging her to get to the point.
Ámbar closed her eyes and sighed.
"I know that what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have switched Felipe's number. But you gotta admit that skating outside the Roller during the Red Shark's Festival and stealing all our audience was wrong as well," she told her, pointing a finger at her.
"We didn't do that on purpose, people came on their own," Luna retorted.
"Yeah, but it still happened and we lost our team because of that," Ámbar pointed out, feeling the resentment resurge inside of her.
"Because Gary didn't let us in!" Luna exclaimed in outrage.
"Well, whatever Gary did isn't our fault either!"
Luna's mouth closed and she crossed her arms in front of her.
In other circumstances, Ámbar would've been proud of how she shut her up— Victorious even. But she wasn't looking to annoy Luna at this moment. On the contrary, if they ended up fighting, it would only make things worse for Simón.
"The thing is..." Ámbar continued, getting back to the point, "I was angry. I was pissed off at you because I felt like it was your fault that I lost a huge professional opportunity. So I thought it was only fair for me to ruin an opportunity for you."
It sounded so calculated, saying it out loud like that. Cold, as if it were a simple exchange instead of something serious that could affect someone's life.
Ámbar looked down. "But you didn't do it all on your own," she said, solemn, "and it wasn't your intention. My thing was intentional and it was wrong."
It was hard, admitting to herself that the conditions of their faults weren't the same. But there was a difference between accidentally hurting someone and doing it on purpose. She knew that. She had always known that, but she had convinced herself that Luna deserved it.
She didn't.
Deep down, she had always known that too.
Taking a deep breath, Ámbar said the one thing she never thought she'd ever say to the girl in front of her.
"I'm sorry."
Luna couldn't hide a hint of surprise. Clearly, she had never thought she'd see the day either.
Slowly, she unwrapped her arms, letting them hang at her sides. A silence stretched between the two as they looked at each other, one of them waiting while the other scrutinized her for any sign of deceit.
She found none.
"Well," Luna said slowly, "as much as I appreciate the apology, Felipe's number is still lost," she noted a bit resentfully.
"No, it isn't. I still have it."
Luna's eyes widened in surprise. "You do?"
Ámbar reached inside her purse. "Yeah, here."
She pulled out the tiny piece of paper and extended her arm, holding it out for her. Luna reached over to grab it but Ámbar pulled her hand back before she could.
"Please, talk to Simón."
Luna's eyes flashed with irritation. "You're not gonna give it to me unless I do?" She said accusatorily.
It was very tempting, Ámbar had to admit. If she made it a condition, she could easily ensure she'd give Simón a chance, which was pretty much all she wanted. The old Ámbar wouldn't have even hesitated. But...
'One doesn't do things expecting something in return, Ámbar.'
"No. I'm gonna give it to you anyway because it's the right thing to do," she replied, offering her the piece of paper once again and letting Luna take it this time. "But I still want you to talk to Simón. Please. He feels terrible, Luna, and it wasn't even his fault, it was mine."
Luna stared at the paper and then folded it, tucking it inside her pocket. "He chose to lie, you didn't force him."
"No, but he did it for me," she argued, emotion coating her words. "He did it because he sees good in me, even when no one else does. Even when sometimes I don't," she said, with that hint of amazement that always accompanied the realization of how much Simón believed in her. "He sees the good in people, you can't hold that against him, it's who he is. He's great like that." She gave a half-shrug with a smile she couldn't help. That was Simón, sometimes too good for his own good, sometimes too convinced he was in the right for her own patience, but he was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Luna's eyes searched her face for a moment. "You really care about him?"
Ámbar couldn't hold back a little laugh. "Would I be telling you all this if I didn't?"
Luna shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you're still trying to manipulate him. Maybe all of this is another one of your plans against the Roller."
Ámbar looked at the girl in front of her with new-found respect.
"...I turned you into a skeptic. I'm kinda proud of that," she appraised. "But no, this isn't anything like that. I understand if you don't believe me, but I really care about Simón. And that's why, I beg you, please talk to him."
Luna seemed conflicted, looking at everywhere and everything but Ámbar.
"Later," she finally murmured, and before Ámbar could retort, she added, "Thank you for the number, although a little late."
Ámbar gave her the smallest of smiles. "I'm sure Felipe still wants to meet you, just call him," she said kindly.
Luna nodded but said nothing else.
After a moment of just standing there, Ámbar concluded that was the end of their conversation.
She cleared her throat awkwardly. "I, um, I'm gonna head up to my room now, I have tons of work to do," she said, pointing towards the stairs. She took a step in that direction but then reconsidered, looking back at Luna once more.
"Think about what I said," she asked. Then she took her leave.
She was halfway up the stairs when Luna's voice made her stop.
"Ámbar."
She turned her head toward her.
"Don't hurt him again."
The words took her by surprise. Although, all things considered, they probably shouldn't have.
Ámbar looked into Luna's pleading yet piercing eyes.
"I don't want to," she muttered. It was the most honest thing she could say.
For much as it pained her, she couldn't promise she wouldn't hurt Simón. She probably already had by not keeping her previous promise, and she had no confidence that she wouldn't do it again.
But her words now held a different promise: She would try her very hardest not to.
The girls stared at each for a moment. Then, without further ado, Luna walked away, disappearing on the other side of the house.
Ámbar watched her go and finished her way up to the second floor. Once inside her room, she sighed.
She hoped that what she had just done would help, even if just a little.
*********************
Simón didn't want to think.
He tried to focus on work for the rest of the afternoon, doing the tasks as mechanically as possible— Take the order, make it, deliver it. Don't think, just execute.
It almost worked. But every time his phone vibrated with a notification and it wasn't from Luna, it all came crashing down at him: Ramiro spitting out everything, Luna's betrayed expression on her face, the disgust with which she told him to stay with Ámbar...
Ámbar. Another thing he didn't want to think about. Because he didn't know what to think. Or feel, for that matter.
How could you want to yell at someone and at the same time want them to console you?
If only she hadn't switched that number, he kept thinking. If she hadn't messed with Luna in the first place, nothing would've happened. If only she had talked to her like she promised, nothing would've happened. Why did he have to pay for that?
But that wasn't fair. He was the one who kept quiet, and he kissed her and held her despite all of that.
He felt disgusted with himself.
But he shouldn't feel disgusted— Didn't he have a right to love and be happy? Ámbar had done something against Luna, not him.
No, no, it was selfish to see it like that.
But it was just a mistake she made, he still believed she was good.
Well, if she's so good then why didn't she just talk to Luna like she promised? Said the little voice inside his head.
'And you think she loves you?' Luna's voice taunted him right after.
Simón groaned and threw the cloth on top of the bar.
He really, really didn't want to think.
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The moment he arrived at the mansion, Simón went directly to the storage room. He had his guitar on his back. He wasn't sure whether he was in the mood to play or not, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. A part of him thought he was being a coward, because he should be walking into the mansion right now, he should be trying to reach Luna to fix things with her, but her lack of reply to his messages spoke loud and clear— She didn't want to see him. Pushing would only make things worse, and he didn't think he could deal with her rejection twice on the same day.
Pedro and Matteo were already in the storage room when Simón entered. They stopped their lively chat when they saw him arrive and greeted him.
"Hey, Simón, what's up?" Matteo said with a smile.
Simón just crossed the room with his head down and left his guitar against the long couch.
The guys glanced at each other with a frown before looking back at him.
"Did something happen?" Pedro asked, worried.
Simón sighed and tucked his hands inside his pockets. He didn't really want to relive it but a vulnerable part of him needed to get it out of his chest, to have someone listen to his side of things.
Sadly, the one person he wished would hear him out the most wasn't answering.
"Remember when Felipe Mendevilla came to the Roller and he gave me his phone number?" Simón started, to which his friends answered with a nod. "Well, Luna wasn't there at that moment, so I left that number on the bar and the Red Sharks grabbed it and switched it for a different one. So when Luna talked to his secretary it wasn't really his secretary; it was someone else posing as her."
Both boys stared at him in disbelief.
"What? No, no, this is too much," Matteo said, shaking his head with indignation. Pedro nodded, his face showing the same.
"How did you find out?" He asked.
Simón recoiled internally. This is the part where they hate me.
"Back before the Flash Open, I noticed Benicio's handwriting was the same as the supposed number... then Ámbar confirmed it to me."
The guys frowned as they processed that, once again looking at each other and then back at Simón.
"Wait, before the Flash Open?" Matteo asked, like confirming he hadn't heard him wrong.
"How long before?" Pedro followed up, giving him a pointed look. Simón immediately understood what he was really asking and he felt a jab, remembering Luna's words.
'My best friend would've told me the truth instead of sleeping with the person who wronged me.'
"Not that long," he answered. He hoped Pedro would leave it at that because Matteo was present and he didn't want to talk about it with him here.
The aforementioned was still staring at Simón like he couldn't comprehend what he was hearing.
"But at the Open you..." He didn't really need to finish the sentence; they all knew what he was talking about.
"I know," Simón said with a grimace. "I know it looks bad, I know what you're both thinking but, I spoke to Ámbar, okay? It's not like she did it just for fun, she was hurt and reacted badly to it. Which doesn't mean it was okay but... Anyway, I told her to tell Luna the truth herself so she would have a chance to fix her wrong, and she said she would, but she didn't, and today Ramiro told Luna before I could," he recounted dishearteningly. He moved over to the couch. "Now Luna's angry at me for not saying anything to her," he let out, dropping himself on top of the piece of furniture. Just remembering how badly it had all gone down made him want to not stand up ever again.
"So that's why Luna was sad today," Matteo mused, seeming deep in thought.
Simón turned to him.
"You talked to Luna?"
He nodded. "I met her on the way to the Roller... She looked pretty bad."
Those words made Simón feel even worse.
"I screwed up," he lamented, ducking his head and bringing his hands up to his hair. "I screwed up big time; she'll never forgive me for this."
Pedro placed his hand on his left shoulder. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. You had good intentions," he said, trying to comfort him.
"That's the price you pay for trusting Ámbar," Matteo said to his right.
"Shut up, okay, Matteo?" Simón said curtly. He couldn't deal with that right now and he didn't like his tone.
The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. But, I mean, I told you so, you can't say I didn't."
Simón snapped his head towards him.
"I said shut up. Ámbar was gonna do it, okay? She just didn't have the time," he claimed defensively.
There was a small silence before Pedro spoke up, gently.
"Didn't have the time in three days...? Sorry, man, but I gotta agree with Matteo on this one," he said with a slight grimace, as if it pained him to cause harm but it needed to be said. "If she wanted to, she would've had."
All Simón could do was look down and stay quiet. A part of him thought the same thing, even if he didn't want to admit it.
Ámbar's good, said one side of his heart.
She failed you, said the other. Again.
A nudge on his shoulder brought him back from his drowning thoughts.
"Wanna play something?" Matteo asked softly, handing him his guitar. Simón knew it was his way to try to cheer him up. He accepted the instrument, placing it on his lap while his friends took their places around the room with their own instruments.
Maybe music wasn't the cure to his problems, but it had never let him down before.
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The next morning was just like any other.
Simón woke up around the same time that the guys, they took turns to use the bathroom across the hall from their guest rooms, got dressed, and went down the stairs to grab some breakfast. Through it all, the guys joked and fooled around, never mentioning the topic they had discussed the previous day and Simón was thankful for it.
He felt a spike of nervousness as he neared the dining room, thinking maybe Luna would be there. He was divided between hoping he'd see her so he could try to speak to her and scared that if he did she would just plainly ignore him, or worse, tell him to get the hell out of her house.
Okay, Luna wouldn't do that, he was exaggerating. But his heart still quickened anxiously as they made their way into the dining room.
She wasn't there.
Simón's heart fell a little. It was a little relieving, yes, but he couldn't help thinking that maybe she had left early just to avoid him. He forced himself to shake that feeling away. Instead, he helped the guys put on the table and served himself breakfast; his stomach was growling for some much-needed food.
As he ate, he found his eyes straying toward the direction of the stairs. There was no point in it though— Ámbar must have left already, she was always early. After their conversation the previous day, they hadn't talked again, not even through text, and Simón felt bad about it but he didn't know what to say. He didn't feel like acting as if nothing had happened, but even after a whole night of sleep, he still didn't know how to act around her.
Judging by how his eyes kept glancing at the stairs even when he knew she wouldn't show up, he still wanted to see her. He would always want to see her, he figured by that point, since no matter how much she hurt him in the past that had never changed.
He didn't know if he liked that hold she had over him. Sometimes he did, when it was all giddy excitement and happiness and she smiled at him just as happy. But sometimes it was scary. He was too invested in something that could easily crash and break into a million pieces, breaking him in the process. If only he felt like they were both taking that leap. Most of the time, he felt like he was neck-deep in the water while Ámbar was comfortably watching the waves from the shore.
"Alright, Simón, let's go!" Pedro urged him suddenly with a pat on his shoulder, getting up from the table and walking to the front door. "We're gonna be late."
Matteo stood too and followed him out, and that was when Simón realized that between all his thinking his friends had all finished eating. Shit.
"Coming!" He called back. He shoved the last bite of his toast into his mouth and went for his coffee, drowning it in one gulp.
Right as he got up, his phone vibrated.
Simón almost didn't check it, deeming it could wait. He had lost count of the number of times he had read a message hoping it was from Luna only to see someone else's name on the screen. He checked the new message anyway, prepared to be disappointed, but as he unlocked his phone, the four letters in bold he'd been waiting for met his eyes, making his heart jump.
He opened the chat quickly and read the text.
Luna: Today after the Blake. I'll meet you in the park.
Simón felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He was still worried, of course— Luna hadn't really answered to anything he said in his many texts, but at least she was willing to talk to him. That was all he needed. Now he just had to put all his energy into convincing her to forgive him.
They'd been best friends since they were little. They had gone through a lot together— it couldn't all just end like this. At least, he wasn't going to let it.
With that determination in mind, Simón tucked his phone back inside his pants pocket and followed the guys outside.
...
..
.
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Merry late christmas! lol
Btw, I don't know if you guys knew but there's this online translator that's way better than google's. It's www.deepl.com
I thought I'll let it here for the non-English-native-speakers who may need it to understand my fics or the internet in general <3