Chapter 9

The room was dim, lit only by the soft orange glow coming through the curtains. The rain hadn't stopped. It kept hitting the windows gently, like the night wasn't ready to let us go either.

Alina was still asleep.

She looked less like the girl who broke down in my arms earlier... and more like the Alina I remembered. The kind of person I'd wait for just so we could waste hours talking and laughing... the one who'd get mad at me for being just a few seconds late to our favorite spot or more like our hidden spot, the place only the two of us ever went to.

"Those were the days..." I whispered with a sad smile, as memories from ten years ago slowly came rushing back.

I ran as fast as I could to the park, knowing Alina might get there before me again. And if she did, I was definitely going to be greeted by that signature scowl of hers, arms crossed, and probably with an eye-roll for extra effect.

I scratched the back of my head, remembering what happened last time when she arrived before I did. She didn't talk to me at all, even when I brought her favorite snack, a slice of strawberry shortcake. She ignored me the entire time like I wasn't even there.

As soon as I stepped through the gate, I let out a deep breath of relief.

Good. She's not here yet.

I quickly smoothed out the wrinkles on my uniform and tried to fix my hair, which had gotten all messy from running. I didn't want to face Alina looking like a total mess.

Looks like she won't be here for a while. Besides, I got here about ten minutes early from our usual meet-up time. 

I walked around the park a bit, my thoughts drifting back to Alina's face. She always had a slight frown, her forehead creased as if the world owed her something. I used to smooth it out with my fingers, pretending to massage it just to tease her. She'd always get annoyed, and I'd just laugh.

I don't know why, but I really liked it when she got annoyed with me.

I made my way to one of the swings facing the city lights. The park sat on higher ground, so from here, you could see the entire city flowing in the distance.

I gripped the metal chains of the swing, cool to the touch and already showing patches of rust. 

How long have I known Alina now? Or maybe the better question is... how many months has it been since we met?

Even though we have each other's contact, I could count on one hand how many times she's actually replied to my messages. She once told me her father needed to see her either studying or doing something "productive".

I understood. I really did.

But the truth is, it's never been hard to like Alina.

And it's not just because she's beautiful... though she is. That much is obvious.

What pulled me in was the way she was pure about everything. If she were angry, you'd know. She wouldn't pretend otherwise or sugarcoat it just to be polite. If something upset her, she'd let herself feel it fully, like she wasn't afraid to be honest, even if it made things messy. 

And when she was happy? God, she'd laugh loud, really loud. The kind that turns heads. She never cared who might hear or whether people stared.

What I loved most was that Alina never felt like she was performing for anyone. She was just her...

And maybe that's why I found myself wanting to be around her more and more, because in a world where everyone else tried too hard to be something, Alina didn't try at all.

She already was.

"You're smiling to yourself, are you crazy or something?"

And just like that, there she was.

Alina, standing there with her hands on her hips, staring straight at me with that usual look on her face.

"Can't a guy smile in peace?" She crossed her arms, but I could see the small tug at the corner of her lips. She was trying not to smile.

"Let me guess... You were thinking about your crush, weren't you?"

"Yeah, actually..." I said while resting my arm on the swing's chains. She had no idea I was thinking about her. I didn't look at her right away... I didn't have to. The smile on my face stayed. 

"Wow, so Leon has a crush now? You're leveling up," she said teasingly as she gave my shoulder a light smack.

"Of course. What did you think of me?" I said, playing along.

"So what's her name? Come on, tell me."

I glanced at her, catching the faint flush on her cheeks. She quickly looked away when our eyes met.

God. Alina, you're such a dork sometimes.

"Secret," I said while smirking.

That same day, when I got home, whatever good mood I had had completely disappeared. Lance told Dad I'd been meeting up with a girl after school. Dad was furious. 

"You've got some nerve lying to me! Telling me you're coming home late because of training, only for your brother to tell me you've been skipping practices just to meet up with some cheap girl."

A week after that confrontation, I was grounded. And soon after, I found out they were sending me to America "to fix my priorities". To straighten me out.

I never even got the chance to say a proper goodbye to Alina. I didn't know if she kept going back to that park every day, waiting. I didn't know if she sent me messages. I didn't know anything. And the worst part was... I couldn't do anything about it.

I looked at Alina. I held her hand tightly... then brought it to my lips and kissed it gently. As if that would be enough to say everything I couldn't.