Goals Off Court | SatoSere

Chapter 26 - Starting From Zero

Serena told herself she would move on. Hell, she told her friends too. Ash wouldn't be good for her, in any sense of the word. In fact, maybe the opposite, and even so, she missed him. She missed his stupid apology. The way he was determined to prove to her he could do things or how he was certain he wouldn't mess up anything he did. She missed the way his lips felt against hers. God, she was hopeless.

She was quite ashamed at herself for still wanting him after all this time. She had to move on, and yet as she stared at the small flyer attached to the bulletin board in the dance hall, she couldn't help but feel her heart throb. The ballroom competition.

She knew it was happening. Drew and May had been preparing their quickstep dance for quite sometime now. There were three branches: one for the waltz, one for the tango, and one for the quickstep. She purposefully hadn't entered beforehand, never thinking of joining when she never had intentions of having a partner. But—

Serena glanced at the flyer again, thinking about what May and Misty had told her. If Ash didn't understand how to apologize properly, she could get him to. She could set ground rules. If things go accordingly, he should understand what he needed to do to make up for his ways and to her. If he even wanted to talk to her, that is, though Gary certainly made it sound like he did.

She bit her lip and tore the flyer from the bulletin board. Heading to the dance studio, she saw Drew and May stretching, sitting in the middle of the floor.

"Serena! Good evening." May greeted with a wave. "Are you here to practice?"

"Good evening to you too, May," she said, placing her bag down in hard thought. "And yeah—of course, I am."

"Why do you have the competition flyer?" Drew asked, pointing bluntly at the paper in her hand.

"What—Oh!" Serena flinched in embarrassment, flailing her hand quickly. "I just grabbed it to... give it to you two?" She hated how it sounded more like a question than an answer. Wonderful job, Serena.

"Us?" May blinked, tilting her head to the side, and an eyebrow rose questioningly. "We already signed up? I thought you were aware?"

"I take it you want to try asking Ash again." Drew stated as he watched Serena glance down at the sheet. Her eyes immediately jumped to him. How was Drew so good at reading into things? She did make it terribly obvious, but that's besides the point.

"No? Not at all." The palms of Serena's hands cupped her cheeks, trying to hide the blush she felt rising. "That would just be stupid to do."

"You would be right about—" Drew began to speak, but May was quick to cover his mouth. He sighed into the palm of her hand and rolled his eyes

"Serena, what—what made you change your mind?" May stammered, though Serena could tell she was thinking something along Drew's lines. She did have her own opinions on Ash based on his first impression and their encounters from then on.

"I was thinking about what you and Misty said." It was unintentional to give them the cold shoulder, but she felt like there was too much going through her mind. "I decided with telling him it's possible that I'll forgive him if he does this with me."

Seeing the hesitant acceptance in May's eyes didn't go unnoticed by Serena, but she was not prepared to dwell on it. The war in her mind was good enough. "I'm here to support whatever decision you make. If there's a chance Ash says no again, I wouldn't want you to be disappointed."

"I'm willing to give it another try."

Observing her suspiciously, Drew's head tilted back like he was figuring something out. Clear and blunt. "You're too forgiving, Serena. You know that?"