Serendipity is for Suckers | h.s. *EDITING*

16 // ★

[POSTED SONG: The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett]

A/N: i've cried (like genuinely cried, not figuratively cry bc of school stress and shit) for a total of 3 times in my life. one, at the beginning of birth, obviously. two, when my granddad died. three, watching My Best Friend's Wedding. that shit hurt.

also, Serendipity is one of my all time favorite rom-coms i 11/10 suggest you watch it if you haven't already!

Lucky for me, Ria is still on adventure mode and she suggests finding the roof. I tease her saying it wouldn't be that hard to find since all we have to do is travel up.

I'm then treated with an eye roll and a playful punch on my shoulder in which I dramatically whine as if it actually hurt. Although, she is trained in martial arts, so if she were to punch me for real I wouldn't be surprised if a bruise showed up the next morning.

We find the rooftop and it seems to be set up as a lounge area. There are torch lights placed around illuminating the space and no one seems to be around. It's just us. Ria and I tour the small area and I notice the streets are still very much alive. I can hear the rustle of footsteps and lowly music playing below on the streets.

I was going to suggest I play some music on my phone but someone is already blasting music from the building across from our hotel. Ria had already taken a seat on one of the L-shaped couches and is now staring down at the people below.

"I love this song," I hear her quietly mumble under her breath and I assume she didn't mean to say that out loud. It's the influence of alcohol that made her.

I try to listen intently to figure out what she's listening to and almost immediately recognize the song. She definitely doesn't seem like the kind of person to like such amorous songs.

This only sparks my curiosity. "From Swing Time or My Best Friend's Wedding?"

She looks up confused, surprised she even commented that aloud, "Oh... uh... My Best Friend's Wedding. It's one of my favorite movies." When the words leave her mouth, regret spans across her face at the realization of her little confession. But I love how cute she looks all panicked.

"Mine too!" I smile. "Come here," I move towards her and help pull her up to her feet. She holds a confused expression as I lead her to a more empty space, closer to the source of the music.

I turn and pull her closer to me with our chests now touching. That recognizable heat emanates from our contact and I'm left wondering how she's not even phased by this... feeling, or whatever it is. Her reactions remain neutral and it starts to hurt me just a little bit.

She doesn't pull away but instead shyly looks away. I take one of her hands and place them on my shoulder, and entwining my fingers through her other one. I feel that familiar ache in my heart as she tightens the grip on my fingers.

"I don't know how to slow dance," she nervously blushes. I already know that's not true, she's a great dancer. I temporarily break our embrace to bend down and untie both of our shoes. I reunite our grasp once we're both barefoot and urge her to stand on my feet.

I skillfully stride in slow dance moves across the floor with her still latched onto me. She lays her head against my chest and moves one arm to hold my back in order to steady herself. I'm still thoroughly surprised she hasn't flinched one bit yet.

Her smaller frame makes it easier for me to move around with such ease.

"My dad used to do this with me when I was younger," I hear her say. The words coming out of her mouth send vibrations through my chest, physically and emotionally. I rest my chin above her head and take in every second of this moment.

Lovely, don't you ever change.

Keep that breathless charm.

Won't you please arrange it?

Cause I love you.

Just the way you look tonight.

Ria eventually steps off my feet but continues to slowly sway in my hold. We remain like this for another few songs and even though the music playing now is upbeat, our bodies swing gently.

With every move, my heart beats faster and I'm afraid she's able to feel it through my chest. I look down and see her in such a blissful state with her eyes relaxingly shut.

I quickly remember that we're both somewhat tipsy and am shot down to think she's only so serene now because of all the drinks she's had in the past couple of hours.

I know I've already taken so much advantage of her peaceful nature tonight, but she's already opened up so much to me.

"Why are you so afraid of love?" I ask knowing I have to tread lightly.

She dodges the question and I kind of expected her to.

"Look, it's the International Space Station." She points up to the sky. She withdraws from our hold and I immediately regret ever opening my damn mouth.

Her touch and smell still linger on me as she stalks away to the railing at the edge of the roof. I follow and stand by her, staring up at the sky.

She continues to point at a moving light zooming through the sky.

"Wow. I would've thought that was a shooting star," I comment.

"It's not. Shooting stars move much faster."

I laugh, "You're such a nerd."

She looks over at me and rolls her eyes.

"Do you see those five bright stars?" She points to a specific spot in the sky. "Shaped in like a wobbly L but surely could pass as a W if you tilt your head." Almost in sync, we both tilt our heads to the left to get a better view of the constellation.

"Yeah," I respond in amusement.

"That's the constellation Cassiopeia. Ever since I watched the movie Serendipity, ya know, with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale," she waves her hands in the air. "I've been a little obsessed with the constellation. When I was younger, I would stare out into the night sky trying to find it."

"Wow. My Best Friend's Wedding and now Serendipity? You're on a rom-com roll," I chuckle. I'm truly amazed. She's like a tough biker chick with the insides of a sappy hopeless romantic who loves Hello Kitty and cuddling.

"Shut up. It's just a guilty pleasure... and if you ever tell anyone about this I will cut your balls off," she threatens. Despite her small height, she does have a pretty intimidating gaze with a license to kill.

"Okay okay." I put both of my hands up in defense.

She looks back up to the stars. I take advantage of her obliviousness to stare at her in adoration, witnessing the bewilderment in her eyes as she spills out such private and cherished thoughts to me.

If I can't date her, I sure would love to befriend her. Seriously this time. She obviously has great taste in romantic comedy films and I actually really like how she has no direction for her future as of now.

That sounded weird as fuck, even in my head. What I really meant was that I like how she doesn't know what she wants to do with her future yet she's taking the world by storm without any fear of the consequences. She has so much potential, I know it, even if she doesn't know it herself.

Her gaze remains on the illuminated starry night and I notice her lips form a smug grin.

"Stop staring at me," she uses my phrase against me without looking at me. I quickly divert my attention back to the stars.