By the time she was done, Ivy and Selena were grinning from ear to ear.
"You like him!" Ivy said matter of factly, and Haewon looked at her incredulously even though a part of her knew that was the truth.
"No, I don't!" She denied vehemently.
"Yes, you do. I can't help but agree with Ivy. Your face right now is just the same as it was on the morning after prom, which makes me wonder if something had happened between you both," Selena said, and Haewon turned her head to Selena.
"We only just met again today after two years, for Chrissake! How am I expected to look after reuniting with a friend?" Haewon asked, and Ivy scoffed.
"Jake wasn't your friend!" Ivy stated simply.
"Yes, he was! He was my prom date only because we resolved our misunderstanding, and we became friends. So, like Lena, I was worried about not hearing from him the same way she was worried when her best friend disappeared. Unlike you, Ivy, I'm sure Lena understands the feeling of reuniting with a long-lost friend," Haewon countered.
"She wouldn't know since she is still too shy to approach Nath and reunite with him," Ivy said with disapproval.
"You mean Gabe," Selena corrected, unperturbed by Ivy's disapproval.
"Well, hopefully, that's going to change by tomorrow. Right, Lena?" Haewon asked with a hopeful smile.
They had all gotten tickets to watch Gabriel Fox's game tomorrow, and she was hoping that Selena had plans of approaching him before or after the game.
"No, it's not. She claims she is still not sure yet. Can you believe it? It's been two years since she found him! Two years of following him on all social media platforms. Two years of reading and watching every interview with his name on it, yet she claims she is not ready yet. Can you ask her when she is ever going to be ready?" Ivy asked with a scowl.
"Lena? Is there something else you're not telling us?" Haewon asked reasonably.
"You mean apart from the fact that he is a celebrity now and has quite a lot of friends? I just don't want him to feel like I only want to reconnect with him because he is famous or something. Besides, I don't think I'm the sort of person he rolls with," She said without looking at either of them, and both Ivy and Haewon exchanged a glance.
"I still don't think that's enough reason," Ivy said since she had always tried convincing her otherwise.
Haewon sighed, "Do you really believe that? Don't you think he would love to reunite with his best friend who knew him when he was a nobody? And what do you mean you're not the sort of person he rolls with? You're beautiful, brilliant, and successful! What guy wouldn't want to roll with you?" Haewon asked incredulously.
"There are lots of beautiful, brilliant, and successful ladies around him, Hae. Lots of them. Have you seen his Instagram feed? He's always with either a supermodel or a top actress, or a music star. Everyone he rolls with are…"
"And now you're beginning to sound like you have a bad case of low self-esteem! For Christ's sake, Lena! You're not a model or actress, so what? That should be a bonus! You're not making money off your good looks but your brain!" Ivy said, annoyed because she felt Selena was looking down on herself.
Selena smiled patiently, "Those people don't just make money off their good looks…."
"Yes, they do. That's why they always invest so much in looking good and getting surgeries, and dressing sexy to entice. Stop trying to come up with silly excuses. It's a simple, 'Hello, Gabriel! I'm Selena! Remember me? I used to be your best friend in elementary school back when your name was still Nath' how hard can that be?" Ivy asked, and Haewon placed a hand over Ivy to calm her.
Ivy was very straightforward and blunt and usually couldn't tolerate people with insecurities or indecisive people.
"Well, Lena, I think you should put your worries aside and seize the opportunity to speak to him tomorrow," Haewon said softly.
"Let's assume that I do approach him. What if I stir up painful memories for him? I knew him at the time when he still had his parents. Besides, have either of you considered the fact that he might have forgotten all about me?" Selena asked, feeling really nervous.
"Why would you think that?" Haewon asked why Ivy tried not to roll her eyes at the new excuses.
"I understand that he had gone through a lot, losing his parents in an accident and getting adopted by his distant family, but that couldn't have stopped him from searching for me like I did, right? I can understand that he didn't have the resources back then but what about now? Now that he is a public figure, he could have easily looked for me. He knew my name, and I didn't change my name like him, so he could have easily found me if he tried searching for me, yet he didn't," Selena said, and both Ivy and Haewon could feel the hurt in her voice.
"I totally understand. We do. But don't you think approaching him would be the best? Try showing him that you haven't forgotten your friendship, and if he has, that's on him," Ivy said softly this time.
"Yeah. We could go with you after his game tomorrow, and if after we approach him and he doesn't want to reunite with you, we wouldn't bother you again. We would rather he walks away than let you hold back from reconnecting with him and living your life with regrets," Haewon said, and Selena sighed in resignation.
"Alright. I guess I will have to give it a shot, if for nothing, to stop Ivy from hounding me," Selena said, and both Ivy and Haewon giggled.
"I'm not going to let you back out! Tomorrow, I will make sure you face him. Whatever the outcome, we will get it done and over with. Who knows, maybe once we've done that, you'd finally be open to dating," Ivy said, and Selena raised a brow.
"He has nothing to do with my lack of romance," Selena said defensively.
"I never said he did. I said, who knows? Right?" Ivy asked, and Haewon giggled.
"I'm so happy to have you both here," Haewon said as she looked from Selena to Ivy.
"Don't think I've forgotten that we were talking about your Jake and the fact that you like him," Ivy said, and Selena giggled while Haewon scowled.