James woke up to find Nadine sitting on a chair beside his bed, her sleeping head by his arm. They were in UCSF Medical Center, where James was taken after his asthma attack. He's all better now, it was probably just the combination of the jet lag, cold weather, fake rain and non-stop work that caused his asthma to act up again.
This actually wasn't the first time he's been rushed to the ER because of his asthma. Back in their On The Road with Jadine concert in Cebu, James had an attack too, and Nadine was by his side the whole time, never leaving him. He sighed and without meaning too, started caressing the hair of the girl who was driving him crazy.
What do I do with you, Naddie?
The past week had been like hell for him, avoiding Nadine, not being able to touch her or talk to her. No tickling or making faces just to hear her laugh. He couldn't even fucking twirl her hair.
It was an uncontrollable need that was eating him from the inside, he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle it.
He got his phone and browsed through his pictures, going through his one album. He wasn't really an organized person, he's not like Nadine who has an album for everything on her phone. He realized with a start that he had so many pictures of Nadine... Of the two of them, Nadine with Clarky Boy, Nadine with Ate Caryl, Nadine alone...
How did I manage to take this many pictures of her?
He didn't like being this lovesick puppy. Nadine had hurt his pride when she denied him, when she told him she couldn't trust him. Boss Vic had called him the night of the presscon and it had taken all of his willpower not to yell at him to mind his own business. He hasn't really kept up with his end of the bargain on maintaining a united front with Nadine, but he didn't care.
Let them think we're fighting. That's what the fans want, right? They want to know every little detail in our private lives. Well, then, here you go.
His hand stopped from its exploration of Nadine's hair. If he was honest with himself, he was ready to give up this cold shoulder treatment. He missed her. He missed her so damn much. He missed talking to her, he missed her smile, he missed the way her eyes sparkle every time she looked at him. He missed kissing her. God, how he missed kissing her.
That kissing scene from last night was probably the main reason for this freakin' asthma attack. He laughed to himself and stared at Nadine's sleeping form. You literally took my breath away, babe.
Nadine stirred beside him and opened her eyes, catching him staring at her.
"James! You're awake!" She stood up and started going around the room, grabbing some medicine on the table and then getting water from the fridge and pouring it into a glass. She handed him both. "Here. The nurse said inumin mo daw pagkagising mo."
James sat up and obliged, taking the meds one by one.
Nadz stood by his bedside, a concerned look on her face. "You look better. How are you feeling?"
"Been worse," he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Why are you here, Nadz? Don't you have scenes to shoot?"
"Actually, since our flight back is this afternoon, sabi ni direk dadayain nalang daw yung mga natirang scenes sa Manila. Hindi naman daw crucial masyado yung setting dun, kahit di daw sa Sanfo talaga."
James nodded. "So we're off then? We'll go home later?"
"Yeah. I've already went ahead and packed your bags." She pointed at a pile of luggage by the door that James hadn't noticed before. "I just need to check you out of here then we'll go straight to the airport."
James couldn't help smiling. Same old caring Nadine. She always looked out for him, always put his needs before her own. To think he's been a complete asshole to her the past week.
How do I let her go?
"Thank you, Naddie."
She shrugged. "What are partners for?" She gazed at him, and he gazed right back, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.
She was the first to break eye contact. "I'll just call the nurse for final check up and get you checked out of here, okay?"
"Nadine." His voice was barely a whisper.
She was looking down at the floor, avoiding his eyes. "James, I want us to be okay again," she blurted out.
He didn't know how much he'd been longing to hear those words until he heard them. But still he kept silent.
Nadine looked up at him, her eyes swimming with tears, pleading with him. "I need us to be okay again."
Those eyes did him in.
"Okay, okay. Shhhh." He reached out and took Nadine in his arms while she sobbed. He held her until her crying subsided, happy that he was able to hold her again, bury his face in her hair and inhale her scent.
Nadine finally disentangled herself from his embrace and James looked her straight in the eye. "Nadine, you know I can't lose you, but I can't go back to how we were before."
Nadine swallowed. "Can't you wait until I'm ready?"
He scoffed at that. "I'm not Clark, Nadine. I'm James. I won't pine away for you and wait for you to decide. I won't court you and give you flowers like Mr. Anonymous, fuck him whoever he is," James muttered. "That's not me."
He cupped her face in his hands. "But I need us to be okay, too. I need that because I love you."
He gave her a soft kiss on the lips.
"I love you so much it hurts that you're so afraid to love me back. But I won't force you, Nadine." He shook his head, then continued in a teasing tone. "Just hit me up when you're ready, okay? Who knows, I might still be here." He laughed.
Who am I kidding? Of course I'll be here. To hell with everything I just said.
"So... truce?"
"Truce."
"Friends?"
"With benefits?"
"James!" Nadine slapped his arm.
James laughed. "Fine! Friends in love maybe?"
Nadine just rolled her eyes.
A/N: Hey guys, you might think I'm being a little anti-climactic here, I think a lot are already expecting things to be resolved, but I just wanted to emphasize in this chapter that despite everything that's happened, their friendship still comes first. Because that's what I've always loved about Jadine -- their friendship and how they work together as a team.
So please bear with me as I finish this series. Maybe 3 or 4 more chapters to go. :)
Thank you for all the support! #teamreel #teamreal #samedifference
