The Misadventures of Karina and Daemon

Chapter 1: N o s t a l g i a

"A girl and a boy can be just friends. But at one point in time, they will fall for each other. Maybe temporarily, maybe in the wrong time, maybe too late or maybe forever."
Unknown
******

Karina's POV

Or maybe one-sided. Bullshit. Temporary is enough. Wrong timing is bearable. We can always make up for too late. And forever is a heavenly bliss. But one-sided. One-fucking-sided is an inevitable fact. And no fucking body told me that. How on earth can a person love someone for straight 8 fucking years one-sidedly? I don't know. Where on earth could you find somebody who is waiting for someone to confess on her?

Here in Boracay. Recalling her idiosyncrasies. And who on earth will allow a person to fall for him when he's waiting for somebody else? Him. My best friend. My drop-dead gorgeous and perfectly tan best friend who, apparently, turned out to be a fucking beguiling naive ignorant pushover best friend. I can't even imagine describing a person with both naive and ignorant. But I think I am not violating any rule because naive and ignorant is not synonyms. So I am calling him that both.

We met way back in high school. I was a freshman and he was a sophomore. He happened to be the son of my father's best friend. My dad is a Filipino and my mum Australian. We came in the Philippines when my dad's mum passed away and they decided to settle here since my dad is the only son, so he needs to attend to his family's business. My grandpa passed away 2 years before my grandma. My first visit in the Philippines was when my grandma died 2 years ago.

Damon and I met when we settled here. My dad introduced me to him on grandma's burial. He was like a stick then. One-fourth drop-dead gorgeous (just realize that now). After our first meeting, we're inseparable. My dad enrolled me in Damon's school where he acted as my brother. Which I found terrific then, since I was an only child. He was always there for me. School works, projects, detentions (I was trying to make a name in school, unfortunately, in not so nice way), and many other stuffs a brother could do. Later on the third-quarter of my first year, I was branded as a bubbly red-cheek "Fil-Am" scamp. I spent my sophomore year asserting that I am from Australia and not America. I even explained it geographically. But apparently it seems that every foreign primate that go to the Philippines who does not have a squint-eye are Americans. I stop when I realize that there are a lot of foreign misnomers here.

My catch-22 started one fine day in my last year in secondary school.

Damon was already a freshman college student and we barely saw each other. It was fine with me. I went to school alone. I did my projects and homeworks alone. I was alone in school because when Damon's still in high school, I didn't go with anyone else. When he's in his class, I was on mine. When we went home, it's just the two of us. His friends tried to pursue me but he sent them away. He never pursued anyone so we have each other all the time without somebody getting pissed or hurt.

Our parents never minded us. But fate played on us. Or I believe now it's only on me. It was week before my final exam when I went to college area to remind him of my 17th birthday party. Then I saw him with someone. It was the first time I saw him with a girl, all alone sitting on one of the benches in the college yard. I stiffened. I felt my chest constrict I thought I would die right there and then. I painstakingly turned around when I tasted the product of my lachrymal gland. I never knew I was in love with him until I tasted a teardrop. That was when I learned heartbreak tears are bitter.

For the first time since he went to college, I felt so lonely. I maybe alone in the past months but I was never lonely. I cried my heart out that night. Why the hell I didn't realize it while he's still with me? Maybe he would never have that girl had I profess to him. Then I thought maybe he felt the same way but was chickened out. I immediately dried my tears and smiled. I planned to tell him how I feel. I thought that the girl was just another me. And he's just being a brother or a friend to her.