What if aside from being worlds apart, one acts on impulse and believe in signs and the other depends on logic? This is an alternate universe (AU) where it's Maine who's the celebrity and Richard is a private citizen and not a fan. In fact he doesn'...
A/N: Sorry, but this will be a short update. Reality at work is calling. Ayoko lang i-break ang daily update habit.
Tama kaya yung ginawa ko? Was it too soon for her?
She was clearly distracted by what I said? affected? bothered? troubled? what's the right word?
A/N: Isa lang sagot diyan, Tisoy, thesaurus.
Yes, she tried to be cheerful and jolly on the way back, telling stories and anecdotes about the show, about Ryzza, about the staff, about her sister, her nephew Matti but did not made any reference to what he told her early this morning. She remembered the anecdotes told about their childhood last night and laughed about them. She would dubsmash the songs played in the radio or try to dance to the music but she would turn quiet and introspective when love songs started playing.
When she would turn quiet and he'll try to steal a glance at her, he would find her watching him, with a quizzical and yet unreadable expression in her eyes then she would blushed and turn her gaze outside the window.
She was like that for the most part of the journey which made him all the more nervous.
When he parked the car right outside their house and he was about to open the door....
"Richard..."
Richard, not Ricardo. "Meng, you don't have to give me an answer right away."
"No, I think what you told me deserves a response."
"Are you sure? Is that why you were distracted?"
"Gusto ko lang sabihin na this is all new to me. Sanay lang ako na humanga from afar. As I told you, mangolekta ng crushes, even before. But not take it to the next level. Why, I don't know. Siguro I feel safer that way, knowing hanggang mga crush lang naman talaga yon. And true enough, mas madalas, the admiration would not last and would just disappear, the crush would go away. Pero tama ka, siguro hindi ko namalayan na 22 na pala ko, hindi na teenager. Siguro, I used that as a shield before because I'm afraid of going to the next level or I haven't met the right person yet." she paused to collect her thoughts. RJ just remained silent, listening and letting her do all the talking.
"You see, living in a happy family, I believe that relationships are for keeps. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. Ang gulo ko 'no? What I'm saying is what we had in Mindoro was unique and beautiful. One for the books. I did not expect to meet someone who would make a difference in my definition of what a crush is. You did. At ayokong masayang 'yon. So I want for us to thread carefully, for us to be sure. You are the first "crush" I've allowed to get this close to me and I think that's already saying a lot. But it's making me nervous too. Please bear with me as I sort out these feelings. Gusto ko lang makasigurado that I'm ready to move from crush to the next level."
"Meng, I'm not going away. When I said I can wait, I will." he said assuring her.
"I know. I'm just saying these things just in case I start giving you mixed signals. Please remember that if I do, that's the confusion in me speaking. Kasi nga we live in different worlds. That's the reason why I want for you to discover yourself who I am. Hindi madali itong mundong pinili ko. Kailangan matatag ang loob mo. I don't want to wish to anybody what my family go through just because I'm in the limelight. Kung ako lang kaya ko, kinakaya ko dahil ginusto ko, because I realized that I'm happy making people happy. But outside of the pros, there are consequences, the loss of privacy, the long hours, the negative publicity just because some people doesn't like how you look or what you do. I just want you to understand my world and be ready for it. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense."
"I think I know what you mean."
"Knowing is different from experiencing it. I know you're a very private person, your family too. Remember the feedback we got nung nag-guest tayo sa Boys Off The Record sa CNN? Some people are already pairing us up and looking for you. Buti na lang wala ka sa social media. But if they find out about this and connect the dots, your name will be dragged and your family too. They will search for you and believe me, they will find you. And however we say we're ready, nobody can really be prepared for what's going to happen."
RJ was about to reply when Paolo started knocking on the window.
