Romantic Short Stories [DUBREDO]

I. Afire Visage

Summary: Rodrigo, falls in love with Elise, a kindhearted girl with a distorted face due to a fire accident during her childhood. His mother made a way to tear them apart breaking Elise heart. Years after, Elise underwent a plastic surgery and comes back to his life as Leni Gerona.

—

It was late afternoon, the sun was setting next to their eyes as they sat together at the grass field behind her house.

She closed her eyes and felt the breeze rush through her skin while she inhales the fresh air. She opened her eyes and glanced at Rodrigo, he was doing the same thing. He opened his eyes and saw her looking, she looked away.

"What was that?" He asked smiling. "What?" She replied. "You were looking at me." He confronted her in jest. "No, I'm not! Is it bad?" She scowled at him. He smirked at her insinuating something, "You can't get enough of this cute face, can you?" He bragged. She flaunted a disgusted face, "You're the worst." She laughed with him.

As their cackles faded, Leni exhaled heavily. "You know what? I'm still wondering why you have so much time... for me." He looked at her in anticipation. "I mean, you're a busy person and I'm sure a lot of people wants to hang with you but you're here... with me." She continued, he smiled. "Why? Don't you like it?" He asked. "Huh? No. No! It's not like that. I'm just... never mind." She sighed as she has been keeping to him her feelings for him building up inside her for quite some time now.

Rodrigo looked at a distance — at the horizon — he smiled. Silence crept in, all they could hear was the sound of the wind next to their ears.

"Have you ever felt like you wanna be with someone all the time?" He asked still looking far away, she remained silent. "Like, there is this person that understands you more than anyone in this world. Like they know exactly how to respond to everything you tell them, to every none sense story you share to them?" He continued picturing out someone in his head. "It's like they are you're other half because you feel incomplete without them?" He added and finally shifted his stare to her.

She looked back at him and faked a chuckle to conceal her nervousness. "Why are you asking me that?" She giggled. He shrugged and looked at her wanting an answer but she didn't know what to say — exactly.

"Uhm... I don't know. Maybe?" She stammered as she wasn't sure if he was starting a confession or she was just assuming that he was.

He looked back into her eyes and smiled. "Because that's exactly how I feel when I'm with you." He replied leaving her speechless.

Silence swarmed them for a moment, her chest started to pound loudly as he kept his gaze at her. "You're crazy." She tried to joke around but he kept his serious aura. Her breaths turned heavy upon noticing how he was slowly leaning towards her leaving their faces closer and closer. She gulped as soon as he kept an inch gap between their lips. He gazed at her eyes and looked down to her soft and moist lips.

"Maybe I am." He uttered before he pressed his lips against hers initiating an exchange that she hardly reciprocated in deep surprise. He felt her lips melting against his, her stomach felt so light like there were tons of butterflies inside.

She withdrew from the kiss and gave him a stare of shock. He paused and waited for her next move, she appeared like panicking, she stood up and walked away swiftly.

"Elise! Wait!" He ran after her but she was rushing away. "Elise—"

"Go away!" She interrupts. "I'm sorry." He apologized thinking he offended her with his sudden kiss because he didn't ask for her permission at the first place.

"Why did you do that?!" She yelled holding back herself. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to kiss you—"

"No, you shouldn't have done that!"
"But I want to, Elise, I love you—" She felt overwhelmed to hear his professing his feelings for her.

"No you don't! You can't!" She raised her voice. "Why not? Don't you like me—"

"No! You shouldn't like me! What is wrong with you?!" She yelled at him. "There's nothing wrong with me, I just love you—"

"You can't!" She shouted silencing him. "Why not?" He asked.

"Because I'm ugly!" She retorted. "I'm horrible, I'm hideous, I'm disgusting and you're not!" She followed with a cracking voice.

Rodrigo couldn't believe she thinks he sees her that way. "I don't care, I love you—"

"Rody, what the hell is wrong with you?! You're a normal person and I'm not! You wouldn't want to love someone with this kind of face! Burned out, eyeballs are popping, I look like a monster! You deserve so much more than this." She interjects as she broke down. "You deserve so much more than this." She reiterated with a fainted voice and walks away.

"Elise—"
"Don't touch me! Don't follow me!" She yells at him and ran away.

Rodrigo stood still as he watched her leave. His heart broke with the way she responded to his profession. He loved her dearly regardless of her distorted looks, she only saw the goodness in her and her heart and that's what made him fall for her.

Despite that they two loved each other, Elise has never been so sure of herself due to her distorted looks and hideous face after she got burned in a fire accident at her old place when she was ten. After she survived the tragedy, she lived a life where people would stare and whisper about her due to her damaged face. She never had friends ever since, they made fun of her, they laughed at her and it was only Rodrigo who gave her a chance to prove that she's not as bad as she looks. Eventually, as time passed by, they spent time together, talking, bonding, having fun until they fell in love without letting each other know.