Chapter 6: Someday.
"Walang nag-iba, talo nanaman tayo"
(Nothing changed, we lose again.)
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Two days have passed. It's been two days since Mayari and Harry got into an argument. They didn't say anything and couldn't even look each other in the eyes.
Their marriage becomes as cold as ice, as bruised as ever, but the link between the two remains visible. Nothing could break their chain, not even the strongest harmer, but there is something that could break the chain they had, but they still refuse to use it.
At least not right now. She isn't ready right now. Mayari is not ready; she can still endure it, and she will endure it for as long as she can, but once she has had enough, the chain between the two may finally break.
May is now in the bookshelves, where she intends to scrutinize the titles while waiting for Celine, Isabella, and Bethany to arrive.
Her fingers traced the spines of the books, examining each title in the hopes of finding something interesting.
Her fingers came to a halt when she read the title of the book; she had no idea she had this in her possession. Slowly, she grabs it, touching the cover; it's still the book she used to love, or rather, the book they used to love.
They, as in Mayari and Harry. Harry used to spend all of his time with May before he fell in love with Hanan.
May remembered how much they enjoyed this book when they read it together. It was a book that made her fall in love with books even more, a book that made her fall in love with him.
"Harry, come on!" May, now in her third year, pulls on Harry's robe. "You promise you'll accompany me to the library."
"I know, Maya," Harry says, putting his book on his bag and flinging it over his shoulder. "Come on, now," he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and hers around his waist as they walked towards the library.
They didn't mind because it has no meaning to them, whereas it does to others. Wrapping each other's arms, kissing each other on the cheek and forehead, it's all a friendly gesture to them.
Slytherin and Gryffindor still have that house prejudice, but in Harry and Mayari's case, it is non-existent; despite being in different houses, they are best friends.
When they arrive at the library, they take a seat in the back, which is where they first begin to speak properly. When they were playing hide and seek, Harry gave her the invisibility cloak so she could hide from Thalia.
They placed their bags on the table before going in different directions to find books. While May was looking for books related to her homework, she discovered a book that she had never seen or read before.
She quickly grabs it, enthralled by the cover's beauty, particularly the font of the title. "Pride and Prejudice," she reads, smiling as she flips through the first page, the first line piqued her interest.
"What's this, Maya?" Harry snatched the book from her grasp and began reading the first page while May scowled at him.
"Hey, give me that! I found it first."
"Not anymore," he teases, and she was about to grab it when he raised the book to his head. May scowls at him; he's taller than her, which is obviously Harry's advantage.
"Just because you're taller than me doesn't mean you can do that" May complain, crossing her arm.
"Nah, you're just short, Maya the shortie," Harry chuckles.
She widen her eyes but quickly recover by saying, "Harry the giant."
"At least, I'm tall."
"Mean."
"Perhaps you'll grow tall someday," Harry said, messing up her hair. "If that someday ever comes."
"When that day comes, I'll surely kick your ass."
"We'll see, Maya, we'll see."
Spoiler alert: She didn't get taller.
"I remember that book. You two loved it," Celine's voice snapped May back to reality; she had no idea she had been holding this book for so long.
"I remember you two reading it together in the Gryffindor common room when I was visiting Hanan," Celine added. "You two look like a couple to me."
Mayari and Harry are hanging out in the Gryffindor common room, with Harry holding the book 'Pride and Prejudice.'
May is in the middle of Harry, her back resting on his chest, and Harry's back is resting on the other edge of the couch, with his leg on each side of her.
His finger ran through her hair as his other hand flicked the pages of the book; neither mind their current position, in fact, they are comfortable with it.
The rest of the Gryffindors in the common room were smirking at them; they were used to seeing them this way, so it didn't bother them.
They were so used to seeing them like that that it surprised them when the two grew apart as if they had never known each other, no memories together that had been built over the years, they were back to being strangers and no one knew why except May and Harry.
"You miss him, don't you?" Celine asked, jolting May out of her reverie. "I mean, what did you have before?"
"Sort of yeah," May replied. She won't lie, she misses him, the two of them before, their friendship, and their memories. She misses everything, but all she could do was accept that everything was just a memory to which she could remember.
"I always believed your friendship would last forever, even if you two started dating other people."
"That's what he said as well, but not everything is meant to last forever," May says, looking down at the book. "Unfortunately, our friendship is part of it."
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Despite the fact that it's only 3 p.m., the sky darkens and it feels like it's going to rain. Mayari resent herself for not bringing an umbrella.
She left her shop to go for a walk in the park, reading a book she used to adore, and now it's going to rain.
She rose up from the bench she was sitting on and hurriedly walked away as the sky threatened to burst at any moment.
It just so happened that it began to rain. She dashed as fast as she could to the nearest store, seeking shelter from the rain.
As raindrops danced on the roof top, she hugged herself. "May," a familiar voice called to her, and she turned to see Kyle exiting the shop where she was standing.
"Kyle."
He approached her, taking off his coat and wrapping it around her shoulder. "Wear it so you don't get cold."
"Thank you."
"Do you want to go back to your shop?" He asked, and May nodded, knowing she needed to. She promised Celine she'd be back by four o'clock.
"We will apparate somewhere."
"It's full of muggles, Kyle," May reminds him. "Look around, they're all over the place, waiting for the rain to stop."
"You're right, so are you up for a run in the rain?" Kyle asked, a knowing look on her face. They've always run in the rain before, and they don't care if they get sick as they only want to run in the rain.
"Absolutely!" May beamed. "I missed running in the rain."
"Brace yourself then," he stated, grabbing her wrist as they ran through the rain, raindrops hitting their clothes but they didn't mind.
May's book was wet, but she managed to cover some of it with the coat she was wearing.
"Ice cream," Kyle said, looking across at the ice cream parlor. "Would you like one, May?"
"It's raining and we're going to eat a cold food?"
"Your point?"
May give him a playful glare, "fine, as long as its your treat."
Kyle chuckles and nods, "no problem," and they dash towards the ice cream shop.
May told Kyle she was only joking, but he only said it's his treat, so she has no choice but to let him.
They decided to stay and finish their ice cream while talking and laughing like old friends. They were ex-partners who parted on good terms, which is why they are still friends.
Many people did not expect them to date back then. Everyone assumed it would be Harry and Mayari, but that never happened; the two never spoke, and their friendship vanished into thin air.
They stayed for a few minutes after finishing their ice cream before going out and running in the rain again because it appears that the rain will not stop any time soon.
They keep running as laughter echoes around them and raindrops continue to fall. Kyle looked at her, and a smile appeared on his face when he saw how happy May was right now.
Kyle came to a halt, causing May's brow to furrow. "Let's dance like we used to," he said, missing her like the stars miss the sun in the starry sky.
He yearns for what they were before, but he knows her heart belongs to someone else.
May smiled as he began to twirl her slowly. He was always gentle with her, treating her as if she were a fragile glass that he was afraid to break. Even though they are now ex-partners, he is always cautious around her.
He has always loved her, and he will never stop loving her. Unfortunately, they no longer have a chance because she is already married to someone she has always loved.
Kyle wishes this day wouldn't end because of the way they dance in the rain, but he knows it won't happen since he knows he's going to return her to where she truly belongs, to her husband.
The rain finally stopped after what seemed like hours of dancing. They return to May's shop, their hair and clothes dripping wet. Fortunately, she hid her book inside her coat, so it didn't get too wet.
When she opened the door, her gaze was drawn to the center, where Celine, Isabella, and Bethany were smiling at her, but their expressions indicated that something was wrong.
Celine gave May a signal by tilting her head slightly, and she followed the direction to see Harry looking at both of them, eyes full of agitation, one hand holding a cup of coffee and the other tapping on the table.
"Where have you been, darling?" Harry asked as he stood up and walked towards May, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her cheek.
"She's with me," Kyle stated emphatically, giving him a stern look. They were never friends and never had a civil conversation.
"I didn't ask you, Elio," Harry responds, glaring at him. "I was asking my wife," Harry said, which elicited a smirk from Celine, Isabella, and Bethany.
"I suggest you keep some distance from my wife," Harry added. "In case you didn't notice, she's already mine."
"In case you forgot, Potter, Mayari is your wife, not Hanan, and you should keep some distance from your ex," Kyle responded.
The four women—Mayari, Celine, Isabella, and Bethany—were too stunned to speak about the current scene.
"I also recommend that you take care of your wife, keep your eyes on her, she's beautiful, and anyone could easily steal her away from you," Kyle added. "Don't wait for the day she'll be gone; treat her well before I take her back; I had her first."
"That's where you're mistaken, Elio," Harry gritted. "I had her first, and we were inseparable before you two got together."
"It was too bad you squandered your friendship," Kyle replied. "You had a great best friend, but you abandoned her when she needed you the most."
Everyone was quiet, but Harry's gaze was fixed on May, who refused to look at him. His eyes were asking questions, looking for an answer he knew he wouldn't get easily.
"Enough, Kyle," May said coldly, breaking the silence. "Here's your coat; thank you for lending it to me."
May left them before Kyle could respond and went to her little office in here, near the end of the bookshelves.
Just as she was about to shut the door to her office, Harry walked in and shut it instead.
"What does he mean?" Harry inquired, his gaze darting to hers, green blending with brown, like the sea turning green as the brown shore awaits its arrival.
"What?" May questioned, raising an eyebrow. She knew what he was talking about, but she still asked to avoid the memory that flashed through her mind.
"What Elio said."
"He said a lot of things."
"The last thing he said."
"I don't know what he's talking about," May says as she looks away and turns her back to him.
"You're lying," he stated. "You can't look into my eyes when you lie." May closes her eyes for a second, cursing herself as she realizes Harry still knows she won't look into his eyes when she lies to him.
"It doesn't matter if I lie or not; it's all in the past, so we should leave it there," she replied as she turned her back to face him. "I don't think it would have made a difference, Harry; your decision was final, and I begged you to at least talk to me, but you shut me down and ended our friendship."
May didn't know how she said it; it just slipped out of her mouth. Harry was deafeningly quiet as guilt crept over him once more, a never-ending feeling every time he ended up hurting her.
"You really want to know what Kyle is talking about?" May asked, as Harry nodded slowly. She prepares herself not to cry, knowing how much that memory affects her.
"He was correct when he said you ended our friendship when I needed you the most," May began. "Do you remember how I was not even present in class for almost two weeks before our friendship ended? I may have been present, but I was late, and I always ended up in detention because of it. I was not myself, and I needed you Harry, I needed my best friend, and you weren't even present."
Harry remained silent, listening to her, and seeing how hurt her eyes and voice were with every word she spit in her mouth made him wish he could go back in time and change it.
"I tried to talk to you several times, but you always shut me down, pushed me away, and I'm so stupid for chasing you," May continued. "Of course, Caelum and Thalia never left my side, but you are the only one I need; you, above all others, are the only one who understands how I felt at the time, but you chose my sister over me."
"He left me, Harry," her voice broke as tears streamed down her cheeks, urging May to wipe them away. "That's why I approached you; I knew you could understand what I was feeling, but you became so irritated that I was always chasing you that you ended our friendship."
He knows who's May talking about, he even feel more guilty. "I'm sorry, darling. I didn't know, I admit I was really stupid that time," Harry said as he walked towards May, his hand gently caressing her cheeks. "I'm sorry I ended things with you, and every second makes me want to go to your common room and beg to be friends again."
"Yet you didn't do it," she pointed out. "You allowed our friendship to fall apart because of my sister."
"Don't bring her up."
"Of course, you don't want to taint my sister's name," May stated, pushing his hand away from her cheeks. "But, we both know she was the reason; you said it yourself; it was stupid really, you said our friendship won't end even if we date other people, but you didn't follow through on that."
"You stated that you don't want to be friends with me because you don't want Hanan to be jealous," she continued. "You could have simply told me that you despise me and don't want to be friends with me."
"I don't hate you, May; I never could; I couldn't hate you," Harry said softly. "Maya, I would never hate you."
"You claim you don't hate me, but that's how you make me feel over the course of the year," she scoffs.
"I don't believe you when you say that every second makes you want to go to my common room and be friends with me again," May stated emphatically. "You returned everything I gave you, and that's when I realized you meant what you said."
"I didn't return anything to you, May," Harry replied, swearing he never did, but the gifts she gave him vanished along with their friendship.
"Sure, and I didn't beg you to give our friendship another chance," she replied sarcastically, her eyes darting with his, her eyes filled with range and agony. She was enraged and sad at the same time, enraged by what had happened but saddened by the fact that it had affected their relationship.
"Maya," Harry says softly. "I promise I didn't return anything; I still have everything you gave me, but I admit they were gone but I didn't return it to you; I was looking for it but I never found it again."
"It's still in our room if you still want it," she says. "I still have it because, unlike you, I value everything and refuse to throw it away."
"Leave, Harry. I still have to do something, we can talk later in our house if you ever come home, if not, it's alright, I don't give a damn about your whereabouts, anyway," May continued.
Harry nodded, not wanting to disobey her. "I will see you later, darling," he leans in and softly kisses her forehead, startling May.
Harry then walked away. Nothing has changed; they are still playing a losing game. They were defeated once more, just as they had been before. They can't mend the broken friendship; it was ruined and can't be repaired, but maybe someday, if that someday ever comes. If not well, at least once upon a time, they had a wonderful friendship that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.
Someday, when the stars align and things change, they could win, but for now, nothing has changed and they continue to lose.
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End of Chapter 6.
A/n:
Hello, it's been awhile. I'm sorry for late updates, the super typhoon that landfall last December 16,2021 affected my place which caused loads of damage and we don't have electricity and water for these past weeks, hence why I didn't update any of my fanfic.
Sorry for any grammatical errors and misspelled words, happy reading :)
Thank you for 1k+ reads!!
Stay safe! I love and miss you all so much.