Romance starts with friendship
She ran as if it were the end of the world. She looked weary, but the smile didn't seem to match the picture. Joy smirked, "I have a hunch, but I'm not sure." April rolled her eyes and replied, "I bet you're right."
Instead of heading to the school gates, Jill turned and headed northwest. The gates were the last place she wanted to be right now, with too many procedures and the need to bribe the guard with a pack of cigarettes. She wasn't a runner, but she sprinted like a cheetah, sneaking past the guidance counselor's office. Behind it was a wall with a hole in it, likely made by a student. It was an escape route used by students who wanted to skip class. Jill successfully made it through the small entrance.
Suddenly, she bumped into someone. Fortunately, it was only a light impact and she didn't fall. The young girl, Ashley, offered to go first, "You should go first, sorry about that."
"Oh, Ashley," Jill recognized her immediately. She didn't have time to chat, so she quickly accepted the offer. "Thanks, girl!"
Once outside of the school, Jill was on the road to freedom. A few meters away was the bridge and the highway. She had to return to the entrance of the school where the waiting shed was. In the distance, she saw the silhouette of the young man she liked.
"I don't want him to see me like this," she thought. So, she slowed down and changed her expression. As the distance between them closed, Wayne noticed her.
"Hey, thanks for coming," Wayne said, with an embarrassed smile while scratching his head. He showed her the medicine supplies and added, "I really need your help. I don't know who else to call. I'm sorry."
"Uhmmm…You don’t apologize," Jill replied. "But there's a catch tss..tsss… This time, no wasting money."
"Okay, okay," Wayne agreed, with a sign of approval in his voice. "I won't throw away the food, even if it tastes terrible."
"That's a relief," Jill replied, her tone lightening. But as she got a closer look at Wayne's face, her expression changed to one of concern. "Oh my God, Wayne, what happened to your face? It looks even worse than yesterday. Don't you remember that I patched up your wounds?"
Wayne's cheeks turned a light shade of red as he looked away, feeling embarrassed. "Yes, I remember," he said softly. "April did a great job."
Jill's eyes rolled at the mention of April's name. But she quickly composed herself and started to tend to Wayne's wounds once again. However, her enthusiasm got the better of her and Wayne cried out in pain.
"Ow, ow! What the heck, Jill? Be gentle, please! It feels like a hornet is stinging me!"
Jill's eyes widened with surprise and she quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away. I didn't mean to hurt you."
Wayne looked at her curiously. "What do you mean, carried away? What's going on?"
Jill realized she might have given away more than she intended, and her cheeks flushed a bright red. But Wayne was intrigued and moved closer to her.
"Uhmm, why would you ask? Are you interested in me?" Jill teased, flipping the tables and catching Wayne off guard.
"No, no," Wayne stammered, taken aback. "I-I'm not. I was just confused."
Jill let out a light laugh, and the tension in the room dissipated. "Well, let's get back to what we were doing," she said, her smile returning.
"Sure, no problem," Wayne replied, and the two of them continued tending to his wounds.
After they finished, Jill felt like time was slipping away too quickly. She wanted to stay longer, but she also knew she couldn't.
"Do you want to hang out?" Wayne asked, a hopeful note in his voice. "As a thank you, I promised to treat you, remember?"
Jill was in a dilemma. On one hand, she was tempted to spend time with Wayne, but on the other hand, she didn't want to miss important classes. She let out a sigh, "Hmmmmm, I've never skipped classes before."
Wayne, who had just invited her to hang out, noticed her hesitation. "I don't want to be a bad influence," Wayne said, looking at his feet.
"Why not?" Jill asked, tilting her head to the side. "I mean, I'm down if you are."
“Glad to hear that, and once again thank you," Wayne said, trying to bow his head.
"You don't have to do that, this isn't Japan," Jill said, stopping him. "But enough talking, let's go."
The two walked away from the building, probably just in time for the third class. Jill felt no regret, with a smile on her face, she felt the same joy she felt the day before.
As they walked, Jill suddenly stopped. "Can I ask a question?"
Wayne slowed down and turned his attention to her, still feeling unsure about the girl in front of him.
It's hard to read Jill's emotions, but Wayne can sense that she's hiding something. He's curious and wants to know more. He doesn't have much going on in his life, just waiting for the day to pass by. So, he responds to her question, "Sure, go ahead and ask me anything."
They're standing in front of a private school surrounded by shady trees. Jill rests her chin on her hand and looks at him curiously, "Why didn't you just go to school? I mean, you could have asked us for help there."
Wayne scratches his head and laughs awkwardly, "Well, I did try to go to school. But I saw Anastasia at the gates and freaked out. She was scary, man!"
Jill giggles at Wayne's scared expression. She wasn't teasing him, just finding it cute. "Sorry, I wasn't making fun of you. It’s just that it’s cute to hear that.”
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! Then what's with the laughter?" He felt that he was being teased.Jill couldn't help but smile at his reaction. It was a side of him she had never seen before. The young man pouted, and to her it was the cutest thing she had ever seen. She didn't realize what she was saying until it was out of her mouth, "Well, you looked cute."
He didn't respond, their eyes met and then quickly looked away. Jill's heart started racing as she realized what she had said.
Oh my God, what did I just say?!
Feeling embarrassed, Jill tried to clear the air, "I just meant that you looked cute saying that, that's all. Don't get any weird ideas."
Phew, that was close.
"Let's proceed!" she added, trying to move past the awkward moment.
The two continued walking. They reached the bridge where couples hang out underneath, with an unpleasant river down below and surrounded by the sounds of passing cars and tricycles, vroom sounds that never seem to end and dusts that tortured one's eye; after all, they were on a high way road. Jill saw the route where she went and realized, now that everything had slowed down, how bizarre her actions were for the sake of this young man whom she liked. But she didn't regret it, as her actions led to a pleasing result."Hey? Are we friends yet?" the young girl posed another question, this time in a subtle, soft voice. She didn't want to regret asking, but her words simply pushed out in the spur of the moment. Her left hand fidgeted as she clung to her right arm, and she needed an answer, thus she looked eagerly at Wayne. "Am I asking too much? Is it too soon to ask? I hope he doesn't think I'm being too forward," she thought.
"I never thought of that," Wayne wondered, as he scratched his head. "I never had friends, that's pretty obvious right? But if you want, then we can see ourselves as that. After all, we already hung out yesterday and are together at this moment," he said, giving an embarrassed smile.
Jill's heart leapt with joy at Wayne's response. "Oh, thank goodness, he's not rejecting the idea!" she thought. "I'm happy about that, I had fun yesterday," she replied with a smile, feeling an outburst of joy from every corner of her body. She didn't expect those words coming from him and it felt heartwarming. "Pleasant to hear that," she added.
"Maybe this is the start of something special," she thought. "Romance starts with friendship, right?RIGHT?"
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He looks cute when he's being teased. It was a typical day and Jill felt exhausted. The two stood in front of a shopping mall, its green and yellow exterior advertising its brand name. The mall was quiet, as students in school uniform were not permitted to shop during school hours due to its close proximity to the school. "Hey, can you hold my bag for a second?" Wayne asked as he handed over his bag to Jill. She took the bag, though she was unsure why he had asked her to do so. "I’ll have to buy something," he added. "One more thing," Wayne said, looking a bit sheepish. "I was hoping I could check the size of your shirt." Jill's eyes widened in surprise as Wayne reached out to touch her collar. "What are you doing?" she asked, stepping back and pulling away from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Wayne apologized, looking away in embarrassment. "I just want to buy you a t-shirt. You can't walk around in your school uniform," he explained, trying to make am
-FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS- The ambiance was that of a small cafe, with a few tables and chairs spread out in the room. The walls were painted a pale yellow, and there were several framed paintings of landscapes and still-life scenes hanging on them. The lighting was dim, and the air was filled with the scent of fresh coffee and baked goods. Soft jazz music played in the background, adding to the relaxed atmosphere. Jill and Wayne were seated at a small table near the window. They were surrounded by other patrons, some reading newspapers, others chatting with friends, and a few typing on laptops. It was clear that this was a popular spot for people to come and unwind. As Jill and Wayne talked, the sound of their voices mixed with the gentle hum of activity around them. Jill's words were laced with a hint of frustration, while Wayne's were filled with surprise and innocence. Despite the tension between them, there was a sense of comfort in their conversation, as if they were old friends
--JM, April’s boyfriend -- It wasn’t ber months but why does those air feels cold? “Today was a hectic day, Jill!” April complained. There was a long sigh as she plants her head on her best friend’s shoulder. She looked weary and restless. “Ma’am Abueg is such as sadist! She gave all those difficult activities without even giving us more examples.” The two was on their way home, the tricycle was the daily form of commute especially they were miles away from school. They passed the endless road covered with rice paddings. The mountain was shaped perfectly and one would gaze at it’s majestic peak but for them, it’s nothing new. The rocky road track that government promise to fixed last election, the barking dogs that kills little children and even the creepy eyes as you walked alone. That’s one of the reasons why they commute on a day-to-day basis.
—The door which they called for help— Some memories are inked into one’s brain, unable to erase or remove it. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!” A wailing voice was heard at the end of a hallway. “Opeeeeen the doooor!” It was a sorrowful and blue echo of voices. Everything was dark and gloom but the pathway was visible even though wasn’t present light. “Someone please! Open the door!” They continued to ask for help. The sound came from the door on the other side. He was being called to open it, despite the huge sign that says stop! Do not open it. It kept asking for help. The longer he waits, the desperate the call was. “Open the door, let us through!” The voice never stops. “Heeeeeeelp meeeh” He knew the familiar voice, the irritating voice that he regrets to hear. It wouldn’t stop pleading for help. He felt a heavy weigh on hi
-- They look good together -- “You look pretty exhausted,” said Jill with worried look on her eyes. She offered to check his body but Wayne politely declined. She looked down and pouted, she wanted to know the problem but he was very distant. “You sure this would work?” Wayne asked. He looked sweaty with blurry eyes but he didn’t want to missed out the classes. He can still feel the ache from his wounds, the sore was still there, but the beat up face is almost fixed with strips of unnoticeable wounds thus he wore a mask today, he also brought a hoodie just in case. They were avoiding Anastasia, who was looking for him since yesterday. “Yeah of course! Not a long-term alternative but works for now. Also be careful, she swore to kill you. I heard those words yesterday.” She told Wayne. Jill grabbed his hand, he looked at her confusingly. “Be safe okay?” “You don’t have to worry that much
- April and Wayne - “Listen! It’s not like I want to join you, Jill just forced me to be here.” April exclaimed. Their teacher gave them an activity to work on it pair up and April didn’t expect that Jill would push her to Wayne. April looked at him, the guy is looking good but certainly not her type. She sighed as she accepts the fate her best friend brought upon. She glances to where Jill at, she seemed to be busy Rita. April returned her eyes to Wayne, she caught him staring at her before averting his eyes. It couldn’t be more awkward if the silence remains for more hours but April couldn’t care less. Another gush of sigh before turning her head around. It’s better not to stare at him and get over this immediately. But as her eyes wandered around, she felt something, a soft giggle made her turn back her eyes to Wayne whom she confirmed staring at her. “What?” She asked in dumbfounded tone. “Nothing?”
- The scum’s wish- April made a choice to tell him. Even though she knew less about him, it was a spur of moment decision to trust him. The teacher already left with instruction in the board, some were already starting the activity while other are likes, chatting or frolicking around. Wayne watched her as he waited for her answer, his eyes was fixed at her as April nervously exhaled. “W-well, t-this, I mean” she finds it difficult to start her sentence. She had doubts inside her, but she realized there’s no reason to be afraid of. In the first place she had wondered why she kept it a secret. “Why don’t we keep it as an open secret?” It was her own words few years ago when they just started dating. “I’m really embarrassed talking, y-you know me I never imagined dating or whatever.” She told Jm. But a lot of years has passed and it was kept that way. “I don’t have re
-RECESS TIME- “Jill! I missed you!” April leap and pounced to Jill she hugged her tight as if they never seen each other for a very long time. MAPEH is over, it’s understatement but most students have done their task already and submitted it to Goshe. “Hi Rita!” she glanced at the girl reading book and smiled before she gave all of her attention to Jill “Ugh! Let me go April, don’t exaggerate!” Cringed, Jill tries to free herself but April having a body advantage remained dominant. “Noooooo, this what you deserve for leaving me!” She locked her arms and squeeze her tight. “Did you know? That was unexpected:” “Eeeeeeeeck, leeeeeeeeeet meeee gooooo I’m sorry” Jill apologized. “Let me go already, come on!” “Nope, I won’t” But April laughed and held her even stronger, “Apologize not accepted dummy.” “Eeeeeeeeh,