#maristela:nate

[klinw]

she rushed over to the car, only to have to wait for him to open the door. she wished things were a lot more elegant, but alas real life didn't play out that way. as soon as she got in, she attempted to pat herself dry. it didn't make much of a difference, naturally. and now she was alone with nate... "no thanks. i'm good." she dismissed as she attempted to dry herself. "ha?" she asked, hestiating for a moment because she wasn't sure if she heard right. and then a moment later, she turned away swiftly, suddenly intent on watching the droplets of water run down the window. "nagunsa ka diha ui," she swallowed thickly, feeling flustered all of a sudden. a beat of silence. "on second thought, i'll have some of those painkillers."

her frown remained. and yet. her hand took his and she rushed forward to the car. logistically, it made no sense to be holding hands as you run in the rain. if one of them slipped, they would both fall. and yet. she squeezed his hand a little tighter, only letting go when they make it to his car.

...

he took out his keys and pressed the button as fast as he could, so the doors would open. he opened one side and said, "didto ka's pikas!" taking a deep breath, he settled himself in the driver's seat. he paused to catch his breath, before opening the front compartment and grabbing a pack of paracetamol and a water bottle. he was prepared for anything. hey, he was a boy scout when he was a child, after all. laging handa, as they said. "do you need some?" he glanced at the box of paracetamol and the water bottle, then realized that taking the meds would probably still not clear his nose or prevent him from getting sick if he didn't remove his soaked shirt. he looked down at the floor awkwardly, then said, "talikod usa, maristela."

[klinw]

her frown remained. and yet. her hand took his and she rushed forward to the car. logistically, it made no sense to be holding hands as you run in the rain. if one of them slipped, they would both fall. and yet. she squeezed his hand a little tighter, only letting go when they make it to his car.

"unsay bentley uy," she questioned with a frown. mari never really did understand nathan's obsession with opulence. when they held hands by the beach when they were kids, they had both lived much simpler lives. though you'd never hear those words leave her lips, she missed those days. but that was tanoy, and this was nate. she had learned a while back that there was a difference between the two. "mura ta'g buang," she muttered. "kung mudagan nalang diay ta padung sa imong bentley diay?"

...

he glanced at her for a moment, hesitating. he hated hesitating. so he pushed himself to stop it and think fast, talk fast. "okay, managan ta. but you've got to hold my hand." he put forth his hand. "come on! dali!"

[klinw]

"unsay bentley uy," she questioned with a frown. mari never really did understand nathan's obsession with opulence. when they held hands by the beach when they were kids, they had both lived much simpler lives. though you'd never hear those words leave her lips, she missed those days. but that was tanoy, and this was nate. she had learned a while back that there was a difference between the two. "mura ta'g buang," she muttered. "kung mudagan nalang diay ta padung sa imong bentley diay?"

"naghulat ko ug uber," she debated, waving her phone at his face. one glance would have made it obvious that no one was taking her request with the amount of people booking in this weather. the sniffling got to her though. she knew her guilt wouldn't be able to handle the guilt if he really did get sick. "fine. okay. sige." she huffed. "i'll get in your damn car."

...

he paused when he heard her words, unable to believe that it worked. he blinked at her for a moment, but then realized this wasn't the time to gawk. instead, he said, "okay. let's go." logistically, it would be difficult to walk to his car while they were... like this (his jacket over her head, her hands protecting his face), but they could figure it out. "you know, i've got a bentley flying spur," he shared, trying to guide her in the direction of his parked vehicle. even in this state, he could summon the energy to brag. he almost bragged about its luxury saloon, plug-in hybrid powertrain, and so forth, but figured she wouldn't care about those details. "bag-o pa nako pinalit."

[klinw]

"naghulat ko ug uber," she debated, waving her phone at his face. one glance would have made it obvious that no one was taking her request with the amount of people booking in this weather. the sniffling got to her though. she knew her guilt wouldn't be able to handle the guilt if he really did get sick. "fine. okay. sige." she huffed. "i'll get in your damn car."

"nganong mag buot man ka uy," her nose wrinkled as her brows met. say what you will about the currently tumultuous relationship between these two (if you can even call it that) but no one really ever got to her like nate did. no, if any one of her friends would peek out and see her demeanor right now, they would be quick to comment how they'd never seen star so annoyed. what that meant in reality was a truth maristela wasn't ready to face. but her frown doesn't last long. when he's standing in front of her, hair tousled from the wind and the rain, she can't help the concern that etches on her faces instead. though she was covered by the man's jacket at this point, mari had made a small shelter with her arms and hands for his face to keep dry in the rain. "mura ka'g buang," she declared. "if you're going to be like this, fine."

...

"oh, wow! ikaw ang gusto mag tindog ra diri sa uwan nga way payong ha! pero akoy mura'g buang?" he snapped back. "sige, fine. but dili ko muhawa jud baya until kabalo ko nga okay na ka." his breathing grew more strained. he sniffed again and said, "maristela, please. i'm already so pale; i'm not like you. i can't pull off 'common cold chic.' just go inside, please."

[klinw]

"nganong mag buot man ka uy," her nose wrinkled as her brows met. say what you will about the currently tumultuous relationship between these two (if you can even call it that) but no one really ever got to her like nate did. no, if any one of her friends would peek out and see her demeanor right now, they would be quick to comment how they'd never seen star so annoyed. what that meant in reality was a truth maristela wasn't ready to face.

but her frown doesn't last long. when he's standing in front of her, hair tousled from the wind and the rain, she can't help the concern that etches on her faces instead. though she was covered by the man's jacket at this point, mari had made a small shelter with her arms and hands for his face to keep dry in the rain. "mura ka'g buang," she declared. "if you're going to be like this, fine."

mari was always a stubborn one. too bad for her, he was stubborn too. perhaps that was why they'd been such good friends. before, you know, well... "no. you're not okay," he said, enunciating each word. normally, he'd whine about the way the downpour wrecked his perfect coiffure. but he couldn't even bring himself to think about his hair in that moment. he took off his — expensive, duh — jacket and put it on top of the girl's head. "di tika pasagdan diri. i'm sorry, but dili ko muhawa hangtod okay na jud ka." he sighed. "can't i at least help you get back inside your friends' house until the rain stops?" those were his friends too. but he didn't know if he was allowed to refer to anything as ours — as in mari's and nate's, theirs, something they shared. he sniffed as his nose started to get congested, rain pouring all over him.

[klinw]

there's 8 billion people in the world, 39 million people in california, approximately 7 million people in the bay area. even san francisco housed close to a million. and yet... it was unmistakably him that stood across the room. what were the chances? it should have been close to none. that she'd meet him again. and again. though fate was a cruel mistress, maristela did her best to enjoy the rest of the night. and it worked for the most part. except when the night grew deeper and everyone started pairing off and heading home.

fate truly was playing games tonight and mari was less than amused. it had somehow started raining hard in sunny california. obviously, she didn't have her umbrella with her. could the cards not have warned her about this night? to be fair, she never would've listened. she's more stubborn than she seemed. so she stood by a bus stop, waiting for an uber to even accept her request. she tried not to let the impatience show in her features. so she attempted to let out her frustrations with a sigh.

and then her efforts to calm herself down were moot. he'd pulled up in front of her and her heart decidedly picked up the pace. maristela tucked away her damp hair, attempting to keep her composure by looking away. "you don't have to." she responded before she cleared her throat to continue in their language. "di ka kailangan magbinutan na. okay ra ko."

at first, nate had been reluctant to visit the usa. after all, mari was in the states again. but he'd reminded himself of the facts: 9,831,510 km². more than 331 million people. the chances of bumping into her were low, and he didn't — until, well, he did. because despite all those square kilometers and people, the filipino community in mari's area was apparently pretty small. they knew some of the same people, who knew the same people. but it wasn't all bad, he thought. he tried to be civil. he could be civil; it was the least he could do after messing things up with her. it was late afternoon when their gathering ended. nate walked to the parking lot to get into his car. he caught a glimpse of mari waiting for transport. he felt a twinge of pain in his chest. he wanted to invite her to just ride with him, but could he still do that? the sky, however, made the decision for him. when he heard the rain battering his car, he quickly got out and said, "mari! mari..." for a moment, he almost froze, but he pushed himself to run towards her and spit it out. he didn't want her to get wet and sick. "dungan na tag sakay."