the way we met

I met you in class�no�o yeah�it was in class. There you were, sitting, laughing, surrounded by a group of friends. Your mysterious smile and calm demeanor kept me from staring at you. Coz back in school, I was a petite, fragile, but somehow beautiful girl�and unlike you, I was a nobody. I couldn�t stand it�I just couldn�t stand it!!!

Okay�so I didn�t meet you�You were in my class two years in a row. Still, you didn�t know my name�After some time, you did�Only because we were forced to be lab partners in chemistry. Good grief! I thought, �of all people, why would it have to be him?� And I was guessing that you were probably thinking about the same thing. I knew you were getting bored�And I, in search of a cool question to ask you, just to break the ice, asked, �What�s your name?� And you just stared at me, not with shock, but with pity. I was totally humiliated! I made a complete fool of myself. I was very close to tears when you noticed and said, �Sorry for having a sick sense of humor. Let me take you out for a cup of coffee.�

Badly wanting to know how the most popular in school was outside the campus, I reluctantly agreed. I was almost beating myself out because I though that you weren�t gonna show up. But you did. The night that I thought was gonna be a nightmare turned out to be the opposite one. That night was the start of a friendship between you and me: the popular and the not so popular one.

Hmmm�memories�so, where was I? Oh, so yeah, we became close friends. And close friends we were indeed. I really didn�t know that two persons who are worlds apart can have so much fun together. We did have fun, haven�t we? Well, those times were the best, until I noticed that things were kinda getting serious.

Don�t laugh okay! I am serious! I know that things were becoming complicated between us�You were dating my best friend, and I was really happy for the both of you�or so I thought. Whenever I see you guys together, I felt jealous pangs shooting through me. I was nervous, scared, and utterly lonely. Of course, I didn�t tell anyone how I felt, why should I? I�d just get in the way, you know?

After some time, you broke up with my friend. It was at that time when I learned that you were so important to me. I was happy at that time, and it was hard to hide and express what I feel. I knew you were devastated, and like a good friend, I tried my best to cheer you up�I told you that �there are other girls out there who are more worthy and would really be happy just to be with you�� What I didn�t tell you was that �I am that girl, the girl who has been with you, seen your happiness and tears, know you inside-out. The girl who is pretending to be your best friend, who really loves you for who you are, the ideal girl who is standing right in front of you, but for some reasons, you couldn�t see through��

Was I that sappy? I hope not! Well, I just thought that those really were the feelings I felt about you before�put in the mildest way...hehe� Time came when I fell in love, this time, with your best friend. At that moment I thought that I really was over you, that I have found someone who notices the person that I am. Like a good friend, you told me how happy you were for me and my guy. And as a best friend, you tried to tell me to just take things cautiously; to not easily let myself go, not to take things the way I see it, you told me not to be serious at all times, because for all you know, I might end up getting hurt.

Then, my heart flopped. I just didn�t know why. In the back of my mind, I was thinking that for some indefinite reason, you care for me� But I was persistent, so I pushed that thought aside and told you, �Thanks for the advise, but I�ll be fine.�

I knew that time that I should�ve listened to you. After a few months, my guy and I broke up. I was simply crushed. And like what I did to you before, I noticed that you too, tried your best to cheer me up. You told me the things I told you before. I was shocked! Why? Because I didn�t know that although we were best friends, you really really pay a lot of attention to the things I say. But my amazement didn�t stop at that� You told me your feelings, your innermost feelings, and at that exact moment, I heard the words that I long ago desired.

Of course you took the risk when you told me that you loved me�what you didn�t know was that I did too� I just haven�t found the guts to say the words to your face. And then, you kissed me. That time, I was really confused, so I kissed you back. After that was an awkward moment, a very still silence that even our breathing can be heard. Hoping to break the ice, I was thinking of an intelligent statement to tell you. After I�ve thought about what I was gonna say, different words came out of my mouth: �I love you too.� Deeply embarrassed, I bowed my head, and then silence� But after a while, I heard someone sobbing. I checked my eyes to see if I was the one. I was very confused that time you know� so I checked�nope! Not me! And then I looked at you, I have to pinch myself to believe that you were really crying. I was trying my best not to laugh at you�hehe�

And then you started talking�you said, �all this time, my ideal girl has been right in front of me. I was taking you for granted, but when I saw you fall for one of my friends, I realized how much I love you. So, it�s true that you�ll only realize that you love someone when he or she is out of your life� I�m just grateful to have a second chance. I just couldn�t risk what we have for something I wasn�t really sure of.� I was so happy that time, you know. And from that moment, we took our friendship to a far greater level of relationship�we were in love.

And so, we took a big leap in our relationship. Sure, there have been some bad times, but we always pull through. So now, after a lot of years that we�ve been together, I�m still thankful for that one fateful day�when I met you� even when I was humiliated and embarrassed, because it was that way that led me to you. And if I ever see that teacher who paired us up, I�ll also thank her for it. Hehe�until then, I hope that nothing between us will change. I hope that what we have will last forever.

back