Is It Love Yet (?) Once upon a time there was this girl who never believed in love. One night her phone beeped and she received a text from an unknown number. She is always irritated with the sight of unknown numbers. Girl: Who the hell is this please? Unknown: Your stalker. : ) Girl: Where did u get my phone #? Unknown: From my heart. : ) Girl: Okay, what-the-fuck-ever. Unknown: Seriously I got it from my heart. : ) Girl: Your name? Unknown: My name is Warren Avery. : ) Girl: From? Warren: From your heart. : ) Girl: Whatever. Warren: I just wanted to know your name. The girl got irritated with this person. She didn't text back. But he kept on messing with her. She knew she's supposed to block his number already but she didn't. Because she's curious with the fellow and she wanted to play the game. Girl: Please just tell the truth, who are you? Warren: I said my name is Warren. Please stop ignoring me. Girls are probably chasing me now and here you are, pushing me away. You'll regret it, I promise. Girl: I don't give any shit if you're the last handsome guy on earth. So please just tell me where you got my phone number and I will kill that person. Warren: I can't. : ) Girl: Ughhh. Why? Warren: Uh, because you'll kill her? Girl: Fine. Where do you go to school, honestly? Warren: Central Philippine University. : ) Girl: So tell me where did you get my phone # Warren: But you didn't give me your name yet. The girl gave her first name to him and they war-texted for a few hours. A week has passed and they still texted because the girl had found him funny and sweet. She was only harsh at first place. But she didn't even mean it, she was just pissed at unknown numbers. But as they texted, the girl and Warren had a lot in common. He stayed up late texting her, talk about their families, would scold the girl for staying up too late reading books and remind her to take her medicine. He was sweet. When they met, Warren was right. He looked adorable and tall and cute and sweet and funny. Girls would definitely chase him for that. He was really tall. Like really, not a normal height for guys in the Philippines. And the good thing was, the girl was tall, too and they looked cute together. Warren liked her instantly and told her she reminds him of his mother. The girl had dark brown hair and that dimple when she smiles, the bright and sweet personally, he would touch her cheek and she would blush at it. They talked for hours. They talked about their lives and all of it. They talked about their past as if they belong to the future. Warren Avery was taking a business course. He doesn't like business but his father pushed him. They owned a company, that's why. And he was the eldest son so he should take over the company one day. Warren wanted to be the person he wanted to be, but he can't because he respected his father too much that he has to give up what he wanted. Just like the girl, she doesn't like her course, she was also forced by her mother. The girl was a writer. Before she graduated, she was the EIC of their school paper and had been the token during school competitions in different levels. Warren's mom was also a romance writer. The girl got excited because she's going to meet her. Wait, this girl wasn't supposed to fall in love. She wasn't supposed to be here at all. Because she knew how most of the love stories ended. But also, her heart tells her that she's doing the right thing with Warren. So the girl, again, tried to believe in love. And tried to push away the same reason why not to. She met his mother. And his younger brother. His little cousin. They got along so well. They treated her like family. It was perfect. Not until one day, Warren never texted. It went for weeks. The girl got frustrated and sad and she misses him so bad. She's worried about him and chances were, is he even doing the same thing? He told her that they're going to meet at a park, where a beautiful river was over the railing. The girl came, nervous about what will happen. When they met, they were silent. It went for twenty minutes. Not until Warren broke it. "This wasn't love yet, wasn't it?" He asks, looking at her intently. Almost sorry. The girl went teary eyed within that second and she knew it was happening all over again. All. Over. Again. All because of love. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I didn't mean to make you fall in love. I just . . . I don't know what to do." "Why," her tears slowly went down her cheek. "After all of those things, you weren't sure it was love? When you put your hands on my face, that wasn't love? And you're asking me, if everything wasn't love yet? Are you seriously asking me that?" "I'm so sorry." "So we're breaking up?" "We're not . . . we're not even together," he looks nervous to say it, "So I'm asking if it's not love yet. I'm making sure you're not in love with me because I'm going to end this. I need to end this. It's the right thing, I don't want to hurt you before anything else happens." "You've already hurt me," her chest hitches, she wanted to run away and cry or break something. "Why are you doing this to me?" "I'm so, so sorry," he whispers again. "I didn't mean it to go that far. I . . . I can't lose my dad's trust. I . . . I'm already engaged." The girl's face fell and broke into pieces, "With who?" "I don't know her. She doesn't know me. I . . . I'm so lost. I don't know what to do. It's the business thing. I've got to do that. I . . . I'm so sorry. I need you to understand the circumstance I'm in." The girl asks, "Did you even love me for once?" It took a moment for him to answer, "Yes." "If you love me, you're going to fight this with me, right?" He doesn't answer. "Right," she says bluntly. "Because your father loved you so much that he risked his own son's happiness for what he wanted in his business. Warren, don't be stupid please. I know what you feel about me." "That's why I asked you if it's love yet." "Of course, it's love!" She furiously says and he was looking at the ground while she was talking all the pain out from her heart. He took her hand and say, "If you really love me, you'd let me go. You'd let me do the right thing." They could of had fought for it. They could of had won. He could of had "fuck that business" and lived happily with her. Although they were still young but still, they could've had it all. He even got engage at the age of nineteen and they can't fight for what they both wanted? It could of had been love. But it wasn't. It was business. It was getting engaged with someone you don't know. It was always what your parents wanted, what college wanted, what the whole world wanted us to be. And it hurts because there was a choice but it was ignored. "I'm so sorry," he kept on whispering. And he finally left, leaving half of his heart ripped out of his chest. And until now, the girl promised herself to never believe in love; like the type of love a boy was supposed to give the girl. She was so mad, so broken, so lost when she knew about it. She was never happy. She failed her subjects at school. She barely talked with her friends and barely smiled. Mostly, she cried all her time at midnight. She would look tormented at school and wore that ugly black eyeliner which smudged her white school uniform. It took her six months to get over it, not that she counted. And wherever the hell he is right know, she hopes he's happy. She just wished he played Prince Charming and they both ran away. God, he wasn't even her boyfriend. She never even had a boyfriend! And she cried over boys who wasn't even her boyfriend! She was always the third party in every story. All those guys just thought she was pretty and then what? They leave her. It's all the same goddamn thing. At least her friends were always there for her. Justin Bieber was right, she thought, that love is a beautiful thing: it comes with hurt and it comes with pain. And here she is, writing this fucking once a upon a time little bullshit thing that started from a text conversation that ended up in a hard, long and painful way, remembering the day that handsome idiot asked if all of this wasn't love yet. The End.
