Are We Really Over???

Chapter 1

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Perth's POV

"Here you go," I said to the person who had dropped the parcel.

That person had come from behind me, overtaking me, and had been walking in a rush while holding several boxes in his arms. The top one, the smallest, a parcel actually, had slid down to the ground and I had almost stepped on it.

He had stopped in his tracks and was about to turn around but I had already bent and picked up the parcel and was handing it over to him.

When he turned around......

"Perth?!?"

"Saint?!?"

We stood awkwardly, staring at each other wide eyed. Just what were the chances of us meeting here on the Philippine Islands, and in a mall of all places.

We both had been here to the Philippine Islands before. When Love By Chance was still at its height in popularity, our Philippine fans had clamored for us to hold a fan meeting here in Manila. The fan meeting had been a huge success.

As the days and months had gone by and Saint and I were constantly thrown into each other's company, or maybe I should say, in each other's arms, I found myself seriously falling for his quiet charm. He could also be goofy like me, but he was such an adorable bundle of charms. It was impossible not to fall for him.

On his part, I wasn't sure if he felt anything for me more than just friendship. Yes, he was such a good friend to me. But that was all that I seemed to be for him.

I had hoped that eventually, he would feel for me more than just friendship. I had hoped that, given more time, it would happen.

Unfortunately, the "more time" did not happen. Our friendship, our meetings, our fan events had been abruptly cancelled.

I don't even want to think about the reason why we had to stop seeing each other anymore. It was too painful for me to wrap my mind around.

As time passed by, I had hoped that the feeling of emptiness, the longing to be with Saint, would eventually die down.

On the contrary, the feeling, the longing, just deepened, to the point that it was literally eating me up. I knew I was losing weight. If I did not do something, I could end up on a hospital bed.

My close friend, Mark, seeing how gaunt and sickly looking I had become, had suggested that I give myself a break.

"Go on a vacation," he had said.

"Where? Pattaya? Phuket?" I asked, already imagining myself lying on the soft sands of a Phuket beach resort.

"No," said Mark. "Far away from here. As in far, far away, outside the country."

That was when the idea of a Philippine island vacation came to my mind.

But what were the chances in a million, that the very place where I least expected to run into him would be the very place that I had chosen to hide.

My arm was still outstretched, my hand holding the parcel still hanging in midair.

Saint just stood there staring at me, open mouthed and wide eyed.

I was the first to find my voice.

"Wh... wha... what are you doing here?" I asked before tiptoeing to place the parcel on top of the other boxes that his arms could barely hold together.

"I'm... I'm on vacation," he replied. "What about you? Why are you here on the island?"

Of course I wasn't going to tell him why I was here on the island. I would appear totally pathetic in his eyes if I were to tell him that I was here to heal from the heartache of our forced separation.

"I'm here on vacation as well," I said, forcing a smile on my face.

"Are you with a group or..." (I noticed the pause, the hesitation) "... or with someone?"

Should I lie to him? Should I tell him that I was with a girlfriend, a local girl, a sexy and beautiful local girl? After all the Philippines was well known to have produced many Miss Universe title holders.

On the other hand, maybe I could say that I was here to meet up with a handsome local guy whom I had met initially in Bangkok and that I had come to follow him here.

Yes, that was it! That was what I would tell him!

"Umm... actually I'm here to meet with someone from here whom I met in Bangkok some time ago. I promised him that I would follow him here and then he would show me around the popular tourist places here," I said, admiring myself for what a smooth liar I had become.

"Ohh... I see," he said, nodding thoughtfully. "Is he a celebrity?"

"Actually, yes," I said. "He is one of the leading actors in a BL series called "Like in the Movies."

"How did you meet him?" Saint asked.

I had to think fast. Shit. I vowed that starting tomorrow I would never lie to anyone again.

"He had gone shopping in Bangkok with his mom during his break from work," I said, already hating myself for having to add one lie upon another. "I was waiting for an empty table in a very busy and crowded restaurant and he stood up from the table that he and his mom were occupying and then he approached me to say that he could share his table with me if I didn't mind eating with strangers. And then we had started up a conversation when he mentioned that he actually knew me because he had a friend who likes to watch Thai BL series and that friend had made him watch Love By Chance with him."

I noticed that during my long winded explanation, Saint was already looking around, seemingly no longer interested in my made up story.

I got shocked though when before he walked away, he suddenly asked, "And what is this Philippine celebrity's name?"

Fortunately, I did indeed know the name of that actor because I had been curious enough during my slack days to check out that local BL series.

"Iain," I replied confidently.

But then Saint asked, "Iain what? What's his last name?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked nervously because I had actually forgotten what the last name was.

"Because I have met the leading actors of that series in person," Saint replied.

I waited... and waited... and waited for the earth to open up and swallow me.