You, Me, and Her

Verse 12: Right Next to Me

Life is unfair.

Well, life was never meant to be fair. If it was, then Hal doubts he would even be here.

As a young child he used to have these ideas that if he worked thrice as hard, things would go as painlessly and smoothly for him. He had forgotten what his father used to tell him before he left his mom for another woman; Son, life has its own rules, it's complicated and not the same for everyone.

Halwyn had long accepted that he could never change the fate of his parents' relationship as much as he could not choose who to love. Loving Aidan was his decision. It was hard but it happens and unfortunately cannot be forced.

Unrequited love was even more difficult and complex because it could happen to anyone, including him. No way to reciprocate the same feelings that someone has, and often times it generates feelings of regret and self-loathing. Although some people would think that what he felt with Aidan back then was nothing more but a crush, Halwyn knew that it was something special. It was an intense passionate yearning that was virtually universal at some point in his life. He remembered all too well how he imagined himself speaking to him like how a lover would speak with hope only to wake up the next, with Aidan gifting him his final disillusionment. It was unfair that he would spurn words of flattery that could soon give way to bewilderment, guilt, and anger. However, just like any maiden besotted, he held on to those words like a poignant reminder of the passing of time, allowing himself to sink further into a black hole of emotional ups and downs.

When the cricket game commenced, Halwyn, who said he wouldn't enjoy the sport became too engrossed with the game and was skipping, yelling, and cheering on his favorite team. Hal always favored the oppressed, those who would suddenly rise after being beaten down. There was a lot of tension but nothing that could be cause for an alarm. After all, the sport had always been played in peace and meant to alleviate the stress. During the interval, a vendor could be seen selling snacks, and Halwyn was surprised when Aidan bought him another corndog.

"Thanks..."

"You're welcome."

During the meal and that ten-minute interval, Hal couldn't contain his curiosity. "Can I ask you something? Please don't take this the wrong way." Aidan sniggered and simply nodded to encourage him to talk. He went on, "Why did you accept Sia's offer to be featured on the front page of our magazine?"

Aidan smirked and took another bite of his corndog. He quickly chewed on the food before swallowing and responding to Hal's query. "Why? Do you think I accepted it because of you?"

Halwyn flinched and suddenly felt embarrassed. "It's not that...It's because you know she's my sister."

"I didn't know you were working with her though," Aidan pointed this out. "But yeah, I was looking forward to crossing paths with you again. That's why I accepted it. I thought maybe I could meet you this way and I did."

Halwyn stared and Aidan gave him one of his wonderful melting looks that could sometimes leave him all confused and baffled. Before he could respond to his statement, Aidan continued, "How was it?"

"The corndog?"

"Working with your sister."

"It's fine, I guess. She's the editor and I'm one of her senior writers, copywriter, journalist, and sometimes her assistant if she's in the mood."

Aidan softly chuckled, then pried, "You have a column?"

"Yeah, you haven't tried reading our magazine?"

"I never read any magazine."

"Oh, well, in that case, start reading it now."

Aidan was bemused, "I'll probably wait for this month's release though, when I'm in the cover. You didn't say anything bad about me then?"