Almost is Never Enough

[ONESHOT]

"Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking, and I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me?"

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After nearly spilling his drink (non-alcoholic, take note) on his pristine white suit, Enrique set down his glass and headed straight to the men's room. He didn't bother excusing himself from his date, because they're still a bit-a bit? No. He and Liza were still very awkward after that drunken fiasco he had no more than a week ago. His few days in London didn't hold a very good memory for him. It was just a parade of forced laughter, fake smiles, and phony affections. Yes, the place was beautiful, but other than that there was one big thing that was missing. And when he revelled in that misery, it ended up being really bad and pretty embarrassing.

He attempted walking to the bathroom unseen because his drunken fit on the plane was still no doubt fresh in everyone's minds, but to no avail, for he overheard a small group of waiters whispering about him when he had passed by them.

It had crossed his mind not to attend the event, but not showing up would mean he was a coward who was too afraid to face his mistakes, and Enrique was not a coward. A huge plus would be finally seeing the one he'd wanted to see for almost a month now, despite the fact that he had told himself a thousand times not to look for her.

Looking at himself in the mirror, his fingers brushed the lace lining his suit, similar to what he had on his suit at last year's event. His hands reached up to fix his bowtie, even though it clearly didn't need any fixing. He was anxious, he was aware of that. Was it because he was worried that someone would bring up the drunken mess that he was days ago? Or was he uneasy because maybe Julia would once again flat out avoid him like she did when he saw her last August? He didn't know what exactly he was so anxious about, but he knew that the latter was just a tad bit worse than the former.

He walked out of the bathroom with his head held high, making sure he exuded the usual charm that he had, just to show people that the airplane debacle was already far behind him. And then out of the blue, a feeling at the back of his mind made him turn to look to his far right.

He didn't even know what it was he was supposed to be looking at. It was a small crowd including his friends DJ and Kathryn, who just like last year, were each other's dates at the event. The next thing he catches a glimpse of is a flurry of white, which was a second later revealed to be Julia. His Julia.

Once again, he was reminded of last year. Julia looking absolutely striking and completely oblivious of him, and there he was, trying so hard not to gape at her. Weirdly enough, he realized, this year was reminiscent of the year before. He just hoped tonight wouldn't end up like then.

Enrique kept his gaze light, just in case someone sees him. He watched Julia laughing at something DJ was saying. She looked even more beautiful than the previous year. Whereas then, she had gone for an effortless sexy and sultry look; this year, she went for austere elegance. Julia looking incredibly stunning in her white gown could trump even the most glamorous Hollywood celebrity.

After observing that there was no other guy following her around, Quen soon deduced that the rumors were true: Julia had gone to the event solo again this year.

But unlike last year, a twinge of guilt quickly came over him after feeling relieved that Julia arrived at the ball without a date. Who was he to be relieved, really? As much as he didn't want to feel guilty, a tiny part of him wanted her to have brought a date at the event. He wished she would try to hurt him, or attempt to use cheap ploys of revenge on him, anything. But he knew that Julia was a woman of class, and she would never resort to stooping down to a lower level. And although he would choose Julia hurting him over Julia avoiding him every single time, he will always admire her for her graciousness.