Always You (One-Shot)

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"I'm so sick of this! I don't understand why you can't just say it!" Julia screamed at James, while throwing a water bottle at his head.

"I can't do that to Nadine." He said back as calmly as he could.

"It's always Nadine. Why you can't go out tomorrow. Why you can't go out ever! Sige sige... kayo na!" Pacing around the room, trying to cool down.

"I don't understand why you're making such a big deal over one kiss or that you don't understand that I've already made my decision. My career or nothing at all. "

Julia started to cry, "Pero pinili kita. I chose you."

James pursed his lips, "And I chose my career."

She wiped her face and grabbed her bag. "You mean you chose Nadine."

He didn't know what to say, because in a way she was right. Choosing his career meant choosing Nadine. Not choosing his career meant hurting the girl who was always by his side. He actually wouldn't be surprised if she had been listening in to the whole conversation, ordering Ate Ca and their other RMs to get him tea and food to comfort him later.

When the silence was long enough, Julia stared back at him and scoffed, "She won't be able to make you who you want to be. I'm a Barretto. If this gets out that you played me, your reputation's ruined. All you have to do is choose me, James, and your career will skyrocket bigger than you ever imagined."

James turned back around to Julia, whose arms were crossed and eyes glaring. "I don't need you. Julia, look... you're a nice girl. We're mutual friends of Sam. But you have to understand, Love. I don't need you. Nadine, I do need. Career, I do need. They go hand in hand. And I don't understand what you mean by being a Barretto... you've already ruined that reputation yourself, don't you think?"

"Fuck you, James," and she was out of the room with a slam of the door.

A few minutes passed and Nadine was quietly sneaking in a plate of burger steak onto his side table. James laughed that she was trying to be as quiet as possible.

"I know you're there, Naddie."

She stood up, eyes like a deer in headlights, "Ah... burger steak and coke. Kung... gutom ka pa... ummm... I'll be in my ro-"

"You can stay," staring at her slowly make her way towards the door.

"Umm... eto..." handing him the food container. "Favorite mo to, di ba?"

James stood up and hugged her. She put down the food on the vanity and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Nadz," he sighed out.

She tapped his back in a comforting rhythm, "Ano ba? Partners in crime."

Nadine bit her lip, holding back the tears because of this. She hated this. She hated that he couldn't be happy because of her. She hated that it was always someone else, instead of her. But she couldn't really say anything, so she bit her tongue and waited for the storm to pass.

***

But the storm didn't pass. It had been almost a year, and here she was, in her room, watching FP do another issue about James and Julia. Yes! Mag also released a new interview that made her look so desperate for James' attention.

Truth was, a lot of things had changed between them. As the year went on, with more and more time to spend alone with each other, their feelings grew for each other. She tried suppressing them, thinking that it was just James being James. But he really put in effort, and a lot of it, at that. She had answered him before Christmas, after all the issues had seemed to die down and when she felt like her emotions wouldn't get the best of her if she saw another issue.