Hukayserye

LIVEWIRE

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

FICTION PO ITO. CAPSLOCKPARA INTENSE.

Para kay Ateng Mel na number one faney ng Hukayserye ko (dahil dumadami na ang utang kong HS, at tatabunan ko siya. XD) at sa iba pang sumusubaybay sa mga pinagsususulat ko dito. ^_^v

UULITIN KO PO: ANO MANG PAGKAKAHAWIG SA TUNAY NA BUHAY NG MGA PANGYAYARI AY WALA AKONG KINALAMAN. ANG FUNNY, IHUHULOG KO SA HUKAY! 😂

~~~~~~~~~
RJ was one hell of a worrywart.

It was 7:34 pm on his watch, and he drove straight to her condo after his shoot. While people kept bombarding him with questions on Twitter with the official hashtag for TJ Hotdogs, he was busy bombarding someone on the other side with his messages.

"Yep, eto papunta na dyan. Nakainom na ba sya ng gamot?" He asked as he slowed down before the stoplight. "Oo, napainom ko na. Tigas ng ulo. Konti lang kinain. Di naubos yung sinigang na padala mo." The voice on the opposite end said. RJ let out an exasperated sigh. "Try mo parin pakainin. Lapit nako dyan. Sige baba ko na'to." He replied, before finally switching off his phone.

~~~~

Maine was a live wire.

She purposely shut his younger brother out of her room after lunch because he kept on pestering her about leftovers, saying things like 'magagalit na naman yun eh' and 'pinadala pa yan dito'. She wanted to wolf down whatever he sent over, but the pain in her lower belly, the joint aches were not to be ignored. Her whole body yearned for her soft covers and her plush pillows. She wanted to sleep the pain away.

The quick raps on the door outside made her abandon the thought.

"Dean, anong-" she struggled to get up, only to be met by the gaze of that man on her doorway, his face stern. Maine slumped back to her pillows and murmured, "Bat pumunta ka pa? Wala nga lang to eh." She lifted her head slightly, to see if 'the look' was gone, but to her surprise even the man was. She quickly sat up, ignoring the throbbing pain on her temples and the dull ache on her belly.
"Wag na. Humiga ka na ulit." RJ reappeared, holding a hot water bottle wrapped in his hanky. Maine watched him as he crossed the room to her aircondition unit, increased the thermostat, drew the curtains shut, and finally rounded on her. He loomed over her and pushed her shoulders until she was lying down, and pulled back her covers swiftly. Alarmed, she scooted away from him but he held up the bottle. "Ilalagay ko lang." He assured, meeting her gaze. "Pwede namang ibigay mo na lang. Nanggugulat ka pa." She said, reaching over to take the item. But to her surprise, RJ laid the water bottle down on her bedside table, took off his shoes and scooted on the empty space beside her.

"Wag ka na malikot. Matulog ka na." He muttered, lying on his right side, her back against his front. He spooned his right arm under her, nestling her head against the crook of his arm, while the other grasped for the water bottle and set it against her navel. "I-angat mo ng konti yung shirt mo, Meng. Very light lang." He instructed, and she did as told. In a matter of minutes, Maine's slightly rapid breathing rate slowed down. She finally drifted off to sleep.

~~~

RJ never knew he could be this thorough.

He's read about girls going through this excruciating cycle every month, but he's paid no mind, except for his younger sister's outbursts when her monthly visit comes. However, Maine was a different case. He's noted the details- how his cousin's sinigang seems to be the only food she craves, how she avoids loud music from her headset which she usually listens to while on events, down to how she becomes almost like a grizzly when she finds no chocolate inside her ref's door. He's never did that before, not even for his sister. And every twentieth of the month, he makes sure to fill all the small gaps in her routine with those little details.

And now, as she was quietly lying literally in his arms like a baby, with only the warmth from her and the water bottle, he could not believe that he could be this thorough. He snuggled closer, bringing his face into the junction of her neck and shoulders, revelling in the small reward for his efficiency today.
~~~

Maine was a livewire, and RJ was her main switch.

As she felt his arms tighten hold around her waist, she felt a different kind of pain. It was the kind that made her run for safety, the kind that she encounters everytime she lies silent in his arms.

It was her pain of longing.

She longs to be certain about everything about him, just as how certain she is about her red days. She longs to be certain how he'd continue to do rituals like these, until the red days are no more. She longs to be certain about the future, just as how certain she is about the pain her visit brings.

"Lalim ng kunot ng noo ah." RJ said huskily, now awake from his nap. Maine wondered how he saw her look, only to be reminded that her bedside mirror was askew from the tantrums she threw awhile ago when she couldn't find RJ's shirt to wear today. "Wala, may iniisip lang." She replied, palm on her forehead as if to iron out her expression. "Pwede ba yan malaman?" He asked, shifting slightly his arm. Maine removed the hot water bottle from his grasp, and turned on to her right side, facing him.

"Wala naman. Iniisip lang kung bakit imbis sa babaeng physically fit, sa babaeng may dysmenorrhea ka pa tumatabi." She murmured against his chest. RJ let out a sigh. "Isa lang sagot diyan." He said, a grinning widely.

"Ano?" She inquired.

"They're not Maine." He answered.

Cringing, she pushed his shoulder away, only to earn a tighter hug from him. "If you're asking me why I keep doing this when I could enjoy doing something else, sinasabi ko sa'yo, mas enjoy to." He said, kissing the top of her head. Puzzled, Maine glanced up at him, brows raised. "So ano, enjoy ka nakikita akong mamilipit sa sakit at mag-absent every month, genoin?" She retorted. RJ snorted.

"No, silly. I enjoy the thought that aside from your brothers and Tatay, I get to see vulnerable Maine, and be the one to comfort her." He replied.

She had no comeback for that.

Wordlessly, because she gets her point across him the best that way, she clung onto his neck and hugged him closer, her lips brushing against his adam's apple in the process. "Thank you. For letting me take care of you." He murmured in her ear.

"Wag ka magsasawa ha?" Maine said.

"If only I could take the pain away," RJ replied, rubbing circles on her back. Then an idea crossed his mind. "Well, maybe I can, but not for too long." He continued, trying hard not to snicker.

"How?" She asked, pulling back from his embrace.

"Charmaine." He joked.

In a flash, RJ found the lower half of his body flung across the edge of the bed, with Maine blushing to the roots of her hair, while RJ struggled to keep himself from falling totally on the floor. "Grabe sya! Masakit katawan mo niyan ha." He said, bringing himself in a sitting position. "Pag ikaw narinig ni Dean kita mo..." She trailed off, looking at the doorway just in case Dean happened to overhear them. (It was a rule enforced by Dean: RJ visits, allowed in her room, but no closed doors.)

"Ayaw mo nun, nine months wala kang cramps, yun nga lang, labor pains at the 39th- NICOMAINE!" He couldn't finish his sentence off as she hit him with a pillow on the side of his head. "Loko ka! Umuwi ka na nga!" Maine huffed, feigining irritation and staring at him.

RJ shrugged and was about to stand up, but a subtle grip at the hem of his shirt kept him from doing so.

"Ikaw ang pinakamagulong kasiguraduhan ko, Nicomaine." He muttered, before joining her under the covers again.

~END~