Lights, Camera and Alden Richards ➣ AlDub/MaiChard

thirty

Author's note: i'm a shitty author

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SEPTEMBER 2016

It only took Maine a couple of days to see the video of Yvette Conjuangco telling the press that Alden asked her as his date for Supernova's Annual Ball.

She wasn't angry; disappointed was more like it. It was as if she has seen this coming.

Jade bombarded her with phone calls; obviously bothered about the fact that Alden was taking another woman as his date. Maine explained, telling her that it was okay. Jade argued, pointing out that they were supposed to go together for the publicity stunt.

And that's when she stopped slacking on her bed and being upset and disappointed about Alden's choices. She realized that these were small reminders that they were still, after all, only together for the lights and the cameras.

And so she spent the rest of the week going to work in the morning—adding another line of patience and kindness for the press who wouldn't bugger off—and hiding there as much as she can. Apparently, this was big news. Yvette Cojuangco, twenty-two, is the famous Alden Richards' date to the most anticipated annual ball, while the latter is currently "dating" Supernova's rising star, Maine Mendoza. What made this bigger news is that neither Maine nor Alden has spoken about this—and it has been a long week.

The ball is in a couple of days, and Maine does not have a single clue on what's going on—except that she knew how much of a manipulative liar Alden Richards could be.

She intentionally left her phone at Faye's condo unit when she visited her during the weekend, and 'accidentally' forgot to go and take it back everyday after work. Faye knew better, but decided to let Maine do her thing. Faye sent her a message on her Facebook everyday, reminding her of her phone and how annoying it was (she put it on silent). Maine responded with the same answer everyday: she'd pick it up after work. But everyday, something magically comes up—the stupid rain, an emergency dinner meeting with her publicists, Jacob's mom's list of errands, and spontaneous night trips with Jacob that ended at one in the morning. And so, she had one week of silence from Alden—if he even tried to call her.

But it was Friday, two days before the ball, when Faye finally had half a day off from her busy job, giving her a chance to give Maine what she had left behind; thus, giving her no other choice than to respond to the call she had received exactly twelve minutes upon sliding it to her back pocket.

She wished her phone was dead, but when she left it in Faye's place, it was fully charged, and her friend wasn't the person to be nosy and look through her phone—even when she did not have a passcode on. So the battery wasn't even halfway drained when she got it, giving her no excuse but to answer it.

"I have been calling since Saturday," was the first thing she heard. "Jen has been in touch with your manager, but Kim always says that you're busy with something. I went to your building twice this week, only to know that you have left. What is going on, newbie?"

She frowned, thinking of a response.

Because what was she supposed to say? That she was purposely trying to avoid him because she did not know what else to say? That she had spent the whole week trying to figure out what was happening when in fact, there was really nothing to figure out? That she had been sulking in bed, denying that she's hurt because he was taking somebody else to the ball?

"Are you even there?" he asked, clearly annoyed, when she zoned out for a minute. "Nandyan ka ba sa office ni Kim?"

She only responded with a hum.