Lights, Camera and Alden Richards ➣ AlDub/MaiChard

thirty-two

OCTOBER 2016

Now, where did all the confidence Maine had twenty minutes ago?

Down the drain, probably, she thought.

They were late, exactly as Maine had planned, but dear God, she regrets that now.

While they waited for Kim and Jen to fetch them from the car, she could see the photographers and interviewers rushing to take photos of the celebrities walking down the red carpet. Luckily, none of them heard from anyone that the Alden Richards' car has arrived.

The rumors about Alden's date have been going around all week long. As the night of the annual ball came nearer, the gossips have gotten bigger. The lights and cameras followed Alden more frequently, and the paparazzi have gotten braver day by day, bluntly asking him whom he really was taking to the most prestigious ball of the country. One was brave enough to tell him that what the media tells the people really is true, that he was, after all, still a womanizer.

The media didn't spare Maine from the controversy, of course. It seemed like it was the biggest story of the year. Alden Richards: A Supermodel or An Amateur Singer?

It annoyed the hell out of Maine, but what could she do? This was only just the quarter of everything she is yet to face, now that she's 'dating' the nation's sweetheart.

Her palms were becoming sweaty every second, and she could hear her heart thumping from her chest, almost as if it was begging her to cut her own chest open. She could hear the hustling and shouting and shutters from outside, so she tried to listen to the song playing in her head, but she couldn't. Maybe there wasn't any in the first place.

With her eyes closed, she breathed in and out, thinking about how she'd smile or walk when she's out there in just a few minutes.

"You okay?"

She opened her eyes and nodded, looking directly at the car in front of them.

"Just breathe," he murmured. "Don't faint."

"Useful advice," she muttered, leaning against the seat. "How do you even get used to this?"

"The noise?" he asked, she nodded. "You don't."

She scoffed. "You don't look nervous at all."

"Because I've never been nervous about being photographed."

She rolled her eyes and faced the window where she could see the flashing lights.

"Don't they blind you sometimes?" she asked. "I mean the lights." She looked at him. "Hindi ba nakakasilaw minsan? Nakakabulag."

He shrugged. "Minsan."

"Substantial," she remarked. "How do you live like this? Oh wait, don't answer that."

"You just do."

"I said don't answer it."

"You asked," he shrugged again. "It gets blinding. It really does. Minsan gusto ko na lang umuwi at mag-hibernate for a month of two. At times, naiisip kong umalis na lang. Mag-hike somewhere, kung saan walang makakakilala sa'kin."

"Imposible 'yun."

"I know," he answered. "Kaya nga laging ganun. Gusto ko, gusto ko, gusto ko. Pero di ko nakukuha."

"Who would have thought..." she murmured.

"Newbie," he called.

Maine glared at him.