Present Day
Days passed at unti-unting naghihilom ang mga sugat ni Gerald. Pero, habang tumatagal, ibang sakit naman ang nagsisimulang mabuhay muli. One night, after he has been in the hospital for a week, nagsimula ang unang pagsasagutan ni Sarah and Gerald. Isang oras kasing naghihintay si Gerald sa kaniyang kuwarto after Sarah promised her she would pass by before going home. He was pacing back and forth sa room at napagsabihan siya ni Nhila, ang kaniyang handler, na umupo na muna at kumalma.
"Lagi kasi niyang ginagawa sa akin 'to eh...napaka-inconsiderate niya!" sambit ni Gerald.
"Lagi?? OA mo naman... Teka, teka. Meron ka bang hindi nake-kwento sa akin? Ang lalim ng pinaghuhugutan mo ah..." tanong ni Ate Nhila
Biglang umupo si Gerald at tumahimik. Pasulyap sulyap sa pinto at iniiwasang tingnan si Ate Nhila niya.
"Huy, hello? Party line? May kausap ba ako dito?" Biro ni Ate Nhila. "Ge? Okay ka lang?"
"Actually, Ate...uhm...when I introduced her as my friend from before.. medyo half truth siya..Basta, magulo...it's a long tiring story...."
"Ah Ge...may schedule ka ba ngayon na di ko alam? Wala ko namang shooting or pictorial di ba? In short, we have all the time in the world...Ano ba yang mysterious past ninyo?"
" So okay, you know I met her in camp 8 years ago right? Our friendship started there... Gerald started from the beginning and inched his way after the day they parted from Camp.
They kept in touch and called each other up regularly. Minsan, 2 times a week, or kung may extra money si Gerald, 3 or 4 times. Dahil sa magkaiba ang time zone, they made it a point to set a regular time for them to catch up. Usually, early morning on Gerald's end and he would have to wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning just to catch Sarah. He was always on the lookout for ways to earn a little money on the side and had to let go of theatre. As much as he wanted to pursue it, it was either basketball or drama that would have to go so he can work after school. He chose basketball. Gerald got to know Sarah pretty well. She started to open up about herself and talked about how her day went. 'Di mapigilan minsan ni Gerald ang makaramdam ng konting selos whenever Sarah would tell him about his guy friends. May mga pagkakataon na he feels he's stepping out of bounds because his jealousy gets the better of him and he would warn Sarah to beware of some guys obviously trying to get her attention.
Through it all, his feelings for her never wavered. Sure, there were some girls still hitting on him but he always thought of Sarah. What if she were here instead of them? Sarah would never be like this or like that. Sarah would've cheered for him more than these girls. Sarah this, Sarah that. Kahit anong pilit niya na ibaling ang atensyon sa iba, lalo na kung sobrang nami-miss nya ang dalaga, 'di niya talaga magawa. Alam niya na kahit paano, may naghihintay sa kanya. At kahit na hindi pa sila, ramdam niya ang care ni Sarah. Sa bawat ngiti nito, o paalala, enough na para dumaan na naman ang isang araw na wala siya sa tabi ng binata.
One time, after more than 2 years of being apart, pinasama si Sarah ng father niya sa isang international convention sa LA. Hectic ang schedule ni Sarah but she managed to squeeze in time to meet up with Gerald. He drove a couple of hours, and stayed with her mom's good friend while in LA. He understood that Sarah only managed to ask one day with her dad for her to spend time with "friends". Coming from a very liberal background, Gerald didn't understand why Sarah couldn't just say she was meeting up with Gerald. Technically, they were still friends naman, sabi ni Sarah sa kanya. "I just don't want to argue with him okay? Don't worry about it." At kahit na sinabi ni Gerald na siya ang magpapaalam para sa kanya, Sarah refused.
They decided to spend the day touring Universal Studios and have dinner later on. Gerald picked her up at the Holiday Inn where Sarah was staying. Gerald was nervously waiting for Sarah in the lobby. Thoughts were running in his head...what ifs. What if she changed? What if wala na yung chemistry namin or hindi na niya ako gusto? He was deep in her thoughts when his eye turned to someone walking towards him from across the lobby. He couldn't believe it was finally her. She was wearing fitted jeans and a sheer loose shirt (over a tank top) that flowed as she walked. He was mesmerized by this more grown up Sarah in front of him. She was even more beautiful now and seemed to bloom for the past 2 years. She was more .....womanly. There seemed a natural sexiness that was effortless as she approached her. She also filled out pretty well... He felt this sudden urge to kiss and grab her all at the same time.
