Keep Holding On: A JuliElmo Fan Fiction

A Little Bit Longer...

When Julie woke up, she felt something different. The awkwardness, the anxiety and the hurt were all gone. She finally accepted that she was his girlfriend. She then started having thoughts about him. About going steady, until engagement, until marriage, until having children, raising them, having their children graduate and get jobs, having their children get married and have their own families, having grandkids, the whole nine yards. It was kinda early for her to think about those things but they’ve been the best of friends for four years and this felt like the continuation of it, only taken up a notch. A knock resonated from her bedroom door and she snapped out of her trance. She looked at the door slowly open and a head peek into the room. She smiled at the face that was going to make her dreams come true. He entered her room and kept the door open. He sat on the side of her bed and held her hand.

“Good morning, baby. You hungry?” He asked.

“Oo, nagugutom na ako.”

“Let’s go then. I made breakfast.”

“You’re really getting into this cooking thing, aren’t you?”

“I love cooking. Especially for the girl I love.”

“Nako… Ang sweet naman ng baby ko. I love you, Moe.”

“I love you, baby.”

            Elmo helped her up and held her hand as they walked towards the kitchen together. They ate breakfast and afterwards, they sat on the couch. Julie, curling up against him, while Elmo had his arm around her. They came across a channel where Philippine news was showing. Their faces popped up on screen.

“Julie Anne San Jose at Elmo Magalona, nagtanan! Nakatanggap kami ng impormasyon na hindi raw nakapagpaalam ang dalawang young stars sa kanilang mga pamilya tungkol sa sinasabing bakasyon ng dalawa sa America. At hindi raw sila ngayon nagcocommunicate. Ano na kaya ang nangyari sa kanila? Best friends nga lang ba sila or may namuo na kaya nagtanan? Buntis ba si Julie Anne kaya umalis ng-“

            Just before the reporter could finish his sentence, Elmo turned the television off. He turned to Julie who was still leaning against him. She was teary-eyed. She looked up at Elmo and Elmo looked at her. Elmo touched her cheek and kissed her forehead.

“Baby, ‘wag kang mag-alala. Hindi naman totoo eh.”

“And how would they know that it isn’t real?”

“Gusto mo na bang umuwi?”

“Mainit pa tayo sa media ngayon. Pag umuwi tayo, sigurado akong pipyestahan tayo ng press. ‘Wag na muna.”

            Julie’s laptop sounded and she got up and went to it. She opened her account and saw that she had an e-mail sent to her from ANCSA. She read it out loud. “Miss San Jose, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Asheville North Carolina School of Arts.” She jumped for joy and turned to Elmo and gave him a big hug. Elmo twirled her around cheering for her.

“That’s awesome, Julie! You got in! I’m so proud of you, baby!”

“Thank you, baby ko. But hey, check out your e-mail. Maybe you got your letter too…”

            Elmo planted a quick kiss on her cheek and put her down. Elmo used Julie’s laptop and signed in. He quickly typed in his e-mail and password and there was 1 unread message. He opened it and read aloud.

“Mister Magalona, it is with deepest regret to inform you that… you have not been accepted into Asheville North Carolina School of Arts.”

            Julie’s smile turned upside down when she heard it. Elmo didn’t react though. He wasn’t expecting anyway. But Julie was. “Baby Moe…” Julie said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Elmo held that hand tight and kissed it. He stood up and gave her a hug. “It’s okay, Julie. Okay lang naman ako ah. Happy ako dahil nakapasok ka.”

“Pero Moe, gusto ko magkasama tayo. Ano nalang ang gagawin ko doon kung wala ka? Hindi ba dapat magkasama tayo?”

“Baby naman… Huwag kang ganyan… Nasasaktan ako pag gumaganyan ka.”

            Elmo has his arms around her back while she has her arms around his waist. Julie rested her head on his chest, Elmo rested his chin on her head, giving her light kisses on top of her head from time to time.

“I just wanted you to be with me…” Julie whispered.

“I’m sorry, baby. I know you do. I wanted to be in school with you too.”

            Julie sighed and hugged him even tighter. “Why can’t we just stay in this moment forever?” Julie asked. “Because we have so much more moments together to look forward to…” Elmo replied. “Like this one…” Elmo moved away a bit and turned his gaze on her lips. He moved closer and closer until his lips met with hers.

“Wow.” Julie said.

“Yeah… Wow.” Elmo seconded.

            That was their official first kiss. They’ve been kissing each other in the projects they were in before but they had to admit. The feeling was different from the kisses they had in the past. This one was much more meaningful.

“Moe, I have to go to ANCSA. I need to enroll.”

“Yeah. I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure? Hindi mo naman kailangan akong samahan.”

“Pero gusto ko…”

“Alam mo, mag grocery shopping ka nalang. We’re almost out of food here.”

“Fine. I’ll drop you off at mag grogrocery nalang ako.”

“Okay. Magbibihis lang ako. Magbihis ka na rin.”

            They got in their 2007 Ford Escape XLT 4x4 and drove into the city. “Buti nalang nakabili ka ng car.” Julie said as she pat Elmo’s head. “Oo naman. Ang dami kayang secondhand cars dito.”

“Secondhand? Practical na ang baby ko… I knew my good traits would rub off on you.” Julie said as she smiled at him.

            Elmo’s hand was on the steering wheel while the other was on the stick shift. But when he saw Julie’s hand, he let go of the stick shift and held her hand.