Must Be Love (KathNiel)

Chapter 1 ~ The Slow Mo

Patch POV

They said this is life.

Filled with moments

Of joyful noises,

Of spirited dancing,

Of marching to a different beat.

"Bes catch!" I said while passing the ball to Ivan.

He dribbled the ball and passed it to me. I shoot the ball and we high fived each other.

"Go Team Mustache!" Laviña cheered us.

But there are moments when life slows down.

In those moments,

the world disappears,

the music fades,

everything slows down.

Ivan took the ball and dribbled it. Everything slowed down and it focused on him. He was getting closer and closer to me.

Like this moment my dad told me about. He said," you'll know you're in love when your world begins to move in slow motion".

That's what happened to him the first time he saw my mom. Dad was about to shoot the lifesaving basketball when he saw Mom. He dropped the ball and the opposing team took the opportunity to shoot the ball. That's when he knew she will be the woman he will marry. Mom was standing on a float and was waving her hand.

Time stopped and everything else disappeared. The only one he saw...was the queen of his heart.

They lost the championship in basketball that year because of dad. But it doesn't matter because my mom's heart was the bigger prize.

Everything also went in slow motion when dad first saw me. He said it was also love at first sight. "You look like Mommy! So pretty!" Dad kept scratching my stomach when I was a baby that time.

After a few months, Mom started cooking and chopping roasted pigs because that is Dad's job. "My Mom bought me this! It's so pretty!" I said to my playmate, showing my new toy.

Great things happen to my dad when the world goes in 'slow mo'. I can't say the same for me. I feel scared and anxious.

Mom went outside and came near me. "Princess Patricia, stay here for a while. I'll just buy something." Mom said while grabbing my shoulders. I just nodded. I realized that Mom was crying and started to walk away from me.

The first time that I saw things in slow motion was the last time I saw my mother. "Mom?" I squeaked with scared on my voice.

Because I got scared, I followed her. "Mommy!" I ran to her but my steps seemed to slow down too. "Mommy!"

She just left me crying. Until one fateful night, a basketball went near me so I grabbed it. A boy came near me too and smiled at me. "Sorry" he said and took the ball from me. I smiled letting him see my incomplete teeth.

Then a few kids came and saw my smile. "Ugly girl! Ugly girl!" The kids started bullying me so I covered my mouth with my hands.But the boy scared them off and they left running. "Like what I did?" He said and dribbled the ball.

"Don't worry they're gone. You can smile now!" I was still not convinced because he might also call me ugly.
"Here, like this!" He stretched his cheeks and smiled. I slowly copied him until I became comfortable with him.

I did lost my mother, but I found a best friend. "Catch!" He said and passed the ball to me.

With Ivan, my life moved quickly. He passed me a rubber shoe and I examined it. "What's this for?" I asked.

I guess that's what happens when you're happy.

He pointed the shoe "That's what you should use when we play basketball!". I sniffed his shoe and regretted it.

"Yuck! This stinks! Dude this smells like crap!" I said while returning the shoe back.

He took my shoe and started to play with it. "Hey! Give me that!" I said and he chukled. "Stinks? Yours smells worse than crap!" He said while smelling my shoe. "Just give it back!"

I kept forcing him to return it to me. "Gross!"

"Edward! Talk to me!" Ivan's mother suddenly went in the scene when Ivan's father went out their house and started his car's engine.

"Don't make a scene! The neighbors will get bothered!" Ivan's mom was concerned.

The car started and Ivan's father's car already moved in a fast speed. "Edward don't-" Ivan's mother didn't finished her sentence when she saw Ivan.

That wasn't a good day. Things went in 'slow mo' again when I saw my best friend cry for the first time. "Bes?" I said getting his attention. Ivan wiped his tears and faced me. I stretched my cheeks and smiled at him, resulting Ivan to laugh a little.

So when I saw Ivan in slow motion, I got nervous.

"Patchot!"

Because nothing good ever happens when I see life in slow motion. I just thought if there's something sad that's gonna happen again. But that time,I felt different. The world stopped, all I could see was him...

Ivan kept dribbling the ball "Patchot!"

My best friend.

"Patchot!" Ivan passed the ball to me but I just got lost in my thoughts while seeing him. He looked at me and I looked back. We were like in a staring contest but-

"Ouch!" My body fell to the ground when my forehead ached. The basketball hit my forehead so hard resulting the guys to come near me.

"Patchot!" I heard Ivan gasped.

"Are you okay?" I got lost in his words and his eyes.

"I love you." I blurted but kept a straight face.

"Huh?" He said, confusion plastered on his face.

"What did she say?" Laviña asked.

Ivan looked at the guys and looked back. Then, Ivan's gaze returned back to me. "I love you Ivan." I cleared what I said and the guys laugh when they heard it.

"She said 'I love you'" Ivan's friend said.

There. That is my slow mo moment. The moment that I wished I could fast forward and forget. And treat it like a worst nightmare.

~•~