let's give 'em somethin' to talk about

you'd act so nervous, could you be fallin' for me?

Hop's plane doesn't land until very late into the night, but Gloria stays up and waits for it anyway. Well, it isn't as if she has any real hope of sleeping right now, all things considered, so it isn't difficult for her to stay up, ignoring any calls or messages from anyone else who might be curious about her confession to Hop. She scrolls through more and more of the articles that come out in the time since the story broke, reading through comments.

Just like before, there are plenty of people who continue to go on about how they always knew, and what a cute couple she and Hop make, and she wishes she could tell them directly that there isn't any couple yet, did they not notice him going through the terminal without having a chance to respond to her confession? People really shouldn't assume things just because it would make for a happy ending. And, of course, she doesn't want to get her hopes up either.

Also like before, there are the comments from her fans complaining that they would be better for her, despite never meeting her, and even a few that talk about how they always wanted to see her with Marnie or Bede or Raihan or the recently married Nessa, or even the older brother of the very man she just proclaimed her love to. Honestly, where do people get these ideas from? At least she isn't the only person who didn't think there was anything going on between her and Hop, and these people are even more dense if they thought she was going to get with Leon , of all people.

Not that he's bad , or anything, he's just...Leon.

Of course there are commenters that still talk about their own crushes on Hop, or their hopes for his relationship status, and Gloria skips over these to avoid further jealousy. This doesn't do much to help pass the time, but it is the only thing that she can focus on, besides repeatedly refreshing the page that tells her if his plane has landed yet. At some point, it must start lagging, however, because she thinks he's still in the air when her phone starts to ring, his contact picture popping up and causing her heart to leap into her throat.

She's shaking so much that she can hardly press the screen to answer it, but she manages somehow, her voice sounding strangled as she says, "Hello?"

"Gloria," he breathes, and he sounds very out of breath, like he's been running. Like maybe he's been trying to find a good place to call her as fast as he could. "Gloria, I...of course I love you too!"

"Hop?!" There's no way for her to have misheard him, but still she has herself convinced that she shouldn't get her hopes up.

"I've always loved you, you should know that! Since...well, since we met, practically!" he shouts, but she doesn't mind that he's yelling directly into the phone. "I just...I didn't think...I mean...why today ?"

"Because...because!" she protests, not sure why she feels like she might cry. Is it because it's finally sinking in that Hop just told her that he loves her too? "Because I didn't want to tell you anymore than you wanted to tell me, apparently! But you were going away, and what if you met someone else and forgot all about me?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that? How could I forget you , Gloria? You're my best friend! Which, by the way, is the only reason I never told you before."

"Yeah, well, same here! A-and, I don't know, what if you did? That's all I could think about, so I decided to just...tell you! I just didn't get there fast enough..." she mumbles.

"I thought you didn't want to come, I mean...I thought you were too busy. We've spent so much time together, you could have told me then!" says Hop.

"I didn't want to lose you right before you left. If you didn't feel the same and it made everything weird, then I wouldn't get to see you and you wouldn't talk to me! Imagine how bad that would be!" she protests. "But then...if you met someone else, that would feel bad too. So, at the last minute..."

"At the very last minute," he replies. "Gloria, I am in love with you. I've hardly been able to sit still since you told me, I wanted to call you so bad. I-I wanted to fly right back and tell you face to face, but that would have taken even longer."

"Yeah, probably not a good idea."

"Truth be told, I almost missed my flight for you, but I was afraid the earful I would get from you would make you forget all about confessing to me," he admits. "Not to mention the fact that Sonia might actually kill me for it."

Gloria laughs, and realizes then that, just like that, they're talking like they always do. But things aren't the same as they were before. He loves her, and she knows it, and he knows that she loves him. Hop loves her. She holds the phone close to her, as if she were holding him, and she says, "I really do love you, you know. For a long time, I think, but..."

"You think?"

"It took me too long to figure it out."

"Well, I always knew, all these years! You're cute and you're my best friend, and I always knew there would never be anyone else for me!" he replies, sounding rather proud of himself. "I...oh, I just want to keep talking to you, but I..."

"You just landed," she says, "you need to get going."

"Right, right, but this isn't over. I'll talk to you again as soon as I can, but until then...would you like to be my girlfriend?" he asks, though they both know that it doesn't need asking.

"Of course," she replies, though they both already know her answer.

~X~

A long distance relationship isn't as bad as she imagined it would be, and she expected to miss Hop quite a bit either way. Though it would be nice to be able to see him in person, and though she would like to be able to express her feelings for him in a more physical manner, just knowing that they're together is enough for her right now. He finds time to call her whenever he can, and they text nearly constantly, so much so that she wonders how he hasn't gotten in trouble for it yet.

She tells all of her curious friends and family about it first, then, with Hop's permission, finally responds to the media, asking for a statement. Soon enough, everyone knows that they're together, but that news dies down fairly quickly, and she can resume her normal life.

A little over a week into Hop's trip, things feel just as blissful as they did on day one, but she does wish time would go a little more quickly. She wants to see him, more and more each day, and wonders when he will know a set date for coming back home. But other than her new relationship, everything in her life is surprisingly normal.

That is what makes it especially surprising when Leon calls her out of the blue, when she knows that he doesn't have any fresh material to tease her over. When she answers, again asking him what he wants, he replies, "How would you like to go on vacation with me?"