Chapter 14

"Good night, P'Off," I said, then I went to sleep.

He was gone when I woke up. Instead, there was a note on my bedside.

"It's late butHappy Valentine's Day."

I remembered the night before. It was our first date, and the first date I ever had. It wasn't what I had in mind for my first date with P'Off, but I think it was way better.

I tried calling him but he can't be reached. So, I texted him "Belated Happy Valentine's Day."

I waited for him to reply the entire day. I tried to call him before I sleep, but he can't be reached. I was tempted to ask P'Tay about P'Off but decided otherwise. I'll see him on Monday anyway. Boy, I was wrong.

I wasn't able to see him for that entire week. Not in the university. Not in their condo. I can't even reach him through phone. It was as if he disappeared. I asked P'Tay about P'Off but he only tells me not to worry about it. I wanted to listen to P'Tay, but even he seems worried. Just like me, P'Tay did not see P'Off the entire week. We're just both clueless about P'Off's whereabouts. Every night before I sleep, I try to call P'Off but he remained unreachable.

That same whole week, reporters have been approaching me every now and then asking about P'Off's whereabouts. Good thing, P'Tay was always with me. I was not in the mood to be open for questions that I did not know the answers myself. So, P'Tay instead faced the reporters and entertained them. I kept my phone open even though it rings every now and then because P'Off might suddenly reply or call me. There's only very little hope that P'Off would contact me, but I still clung to that hope.

Finally, it was weekend again. The shooting for the series finally begins. I prepared early, hoping that I'd see P'Off and might even have some time with him before we get to work. I have a feeling that I'll see definitely see him today.

When I went downstairs,  I saw my father talking with P'Off in the living room. I stopped on my tracks. The first thought that came to my mind was that I missed him so much.

"P'Off..." He turned towards me and showed me a wide smile. How can he smile like one week did not pass? He was comfortably sitting on our sofa and talking to my father as if he wasn't gone for a week. Meanwhile, I can't just act like I was not worried about him for that one week that I did not feel his presence.

"Should we go to the office together?" He asked. I felt a little hurt because one week does not seem like a big deal to him but upon hearing his voice, my heart felt so warm that tears threatened to well up. For the whole week of not being able to see even a glimpse of him, I felt like something's missing. Now that he's in front of me, I feel overwhelmed how his presence removed the invisible weight in my chest, how I felt so relieved and happy to see him.

I was a little conscious that my voice might break if I try to speak, so I simply nodded. My hands were itching to hug him, but I kept a safe distance from him.

We said goodbye to my father and went to P'Off's car. He opened the door for me and I waited for him to enter the car. Then, I pulled him to a tight hug.

"I missed you so much, P'Off." My lips are glued to a smile. I inhaled his baby scent deeply. It felt like a breathe of fresh air. He hugged me back.

"I missed you, too." It felt like home in his arms.

"I missed your scent," I said. I heard him chuckle. Instinctively, I slapped his back. He's really acting like nothing happened. I found it a little dissapointing and to an extent, painful, but deep inside, I'm just glad that he's okay.

"Where have you been?" I asked. I finally let him go from a hug but my hand rested on his arms. I want that little feeling of reassurance that I can just pull him to me in case that he threatens to go away again. I looked at him and saw his face turn serious.

"Hiding. Waiting for the rumors to die down," he said. He started the engine of his car and started driving.

"Why?" I asked.

"You can just lay low, you know. Why did you have to leave and be gone for a week?" It took him a few minutes before he can answer.

"I was... scared, I guess," he said, almost to a whisper. I turned towards him and waited for him to say more.

"I don't want those reporters following me to get close to you," he said. To be honest, I was happy that he cared about me, but I wish he did not have to disappear like that.

"There are still some that approached me, you know," I said, almost a whisper. Sometimes, I just wish that we're not celebrities. I wish we did not have to be so conscious of the words of the people, but this is the career that we wanted. This is the path that we chose, for better or for worse.

"I just felt like... I won't be able to hold myself back from showing the world that I like you. The circulating rumors are nonsense to me, but I care because they might hurt you. If people see us together and they see just how different my relationship with you is from others, specially now with our upcoming series... you already gave the main role to me, now I want to protect you from unwanted public opinions as much as I can," His words were slow to sink in on me. I replayed them in my mind again and again but I still did not know how to react. My heart was beating so fast and I can barely contain my smile, but there's still a question weighing in my mind.

"P'Off..." I turned towards him.

"What are we?"