Monday, October 19, 2009

My Two Love, My True Love - Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Love in Silence


Slowly, this love settles here silently
Deeply, nobody can see it inside my heartbreak
Quietly, it was always here
Is your love in silence
Slowly, this love turned to something I rely on
Gradually, within the smile made me full of hope
No need to say anything
I fully understand
Your love in silence...

--

Arron looked at the glass display outside the jewelry store. A wing-shaped pendant have caught his attention. He smiled to himself as he looked at it closely. Ariel's birthday is coming up, and it would be a perfect gift for her. He then looked at the price, and saw it's worth $2000. “Whoa... that's too expensive...” he thought. He wrinkled his forehead as he looked at it. He wanted to give it to Ariel. He wanted to buy it for her, but with his school expenses, there's no way he would be able to but it in a few weeks' time. “What should I do? Should I ask Chun ge to increase my allowance? What if he didn't want to? Should I ask some money from my friends? Or should I take that part time job Ken is offering me?” he thought. He shook his head, and then he walked back home. He have to think of a way to be able to buy that pendant for Ariel.

--

One Ring.
Two Rings.
Three Rings.

“Hello?”

Arron heard the formal tone of his brother at the other line. He was too nervous to even speak up. He swallowed hard before opening his mouth to talk. “Uh... hello... ge?” he said. “Oh, Arron... It's you. Why did you call? Any problems there?” he heard Chun ask. “Uh... no... nothing really...” he said. He fidgeted his finger on the desk, and then swiveled his chair. “Uh, ge... are you... quite busy? I mean.. did I caught you at a really wrong time?” he asked. “No, I'm just resting. Anything you want to say?” Chun asked. Arron closed his eyes, and bit his lips. He thought he have gathered enough courage to ask his brother for an advance in his allowance, but hearing his brother's serious voice made him want to back out from that plan. “Uh... ge... actually, I want to ask something...”
“Yes?”
“Uh... ge... can I have an advance in my allowance?”

Silence.

Arron waited for his brother to speak. “Ge?” he called. “Did something happened there, Arron? I just sent you your monthly allowance this week, right?” Chun said. “I... I know, ge... but... uhm...” He was about to tell Arron the reason why, but Chun interrupted him. “Did you got robbed, or did you lose your money?” Chun asked again. “No, ge... no... it's just that school projects are quite expensive and we have a lot and...” He paused, and decided not to ask him about it anymore. “Ge, forget what I said. Actually, I missed you that's why I called. I... I have to go now. Rest well, OK?” He did not give Chun a chance to say goodbye to him, and he immediately ended the call. He swiveled back his chair to face his study desk. There, he saw his ATM card lying on the table. He took it, and stared at it for a long time. “Well, I guess there's no chance Ge would give me an advance in my allowance. I have to say goodbye to you for a while now...” he said. He opened his drawer, and put the card inside.

--

Chun looked at the phone worriedly. “What's wrong with Arron? Is there something that he's not telling me? Is he in some kind of trouble or something?” he thought. He walked towards his desk, and then turned the PC on. “Oh well, if I didn't want to worry about that boy, I guess I should send him an extra this month.” he said. Then, he made a money transfer on the Internet on Arron's account, and sent Arron $3000.

--

“Ken!”

Arron ran towards his friend as soon as he spotted him at the university. “Hey, Arron!” Ken said. Arron sat beside him. “Ken... remember the part time job you were offering me?” he asked. Ken nodded his head. “Yeah, I remember it all right. Are you interested? They're a little short-handed this week. They could use some help.” Ken said. Arron's let out a surprised smile at his friend. “Really? Can I work there, even for just a few weeks?” he asked excitedly. Ken nodded his head. “Yeah. So, want to give it a try?” he asked. Arron nodded his head. “I really need a job right now, Ken.” he said. “OK. Are you free this afternoon?” Ken asked. Arron nodded his head. “Good. We can go to the bar and meet the owner. Don't worry, she's also Chinese, and she's a really good employer. Just so happens that one of her waitresses is moving to another state, so she needs someone to replace her.” Ken said. “OK. I'll go with you at the bar. Do you think she would hire me right away?” Arron asked.

--

Arron found himself standing in front of a lovely 40-something lady. The lady circled him around, looking at him from head to toe. Then, he paused, and faced him. “Do you think you can handle the work here?” she asked. Arron smiled, and nodded his head. “Yes, Ma'am.” he said. “Do you know how to wash dishes?”
“Yes ma'am.”
“Do you know how to cook Chinese food?”
“I know how to cook a little, ma'am.”
“Do you know how to sing and dance?”

Arron paused and gave him a skeptical look. “Sing and dance?” he asked. Just then, Ken walked up to the lady boss, and put his arm around him. “Ah, Billie jie... I thought you only need a replacement for Han? Why do you have to ask if Arron can sing and dance?” Ken asked. Billie looked at Ken, and smiled at him. “As if you don't know me, Ken! I'm only kidding” she said while laughing. The, she slapped Ken's arm, which made the latter flinch in pain. Then, she faced Arron and smiled at him. “Forget the sing and dance part. Since we are short-handed right now, and since you're Ken's friend, and since you're such a cutie... then you're hired!” she said.

Arron's eyes widened with excitement. “Really?” he asked. Billie nodded his head. “You can start tomorrow night. Be here by 6 PM.” she said. He was so happy he got the job, that he couldn't help but hug her and kiss her on the cheek. “Thank you, Billie jie! Thank you!” he said as he hugged her. “Aiyo! Let me go, Arron! I might fall in love with you!”

--

“Are you sure?” Ariel asked that night while Arron was busy preparing their dinner. Arron paused, and looked at her. He smiled at her, and nodded his head. “Why do you need to have a part time job? I think your brother sends you more than enough allowance each month...” she said. “I'm a little short right now. We had tons of projects, and I wanted to buy something. Besides, I want to be financially independent for once.” he said. Ariel stood up from her seat, then walked up to him. “You could have asked me for money...” she said. Arron shook his head. “I don't want to, Ariel. You're the one who's paying the rent here and running the house... I've been such a freeloader. I don't want to burden you with my money problems.” he answered. “Well, you can't blame me for worrying about you. I know you've been working really hard for school, and then you'll go and get a part time job. Do you think you can do it?” she asked. “I do, Ariel. 100 percent. I did not became Arron Yan-Wu for nothing.” he said proudly. Ariel could only laugh at him.

Then, she took his hand. “Promise me one thing, Arron...” she said. Arron looked at her, and waited for her to continue. “Promise me that if you can't handle it anymore, you'll stop, OK?” she said. “Ariel why do you always have to worry about me?”
“Just promise me, Arron. Promise me that... if you will compromise your studies or your health, you have to stop working.”
“Nothing's going to happen to me, Ariel. I swear.”
“Just promise me.”
Arron gazed at her, and could see the worry written on her face. “God, Ariel... if you only knew why I'm getting this part time job...” he thought. Then, he smiled at her, and nodded his head. “I promise.” he said. Ariel smiled, then she reached for him, and pinched his cheeks. “Good boy.” she said. “So, shall we have dinner now? I'm kinda starving.” Arron said. Ariel nodded her head, and then they both took their seats. “You know, the reason why I didn't want you to work part time is because I will miss your cooking.” she said. Arron could feel himself blush at what she said. He shook his head, then they both laughed.

--

Arron was busy wiping the counter, when Ken approached him. “Hey, Arron... I forgot... the deadline for our project is tomorrow, right?” he asked. Arron paused, and looked at him. Then, he remembered the project that he was supposed to do. “God, how could I forget all about it!” he said as he hist his forehead. “Hey, don't worry. If you want, we can finish it tomorrow morning at school. What do you think?” Ken asked. Arron smiled at him, and nodded his head. “That's a good idea, Ken.” he said. “OK, I'll see you tomorrow then. I have to go now... aren't you going home yet?” Ken asked. He shook his head. “I'll finish this up first, then I'll go home.” he said. Ken said goodbye to him, and left him.

He was done cleaning up the counter, when Billie approached him. “Oh, Arron... you're still here? You're such a hardworking boy!” he said. Arron smiled at her. “Thank you, Billie jie.” he said. Then, Billie took an envelope from her pocket and handed it to Arron. “By the way, this is your tip for tonight. You know, since you started to work here, we had a lot of customers coming in. I believe you're my lucky charm.” she said. Arron blushed at what he said, and then he let out a nervous laugh. “Aiyo, Billie jie, you flatter me so much.” she said. “Hao lah... You should go home already. Aren't you supposed to finish on some projects for school? Go home now, and continue with that tomorrow, OK?” she said. “Thank you, Billie jie. I promise to come to work early tomorrow.” he said. “Hao lah, hao lah! Go home already, will you!” he said. Arron smiled at her. He immediately got his bag, and said goodbye to Billie.

--

It was already 3 in the morning when Arron arrived home. Before he went to his room, he decided to make a stop at Ariel's room. He tiptoed to her room, and opened the door. From where he is standing, he could see Ariel sleeping peacefully on her bed. He leaned on the wall, and watched Ariel for a while as she sleeps. Since he started working at the bar, he was not able to see Ariel as much as he could. When she was about to go to work, he's still asleep, and when he is home, Ariel is still at work. Somehow, he misses hanging out with her, but he have to make a sacrifice so that he could give her that gift on her birthday. Then, he tiptoed inside her room, and knelt down before her. He watched her closely as she slumber. Seeing Ariel like this simply takes away all the exhaustion he's feeling after a day of hard work.

He reached for her face, and brushed away the hair on her face. “Ariel, I miss you already... but I have to do this... it's not about me being independent at all... but I'm doing this for my surprise for you...” he said. Then, he heard her moan as she sleeps. He could only laugh at her as she watched her sleep. He leaned over Ariel, and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Sweet dreams, mermaid.” he said. Then, he retreated to his room to rest. What he didn't know, after he left, was that Ariel called him. “Arron...”

--

As usual, Ariel woke up early that morning. The first thing she did after she woke up is to check on Arron. She have been constantly worrying about her since he started doing his part time job. She gently opened the door of his room, and as she peeked inside, she saw that Arron fell asleep on his study table. She sighed, and shook her head. “Silly boy... how can you sleep in the table?” she thought. She tiptoed inside his room, and took a peek at him. He was snoring a little, and hearing him snore made her laugh a little. “You must be really tired... who told you to take that part time job? You're just exhausting yourself...” she said. Then, she noticed something on his table – it was a blue sketch pad. Curious, Ariel took it, and opened it. She smiled upon seeing the first page of sketch pad. It was a picture of her, smiling.

She looked at Arron, and smiled at him. “Hmmm... are you drawing me for your class project? I wonder why you're sketching me instead of Ella...” she said to him. But somehow, seeing her own sketch made her feel giddy. She often wondered how it's like to be sketched by someone, but seeing Arron's sketch of her made her feel so happy. She knelt down beside him, and looked at him closely. She never knew that Arron could be this cute when he sleeps, and snore. “Ella is lucky to be liked by you. Imagine, if the two of you end up together and you two got married, she'll get to see that handsome face of yours every morning.” she said. Then, she leaned over him, and kissed him on the lips. As she looked at him, she realized just what she did. “Why did I kiss Arron on the lips...” she thought. She looked away from him, and then she felt her heart beating fast. She clutched onto her chest, as if taming her beating heart. She stood up, and looked at Arron. She gazed at his sleeping face for a very long time. “What is this I'm feeling? I feel like I'm melting when I look at him... I feel so giddy... I shouldn't feel this way... Ariel, you only see Arron as your little brother, right?” she told herself. Then, she shook her head. “He's just a little brother you never had. Tame your heart, Ariel... you can't possibly fall in love with your fiancee's brother...” she told herself. She let out another sigh and shook her head.

She decided to get out of Arron's room, and go back to her own room. She found herself in front of the mirror, her reflection was staring back at her. She was contemplating on her own feelings. She know she's most happy when she's with Arron that she is with Chun, and that should not be the case. Whenever she comes home, she is more excited to see him instead of her fiancee. When Chun finally agreed to let Arron study abroad, she was very happy because it means they can be together all the time. And most of all, she felt jealous when Arron told her that she likes Ella. She then ended up in one conclusion about her feelings. “God...” she thought. “I think I'm in love with Arron...”

Labels: fan fic, My Two Love My True Love