Now it’s time for me
To find out what the first time love could mean
--

[[She]]

10:46 AM

I woke up with a hand hogging and pulling my waist back on my bed when in fact, I wanted to badly race to the bathroom and wash up because as much as I don’t want to admit it…something more came out of the kiss that was initiated by dawn. “Hey, 5 more minutes,” I heard Chun say, but this time around, he isn’t getting what he wants to.

“Hello, you always same-same tell me that 5 minute excuse, yet 5 minutes turn to an hour. Wake up, sleepyhead,” I scolded, pulling some of his hair from where they’re implanted at. “Or else I’ll get a toy hammer to get you back to your senses.”

“Ouch,” I heard him mockingly say.

“You have to thank me it’s a toy,” I rolled my eyes. “Or did you want a wooden hammer or a metal, perhaps?”

--

[[He]]

“Okay, I’m getting up in one condition,” I requested, still lying back down on her bed.

“You geezer, don’t make me do that thing for the hundredth time,” she whined. “If I knew earlier that things would come down to this, I should’ve just pushed you back home to your nest.”

“Make you do what?” I enquired, ignoring what she recently said, teasing her as I came nearer every second while she obviously moved back, her hands gripping and pulling on the blanket as well.

--

[[She]]

“Who cares?” I said, bending my head back as well as pulling the blanket with me in the process to get farther away from him as he got nearer every second. “If you come any closer, I’ll break up with you. Not that I want to, but you’re forcing me to.”

“If you bend a little more, you’re off the bed,” he warned, still getting heck nearer than near. So anyway, I didn’t pull myself back anymore of it. Just so he’d get contented, I kissed him anyway.

“Okay, so…” I started after a few minutes that I pulled back. “Are you celebrating with me?” I enquired, seated more comfortably now.

“Celebrating what?” he enquired, completely clueless about the whole Christmas thing.

“Couldn’t I whack your head?” I enquired. “Hello, Chun, it’s Christmas. What are you thinking about? It’s the 24th, eve later, so are you spending it with me? It‘s not that I‘m forcing you to, I‘m just asking anyway.” He was on a roll, I could tell. There must be lots of things going on in his mind to even forget that it was Christmas and all of a sudden I could imagine his brain twisting to a stop, finally analyzing the situation.

“23rd yesterday,” he recalled. “24th today,” he looked alarmed. “Of course I’m celebrating it with you but…,” he looked like he was thinking about something forgotten again and all of a sudden he quickly got up and put his clothes back on. “I’m going back home to wash up, okay?” he enquired, combing his hair now. “Plus, I’ll just get something very important for the meeting we’ve got later. Meet you here at 12, don’t go anywhere,” he warned and kissed my forehead before he went.

--
Cause a girl like me
Waited patiently for someone
--

1:30 PM

[[She]]

It was 1:30 in the afternoon yet he was nowhere around. He said he’d be back by 12, but I guess not. I looked at my puppy who was having fun at the living room with that chewable toy bone that Chun got it months ago. He insisted that I use that instead of what I invented that late February that was some epic fail invention, #042812. He said metals weren’t good for toys, so I agreed anyway. Right after, I filled Tie Dan’s dog bowl and settled in the couch and watched some TV.

I flipped channels easily, not finding anything new to digest and see because nothing was interesting anyway. I took the black box from the table in front of me where I placed my gift for Chun. It wasn’t a ring, of course, but the box looked like it was so and placed it beside me.

--

[[He]]

1:45 PM

“,” I cursed. It was quarter to 3, yet I still couldn’t find that velvet box. I bought it for an important reason, but I never thought it would be this easy for me to lose that one thing. I asked my mom if she saw it, but she could only blink looking like she really didn’t know. It’s not like I’m accusing my mom or anything, but she was very fond of diamonds, so I still asked.

I’ve searched all over my room, panting. I searched in my bathroom, yet it wasn’t there. I searched deep in my brain where I might have had it put, then I rushed to the kitchen again to see if my mom could help me as she cooked.

“Where the heck is that ring?” I asked in frustration.

“Are you proposing?” my mom randomly asked, her eyes as shiny as the diamond ring I was looking for.

“Well, that depends,” I answered. “Why, do you want me to?”

“Well, that depends,” she mocked. “Do you want me to allow you to?”

“Mom, I’ve no time for pep talks,” I sighed pleadingly. “Just help me find that ring with a platinum band. It has a light-colored yellow shattered diamonds in the center-piece.”

“Diamonds?” she enquired. “I thought I saw something that looked like it a few days ago in your room. If you told me earlier that it was a diamond ring that you were looking for, then you should’ve said so earlier.” But I could only roll my eyes as she walked up to my room, because I knew that I’ve looked for it all over. And isn’t a diamond ring a ring as well? Do I need to get all specific every time when I talk to her? Anyway, following her up to the door in my room, I waited for her to rummage through my things. When she went out, she was now carrying an open small velvet box revealing a diamond ring.

“Easy peasy,” she said. “I thought you looked through your room already? It was just on top of a boxer of yours.” Boxer? I asked myself and laughed. I finally remembered that I put it there, because I thought no one would look.

“Thanks mom,” I hurriedly said and hugged her. “I’m going off now.”

“Ella’s waiting,” she chimed as I drove to Ella’s place immediately.

--
I’m sure this time
Love’s going to last for life
--

2:35 PM

[[She]]

I woke up and realized I’ve fallen asleep. I looked at the clock that read 2:35, yet I don’t think Chun’s around. I started to worry, my hands all sweaty as I withdrew myself from the couch and advanced to the front door to see if by any chance, he was somewhere near and he was playing hide-and-seek with me. And it’s true, I guess, because as soon as I did opened the door, there he was.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I’m late. I had some problems finding something at home and I had troubles with traffic. You done with the preparations yet?”

“I’ve been done with all those a month ago, I suppose,” I replied, pushing a little button under the light switch that caused the whole house to be filled with rainbow-colored lights on the ceiling and on the sides of the room we were in.

“Wow,” I watched as Chun looked around the house with his mouth wide open. “How’d you do all these?” he asked.

“Well, you tell me,” I smiled and pulled him down with me to the couch. “You brought anything?” I enquired as he silently nodded. “What is it?”

“Secret,” he smiled and put his arms around me as we waited for dawn to come to wish each other ‘Merry Christmas’.

--

11:45 PM

[[She]]

It’s apparently a few minutes more before Christmas, but something bad happened. As I got the black box from where I slept a while ago, I tested the product for the third time and this time it won’t work. I remembered all the hardships I’ve gone through just to finish it, yet it wouldn’t work. I even went through the experience of ignoring him for a month and a half. I could feel my eyes getting a little blurry by each minute, but I pushed all those away, controlling the bad feeling that I had as of the moment. After a while, hearing footsteps approach, I closed the box of the product that I failed to fix, put it in my pocket and spun myself around to rush into Chun’s arms and hug him.

--

11:55 PM

[[He]]

I walked up to where Ella was after waking up. It was exactly 5 minutes before Christmas as she approached me with a hug. There was obviously sadness in her eyes, assuming so that she didn’t have that straight-looking face she usually donned. I pulled her tighter in my chest as she, if I’m not mistaken…cried. And if I’m so not mistaken, this is the first ever time I’m ever going to see her cry.

--
No more crying, no denying
I’m in love with you
--

12:00 AM

[[She]]

“Merry Christmas,” I heard Chun whisper as I cried a little less harder. “Why are you crying?” I heard him ask, yet I could only pull myself away from him, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.

“Merry Christmas,” I weakly replied, sniffling, still sulking over the 2nd epic fail invention, #042815. “I’m crying because my gift for you won’t work,” I said in frustration. “And to think that I went to the extent of not talking to you for one and a half months just so I’d be able to do it.”

“Oh, so that’s the reason why you’ve been locking yourself up in that Unidentified Floating Object,” he pressed on.

“Yeah, so?” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “And you don’t even have intentions of pitying me.” I rolled my eyes again and dug in the black box from my pocket and forcefully brought it to his palms. I intended to do so, I just hope he felt a little pain from it even though it didn’t look like he did.

“Hey, this is cool,” he said as he looked like he was attaching it to his left wrist while he was seated on an armchair. “It has a touchable holography of Taipei’s map.” And not just Taipei, I wanted to say. “It has various languages to choose from. What language do I choose?” Well, hello, choose Mandarin Chinese, if you aren’t stupid, I wanted to say. “It’s a cell phone too.” But how did he make it work? I wanted to ask. Just a little lately, I was sulking to the brim and tearing up because I couldn’t make it work and here he was telling me all the features.

“How’d you make it work?” I enquired, watching every move he made as he tossed me the manual. “Here, read your manual. It says that you forgot to put the batteries on.”

“And to think I cried for it for no particular reason,” I literally rolled my eyes and crossed my arms again. This is what I'm talking about love making me a little less stupid.

“Thanks, Ellie,” he said in satisfaction as he dragged me down on his lap, holding my hands. “Sometimes you’ve got to try a little less harder than your first attempt. You always have to remember that you don’t always have to get me something. Have you is enough, giving something in return of my love is just a second option,” he lectured. “Here, for you,” he said as he tossed a velvet box on my palm.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“You tell me,” he replied as I carefully opened the box.

“It’s a ring, Chun. It’s a ring!” I exclaimed. But it wasn’t any ordinary ring, I observed. It looked so elegant with shattered diamonds on the center-piece. It had a platinum band and… hey! Isn’t this what I had as an entry last summer on the jewelry designing contest? He doesn’t even know I was the one who made this and this costs a whole fortune, where could he have gotten the money? I asked myself. But I guess this would complete my collection. With invention #042814, the ring Chun gave me, a.k.a a built-in laser in the center-piece, I would be complete.

“I see that,” he said as he slipped the ring on my middle right finger.

“But don’t rings usually come with a proposal?” I asked curiously.

“I love you, Ella. Do you love me?” he asked, and I could only nod in pure elation so.

I sensed so that he wasn’t contented with a nod so I said, “I do. I do love you,” and I did realize that it was the first time I’m saying it to him in person.

“Let’s get married?“ he asked jokingly and the next thing I knew was that we fell back down on the couch, hands intertwined.

And I really do love Chun Wu even if he makes me stupid in love.

[[End]]

--

PS: I thought I`d make this in 3 days (23, 24, 25) and post in on the 25th, but I wasn`t able to. It finished it instead on 4 days, including the 26th just today. The time and dates signify when I started and ended it. It`s not really important, so I`m not explaining anymore.