Today was the perfect weather where the temperature was just right and the sun was not boiling humans. At the park, couples could be seen sharing an ice cream cone, sitting on benches and enjoying a picnic on the grass. While others were flirting and acting sweetly, Ginny and Alan were feeling slightly awkward as they walked through the park.
It was a normal sighting to see couples acting like lovebirds in parks. The awkward silence was because Ginny and Alan weren't dating and they were holding hands like others are. In others' eyes, they looked like a couple. In reality, they were in the beyond friends, not yet lovers situation.
After walking to an empty spot of the park, Ginny suggested to take a break under the shades where they could get a better view of the park. Naturally, their hands separated from each other as they felt their sweaty palms getting sticky. They took the opportunity to check their messages.
Lily to Ginny: "So, have you guys held hands yet?"
Lin Que to Alan: "Did you hold a girl's hand yet?"
Alan and Ginny made eye contact as their eyes wandered to each other's direction when they read their best friend's message. Quickly diverting their gaze, they typed their responses and pressed send.
Ginny to Lily: "Yes."
Alan to Lin Que: "Yep."
Ding
Both their phones received a notification at the same time.
Lily: "Who held whose hand first?"
Lin Que: "Who held whose hand first?"
Speechless against their friend's replying speed, they stared at the phone screen. Both of them took a minute to recall how they first held each other's hands. How could they tell their friends it was a dog that pushed their hands together?
Ginny texted, "A dog."
Alan also responded, "A dog did it."
When the curious couple received the response of a dog doing the trick, they looked at each other and blinked. Showing each other the responses they have received, Lily asked Lin Que, "What does that mean?"
Shrugging his shoulders, the couple started texting again. After a while of messaging back and forth, Ginny decided that the previous holding hand movements didn't count because she wasn't the one who initiated it.
While she spaced out, Alan had finished replying to Lin Que's messages. When he turned towards her direction, he saw a mosquito flying very close to her ears. In a matter of seconds, Ginny's startled scream could be heard as she jumped into Alan's arms.
The mosquito buzzed into her ears, triggering her instinctive response of hopping away from the area. Alan laughed as he shooed the mosquito away. "It was a mosquito. Don't worry, it's gone now."
"Really?" Her heart was still pounding as her ears were quite sensitive to sounds. She could feel herself shivering from the whining buzz sound earlier. With her hands covering her ears and eyes shut tight, she slowly relaxed in his arms. He noticed her hands were over her ears and asked, "Did it sting you earlier? I saw it getting close to you, but it shouldn't be that quick to bite."
Bending down to meet her at eye level, he said gently, "Let me see if it bit you. It might bruise if you got bitten." Her fingers followed his hand's lead and released her ears on both sides of her head. Carefully gathering strands of her loose hair, he tucked it behind her ears to get a clearer view of her reddened ears.
"It's red, but I don't see bites anywhere. Does it hurt?" Since ears were quite a sensitive spot, he frowned thinking she may be suffering discomfort. Pushing his lips outwards to form a small O shape, he blew at her reddened ears, hoping to help the irritation.
Ginny didn't know how to tell him about her sensitive ears and it turning red because of the annoying buzz sound from earlier. Raising her hands up, she nervously grabbed his hands and said, "I'm feeling fine now."
She felt embarrassed by his intimate action and tried capturing his arms to stop him from blowing into her ear. Since she tilted her head sideways, her hands ended up grabbing his hands instead. Feeling his fingers in her own, she turned her head quickly towards him.
Gasping lowlily, she instantly held her breath as she realized his head was still lowered to her eye level. He was still in the same position as before! Their lips were literally close enough for them to feel each other exhaling. His eyes stared into hers as her face turned sunset red. Still, she couldn't bring herself away from her current position.
Alan swallowed his saliva as his lips relaxed into a small smile. 'I never thought parks could be this fun.' He imagined his character from Mario Kart passing the finish line first with its arms waving in the air.
Counting the number of times her eyelashes fluttered, he decided to move away from her. "Your ear isn't as red as before. That's good." As he stepped back a step, she started breathing again. Looking up, her smile froze as she realized her fingers held onto his fingers tightly.
"I..I.." As if catching on to her thoughts, he slipped his hands away from her fingers. She felt slightly disappointed, but her mood lifted from his next words.
"Here. Let's compare our hand sizes. I've never noticed how small girl hands are. See?" Raising his left palm in the air, he reached out for hers. She knew he made this move to make her feel less awkward.
With his fingers spread out, he teased how small her hands were. She laughed, "Girl's hands are smaller than guys for a reason."
"Really? Why?" He was glad the awkwardness from earlier had dissipated.
"Because of this." Rotating her hand slightly, her fingers slipped between the small gaps of his fingers and folded. Holding on to his hand, she continued laughing at her random idea of why most girls have smaller hands than guys.
Slowly, his fingers also folded. She swung their hands lightly sideways and started walking around the park with him. "This is how couples hold hands when they don't want to lose each other in crowds."
After those words had escaped her mouth, she realized she had slipped her tongue. Alan chuckled, "Oh? So, I should hold your hand like this from now on."
At this moment, both of their hearts started making their own mixtape as their heartbeats jammed various drum tunes.
CHAPTER ENDS HERE! AFTER THIS ARE TWO SYNOPSES (Let me know in the comments whether you would be interested in the following.)
1. I like your smile, but love it when it's for me (Might change to a diff title since it's kind of long. Would the title: Timeless Love, be better than the long one? )
A promised eternity and meaningful vows linked Eros, the Greek god of love and Psyche, a mortal to lifetimes of relationships. Two drips of blood stained one rock as the proof of their devotion for each other. Before Eros could kiss his bride, she collapsed to deep slumber in his arms. The first and last kiss he ever laid on her forehead was a heart wrenching one that moved clouds to tears, stopped birds from singing and darkened the sky.
At the peak of his heart ache, he glared at his mother, Aphrodite, resentfully for her lies, schemes and jealousy.
"The moment you decided to hurt Psyche, you should have expected losing me as your son." Eros eyes laid on his wife whose body withered to ashes and flowed to the underworld.
"Let her live, and I'll be her replacement." Once again, he watched her soul reach safety to the Oracle's hands.
Aphrodite stripped away his power and threw him to the dungeon of suffering and torment, expecting him to give up his stubbornness after a few days. His love for her only deepened, and the desire for power heightened. Eventually, he became the Devil.
Oracle: "Her soul has been sent to the reincarnation portal, but I can't say when it would be her turn."
"I'll wait for that day to come." Eros sipped his wine in his chamber as he stayed away from heavens.
Thousands of years later.....
"Master! Master! The human world is very exciting! There are books about Master's love story there too! I wonder how humans learn about these stories." The teenage crow demon, Sean, flapped his wings excitedly as he chanted about his findings.
"Oh? Then bring me that book as souvenir next time." Eros chuckled at his underling.
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Sean disguised himself as a teenager and wandered around in a bookstore.
"Tsss.. paper cut!" The girl with thick makeup accidentally cuts her finger when she flipped to the last page of the Greek mythology tales' book at the counter.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, but the book..."
"It's fine. I'll still take it." Sean said as he didn't mind the drip of blood that stained the words, happy ending, on the last page of the book.
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The book burned to flames and was tossed to the floor for demons to make a bonfire. "Ridiculous! Happy ending? Don't let me see that ever again!" Eros' rare anger filled voice echoed piercingly in other demon's ears.
Sean: "Master! Look!"
Eros' attention landed on the pile of ashes on the floor. With widened eyes, he approached the pile of ashes and picked up the unburned piece. "Happy ending.."
Oracle: "Eros, she's back."
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- A certain high school -
"Ugly trash! Leave!" Classmate voices echoed in the girl's ear. She found her gymnastic sneakers filled with pin tacks, gym uniform soaked in pungent scented liquid and scribbled curses all over her desk.
Facing the insults five days a week, she had gotten used to it. Still, it hurt to see people judging by her appearance. As tears clouded over her face, the mixture of cosmetics melted.
"Here, wipe your tears. Don't let their words get to you." The popular classmate smiled and handed her a pack of tissues, instantly winning her heart as nobody had shown her an inch of respect in school.
Rinsing her cosmetic filled face at home, the water dyed grey along with other muddy colors. "I found you, my prince."
Too bad, the prince was just a jerk who wanted to gain popularity. Luckily, she realized it early.
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One night, she saved a kitten from getting run over by a car. The driver stepped out and asked if she was alright. Seeing how the man was wrapped up from head to toe, she handed the kitten to him. "I'm fine. Here, take the kitten to the hospital."
"Miss, I think you need the hospital more than the kitten." His voice sounded magnetic to her ears.
"I'm really fine. Bye." Her gorgeous smile greeted the man warmly.
"Interesting. She didn't scam me." Eros stared at the direction where she had run away.
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SECOND SYNOPSIS
2. Just to Meet You
"If you don't believe me, then follow the family rules." Her eyes closed as she faced her fiancé's accusations and distrust. She inwardly convinced herself. 'This is the last time I'm giving my heart to you, Peter. If you choose her, then we are over.'
With a blade in his hand, he charged forward. He watched as the sharp tip of the weapon meets her soft, porcelain chest. Shocked by her unmoving body, he pulled the blade away from the broken skin. Her white top was dyed scarlet while the blade had already dropped to the floor, making a "clang" sound.
"Why didn't you dodge?!" Peter Sin attempted few steps forward to apply pressure on her wound. It hurt, but she held in her cries. Blood squirted to his sleeve and shirt when he forced the blade out of her wound. Holding the bloody mess near her heart, a broken smile cracked on her face as she retreated away from the man in front of her.
"At the end, you still chose her words over mine. You've never believed in me, but it doesn't matter anymore. Let's break up. Even if we pass by each other in the future, we'll be nothing but strangers."
He tried approaching her again, but failed as she strode backwards in larger steps than before. "Mister Sin, goodbye."
"Selina!" He screamed, but held back from chasing after her lonesome figure. His heart was a mess as he fell onto the ground and stared at the blood stain on his clothes.
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Selina Gu drove straight home where she had prepared herself to announce her failed engagement to her mother, Katrina Gu. Pressing her wound, she slowly leaned against the wall to bring herself to the living room where her mom's voice echoed loudly.
Selina: "So, all my life..I've been nothing but a chess piece. Are you done with your game?"
Katrina: "...Daughter."
Selina: "Daughter? Do you know how many years and efforts I've wanted to hear you call me daughter? But all this is fake. Just an act. I've always convinced myself I'm the one who could do better because I wanted to hear a compliment from you. But you? You've forced me to the edge and suffocated me!"
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Katrina: "It's mother's fault! Don't jump. I'm begging you!"
Bryan (Selina's brother): "Did you get bullied? Brother will protect you. Please, come back down! It's dangerous to stand at the edge! You don't know how to swim!"
"I don't want to play this game anymore. I'm tired of my life. Didn't you want revenge? I'll complete it for you. Sorry, brother." Selina fell forward with her eyes closed. She didn't struggle as she desired to forget everything.
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Assistant: "Mister Hui, after multiple investigations, we have confirmed that the girl you have been searching for is Selina Gu."
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Awakening from her coma after a few months later, Selina woke up hearing a familiar voice by her side. Although she couldn't recognize him, her instincts told her he wasn't going to harm her.
"Selina! You're awake!" Jason Hui tossed his laptop to the table, ditching the video meeting he was in and hugged her.
"Does it hurt anywhere? Are you thirsty? Hungry? I'll go get a doctor!" He spat out countless questions, confusing her greatly.
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Jason held her hands, "It's okay if you don't remember me. As long as I remember our promise, that's all it matters. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore."
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"Jason Hui!"
"Wife, if you're not happy about something you just have to say it. No need to shout. You'll get a sore throat."
Selina pointed to the rubber band on the counter, "I forgot to tie my hair, but my hands are dirty from marinating meat. Do you know how to tie girl's hair?"
A minute later, a messy ponytail was created and Selina looked at him with a speechless expression. Noting to himself on his calendar, he typed, "Learn how to do wife's hair."