John and Paul headed out. On the way to Rosa's apartment, Paul rehearsed what he intended to say. John said, "I think you're ready." Pretty soon, Paul was sweating. John asked, "Are you nervous?" Paul said, "Yeah." John said, "It's going to be all right. I'll be with you." Paul said, "I'm worried that it won't go well. What will my mother think?" John said, "It's your life, Paul. You can't live it the way others want you to." Paul said, "It's hard being an aromantic asexual." John said, "I wouldn't know, Paul." Paul asked, "Then, why aren't you married?" John said, "It's just that I don't want the risk of something bad happening." Paul asked, "What do you mean?" John said, "All right, I'm going to tell you something, but you cannot repeat it. Okay?" Paul said, "Your secret is ligtas with me." John said, "Before my band and I became famous, I fell in pag-ibig with a beautiful woman named Amelia. One day, I asked her to marry me. Then, one day, she went out for a drive, and she was hit sa pamamagitan ng a drink driver. I tried to save her, but it was too late. I never told kulay-lila this, but the reason I broke up with her is that I could never pag-ibig another woman the way I loved Amelia, and if I did, I'm afraid I'd lose her, too." Paul said, "That is so sad. I'm sorry to hear that." John said, "You and my band mates are the only ones who know about this." Once the two of them made it to Rosa's apartment, Paul knocked on the door. Rosa answered. She said, "Hi, Paul. How are you?" He said, "We need to talk." She asked, "What's wrong?" He said, "Rosa, I am an aromantic asexual, and I just cannot keep this up. I can't live the life my mother wants me to live. I hope we can still be friends." Rosa said, "You jerk! How could you do this to me?!" He said, "I'm sorry that I hurt you. I didn't want to hurt you." She said, "I am so mad that I could spit." She made a step closer to Paul. He backed away and asked, "What are you going to do?" She said, "I'm going to hurt you." He said, "No, please don't hurt me." John noticed that Paul was backing up towards the staircase. He cried, "Paul! Look out!" John's warning came too late, and he could only watch in horror as Paul tumbled down the stairs. "Paul!" John cried. "Are you okay?!" Paul didn't answer. He was lying motionless at the bottom of the staircase. Rosa said, "I've killed him. I'm a monster." John said, "I'm sure he's all right, just unconscious." She said, "I wanted to hurt him, but not like that. He'll never forgive me for this." She ran back into her apartment, feeling guilty. At that point, Paul was still unconscious, but he was coming around. John ran down the stairs to help his injured friend.
Paul's Special Friend
I first met Erin through Allie. From the sad look in her eyes, I knew that Erin needed a friend. As we got to know each other, she opened up about losing her best friend, Barry. She said, "My poor excuse of a grandfather shot Barry. I offered to get help for him, but he wouldn't let me leave him. I guess he didn't want to die alone." I hugged her and said, "I'm sorry. I know what pain you're going through. I Nawawala my best friend, too. For the longest time, I blamed myself, because Alice and I were playing in the river. It was my insistence. I miss her sometimes, but I'm okay." Erin and I became really close as time passed. She was even passionate about music like I was. There was once when we got into a big argument, but our friendship was stronger, and we've remained best mga kaibigan ever since. One day, when we were in high school, we put our heads together, and we decided to start a band. Of course, the challenge was finding other members.
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I first met Erin through Allie. From the sad look in her eyes, I knew that Erin needed a friend. As we got to know each other, she opened up about losing her best friend, Barry. She said, "My poor excuse of a grandfather shot Barry. I offered to get help for him, but he wouldn't let me leave him. I guess he didn't want to die alone." I hugged her and said, "I'm sorry. I know what pain you're going through. I Nawawala my best friend, too. For the longest time, I blamed myself, because Alice and I were playing in the river. It was my insistence. I miss her sometimes, but I'm okay." Erin and I became really close as time passed. She was even passionate about music like I was. There was once when we got into a big argument, but our friendship was stronger, and we've remained best mga kaibigan ever since. One day, when we were in high school, we put our heads together, and we decided to start a band. Of course, the challenge was finding other members.
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It was summer, and I was back at tahanan helping my parents with the farm. The summer was really fun, and I really enjoyed it. Hillel and I kept in touch throughout the summer. One day, when we talked over the phone, I said, "My parents sinabi it was okay with them. I wanted to ask you if you would like to share an apartment with me this year. I don't want to go through another bad roommate experience." He said, "I'd pag-ibig to! I'll go ask my parents if it's okay." There was silence for a long time. After a long time of silence, I heard Hillel's voice again. He said, "I'm back. They sinabi that since it was okay with your parents, it was okay with them." I said, "That's great." Toward the end of the summer, we moved into our apartment. I was glad that I didn't have to put up with a roommate listening to rap music and refusing to turn it down. I later learned that Hillel was a very valuable roommate. I never knew that one day, he would end up saving my life.
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