Pennies and Dimes.
If Arvin had a penny for every time he had loved Pat, there would only be one cent in his piggy bank. It's summer - the most fun time of the year. Or so they say. This summer could have been like any other summer. Except it isn't. The last day of their classes in their last year of highschool had just passed and graduation day is lurking just around the corner. This summer would be the last summer in highschool and it would probably be the last that they would spend it together with all their friends. Highschool has given them so many things and now it's slipping through their fingers like quicksand. Highschool is memorable for the both of them. It's when they gained a big group of friends, developed self-esteem and enjoyed the best days in. Most of all, it's when they met each other. Their love. The start of their relationship is not like the others with sneaky glances, pink dusted cheeks, secret smiles, awkward conversations and anticipated exchange of names and numbers. Their's is more on the non-too-romantic side with banterings, name-callings, jokes and insults, witty comebacks, mocking laughs and mischievous grins. The two looked like couples in their own bubble and the harsh words that they throw at each other are their way of expressing their affection for each other. Their friends have expected it. With all the cat and dog fights the two exhibits every day for everyone to see. They've seen it coming. But it still surprised them how this ridiculously tall, lanky and painstakingly cheesy guy had managed to catch this wide-eyed beauty. It's funny though. Everything about them is funny. It's funny how Pat is a picture of sophistication and Arvin is an epitome of unwanted extravagance yet they still fit together, a little rough around the edges but still perfect. It's funny how Arvin is a mile wide and an inch deep and Pat is an inch wide and a mile deep. It's funny how they are supposed to be a couple yet they look like bestfriends. They're so nonchalant but so lovesick. The start of this all is thanks to him, though. If he hadn't gathered the courage to ask her out after that one fateful night and promising dream he wouldn't have made his self this happy. Worse, he wouldn't be able to make the Pat this happy. Saving up money for those expensive gifts he gives her on every birthdays and occasions. He doesn't even forget their monthsary. He never fails to give her flowers, or write her a poem of two stanzas with words that were never heard of, or give her tokens of his love on every monthsary even on random occasions. He does his best and go on his way to know everything about her. The color she likes, the song she listens to most nights, her favorite blogger, all of it. Sometimes, he would even beg for the help of his friends to make a presentation for her, bribing them with food and treats every now and then. He does it all because he loves her. However, the progress of their relationship in the next months is accredited to Pat. Arvin is Pat's first love. Given that and she is entirely new to it, being in a relationship. If it weren't for her willingness to reciprocate Arvin's efforts of making her happy, Arvin would have been a sobbing and sulking mess althroughout their relationship knowing that he is the outwardly and verbally emotional among the two. The first wave had been rough. The next few were not less bumpy either. Walls have ears and rumors have wings. Jealousy is the last thing Pat would feel given that she is a pretty simple-minded and contempt person. But even the most contented person would not saved from the pang of bitterness from learning about your beloved's former affairs and that they are floating once again in the surface. Or when that promise of 'being together always' falters when he often chooses to be with his friends on most days. Getting over it isn't that difficult. But that doesn't mean it was easy for her. Either way she's able to gather her self and stay strong, wipe her tears (a drop or two, a glass maybe?), clean the stains and love him. It's the end of March and the sun is already high up in the sky. The heat is overwhelming and airconditioners are not even enough to keep the sweat from rolling down tanned skin. Summer nights aren't chilly but they aren't as hot as the days are. The breeze is pleasant. Cool but warm enough to not freeze their bare arms and the exposed skin of their legs. They're outside, lying side by side on the blanket of green and patches of yellow, grass and daisies. It would have been a romantic picture if it weren't for the fact there's a road not so far from where they are and they could hear the sound of wheels and cars passing in the background. Nonetheless, it was perfect for them. They stare at the clear starry sky. It hasn't been cloudy lately ever since the temperature's been rising. They just lie there, their voices soft, just loud enough for the other to hear, pointing random balls of hot gas and bright light. Shoulders and arms touching whenever one shifts or moves closer but neither of them moves away. "Gab is going to study out of town," Pat said out of the blue. She hadn't meant to bring it up. The college thing, that is. Apparently, their group of friends are going on their seperate ways to go on different universities all over the country. "He said he's going for Psychology." "So I've heard. He's too weird for that." Arvin jokes. A pregnant silence. There's an unspoken agreement between the two of them that this is something they wouldn't want to talk about. Not now. It's frightening. Pat can feel herself being disheartened. She could only imagine how hard it is for Arvin. Arvin is a not just a collector, he's also a keeper. He collects friends for keeps. Pat is pretty much the same, though she likes to choose a few but true friends who stick around. Arvin likes attachments though. Another forever passes before one of them breaks the silence. "Would you believe me if I say that I will be by your side forever?" Arvin asked. It's a question he's been too afraid to ask. It's absurd really. He holds his breath. "I don't believe in forever," Pat said. Looking over at Arvin, she sees him shift a little and murmur an 'okay' but she doesn't miss the disappointment in his eyes, face slacking. "But I do believe in you. And I'd like to believe that we would spend all the time in we have in our hands together. No matter how short." They smile. No words spoken after that. They just savor the cheesiness of it all. Obviously, Arvin has been rubbing cheese off Pat. But they don't mind. Pat scoots closer to Arvin and Arvin plays with Pat's hair. Fingers tangled in long brown locks. It's the closest to intimacy they could get. They are young after all. But they could wait. On second thought, maybe just this is enough. Maybe just smelling Pat's shampoo is enough for him and feeling Arvin's warmth is enough for her. They spend the night under the open night sky. Talking about nothing and everything together. They might smell like grass and dirt in the morning but right then they couldn't care less. They don't have forever but they have all the time they need. If Pat had a penny for every time she had loved Arvin, there would only be one cent in her piggy bank. Because she only fell in love with him once and since then she never stopped loving him. The same goes for Arvin. But if they would have a penny for all the time they spent together, looked into each other's eyes and see their selves, makes each other happy and make each moment worth it, they should be rich by now. And they would get wealthier and wealthier because they still have a lifetime for more pennies and dimes.
