Incompatible Compatibility
- 2 -
It has been a month ever since he and Lovina Vargas broke up.
Things have been more or less normal for the past few weeks. Antonio Carriedo had more time for himself and his friends. Unlike before, he could now spend hours just playing computer games with his friends without worrying about his girlfriend's wrath.
Ex-girlfriend.
He shook his head at the thought and redirected his focus towards what he was doing right now. Antonio let out a low hum of excitement as he opened his newly bought game. After he removed the plastic wrapping from the CD, he called the attention of his closest friends Gilbert Beilschmidt and Francis Bonnefoy.
They were having their weekly gaming session and it was his turn to "host" this week's game night. In response to his call, both men emerged from the kitchen holding a large bowl of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa. Antonio gestured them to sit on the couch as he set up the console.
"Did you guys make the salsa right this time?" Antonio teased his friends as he sat on the couch, holding a controller.
"Don't worry, I watched Gil make the salsa this time." Francis reassured him as he placed the bowl on the table beside the couch.
"What? I just sneezed and accidentally added a little bit of pepper." Gilbert grumbled as he took one of the controllers.
"You call that a little bit? The salsa practically resembled the soil after you literally spilled all of my pepper on it!" Francis pointed out.
Although he was upset with their break-up, Antonio wasn't as emotionally distraught as he thought he would be. Instead, here he was laughing at his friends' argument about salsa. He knew was fine for the most part, but he did pick up some unwanted quirks.
Ever since their break up, he would notice the smallest things that reminded him of Lovina. It wasn't like him at all to be so sensitive of his environment. Normally, he'd just focus on one or two things and he'd just (unintentionally) block out other things that seemed to not matter. Recently, he'd be distracted from what he was supposed to be doing and focus on other insignificant things.
Because of that, he seemed more preoccupied with his thoughts. His increased internal monologues had gotten Antonio in heaps of trouble. During classes, he would be called out by the teacher for not listening in class. He even failed one major test because he put the answers at the wrong places.
"By the way 'Tonio, Fran told me that you flunked your chemistry midterms." Gilbert said absentmindedly as he played.
"...Don't remind me of that, please." Antonio grumbled as he attempted to focus on playing.
"It'll be a bummer if you failed. Did you fail or not?"
"I was allowed to take remedial classes and I'll be retaking another test next week."
"By the way, did you already tell Gil about your little incident two days ago?" Francis asked as he dipped his tortilla chip into the salsa.
"Not now Franny!" Antonio whined. To his dismay, his in-game character got caught by the enemy. "Look at what you did!" He gave his friend an accusing look while the said friend just laughed along with Gilbert.
"What incident? He's had a lot of incidents lately." Gilbert smirked.
"He mistook some other girl as Lovina at the mall. Some people saw and were talking about it in class." Francis gave Antonio a look.
Antonio gave his friends a light punch on their shoulders. It was true...he did have a fair share of embarrassing stories outside their school as well. Once, he was wandering around the local mall when he saw a girl resembling Lovina. While wondering if she was Lovina, he ended up walking straight into a pole. At the sound of his surprised cry of pain, the girl in question looked towards his direction. To Antonio's dismay, she wasn't Lovina and in fact, looked far too different to be her.
Lovina was more pretty...err...that's not the point.
There were more similar stories to that one, but Antonio refused to recall them. They were simply that horrible.
"Ugh...can you guys stop embarrassing me? Because I'll kick you guys out of my unit if you keep on doing this." He groaned as he hid his face in his hands.
"Lovina, huh? Are you sure you're over her?" Gilbert asked in a serious tone, putting down the controller.
"What's this all about?" Antonio blinked at them, moving his hands away from his face.
"Well, you seemed distracted lately. Are you alright?" Francis patted Antonio's shoulders.
For a moment, he considered Francis' question. He was a bit more distracted than usual, but he considered himself to be alright. He could still do the things he was supposed to do. He's still a normal functioning human being in all aspects. But, Antonio had to admit that he couldn't help but to think of Lovina.
He wasn't sure if that was considered normal but all he does know is that he still cares for her, even though they weren't in speaking terms. During his spare time, he would reflect on his thoughts and feelings towards her:
Was he missing Lovina? Of course!
Before they became lovers, they were friends. Antonio missed the times they spent together. Even though their relationship was on the rocks because of their numerous fights before, he would still miss her. Those feelings haven't changed even after their break up.
Did he want to be with Lovina again? That's something he can't answer with certainty until now.
In the beginning of their relationship, Antonio thought they could make things work. He knew that they both loved each other, but it turned out that feelings of love wasn't enough to make their relationship last. Antonio knew that the reason why they broke up was because of their own issues. Truth to be told, he was insensitive and he couldn't pick up hints that Lovina was throwing at him. On the other hand, Lovina still had trust issues with others in general and couldn't vocally share majority of her problems and issues with him. They both couldn't see things eye to eye and in the end, the magic of their relationship stopped.
Did he blame himself or Lovina? No.
Lovina's past circumstances was something she couldn't control. It wasn't her fault for being tight-lipped about herself or for unintentionally pushing him away. Antonio also knew that his slow uptake on his surroundings will always be a part of him and that his negative feelings during their relationship were all part of the experience. Both of them have imperfections, but they couldn't cope with each other as much as they had wanted to.
Did they love each other any less? Of course not!
Antonio loved Lovina and he was sure Lovina loved him as much as he had. Even though there had bad times together, they still had a couple of good memories together. He both valued both of those experiences and wouldn't want to change anything.
Is he over her? He wasn't sure.
But he knows that he wants all the best for Lovina, no matter what. He wanted to know whether she's doing fine and that she's not doing stupid stuff just like what he went through recently. Although...he was prone to doing those already.
The same with goes for his friends - he knows that his friends wanted the best for him. He gave them a smile and shook his head. Antonio knew that they were both worried for him and that they were trying to look out for him in their own way. Although he thought nothing of it first, but he now suspects that this weekly "gaming night" is their way on checking on him.
"I'm alright." He said as he stood up from the couch.
"You know, you can tell us anything if you have something on your mind." Francis gave him a nudge.
"We'll try to keep it a promise." Gilbert offered while Francis shot him a look.
"It's nothing. It's just that...I wonder how she is from time to time. I've accepted that we broke up and all, but I do think of her once in a while."
The two men looked at each other and then back to Antonio.
"I've seen her with one of the girls I used to going out with," Francis spoke up. "She seems fine. She's still anti-social for the most part, but she gave me a nod when she saw me."
"Me too. I bumped into her at the middle high building. She was with Feliciano and my little bro. She still gets a bit naggy over Ludwig, but she's okay. If she has the energy to do that, I can't see why she'd be all gloomy." Gilbert shared.
"I see," Antonio smiled. "That sounds like her, alright."
"Hey, all of this gloomy chat has made me hungry. What food do you have 'Tonio?" Gilbert asked, pushing his friends towards the kitchen.
"Should I cook tonight? We'd have to go out again if I'll be cooking." Francis offered.
"I'll drive us to the nearest supermarket." Antonio said as he grabbed his keys.
Admittedly, he still feels kind of sad that he and Lovina aren't talking to each other, but as long as she was fine - he'd accept their current situation and let things run in its own pace. As for him, Antonio knew he'd be alright no matter what happens. After all, he had his friends to back him up whenever he's feeling down on the dumps. Even before he had met Lovina, Gilbert and Francis have been together with him through thick and thin.
And he hopes that Lovina had someone to rely on during these times, just like how he relies on his friends.
End of the Chapter
A/N: Hi guys. Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate it OHOHOHON~
Just a little trivia about this whole story - it's loosely based from my own experiences, which is why this story mostly centers the thoughts of Lovina and Antonio rather than other people's perspective. Some parts of the story are from my reflections from my...questionable love life.
Once again, please bear with my amateur writing skills. With that said, reviews are always appreciated.
