It's too cruel, you're a cruel man
I never knew this till now, I've been deceived

So this is what it was all about. Alma thought. She glared at every person that sat with her who had these ludicrous smiles on their faces. There, she sat on the table she so much wanted to get away from. Her conversation with Harold ended about half an hour ago when Felix and Heather entered the restaurant and never did they uttered another single word to each other after it. Alma eyed her friends, cursing them to their soul and finally lets out a sigh. Rafaela noticed her unlikely behaviour and tapped her cheek, releasing her from her train of curses surging through their inner core. Alma looked at Rafaela, quickly erasing the outraged look on her face and noticed as she bobbed her head from across her direction, trying to get her to acknowledge the man who sat on the other side—but hell no, she ain't greeting that son of a bitch.

Heather nudged her and her face grew sour and muttered another curse. She tried avoiding his face but somehow, Alma was aware that he was looking at her. She could feel his eyes piercing through her soul, but then again, she disregarded the thought—acting as if he didn't exist there and focused all her attention on her annoying friends bickering about the damnest things and tried surviving throughout the lunch gathering her friends had set up.

Heather tried her best, Felix tried also to fix them both but Harold and Alma couldn't have it during those months. Harold thought Alma was with another and Alma was under the impression that he was angry at her for leaving him over such a thing as a huge misunderstanding. It was always, at the end of the day, the two were hurt and remorseful, longing to have each other back but rumor after rumor started to pile up against them both and can they bring themselves to neither talk nor see each other to try and clear things up.

I thought I would feel nothing
I thought I completely forgot you

Alma can never have it also. She knew that a guy like him can never deserve someone as low and as bitchy as her. Thinking herself as above that overwhelming feeling of love, she put a face of great snarky attitude but nevertheless can she deny she was falling for Harold back then. He was different from the boys he had met—most probably is that she wanted to throw a chair at their faces, much to the chagrin of Trevor but when it comes to Harold, she'd always limit herself to a punch which was a sign for Heather and Rafaela to suspect that she finally liked somebody. She was always known to be rude, sarcastic and was considered to be such a rebellious girl—even Rafaela couldn't quite keep up with her attitude and she has been with her the longest.

It was a night in which Alma comes over at Harold's apartment after a long week of work. It was their tradition to meet every Friday at his apartment or sometimes, he would fetch her directly from work and would buy food and take a quiet stroll on the nearby park. To her bad luck, Harold was demoted by his boss when he failed to submit his monthly reports and it wasn't his fault, to his defense but there was nothing that could be changed and he was already replaced by his co-worker to take the Head of Marketing position. She barged in and saw him drinking a few cans of beer and scolded him for it but as fuming his mood was, he replied with a scowl, commenting on how loud and bitchy she was.

The argument led itself until they have spoken things that they knew they didn't mean. Alma can be quiet a bitch and she took it too far with the range of her angered emotions but she didn't knew what kind of day Harold had and he knew her personality and her tendency to scold him but he should've left those grudges back at the office and at least told her what happened but no, his excessive drinking brought him to insult her and her being.

"You bitch, could you shut the fuck up for once and let me by myself? Jesus, you're too loud"

"Bastard, for once in my life I'm deeply concerned about you and this is what you're gonna say? That I should shut up? You fucked up man better get your head together"

"Shut up! If you're just gonna bitch about then why don't you leave? Seriously, why the hell did I fall for you?"

That line struck her like an arrow to the heart, killing her deeply inside. He was drunk—she knew that, but it still hurt her and it was enough for her to slam the apartment door and cry in her car. She couldn't leave, not with that condition and it was pouring hard. She kept thrashing inside the car, beating the poor steering wheel and the car accidentally honked, jolting her. Alma quickly ran out of the car and the rain soaked her, hiding her tears which fell continuously down her cheeks. Leaning on the car door, she began to recall the events back at the apartment and kicked the nearby trash can in her anger.

Rage engulfed her head and it clouded her mind, ignoring the fact that she could get sick the more she gets soaked in the rain and that she looked like a crazed woman beating the trash can because of her anger. At first, these words didn't scare her—that she could handle it fine and reply something even bitchier but she was wrong and fooled around with love that left her thrashing her anger like that. She thought that love was such an easy game and she could be a great player but the game turned on her and she was played and fell into a trap deeper. Her anger grew worse but managed to stop thrashing the trash can and let herself lean onto the car, kneeling down as she could hold herself any longer. She could even still hear Harold's voice when he called her at the parking lot, begging her to take shelter but she kept still onto her place until he ran into the rain to fetch her but she didn't move.

She thought it was easy—but loving someone like that, despite her attitude, was something she could never escape from. Her mind was twisting around him and how idiotic she was for leaving him but, if someone did shouted at her like that, she could've thrown that person through the window and with God's mercy will that person need to manage staying alive. Then again, Harold was different. She could never hurt him but never did she expect him to hurt her—the boy who was so in love with her for God knows how long and even begged her to give him a chance, not only once but thrice.

There's no way, this doesn't make sense
I wanna believe that they saw wrong

She regrets it all. She was on the losing end this time—the one thing Alma can never accept. She had already accepted her mistake and she's remorseful for the things she'd done but the damage always trailed down behind her, haunting her up until the present reducing her to tears she never thought she still have after all that crying almost every night. Every night felt emptier and lonelier than the last and somehow, she'd end up praying that they'd have the chance to talk again but with every chance she got to contact him, she'd always chickened out, ending up having to wait for him to take the first move.

Her sorrow became anger. Seeing that girl with Harold drove her mad and her appetite for coffee and her mood withered away to ashes and at first jealousy overwhelmed her but eventually it turned to anger—anger to herself and to him. Once it all processed in her mind, she was angry at him for replacing her that quickly but she was more angry to herself for letting him go and not give themselves another chance. They never had a fight before, just excessive bickering, but never to the point that they'll curse and bawl at each other and Alma gave up the first time around and didn't even think twice about leaving him but ended up longing for his embrace and comforting words again.

Things I hear from around me
Are they all true?

"Harold, why didn't you tell me you got demoted in your job?"

Felix's words took the attention of the others who were having a quiet conversation. Alma and Heather furrowed their brows, alarming Harold of his situation and tried dismissing the topic but Heather pushed on, showing her worry towards her friend. Harold, finally giving up, sighed and stooped his head down low, trying to hide the shame in his face, "It was about four months ago—"

"You kept it for that long?!" Trevor exclaimed.

"You wanna hear the story or not?" Harold snarled.

Trevor whispered an apology and urged Harold to continue, "I failed to comply with the monthly report since the company had a shortcoming and our investor pulled out on us and the department had to find a way to boost the sales to make up for the loss but we had failed primarily and suddenly I got a notice that I got demoted—almost fired, to be exact but the board looked into my contributions and decided to just get me demoted"

"It wasn't your fault" was all Heather could say.

"It was my dream job and they just decided to take it away from me" Harold stifled a small laugh and stop his tears to even compel from his eyes.

"How are you holding up?" Alma asked.

Harold widened his eyes, surprised to hear Alma ask him a question or generally, talked to him after four months. He raised his head to face Alma and saw the worry in her eyes making him vulnerable yet again but managed to stop himself from shedding a tear and nodded, "I'm good, thank you for asking" he said, "The company is still in a state of dilemma—good thing I ain't head of Marketing anymore"

It's true, true

"It was that night, right?"

Shortly after the lunch meeting, Alma followed Harold and stopped him on the apartment gate, surprising him but as soon as he saw her face, he lightened up and released a sad smile, "Yeah"

It was quiet after. None dared said a word and stood there awkwardly with their hands on their pockets and their heads adverting each other's gaze. The wind blew, ruining Alma's kept and chic straight hair, letting it dance it the breeze, attaining Harold's attention and gazed at her longer than he was supposed to. Alma frantically held her head to contain her hair into place but she hinted Harold's quiet gaze and returned the look making him advert his eyes away.

"Your new girl lives here too, right?" she asked.

Look into my eyes and tell me

Harold furrowed his brows and turned to face her, "You really think I have another girl?" he asked.

Alma was taken aback and kept her mouth hanging open a little and her eyelids were half closed, hiding the tint of embarrassment in her eyes. Of course she doesn't want to believe him that easily and slowly nodded with a taunting expression, "Don't try to test me" she sneered.

It's all a lie, I've never done that
Even though I try so hard
I can't forget these feelings

Harold shook his head, bewilderment overcame him and chuckled along with Alma. He was actually relieved that she was calm and not a sassy bitch or he'll have a hard time to take her back. It was actually the rare times that Alma was not her usual cold personality and he was always blessed every time she was calm and it was those times where he could be more of a romantic towards her. His mood lightened up when he heard her laugh and felt his system malfunctioning for a few moments and appreciate her flirtatious laughter which provokes him to snake his arms around her and kiss her till oblivion but those play on situation in his head would have to wait or just remain in his head.

"No it's true, I have no other girl" Harold acclaimed.

"Not even your mother?" Alma raised a brow.

Shit. Harold cursed out loud in his head. Alma became the sarcasm queen yet again. Harold would've laughed but now was not the applicable time and he needed to finish what he set out to do. He let out a glare at her, something rare but it didn't bother Alma who kept provoking him with insolent words after another. The fire inside has been lit again and he was trying to suppress the flames but he couldn't deny that it was getting bigger and the sparks were injecting in his nerves, deeply provoking him but he kept restraining himself.

"You really don't have another girl?" Alma snarled.

"No, I don't" Harold replied, "I only loved you and you only—"

"But that doesn't mean you didn't have another girl" Alma intervened, a smirk tugging on her lips, "You have your mother and sister, other than that, of course you love your other female relatives"

"I meant, a love that isn't family bound or even friendship bound, but love as in true love" Harold explained, "And FYI, it's not just me who found another"

The statement took Alma a few seconds to process but before she respond with other sarcastic remark, Harold grabbed his phone and showed a picture of her with another man that was sent to him two months before by Erik. Alma analyzed the photo and her brows raised and she stifled a sassy laugh which baffled Harold.

To leave my phone background
As an old photo of us
It's a waste of real love

"That's me and my cousin" she said, "Erik is such an ass, honestly"

"No, I don't believe that" Harold said, retracting the phone back and studied the photo once more.

"That's my cousin, on my father's side" Alma explained, "You should never believe anything Erik ever says or what he tries to acclaim, and you know how wild his accusations are"

Harold swore he could kill Erik that instant. Putting those depressing thoughts in his head and letting him suffer deeper for two straight months without even concluding who that man really was and assumed that he was a new lover and that she was a player. Harold cursed himself also for thinking such things about Alma—his beloved Alma. He stared at Alma who was snickering at him and felt too embarrassed and bowed his head to hide it. How he wished to have Alma's calm and sassy composure and cover the embarrassment with a sarcastic remark but he wasn't blessed with it and was forced to live through with the feeling.

"But if you want to, then I could say that he can be a new man in my life" Alma snickered, "He's a great dancer also and he was popular with girls during his school days—it's the perfect misdirect right—"

It's so hard, pretending to be alright

That's when Alma let go of her tears that she trying so hard to restrain inside. She was surprised as Harold suddenly crashed his lips onto hers and held her in place so she can't pull away. Her body was surging with uncontrollable emotions and the tears didn't stop flowing and Harold felt the salty tears trickling down his cheek and pulled away, surprised to see Alma crying. He suddenly let go of her and wiped the tears off her face and when she tried to speak, he shushed her, stopping her from saying anymore nonsense.

"Harold… I'm sorry" she whimpered, "I gave up too early and left you… of course, I love you and I can never ever leave you"

Leaping for joy wasn't enough and neither was a loud cry of happiness nor could kissing her repeatedly ever compare with hearing her declaring those three words, Harold thought. He was well aware that Alma scarcely told him those words and the last he remembered her saying it was when they had their 1st anniversary which was a long time since they were two years into their relationship and to Harold, it was such a joy to hear her still feel the same as he did.

"I regret it all… I should've just asked you what was wrong that night rather than shouting at you just like that" Alma cried, "I never should've said those things. I'm so sorry…"

Harold couldn't help it also. She was crying and sooner, he was too but he relieved himself by holding her close which also comforted Alma who ceased whimpering a few moments later. He soothed her with running circles in her back and stopped only to wipe his own tears which still continued to trickle down. He said nothing but there was nothing to be said—they were finding their way back to each other again.

According to my friends
You already found someone new

"I thought you already found someone new" Harold chuckled, "Seems like I was so wrong. I promise to kill Erik the next time I saw him"

"I found you one time in a café with a new girl—"

"You don't need to know her" Harold intervened, "I actually kept her away from you since she was trying to break our relationship for a long time"

Alma pulled away and stared at Harold with a disgruntled look on her face which made Harold panic. She wiped her tears away and crossed her arms which made him more anxious and scratched his neck, trying to find the words to soothe her. He began to thump his foot, indicating that he was nervous and Alma noted his stance but eyed him carefully, "There was such girl…" she trailed off, "And you didn't let me bitch her off"

Harold swore he could never love this girl anymore than he loves her now. He immediately let out a laugh which irritated Alma who kept her glare on him but he didn't gave a care and kissed her the girl again but she couldn't have it and moved away and her brows were tightly furrowed which put a blush on Harold as he have always thought an angry Alma was the cutest.

"That was what I was afraid of" Harold replied, "I know that you are the most bitchiest girl and she might not make it out alive when face to face with you—I don't like fights, you know that"

Will you tell me it's not too late?
Please, give me one more chance

"But she was trying to break our relationship" Alma whined.

"We are not in a relationship" Harold bluntly replied.

Alma closed her mouth shut and the look in her eyes states that she was panicking and she can't sass her way out of that one. Harold loved that embarrassed face she was making and never have he seen that face before and so he was taking it onto account as he might not see that face again. Alma threatened to punch Harold and he only mocked her but ended up receiving the punch anyway, but he would be lying if he wasn't used to her punches.

"Then we are not in a relationship" Alma barked, "If that's what you want, then fine. We are not in a relationship"

"But will you give me another chance?"

Where U at my love
Where U at my love
You know, I can't go on if it's not you

Alma stopped her hysterical chatter and her eyes shifted back at Harold who was patiently waiting for her answer. She began pondering about her decision but as his eyes penetrated through her soul and felt as if those piercing eyes were manipulating her brain, her mind was clouded with the thought of him and how badly she missed him and gave a 'yes' with haste. She wasn't able to comprehend what just happened or what she just said when Harold tackled her into another kiss and this time she responded back, "I love you too much too" Harold mumbled.