Forever and Always

Theme : Friendship

Genre : Romance

Author : PeaNutGaring

Publication Year : 2014

Synopsis :
 Forever and Always

That afternoon the sun was shining very brightly. Nata waited desperately for her pick-up under the
roof of her school bridge. He had been waiting for an hour. Because he was almost starved to death,
he finally walked towards the school canteen with unsteady steps. And that's when Nathan saw her.

The most beautiful girl he had ever met in his life, was sitting alone in the corridor under the stairs
writing something. That girl must have been a transfer student from another school, because Nata
couldn't have been unaware of the presence of such a beautiful girl at his school.

Feeling cared for, the girl looked at Nata unhappy, "What?" he asked in a cold tone.

"Uhm, nothing. I.. I just want to go to the canteen," said Nata, smiling nervously and then left.

"Wait!" shouted the girl when Nata had gone a few steps. Nata's heart was beating fast when he
heard the girl's call. Nata is not surprised that many girls are attracted to him, but he didn't expect it
to be this fast. Finally, Nata turned to face the girl with a sweet smile like a celebrity welcoming her
fans.

"Isn't the cafeteria over there?" said the girl while pointing in the opposite direction. Faded all
Nata's shadow about all the romantic scenes that might happen after this.

"Yeah, I thought there. Because I'm also a new kid at this school. Haha," said Nata while maintaining
his smile even though in his heart he really wanted to drown himself invisible. What a lie, because
actually Nathan has been going to school here since kindergarten.

Nata immediately headed to the canteen while holding back his embarrassment. Then when he
returned enthusiastically to the place earlier, the girl was not there anymore. Somehow Nata felt
disappointed.
 Day after day, Nata saw the girl more and more often. I don't know when entering school, in the
canteen, and others. The girl kept a cold expression as if she didn't know him. And for some reason
Nata became even more interested in getting to know him.

The girl's name was Nikki. Nata found out from one of her friends. Finally Nata tried to find the girl's
Facebook account and worked up the courage to chat with her.

"Hey, Nikki," said Nata with a fast beating heart when she started chatting with Nikki.

"Hi," the girl replied simply. Even Nata could imagine Nikki's cold voice greeting her.

"You still remember me?" asked Nata hopefully.

"Nata de Coco? I remember I just ate you, it tastes good," replied Nikki.

Oops. It turns out that Nata forgot to change her Facebook account name.

"I'm Nathanael, a class X-C student," said Nata while adding a super big smiley.

"Oh. You are the wrong way to the cafeteria," replied Nikki. It turns out that Nikki still remembers
him, even though what she remembers is an embarrassing incident.

At that time, Nata spent her time chatting with Nikki. Even though Nikki's reply was still rather short,
for some reason Nata felt very happy.

And the day came when the sky was covered with thick black clouds, thunder roared deafeningly, and
raindrops seemed to fall angrily on the earth. It was time for school, and Nata saw Nikki waiting alone
at the school bridge. The same place where Nata was waiting for her pick-up before she had her own
car.
"You haven't come home yet? Come on, let me take you in my car," I asked when I approached him.

"No need, thanks. I've already called my driver," Nikki answered briefly.

"Okay, then I'll go home first," said Nata finally.

Because Nata knew that it would be a waste if she persuaded Nikki, she finally gave in and watched
Nikki from afar behind the windshield of her car.

Half an hour had passed, and Nikki still had not shown any signs of being picked up. It was seen that
Nikki was calling someone, then turned off her cell phone in despair. The rain was getting heavier and
Nikki's body was almost drenched in the rain. Finally Nata got out of his car carrying a jacket and
approached Nikki.

"Put it on, otherwise you might catch a cold," said Nata as she handed it to Nikki. Nata actually
wanted to wear it like in romantic movie scenes, but considering Nikki's characteristics, Nata finally
decided against it.

"Thank you," Nikki said as she took the jacket from Nata's hand.

"You'd better get in my car now. I'll take you home. Anyway, you can't refuse me anymore," said
Nata. This time Nikki didn't refuse him anymore, and this made Nata even more happy.

Nikki's house turned out to be very far from the school, and even further from Nata's house. And just
as Nata drove Nikki and wanted to go back to her house, suddenly her car broke down. Turns out the
car ran out of gas. Finally Nata had to push her car to the nearest gas station and was suspected of
being a thief.
 But the sacrifice was not in vain, because since then Nata's relationship with Nikki has grown closer.
They often tell stories to each other, do assignments together, and even walk together. One day, Nata
invites Nikki to watch a movie together.

When they were queuing to book tickets, suddenly the phone; Nate fell. Nata just wanted to take it,
Nikki accidentally stepped on Nata's phone and then the screen cracked. Nata's heart sank when she
finally picked up her favorite cellphone.

"What was that? I think I stepped on something," Nikki said as she checked the floor, "I think I heard
a cracking sound."

"No .. nothing," said Nata with a nervous smile.

"That's good. Because every thing I step on must break. Once I accidentally stepped on a friend's foot
and broke her toenail," Nikki said casually as if it was a matter of course.

Love does require sacrifice. Nata just thought that he was only one step away from changing his
Facebook status from 'single' to 'in relationship' when he saw Nikki with Nikko.

"Hey Nikki, wanna go home?" asked Nata approaching them after school.

"Yes, now we are going home together," said Nikko as he approached Nikki in a possessive manner.

"Sorry, Nat. After school, we want to do our assignments," said Nikki.

"Okay, be careful on the road," said Nata while walking away.

If yesterday Nata was at the top of the roller coaster, maybe now is the time for her to suddenly dive
and descend the roller coaster. That's love, sometimes we are slowly lifted to the top point of
happiness, and we will be dropped suddenly to the bottom of the deepest sadness. Now Nikki has
been with Nikko more and more, moreover they are in the same class and are always in a group.

Then there were rumors that Nikki was dating Nikko. This was the first time Nata really felt the loss
of someone she loved. One day Nata approached Nikki in class when she was alone on the school
bridge.

"Hey, it's been a long time since we talked again," said Nata starting the conversation.

"Sorry, because lately I've been getting busy," said Nikki apologetically.

"About Nikko, are you two really dating?" asked Nata, trying to smile.

Nikki nodded slowly.

"I just wanted to tell you," Nata said holding her breath, "I love you, Nik" actually Nata had wanted
to say it for a long time.

"I know you love Nikko. But I just want you to know one thing. I will continue to love you forever. I
will wait for you," said Nata while looking into Nikki's eyes.

Nikki didn't have time to answer, suddenly Nikko approached them, "Come on, Nik. We'll run out of
tickets later," Nikko said while pulling Nikki after throwing a suspicious look at Nata.

Nikki looked back, as if she felt bad for Nata. And Nata could only be silent on the school bridge, a
place that holds many memories with Nikki. Nata was still there when Nikko's car sped in front of
him. Nata will continue to love Nikki, even though Nikki can't be his. He will continue to wait for her.
Forever and always.