Chapter 13

It's a funny thing how you fall inlove with someone you have just known for a day. It's feels so wrong but so right at the same time. It's fun when you learn new things about each other everyday, laugh with each other, not caring about what the future would be, just being with the one you love is enough. You don't know what to expect from love. Love makes you do things you don't normall do. Love makes you crazy. Love makes you stupid, but that's just how it is. 

That's what Alegria realizes when she opens her eyes and sees the person that made her heart beat a million times faster. She touched Bruno's cheeks gently, hoping not to wake him up, then she went out of bed, got dressed and cooked breakfast. Good thing she bought eggs even though they weren't needed for the dinner that she cooked for the both of them last night.

Alegria ties her hair, looks at Bruno then smiles. He's the most adorable thing she has ever seen. She then starts to cook omelets for the both of them.

Bruno sees Alegria as he wakes up. He gets up, rubs his eyes, then gets himself dressed and walks towards Alegria and hugs her from her back.

"Don't go to work." Bruno said as he smiled.

"Oh you know I have to." Alegria turned around and stroked Bruno's hair then smiled.

"Even just for today? Come on.." Bruno said as he gave Alegria a quick kiss on the lips.

"You're really a cheater, you know." Alegria smiled. Bruno is just so charming, but she also couldn't leave her students.

"Why is that?" Bruno said as he smiled.

"You're using your charm to convince me. Everytime you want me to do something, and I say no, you always use that method to make me say yes." Alegria said.

Bruno chuckled. "So you're saying that I'm charming. Is that it?" Bruno said as he kissed Alegria's neck.

But it's true. He was charming. She couldn't disagree to that. So she just turned around and continued cooking. "The omelet is gonna get burned up."

"Okay, I'll go to your work."

"What? Are you serious?" Alegria turned around and faced Bruno.

"Yes. It's our day off today, and I have nothing to do."

"So.. You're just doing this out of boredom?" Alegria asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Of course not. The boys.. They have other plans. But I wanna come and see how you teach. So yeah, I told them I would like to be with you today." Bruno said.

Alegria smiled as she pinched Bruno's cheeks. "Alright." Alegria turned around and put the omelets into a plate.

"What do you mean 'alright'? Alright I can go with you, or alright you wanna stay with me and skip work?" Bruno said, smiling.

Alegria chuckled. "Alright, you can go with me. Just choose a mask that you're gonna wear. Oh hey, I forgot!" Alegria said as she put her hand in her head.

"What? Forgot about what?" Bruno said.

"I still have to grade the masks.. Alright. You help me grade them while we eat." Alegria took the plates into the table and took her red pen and the masks.

"Okay. I'll wear the mask that has the least grade." Bruno sat beside Alegria.

Alegria smiled. "Well, if that's what you want. What do you think about this?" Alegria said as she showed Bruno a mask.

"Hmm.. This one.. Give it A." Bruno said as he put a mouthful of omelet into Alegria's mouth.

They ate as they graded the masks. After that, Alegria washed the dishes while Bruno took a bath, brushed his teeth and got dressed. Alegria fixed the bed and arranged her things.

"Aren't ya gonna take a bath?" Bruno said while combing his hair.

"I'll prepare myself at home." Alegria said as she grabbed her things. "Let's go."

"Well, okay." Bruno said as they both went out and went to his car.

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Calyx opened his eyes, looked around and saw Danielle. His eyes widened. 'What the..' He thought as he gently stood up and got dressed. Danielle woke up and thought the same thing. "What the.. What did we do?"

Calyx didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. Danielle immediately got up and got dressed. "I'm.. I'm leaving." She took her bag and went out of the house.

Before Calyx could say a word, she was gone. 'Damn..' He didn't even get to ask her number. After a few minutes, someone knocked at the door. He opened it immediately, hoping it was Danielle.

"Good morning Calyx." Alegria said as she went inside with Bruno. "Sorry if I came back just now.. So, how did Danielle react when you kissed her?" Alegria smiled as she put her things down.

"Uhm.. She left immediately." He lied. But what the fuck, Danielle is Alegria's co-teacher. She might just tell her sister about what happened to the both of them.

"Really? Did she slap you or something?" Bruno asked. He was also curious.

"No.. She just left." Calyx tried to act normal. He opened the fridge and took something to cook.

"You know, I think something happened to them yesterday." Alegria said as she whispered into Bruno's ear.

"You think so?" Bruno said, also whispering.

"Yeah, he's lying right now." Alegria whispered, smiling.

"Ohh.. I see.." Bruno said. 'They're really siblings.' He thought.

"By the way, you don't have to cook breakfast for me. I already ate at Bruno's place." Alegria said as she went upstairs to prepare for work.

"Oh, okay.." Calyx said. He was really trying to calm down, not to make anything suspicious.

Bruno suddenly saw their family picture. He hadn't noticed this before.. He stood up and to take a closer look. 'So her beauty is a combination of her mother and father, eh?' He thought. 'Calyx looks a lot more like his father.'

"Alegria looks cute there. Don't you think?" Calyx said as he ate his breakfast.

"She's always cute and beautiful." Bruno said as he looked at the picture. 'She got her eyes and lips from her father.. Her nose and oval-shaped face from her mother..'

"You know, Alegria is the fun kid. She never fails to make us happy."

"So she was like that even before?"

"Yep. She's the best sister that any brother had hoped for." Calyx said, smiling.

"And you're the best brother for her. You're always so caring and thoughtful of your sister." Bruno said.

"Of course, I'm her brother." Calyx said, smiling. "You shouldn't make her cry, or else I'll break you into pieces.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't." Bruno said as he smiled.

Calyx also prepared himself for work, leaving Bruno waiting at the living room.

'I wouldn't dare hurt her.' Bruno said as he smiled and looked at the photo on his phone. It was the first picture that he took with her. He suddenly remembered the surgery. What would he do after that? How will he make new memories with her? How would he start?

After a while, Alegria went down. "Let's go." Bruno stood up. "Calyx, we're leaving." Alegria said as she opened the front door.

"Yeah, take care you two." Calyx answered.

Bruno and Alegria went into the car and drove to school.

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"Class, we have a visitor today. As you can see, he's wearing the mask that your classmate made. He's a special visitor, and he has to hide his face from you." Alegria said to her students.

A student raised her hand to ask a question.

"Yes, Aimee?" Alegria asked.

"Teacher, is he a shy person?"

"Well.. He just doesn't want to show his face.. Hmm.. I guess he is." Alegria smiled and looked at Bruno.

"Teacher, what's his name?" Another student asked.

"Peter. His name is Peter. Now, children, what will you say when a visitor comes?" Alegria asked her students.

"Good morning, Mr. Peter. We are pleased to meet you." Bruno smiled as the children greeted him in chorus.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Bruno answered.

"Mr. Peter, you can take that vacant seat at the back." Alegria said as she pointed the chair to Bruno. Bruno went to the chair and sat down. Alegria began teaching.

The kid on his right was staring at him. "Do I look funny?" Bruno said, whispering.

"No... You're wearing the mask that I made." The kid softly spoke.

"Ohh.. I see.. You know, you should listen to your teacher now. She might scold me for talking to you.." Bruno said.

The kid looked at him for a while, then looked at Alegria.

'Well-behaved kids..' He thought. He stared at Alegria the whole time she was teaching.

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"Alex!" Rose squealed as she ran towards Alegria.

"Who is this mysterious man? Are you guys dating?" Rose asked, intrigued by Bruno.

Alegria just smiled as they walked towards the gate. "Come on, you have to tell me who he is." Rose said.

"I'm her boyfriend." Bruno said, smiling. Alegria looked at Bruno, raising her eyebrows.

"Awwwww! That's great!! Alex, you never told us!"

"I'm not planning to tell you, actually." Alegria said.

"So, what's your name?" Rose asked as she stared at Bruno.

"I'm Peter. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Rose, her co-teacher. Nice to meet you too." Rose and Bruno shook hands.

"Wait, where's Danielle?" Alegria asked.

"She went home early.. She seemed kind of uneasy the whole day. Maybe she's not feeling so well." Rose said.

'So.. Something really happened.' Alegria smiled as she thought.

"Can I.. see his face?" Rose said.

"I'm really sorry, but we've gotta go." Bruno said, as he opened the car door for Alegria and went inside his car.

"Aww.. That's just not fair." Rose said. "Can't you guys at least give me a ride home?"

"We have a date.. So I guess we can't do that.." Bruno answered as he started the car.

"Rose, I'm really sorry.. I'll make it up to you next time." Alegria said. And they left the school.

They didn't notice that someone was watching them. Secretly.

Bruno removed the mask. "Uhm.. Alegria?"

"Yes?"

"Can we visit your Mom and Dad?"

"To the cemetery? Why?" Alegria asked, curious.

"I just.. wanna introduce myself to your parents. Look, I know they're dead but I just.. I still want to meet them." Bruno shyly said.

"Alright. To the cemetery then." Alegria said as she smiled. She's not sure if Bruno's serious, but she liked the fact that Bruno wants to meet her parents. They bought some flowers in a flower shop and went to the cemetery. There were only few people around, so not wearing the mask wasn't a problem.

"Mom, Dad, this is Bruno. He's my boyfriend. He said he wanted to meet you, so we went here." Alegria said as she put the flowers beside her parents' grave. "You know, he's a nice guy. He's also a great singer and has a lot of female fans that are dying to meet him and are crazy about him. So I guess, I'm a lucky girl." Alegria looked at Bruno and smiled.

"Sir, Ma'am, I just wanna say that.. I love your daughter. I know that we have just been together for a week, but when I first saw her, I knew, she was the one. I love her so much, and I would try my best not to make her cry. I came here to ask for your trust on taking care of your daughter. I hope, in any way, my message reaches you."

The wind blew softly, and Bruno knew the answer. He smiled.

"I guess they're saying they trust you." Alegria said.

Bruno smiled. Suddenly, he noticed a guy spying them, taking pictures of them.

"What are you looking at?" Alegria asked, as she looked towards the direction that Bruno was staring at. Her eyes widened. It was Alexander.

"Wait.. Is he your stalker?" Bruno asked.

"Y-yes.." Alegria said, as she hid behind Bruno's back. Bruno stared at Alexander, irritated.

Alexander started to notice that they have already spotted him, so he slowly walks, like everything was normal. He doesn't want to look suspicious.

Bruno ran towards Alexander and talked to him. "Hey you."

"Wh-who? Me?" Alexander asked, nervous.

"Yeah, you. Why are you taking pictures of my girlfriend?" Bruno said as he grabbed Alexander's shirt

"You're Alegria's boyfriend?!" Alexander said, shocked. He never knew. He saw Bruno with Alegria while he was stalking them. But he never knew she was his girlfriend. He thought they were just close. Well, he really has thought about Alegria being Bruno's girlfriend, but he had illusions of him being Alegria's boyfriend, so he didn't mind.

"Yes, I'm Bruno Mars and I'm her boyfriend." Bruno said.

Alegria ran towards Bruno. "Bruno, please, stop it. Just.. leave him alone.." Alegria said. She didn't want Bruno to do anything ridiculous just because of her.

"Leave him alone?! Alegria, he's your stalker! He follows you, day and night, and you're telling me to leave him alone?!" Bruno said. He was clearly angry at Alexander. He didn't want any guy to stalk Alegria. He was jealous about it.

"Bruno.. just don't do anything to him. Please." Alegria pleaded.

Bruno sighed and let go of Alexander. "Give me that." He said as he took the camera from Alexander.

"What are you doing?!" Alexander asked.

"I'm gonna delete all of Alegria's pictures here in your camera. And you can't do anything about that." Bruno said.

"Oh, you're not doing that!" Alexander punched Bruno. He clearly didn't want those precious pictures to be deleted.

"Hey!" Alegria said.

Bruno grabbed Alexander and punched him back, many times. He was punching him so hard that he fell to the ground, but Bruno still continued punching him.

"Stop! Stop it! Both of you..." Alegria suddenly collapsed. It was then that Bruno stopped punching Alexander. He stood up and carried Alegria.

"Alegria?! Alegria, wake up!"

"What's happening?!" Alexander asked, worried.

"It's none of your business, jerk." Bruno answered angrily as he walked towards his car while carrying Alegria. He put Alegria inside and he followed. He drove his car and as soon as the car was already far from the cemetery, Alegria started to wake up.

"Whew..I thought you guys wouldn't stop." Alegria said.

"What the.. You.. You were just acting earlier?" Bruno said. He was shocked. He almost had a heart attack when Alegria collapsed.

"Of course I am. You didn't notice? Wow, I guess I'm a good actress." Alegria chuckled.

"You almost gave me a heart attack! Don't you ever do that again." Bruno said. He was a little bit angry about it. He thought Alegria collapsed for real.

"Wait a minute.. Are you angry?" Alegria said, still laughing.

"It's not funny." Bruno answered.

"Aww.. I'm sorry.. But I just had to do that to stop both of you. Now, would you have stopped beating him up if I didn't do that?" Alegria said.

"No.. I was planning to beat him to death."

"See? That's why I did that. You just wouldn't stop. Besides, you have already proved to me that the "faint method" was really effective." Alegria said, smiling. She can still remember the time when Bruno pretended that he fainted.

Bruno laughed. "So, you got that from me, huh?" Bruno looked at Alegria.

"Yep. You know, you should teach me some of your acting techniques." Alegria smiled.

"Uhm.. Alegria, what do you wanna do on our first monthsary?" Bruno asked. He suddenly became serious.

"First monthsary? It's just been a week. Why did you suddenly talk about that?" Alegria asked.

"I just.. wanna plan and prepare for it. So.. what do you wanna do?"

"Well.. I don't really wanna celebrate our first month of being together. Let's just make it a normal day."

"What? You mean, you mean, we'll just do nothing?"

"Well, yeah. You know, I don't care about how long we've been together. As long as we're still together, then I'm okay. It doesn't matter how long you've loved someone, what matters is how you love that someone." Alegria explained.

Bruno didn't expect Alegria to say that. From what he had known, girls like to celebrate their firsts with the person they love. First monthsary, first anniversary and a whole lot more firsts. But Alegria wasn't like that. She was unique. Really unique. At that time, he just wanna thank God for giving Alegria to him. "Well, we should at least do something on that day. Hmmm.. How about you teach me Tagalog and Nihongo?" Bruno suggested.

"Sounds great. Okay, we'll do that instead." Alegria smiled.

Bruno smiled back. He felt so lucky at that time. He can't tell how happy he was being with Alegria. But he can't just stop thinking about that damn surgery that will change everything between him and Alegria.

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One day left. This is gonna be the last day that he's gonna be with her. Bruno had prepared and planned for everything that day. He was ready and he's just waiting for Alegria to be prepared for their last date.

Alegria has just finished applying make-up. "There. All done." She said as she took a last look at the mirror and went downstairs.

"I'm ready. Let's go." Alegria said as she grabbed her bag and walked towards Bruno. "Aren't you really gonna tell me about your surprise?" Alegria said as the walked towards the door.

"Of course not." Bruno smiled as he opened the door for Alegria.

"Calyx, we're leaving." Alegria said.

"Okay. Hey, Bruno, you take care of my sister." Calyx said as he looked at Bruno.

Bruno smiled. "I will." They walked outisde and to Bruno's car.

"Can't you give me even just a clue?" Alegria asked as she went inside Bruno's car.

"Nope. Not even one." Bruno said as he went inside the car and drove it.

"Ohhh, I'm so excited! The suspense is killing me!" Alegria said.

"So am I." Bruno smiled. He can't wait to show Alegria his 'special surprise'.