Prelude to Forever : Alden & Maine

One Shot # 20 - Occupational Hazard

Celebrities are human like us, and we need to remind ourselves of that. Like us, they also get tired, hurt,  and angry.  As fans, we tend to put them up on a pedestal and get frustrated when they show that like us, they are only human. Maine and Alden go through so many challenges everyday, just to make us fans happy.  It's amazing for me how positive they are, how good they are at balancing all these challenges while still doing a good job at making fans happy.

We need to understand though, that they have feelings too, feelings that they have to sacrifice and put aside because they put us first. When Maine encountered the malice of a fan a few days ago, I was amazed at how she was able to still appear on Kalyeserye after that incident, as though nothing happened. In fact, Alden seemed to be more affected than she was, because he seemed different on his Classroom Superstar segment. He smiled less, was interacting with the kids but a true fan would notice that he was less lively. I tried to imagine what happened behind the scenes after the incident, and how it affected both Alden and Maine.  Please read on. 

Would love to hear from you, please leave a comment below and let me know which parts you liked best. I'm also on Twitter, you can add me Forever_Rimaine . Enjoy :)    

MAINE

The Sugod Bahay segment was over. Together with Jose and Wally, Maine braved the scorching heat and sea of hands reaching for them. She was so hungry and dizzy from the heat, but with a smile, she waved at fans and made her way through the dense crowd of sweaty bodies that hoped to get through the Rogelios, to take a photo with her, or to at least touch her.

It happened so quickly, she never had a chance to protect herself. From out of nowhere, a hand roughly groped her breast, squeezed hard, before one of the Rogelios was able to angrily pull the hand away. She was so stunned, she stopped walking, her knees felt weak. Frantically, she looked at the sea of faces still calling her name, but what exactly was she looking for? Was she hoping to see a malicious smile, a knowing look? It was hard to explain, but she wanted to put a face to whoever violated her. Her heart was beating so fast with fear that she would be violated again.

"Meng, ok ka lang?" Wally asked, noting that she stood still, looking around. "Sinong hinahanap mo?"

"Kuya Wally....kasi may..... humawak..." She lost her composure and was in tears. Wally motioned with his head to Jose, and together, they shielded Maine and elbowed through the crowd as fast as they could, to get Maine to a safer area.

They finally reached the shed where food was already laid out for them. Grabbing a monobloc chair, Wally sat her down and gave her a bottle of mineral water. Maine looked terrified, she was practically shaking and crying silently.

"Kuya..." She sobbed, holding his arm with an ice-cold hand.

"Kalma lang bunso, inom ka pang tubig, sige na."

Jose already guessed what happened, judging by Maine's body language. Her arms were crossed over her chest, she was hunched over.

"Namukhaan mo ba? Nakita mo kung sino nambastos sayo?" Jose asked angrily. She just shook her head, still crying. "Kailangan malaman ni Alden 'to, Meng."

"Kuya, pwede bang wag na natin sabihin? Magagalit yun sakin."

"Sa tingin mo hindi niya malalaman yan? Siguradong nasa Twitter na ang balitang umiyak ka. Malalaman din niya pag di natin sinabi."

Her phone suddenly rang. With shaky hands, Maine reached for her phone and excused herself from Wally and Jose. She walked over to her van parked nearby, turned on the ignition and aircon.