Saudade - Cris Junior

it was the day of spring formal, the day people had been waiting and preparing for weeks for. catalina was getting ready with her friend monica. serena was supposed to join them but she was apparently getting ready with another friend.

monica was wearing a baby pink dress and catalina wore a silk, pale yellow dress, both dresses reaching down to their ankles, and both capturing spring perfectly.

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when they arrived at the venue, monica and catalina noticed that serena was in fact with another friend, a guy friend to be specific. he was turned towards her, so they were unable to see who it was.

they see her give him a kiss and as they curiously walked over to them, catalina quickly realised that this guy was awfully familiar. it was marcus, serena was kissing marcus. "no, catalina!" serena yelled out but it was too late, catalina was storming off.

catalina didn't want this to ruin her evening, not yet. she sat down at the table full of her friends, willing to be cheered up. but nothing worked, she was betrayed, nothing could rewind that.

all of her friends fortunately had dates to the formal, so they eventually left her at the table by herself to go dance. she watched as her friends looked so happy, it almost made her happy too.

as she was zoned out on the table cloth, she felt another presence beside her. she watched cris take a seat next to her, in his navy, tailored, pin stripe suit. his hair looked neater, and not frizzy.

"hi cris," she forced a smile. "hi," he smiled awkwardly. catalina smiled again and looked away, thinking: can he spit it out already? wishing to ease the tension.

"soo..." cris tapped a finger on his thigh. "yeah...?" catalina fought the urge to reveal how awkward she felt. "you seemed sad over here, everything okay?" cris asked, surprising catalina from the empathy he gave.

"not really, no." catalina frowned down at the ground. "do you, um... want to talk about it?" cris asked. "no," catalina shut his request down almost immediately. "would a dance cheer you up?" cris asked with a small smile.

catalina hesitated but she ended up nodding. cris put a hand out for her to grab as he stood up, catalina grabbed it and they both walked over to the dance floor.

right as they walked among everyone else, the song Kiss Me by sixpence none the richer played.

"kiss me, out of the bearded barley
nightly beside the green, green grass
swing, swing, swing the spinning step
you wear those shoes and i will wear that dress
oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight..."

the song played as cris and catalina danced, cris' hands wrapped around her waist. catalina didn't know if what she was feeling was entirely normal, but it wasn't bad.

the two of them danced without making any prolonged eye contact, fearing the awkwardness would increase. but their eyes finally met, and they couldn't help but grin at each other.

cris looked away. "cris?" catalina grabbed his attention. "hm?" cris hummed as his eyes laid on her once again. "the reason i was sad earlier was because i saw serena and marcus kiss," catalina said and cris' eyes widened and his mouth was agape.

"that's insane, how could she do that to you?" cris said. "i know! she didn't even run after me to explain, even though it wouldn't even be any help..." catalina said, "but still, i feel like she has no regrets, and that she meant for me to see, so she could brag that she has him now, not me."

"but only a couple weeks ago she was telling me that he was so gross and that she would never get with him." catalina frowned once again, sadder than before.

she looked up at cris, and the look on his face was so sorrowful, that it made her look down again. "i'm so sorry catalina, she's a terrible friend. you don't deserve this, you're an amazing person," cris said. catalina snapped her head at his statement, but his last words stood out to her the most. she's an amazing person?

since when did he ever think that? catalina decided to ignore it, appreciating the comfort he was bringing her. "thanks cris, means a lot, even if you don't mean it." catalina chuckles. "i do." cris said, the look on his face turning serious.

"so kiss me
..."

the song entered its instrumental break. catalina smiled and pulled him into a hug, still dancing. she felt him hesitate, but he hugged her back. "you're a wonderful dance partner." catalina whispered in his ear, and cris grinned.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ author's note

i love this song.

i'm feeling very sentimental tonight💔