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 :)

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.

"Bibi?" Hearing the concern in his voice brought a fresh rush of tears. Fatigue, lack of sleep and hunger wreaked havoc over her emotions.

"Babe...." She choked, trying hard to sound normal.

"What's wrong? Bakit ka umiiyak?"

"RJ...daming tao kasi...sorry, di ko nakita....di ako naka-ilag.." She was trying to compose herself but failed. For a full minute, her unsteady breathing was all Alden heard, but he let her compose herself. He already had a gist of what happened from what she said and he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the whole story. It was an occupational hazard to be mobbed by fans, touched in sensitive areas, to be accidentally hit painfully by overeager fans.

For more than five years in the business, Alden could take it without showing annoyance or irritation, nor did he feel any. He embraced the good and bad of his calling, and reaped the rewards of his good relations with fans, the media and co-workers.

But for Maine to suffer the horror of being physically violated infuriated him. She was new in this business, shot to fame too fast that her mind and body were not reacting as fast to cope with the changes. She was not aware of how popular she was and always believed people were generally good especially if you were good to them.

"Baby, sshhhh, di mo kasalanan yan, tahan na. I wish I was there with you. Gusto kita i-hug ngayon. Sa Broadway ka na lang kaya bukas?"

"Ayoko ng special treatment, RJ. Sorry nagbreakdown ako, nagulat kasi ako eh. I'll be ok na bukas, promise."

"Gusto mo na pumunta sa shoot? Kami na lang nina Kuya Wally sa KS mamaya, pahinga ka muna."

"Hindi, hindi. Kaya ko. Promise babe, ok na ko mamaya."

"Maine, pa-cover ko na lang kaya kay Kuya Ryan yung segment ko? Gusto na kita puntahan eh. Nakita ba kung sino gumawa?"

"Wag kang ganyan babe. Sige na, lapit na segment mo, ok na ko. Nakausap na kasi kita. Hug mo ko mamaya ha? Miss na kita."

"Bibi, hug and kiss pwede? Hug na mahigpit saka madaming kiss." He was smiling despite his anger. Maine's sweetness always got the better of him.

"Promise yan ha," She said, finally sounding better.

After his conversation with Maine, Alden went to the pantry to get some water to drink. He badly needed to calm himself down. He heard the Just Duet contestants singing, thanking Ate Pat silently for delaying his segment to give him time to compose himself. She must have heard about the incident as well.

Alden went through his Classroom Superstar segment with Maine at the back of his mind. During Kalyeserye where KS Alden was supposed to get jealous of the good looking basketball team players, he looked more angry than jealous. He was hitting the punching bags with such force that the bags toppled over. At least Maine seemed ok now, showing no sign of her breakdown earlier. He couldn't wait to get to the shoot to see her.

---------------------------------

Maine was already at the shoot when Alden arrived. She was already made up but some finishing touches were still being applied on her face.

"Could you give us a few minutes lang?" Alden asked Juan. He locked the door to make sure no one would interrupt them. Maine was looking at him, trying to gauge what was going through his head.

"Galit ka, babe? She asked in a small voice. He sighed heavily and pulled her up from her seat, hugging her tightly. She felt like tearing up again but managed to control her emotions. She didn't want Alden to think she was such a crybaby.

"Galit ako baby pero hindi sayo. Naiinis ako kasi wala akong nagawa to protect you kanina. Kung nandoon ako walang nangyaring ganyan."

"Wag ka na magalit, please? See, I'm ok. Next time promise, mas mag-iingat ako."

He loosened his grasp on her and held her at arms length so that he could look into her eyes. What he was about to say might cause a fight but he had to say it for her own good.

"Maine, may sasabihin ako sayo pero wag ka magagalit. Listen to me first, ok? I don't want us to argue but I have to say this." She nodded, listening.

"Remember how I always tell you not to wear shorts, hanging shirts or short skirts? I know I sound so chauvinistic and you probably hate it when I tell you so. But it's because of incidents like this, where male fans might take advantage of you. I know, ideally, men should respect women, kahit ano pang suot niyo. But in reality, hindi lahat ng lalaki, gentlemen. Maraming mapagsamantala. Yung off-shoulder shirt mo, pwedeng hilahin bigla pababa, yung legs mo pwede nilang hawakan pag daan mo na naka shorts ka. Maparaan sila, Meng. "

"I know it's unbearably hot, kaya nga gusto ko sana sa Broadway ka na lang. But I respect that you want to be with your friends. I'm really trying not to control you, but if I sound like I am, babe, it's only because I worry for you. Ayokong nasasaktan ka o nahihirapan. I hope you understand what I'm saying."

Before Maine could answer, there was a knock on the door. Their shoot was about to start. Reluctantly, they parted to prepare for the shoot. They worked throughout the shoot without talking much, more because they wanted to avoid arguing. They had a taping to finish after the shoot, which they did, again without much talking.

Maine was processing what Alden told her. She was always headstrong, she disliked being told what to do or what to wear. Alden did sound conservative but he also had a point. The barangays they went to were sometimes rough, people could be rowdy and demanding. She'd been hurt several times but she thought it was a small price to pay for the blessings that kept pouring in.

On the way home she dozed off, settled comfortably in the front seat of the Jaguar with Alden's jacket over her. Alden drove quietly, glancing at her now and then, caressing her hand, kissing it. They arrived at the condo, he gently kissed her cheek to wake her. She pulled his hand as he helped her get out of the car and led him inside the condo.

"Galit ka ba?" He asked the question this time.

"Hindi. I've been thinking about what you said babe. Tama ka, I should be careful about the clothes I wear. I'm sorry ang tigas ng ulo ko."

He smiled at her, kissing her on the forehead. "Alam mo Maine, kahit anong isuot mo, pag may malisyosong fan, susubok pa rin yan makaisa sayo. Yun lang, mas may danger pag revealing ang suot mo. Mas may access sila. Kaya dapat hindi easy access suot mo pag nasa barangay ka. Yung easy access pag kasama mo na lang ako sa date." He smiled naughtily at her, the dimple finally making an appearance.

"Bastos ka rin pala eh." She said, poking him in the ribs.

"Uy bibi, pinapatawa lang kita, kanina pa tayo serious eh. Saka kayang kaya ko panagutan ang kabastusan ko. Teka, parang pangit pakinggan ha. Lika nga dito," He pulled her close, burying his face on his favorite spot, her smooth shoulder. He spoke, his lips moving against her shoulder. "Ano nga yung gusto mo pag nagkita tayo ngayon?"

"Hug saka kiss sabi mo. Marami." Goosebumps rose on her skin, tickled by the movement of his lips on her shoulder. She pulled his head up and kissed him, feeling his arms tighten around her waist. Their tongues met, savoring each others' taste. They kissed hungrily, loosening each other's clothing, wanting to touch, skin to skin. Maine removed his shirt, running her hands over his chest, squeezing his shoulders, pulling him closer.

His lips moved to nibble on her ear and neck, his hand went under her top to unfasten the catch of her bra. As his hand caressed her breast, he froze. He remembered the trauma she went through earlier and felt the passion in him dying down slowly. Setting her apart from him, he walked to the balcony to compose himself.

He felt her arms hug him from behind, felt her kiss his bare back. He turned to face her, cupping her face to kiss her but with more restraint this time.

"Babe, mabuti pa umuwi na ko. I'm so sorry, ang selfish ko. I wanted to comfort you but I missed you, my desire took over." He took her hand and led her back inside. He reached for his shirt and put it on, getting ready to leave.

"RJ wait. Don't go." She twined her arm through his, clasping his hand.

"Stay with me. Ang clingy ko nakakainis pero ayoko muna mag isa tonight. Di kasi uuwi si Dean dito may gagawing project, samahan mo na lang ako. Please?"

"Sige," He said reluctantly. "Babe try ko magbehave, promise."

"Kahit di ka magbehave, ok lang."

Then she smiled, the smile he missed all day.