Got to meet Belle!

I can't believe it! Today was finally the day I would meet up with Belle! I've known her for 4 years and yet today was the day we would first meet up. I was tossing and turning last night in my bed and even had this horrible dream about the weather being bad because the rain was just pelting my bedroom window. But when I woke up, the weather seemed okay and it was even sunny a bit. Belle messaged me and told me that she was on the way and that she was close by, which made me panic because she's the one further away, and I didn't want to be too late. I immediately wore my usual outfit and got ready to book for a ride to Venice Grand Canal Mall. I played that new Sabrina Carpenter song while on the way there because I heard it a lot last night on IG Reels and it made the ride very funny and interesting.

I eventually got to Venice Grand Canal Mall and Belle tells me that she's just waiting outside of Jollibee and I try to find her just sitting outside. And eventually I do just find her sitting outside and I immediately felt myself tense up. It was kind of weird because I could feel myself having a hard time finding the right words and talking, which seemed weird because I'm extroverted and usually great with people. I'm not sure why I tensed up so much at meeting Belle. But thankfully, I was able to fight through it and give her the tote bag I bought from Boracay, the usual Boracay sand in a jar, and her keychain. We walk for a bit and then I ask her if she was hungry yet, and she says no so I decide to have us go on that gondola ride while it was still sunny out. We went to the ticket booth and I asked how much was one gondola ride for 2, which the guy pointed out that the real ticket booth was on the other side of the escalator. I didn't understand what he meant by that, but we make our way to the other side of the escalator and that's where the gondola ride ticket booth was! The cashier told me that they only accept cash so I had to withdraw at a nearby BPI while Belle accompanies me. We talk about a few things like horror and the Annabelle doll while making our way there. I was surprised to hear that Belle was into horror, too, and not the gory kind.

I can honestly feel myself tense up like a rock and not say anything. I was watching myself and I was too self-conscious towards Belle that I probably scared myself stiff. I had to withdraw some money and I was awkward as fuck, but we eventually made our way back and I paid for the tickets. I talked to Belle about her new phone and I found it funny that she was on the verge of complaining to the DTI because her phone replacement still wasn't ready. We then went to the place where the gondolas and other boats were parked and we waited our turn. We talked mostly about Belle's travels abroad and I was shocked to find out that she's been to so many places abroad already. I asked her what her trip to Japan was like, why she wants to ride a bike, and her recent Hong Kong trip as well. It was nice to hear stories about her travels and I'm really impressed that she's been to so many places already. Eventually, it was our turn to ride the Gondola and I was so conscious of taking pictures with her. I honestly think I look too fat and I just didn't feel comfortable in my skin for whatever reason. I still took some pics with her regardless and took some photos of her while on the Gondola ride. We took a photo together, too, and even Belle offered to take my photos, which was nice. We essentially circled the entire Venice Grand Canal and then went back to claim our photos. We got 2 sets of the same photos so we'd split them.

By this point, we were kind of hungry and I was looking at which restaurant would be a good place for us to eat. Since Belle let me decide for us, I chose Italianni's. We had lunch and I chose the spaghetti and meatballs, as well as a calamari platter for us to share. I also ordered a Pinky Swear which was an alcoholic drink, a cocktail. It kind of shocked me internally because I hadn't drank alcohol in months, not even in Boracay, but I figured I was too tense and that maybe alcohol would help me tense up less. I realized that it might give Belle a bad image of me, like I'm some alcoholic drinker, but I know I'm not so I didn't care for my image being that. I recommended the pastas to Belle and then the iced tea, which she also ordered. She got the halibut with angel hair pasta and we just talked while waiting for the order. By this point, it was starting to get gloomy and I point out that it was already raining. I asked her about her glasses and we talked about a few things, like her work schedule, work in general, and even if she smoked, haha. I was shocked because we were both non-smokers and I tell her that almost everyone I know has some strong relationship with smoking or nicotine except me, but it was funny to hear that Belle doesn't smoke at all. Eventually, our food and iced teas get served and Belle talks to me about how she ranks iced teas that she's tried, which I find cute and interesting. I asked her what her top iced tea was and she says that it's from Shakey's, and that her worst was the one from KFC, which I totally agree with because it's always so bitter, even with the sweetener mixed in. But then we eventually ate and kept talking about other things. We eventually finished our meals and had the calamari ordered for take-out. I paid for our bill and we went to the movies afterward.

When we got there, it was still early so we waited outside the entrance and sat on a bench for a bit. Belle tells me a story about going to Starmall Alabang's movie theater and how it had a lot of people when they entered, but had quite a few people when they left the movie theater. I ask her if she's familiar with the rumor that it was built upon a cemetery and then I tell her about the other haunted places in Metro Manila that I want to visit, particularly the Manila Film Center. It was eventually our time to go inside the theater so we get our complementary popcorn and water as we went in. We were the first ones inside the theater so it was a little creepy. We kind of scared each other and talked about how eerie and creepy it was, and then I joked to her that I'd go to the bathroom and leave her alone for a bit. But we eventually waited for the other people to arrive and that's when I went to the bathroom. I was shocked because the bathroom had speakers and a loud sound just came out of nowhere and then the various movie trailers played. I rejoined Belle and I watched the other trailers, some of which were scary enough for me to check them out in the future.

The movie eventually started and I picked 28 Years Later (2025) for us since Belle was undecisive, haha. The movie started and it was pretty brutal than what I had expected, and then I remembered how Belle didn't like gory movies that much, which just made me regret my decision of choosing this movie. I kind of wish I played it safe and chose the live-action How to Train Your Dragon (2025) instead. I didn't want to choose Elio (2025), though. The movie was okay to me, but it was honestly too brutal for my taste. I also had time having trouble understanding the people speaking because they spoke with a heavy Scottish accent. I'm not sure how Belle found it, but we talked through some parts of the movie, so that was nice.

After the movie, we walked around Venice Grand Canal Mall for a bit. We checked out the Timezone nearby for this drum game that Belle likes, but it wasn't there so we kept walking. We stopped by Dairy Queen and I ordered a large New York cheesecake for me, and a regular-sized mango serving for Belle. We continued to walk around and talk, and I kind of avoided the mascots because they were too creepy for me. I told this to Belle and she found it a bit funny. Belle and I sit outside at the pigeon-feeding place and I tell Belle how there are pigeons in the Philippines, and that my village even has a squirrel in it. We talked and ate our ice cream before coming back inside the mall when it was starting to rain. We walked a bit more, I bought some stuff at Sanrio and I asked her if she was into Harry Potter. She wasn't, but she and I shared the same houses: Hufflepuff! It kind of caught me off guard since most people I know are Slytherin and Belle was the first one I know who was the same house as me. I buy some Slytherin socks for Ailysh because I know how much she loves her Slytherin socks and I bought a Cinnamoroll-themed hand cream for myself. We walked around for a bit more, sat down, and talked a bit more about each other's lives. I asked Belle how her commute would be like and I kind of said sorry because I didn't have a car to drive her home with and make her commute easier. She tells me that she'll take the bus and get a Grab ride there since it was already raining. We keep talking until it was around 7:19 p.m. or so and then she books a Grab to the bus. I show her where to wait and then escort her to the Grab car and say goodbye to her.

Once Belle got in the car, I went back to the mall to just analyze and take it all in. It was so weird how I was so tense around Belle. I even found myself stuttering and not having the right words to say. I kept telling myself of my usual assurances, but nothing worked and I just seemed too tense, and I'm not sure why. Still, I booked a ride home and just chilled for the night. I saw that Belle posted a picture of us and her other pics of the day in her IG Story and I was able to reshare that to mine. I didn't look too bad in the photo that Belle chose, and I even looked "okay" so I don't know what the hell I was worrying about the whole time. I had fun spending the day with Belle, all in all.