“Gaga ang aga aga tapos nakakunot yung noo mo” Luke, who dropped by so early in the morning grins. “Alam mo dapat sana sinabi mo na pupunta ka pala kagabi pa, edi sana natulog ako ng maaga” I rolled my eyes at him while getting myself water from the fridge. “Eh, surprise nga e” he retorts, making me roll my eyes again at him. “Ano? Wala ka bang pakape jan?” he wandered around the kitchen, looking for something to eat. “Wala, I’m still about to buy an induction stove and other equipment” I tell him while I walk to the bathroom to freshen myself. “Ano bayan, may unit walang pangluto” he complains, while he tailed behind me. “Ano bayan, may cellphone pero walang load pangtext manlang” I answered him back, making him snort with a smile. “May pupuntahan ka?” I asked him while taking my wallet and phone. “Oo, may kikitain lang” he shrugged and I squint my eyes at him. “Weh, kikitain tapos sunod boyfriend mo na” I chuckle at him before I gestured him to go out. “Lilibre mo ko?” he grins, “hindi, next time na, after mo akong guluhin ng ganto kaaga wala ako sa mood para ilibre ka” I stuck my tongue out at him before we went to the elevator.
Pressing the buttons and getting inside, then getting out. We gossiped about the things that he had been doing for the past weeks. “Alam mo, if you’re so sure about this guy, then go for him, malay natin, he’s the one you’ve been waiting for,” I tell him before shivering at the coldness that hit me as we got outside of the building.
“Good morning?” Brye’s familiar voice made me turn to where it came from. My eyes were wide, “oh, good morning” I smiled at him. “You still look sleepy” he chuckles, making me copy him as well. “Yeah, my friend dropped by for a visit” I pointed at Luke who sheepishly smiled at Brye. He returns it with a tight smile before looking down at me again. “Out for breakfast?” his eyes stayed on mine as I look up at him. I nodded, “yeah, you?” I say, hugging my arms to keep myself from the cold whips of air that the cars make. “I’m on my way to my brother’s house, I’ll probably be back by lunch” he shrugs before taking his hoodie off.
I nod at him, “ah okay, okay, ingat ka” I tell him. Brye smiled. Something that he always does and for some reason, it gives me a warm feeling in my chest. “Here, it’s cold, don’t worry I’m taking my car and I have a spare” he wears me the hoodie before I could even protest, my arms caged inside the hoodie that was too big for me.
“Enjoy your breakfast Liana, I’ll take the book later” he waved before turning his heels toward the parking of the building, leaving me as I muttered a small bye. “Ampogi, sino yon?” Luke snaps me out of the thoughts that ran inside my head. I wore the hoodie properly as I faced him, “jowa mo?” he laughs at me. “Gago, kapit-bahay ko” I frown at him, suppressing a smile as we walked toward the nearest coffee shop. “Kapit-bahay lang?” he pries more, “gaga oo nga, siraulo” I laughed at him before hitting his shoulder.
We soon entered the shop, ordered our breakfast, and went to sit down at an empty table. I was eating my breakfast peacefully when my gaze shifted to the hoodie that I was wearing. I stared at it, head empty, just the guy who gave it to me evaded my mind as I continued to stare at it. A sigh left my lips as I smiled softly before drinking the hot chocolate that I got. “Inlove ka na no?” Luke laughed after seeing the smile I let out. I frowned at him, “kanino? Wala nga akong love interest tapos sasabihin mo na inlove ako” I chuckle at him with a frown, pretending that he wasn’t half right. “Ay nako ka talaga, kilala kita, ang tagal tagal na nating magkakilala, alam na alam ko kung gaano ka karupok, the smallest gestures tips you off” he laughs like a maniac after telling me off. I rolled my eyes at him before laughing, “he’s too way out of my league, and his family is strict” I tell him so that the thought in his mind will fly off. “And so? Bakit ayaw din naman ng pamilya ko na mag boyfriend ako and yet I still did, twice, going thrice” he raised a brow at me with a smirk on my face. “Gaga, he has a different nationality in him, and I think lang na they follow traditions, and they have their own beliefs that they follow” I shoo him, Luke rolled his eyes at me, “bahala ka, I just know, that the more you deny things, the more it grows, marerealize mo nalang girl, you’re falling for him” he takes a bite of the pancake that he has been eating while smirking at me. “Gusto mo pustahan pa tayo” he laughs and I laughed along with his childishness.
I chose to stay silent with my eyebrows frowning softly, before turning my gaze outside where people are either hurrying to get to their jobs on time, or taking their morning walk or jog.
Soon enough, Luke and I parted in front of the condo building after he accompanied me, buying kitchen equipment and utensils. I placed the boxes and bags on the counter before I carefully arranged them. After hours of arranging my kitchen, a knock echoed throughout my unit. I took my phone to see that it was past lunch. ‘Wow, ganon kami katagal ni Luke nagusap at gumala around the mall’ I raised my brow, shocked at the time that we consumed before opening the door to reveal Brye, standing with his arms crossed across his chest and plastic dangling from his hands. “Hi” he smiled at me. “Hi” I smiled back at him before opening the door wider to let him go inside.
“Wait lang, sorry I was in the middle of tidying up the kitchen, kakatapos ko lang kasi iayos” I gestured for him to sit down on the couch while I went straight to the kitchen to throw away the boxes where the equipment was placed. “I have drinks here, wanna have some while we read?” I heard him say, making me turn to him with a frown, witnessing the man was just sitting down on the couch. “Brye, it’s just past noon?” I look at him with bewilderment. Brye laughs at the face I made, “yeah, and? Please get the glasses?” he chuckled, and I blinked before turning again and continuing on cleaning. Despite that I did say it was past noon, I took glasses and placed them on the coffee table, “I’ll take the book” I told him before proceeding to my room and leaving him nodding. I came back again and Brye was opening the bottles ready, pouring them fully into each cup. “Are you just in the mood na uminom or may problem ka?” I commented before placing the book gently on the table and sitting down
“Are you okay with that?” he muttered, the warmth of his hand leaving my wrist, disappearing. “Yep, it’s not like may gagawin kang masama” I shrugged before throwing him a smile and walking to the kitchen. I took a glass and poured myself some water. The moment I turned again Akihiko was still sitting on the couch while looking at me. “Di ka na ba inaantok?” I raised a brow in confusion and walked closer to him. It was a short stare competition. Akihiko took a while before answering and he only stared at me while he did. But after a few more seconds, Akihiko shakes his head with a laugh, “no it's nothing, let’s go back to sleep” he stands up and held my wrist again, rubbing the inside part of it a bit. He led us to my room and closed the door behind us, making it dark inside and only the lights from the outside illuminated the room. He removes his hand and I lay on the bed before he lay on the side. There was a deafening silence before I let out a sigh and got myself more comfortable
Brye: Sorry, can’t make it today, let’s go next time. 😊 With that, I placed my phone back beside the night table and stuffed my face into the fluffy pillows that lay below me. That’s fine, at least I have time to do the things that I needed to do. Since it was almost time again to start my 2nd year, I stood up from bed and made it before heading to the closet to pick out home clothes and started freshening up myself. After taking a bath, and wearing the most comfortable clothes that I have, I set up my laptop, the tablet that I owned, and the papers, reviewers as well as workbooks that I have. My table was filled with studying materials that I arranged, papers were stuck on the corkboard and there were notes written on my whiteboard, waiting to be erased. The productive morning started with tea, and I was making some flashcards that I would need for review. The silence was excellent, at least I was able to focus my mind and body with the peace that surrounded me. The scratching o
“So, what happened?” my voice was groggy. It was just a past few minutes when I woke up because of the constant ringing of my phone. “So ayun nga, remember that may guy ako na mineet? During that time na naglalakad kami, nakita ko si Kari” Luke, the source of my somehow daily headache, blabbered. “Anong gagawin ko?” I frowned, rubbing my face. The drowsiness was gone after minutes of waking up and my body was awake. “Gaga, it’s been years, syempre nagulat kami parehas tapos she said kelan daw tayo maghahang out ulit” he continued, using the tone of voice that I knew well, the tone that he uses when he wants to make me realize something, to make me understand what he is talking to. It was a bit of a high-pitched and sounded like a nag to me if I would be honest. “Maybe next week? Packed na kase yung week ko this week and I have plans already” I tell him while standing up and walking straight out of the room. “Sure yan? Icclear ko na rin yung schedule ko tapos inform ko siya para di siy
The door opened with a swipe of the card. Perfect for a maximum of five people and there was a diffuser in the middle of the coffee table. Behind the couches that faced each other, a shelf with a few books was placed. Brye entered after closing the door, immediately slumping down the couch with a sigh. “Do you want some coffee?” he muttered while opening the book and looking up at me. I looked at him before sitting down in front of him. I shook my head before sitting down at the other end of the couch he was sitting on. We sat in silence while reading and my eyelids fluttered heavily with each hour that pass by. “You wanna sleep?” Brye muttered, making me look at him, only to see that he was looking at me with a soft smile on his face. I chuckled, “nope, I can manage” my voice raspy may be due to the drowsiness. “Are you sure? You look like you’d pass out any second now” he teased, his left brow going up. I let out a small laugh before closing the book, leaving the bookmark inside of
We went back to his car after deciding that we should have lunch at Karlos’ restaurant. “You didn’t bring Paradiso today” Brye takes a glance at me while he drove to the place. “I read before matulog, it’s like a lullaby to me” I chuckled lightly getting comfortable in the passenger seat. Brye only nodded after that, nothing to say, and silence swallowed us, only the soft roar of the car was the noise that interrupts the silence. It was somehow in between the border of comfortable silence and uncomfortable silence. Or maybe it was just me. I looked over the window, the shops were in a blur as Brye drove. The vibration from my phone took my sight away from the outside. Mama: Kelan ka bibisita ulit? Hindi ka manlang nag uupdate. I read the text. I fought the urge to frown my eyebrows. Liana: Maybe next week Ma, before po magsimula classes. Sorry po, busy lang magreview. I was left on read. I took a huge sigh before looking out the window. “Something wrong?” Brye muttered softly as
Brye stared at nowhere while he listened to Luke, his words registering in his mind before his sight shifted to the lady who was already sleeping beside him, then shifting to the empty mug beside her. “She doesn’t drink beer” he muttered. Karlos frowned at him before trailing his sight on what Brye was looking at. “Yeah, and?” he frowned in confusion. Brye looked at Karlos before shaking his head, “nothing, just confused” he shrugged before taking his hoodie off and wrapping it around the lady. “You know, if hindi kita kilala Lim, I would’ve mistaken you for her boyfriend” Karlos smirked before pouring himself a drink that the waiter brought. “True, ako din, kung hindi ko kayo kilala” Luke adds, agreeing with his boyfriend. Brye chuckled, “I don’t think so” he dryly chuckled before drinking the contents of his mug empty. “You know I can’t Karlos” he pouted a bit, raising a brow at his friend, making him remember his dreadful situation. “Oh, fuck that, ano naman, just because your bro
A few days more, school started again. I rolled my eyes for the nth time while looking outside the window while Brye drove us to our campuses. “We can just ditch if you want” I heard him jokingly tell me, making me look at him. “Tempting, pero no thank you” I looked over at him. The Brye that I always see in a plain shirt and sweatpants is now wearing trousers, another plain shirt collection of his, a cardigan, and his sneakers. He took a glance at me, raising one of his brows, making me look away, “wala lang” I muttered before seeing my campus from afar. I scowled softly at the sight of the university, dreaded at the thought of going to school again but reminded of the goal that I have. Brye stopped on the side of the gate and I gathered my things, slinging my bag behind me. I looked at him to see that Brye was out of the car. I frowned and turned to see that he opened the door for me. “That wasn’t that necessary,” I tell him before walking out. “But you like it” he shrugs before clo