As I opened my eyes, everything appeared tilted, but I could only see other people's legs and feet beyond the velvety red seats. I squinted my eyes to get grounded, but I only felt my parted lips, dry throat and ... and my head on someone else's shoulder.

I jolted upright, scrambled about, and saw it was the young Laborer I was seated with earlier, who just looked at me and pointed his right hand to the corner of his lips. I looked away from him to try to discreetly wipe my mouth, and I felt the stickiness of my drool transfer to my bare fingers that I used to wipe it with. Gosh, this is embarrassing.

I tried to pretend he did not exist in the next few minutes by looking at the direction of the other passengers, despite feeling his gaze fixed on me the whole time I was doing so.

"What?" I said, not taking my eyes off the direction of the other passengers, my curiosity to know why he kept looking at me, getting the better of me.

"The least you could do was thank me, you know," he said in a monotonous tone.

"What for? For pointing out my drool and embarrassing me?" I whispered through gritted teeth.

"Not really, but come to think of it, maybe you should," he said so in a straight face, which made me furrow my eyebrows in contention. "No, but seriously, I missed my stop because I let you sleep on my shoulder. You slept so peacefully, I couldn't bring myself to wake you up."

I felt my blood rushing through my face. At this point, I am not sure if it was from embarrassment or anger, probably both.

"Thank you," I said, as sweetly as I could muster. This person's calm demeanor scares me that I want to try my best to humor him. Besides, he did not really do anything wrong, anyway. He was just trying to help. Still, I cannot bring myself to be nice because I feel so embarrassed that I just want the ground to swallow me whole. So, ever so snarkily, I added, "You didn't have to do that, though."

"I chose to do it," he answered. "So now, we're even."

I did not really get what he meant, but it was probably for letting him sit beside me when he was getting bullied by the Healer earlier. Still, I could not shake this feeling off that he meant something else, although I did not get the chance to ask him to clarify. He immediately stood up and blended through the other passengers who were getting out of the Kalunduyan.

"We reached the last station," the voice over repeatedly said, which forced me to stand up as well and follow the lead of the other passengers. I looked outside and saw a blinking neon pink sign that read "JUICE Co. Hub" in a curly, artistic way, confirming that this is exactly where Agui told me to go for us to meet.

"Please get off now as we'll be conducting measures to clean the Kalunduyan for the next trip. Please wait for the next Kalunduyan, should you want to board with us again," was the last announcement I heard before Kalunduyan's doors closed behind me and I stepped outside completely.

I focused my gaze within the JUICE Co. Hub, hidden from view by the thick canopy of countless Balete trees all around it. It can easily be missed, if not for the flashy sign that was visible even from a distance.

Thankfully, Agui decided to meet in the afternoon, for the sight of the trees was not exactly what I would consider as pleasant. I felt uneasy with how the trunk of the trees were deformed, with multiple air roots trying to steady each one of them. I would not want to get near them as much as possible, for I have this irrational thought that they were alive, ready to grab onto an unwary passerby. But since I need to go through them to get into the JUICE Co. Hub, I decided to just turn on my air umbrella despite the clear skies, hoping that the force of the air it shoots out is enough to protect me from harm.

A few more steps and I could now see other people moving towards the JUICE Co. Hub. They were more than I thought, considering that JUICE Co. Hub was practically non-existent, with no information written about it when you look it up on exoSearch. It remains an unknown place, unless you come across it by chance. And anyway, who would even think of going to Station 7, the last stop of the Kalunduyan, except if you miss your stop like Agui? Or the guy I sat beside with earlier, for that matter. What could have happened to him now?

I shook my head to dispel any thoughts of the young Laborer earlier. It would be unfair for Agui if I think of any other guy aside from him, especially since it was he who I came here for in the first place. I took a deep breath and practically skipped-walked,

"Why aren't you answering my exoMails?" I heard Agui's voice say, this time crisper and more lifelike than how I heard it in the past year since we have been messaging each other.

Oh no. I was so engrossed in everything that happened that it definitely slipped my mind to check out my exoMail. Thank goodness the notification immediately read out Agui's exoMail ... Wait, what? That does not happen except when I open the exoMail myself.

"Agui?" I shouted while scanning my surroundings. "A-Agui, please, show yourself now."

I looked around some more but failed to see Agui, and instead only saw the Balete trees getting nearer towards where I was. In a daze, I tried to look for other people, but they were now too far away as they were nearer the JUICE Co. Hub. I felt more suffocated as time went by, feeling like the air roots of Balete were sucking all the surrounding air. I felt my knees wobble as I collapsed to the ground, kneeling, feeling the moisture from the ground mulch interacting with my skin.

I took quick, shallow breaths as I dropped my air umbrella and held my neck, unable to calm myself as the realization weighed me down. I am the only one here in the middle of nowhere. I am hallucinating and hearing things. The trees and ground will swallow me whole. I am alone, and no one will notice that I am gone. No one will come save me.

I closed my eyes as I felt my tears stream down my face. I heard myself let out pitiful whimpers as I resigned to my fate. But then, out of nowhere, a pair of lean hands pulled me into a tight embrace, hushing me to calm me down. I felt their lips pressed on top of my head as he pulled me closer and tried to stop my cries.

"I'm sorry, Pia. I saw you getting off the other carriage, so I figured that I'll tease you a little. But I didn't mean to scare you like this," the person hugging me said, a voice so familiar I immediately found myself holding back my tears. It was my person. It was Agui.

I sat properly to cover myself thoroughly in his embrace. Then we just sat there for a while, and I felt as if time had frozen to let us savor the moment that we shared. I felt all my worries and fear disappear, and I just cherished every second I had with him.

"Feeling better now?" he finally said after a long silence, his hands now rubbing my knees as he continued pressing his lips to the top of my head.

Part of me did not want to say yes just so I could continue being in his arms like this, but I knew we had to move on before another set of people arrived as the Kalunduyan ferried them here. We can continue our precious moments in the JUICE Co. Hub, anyway.

To the direction of JUICE Co. Hub, we indeed went, hands intertwined as we traversed through a mulch path surrounded with shrubs and the air roots of Balete trees. I feel the hairs on my back rise as we move along, not just by the looks of the path itself, but with the creeping feeling of someone watching over me. I gripped Agui's hand more firmly for reassurance, which he returned with an additional stroke of the thumb. I took this up a notch and curled the hand that was not holding his hand around his arm, determined to be as close to him as possible.

When we finally arrived in front of JUICE Co. Hub, I had to look around to understand what was going on. The building was almost camouflaged by shrubs and vines of flowers, which actually was an interesting sight as they made the place so pretty in contrast to the boring concrete that I was accustomed to within our stations. At close, though, the neon sign, which was once the distinguishing feature of JUICE Co. Hub from afar, stuck out like a sore thumb that was so out of place and did not match the looks of the blooms and vines surrounding it.

I already knew that I like the place from outside, as I could take in the sight of the foliage for hours, but lo-and-behold, the exterior pales in comparison to the beauty inside. The foliage inside was interspersed with small, hanging lights, which complemented the colors of the flowers. The wooden tables and chairs weren't looking too fancy, but were more comfortable to be into than what they looked like at first. I could even smell an unfamiliar but welcoming scent that made my stomach growl.

"Cinnamon and coffee," Agui chuckled and whispered in my ear when we finally occupied our seats, sitting next to each other. "Manang Tala told me that those were what the scents were."

"What are those? And who's Manang Tala?" I asked.

"Manang Tala owns this place," Agui started. "She said that the scent of cinnamon and coffee fill this place because those two were commonly ordered here, aside from Taiyou itself," he answered.

"Wait, what? Food?" I gasped.

Agui nodded, and said, "Apparently, there was an abundance of food and Taiyou here."

"I don't understand. I thought the food was scarce? The Diwani and even AIRA said so herself."

Agui just shrugged as a lady with loose skin and hunched back came into view, holding a folded cardboard with the word "Menu" in big font and in bold inscribed on top, which she proceeded to lay on our table.

"Welcome back, Agui," she said as she flashed Agui her toothless smile. She looked in my direction and smiled as well, although I could almost swear that her eyes widened for a brief moment before she smiled at me. "And this is?"

"Oh, Manang Tala, hi. This is Pia," Agui said as he wiggled his eyebrows at me. "I met her at the Lakipan, and I figured that I would want to show her around."

"Very well. Welcome, Pinta," Manang Tala said, which caught me off-guard. Agui referred to me as Pia, right? How did she know my name?

I tried to smile at her in response, although I immediately decided not to trust this enigmatic old lady. "You'll love cookies and a warm cup of Taiyou mixed with coffee."

I flinched. I just recently realized my love for cookies, but this woman seemed to know it somehow, and even hinted that she knew that I loved Taiyou as well. What the heck is going on? As if sensing my discomfort, Agui squeezed my hand as he took the menu on the table and looked into it, as if examining the words written on them.

"I think I'll have cinnamon rolls and a matcha latte, and Pia will have what you recommended," Agui said, not taking his eyes off the menu.

I watched Manang Tala as she left with the menu and thought that she moved too swiftly for an old woman. This made me doubt her even more. Oddly, I could swear she was talking to someone who looked too much like the Laborer I sat with in Kalunduyan, although it also happened so fast that I no longer know if it was real or if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.

"So, how would we pay for what we ordered?" I asked Agui as I tried to shift my gaze on him and calm my nerves.

"For some reason, it's free," Agui answered, shrugging. "Or maybe we pay for it with our lives. I don't know."

We both laughed at his remark as I playfully slapped his shoulder.

"That joke was too dark," I said, trying to contain my laughter.

"For real," he answered, which made us burst into laughter again.

"Hey, so, um ... I've been meaning to tell you this, but I figured I must say this in person," he said after we were done laughing. He smiled, his eyes focused on mine, almost shining with palpable glee. "I want to have a girlfriend."

We held each other's gaze for a few moments, and I could feel my heart thump so hard it felt like it wanted to get out of my chest. I felt my blood rushing through my face as I felt the warmth of my cheeks, and I caught myself holding my breath in anticipation. I gasped for air as I tried to compose myself and imagine how I should react before he shot the beautiful question and I told him yes, with no hesitation.

He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated and smiled instead, then placed his left hand on his nape. Before I knew it, I found myself raising my eyebrows, widening my eyes, and smiling in response, eager to let him know that he should not feel shy about what he wanted to say.

He took a deep breath, smiled again, and said, "There's this cute girl in my class whom I really wanted to talk to. I think she and I have a chance because the Connexove returned our compatibility to 75%."

I felt my hand that was still intertwined with his loosening grip, a lump now forming in my throat as my hunch tells me he will be dropping a bomb that will let all my resolve crumble.

"A-and?" was all that I could manage to say.

He smiled again, then wrapped the hand that was holding mine around my shoulders. He leaned towards me, and with his lips almost brushing my right ear, he whispered in a rough, calloused voice, "Do you think she'll say yes if I ask her out?"

I felt my body shiver from his voice, a tingling sensation washing all over my body from down there. But I knew I should not feel this way, so I willed all the strength in my body to push him away from me.

"W-why tell me this? W-what's it for me?" I said, catching my breath. I hate that this guy is taking my breath away, even with his indirect rejection.

"Because you're my best friend!" he answered, looking visibly confused. "Didn't we share many things together? I think it's just proper that I let my best friend know what's up, right?"

And we shared a kiss as well, idiot! That thing isn't what best friends do!

I wanted to tell him those, but I was unable to find the strength and courage to do so. Instead, I just looked at him, squinting my eyes so he would not see them welling with tears, and said, "I want to go home."

I did not let him respond. I did not even get to recheck our compatibility using the Connexove, as I initially intended before meeting him. All I wanted to do was run as fast as I could and move far away from the guy who broke my heart.