#HeartboundWP

♡

Day 28.3 | N

IT'S A GOOD decision not to drink too much at Levy's birthday party. Nadia's headache when she wakes up is nothing a pill cannot fix. Pero kumikirot pa rin nang bahagya ang ulo niya while she and Yanyan are having breakfast, making the crease in the middle of her forehead a permanent fixture there since earlier this morning.

Her little sister notices. "Masakit ulo mo?" Nadia merely nods, unable to talk with a mouthful of sandwich. "What time kayo umuwi?"

Napatigil si Nadia sa pagnguya. Yanyan's already sleeping when she came up to their room. But hindi pa iyon super late, she's sure, or at least hindi kasing-late as per their standard na uwi kapag mayroong may birthday o celebration. Naunahan niya pa iyong alarm ni Yanyan na ginagamit nito kapag gustong gumising mag-review.

When her little sister has to study for something, Yanyan sleeps early, wakes up later at night to review, then takes a lot of naps hanggang sa mag-umaga na. Under her blanket, ilang beses pang narinig ni Nadia na pindutin nito ang alarm niya.

"Hindi ko tanda," she answers, then shrugs. "Basta early." Nasapo niya ang ulo nang bigla na naman itong kumirot.

Yanyan's eyebrows furrow. There's one surviving bite of her sandwich left on her hand, and she uses it to wipe the peanut butter on Nadia's plate before popping it in her mouth. "Did you drink a lot?"

Eyes closed, Nadia shakes her head, both hands placed on both temples as if that's helping with the pain. "No." Halos hindi nga.

"Then bakit parang sobrang sakit naman yata ng ulo mo?" takang tanong ng kapatid, taking her mug and plate to the sink. Nadia picks up her sandwich na kalahati pa and puts the plate on the sink, ignoring how Yanyan frowns at her for doing so.

"I don't know," she murmurs before chewing on her sandwich again. "Puyat?"

Yanyan arches a brow. "I thought you went home early?"

Saglit na natigilan si Nadia. She shrugs and turns on her heels, heading to their room, when she finally realizes why her head is hurting this much.

Yanyan probably thought she's sleeping under the blankets, or baka masyadong busy with whatever she's studying for to notice na hindi naman siya natulog agad pag-uwi niya. After changing clothes and doing her usual nighttime routine, her phone held her hostage. Gusto na niyang matulog, but then she remembers iyong kasabay niya pauwi, and wondering if he had arrived home kept her up almost all night.

For some reason, Eli decided not to message her his whereabouts. When she woke up this morning, she saw her phone on the side of her bed, on the verge of falling. Mabuti nga at hindi tuluyang bumagsak sa sahig. She fell asleep waiting for his message that didn't come, and she's not telling Yanyan that.

She pouts at her reflection in the mirror while she's fixing her hair. Bahala siya if he didn't want to update her.

Sabagay, it's better this way. Para hindi siya mabinat, sabi nga ni Levy.

Pero sino ba ang mga nabibinat? Hindi ba't iyong mga nagkasakit lang tapos gumaling na? Kaya nga babalik iyong sakit—nabibinat—kasi umalis na.

Gumaling na ba siya? Nawalan ba siya ever ng sakit?

She doesn't want to think about it, so after Yanyan leaves the unit to go and visit her girlfriend, umalis na rin si Nadia. She takes a bath, spends a long time doing her hair, then leaves the house barefaced. It's better for her to find the answers outdoors. Wala rin naman siyang gagawin today.

Maybe she should have gone somewhere else, but she still heads to the small theatre where she keeps bumping into him by accident (and not by way of destiny). In her defense, there's a high chance that she found this place first, so she's not leaving. Up until now nga, hindi niya alam how Eli found his way here.

She arrives at the place with enough time to get herself a takeout lunch to eat in the waiting lobby of the cinemas. Mayroon pa nga siyang twenty minutes to spare when she's done. She's scrolling on her phone, checking her schedule for the week, when she hears the feet of the chair across her scraping across the floor.

And as if he did not render her sleepless last night, Eli dares to smile at her after locking their gazes. It's like something knocked her on the head, causing her system to pause.

"Do you believe in my very good luck now?" parang nang-aasar pa nitong tanong. He pushes the paper bag of her finished takeouts aside with his fingers, and her head reels back when he rests his arms on the table and leans over a bit.

"Hi, Nadi." He keeps his gentle smile on, determined to disarm her. "What are you seeing?"

Seriously? Does he have a tracker on her that she doesn't know about kaya he keeps on appearing in places where she is every time she decides that she's done with him?

She narrows her eyes at him. "You, apparently." Kasi, sa totoo lang, why is he everywhere?

Both his eyebrows raise. "Oh?"

She's quick enough to realize what she had just said right after hearing it aloud, but of course, Eli's quicker. She notices how his lips quiver a little from holding back a laugh, and maybe if she did not focus on that observation, nauna siyang i-correct ang sarili niya bago siya nito asarin. "I wasn't aware."

"That's not what I meant!" she says in her defense, grabbing one of her used tissues and aiming it his way. Laughing, Eli just catches it with his hand and throws it inside the paper bag.

"I meant you, as in I keep seeing you everywhere," she adds, frowning. It wasn't easy to say no when he offered his shoulder to lean on while she got her sleep on the ride home, 'no. "Too much na."

That makes him stop laughing. The movement in his throat when he swallows distracts her, and when she looks up at him again, his smile is back on. He gestures to his face. "You get sick of this?"

She rolls her eyes, then discreetly takes a deep breath to keep her chest steady. Nang-aasar lang naman si Eli, but he somehow knows all the little tricks to make her heart do its little dance.

"Ang yabang mo, but yes." Her hand goes to her bag to find her lipstick and a small mirror, remembering that her face is bare.

"Ouch," he says exaggeratedly while she's putting her pink lipstick on. "I was kidding."

"Ewan ko sa 'yo."

"Ang sungit." That makes her look at him, eyebrows furrowed.

The crease in between her brows deepens when she catches Eli somehow distracted, at parang nagulat pa sa biglang pagharap niya.

He blinks rapidly. What was he so absorbed in? "Masakit ulo mo?"

She decides not to ask. She shakes her head no to answer his question, returning her mirror and lipstick inside the pouch in her bag when she's done. "Earlier this morning, pero no na now."

"Good."

Her eyebrows snap together again when she catches Eli seemingly distracted for the second time when she brings her eyes up to him from her bag. It's like he's mouthing something while looking at her absentmindedly, then magugulat at titigil kapag mahuhuli niya. What is he doing? Ano'ng binubulong-bulong niya?

Baka mamaya, spell pala 'yan kaya hindi siya maka-move on.

He clears his throat. "What are you watching?"

She merely narrows her eyes at him. What is he planning? At ano nga yung binubulong-bulong niya kanina?

"Secret."

He sucks in his teeth, leaning back on his chair. Nadia mentally slaps herself when she feels herself blushing when it's his turn to narrow his eyes at her like he's sizing her up. At this point, being flustered whenever he's around is becoming second nature to her. He's not even doing anything to warrant this much of a reaction from her!

He looks to the left where the movie posters are, giving her a view of the side of his face and that delicious part of his neck that becomes more protruded every time he looks around. "There are only two movies showing," he says before looking back at her. "You want me to buy tickets to both just to be sure?"

Bakit ba kasi ito nandito? She did say she wanted answers to her questions, but she didn't request for all variables to be physically present in front of her. How can she do some thinking now that he's trying to take over all her responses?

"Para namang pinilit kita?"

The side of his lips curl to a sly smile. He does that every time she becomes even the slightest bit of snappy. It's like he enjoys it.

He folds his arms, resting it on one side of the table, and cocks his head to the side. God. Like he's warming up to demolish all her defenses. "If I say please, would you let me?"

She maintains her frown. Eli doesn't want her eyes going anywhere, and being able to speak without faltering despite their locked gazes is a feat in itself. "Ba'la ka d'yan."

There goes his sly smile again. "Please?" She should have said no! What was she thinking? "Please?" His hand goes across the table, landing it just a few kisses away from hers. His index finger catches the end of the string of a ribbon attached to her sleeves by her wrist. "Please, Nadi?"

"Stop nga," she says. That's not meant for him, but for her hand that itches to move and place itself over his. But akala siguro ni Eli ay para iyon sa kaniya, watching him grin widely as if he knew that he got her.

It's not like he's wrong, because she gets her ticket from the front pocket of her bag and slides it in his direction. "Fine. Ayan."

"Thank you," he says, almost knocking his chair over when he stands up. "I'll be back in a bit."

♡

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Nadia asks, not hesitating to raise her volume a bit dahil walang katao-tao sa loob ng sinehan. Eli just looks over his shoulder, raising a brow at her, before he sets down his backpack which is unusually huge today on his seat.

Kinutuban na si Nadia noong sa row ng seat niya tumigil si Eli. She's so sure that he's sitting beside her and was already mentally preparing herself bago pa sila pumasok, only to find an empty seat in between them. "Almost empty pero talagang one seat apart us?"

He looks like he's about to defend himself, but then some people came in na sabay pa nilang tiningnan. Eli just shakes his head before taking his seat.

"Shhh, quiet, Nadi," he whispers, leaning over and setting her cheeks into flames.

Nadia stiffens.

Kung ano-ano ba namang kasing memory with him ang pumapasok sa isip niya with that phrase!

She gets her phone agad to check to what day of the month it is today. She wants a biological and scientific explanation as to why it seems like she's a little more into him today. Ganoong paliwanag lang ang tatanggapin iya because she refuses to believe that this is just his natural, normal effect on her.

"Bawal maingay," he adds. She merely clicks her tongue because she's not able to speak when all her mental resources are occupied to keep out memories she's not supposed to recall in public places. "And the seat's occupied."

He unzips his bag, revealing Chikoon inside. He places the stuffed toy on the empty seat beside them. "There. Occupied."

That pulls Nadia out of her . . . indecent recollection. "I thought you came from school kaya malaki bag mo," she says, fanning her cheek.

She knew that he kept Chikoon when she returned it to him, pero hindi niya naman in-expect na bibitbitin niya ito na para siyang bata. "Why are you carrying it sa bag mo?" she asks. She reaches for its body to fluff it out. "Squished na tuloy."

"We're on a date."

Nadia stops what she's doing. She brings her eyes back at him, all alert and all walls up. "No, we're not." She did not just say no to sleeping on his arm kaninang madaling araw only for her to go on a date with him today!

The commercials on the big screen light up his face, so Nadia sees it clearly when he bobs his head to the side and looks at her flatly when he says, "Kami ni Chikoon."

Right.

The embarrassment makes her cheeks warm, and it throws her whole body into the fire when she sees how he's fighting off a laugh. His broad shoulders are even shaking while he's trying to keep his chuckle suppressed by covering his mouth with the back of his hand. She grabs Chikoon and lightly hits him with it on the arm, pero hindi naman ito magpaawat. Chikoon lands on its head on its seat nang padabog niya iyong ibalik doon.

He knew what he was doing! He made it sound na sila iyong nagde-date, and he knows it!

"Elias," she warns.

"It's okay," natatawa pa nitong bulong. He fluffs Chikoon out before setting it back down on its chair. This time, mas malapit na sa kaniya. "People make mistakes."

Nadia wants to reach across the seat between them and give him a backslap, but she's scared that he'll get her hand, and he'll do some trick to make sure that her heart jolts out of her chest at the contact, so she just folds her arms and sinks into the back of her seat. "Don't talk to me anymore."

"Shhh," Eli whispers. Nadia further sinks into her seat dahil kahit na napipikon siya rito, her mind still wanders off to her memories where he's shushing her in a completely different and inappropriate setting. She hopes that Eli doesn't think much of it when she covers her face with both of her palms kahit na magsisimula na iyong movie.

♡

FORTUNATELY, THIS TIME, may naintindihan naman si Nadia sa pinanood. She did not waste her money on a ticket because she didn't spend the entire time stealing glances at her seatmate. She did look at him, though, for a few times. About halfway through the film, nawala na si Chikoon sa tabi niya at nilipat na ni Eli sa hita nito.

Weirdly enough, she gains a bit of clarity when the movie's over. She doesn't know where it came from because she's sure that she's too busy watching earlier for her to think about her dilemma—iyong kung may 'sakit' pa ba siya or wala na, and what she has to do kung anoman ang sagot sa tanong na iyon.

She gets out of the theatre first, not minding to wait for Eli who's having a problem stuffing the chicken back inside his bag. Pinagbigyan lang niya ang sarili na panoorin ito saglit, bago siya tumalikod para lumabas na. Her newfound clarity suggests that maybe she should stop looking at him like he's some sort of test or temptation.

The more she's attentive to him, the more she gets suspicious about his actions, and the more enticing it is to just slide back down the hole she got herself out of. She keeps looking at him like he's a threat, thinking that that's a good way of protecting herself, but instead, doing that is just giving him more power over her. She keeps tiptoeing around him, afraid that one wrong step will spin her back into his web when she doesn't even know if that's his intention in the first place.

Parang kung sa nabibinat ba siya o hindi—sa kaiisip niya kung nabibinat nga siya, saka pa siya magkakasakit e wala naman na dapat. Had she stopped worrying about it, e di sana nagtuloy-tuloy ang paggaling niya.

Baka naman kasi wala namang palang dapat problemahin. Wala naman yatang dapat ikabahala.

Maybe this is just the way he is—baka nga coincidence lang na he's always around, baka natural lang na mapang-asar siya and it's not his fault that her heart keeps on violently ramming against her chest every time he says something. Maybe she's also just unfortunate to have this big, fat crush on him kaya she keeps seeing things differently.

So, she should start looking at him like he's a friend. After all, siya rin naman ang nagsabi na she wants to be friends with him, so maybe she should start with this.

Napalingon siya when she hears his voice. She tries not to laugh nang makitang binitbit na lang nito si Chikoon palabas at sinukuan nang ipasok sa bag. "Nadi . . . ?"

"What?"

"Are you mad?"

Her eyebrows furrow. Where did he get that idea? Was the pikon really that obvious on her face earlier? "No. We're okay." She breaks eye contact to get into the escalator heading to the lower floor of the mall.

She looks up at him behind her and tries to ignore how his arm resting on the escalator handle seems like an arm positioned to wrap around her side. He's a friend. Look at him as a friend. "Have you had lunch?"

He shakes his head no. "No, but I had a full meal after my run this morning."

Nadia's startled when his fingers, those from his hand placed on the escalator handle near her elbow, tapped her on the arm twice, signalling na malapit na sila sa baba. She turns her back on him, who's clueless na mas possible for her to miss a step with what he did kaysa sa hindi niya pagtingin sa dinadaanan.

"Why? Ikaw?" he asks as she steps out of the escalator.

She stops in front of him after a few strides, heart rate still elevated from the small contact a moment ago.

She can't keep acting like this.

What if the way he is that she keeps talking about earlier includes him trying to push her down the hole she got out of? What if she's correct—na she really should keep her guard up because he is, indeed, trying to spin her back to his web? Hindi niya alam.

Because come to think of it, she and Elias were never really friends. She's not sure if she knows him as a friend. He did help her out a few times, nag-uusap naman sila, but they weren't friends.

And she's aware of his reputation when it comes to women and dating. Baka gawain niya 'to. Baka this—whatever this is—is fun to him.

She has to be sure that that's not the case. Because otherwise, they cannot be friends. He knows that she doesn't want anything anymore. She couldn't have been any clearer when she told him, so he had to respect her wishes.

Because if he can't do that, then they really cannot be friends. It's like telling someone that you're planning to quit a bad habit you have had for the longest time, and upon knowing, imbes na tulungan ka pa ay lalo ka lang ilalapit doon. What kind of friend would do that?

She has to ask. Now.

"Why are you here?"

His eyebrows furrow, probably confused with the sudden switch in the subject. "Huh?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

Nadia purses her lips. She doesn't like how he's not answering directly.

There's a bitter taste in her mouth, preparing her in case this doesn't end the way she wants it to. Maybe it's hard for others to believe, and maybe some won't support this choice of hers, kasi ang hirap nga namang paniwalaan na one can have a remotely normal relationship with someone you got in bed with and had broken-up-but-not-really for two times.

But, genuinely, Nadia wants them to be friends. She sees herself giving him a gift every holiday, and them attending each other's birthday parties or getting invites, at least. Aside from that, she thinks that Eli is a good person. He was—is—nice to her, and she refuses to believe that everything he has shown were all part of an act to get inside her pants.

So, yes, she's going to be sad if she's to be proven wrong today.

"I got here first," diin niya.

Eli opens his mouth, and then closes it, like he has to think twice about what he's going to say. He stares at her for a few seconds, before hovering a hand behind her back and guiding her to walk to the side of a clothing store, moving them away from the center of the hallway.

"Alright," he says with a sigh, keeping his hand to his side nang makatabi sila. "I just wanted to see a movie. And this is—" he pauses, poking his tongue on his cheek. Umakyat ang kaba sa dibdib ni Nadia. Why is it so hard for him to give her an answer? Is he just struggling to find an excuse? "I came from—"

"What?" she asks, and despite the venom in her voice, Eli's sly smile is nowhere in sight. To be fair, his eyes do not leave hers like he's not afraid to be interrogated. She wonders why his words act otherwise.

He sighs again, moving Chikoon so it's tight under his arm. "This is near my counselor's place," he says slowly, and Nadia feels like a bucket of ice was thrown from above her head.

Oh.

Oh, no.

"Ah." She feels like she just overstepped a boundary, and when the cold subsides, the heat on her cheeks is intensified. She's not sure if she has to apologize, or if that would make it worse. "Okay."

She wonders if he has been seeking help while they were 'together.' Because if yes, then he has an intention to keep it private, and now she feels like she just snatched that information out of his hands.

Eli just stands in front of her quietly, watching her closely. He doesn't look offended, but she cannot help but worry kung too much iyong intrusion niya.

"Are you—Are you not busy?" she stammers, steering the topic elsewhere. He would have said more if he wanted to say more, but he doesn't offer more details, so she takes the hint.

"Why do you ask?" he asks back, urging her to walk. Sumabay siya. For tall people, their steps are way too small today.

"You always go for a run. Hindi ka ba napapagod?"

He smiles a little, and that puts her at ease. He's not galit. "Sanay na. And it's fun."

That makes her frown. She doesn't like running. "I don't like running." She feels like it's taking way too much of her energy even if she's in good shape. "Ano'ng fun do'n?"

Her tone makes him chuckle. "Have you tried?"

"A few times," she answers, nodding. "Pero treadmill lang." She doesn't like doing it in the comfort of an air-conditioned space, so she never tried doing it outside. Baka lalo lang niyang hindi magustuhan since she's going to sweat more.

"Try running outdoors, baka mas magustuhan mo."

She shakes her vehemently, earning her another round of chuckles from him. "Ayaw."

"Okay," he says when his laughter fades. "But if you change your mind, tell me. Samahan kita."

It's her first time trying to look at him as a friend, so she still can't help but be wary of his moves. She narrows her eyes at him, to which he only responds with a slightly raised brow. "Kailangan ba may kasama?"

There goes his sly smile again. "Yes."

"Required?"

His lips quiver, and he looks away when his wide grin finally breaks free. "Yes."

"Heh." She rolls her eyes. Baka natural na sa isang 'to to speak this way, like he's always flirting. Or maybe he isn't—sadyang crush lang talaga niya ito so she can't help but hear him talk a certain way.

Or maybe he is flirting, pero friendly lang, and he probably just enjoys seeing a reaction from her kasi hindi nga niya mapigilang mag-react. It doesn't help that it seems like he's always confident.

"I'll bring someone else," she retorts.

"Then that would not be fun." He cranes his neck back to her, a small on his face. "For you and me both."

See! It's like he doesn't even need to think about it! Malandi talagang creature. "Ewan ko sa 'yo. Mayabang ka," she says and picks up her pace, walking past him with a hair flip. She hears him loudly laughing from a few steps behind her, and the sound, once again, makes her blush.

♡

THEY QUIETLY MAKE their way to the parking lot, in silent agreement na they're parting ways already. Nadia glances at his car which they just passed by. Imposible namang sumama si Eli sa kaniya (and it's not like she would let him), so she's certain that he's walking her to her vehicle.

"Eli."

"Yes?"

She glances up at him. "We're friends." He slows his steps down and she follows. "I don't want this to be like—to be like the last time." The first time they . . . 'split up' . . . sobrang sama ng loob niya kay Eli. She wasn't just sad, she disliked him, which was hard to carry around knowing that deep inside, there was a part of her that wanted to like him. And generally, she doesn't like that feeling—iyong parang laging may baong tampo. It weighs her down. She never really learned how to carry those type of emotions in her heart, so when they visit, she wants to get rid of them immediately.

Eli heaves a sigh before putting on a gentle smile. "Me, too, Nadi."

She nods, looking away. "Okay."

"So . . ." he trails. She puts her hair over her shoulder to the side where he's looking. "Is this the part where you're giving me a chance to ask you if I can get late lunch with you?"

Tumaas nang bahagya ang kilay niya roon. She stops walking by the post to look at him. There's a playful glint in his eyes that he doesn't bother hiding. "Yes."

"Okay," he says, nodding and unable to fight off the smile trying to rip off his gorgeous face. "Can we grab lunch?"

She gives him a tight-lipped smile before saying, "Nope!"

Napalakas ang tawa ni Eli rito. "Ouch," daing nito as if she just stabbed him in the chest with a knife. Super overreacting. Big drama queen.

"It's the part where you can ask. Hindi ko naman sinabing I would say yes," katuwiran niya. Eli's still laughing. He's enjoying this way too much.

Nadia doesn't recall seeing him all smiles or laughing when they were in undergrad. Evey time she catches sight of Eli with his friends, or makikita niya itong papuntang parking, laging mukhang seryoso lang. Combine that with his height, he seemed intimidating. She just wasn't fazed because he was friends with all the guys she had talked to before. Pero kung hindi, she probably wouldn't have approached him.

"I can handle rejection," he says and picks up his pace, walking backward in front of her.

Panay tuloy ang tingin ni Nadia sa gilid nito dahil baka biglang may sasakyan on his way, or si Eli ang may maatrasang kotse. Bakit ba kasi paatras maglakad? For someone who's planning to be a doctor, he doesn't seem to value life very much.

"Talaga lang?"

He nods, gesturing his finger to his face. "Of course. Do you see any tears? Wala, di ba?"

"Wow," she replies, and he laughs again at her obviously fake amusement. "So tough naman pala."

"Mamaya pa kasi sa kotse."

Nadia rolls her eyes out of reflex. "Ewan ko sa 'yo talaga." Eli finally stops walking backward in front of her at tinabihan siya sa gilid, just right before they get to the spot where her car is sparked. He stands guard by the bumper while she gets her keys from her bag.

"I'm going home." She sounds the alarm.

Eli beats her to the door handle, pulling it open for her. "Alright," he says, putting his hand over the top of the door and resting his chin on the back of his palm. "Careful on the road. I'll try again next week."

There's a boyish grin on his face that Nadia rolls her eyes again to. She wonders if he has many girl friends—as in friends na girl—aside from his cousin. Does he always act like this? She doesn't mean iyong pagsabay sa kaniya sa paglalakad and getting the door for, but, like this—iyong makulit? If he's not this tall and if his maturity doesn't show on his face, para siyang pilyong bata. She remembers na bunso nga pala ito, so maybe that's the reason?

If he does act like this, my gosh, she won't be surprised kung mayroon siyang girl na friends before pero naubos lang dahil na-friendzone niya or what.

"Heh, no more next week," kontra niya. She sets her bag down on her seat and looks him in the eye. He just tilts his head at her—half-naghahamon to continue this line of argument, and maybe half-nagpapa-cute. Or baka nga hindi naman. Maybe she just actually finds him cute. "And I won't change my answer."

He stands up properly, shrugging. "I told you already, I'll take my chances. I have very good luck."

She should probably just get in the driver's seat and stay quiet, just to end this conversation, but she remains standing there, arching a brow. "And when you run out of that luck na sinasabi mo?" There's something in him that convinces her that it's a good idea to just . . . keep talking, extend the life of this moment for a little longer.

He shrugs again. "I'll do it anyway." He grabs the side of the door and pulls it open when it starts to shut close. She should ask next time nga if he has other female friends, and how many of them have fallen victim to his charm kung ganito nga siya lagi. "Now, go home."

And as if he could read her mind, he adds, "Or I'll charm you into getting lunch with me now."

Her hand moves involuntarily, slapping him on the arm with the back of her palm. "Ang yabang—!" Eli's just laughing, sapo-sapo iyong tinamaan ng kamay niya like it's some serious injury—so arte! So she hits him there again. Super arteng creature! "I will not be charmed."

"Is that a challenge?" he taunts, so she gets in the car. Talagang hinabol pa siya ni Eli, standing in the way of the door so it doesn't close at sinisilip siya sa loob. "Because I'm accepting."

She widens her eyes at him, reaching for the handle. Bahala siya kung maipit siya there! "Bye."

He rests a palm on the door, fighting her attempt to pull it close. Ang kulit! "Give me five minutes to convince you—"

"Uuwi na ako!"

He bursts into another round of loud chuckles, stepping backward and lifting his hand off the inside of the door before Nadia can hit him there. "Joke lang!" natatawa nitong sabi, still holding her car door from outside so it wouldn't close on him.

There's a small smile on his face when he leans down again. She reels her head back, gluing it to the headrest of her seat. He's close, and it doesn't seem like he notices, or if he does, he's unfazed and doesn't care—about their lack of distance, and about whatever's going to happen given that, it seems.

"Bye. Ingat, okay?" he whispers, before stepping aside and shutting her door close. He waves goodbye from the other side of her tinted windows. And when she's pulling out of the parking slot, he's holding Chikoon by its little wings and waving her goodbye.

She tries not to smile at the gesture, pero wala, hindi niya kaya. It's cute!

She sighs when she's finally out on the main road. That, earlier, was really nice. It will be good for both of them to be friends. They were somehow friends naman in undergrad, and they just have to build from that now.

Now, all she has to do is stop crushing on him. She has a feeling that that won't be so easy.

But she'll try.

♡