Arin's PoV

"Everybody, Arin Esquivel, my girlfriend." Napanganga ako pati ang lahat ng nasa loob ng kwarto. Ayun ba ang role ko ngayon? Kaya n'ya ako pinaayusan ek ek?

"Oh em gee!" Sigaw ni Pia.

"Pumapatol ka sa pader?!" Sigaw naman noong isa pang alimasag. While the other guy just silently stared at me.

"Mind your words Kiel, she's my girlfriend. Show some respect."

"Sandali! Is this trulalels bff?" Gulat na sabi parin ni Pia at kinurot ang aking tagiliran. Lumapit naman ako sa tenga n'ya at bumulong.

"Siguro? Kukwentuhan kita mamaya." Sagot kong nagpakunot ng noo sa kaniya.

"Anyway ija, welcome to the family." Sabi ni Lolo at tumayo sa kaniyang kinauupuan 'saka yumakap saakin.

"S-Salamat po." Kabado kong sagot. Ang kamay ni Dalton ay umakyat patungo saaking balikat.

"Should we eat dinner now? Ang paalam ko lamang sa kaniya ay hanggang 8:00pm." Mungkahi naman ni Alt. Napalingon ako sa kaniyang mukha na pagkagwapo-gwapo.

Hanggang five pm lang ang payag saakin ni Mama, pero alam kong marupok din 'yun sa gwapo kaya siguro pumayag. Nanay ko talaga! Aiish!

"Sure. We should go." Sabi ni Ma'am Nazil. Sumabay s'ya saamin ng paglakad palabas, noong nasa kasunod nang hallway ay lumapit siya saakin at may binulong. "Call me Tita. Understood?" I just silently nodded at her request. Ngumiti ito at umuna na.

"What did she tell you?" Alt questioned as he watch his mother's back.

"Wala." Bulong ko nalang pabalik. It's not a big deal so it's fine I guess?

"Bakit hindi sumunod saatin si Lucy?" I asked him. Dalton heaved a sigh.

"She's not part of the family. Ganoon dito, or else, paniguradong pupunahin siya ng mga kapatid ni Nanay." Hmmm, he must be talking about the other two apart from Tita Pomela, mabait 'yun e.

I guess that means na okay lang na punahin ako? I breathed.

"You also like Lucy doesn't you?" Pangiintriga ko. I thought Dalton was gonna be sarcastic like the usual him, but instead of being what I expected, he answered honestly.

"I like Lucy alot. She's special." He muttered. Tila naman natuyo ang lalamunan ko sa pangyayaring iyon—I really have no chance at him. This is all for show.

"Hey Dalton! I'll borrow her muna 'kay?" Sabi ni Pia at agad na hinigit ako. Wala namang pagaalinlangan akong pinasa ni Alt sa kaniya. Why do I even expect? Ang bobo ko naman! Alam kong wala na, pero heto ako at paulit-ulit paring umaasa! "Hoy ikaw babae! Anong nangyayare?!" Sigaw agad saakin ni Pia ng makalayo kami sa grupo.

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya ng mapait. "We're just pretending Pia, para walang mapuna ang mga kapatid nina Tita Anna sa anak niya. You know Dalton." Makatotohanan kong sabi.

I was expecting Pia to tell me—'Ay wow!', 'Ang tanga mo naman bakit ka pumayag' or 'Nakuuu kayo talaga ang tinadhana'. But she didn't even said a word like that. Instead, yumakap ito saakin. She pat me in the back.

"Anong reaction 'yan?" Nalilito kong saad. Pia held my arm.

"You are hurting bff. Ano ba dapat ang gawin ko? You know, even though you don't tell me about your feelings for Dalton, hindi padin makakaligtas sa paningin ko ang pasulyap-sulyap mo sa kaniya." Kalmado nitong sabi. "I'm just shocked that you said 'yes' to this setup."

"I don't even know about this Pia. Basta nalang nila ako sinundo nila ni Lucy saamin." I honestly answered. "I just thought na, papalagpasin ko nalang ang gabing ito and that's that. I'll try to stop my feelings for him."

"You can't Arin. Malalim na ang kinahulugan mo. It will take a very long time to erase."

"At least mabubura pa di'ba?" Natatawa kong sabi. Suddenly, I felt as if I was weightless. Accepting the fact that what I'm wishing can't just happen like in fairytales lifted off weight in my shoulders. Masakit padin, but I know I can move on. I am not Arin Esquivel for nothing.

"Rin?" Alt called my name. Napalingon ako dito and it turns out that he's waiting for me to sit down the chair he has pulled. Katabi namin si Lucy na kanina pa doong nakaupo siguro.

"Hello Lucy." Bati kay Lucy ng mga kapatid ni Tita Anna. So she's known by the family too.

Umupo ako sa inayos na upuan ni Dalton para saakin. I started playing with my fingers habang inaayos ang pagkain sa harapan ng dahil sa kaba.

Unang-una, dahil hindi ko alam kung paano magstart ng convo at pangalawa, dahil kanina pa saaking nakatingin ang isang pinsan ni Dalton na si Andrew. I'm not sure if he's angry or fascinated, all I know that he is surely talking his time.

"Calm down Arin." Dalton said in a hushed voice. Napalunok naman ako ng hawakan nito ang aking kaliwang kamay at pinatayon iyon sa baba ng mesa. I sighed.

How could such a sweet gesture be so cruel?