"Huy, River, pre!" bati ni Ridge. Nanlaki naman ang mata ko at liningon ang tinitignan ni Ridge.

"Ay, wala pala," habol niya nang lumingon na ako at nakitang wala naman si River doon!

He and Aria laughed. I glared at the both of them and raised both of my middle finger.

"Bakit ba kasi iniiwasan mo siya, girl?" Aria asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Eh, ikaw, Aria, bakit pinagtitiisan mo pa rin si Ridge?"

"Sungit talaga ever," bulong ni Aria na rinig na rinig ko pa rin.

It has been 13 hours since they tried reviving James and Rose. There was no luck so they had to place their bodies in a cadaver and store them in the specimen room. We informed the leaders about it and they instructed to keep quiet for now and we'll figure out how to tell their loved ones later.

Do I feel guilty? Of course, I do. Sino ba ang hindi? Pero kailangan ko kasi talaga siyang gawin.

"Alam mo kung bakit iniiwasan niya?" Ridge asked Aria.

"Why? Tell me," she demanded.

"Mayroon kasing umamin," Ridge answered before teasingly looking at me.

"Sabi ko na, eh! Bet mo nga si River!" Aria exclaimed.

"It's River who confessed, dumbass!" I clarified.

Ridge laughed and Aria's eyes widened.

I crossed my arms. "How did you know?" I asked Ridge.

"Hindi nagtatago sakin yan si River. Lalo na kapag usapang babae," he answered while wriggling his eyebrows.

"You're gonna teach him how to be a womanizer." I sighed.

"Womanizer daw ako, babe. Payag ka dun?" baling niya kay Aria.

Aria looked at Ridge then back to me. "Dara, let's go," aya niya sakin bago ako hinila palayo doon.

"Babe, nagbago na ako, di ba?" pahabol na tanong ni Ridge.

"Talk to the fucking wall!" sigaw ko bago namin tatawa-tawang linayasan siya.

"Now, tell me, mahal mo rin ba si River?" tanong ni Aria nang makarating kami sa dropship. May mga task kasi kami doon.

I was actually taken aback by her question. I had feelings for River, yes but the keyword here is 'had'. It's in past tense so maybe I don't have them anymore. Then again, him telling me he loves me had an effect on me. It's weird.

I looked at Aria. "No?"

"Patanong mong sinabi so it means that you have!" naeexcite niyang sigaw.

"Keep your voice down," I whispered.

"So, ano nga? Do you have feelings for him or not?" pangungulit niya.

I rolled my eyes before saying, "I don't. He's my best friend and that's how he'll stay."

★・★・★

"Adara, ready for our next plan?" tanong ni Sol. Gumagawa ako ng task ngayon sa Medbay.

"What do you want me to do?" tanong ko.

"Yung arsenic na ginamit mo, nasaan na?"

"Specimen room, why?"

He clicked his tongue. "We'll use it again."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "How will I dispose of their bodies if I use that again?"

"Mas masaya pala na nadidiscover nila yung patay. Nakakatawa lang reaksyon nila, 'di ba?" sabi niya kaya napailing-iling ako. "What I want you to do is inject it in one of the vending machine snacks. Alam mo naman paano mag-reseal, 'di ba?"

"Yes." Unfortunately.

"Simulan mo na. We'll talk again tomorrow," paalam niya.

"You won't bother me for the rest of the night?" tanong ko.

Natawa siya. "Depende kung magagawa mo nang maayos ang ipapagawa ko," sabi niya bago tuluyang nawala sa linya.

I sighed. "For River," I reminded myself before walking to the specimen room to get the poison.

Nang makuha ko na yung arsenic, dumiretso agad ako sa office. I ordered one snack from the vending machine and injected the arsenic there. May pangseal na rin sa office kaya ginamit ko yun. Alam ko rin kung paano buksan yung vending machine kaya agad kong ibinalik yung poisoned snack.

"Ano bang masarap kainin?" tanong ng isang pamilyar na boses. Judging by the sound of the voice, papalapit pa lang sila dito.

It is impossible for me to run back to the specimen room to return the arsenic so I just hid it behind the potted plant and threw my gloves in the trash bin.

"Oh, Dara, andito ka pala. Kakain ka na rin?" Aria asked while entering the office. She's with Ridge.

"Uhmm... yes," I answered.

"Tulungan mo nga ako mamili." Hinila niya si Ridge papalapit sa vending machine.

My eyes widened when I saw them walking towards the vending machine where I placed the poisoned snack.

"Wait!" I quickly blocked their view.

"Oh, bakit?" Ridge asked.

"Huwag na kayo dito. Umorder na lang tayo ng fast food," I suggested.

"We can't," Ridge said.

"Bawal may pumasok na iba dito, 'di ba? Bawal din tayo lumabas hangga't hindi pa naayos ang lahat sa Mira," Aria reminded.

I shook my head. "Kakausapin ko na lang si Kuya Guard sa parking na sa kanya iwanan yung pagkain. Just don't eat here, okay?"

Regarding security, Sol did deactivate the cameras and took care of the people guarding the security room but he didn't meddle with the guards outside of Polus.

"Ano bang meron dito at biglang naisipan mong umorder pa sa labas?" tanong ni Aria.

"Basta. Tatawag na ako, ah? Pati si River sabihan niyo," I said while dialing the fast food restaurant's number.

"Ikaw na lang," Ridge said. I looked at him and raised both my eyebrows as if telling him that all hell will break loose if I call River.

Suddenly, the door opened and it revealed Evan. He didn't mind us and just walked to the vending machine. We're not really close to him kaya pumasok na lang siya ng hindi man lang bumabati.

I looked at what he was going to get in the vending machine. He took the poisoned snack. I wanted to stop him but Sol wants someone poisoned by tonight and I am not ready to see a dead Aria or Ridge.

I watched him walk past us while he's opening the snack he got from the vending machine. Sakto naman pagkalabas niya ng pinto ay pumasok naman doon si River na kasama si Chanel.

"Uy, River!" bati ni Ridge sa kanya.

"Kakain na ba kayo?" tanong niya sa amin. He looked at me but I quickly diverted my gaze somewhere else.

"Yeah, oorder daw si Adara ng fast food. Anong gusto mo?" sabi ni Aria.

"Ah, kayo na bahala," he answered.

Aria nodded. "Ikaw, Chanel. You want anything?"

She gave Aria a small smile. "Are we allowed to order out? Akala ko ba bawal may pumasok or lumabas?"

"Kami na bahala dun. Nakakatamad mag-explain," Ridge said and all of them laughed except for me. Inis na inis kasi ako sa bitchesang nasa harapan ko. Ngiti pa siya ng ngiti but it's pretty obvious that it's fake.

Nagsabihan na sila ng order pero hindi ako nakikinig. I was busy figuring out why River and Chanel are together.

"Huy!" Aria said, catching my attention. "Nakuha mo ba?" she asked.

"Kayo na lang. I lost my appetite," I said before walking out, not waiting for their response.

"Anong nangyari dun?" Ridge asked.

"This is your fault!" sigaw ni Aria na hindi ko alam kung sino ang tinutukoy.

"Ba't ako?" tanong ni River.

"Iniiwasan ka kasi niya kaya ayan! Nagcrave pa naman na ako ng burger. Ikaw umorder!" sabi ni Aria.

"Why is Adara avoiding him?" tanong ni Chanel. I rolled my eyes.

"Ito kasing si River umamin kay Adara. Yung isa naman, sobra pang pakipot. Alam ko namang may gusto rin siya dito kay River," Aria answered.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Damn, Aria!

"How did you know about that?" tanong ni River.

"Sinabi sa akin nitong si–"

"Okay, love! I think they heard enough," Ridge said, stopping Aria from saying more.

I just shook my head and walked to the O2 to accomplish my tasks.

★・★・★

"Kumuha ka nga ng pencil at paper. Kailangan mailista natin mga kailangan na supplies sa electrical. Magpapabili tayo kapag back to normal na operations," utos ni Aria.

Napatingin naman ako sa kanya. "Inuutusan mo ba ako?" mataray kong tanong.

"Hindi, ah! Anong utos? Favor yun! 'Di ba sabi ko pakikuha ng pencil and paper please? Hindi mo narinig?" pagdadahilan niya.

I just rolled my eyes and did what I was told. She narrated everything that we need and I wrote them down.

While she was still inspecting the whole room, I looked out the window. Bigla naman nag-init ang ulo ko nang makita si River at Chanel na magkasama sa dropship. Nakaupo sila doon at may iniinom na drink.

Magkasama na nga sila kanina. Hanggang ngayon ay magkasama pa rin sila? Unbelievable!

They look like they've been there for quite sometime. Mukha naman masaya sila sa pinag-uusapan nila dahil hindi maalis-alis yung ngiti nila sa isa't isa. Tumatawa pa paminsan-minsan.

I looked at the clock and saw that it's already 10 pm. Bakit hindi pa natutulog 'tong gagang Chanel na 'to?!

I don't know why seeing them next to each other got me so angry. I felt my blood boiling and I feel so irritated. I'm clenching my fist hard because that's the only way I can lessen what I'm feeling.

"Adara," tawag ni Aria.

"What?!" I asked.

"Kawawa yung pencil," she said while pointing to my right hand.

I looked at it and saw that I broke the pencil in half.

"I can't fucking deal with this shit!" I shouted before throwing the broken pencil and walking out of electrical.

"Huy! Saan ka pupunta?" Aria asked.

"May iba pa akong task," I answered before running to the office.

I took deep breaths, trying to calm my self down. "Bakit ka ba galit na galit? I thought you don't have feelings for River anymore," pagkausap ko sa sarili.

I was walking back and forth in the empty office while taking deep breaths.

Habang naglalakad ay natamaan ko yung potted plant. I was almost at my calm state pero dahil sa bwisit na halaman, ang sakit na ng paa ko kaya nag-init na naman ang ulo ko.

I then saw a bottle behind the plant. My eyes widened when I remembered that I left the arsenic there.

Mabilis kong dinampot yun at naglakad papasok ng admin. May connecting passage kasi yun papunta sa specimen room.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I got in the specimen room without bumping into anyone. Sinugurado ko na natago ko ng maayos yung bote bago lumabas.

I waited for the door of the decontamination room to open. Kailangan pa kasi pumasok doon bago makalabas sa lab.

Nang magbukas yun, pumasok ako agad. Laking gulat ko naman nang makasalubong si River sa loob.

Umiwas na lang ako ng tingin at hinintay na madecontaminate kami.

"Dara," he called and I felt my heart suddenly skipped a beat. What the fuck just happened?!

"Can we talk?" he asked but I didn't face him. I don't know why it's taking too long to decontaminate us.

"Bakit ba ang tagal gumana nito?" tanong ko sa sarili bago tinignan yung controls. Napapikit naman ako sa inis dahil nagrecharge bigla yung sprinklers.

Usually when the sprinklers recharge, it takes up to two hours for it to work again. Marami ang nasastuck talaga dito dahil sa recharging na yan. It happens at night mostly kaya palagi kami ang minamalas na matrap dito. It's a good thing na open ang exhaust kapag nakapatay ang sprinklers kaya hindi naman kami nasusuffocate.

"Did you know?" I asked, facing River.

"That the sprinklers were gonna recharge? Yes," he answered.

I scoffed. "How did you know I'll be here then?"

"Nakita kita pumasok ng admin so I assumed na sa lab ka lalabas," he said.

I shook my head before sitting on the floor. He sat beside me.

"Why are you avoiding me?" he asked and I faced him. "Was it because of my confession?" dagdag niyang tanong sabay lingon din sa akin. Nanlaki ang mata ko dahil napakalapit ng mukha niya sakin.

My heart is beating so fast that it might just jump out of my chest any minute. I still am weirded out by how I'm feeling but I know that this is not just something to ignore.

I did deny my feelings for River. I tried telling other people and myself that we cannot be more than just best friends. I did it because as I have always said, I don't want to ruin our friendship.

Even now, I kept on denying my feelings for him because I know that once we stepped out of the friendship line, we can never go back. Getting into a relationship with him is tricky but what can I do when it is clear as day that I'm in love with him too.

He sighed before looking away. "I'm sorry, Adara. It was because I was afraid that you'll be with that jerk again. You deserve someone better than him and I hoped that I'll be that better person."

"Kailan pa? When did you realize that–"

"I don't know. Ang alam ko lang, nagising ako isang araw na mahal na kita. Not just as a best friend but something more." He bit his lip. "Yung sinasabi ni Ridge na mangingiti ka na lang bigla kapag naalala mo yung taong mahal mo, maalala mo siya sa mga simpleng bagay, tsaka yung pakiramdam na ayaw mo siyang nalulungkot o nahihirapan. I felt all that with you, Adara and you think it's stupid, I know."

I lightly chuckled. Bwisit naman na lalaki 'to! Why is he being so sweet? What do I do with him?

"I know we've been friends for a long time and I'm sorry if I ruined it. I just thought that may–"

I cut him off by pulling him in a sweet kiss. "You talk too much," I said after pulling away.

"Did you just–"

I smiled while caressing his cheek. Bahala na! He already ruined our friendship might as well join him, right?

"I love you too, Riv. Matagal na," I confessed and it felt like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I stiffened when he suddenly crashed his lips onto mine. Matagal bago ko natugunan ang halik niya.

Our kiss started out as sweet and gentle. The feeling you get when you had your very first kiss. That's how it felt.

As time passed by, it grew more passionate and fast paced. He gently lied me on the floor, still not breaking our kiss and hovered on top of me.

His kisses went down to my neck then to my cheek before whispering, "I guess history repeats itself, huh?"

I chuckled. He's referring to the Ridge and Aria incident. "I guess it does," I said before kissing him passionately again.

That night, the running water tamed the growing fire.