The Lies That We Tell (COMPLETED)

Chapter 13

"Yes," he said habang naglalakad kami papunta doon sa resto. We decided to just eat around the area para mamayang mga 11PM e mas madali ng kumuha ng ride.

We talked while we were walking. It was... peaceful. Hindi naman siguro kailangan nung sparks na 'yan. Kasi aanhin mo iyong sparks kung may kasamang stress? Kinikilig ka nga pero nagooverthink ka naman? Mas pipipliin ko 'tong kalmado lang.

It was around 10PM nang matapos kami sa dinner at almost 11PM nang makarating kami sa venue. There was a line, but we managed to get inside first. It felt nice—like we're some VIP.

"If you want to go home, just tell me, okay?"

I nodded. "I can go home myself. You can stay here and bond with your co-workers," I told him kasi iyon naman talaga iyong purpose nung party na 'to. Party, but still work-related. Ayoko naman makagulo roon.

"I'll still see them plenty of times," he said and I just smiled. He'd really leave this party para samahan ako na umuwi.

Luck really favors the brave! Kung hindi ako naglakas ng loob na ayain siya magdate, wala kami sa posisyon na 'to. It's weird how one thing could literally alter the direction of your life.

Fabian introduced me to different people. Some of them were already a bit drunk, but they're mostly nice. Hindi ko nga lang sigurado kung matatandaan ko lahat ng pangalan nila dahil ang daming pinakilala sa akin ni Fabian.

"I'll just go to the restroom," sabi ko kay Fabian.

Ayoko naman maging KJ kaya uminom ako ng cocktail. Hindi naman ako malalasing dito kasi kanina ko pa tinitipid iyong isang baso ng amaretto.

After ko sa CR, dumiretso ako sa bar para bumili ng tubig. I decided to stay there for a while dahil nagve-vape iyong ibang mga kasama ni Fabian and hindi ako fan non. Hindi ko rin naman sila pwedeng sabihan na itigil iyon.

"Arielle."

Napatingin ako kay Fabian na nasa harapan ko na ngayon. "Hey," I replied. "Just got myself water," I continued, showing him the bottled water that I just bought.

He nodded. "I'll introduce you to someone," he said.

"Who?" I asked. Ang dami niya na talagang pinakilala sa akin ngayong gabi! Hindi ko na tanda iyong pangalan nila and I doubted na tanda nila iyong sa akin kasi lasing na sila rin. Itatanong ko na lang ulit kay Fabian iyong pangalan nila kung sakaling magtagpo man ulit ang landas namin.

"My roommate," he said.

"You have a roommate?" I asked kasi nasabi niya dati na wala siyang roommate. Based sa kwento niya, usually ay dalawa sa isang unit, pero mag-isa lang siya. Tinukso ko tuloy siya na favorite siya since naka-solo room siya. He immediately said no kahit na nasabi sa akin accidentally ni Nikki na itong si Fabian daw ay paboritong model nung isa sa mga top designer ng Pinas na sikat din internationally. Humble masyado.

"Yes," he replied. "He just got back from a stint in Turkey."

Tumango lang ako dahil hindi ko alam kung ano ang sasabihin ko roon. I just walked with Fabian. His hand was on the small of my back, leading me to wherever we were headed.

"Hey," tawag niya roon sa isang model na hindi ko na talaga tanda iyong pangalan. Kung wala lang lovelife si Gem ngayon, for sure mag-eenjoy iyon dito. Sabi nga niya, Afam paradise.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Zion?" Fabian asked.

Agad na napatingin ako sa kanya. My forehead creased. Lasing ba ako? Was I imagining things? Was I hearing things?

"He was just here—" sabi nung lalaki. "Oh, there he is," he continued, looking behind us.

Oh, fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck!

"Zion," sabi ni Fabian habang nakaharap na siya roon at nanatili akong nakatalikod. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang gagawin ko. I just wanted to go home. It had been fucking months since I last saw him! And I knew that we'd probably see each other again, but definitely not like this!

I felt Fabian's hand on my waist again.

Shit.

Nakita ba ni Zion iyon?

"Arielle," pagtawag ni Fabian sa akin.

Fuck.

Huminga ako nang malalim. It wasn't as if I could run now. Not when he already said my name in front of Zion. But then again, maybe he already forgot about me. Kasi ako lang naman iyong nagbigay masyado ng kulay sa kung anuman ang nagkaroon kami.

We were barely a thing.

Barely.

Muli akong huminga nang malalim at saka humarap sa kanya. I hated how I saw the surprise in his eyes when he realized who was in front of him.

So, he didn't forget about me.

He still knew who I was.

But no one but us knew about us.

As far as anyone's concerned, we were strangers.

"Hi, I'm Arielle," I said as I offered him my hand. "You're Fabian's roommate, right?" I continued as I stared at him and held my breath as I breathe in the sight of him once again. 

**

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