Chasing Boundaries (Parallel Rhythms Series 1)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6



_atriurs started following you.

Halos tumalon-talon ako sa galak nang makita ang Instagram notification na iyon. My heart was beating rapidly as I bit my lower lip to suppress a smile. But heck, I failed, miserably.

Isang malawak na ngiti ang kumawala mula sa aking labi. Hindi ko maintindihan ang nararamdaman ko. Why am I so happy? Why am I so excited? Archein just decided to follow me, what's the big deal?

I licked on the ice cream cone I was enjoying as I stared back at my phone. I sat on my soft bed and made myself comfortable.

Nakangiti kong pinindot and 'follow back' button. I pursed my lips as I hesitantly visited his profile.

_atriurs
Archein Atrius

4 posts   389 followers   77 following

My brows gently furrowed as I saw the amount of his followers. Marami iyon kumpara sa akin. I only have like, one hundred and fifty plus followers on my Instagram account. Wala naman kasing interesante sa akin at isa lang ang post ko doon. Kagaguhan pa iyon.

I roamed my eyes and it traveled down to the photos he posted. Pinindot ko ang pinaka-recent doon. It was only a photo of a scenery. Nangunot ang aking noo nang mapansing pamilyar sa akin ang lugar na iyon.

I slightly gasped nang ma-realize ko na ang litratong iyon ay kuha sa isang playground. Ang playground kung saan kami tumambay kagabi.

Gabi na sa picture at ang tanging nagpapaliwanag na lang sa playground ay ang isang lamp post. I noticed that the perspective of the photo was taken somewhere where the swing was located.

I roamed my eyes to look for the date and I saw that it was only posted fifteen hours ago. Ibig sabihin ay kagabi niya pa lang ito pino-post. My heart thumped faster for some unexplainable reason, as I saw the caption of the post.

‘was walking my dog when i stumbled upon someone pretty’

Hindi ko maipaliwanag ang bilis ng pagkabog ng dibdib ko. I blinked multiple times as I swallowed hard.

Was he talking about me? Does he think I'm... pretty?

I shook my head but a small smile on my lips appeared. I didn't really know what to feel, but one thing's for sure, my smile is growing like crazy.

I scrolled through my phone and it landed on the second photo. It was only a photo of him and Brent. Si Brent ay nakangiti habang naka-akbay sa kaniya, at siya naman ay may tipid na ngiti habang nakatingin diretso sa camera. I deduced that the photo was taken inside a gym because there were dumbbells and a treadmill on the background.

Ini-scroll ko lang iyon at ang pangatlong litrato naman ang lumitaw. Agad na nagsalubong ang mga kilay ko nang makita iyon. It was a photo of him and his friends, probably his circle, gathered around a lit bonfire.

Si Brent ay nakatingin sa camera at nakaupo sa pinakadulong bahagi. Si Archein naman ay may hawak na gitara at siguro'y pinapa-tugtog ito. But what caught my attention the most was that leech-, I mean that girl who he was with at the cafeteria. She was seated beside him, her eyes focused on Archein, while a big smile was plastered on her face.

Friend, huh?

Nakilala ko pa ang dalawa niya pang kasama noon sa gym na nasa litrato rin. There are two more boys and two girls on the photo, but I am not familiar with them.

I scrolled for the last time and my jaw fell as I stared at the last photo. Namilog ang mga mata ko at bahagya akong napalunok.

It was a photo of him, flexing his biceps. Only half of his face and body was shown on the photo. I can still see his small smile but it was cropped. But the center of attention was actually on his well-shaped biceps.