Clouds between us

Prologue

"When are you coming home, seriously?" my friend snapped at the person on the other end of the phone.

"Look, I don't know. There are so many people trying to get a ride right now, and I don't have my car with me. It'll just be a hassle," the guy replied. I sat there, quietly watching them talk while we waited for another friend to arrive.

Anya, my friend, was clearly trying to hold in her irritation. She was talking to her older brother, who studies at a university in Manila. Since Christmas break had started, people were rushing to head back to their province.

"Ate AA," I heard Anya say. That's when I realized I had been staring at her.

"AA? Wait, Ali's with you?" her brother, Elijah, asked. Anya glanced at me, and all of a sudden, her face lit up as if she had a good idea in mind.

"Guess I'm spending my vacay with you, Ate Ali!" she said loudly, grinning at me like she'd just won the lottery.

Wait—why is she looking at me like that? She's definitely up to something.

She was about to end the call when Eli's voice came through again.

"Wait, you're with Ali? Where even are you? And why are you with her?"asked Eli. Anya just smiled and replied sweetly, "If I were you, I'd come home. But whatever, you don't really wanna hang out with me, right? Bye!" She ended the call and immediately linked her arm with mine as we started walking toward the department store.

I had no idea what was happening.

She headed straight to the women's section and started browsing through clothes and shoes with all the energy in the world. While she was in the fitting room, I started looking around for gifts for my family. It is that time of the year—the most wonderful time of the year, as they say.

A little while later, I went back to the fitting room and waited for her to finish.

"I'm hungry," she said as she returned the clothes she didn't choose. She was carrying a bunch of stuff, so I went over to help her out.

"What do you wanna eat?" I asked. She seemed preoccupied with her phone, probably talking to someone.

"Anya, what would you like for lunch?" I repeated. Before I could speak again to suggest anything, she suddenly stopped and looked right at me.

"You like him, don't you?" she asked, completely out of the blue.

"Who? Are you talking to me?" I asked, pointing at myself. I could feel my heart skip a beat—and then start pounding faster.

No. Not again. Why does this always happen?

She just gave me a look, slipped her phone into her bag, and walked closer again, holding onto my arm.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad or anything. As for my brother... hmm? Well, maybe he has something to say about it. Anyway, I think he likes you too. So yeah, he'll probably be here any minute now," she said, flashing a mischievous grin.

What is this? Why do I feel like my face is heating up? And my heart—am I actually excited to see Eli?

I was just about to say something when I heard a familiar voice nearby.

"There you are."

That voice.

No way. That was way too fast. My heart thudded wildly, and my hands suddenly felt cold.

Anya turned toward the direction of the voice, then looked back at me with a smile. She leaned in and whispered, "See? Told you he'd show up."

I didn't turn around. I felt frozen in place. It wasn't even this cold inside the mall earlier, was it?

I heard footsteps approaching. As I finally turned, his scent hit me—so familiar, so distracting. He stepped in closer, clearly enjoying the moment, and our eyes met.

Those eyes. Those ridiculously dazzling eyes.

Before I knew it, we were standing way too close. I couldn't look away.

I missed him.

"Hi, Ali," he said.