Fated to Forget

part 4: The Spaces Between

The following week blurred by in a series of readings, quizzes, and quiet lunches with Risa beneath the flame trees. Leni’s routine had not changed—wake, study, survive—but something within her had subtly shifted.

She still took notes with obsessive precision, still walked with her eyes down, still flinched slightly when called on in class. But now, there was a strange awareness curled up in her chest, like a bird waking from slumber. It stirred every time she walked into lecture halls and saw him—Ferdinand.

Not “Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” the son of someone powerful, the boy with a last name everyone whispered about. Just Ferdinand. The one who’d leaned over twenty minutes into class to compliment her notes. The one who had looked at her like she wasn’t invisible.

“Are you even listening to me?” Risa asked, snapping a finger in front of her face.

They were back under the tree, her voice pulling Leni from her thoughts.

“Sorry,” Leni muttered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Risa narrowed her eyes, half-smiling. “Is this about the debate tryouts or about him?”

Leni blinked. “What?”

“I saw him talk to you. Marcos. Don’t play innocent.” Risa leaned in, teasing. “You’ve been spaced out all week.”

Leni looked away, embarrassed. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Mmhmm,” Risa hummed knowingly. “And yet you’re still thinking about it.”

“I’m not,” Leni said, far too quickly.

But Risa didn’t press. She just leaned back on her elbows and looked up at the shifting sky. “Just don’t let some boy—any boy—distract you from what you came here to do, okay?”

Leni nodded. “I won’t.”

But even as she promised that, her eyes drifted again—across the lawn, where Ferdinand was sitting on the steps of the library, laughing with a group of students.

---

Later that day, Leni found herself alone in the law section of the library again. The table was the same. Her notes were the same. But her focus was fractured. Every now and then, she looked up—half-expecting, half-hoping.

And then he walked in.

Ferdinand paused when he saw her. There was a flicker of recognition, then something else. He made his way over—not rushed, but with purpose.

“Hey,” he said, setting his bag down across from her. “Is this seat taken?”

Leni glanced at the empty chair, then at him. “No. It’s fine.”

They studied in silence for a while, though she barely absorbed a word. She could feel his presence across from her, solid and distracting. His pen scratched the page occasionally. He had a habit of chewing on the cap when he was thinking.

After twenty minutes, he looked up. “You’re here a lot.”

“I like it here,” she said simply.

“It’s quiet,” he agreed. “Hard to find quiet in this place.”

Leni didn’t respond, but she didn’t look away either.

Ferdinand leaned forward, his voice softer now. “I meant what I said. About your notes. You write like someone who’s already teaching the class.”

Leni blinked, unsure how to respond. “Thanks.”

“Do you always sit alone?”

“I like being alone,” she said, and meant it. But then added, “Most of the time.”

He nodded, as if he understood.

There was another pause. Then—

“Do you want to study together sometime?” he asked.

The question hung in the air. It wasn’t a flirtation. It was gentle, tentative. An offering.

Leni hesitated. “Why?”

Ferdinand’s brow furrowed. “Why not?”

She tilted her head. “You have a lot of friends. People like you. You don’t need to study with me.”

He chuckled, the sound quiet but warm. “Maybe I want to study with someone who actually understands the material.”

That made her smile, even if she tried to hide it. “Maybe,” she said, “I’ll think about it.”

He grinned. “That’s basically a yes.”

She rolled her eyes, but her heart was beating a little faster now.

---

By the time she returned to the dorm, the sun had long dipped behind the horizon. Risa was sprawled on her bed with a face mask on, flipping through a romance novel.

Leni sat on her own bed, pulling out her journal.

“You were with him, weren’t you?” Risa asked without looking up.

Leni froze. “What?”

“You’ve got that weird smile. The ‘I saw someone cute and now I’m emotionally confused’ smile.”

“I do not have a weird smile.”

“You do. It’s kinda sweet, honestly.”

Leni sighed, setting the journal down. “We talked. That’s all.”

“And?” Risa peeled off the face mask and turned to face her. “What’s he like?”

Leni shrugged. “He’s... not what I expected.”

Risa raised a brow. “That’s either really good or really bad.”

“I don’t know yet,” Leni admitted, then added more quietly, “He asked if we could study together.”

Risa’s grin spread like wildfire. “Leni Gerona, this is basically a rom-com.”

Leni shook her head, laughing despite herself. “Stop.”

“Just be careful,” Risa said, more gently now. “You have a good heart. Don’t give it away for free.”

Leni looked down at her hands. “I won’t.”

But the truth was, something had started. A spark. A thread pulled ever so slightly from the edge of the fabric of her quiet world. She didn’t know where it would lead. Only that it had begun.

To be continue...........