"Isa pa."
Nadine stood up and huffed, trying her best to make a forcefield around herself.
Paulo was sitting down on a patio chair and telepathically throwing things at her. This time, he decided to throw a plastic lawn chair.
It hurled at Nadine and the forcefield didn't come up fast enough to block it, causing it to hit her right in the face.
"Putangina mo, Pau! Gumaganti ka lang kasi ako ang top scorer sa recent test namin. Hindi na ikaw ang number 1," physically picking up the chair to throw in his direction.
He blocked it with a forcefield -- of course.
Paulo was her friend after her family moved from Pangasinan to Quezon City. Apparently, their dads grew up together as angels and Paulo was like her dad, born into the 4th dimension. Which is why he was more skilled at his powers than Nadine.
Nadine didn't find out that he was like her until a few years ago. He thought he was going to get punished when she saw him protect one of their classmates from falling down a set of stairs at school, but nothing happened. He put two and two together, basically thinking he was stupid for not realizing earlier.
After the incident, Nadine asked for his help in training since her dad couldn't teach her. He took this as a great honor since Nadine wasn't the type to ever really ask for help ー in anything. So ever since then, even after moving to Manila for college, he's been helping her hone in on her skills.
"You cheated, didn't you?"
"Cheated ka dyan! Che! Pagod na ako. Uuwi na ako," stomping past him.
He rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing her by the hand to stop her.
"Teka lang, bes. Diba uuwi tayo sa QC ngayon? Birthday ng kapatid mo bukas..."
"I thought you're not coming since Celine's upset at you."
"Selos?"
Nadine had a face of disgust, but deep down she knew she was just hiding her feelings. Even before knowing he was an angel, Nadine had a crush on him. She wanted to think that maybe it'll be them in the end and they'll have cute little angel babies together.
"As if!"
Nadine got out from their house (thanks to their parents, so they didn't have to pay for room and board while in college) and into her car. Paulo got into the passenger seat, much to Nadine's surprise.
"Talaga? sama ka?"
"Ano ka ba? Birthday ni Mimi bukas. She'll get more mad at me for not going than Celine for not spending time with her this weekend. Kaya tara, let's go."
Nadine scrunched her face in disgust at the mention of Celine's name. It wasn't that she didn't like Celine, it was just that Paulo put her on a pedestal and did everything for her. No ride? No problem. No money? Ako na ang bahala.
"Walang pang 6 months, patay na patay ka sa kanya," Nadine muttered aloud accidentally, closing her eyes when she realized the mistake.
Paulo looked at her, "Kaya palaaaaa. Di mo sya gusto? Aminin mo, nagseselos ka."
"Feelingera! Hindi! Mabait syang tao pero parang... binibigay mo ang lahaaaat sa kanya pero wala pa syang binigay sayo. Ikaw palagi gumagastos sa dates nyo, lagi ka may gift sa kanya, ikaw ang driver nya kasi ayaw nya mag-uber. Sakin lang, bilang bestfriend mo, she's using you."
"Mahal ko sya," he said confidently.
Nadine scoffed, "Mahal? Eh mahal ka nya?"
Paulo looked out the window at the food carts along the street since the traffic was so bad, they were basically parked.
"I take that as a no," she said mockingly.
"Di mo gets kasi hindi ka pa na-in love ng sobra sa isang tao. Ang dami mong hugot pero NBSB ka..."
Nadine opened her mouth to argue back, but then she bit her tongue. Since she didn't respond, their ride out of Manila was just them listening to the radio.
Paulo felt guilty after a while and sighed, "Sorry. I didn't mean to snark at you like that."
She half-smiled, "It's fine. Totoo naman ang sinabi mo."
"Nadine, it's not like no one's tried to date you. And you can't tell me that you've never, once in your life, had a crush on someone. Why don't you date? Hindi naman strict ang parents mo."
"Ayoko."
"Scared?"
She glanced at him, "No... I just don't wanna date. At least, para sayo, wala kang deadline katulad sakin. Diba nag-council meeting pa ako last year."
"You told them it was final that you wanted to be an angel," Paulo remembered the story since he accompanied her to the meeting with the 4th dimension council. "But they said they're still giving you until 25. That's in a year and a half."
"I don't want to date because what if he's human? What if I fall in love with a human? Mawawala yung lineage ni Dad. And I won't be able to see Mama anymore cuz I won't be able to access that dimension without my powers. I spent my childhood in that dimension, Pau. I can't just leave it."
"But what about here? You'd have to leave here."
"I'd still be able to see Mom, Dad, and my siblings. I'd still be able to hang out with you... most of my friends are in the 4th. The people that matter the most won't be affected."
Paulo struggled to understand, so Nadine kept trying to explain herself.
"Buti pa ikaw, angel si Celine. So if everything works out, you don't have to choose which world to live in. You can go back and forth as you please."
"I don't get why you have to choose."
"Mama told me that humans aren't supposed to know the 4th exists, I shouldn't either should I choose to be human. But since they can't alter my memory, they just won't let me access it."
"And if you choose to be an angel, like how you've always been?" Pau asked, starting to see where she's coming from.
"Then I have to stay in the 4th, no popping in back and forth. Only exception is at home since my whole family knows and it's technically still within realm should I keep the family lineage."
"Okay, you lost me again."
"It's a curse to be half kasi... Diba sabi nila, ang mga angels, wala na sila sa mundo na ito. Sa mga tao dito sa 3rd, ang alam nila ang angel ay isang tao na patay na. You're disturbing the boundaries by combining the two, so I can't access both worlds as a curse to me being half. Ayun... Bawal ang pagibig ng parents ko kaya bawal ang buong pagkatao ko."
Paulo nodded slowly, "If you're cursed in the angel world, it sounds better to just stay here then."
"Not really. I think being human is overrated anyways," Nadine laughed lightly. "Finally, nasa QC na tayo."
She parked her car in the driveway and looked at Paulo.
"So what if you do fall in love within the year and he just happens to be human?"
"I just won't fall in love then," Nadine smirked before stepping out of the car to go inside the house. "Easy."
