You Belong With Me

Eighteen.

"I lied about a lot of things. But I only did it to get close to you."

Woah...

Napatitig ako sa kanya. Chandler breathed hard.

"Wait. Ako muna ha, makinig ka muna."

I timidly nodded. Gosh, I don't know how to react!

"Kilala na kita noon pa. Nakikita kita sa magazines tsaka sa Youtube. Pero walang may alam na crush na kita. Kaya nung araw ng board meeting sa Divesta, sinabi sa akin ni Tito Ben na ipapakilala ka raw bilang bagong CEO, pumunta agad ako kahit hindi ko alam kung ano bang ayos ko..."

'Yeah, you looked stupid', I thought.

"Marunong akong mag-English, Pors. Summa Cum Laude ako noong College. Alam ko rin ang tungkol sa Business pero hindi gaano. Tsaka, marunong ako mag-golf... tapos, kapag nalalaman kong may date ka kasama si Andres, nag-aaya ako ng iba para hindi naman gaano kasakit..."

My eyes widened at that. Wow. He indeed pretended!

Ngumisi si Chandler habang ako, hindi na masaya. He made a fool out of himself for what? Attention? This is ridiculous!

"Although, I grew up as a kanto boy and I really am one. Hindi ako nag sinungaling sa pagkatao kong iyan pero pinili ko na yun lang ang ipakita sa'yo. I wanted you to laugh at my jokes, my gestures, my language... I wanted to make you smile every time..."

He sighed and looked down.

"I'm sorry, Pors..."

Hindi ako maka-imik. I totally didn't expect everything he confessed!

"Sa kagustuhan kong mapansin mo ako, ako ang nahulog. Noon, crush lang talaga kita. Pero ngayon, mahal na ata kita..."

Oh my gosh! That was so unexpected too!

"Portia, I... have fallen in love with you. Sa'yo. Hindi kay Dia... and I lied about that date in Laguna and Tagaytay."

Wow, the last sentence didn't surprise me that much. It was really hard to believe that they drove from Laguna to Tagaytay!

Yumuko ako at pumikit ng mariin. Is this real? I hope not! I pinched myself and felt the pain, shit, its real!

"You can talk now."

Huminga ako ng malalim at humalukipkip. I stared at him. Yes, I am attracted to Chandler but I don't want to entertain what I'm feeling. I'm not ready for a relationship... but he's not asking for one, right?

"Oh my gosh... why didn't you show me the real you?", I managed to blurt out. "You didn't have to look dumb and... out of this world to be my friend. You didn't have to lie."

"Pors—"

"Let me talk."

Tumango siya.

"How about your fucking outfits and your Merrell? Did you also lie about that? Chandler, you lied for nothing! Its so easy to approach me and say 'hi' rather than pretend you're stupid enough to fail to construct a sentence!"

"I treated you as a friend. I was real with you! Little did I know you weren't."

I sighed and shook my head.

"You disappointed me so much. I don't want someone like that. Save your love and give it to someone you're real with."

Tumalikod ako pero hinila niya ang aking braso.

"Pors, I hope you'll forgive me. Hindi ko lang talaga alam paano mo ako mapapansin."

"You are the CEO of Montano Group! Mapapansin kita sa ayaw at gusto ko!"