Umbrella (Ongoing)

VIII - Opposites don't attract, they push eachother

"Hey Cynthia, nice meeting you here." Sinabi ni Arielle, punong-puno ng sarcasm.

"Nice to meet you too, Disney Princess." Nginitian ni Cynthia si Arielle, to which she responded with a sour face.

"Girls, baka pwede naman natin 'to pagusapan-" Bago ko pa matapos ang sinasabi ko, tinitigan nila ako ng masama.

"Sabi ko nga, tatahimik na 'ko." Binaba ko nalang ulo ko.

"First off, I am not a princess. Second, what are you doing here?" Tanong ni Arielle kay Cynthia na parang hindi din niya ako sinundan dito. "Nakita kong malungkot si Ollie, syempre lalapitan ko 'yan. Bestfriend ko 'yan eh." Sabat ni Cynthia kay Arielle.

"Cynthia, you don't need to do that for him, I'm the one in charge of him. He is MY boyfriend. Now, if you know what's best for you, you might as well get lost before things get worse." Bahid ng galit ang mga sinabi ni Arielle kay Cynthia. Mukhang paiyak nanaman si Cynthia kaya nagstep-in na ako para depensahan siya.

"Arielle." With as much control as I can muster, nilaliman ko ang boses ko. I admit, medyo naasar ako sa treatment ni Arielle kay Cynthia pero ako rin naman ang may kasalanan nitong lahat eh.

"Okay, look. Both of you, makinig kayo sa'kin." Pinaupo ko sila habang ako tumayo. Nagtitigan muna sila ng masama bago sila umupo, pero sobrang laki ng distansya nila sa isa't-isa.

"First off, I have something I need to tell you. If hindi pa obvious sa inyong dalawa, parehas kayong nagconfess sa'kin ng feelings." Nagulat si Arielle sa sinabi ko habang si Cynthia nakatitig lang sa'kin. "Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I can't choose one over the other kasi eh."

"What do you mean you can't choose one over the other?" Tinanong ako ni Cynthia.

Oo nga, Oliver. Why can't you choose one over the other?

"Well, for one, kasi even if sobrang iba ang agwat ng samahan nating lahat, one was my long-time crush, and one is crushing on me. Actually, let me retract that. Both of you are crushing on me, at ako naman crush ko si Cynthia, does everybody get me?" Tinanong ko sila, at halatang-halata sa mukha nila na gulong-gulo sila dahil sa mga sinasabi ko.

"Okay, I may not have understood the situation, pero based on what you've said, where is the reason there? bakit hindi ka makapili?" Tanong sa'kin ni Cynthia.

God, I can't keep up with this interrogation.

Napansin ko na medyo tumahimik si Arielle, pero halatang madami din siyang gustong tanungin.

"Have you ever thought of me when you guys confessed your feelings?" Tinanong ko sila. "Kasi yung isa nagconfess dahil nalaman niyang may gusto ako sa ibang tao, yung isa naman nagconfess dahil gusto ako ng ibang tao. Ang gulo eh." Tinignan ko muna ang mga reaksyon nila bago ko tinuloy ang pagsasalita ko.

"Cynthia, have you ever considered my feelings before all of this? Kasi sa tingin ko naman kinonsider mo naman kahit onti, pero sadyang pakipot ka lang." Hatalang nabigla siya sa mga sinabi ko. "Have you never thought that I'd fall for somebody else over the span of what, 4 or 5 years?" Tinanong ko siya, seemingly all of the world's silence came over us in that moment.

It was long, pero sinagot niya din ang tanong ko.

"Of course I have... pero aaminin ko na naging kampante ako na hindi magbabago puso mo. I'm sorry." Sagot sa'kin ni Cynthia.

Sa totoo lang, kumikirot na yung puso ko na makita si Cynthia na malungkot at paiyak na. Ilang beses ko pa lang siyang nakitang malungkot, at hindi pa rin ako sanay na makita siyang ganyan. Pero kailangan ko ng control sa sitwasyon na 'to. It wouldn't be fair for her.

"And you Arielle, ano sa tingin mo feeling ko nang nagconfess ka sa'kin bigla? Even after you've learnt of the fact na gusto ko si Cynthia?" Nagfocus ako ngayon kay Arielle.  "Oo, alam ko nagpadala ako sa emosyon ko, pero hindi mo naman masasabi na wala kang pagkakamali eh. You confessing to me in a situation like this is like striking me even when I'm down." Napatahimik si Arielle at napababa siya ng ulo sa mga sinabi ko sa kanya. 

Siguro hindi din siya makapaniwala na makakapagbitaw ako ng mga ganoong salita, kasalanan ko din naman dahil hindi ko sinabi outright na trial period pa lang kami. 

But I guess I did lean in for the kiss, maybe it was my fault.

Pero hindi ko naman sinasadyang maipit ang sarili ko dito eh. Kasalanan ko ba na nagkagusto sa'kin ang dalawang babaeng 'to? Pinahinahon ko muna ang gulo sa isip ko nang nakita kong nakatingin na ng maayos si Arielle sa'kin.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I didn't think that through, but I at least said it outright! At least I said that I love you. I know that those three words aren't just... things that you can spit out like that, but trust me when I tell you that I really do love you." Medyo misty-eyed na si Arielle nang natapos na siya sa pagsasalita. As much as gusto kong lapitan at punasan na ang mga luhang palapit ng palapit tumulo, pinigilan ko sarili ko. 

Her words almost got the better of me, pero kailangan kong magkaroon ng kontrol dito sa sitwasyon na 'to.

"I'm sorry for the harsh words, but that's the truth. I can't pick either of you."

Ito ang naisip kong solusyon. It's a win-win situation for all of us, nobody gets to have a relationship. It saves us a few tears and months of drama. It also saves them from trying their best to get me.

"Then what if we give you trial periods?" Sinabi bigla ni Arielle, sanhi ng pagkasira ng pag-iisip ko. "I mean, you did try to give me a trial period, so why not do it with Cynthia too?" Tanong niya sa'kin. 

What?

"Look Oliie, I know what you're doing. You're probably gonna ghost us or something so we can forget about you, but I don't think that's right. It's either her or me and you are choosing." Inalis niya ang atensyon nila sa'kin at tinungo niya si Cynthia.

"Cynthia, what if we make this a contest? In the span of 2 months, we'll take turns taking Oliver out. Every Saturday, one of us will take him out on a date. After 2 months, we'll let him decide who's captured his heart. Deal?" Tinanong ni Arielle si Cynthia. Mukhang nagdadalawang isip pa si Cynthia pero hindi nagtagal at narinig ko na din ang isang salitang ayoko sana marinig sa kanya.

"Deal."

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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, just thought I'd publish this crappy chappy since it's been days since I've updated. Tamad ako, but I still need to keep the ball rolling. Anyways...

Happy Reading!