a/n:
since mas madalas mag top rank yung story sa #aragalang kesa alyden oof hahahahahahhaa
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"Keep it for me."
"Huh bakit?"
"I don't plan on spending it."
"Okay, just tell me if you want it back." Nicko said as he put Alyssa's debit card on his wallet. They just got home from the bank, Alyssa finally got her ATM card, her savings couldn't fit under her bed anymore. They were not allowed to go in banks alone that's why her brother Nicko was with her. "Sunduin mo na si Den?" Alyssa nodded. "Ba't 'di mo man lang sinama dito?"
"Next time... ayokong isama siya sa bangko." Alyssa said. Her brother's forehead creased. "Mahaba pila, maiinip lang siya." Dennise's mom died in a bank, she wasn't sure if it traumatized her, Alyssa didn't wanna know. She didn't want to tell her brother about it so she made an excuse instead. "I'll go ahead." paalam niya. Nicko tapped her shoulder.
"Congrats." Nicko said with a grin on his face. Alyssa smiled in response.
"Oh you're here?" Jus was surprised at her sister who came unannounced in their old home. Dennise didn't answer but she looked like she was suppressing a smile and just walked straight to her room. Jus raised her brows in confusion then sighed after hearing a squeal. "Right. Here we go again."
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"Ano 'to?"
The three of them, Alyssa, Dennise, and Sheila, turned to look at the person they'd been waiting for, Vic. There was not much to see in Alyssa and Sheila's expression but Dennise was looking daggers at her. How could she not? She'd been sitting here with the two who used to be inlove with each other and had been talking about the past to figure out how they'd talk to Vic. Though Alyssa assured her and even brought her with her, Dennise couldn't help it, she laced her hand through Alyssa's hand the whole time. Also, she found out that Vic was the one who thought of having her and Gretchen act as if they were dating to make Alyssa 'jealous' and divert her fangirls' attention from their stolen picture at the gym when in fact it was Vic's way to keep Alyssa's attention away from Sheila.
"We'll talk." Sheila said. Sheila called Vic but she didn't inform her Alyssa would be with them.
"I agreed, but not with them." Vic said. "We have nothing to talk about." she said, not even looking at the two.
"Oh, we surely have." Dennise said and her tone seemed like she was ready to slap Vic anytime now, Alyssa squeezed her hand lightly to keep her to her seat.
"Please listen to us Vic." Alyssa said calmly. Vic hissed hearing her voice.
"Let's talk somewhere else Sheila." Vic said.
"We already talked a lot of times but nothing happened." Sheila said. "Don't be stubborn and sit, or this may be the last time I'll ever talk to you again."
Vic stood still, containing her annoyance and was deciding whether to sit or not. She wanted to talk to Sheila but not like this.
Sheila offered the seat next to her. Vic didn't say anything and just sat. She sat beside Sheila, Alyssa across her and Dennise beside Alyssa.
"Sheila never cheated on you." Alyssa broke the silence. Not a great thing to say to start a conversation but Alyssa wanted to go straight to the point.
"Yeah? So you made it up?" Vic asked sarcastically.
"I... made it up." Sheila emphasized.
"How 'bout some truth here?" Vic snorted.
"Alyssa and I were in love with each other." Sheila admitted. Vic was obviously not happy with that truth. She looked the other way, wondering why she even came here.
Vic stood up.
"Great start, I'm out." Vic said then stood up.
"Will you stop walking out and just listen for once? I'm sick of hearing how they used to love each other." Dennise complained almost shouted, she was mad and it was really evident. Alyssa looked alarmed and looked at Dennise, she didn't want to cause another breakup. They were at Icebergs but the place didn't help to cool their heads.
"H-hey." Alyssa said, she looked really scared. She looked at Vic again. "Look, it's true that we were..." Alyssa said but then avoided to say it again, she could feel Dennise would burst out any minute now. "...but we moved on even before you ended up together." Alyssa explained. "I'm sorry I was the reason you broke up."
"You're not." Sheila said. Vic looked at her.
"Oh, really?" Vic asked. "Uh yes, 'cause College life is too busy."
"She loves you Vic and I know you still love her too, please give the two of you another chance." Alyssa convinced Vic. "And," Alyssa said then she interlocked her hand with Dennise's and raised it. "Girlfriend." she said, referring to Dennise. Dennise almost blushed but it was still half because she was mad.
No one spoke for awhile so Alyssa turned to look at Sheila who gave her a nod. Alyssa stood up, then Dennise. She distanced Dennise to Vic 'cause she looked like she was gonna slap Vic then moved to a few tables away from Sheila and Vic so they could talk alone. Alyssa ordered ice cream for them to cool Dennise's head. When the couple sat on their table, Sheila spoke.
"Sit." Sheila demanded, her arms-crossed. Vic was gonna sit back to her sit when Sheila stopped her. "Across me 'cause I'm close to smacking you in the head." Vic followed her and sat across her. "You know why I broke up with you?" she asked but Vic just looked at her, waiting for what she'd say next. "It's not because of 'Ly or my schedule." she said. "It's because of you."
Vic's forehead creased, then she chuckled. "Ako?" she asked like she couldn't believe it.
"'Cause you kept pushing this conversation that I love her and I got sick of it. You see? Kahit ngayon pinipilit mo pa rin. You're too obsessed about 'Ly."
"Sa inamin niyo kanina? Pa'nong lalong 'di ko iisipin 'yan?"
"Look at them!" Sheila gestured at the couple sitting at a few tables away from them. Alyssa was smiling and talking as she fed Dennise ice cream who still seemed upset. "Does Alyssa look like she's still inlove with me?" Sheila asked. Vic didn't bother to look behind her and fixed her eyes on Sheila. "And do I look like I still love her?" she asked again. "I'm sick of you seeing that love that no longer exist but not my love for you." Sheila took a deep breath. "You know what else I felt about this relationship? Is that as if you just asked me to be your girlfriend just so you could prove 'Ly that you can."
Vic was surprised. Whenever Vic brought up Alyssa when they were still together, Sheila would just deny it or dismiss the topic. Even when Sheila broke up with Vic, Sheila said because of her tight schedule, but now, she never said anything like this before. It was like Sheila had been keeping it all to herself before.
"That's not true Sheila, what I feel about you is true." Vic assured her.
"And if I keep accusing you of this? Won't you get tired too?" Sheila asked. "You were so insecure of her it affected what we had."
"Because I'm sick getting compared to her." Vic admitted. "They're always comparing us! From the smallest things, Basketball, especially when she came out, she also liked you, then now in volleyball, the rivalry of our school, our rivalry! It's like everything I do I'd always be compared to her. And it scared me 'cause she's great in a lot of things she could get anything if she wants to. S-she could have you."
"That's bullshit Vic!" Sheila said. "I know you're younger than me but grow up! Your friendship is one of the best I've ever seen. She let me go, 'cause she valued you more than me. She's the one who should be mad not you, you even used Den to take me away from her. If Den slapped you earlier, I'd just watch." Sheila burst out.
Alyssa looked at them with worry from their table and Dennise just rolled her eyes out on Vic even though they couldn't hear what they were talking about. Good thing only few customers were there and Sheila and Vic's table was at the far end so only the two of them could hear each other.
"You know what you should be jealous about? That couple right there. We could be as happy as them if only you stop overthinking about things that don't matter." Sheila reached for her hand, her expression softened. "I never wanted this kind of relationship but here I am, trying to still work this out and it's because I love you Vic. 'Ly let me go and it's one of the best decisions she made and I'm really thankful for it. You have nothing to be worried about, 'Ly would never want you to feel that about her. I'm yours." Sheila held Vic's hand tighter like she didn't want to walk out of here without getting another chance, Vic felt like Sheila didn't want to let go of her again. "Please, let's give it another try."
No one spoke for a moment until Vic finally had the courage.
"S-sorry." Vic spoke in a low voice. "Of course I want another chance. Please don't let me let you go again."
Sheila smiled. "I won't." she assured Vic. "You should apologize to them too." Sheila said. "Though I think 'Ly never thought you did anything she had to forgive you for, but Dennise, I think you should really apologize to her."
"Give me time." Vic sighed. "But I did her a favor." Vic said referring to Dennise. Then she finally looked at the couple, who was laughing and talking again, Alyssa always had a way in putting Dennise in a good mood. "Look how happy they are." she said. Alyssa and Dennise noticed Vic, Dennise rolled her eyes out again and Alyssa got nervous but Dennise turned her attention back to her and smiled. Alyssa smiled quickly at Vic then turned her attention back to her girlfriend too. Vic looked at Sheila again. "Maybe that's one of the best decisions I made."
"Powah! Ledership! Happy happy!"
Alyssa groaned.
What does he mean?
Ever since the Lady Eagles met their new coach, Coach Tai, who came from Thailand, they never understood him. The language barrier was serious. He was stricter than Coach Roger and their training got more intense. Being the new captain, Alyssa had more responsibilities.
Since the FAB5 graduated, there was no really expectations from their team in terms of championship. The FAB5 was a huge loss but since Alyssa was expected to lead the team, she wouldn't let them think they were not capable of winning a championship.
She might be all smiles when playing the game but not in practice.
Dennise never really experienced Alyssa's strictness but she heard stories from Gretchen and the rest of the band members of Portmanteau. Dennise saw how responsible Alyssa was handling the team, the language barrier with Coach Tai often stressed Alyssa but she never saw her complain. She was not just telling her teammates what to do but she was leading an example, like arriving on time in practice, which Alyssa never failed to do. Even the girlfriend often got scolded by the captain for laughing too much in training, it wasn't easy to stay serious the whole time especially when Ella was around making jokes about almost anything.
"What?" Alyssa asked.
Dennise suddenly stopped admiring Alyssa too much and shook her head.
"Nothing, let's go?" Dennise asked. They were left in BEG because the captain was double-checking if the team returned the equipment they used.
"Okay." Alyssa said and gave the BEG one last look.
"Babe!" Alyssa and Dennise turned to look at who shouted. "Kasabay namin kayo mag-training?"
"Oh, hi babe," Dennise said, slightly hesitant. PJ Pareja approached them, the men's volleyball team's libero and one of his closest friends in campus. They called each other babe but they were just friends. "Katatapos lang namin, paalis na kami."
"Oh sige. Bye babe!" Dennise just waved back and she and Alyssa started walking out of the gym.
"PJ, one of my guy bestfriends. 'Yung babe, it's nothing." Dennise automatically explained.
Alyssa smiled and looked at her. "It's fine, you don't need to explain." she assured Dennise. Ofcourse Alyssa knew who PJ was, it was not like every guy could call Dennise that way like that guy. She remembered when Dennise was still ignoring her and this guy could easily get her attention. She knew PJ liked Dennise, he just never confessed. Poor guy, Alyssa suddenly wanted to tell him: I'm sorry I won her.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I mean, same position, jersey number... you seem like twins to me."
Dennise chuckled and she slipped her hand through Alyssa's and smiled then dragged her out of BEG.
"Okay, let's go babe." Dennise said then Alyssa squeezed Dennise's hand to stop her from walking. Dennise looked at her confused.
"Babe?" Alyssa asked with her forehead creased. "I'm not your friend." she said then smirked.
It was rare to see Alyssa let out her arrogant smile and Dennise always found it amusing. She chuckled again.
"Right." Dennise said. "So what do you think we should call each other then?" she asked while laughing.
"I don't know," Alyssa said. "Honeybunch? Pumpkin Pie---" she teased with a serious face.
Dennise pulled her hands and covered her ears with her hands then walked ahead of Alyssa. It was Alyssa's turn to chuckle.
"Wait, my love to the moon and back!" Alyssa followed Dennise and walked beside her.
Alyssa stopped when she saw a figure outside the gym. She decided to approach, this time it was Dennise who followed her.
The girl was taller than her, she almost backed out to ask but she still did. "Hello, can I ask, bakit mag-isa ka lang dito?" Alyssa asked when she approached the girl. The girl was kinda shocked to see her.
"Wala pa po akong kilala dito and inaantay ko po 'yung sundo ko."
"Wait. Aren't you one of the girls who tried out for the team?" tanong naman ni Dennise na nasa kabilang side ng nilapitan nila. Parang namukhaan niya 'to.
"Opo."
"That's great. By the way I'm Alyssa Valdez, part ako ng team." Alyssa introduced herself, Dennise also introduced herself then they asked the girl for her name.
"Bea de Leon po." Bea politely said and smiled at them.
"How was the try out?" Alyssa asked with a smile.
Bea told them how it went and that she was too shy to talk to others that's why Alyssa and Dennise decided to keep her company until she was picked up. They shared some random stuff about the team and the school.
"May discount na 5 pesos sa Gonzaga Hall 'pag may dala kang sariling baunan."
"'Ly that's so random." Dennise said as if she was embarrassed and Bea laughed at them.
"Sorry." Alyssa apologized shyly. "Anyway, our team has never won any championship so I'm glad you decided to try out for Ateneo."
Dumating na ang sundo ni Bea at nagpaalam na silang dalawa rito. Hinintay muna nilang makaalis si Bea bago sila umuwi.
Bea turned to look at the side mirror from the shotgun and saw Alyssa and Dennise started walking the other way, to Eliazo Dorm as what they told her. Bea knew who they were, she'd watched them in UAAP that's why she was amazed how humble they were to introduce themselves. She saw Alyssa wrapped her arms on Dennise's shoulder and Dennise wrapped her arms on Alyssa's waist as they were smiling and talking to each other. She wondered if they were a couple, if they were, Bea was glad they didn't make her feel like a third wheel, better, they didn't make her feel like a stranger to them. Just that few minutes talking to them made her feel welcome even though they were not sure she would get into the team. Bea looked in front with a smile.
"Dad I'm decided... I wanna stay here."
"Uy Par tutugtog kami sa BEG, for the Yolanda victims. Sama ka."
"Sorry, I can't leave my stall. Mag-donate na lang ako." Alyssa said. She was influenced by Jia, younger than her and one of the rookies but was already into business. Alyssa decided to have her own stall in the campus too. She was surprised how a lot of people came to buy her Chug-It. "And won't your dad know about that?" she asked.
"We played a charity game as a front." he said in a low voice grinning. "Kasama rin si Dani, siya sa cajon. She's into music now."
"That's great." Alyssa said.
"How do you know about dad pala? You met him?"
"Yeah, he told me 'bout his new job and praised me." Alyssa said and offered Kiefer a drink. "Chug-it?"
Kiefer wanted to push the conversation but he changed his mind. "Nah, mukhang 'di ko naman na kailangang bumili, sa dami ng customers mong fangirls." Kiefer teased. Alyssa just shrugged.
Alyssa shook her head when she watched the video. So Kiefer didn't want his dad to know he was gonna perform but the video was uploaded on YouTube. He even brought her sister to play.
She remembered her encounter with his Dad, a few weeks before she even had her stall. It was after their training, the team excitedly readied to go straight to the buffet.
"Alyssa."
"Sunod ako." Alyssa told Dennise. Dennise hesitated but Ella dragged her with her, she wanted to eat already.
"Sir."
"I'm the new assistant Coach of the Blue Eaglets so baka madalas na 'ko dito sa campus." Bong told her. Which was unusual, he never talked to Alyssa about anything but one thing. "I heard you're a volleyball superstar now." instead of answering it Alyssa spoke.
"I earned enough to replace my guitar."
"With what?" Bong asked. "With your earnings from Volleyball?"
Alyssa avoided his gaze, she couldn't say yes. She realized she was stupid enough to even brag about it.
"Back to Valdez," Boom commented. "Valdez!" "And that's it!"
It felt surreal, they had to beat Adamson University once, National University twice, and De La Salle University thrice to get the championship and they did it. It was not easy for a team to go through that journey they had, especially for a team who never won a single ring in the whole 75 years of UAAP. But now all the doubts were gone, they were finally able to prove they could give Ateneo a championship, finally. Their heartstrong and hardwork paid off, this was surely a history not just for Ateneo, but for the Volleyball community as well.
After that championship, the Ateneo Lady Eagles got busier and more popular than ever. They were highly requested and invited for interviews, TV guestings and other public appearances. It was really overwhelming for the team, but even the championship still had not sink in yet, they barely had a day off.
"Stop staring creep."
"Says the stalker in Greendale."
Dennise groaned. She covered her face with her pillow and face the other side of the bed. Alyssa was sitting at the end of her bed.
"I knew it! I shouldn't have told you about that."
Alyssa chuckled, they had this talk the other night. Stuff like, Dennise's past relationships, how Alyssa got into music, how Dennise stalked Alyssa back in Greendale, and other things about themselves.
Since they got busier, the two of them wasn't able to go out with just the two of them, perks of being teammates, they were always together most of the time. The only dates they had lately was in dorm, just cuddling (when Ella and Mae were not in the room), help Dennise review that Alyssa would often complain about because Dennise's handwriting was as small as the microorganisms she was studying, and Dennise watching Alyssa sleep with her notebook on her face because the latter always fell asleep first when asking her about the names of germs.
"Anyway Dennise," Alyssa said. They decided to call each other by names instead, Alyssa said she preferred calling her name which Dennise thought was either sweet or Alyssa was just lazy to think of one or not just into that kind of stuff. "it's our free day today, but are you free or you have plans? I got extra ticket-"
Dennise removed the pillow on her face and let out a poker face. "Extra ticket? Extra? How many times do I have to tell you? If you want to take me out on a date, just tell me, I'm already your girlfriend just to remind you."
"Girlfriend, woah." Alyssa covered her face with her hand as if she couldn't believe it. "Then I guess we'll call it a date." She removed her hand revealing a smirk on her face.
Dennise couldn't help but smile, sometimes Alyssa could still get awkward around her as if she was afraid she would make a wrong move but there were times where Alyssa would be too confident and catch her off guard.
"God, you're hopeless." She spread her arms, expecting a hug but Alyssa shook her head.
"Not when you're in bed," Alyssa said then looked at the door then back to her. "baka pumasok si Nanay Celia." then looked back at Dennise.
Dennise remembered that time when Nanay Celia banned them from going together alone in Alyssa's room thinking they were doing, stuff. Dennise rolled her eyes.
"As if I'd do anything to you."
"I might." Alyssa said and Dennise instantly blushed. "Kidding." she sat Dennise down on her bed. "Get up, I should take my girlfriend out on a date."
The door opened then Ella entered and instantly threw daggers at them. Alyssa took her hands off Dennise.
"Here's Nanay Ella." Alyssa whispered and Dennise almost laughed. "We didn't do anything." she told Ella.
"You looked guilty." Ella accused. Dennise rolled her eyes.
"No, we're just about to do it and you're interrupting us."
Ella let out an exasperated sigh. "Darn this couple, ni hindi niyo man lang ako hinanapan muna ng jowa bago kayo nagligawan. I still hate your shippers for cropping me out of our pictures!" she complained. "Urgh get a room!" she stormed out of the room. Alyssa and Dennise burst out laughing.
"This is our room."
Ofcourse Ella was happy they finally got together but they understood how she felt, even before they had a relationship, Alyssa and Dennise were being shipped together. Fans would edit pictures or videos of them together, they heard some of the fans wrote fanfics about them too. That's why Ella would often stand between them for a picture but she would still get cropped out.
Alyssa leaned for a kiss but Dennise moved away.
"Nope, haven't brushed my teeth yet." Dennise said and quickly got out of bed leaving Alyssa kinda hoping what she told Ella was true. Alyssa wanted to say it's fine but Dennise already left.
Alyssa wanted to make the most out of this day with Dennise since they might get busy again. She wasn't really able to plan anything except for the movie and it instantly almost failed.
Being volleyball superstars, fans recognized them right away and asked for their pictures and autographs. They were surprised with the attention they received, they expected this in the arena but not in places like mall. Perhaps they underestimated the popularity of volleyball. There were too many fans but good thing Alyssa and Dennise were able ask them for privacy.
They barely made it out. It only stopped when they entered the cinema, Alyssa hoped they were not followed here. They even had to settle to eating hotdogs and popcorn they bought from the crew selling around the cinema for lunch. The movie had not started yet because they entered early to escape the fans.
Dennise chuckled making Alyssa look at her.
"You're upset." she said.
Alyssa shook her head. "No... I'm sorry about that, should've taken you somewhere else."
Dennise squeezed her hand. "Hey it's fine, it's my first time having lunch date at the movies. Another first time." Alyssa smiled. "So what are we watching?"
"You didn't even bother to look at the title."
"'Cause anything would be fine."
Alyssa didn't tell Dennise and let her see it for herself, when the screen flashed the title: IF I STAY, Dennise looked at her with wide eyes.
"Oh!"
"When I saw it's having an adaptation, I felt we should see it." Alyssa said. "Should we watch it upside down like how you read the book or---"
"Not again 'Ly, not again." Dennise said with the deadly look in her eyes. Alyssa smiled and they watched the movie.
And then there went Alyssa's habit again. She saw Dennise seemed to enjoy Adam's voice.
"Oh, he's in a band." Alyssa commented. Dennise had an idea where this was heading. Alyssa would never brag about how great she was in playing volleyball, guitar, or singing. The only time she would do this was to compare herself to any guy linked with Dennise or any guy Dennise would pay attention to. If Alyssa were competitive in winning games, people should see how more competitive she was in winning Dennise. Dennise remembered how Alyssa started serenading her when the latter found out Myco could sing, and that time when she told Alyssa about how LA used to cook for her, then Alyssa brought her Nanay Celia's specialty she learned and tried to cook. It didn't taste good so Alyssa thought she would have her own restaurant instead, a face palm moment. Alyssa would never mention any of that to Dennise, but her actions were enough for Dennise to prove she was jealous.
"Yes and he also made a move on Mia right away." Dennise said, she saw on her peripheral vision Alyssa scratched her chin and probably thought she couldn't compete to that.
The scene was when Adam invited Mia to watch an orchestra. Adam slipped her hand through Mia's and Dennise also felt a hand in hers.
"4D experience." Alyssa muttered. Dennise snickered and shook her head. Good thing Alyssa didn't follow the next scene for 4D experience, they couldn't afford to get kicked out of the movies.
They continued watching.
"So how come you've never written a song for me?" Dennise repeated Mia's line and looked at Alyssa. "You have to answer for 4D experience."
Alyssa chuckled and looked back at her. "I haven't?"
"Have you?" Dennise asked, surprised. Alyssa smiled and turned her attention back to the screen. "Hey, have you? Was it the first song you sang to me? Or was it that song from the other night?"
Alyssa shrugged. "I don't know, did it sound like it was written for you?"
"They all sound sad," Dennise said. "now I'm not sure if I wanna know."
"Will she stay?" Alyssa asked.
"Watch 'til the end." Dennise said.
"I hope she won't leave him wondering where she went." Dennise wasn't able to figure out whether Alyssa was relating herself to Adam or just making pun of the sequel's title. "I'm really glad you stayed." then Dennise realized it was both.
"You don't have to remind me how obsessed I was with you then."
"That makes me like our story better than this."
"Of course you do, I don't wanna die?" Dennise said it like duh?
Alyssa laughed then stopped when she suddenly remembered there were other people in here too.
Dennise rubber her arms. "It's really cold in here."
"I'm pretty sure I told you we're going to see a movie, so why not bring a jacket?" Alyssa said then looked at Dennise.
Dennise stopped rubbing her arms and stared at her with a blank face. Alyssa instantly knew she made this date worse.
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a/n:
heeeey hahaha hope you enjoyed this chapter
thank you for still reading this story and for your patience hahahahaha
til next chap, i hope hindi lumagpas ng 1 month bago ma-publish
and stay safe always! :))))
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