Philip rested his head on his desk in the morning. Despite the potential of breaking his neck,he still kept it that way. Indo,Malay and Vietnam were sitting around him.
"So...Where WERE you last night?"Vietnam asked,a bit unenthusiastic but still curious.
"Mmh...I stayed with Russia,again."Philip mumbled.
"That's the second time now,Phil. It's gonna become normal if it's frequent,y'know?"Malay said.
"It happened TWICE. Alright?Just two times."Philip held up his fingers.
"Philip,those are five fingers,not two."Indo pointed out.
"Whatever..."
The teacher walked in. The students paused for a bit,then hurried back to their chairs. Since it's only been paperwork for the past few weeks,the class didn't expect their teacher to be there.
But most of the preparations for the Fall Party were finished,and teachers can return to their respective class without interruptions from meetings.
"Okay...I hope you didn't miss me too much."Sr. Lander said."But I'm sure you missed class. We won't be having homeroom this morning,so get out your Math books and turn to page 87."
Groans and whines filled the room. Philip yawned before turning his book to the new lesson and slapped himself awake.
After morning classes,Philip followed his friends to the cafeteria. With hands in his pockets,he strode through the corridor,looking at the different students there.
"Hey!"someone called,and the Filipino felt a hand grab his wrist.
"Hm?Yes?"Philip turned his head.
A familiar face stood behind him. Philip tried to remember where he'd seen this guy. After a moment of silence and processing,Philip perked up.
"It's you!"Philip said.
Remember those group of guys that were complimenting Philip's picture from Japan's camera?He's the one named Marcus.
Brown hair and brown eyes. He had this smirk and looked deeply into Philip's eyes. It made the student uncomfortable. And his friends stopped to see what was happening.
"Is something wrong?"Indo inquired.
"Ah!I'm sorry for disturbing you. It's just...Can I talk to Philip?"Marcus said.
"Privately?"Vietnam tilted his head.
"Uhh...Not exactly. I just need to talk to him."
Philip felt a hand slip towards his palm,tickling him a bit. Marcus slid his hand down to hold Philip's and looked him in the eyes.
"Do you need something from me?"Philip asked.
"Yeah...About Japan's picture. I took a while,but I found out it was actually you in the photo."Marcus told.
"Oh...Ohhhh...Sorry if I made you feel awkward about it."Philip apologized,sweatdropping a bit.
"No worries. But it's not just that."
Marcus tightened his grip on Philip's hand. Indo,Malay and Vietnam noticed,and stepped closer,surrounding the two.
The trio glared at Marcus to keep him from doing anything stupid. They're threatening him in a way without using words. But the human ignored them.
"Can I see the love letters?"Marcus asked.
"What?..."
"The love letters you received."
Philip blinked twice before pulling out the folded piece of paper in his pocket. He handed it over to the student who asked for it.
Marcus skimmed the letter then smiled and sighed through his nose. He folded the paper and lifted up Philip's hand.
He placed the folded paper in the middle of the Filipino's palm,and pushed his fingers to close him hand. With a kiss on Philip's hand,Marcus smiled flirtatiously at the other.
"I'm your secret admirer."Marcus confessed.
The four friends stared at him before Philip's face started to heat up. He raised a brow and was pretty surprised. But it wasn't only them who was shocked.
Nearby students were stunned. It was silent in the hallway,and the silence sent suspicions to other students,who also fell quiet.
A burst of cheering and squealing broke that silence. The girls were giggling and hopping around,excited and blushing.
The letter had been big news since the students haven't heard of a love story for a long time.
Marcus Woodland. He's a pretty popular guy with the girls because of his charming looks. Of course,there were some girls that were jealous of Philip. But some were okay with moving on and supported it.
"You're so lucky!"they said.
"I wish I were you."they said.
Philip was frozen in his spot. This was the first time he ever had someone confess to him. His friends were just as surprised.
Sure,they'll admit that Philip definitely has the beauty that can enchant people with. But out of all the people that could've fallen for it,they never expected MARCUS.
"...Y-You mean it?"Philip asked in a meek voice.
"Of course!"Marcus gave a smirk.
And look who happened to pass by. Russia stood there in shock. He completely forgot about the letters!But he quickly shook it off.
A love letter DOES mean that someone likes the person who received the gesture of love. But it still hurted,though.
Russia's siblings watched behind him. They weren't fully aware of Russia's feelings towards Philip,so they didn't really pay much attention to it.
"Sheesh...People these days,making such a ruckus just because someone confessed."Ukraine deadpanned.
"It's called support AND excitement."Bela countered,crossing her arms.
"Yeah,yeah."Ukraine rolled her eyes."Let's just go,I'm hungry."
"Hey,Rus?You okay,big bro?"Zak asked,placing a hand on his sibling's shoulder.
Kazakhstan felt Russia flinch. Zak furrowed his brows and widened his eyes a little. Was he that deep in thought to suddenly flinch like that?The last time he did was when...
"Russia?Hey,you good there?"Zak asked.
"Huh?...Yeah,yeah,I'm fine. It's just...The hunger's getting to me,that's all."Russia smiled nervously.
"...Okay."Zak mumbled.
He was a bit suspicious of his brother,but didn't want to pry. It'd be better off if it was ignored,considering the expression Russia has.
Zak didn't know what was wrong,but whatever Russia's going through,he's gonna help him cheer up. So with a pat on the back,Zak placed his arm around Russia and led him to the cafeteria.
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Philip was sipping on his juice box with a look of constipation. Vietnam was fanning him while Malay rubbed circles on his back. Indo stood behind the three,looking at Marcus.
He was surrounded by girls who were "congratulating him"(*trying to get his attention). Marcus was looking at them in a way that told Indo that Marcus was enjoying the attention,AND the girls.
When Marcus caught Indo staring,he smiled innocently at him. Suddenly,that tempting look turned into an awkward kind of shy look.
That just made Indo MORE suspicious and glared at him. He just sighed and looked back at his friends.
"I'm not sure if Marcus really wrote that letter."Indo admitted.
"Me,too. I mean,look at him."Malay gestured to the student,who was now flirting with girls and winking at them.
"I'm pretty sure he doesn't really like you like that."Vietnam lowered his voice."I heard him saying he's not into guys."
Philip grunted at the comments of his friends. It couldn't be helped. All those assumptions were pretty much true. The Filipino turned his gaze at Marcus.
He definitely looked like the playboy type. Philip groaned and stood up,bringing the sucked out juice box with him.
"I'll be back."he told his friends.
Philip walked over to the bin and tossed his rubbish into the trash. When he turned around,a bunch of questions attacked him.
"Are you and Marcus official?"
"Will you and Marcus be dating now?"
"Do you like Marcus,too?"
They poked their pens towards Philip that they used to pretend that they were mics. The Filipino scowled. He was clearly bothered.
"Please,leave me alone."Philip covered his face to prevent any more poking.
Philip felt his heart drop when a hand grabbed him on the waist and pulled him away.
"Alright,alright,take it easy,everyone."Marcus called,holding up his hand.
"But we want to know."one of the girls whined.
"Don't worry. I'll answer any inquiries you have later."Marcus told,holding the girl's chin and winking at her.
That earned Marcus shrieks and squeals. At least he saved Philip from the crowd. But what was making Philip uneasy was the fact that Marcus was holding his waist.
The student pulled the Filipino to an empty hallway to be alone. Philip tried to pull away the hand from his body,but Marcus was pretty strong.
After walking away from the crowded cafeteria,Marcus pinned Philip to a wall. It made the Pinoy blush,but still made him uncomfortable.
"So...You wanna tell them?"the confessor asked,grinning.
"Tell them what?"Philip retorted.
"That we're together now."Marcus answered as if it was obvious.
"What?!"
Philip pushed Marcus away. Yes,he blushed when he confessed. Yes,he's feeling butterflies right now. But they've just met.
"No way. I haven't even returned your feelings yet."Philip told.
"Yet. That means you'll EVENTUALLY return it."Marcus rubbed his thumb on Philip's bottom lip.
"...I-I didn't think much about my words. I didn't mean-"Philip was cut off when the latter placed his finger on his lips.
"Shh...It's alright."Marcus whispered.
"Philip!"
The two turned their heads towards the voice. Indo,Malay and Vietnam came hurrying over to the hallway. They paused when they saw Philip.
Now that he had the chance,Philip escaped Marcus and ran over to his friends. He didn't hear any footsteps behind him,but it doesn't mean he could relax NOW.
The Filipino gripped on Malay's sleeve when he reached the three. Philip's friends escorted him back to the cafeteria,sending a glare to the student by the wall when they turned.
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Philip was curled up under a tree in the school's courtyard. He needed some time alone,especially with MARCUS on his tail.
It was a peaceful afternoon. Classes were done,the sun lit up the place and birds chirped from the distance. A gentle breeze helped Philip calm down. It was all nice.
"Hey!Philip,right?"a female called.
Oh,dear. Philip opened his eyes. The serene moment was interrupted by a voice and the sound of footsteps on the grass.
The disturbed student looked up. A girl was approaching him with two other females. She had white,straight hair,red eyes and a look that told Philip she was pissed.
"Oh...It's you. Nekomi,right?"Philip asked,trying to be nice.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not here for that."the Japanese crossed her arms.
"Then what are you here for?"Philip asked.
"I want you to stay away from Marcus."Nekomi demanded.
Philip suddenly perked up at this request. He was expecting a girl to come up to him and say the same thing out of jealousy,but he didn't expect NEKOMI to do it. Doesn't she have a boyfriend?
"Listen,I'm sure you have other things to do,so I'll make it snappy. I don't want to see you going near Marcus,you hear?"Nekomi said.
"Why?"the Filipino said in a weak voice.
"Why?Because he doesn't like you."
Something snapped when Philip heard those words. He already knew that and heard the same thing from his friends,but to hear Nekomi saying it?It hurts.
"That's right. He's not interested in you in any way other than getting popular. Students here haven't read a good story in a while from school,and Marcus knows it. A love story between a popular student and a transferee is something to use to stir up some excitement,don't you think?"
"....So-"
"So that means he's only using you. Once he gets his popularity points,he'll dump you. Now do me a favor and stay away from that man."
Philip scowled. Why was Nekomi acting like this?She has a BOYFRIEND. She doesn't have a crush on Marcus,does she?The student turned around.
"You BETTER keep your distance,unless you want SOMEONE to get hurt."Nekomi threatened.
"Okay."Philip whispered.
"Yeah!Better obey her. Or else!"one of the girls told.
"That's right!...M-Marcus is ours!"the other one exclaimed,making Nekomi flinch.
"Emilia!Bethany!Let's go."the Japanese girl snapped.
With that,the three left. Philip watched as they disappeared. He couldn'r believe his ears. MILLIONS of assumptions flooded his mind. But one question stood out from it all.
"Is Nekomi...Is Nekomi jealous?"
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