"Everyone, please gather up at the pavilion" the announcer's voice amplified the entire villa at 7PM.
Paige has decided that she can probably make it without a date.
So if Kent would see this episode, he will know that he doesn't have to be bothered by any guy near her.
But before the night could start, Paige has to start gathering up the courage to walk in there.
Social gatherings scare Paige. A lot.
She's been sitting on the floor for a while now, hesitating. Mostly, still hoping that she can talk to a friend like Pablo.
But Pablo and the others must already be meeting up at the pavilion now. With their own dates.
"We expect a complete number in 5 minutes" the talking amplifying device begins the countdown.
Paige stands up and takes one last look in the mirror.
That's one 1 minute passing by.
She goes for the door, clicking it open and checks her surroundings before coming out: there's only an empty hallway.
2 minutes went by just like that.
Paige walks her ballet flats down the stairs. She hears muffled music now. Which means she's getting closer to the venue.
3 minutes down.
As Paige nears the open space by the garden, she sees colorful lights from the distance and sparkly, body-hugging dresses that highlighted different curves.
In 4 minutes, she's close enough to the scene, observing backyard fairy lights and all forms of laughter and voices.
Paige steps out, outdoor lights illuminating her unexpected presence at the party.
5 minutes up.
She made it. She's here. Facing a sea of people.
Overwhelmed, she feels like she's glued on the ground, accepting various looks that judged her.
Some scowls, some hides their surprise, some fakes their smiles, some laughed at who knows what, some continuously chattered and some had interrupted conversations.
Paige saw that the boys manage to find each of their own dates. And all of them look well-behaved in tux.
Probably swapped perfumes so that their scent would match the look they went for tonight.
Then, there's Erin, walking very beautifully right in the middle of the crowd, waltzing with Felip.
Paige's feet are still ice. She couldn't move at all, not knowing what to do next.
Luckily, Justin and his date were heading towards her with their soft smiles "Paige?!"
Justin yells above the music that it caught some attention.
Felip, mid-dance with Erin, is suddenly dead on his tracks, his eyes are now connected with Paige.
Felip's mouth opens a little as if he's about to say something but decided against it.
In order to respect his date, Felip made sure he isn't staring at Paige for too long. So he tries to focus back to Erin.
Justin's date happens to be the nice girl who have talked to her about the first task during the first night at the villa.
Paige realizes she hasn't officially met her.
"Hi, Paige. Mitch pala..." (Hi, Paige. I'm Mitch, by the way) Mitch is a tall, pretty girl who looks very soft spoken and sincere.
Even if Paige already had a great deal of meeting women who only pretend to be her friend ever since she joined the show, she finds herself trusting Mitch.
Unlike the first phony friend Paige met on the plane, Erin, Mitch happens to be nicer.
"Okay ka lang ba? Bakit mag-isa ka?" (Are you okay? Why did you go alone?) Mitch becomes the first girl from this TV series who's ever checked up on Paige.
Justin excuses himself so the two can have a girl time.
"Medyo nag-aadjust pa kasi ako eh. First time ko kasi sa ganito" (I'm still adjusting. This is a first time for me) Paige can't help but to check on the gown she's wearing.
"Di ka ba nagtataka na hindi ikaw yung date ni Ken?" (Aren't you curious that Felip didn't ask you out?) Mitch kicks off with the 'girl talk' that Paige knew was coming sooner.
Paige is still trying to get used to her gown that she almost wasn't paying too much attention to what Mitch said "Ah. Hindi naman" (Oh. Yeah, no)
"Bakit? Di mo ba napapansin na baka type ka nya?" (Why? Haven't you noticed that maybe he's into you?) Mitch nudges Paige a little, waggling her eyebrows up and down.
"Naku. Hindi siguro. Alam ko hindi sila pwede mag entertain ng romantic feelings" (Yeah, right. Those boys? For all I know, their managers will never allow them to entertain romantic feelings anyway) Paige abruptly debunks Mitch's conspiracy theories.
"Sabagay" (You have a point) Mitch nods her head a few times, agreeing. But somehow, there is a tinge of sadness in her words.
"Oh my gosh" Mitch is frozen in her tracks, pointing at a few Filipino celebrity guest appearances.
One of the Filipino actors Paige noticed was Marco Gallo.
Joshua Garcia is here too.
Donny Pangilinan as well as a few others that Paige doesn't recognize anymore.
Paige wouldn't have noticed it. But now that she does, her uneasiness started coming back.
"Let's go say hi!" Mitch comes up with the worst idea out of the blue.
Before Paige could even turn down Mitch's plan, Mitch has already held her hand and started pulling her towards Marco Gallo.
"Hi, Marco!" Mitch randomly greets the actor who is pouring wine on a glass at a charcuterie table.
Marco Gallo replies way too confidently "Do you guys drink?"
Mitch and Paige answered synchronously
"Yes" is what Mitch said and "no" was what Paige said.
Paige doesn't know what to do with the glass that THE Marco Gallo has already poured wine into.
"Don't worry. Wine lang to" (It's just wine. Don't worry) Marco says with assurance while handing Paige a glass.
Then, he pours another one for Mitch.
Justin comes in and pulls out Mitch for a dance.
Leaving Paige with Marco.
"So..." Marco smiles with his eyes. Paige has seen him do it in his movies. Many times.
It's what drive Marco's fangirls crazy.
"Uhm..." Paige is now on an entire level of mental block. It's like she suddenly doesn't know how to speak.
Paige doesn't know how or why but it somehow charmed Marco, thankfully.
"If hindi ka umiinom, pwede naman dance nalang" (If you don't know how to drink, I can just ask you to dance) Marco is shockingly friendly.
"Malas mo. Di din ako marunong sumayaw" (Well, that's super unlucky. Because I don't know how to dance either) Paige blushes.
"Come on" Marco offers Paige his hand "It's not that hard"
Marco escorts Paige where other pairs are slow dancing.
Do all male celebrities have to smell so damn good all the time?
"Wala kang date tonight?" (How come you didn't go with a date tonight?) Marco guides Paige as they step from side to side.
"Hmm... siguro hindi ko lang priority?" (Hmm... I guess it's just not a priority?) Paige lied. But the real reason is she just doesn't want Kent to think she's available for other guys.
"Ah. So 'studies first' type..." (Ah. Don't tell me you're the 'studies first' type) Marco teaches Paige where their hands should be placed when dancing waltz.
"Yeah" Paige doesn't even know how to look at Marco in the eye.
"That's too bad" Marco, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of Paige.
This makes Paige look at him eye-to-eye.
"Mukha ka pa namang bride" (You look like you could make a nice bride tonight) Wait. Is Marco Gallo flirting with her? "Too bad walang groom" (Too bad there's not a worthy groom)
Paige is speechless, her eyes are looking at Marco's eyes for something to say.
Before Marco could take the conversation any deeper, Josh comes in like a savior.
"Hey, bro" Josh pats Marco on the shoulder "Is it okay if I dance with her?"
"Sure, bro" Marco gives Paige one last look before heading back to the wine table.
Finally someone comfortable to hang out with. Paige thought.
"Josh nga po pala, what's yours?" (I'm Josh. What's your name again?) Josh teases Paige, holding out his hand to introduce himself again.
He looks good in white. It looks and smells clean.
"Siraulo" (Dweeb) Paige rolls her eyes, laughing as the two of them get close to dance.
Josh took in Paige's transformation as they sway in the music "Sorry kung sinalo na kita don ah? Mukhang mapapaaway na kasi yung isa eh" (Sorry if I had to snatch you out of there. Someone looked like he was ready to punch a dude in the face)
Despite a big change in the way Paige looks, Josh will always be able to recognize Paige by her distinctive cologne.
But Paige's eyes searches for Felip.
Finally, she sees Felip leaning on a mobile bar beside Erin, looking at Marco up and down from a distance.
Josh notices it too, laughing "Kanina pa sya ganyan" (He's been like that for a while now)
"Baliw talaga yan" (He's crazy) Paige shakes her head once and looks back at Josh "Pero thank you ah? Savior ka" (But thank you. You're a hero.)
"Sino naman kasing hindi makakapansin. Sige nga?" (I mean, who wouldn't notice this? Huh?) Josh twirls Paige around to get a better look at her "Kung pwede lang i-derecho sa simbahan to eh" (I'd wife that up if I could)
"Mapapatay lang ako ng mga fans nyo hoy" (Your fans are going to kill me) Paige jokes back.
"Ayan na pala yung groom eh" (Here comes your groom) Josh looks behind Paige...
Is Kent here?
As Paige turns around, Felip is making his way between all the dancing people, walking towards her.
The song, "About You" by The 1975, starts playing.
In just a quick second, Josh already fled the scene to go back to his original date.
"Yo" is so typical of Felip to say and Paige finds it a little funny.
This quiet guy, trying his best to look brave, always trying to look like he belongs to a conversation that he doesn't want to be in.
Even from a tiny distance, Paige recognizes his signature scent.
But before Felip could close the distance for their slow dance, the music stops and the pesky announcement speaker breaks everyone up:
"To conclude the night, we formally announce the elimination of two girls..."
Paige could almost hear everyone's nervous heartbeats through the deafening silence.
"Mitch and Krisha will both be saying their goodbyes tomorrow."
What in the world is going on?