CHAPTER 22
NICOLLE'S POV
Gasp.
It was all I got.
The second I opened the door to my unit, with Zelle, Macey and Billy all laughing behind me, my mouth hung open a little too wide. My eyes almost bulged right off their sockets. And my heart, oh my heart. Nothing. Just the normal speed.
My feet were fixed right on the floor. I couldn't even move. This was just so... shocking.
Exactly, who cleaned my unit?! Because whoever did it, is so dead. I didn’t even give him or her—whatever—the permission to enter my unit! For all I know, maybe he or she—
Hold on a few!
Blake suddenly popped out of my mind. Did he really clean this up? I mean, for Chipe’s sake, the guy couldn’t even clean his own room, let alone, my unit. Or could he?
“Wow,” was the word that brought me back to life. “Who did this?” Macey asked as she thumbed through the room.
“I know, right?” I told her, still skimming the place. I shook my head as I slowly—and dramatically, I should say—walked inside.
Zelle practically ran to the kitchen and she told us she saw, what?! Grocery items? I haven’t been in a grocery store since…
I groaned and looked at Billy and Macey. “I hate Blake.”
We all shared a look and sighed all at once. “You’re gonna have to repay that, right?” Macey asked as if reading my mind.
“That’s a bummer, Nic,” Billy commented, shrugging.
We all sat down the clean couch, looked down the clean floor and just stayed there in the clean living room, with only Zelle’s shrieks of excitement upon the grocery items (she loves food, don’t blame her) filling in the silence.
“I don’t have money,” I finally said.
And that’s when Zelle came out with a note on her hand. She waved it in front of the three of us—Billy on my right, with his hands behind his head, me in the middle with my hands clutching my cheeks, and Macey on my right, with her arms crossed over her chest—with her eyebrows shot up.
“For you,” she told me, handing the note over.
I took it and read. Rule number four, Nicolle—
Suddenly, Billy grabbed it from me and I scowled at that. “Hey!” I shouted.
“Rule number four, Nicolle,” he read then stopped. He looked at me and narrowed his eyes, questioningly.
“What was that?” Macey asked. I tried to grab the note from him but it was too late since he already handed it to Macey. God, I hate it when they’re teaming up on me!
“Give me it!” I demanded as I tried to grab the note from Macey but, obviously, with Billy snaking his arms around me, I couldn’t even get the tip of my fingertips to touch it.
Macey stood up and walked toward Zelle, who had been looking at me ever since she got out of her sanctuary a.k.a kitchen. I raised an eyebrow at the two girls who were standing about three feet in front of me. They were whispering something at each other, and maybe it was just my imagination, but… were they chuckling?!
I looked at Billy, who was still holding me, and frowned at him. He, too, was keeping himself from laughing. What are these people up to?! And what was written on the goddamn note?! “Let go!” I shouted at Billy.
“Don’t!” Macey and Zelle both opposed. I frowned and shot both of them my best death glare. Macey waved the note in front of my face and that only added to my vehemence.
I tried my best to free myself from my captor—Billy—but goddamn it, he’s a bull. When all of them stopped splitting their sides (yes, indeed, they have been laughing the whole time), Macey told Billy to let go of me.
When he did, I punched him right on the shoulder hard and narrowed my eyes at him.
I raised an eyebrow. You’re gonna pay for that.
He narrowed his eyes. Die trying.
I raised my other eyebrow. Regret.
He shook his head. Never.
“Zelle, don’t mind them. It’s just their way of trying to threaten each other,” Macey explained.
“You know what; I find it really creepy that with just glares and gapes, they could actually talk.”
“Oh, trust them with that.”
The two of them laughed and Billy and my attention were drawn to them. We both shot death looks and soon enough, they were faking coughs. Macey held the note out to me and I took it in a split second like a predator jumps in his prey.
I read the note again. Rule number four, Nicolle. I know you’ll never pay me with cash, so a date would be great.
My eyebrows scrunched as I raised the note right in front of their faces. “And what’s so funny about this?!” I snapped.
They all shared looks and I had to roll my eyes at that. “You’re so stupid, Nic,” Macey uttered.
Again, I rolled my eyes. “Look who’s talking. I remembered that time when you walked in KFC and asked for McFries. Great move, Smith,” I revealed.
Billy and Zelle laughed at that. Macey pouted and I smirked. “I was ten!” she defended.
“Still a crap.” I shrugged.
She groaned, “Fine! Nothing’s funny. We’re just making fun of you.”
“What?!”
“Time to go to bed!” Zelle interjected, stretching her arms above his head and yawning.
“Yeah. I think I’m gonna have to sleep at Zelle’s room,” Macey said. And hurriedly, they skittered towards Zelle’s room.
Billy stood up and looked at me. “I’m gonna have to go,” he told me and hurried off, but before he could escape his dreadful punishment, I caught the edge of his shirt.
“Oh, no. Not you, mister. You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on,” I said sternly.
“What?!” he asked.
For your information, I know Billy Rivers when he’s lying, when he’s reasoning out and when he’s telling the truth. And right now, he’s both first and second.
He sighed and suddenly grabbed me to hug him. “Nothing. I just… we just miss you,” he told me.
Right then, he was the third.
“I’m sorry, ok?”
We both pulled away and I looked up to him with bewilderment dancing in my eyes. “For what?” I asked.
“For telling you to break up with him,” came his fast answer.
I smiled at him. “It’s okay,”
“The guy’s not a total asshole. I talked to him, and—“ He cut what he’s saying and ruffled my hair instead.
I pouted. “What?”
“I really did miss you.”
He smiled at me. My eyes were lined by tears.
I thought I missed New York. I didn’t. I missed the people.
A lot.
Right when I was about to cry like a baby, Billy told me he would sleep on the couch so I went straight to my room.
That’s when I saw something on the back of my shirt. A paper that read:
Dick.
Those dickheads!
***
The next days were as fun as trampoulines. Time do fly when you're happy. Today was Thursday, Billy and Macey's flight. They will be leaving in a minute and I just can't stop myself from crying and being so girly and emotional. You can't blame me. I love these people. I love my best friends. Now, I was not gonna see them any sooner. I hate this feeling .
"Bye guys," I said between my sobs.
I hugged Macey so tight that I wouldn't be surprised if she died of suffocation right now. I kissed her and turned to Billy. He was smiling then he hugged me, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around like a little girl, just like what he always did and does. A chuckle escaped from my lips as he settled me on the ground.
He looked at me in the eyes and kissed my forehead. I thought I heard him say 'I love you' but maybe I was wrong. I mean, oh, nevermind. I kissed him in the cheek. He gathered me and Macey for a last quick hug. They were really leaving. I couldn't believe the six days with them were gone. I waved at them as their figures started retreating. I cried again. Gosh, I am such a girl.
"Ok ka lang?" I turned and saw Blake.
I almost forgot I was with him. I nodded slowly. My eyes were dropped on the floor so he wouldnt see how sore they were. Suddenly, he cupped my face and bent down so we we're face to face.
He smiled. "Wag ka ngang iyakin. Ang pangit mo eh."
I rolled my eyes. For all I thought, he was going to comfort me or something. Yet here he was, insulting me like I was not going to miss my best friends.
He removed his hands from my face and ruffled my messy hair that I wore down. I sighed and turned to look for Billy and Macey. They were already gone. I sighed, yet again, then walked slowly. I did not bother waiting for Blake since his long legs were gonna help him catch up, anyways. I blinked my eyes rapidly to keep tears from falling.
I am so theatrical.
I felt Blake walk beside me. I also noticed some people taking pictures of us.
Seriously?
This guy was really famous. I was silent the whole time and so was he. We went straight to the parking lot and drove home using his pick up truck.
Actually, we're not heading home.
“Where we going?“ I asked as we were turning left.
“I dont know,“ came his fast reply. I rolled my eyes. This boy really was clueless. He does everything without plans on his sleeve.
I slept during the whole drive and when I felt him pull over, I opened my eyes slowly. Oh shit. What's this?! I was staring at an old, abandoned, creepy building that was staring back at us. This was scary as hell. I turned to look at Blake.
"What the hell?" I asked. He just smirked then turned the engine off. He climbed down the truck and I followed suit. "No, seriously. What are we doing here?" I asked again. He walked toward the bulding and I tilted my head to the side at that. Thanks for the answer, mister.
I followed him as I was literally shaking inside my boots. I never thought the city has got something really, really bothering to look at.
"Dali!" he shouted as he looked at me over his shoulder.
I stopped for a while then ran as fast as I could to him. I gripped the back of his shirt hoping that if a monster came out of nowhere, it will attack him first and I can get the opportunity to escape and save my damn life. Really kind of me, eh?
"Bl...ake?" I whispered. "What are we doing here?"
My heart started beating faster as I felt the creepiness swell even more. It's dark and creepy. Ok, the word creepy have been said enough for today. But come on! This place was creepy.
I was still gripping the back of his shirt, biting my lip. A scream exited my mouth when something fell from something. I closed my eyes shut and pressed my body closer against him. I heard him chuckle. Chuckle? Chuckle? What the?!
He turned to me and a smirk was playing on his lips. "Pusa lang yon!" he said between his laughter.
I shot him my death glare. Gosh, I could've died of cardiac arrest and he would laugh at me?! What kind of human is he? Is he even human?! I sighed as my heartbeat started slowing down.
"Amgirl," he started off. He was looking at me in the eyes and, I know, all he could see was my 'you suck' face. "..aakyat lang tayo sa rooftop. 'Wag kang mag alala. Madalas kami dito."
I rolled my eyes but nodded, nonetheless. There's pretty much nothing I could do about it. I mean, Blake wouldn't accompany me to the car now, would he? I was gripping the back of his shirt the whole time until we reached the rooftop.
Wow, not so bad. The view here is quite good. I could see almost the whole city. The rooftop was surrounded by handrails so I thought it will be safe. I let go of Blake's shirt and followed him as he sat down, our feet hanging. My hands were holding the handrails. Well, just in case. Thinking of taking a picture, I searched for my phone in the front pocket of my jeans. Gosh, I forgot it in the truck.
Blake caught my attention by clearing his throat. "Nakikita mo yung school?" he asked.
I nodded my head and looked at him. Who would miss that school? It was so huge you can see it from New York.
"Anjan siya sa Class A ng city. Lahat ng mga establishments at bahay 7.5 kilometer radius from it, Class A," he continued. I turned again to look at the city. So, I was living in Class A, huh?
He pointed at a tower. "10 kilometer radius from that tower, excluding yung mga nasa Class A, 'yan yung Class B." He pointed at a huge building. "15 kilometer radius away from that , excluding Class A and Class B, ayan yung class C." He paused. "15 kilometer radius away from this bulding, excluding Classes B and C, Class D." He looked at me with a blank expression.
"Why is it like that?" I asked. That's quite unfair, right? I mean, the people from Class A get all the goodies while the people from the lower classes get less and less. "What's the difference in living in Class A, B, C or D?" I continued.
He sighed. "Walang difference. Ganito lang pinagawa ng Mama ni Luke para para maayos yung view niya pagka nakahelicopter siya. Pare-pareho lang naman ang buhay ng mga tao dito sa city. Walang unfair. Fair lahat."
I don't think so, I thought to myself. Nothing's really fair. I wanted to tell him that but I refused to argue.
I sighed, instead. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Hindi ko alam kung paano simulan ang conversation eh," he told me.
I raised my eyebrows at that. He could've asked if I'm ok with this, that'll be the best way to start the conversation. But whatever. It doesn't matter anyways.
The shade of the setting sun touched our skins and gave a bright orange color to the sky. My hair flies with the wind. There's no noise heard up here. Wow, this is romantic. I suddenly felt awkward and to why, I had no idea.
I really don't know where this was going to and I wasn't in the mood to start a conversation. I brought my feet back to the ground and let go of the hand rails. I turned around and leaned against the rails. I closed my eyes slowly , sighing. I felt tired.
Blake still got his feet between the rails hanging, and his hands on the back of his head. I slowly leaned my head on his shoulder and I felt him move. My head jerked back up to look at him. He was copying my position. He smiled at me and put his arm around my shoulder and in the process, moving me closer to his side.
I leaned my head on his shoulder again.
"Masaya ka ba?" he asked out of the blue. This guy's stupid. And dense. Yes, he's dense. Of course, I am happy. I nodded in response and he shot me another question. "Gusto mo ba talaga ako?"
I sighed and nodded slowly. I felt like telling him the truth. One way or another he would and should know, right? And I guess there's no better time than now. A smile spread across my face as I felt his lips on the top of my head. I closed my eyes. "How about you?" I asked.
"Syempre, masaya ako."
"No, I mean, Do.. do you really like me?" My heart throbbed so much faster after I asked him that question. What if he said no? What would I do? What would I say? What would I feel? I gulped and realized that the question I asked was half a wishful thinking and half deadly.
His answer would either make me or break me. But that doesn't make the truth any more or any less than what it is. It's the truth. It's as permanent as change.
It's life.
We both stayed quiet for a few minutes. That's okay. I promised to give him time to figure things out. Like what I said, he was just half ready.
I opened one eye and saw how dark it is. The only light we have were the lamp posts around the rooftop. I discreetly looked at him as he was staring at me, smiling. I closed my eye again and moved closer to him. Everything will be okay if we take it slowly; this is what I thought until I finally caught a nap.
I woke up to the heating of my face. It felt like something was blocking the wind from sweeping through it. I slowly opened my eyes, still feeling sleepy. The moment my eyes were opened, I saw Blake's face right in front of mine. His eyes were closed, he was smiling.
"Blake?" I called out. He opend his eyes and moved his face closer to mine. My heart beat faster. Our noses were touching. Are we going to kiss? He sighed and closed his yes, one of his hands cupping my face. Our foreheads touched. I looked down to my hands then looked back at his beautiful, gorgeous face.
I love him.
Just before our lips touched, I was startled by a loud sound. It was an explosion. And of course, I screamed right in front of his face. Panicking, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. It took me a second or two to realize that that was the sound of my favorite thing in the world.
Fireworks.
I sighed and redeemed myself from the shock. I let go of Blake.
"Eto na yon." He smiled. He stood up and offered his hand to me. I took it and we both turned to watch the fireworks. From up here, I saw the lights of the buldings and towers and the houses were just like minatures. I like the view here. But what makes it special is that Blake was here with me.
He held my hand which was placed on the top of the hand rails. I looked at him and smiled. "How did you know about this?" I asked, still watching the explosion of different colors in the dark sky.
"I did this," he said. "Sabi ni Macey gustong gusto mo daw ng mga fireworks. Ok na ba to?" he continued. Is he kidding me? This was beyond 'ok'. This was okay-er. Or okay-est. Whatever. It's just so plain perfect.
A few minutes have passed when I realized I couldn't take it anymore.
I just couldn't.
I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him down to me. I kissed him. He didn't expect that, of course. With all of his wide eyes, I could say that he was pretty shocked. Well, not pretty shocked. He was really shocked.
I felt him smile against my lips. He wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me off my feet, kissing me back passionately. It was one of the best feelings in the world. The best was diving in a chocolate pool but given the moment, it didn't matter.
I closed my eyes.
His lips danced perfectly, impeccably, and flawlessly with mine.
His lips.
My lips.
His kiss.
I felt loved and needed. And all that is because of his kiss.
Blake Perez's kiss.
He settled me back on the ground and put his forehead against mine. We were breathless, but still smiling.
It was our first real kiss.
The fireworks were still in the scene but not in the real scene. He sighed.
"I love you. Ever since that day you called me monster, I never stopped thinking about you. It was barely two months but you made me love you like...like I haven't loved anyone before you. I love you, Nicolle. I love you. I love you. I love you so much."
A tear rolled down my face.
I didn't see that coming.
He planted a quick kiss on my lip then smiled at me. Just before I could speak, he put a finger against my lips. "That time... sabi mo sakin. If you kiss me, that means you love me."
I tried to remember but I can't. But who cares, I love him, he loves me. The end. We were going to live happily ever after. "You'll never leave me again, right?" I asked quietly. He nodded and I know he meant it.
It was real.
Not pretend.
I AM OFFICIALLY BLAKE'S.
****
I woke up to the sound of my phone's alarm. I slowly opened my eyes. Right, it's been a month and a half since Billy and Macey left. Of course, being all this sleepy on a Monday morning, I've got no energy to tell everything that happened. Just the one word summary will do.
FUN.
Within almost two months, not many things have happened. First with Blake, we would always go out on a 'date'. But it's more like 'hanging out'. We would always argue about some silly things. We fuzz and fight. Although, the fights were not serious fights like before. We're ok.
Andrew. The usual. Mysterious and silent. Luke. There was something that kind of changed in him. He was slowly drifting away from his player ways and started chasing Zelle around. Zelle? I don't know if it was Zelle or some other girl. But one thing's for sure: Luke and Zelle growing closer to each other. Krungy and Zelle were just the same. Actually, they've been so close to each other.
I was right that Krungy would like Zelle.
As I slowly sat up straight, my cellphone rang. I looked at my phone. Damn! Could Luke be any more irritating?! I mean, he was being a creepy stalker. He would call me 24/7 to ask about Zelle. Why the hell would he not call Zelle instead, right?
Well, a lot of times, he would ask about Krungy and not Zelle. Maybe they're gonna plan some stupid pranks.
Freak!
I answered my phone hesitantly. And I was kind enough to greet him with a groan and not a polite 'hello' (note the sarcasm). There was silence on the other line. I rolled my eyes at that and groaned louder. I hate Luke!
"Amgirl!" My eyes grew wide as the familiar voice crept in my ears. This is not Luke. I know Luke's voice. Another moment of silence covered us and slowly I realized whose voice that was.
"Hey, what's up, Blake?" I responded with my sleepy voice.
I slowly stood from my loving, caring bed and yawned. "Nakalimutan ko yung phone ko dun sa front desk kagabi. Kunin mo!" A frown made its way to my face. What.the.hell.
He would call me early in the morning to ask me to get his phone?! What a slave freaking driver!
"You're going to pay for this," I warned in the sweetest voice I can manage at this time of the day. I hung up immediately and went straight to the shower. Zelle went to some place called Baguio for a family reunion thingy. And she will be there for, at most, 1 week; which means, I have to survive with my cooking for a week. Tragic.
After I took a shower, I went straight to the elevator and pushed the button to get me to the ground floor. I was walking like an emotionless zombie. Or was that redundant because we all know that zombies are emotionless? Oh, forget it. I'm just freaking tired to be walking this early. I mean, classes will not start in 45 minutes. God, I hate Blake.
I went straight to the receptionist. "Good morning," I greeted her. She greeted me back with a smile that would almost rip her face apart. What's the matter with friendly people? I could almost see her wisdom tooth. "Uhh. Mind if I ask you about a phone that some guy called Blake Perez left here?"
She raised a finger up telling me to wait as she picks the ringing phone up. I rolled my eyes at that. Why would people make 'not so morning people' wait? I scanned her desk and saw a black iPhone. Great. That was Blake's. I grabbed it and mumbled a thanks to the receptionist who have forgotten to pay attention to me.
The short trip back to the elevator was a mess. I tripped down the hallway and became friendly with the floor. Everyone has got their eyes locked on me as I was making out with the floor. I got up and pretended like nothing had happened. I walked back confidently. But deep down inside, I was praying for a hole to swallow me down and a magic powder that would make people forget about what happened to me. Bad freaking morning.
I hate Monday mornings!
I waited for the 5th elevator to open. I closed my eyes as I entered it. "Shit, that was freaking embarassing as hell," I murmured to myself.
"What?"
I jumped the life out of me with that. I thought I was the only one inside. It took me a few seconds to realize it was Andrew. I shook my head slightly then grimaced. "Sorry," he said with an apologetic look on his face.
"That's okay." I smiled. It was just a few days back when I learned that Andrew also lived in the same building that I was living in. If Zelle hadn't found out, I would never know. I was expecting him to push the number 3 button to which floor my room was located. But no, he pushed the 50.
"Tryin' to kill morning boredom were you?" I joked. He looked at me with a serious expression. Whoa. What was that? He never showed me that face unless he was going through something. I gulped. "50 floor's not that bad," I added and managed to chuckle, albeit nervously.
He still was wearing the same facial expression. Everything felt awkward. I never felt awkward with him. Not Andrew. We were 'best friends'. I blew out a breath that I didn't know I was holding then scratched the back of my head. I looked up.
We're on the 10th floor. Already?
"Let's just ride 40 more floors, Nicolle."
Finally, words!
The serious expression faded away and a smile washed over his face. I sighed in relief. For a second, I thought Andrew was possessed by a serial killer's ghost. With that face, I thought he was going to murder me in this not so classy elevator. We passed 11th, 12th, 13th floor.
Suddenly, Andrew took hold of my hand. I didn't let go even if I wanted to. I didn't want to offend him. Although, I still got that thing for Andrew, I didn't want to cheat on Blake. I didn't want to hurt Blake.
But I didn't want to hurt Andrew, either. Screw it.
Shit like this ruins my life.
"It will take only a few mnutes. When we reach the rooftop, I swear, I'll let go."
I nodded. He held my hand tighter. The awkardness was doubled. I wanted to say something but words died at my throat before I even know what words those were. We passed the 20th floor.
"30 more floors, Nicolle."
Silence. We passed the 35th floor.
"That night. The night of Kirsty's birthday party. I was about to say I like you. And not your dress. I know it was a short time to fall in love with someone. But...."
36th floor
"...that's what you did to me."
37th floor.
"Everytime I see you. You make me forget everything. You're... you're killing me. I love you and it hurts. It hurts so much."
38th floor.
"It hurts so much when you're with Blake. It hurts so much that I'm not the one making you happy."
39th floor.
He held my hand even tighter and my heart was beating at the fastest speed.
"Why didn't we try? Why didn't we try to be more than what we are?"
40th foor.
"It's wrong. I know. This is all wrong. I can't take you away from Blake. From my best friend."
41st floor.
"I can't take away my best friend's happiness."
42nd floor.
"Or your happiness."
43rd floor.
"Just 7 more and I will let go of you."
44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th.
"Nicolle, I don't know how to say this...but I have to say this. This is wrong, but this feels right. I can't leave this. Not like this, no."
49th.
"I can't.... I can't take it anymore, Nicolle..."
50th.
"Nicolle Lee, I love you."