Chapter 7
Tulala lang ako.
We're already here in their hideout. Hindi ko pa rin makalimutan ang ginawa niya kanina, he saved me from them.
And my heart couldn't stop from beating so fast!
The way he saved me kanina. He's acting like my knight in shining armor. Everything fell into slow motion, and i can only hear my heart beating so loudly and fast.
"Are you okay?"
I was back to my senses when i heared his voice. Napatingin ako sakaniya at hindi ko maiwasang malula sa lapit ng mukha niya saakin. I can feel my face heat up.
What is happening to me?
"Huh?"
He frowned.
"Tinatanong kita kung ayos ka lang?"
Agad naman akong tumango, i showed him my thumbs up.
"Ayos na ayos." i smiled.
His forehead creased even more. Kaya napailing ako at inayos ang sarili. I breathe deeply before facing him again.
"I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" he frowned.
"Yep." sagot ko.
Kumalabog ang pinto at sabay kaming napatingin ni Drexzel sa papasok pa lang na bandmates niya, syempre kasama ang kapatid ko.
"I heared what happened." wika ng kapatid ko.
I rolled my eyes.
"You let them bully you? Where's my feisty sister go?" he raised his brows on me.
"I didn't let them, i was about to make ganti but Drexzel came and act like a hero." sabi ko naman.
Drexzel frowned.
"What do you mean by that? Sana hindi na lang ako dumating para makaganti ka."
Umiling naman ako.
"That's not what i meant! Ang sinasabi ko lang hindi na ako nakaganti kasi nandiyan ka na."
Nagtawanan naman ang bandmates nila. Sinamaan ko naman sila ng tingin. Umirap ako at muling humarap sa kapatid ko.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure? I can tell mom about this." sabi niya.
Mas lalo akong napairap sakaniya.
"You think she will believe me? Baka isipin niya pa na ako ang nagsimula ng gulo and deserve kong mabully dahil bully rin ako." i hissed.
"Chloe." mariing tawag niya.
"Whatever. I'm going." sabi ko at diretso nang lumabas.
Bumalik na ako sa klase ko pero iyong isip ko lumilipad kung saan. I remembered again what Drexzel did earlier, he just saved me. And i am feeling that butterfly in stomach effect...
That means, kinikilig ako...
Hindi maalis sa isipan ko ang ginawa niya hanggang sa makauwi na ako sa penthouse niya. I think, i'm in the mood to clean the whole house without any complaints!
I am going crazy! I shouldn't feel like this!
Isang beses pa lang naman niya akong niligtas but i am acting as if he's been saving me for the long time. Dapat hindi ako kiligin sa simpleng pagligtas niya saakin doon.
"Chloe, stop assuming. Hindi maganda iyan!" suway ko sa sarili.
"Assuming what?"
Napatalon ako sa gulat nang makita ko si Drexzel na nakahilig sa pintuan ng kusina. Naiilang naman akong tumingin sakaniya.
"K-Kanina ka pa diyan?"
"I just came." sagot niya.
Napahinga naman ako ng maluwag. I thought kanina pa siya. Tumikhim ako at bumalik sa panghuhugas ng pinggan.
The next few weeks, Trixie didn't bother me at all. Wala na rin akong naririnig na bulungan tungkol saakin. Maybe because of what Drexzel did last week.
"Grabe! Hindi pa rin talaga ako makamove on sa nangyari!" Marie Shrieked.
Natatawa na lang ako.
"Kinilig ka for sure?" she smirked at me.
"Of course not!" i denied.
But to be honest, everytime it flashes on my mind i can't stop myself for feeling that "kilig". No matter how much i scold myself na i shouldn't feel that way, hindi ko pa rin maiwasan.
"Don't deny it!"
Umiling na lang ako sakaniya. I think it's not the right time para sabihin sakanila ang feelings ko-- well, i am still not sure about how i feel for that yellow head. I still hate him, ang yabang niya at ang arogante! who would like that kind of guy!
"Restroom lang."
Parehas kaming nagulat sa biglaang pag-alis ni Hannah. Though, nagpaalam naman siya. But she's a bit unusual today.
I wonder why?
"May problem ba siya?" i asked Marie.
"Ewan ko, lately, lagi siyang nakatingin sa phone niya na parang may hinihintay na tawag."
"May boyfriend siya?"
"I don't know, wala naman siyang sinasabi."
I just shrugged. I decided not to interfere with her life, if she's willing to open her problem to us, mag-oopen up siya, but if she don't want someone to meddle with her problems then we-- Marie and i will set our own boundaries, we are bestfriends but we still respect our own privacies.
It was just odd, something is odd with Hannah...
And everything started to become more unusual. Some of the girls here in school became friendly to me-- well, i know naman kung bakit sila naging ganito out of nowhere.
First, Kapatid ko ang isa sa member ng The Luminous.
Second, Slave ako ng Drexzel. Means the more na makikipagclose sila saakin, iniisip nila na may tendency na magiging malapit sila sa banda.
In their dreams!
And speaking of unusual, medyo umaayos na ang ugali saakin ni Drexzel, sometimes, he's really kind and i hate it, i hate how his kindness affects me.
And i think...
I am starting to like that yellow head!
"Coffee please." sabi niya, nakatutok lang ang mata niya sa binabasa niya.
Malapit na kasi ang exam kaya todo review siya, ganoon rin ako. Magkatapat nga kami, nagrereview kami pareho.
Pero dahil slave pa rin naman ako ng yellow head na 'to, I still need to obey him.
Mabilis lang ang paggawa ko ng coffee niya. I immediately put it on the coffee table, saka ako umupo ulit sa couch para na rin makapagreview na ako. But to be honest, wala man lang akong naitindihan sa binabasa ko. I got distracted by Drexzel, with his glasses on.
He looks like a geek, a hot geek...
God! what am i thinking!
Sinara niya ang libro niya, kaya napabaling ulit ako sa libro ko.
"Nagrereview ka ba?" he asked.
Agad naman akong tumango.
"Of course."
"Nagrereview ka with your book upside down?"
Agad naman akong napatingin sa librong hawak ko. It is, baliktad nga siya. Agad ko naman itinakip sa mukha ko ang libro. I can feel my cheeks heated.
Damn, that was really embarassing!
I can feel his smirk on me.
I am just distracted with his beautiful face, damn!
And i can't believe that i am not denying this feeling of mine. Well, i can't blame myself for having a crush to this guy. Gwapo naman talaga kasi siya. Ayon nga lang, magaspang ang ugali kung minsan.
"Show me your face, Chloe."
Mas lalong uminit ang pisngi ko. He rarely call me by my name. As if my name was made just for him to call me, that kind of feeling!
"I said, put down your book."
"Ayoko."
He chuckled.
"Is it hard to focus when your crush is in front of you?"
Napababa ko ang libro ko. Sinamaan ko naman siya ng tingin.
"Hey! Who told you that i have a crush on you? Hindi kita gusto!"
May gusto ako sakaniya! Pero hindi ko aaminin iyon sa harap niya. Over my dead sexy body!
"What? You're going to deny it?" he smirked.
"I am not denying anything, wala akong crush sa'yo. You are so full of yourself!"
He slightly laughed.
"Convince yourself more, Chloe."
Mas lalo akong namumula. My name feels so right on his lips. Para akong hinehele tuwing binabanggit niya ang pangalan ko.
"Ayan ba ang walang gusto? Namumula ka tuwing sinasabi ko pangalan mo." he smirked.
I bit my lower lips.
Am i really obvious?
Umiwas na lang ako ng tingin sakaniya. I don't know what to say, i don't know how to defend myself. I know he's smart, and i know he's not that dense or maybe it was just me who's very obvious.
Tinapik niya ang balikat ko.
"Review well." he smirked.
He stood up and left me here in the living room alone. Napahilata naman ako sa couch. How can i face him, now that he knew that i have a crush on him?
Grabe nakakahiya!
"Ang tanga mo naman kasi!"
Sinamaan ko si Marie ng tingin. We're in the soccerfield. Naglalaro ngayon ang The Luminous ng soccer. Wala sa plano ko ang manuod but of course, As a fan of them, Marie took us here, so we had no choice but to watch them na rin.
"I didn't tell him na crush ko siya!" i exclaimed.
I told them about what happened yesterday. At ito naman si Marie ang todo react, and as usual, Hannah is busy with her phone.
"Pero obvious ka masyado!" singhal niya.
Nagsigawan naman ang mga tao nang makascore ang team nina Chlay. They're screaming their names. At syempre hindi magpapahuli si Marie sa pagtili ng mga pangalan nila.
"Drexzel! Drexzel!"
"Go Chlay!"
"We love you, Kairo!"
"Let's go Andrex!"
"Priam! Mahal kita!"
With this kind of energetic friend, mapapailing ka na lang talaga. But i can't stop myself but to laugh because of her. Nilingon ko naman si Hannah, tahimik lang siya at nakafocus ang tingin sa mga manlalaro.
"Are you okay?" i asked her.
Nagitla naman siya pero ngumiti rin.
"Yeah."
"Are you sure?"
She chuckled.
"Oo nga, Chloe. Don't worry about me, may iniisip lang ako." she smiled.
"Who are you thinking ba?" i smirked.
Mukhang nagulat naman siya sa naging tanong ko sakaniya.
"W-What? Hindi tao ang iniisip ko." umiwas siya ng tingin.
"May boyfriend ka?"
"Wala nga, Chloe." iritado niyang sagot. Tinawanan ko na lang siya.
Natapos rin ang game at lahat ng tao nagsitayuan na para lapitan ang The Luminous. They won, kaya todo hila saakin si Marie na lumapit sakanila.
Agad naman kaming napansin ng kapatid ko. But eyes only focused on Drexzel, who's sweating big time, but still managed to look freakin' good.
Goodness! Nakakabusog sa mata...
Si Marie ay todo alok ng picture sakanila, habang si Hannah ay nanatili sa likod ko. I couldn't move kahit na nababangga na ako ng ibang fan girls nila. Drexzel looked to my direction, and i can feel my soul leaving my body as he winked at me and smirked.
This is what they called... Nakakalaglag ng panty!
Someone protest, saying that Drexzel winked at them. But i know, it was me who he winked at.
Oo na! Crush ko na talaga siya!
I can't believe this!
Umalis ako. Hindi naman ako napansin nina Hannah at Marie. Pumunta ako sa rooftop at doon pinakalma ang sarili.
"Stop beating so fast." i said, scolding my heart.
It flashed again on my head, kaya hindi ko mapigilang impit na mapatili. Nararamdaman ko ang init ng pisngi ko.
Grabe na 'to!
"Damn..." bulong ko.
I held my cheeks with my both palm. Tinakpan ko ang mukha ko para pigilan ang pagtili.
"Hey!"
I got startled as i saw Andrex walking towards me. I frowned as he reached my direction.
"Kilig ka?" he smirked.
I composed myself. Hindi ako pwede magpahalata.
"Kilig? Saan? Kanino? Sa'yo? No thank you..."
He chuckled.
"Sa kapatid ko."
Natameme naman ako. Pero agad kong inayos ang sarili ko at sumagot.
"Hindi."
"Don't fool yourself. You are starting to like my brother, or maybe you're starting to fall in love with him."
Nalaglag ang panga ko, pero natawa na lang ako bigla. Napapailing ako sa pagtawa habang siya ay nakatingin lang saakin.
"Okay, i won't deny na crush ko siya... But, in love? That will never happen. Simpleng paghanga lang naman ito, he's gwapo naman kasi."
This time... Siya naman ang nakatawa.
"Whatever you say, Chloe." He chuckled.
He's not convinced with my words. Pero wala naman akong pake kung hindi siya kumbinsido. Crush ko lang naman talaga si Drexzel at hanggang do'n lang iyon.
I will never fall in love with him...
"But beware with my brother, Chloe..."
Nakuha naman niya ang atensyon ko. He's smirking but i can sense the seriousness in him.
"What do you mean?"
"Tuso ang kapatid ko. Hindi mo siya kilala. As a friendly reminder, mag-ingat ka lang sakaniya."
I just frozed there, naglakad na siya palayo... Hindi naman maalis sa isip ko ang sinabi niya.
Bakit naman ako mag-iingat kay Drexzel?
What does he mean by "Tuso" ang kapatid niya?
Ang gulo...
To be continued.