Chapter 31

7 years ago

Coelan

Fourth year in university with my double major is supposed to be like the other years before that. Monotonous. I'd end up playing around with some women and hanging out with my friends. I study and fool around and I'd join some boring competitions here and there. There's nothing much other than a normal university life of a student.

But one day, that one weird day that started bad ended up to be one of the best days that happened to me.

Umagang-umaga pinagsabihan na naman akong dapat daw akong sumali na naman sa mga pa-contest sa Debate Club o 'di kaya'y magpasa ng magandang Psychological Research. I majored in both Political Science and Psychology to somehow ease this boredom and yet nothing changed. The university's reputation rose because of me, even my parents had commendations from their fancy friends.

It's all the same.

Busangot na busangot ang mukha ko pagpasok ko sa klase para sa first subject. Nang makitang wala pa ang prof, naupo ako sa upuan at inignora ang iba. Wala ako sa mood. Na-gets naman nila na ayaw kong makipagplastikan kaya hindi na nila ako pinansin.

I busied myself by using my phone. Avicii and Hack posted their game streams while Spaise was in a basketball game. Si Quentin naman ay ka-date na naman ang girlfriend nito.

Tsk. Nobody really remembered my birthday. Nice. Can't really blame them. I put a fake birthdate in my social media accounts and my "wonderful" friends said they'll celebrate it with me at exactly 11:30 in the evening since I'm born at that time. Weird shitheads.

Ilang minuto pa ay dumating ang isang kaklase namin na sumisigaw na may biglaan na meeting ang faculty kaya hindi makakapasok ang prof.

Kung sinuswerte nga naman. Ang boring. Saan naman ako tatambay ngayon?

"Lan! Lan!"

Inis kong nilingon ang classmate kong tumapik pa sa likod ko. Nakangisi si Elric sa likuran habang kinakamot ang sariling ulo.

"What?" I asked in nonchalance. This guy is a complete playboy. Maraming flavor of the month. Palibhasa pogi, pang-boy-next-door pero syempre mas gwapo ako sa kanya.

"Can you go to a blind date for me?"

This moron.

"No," sabi ko at binalik na ang tingin sa phone. Nakita ko roon ang mga post ni Quentin kasama si Floell. Ang mga walanghiya ang sweet-sweet pa. Nasa isang café ang mga ito na malapit lang sa university.

Should I go and bother them?

Unti-unti akong napangisi dahil sa naiisip.

"Lan, Lan, please~" pangungulit ng gago na nasa likod ko. "Please, dear cousin. Do it for me please. May date akong Brazilian ngayon eh~"

Argh. This fucker! Kung hindi ko lang 'to pinsan, baka napuruhan ko na 'to.

"Saan ba?" inis kong tanong.

"Diyan lang sa tabi ng university. Fauna Café and Cakes. Sige na please, Lan. Birthday mo naman eh."

Gagong 'to.

~

Mabilis akong pumunta sa Fauna Café and Cakes para maabutan doon sina Q at bulabugin sila sa kanilang date. Pagkapasok ko sa café, sinalubong ako ng mabangong amoy ng kape sa paligid.

The atmosphere was cozy because of the cavern-like design inside, including the mellow lighting from beautiful light bulbs and the warm fluffy seats. There were plants everywhere and the floor was made by a plastic grass carpet.

May iilang nakapila sa counter pero agad kong hinanap ang pwesto nina Q base sa nakita kong photo kanina.

Let's see.

I turned to the left and right to find him. It took me a few steps before I spotted his shining blonde hair.

"Q!"

He immediately rose from his seat, his bright brown eyes now glaring at me.

Lumapad ang ngisi ko sa kanyang reaksyon.

"You shit! What are you doing here?!" singhal niya na aakalain mong mangangain na ng buhay.

If it's something that Q hates the most, it's having his date with Floell turn into a disaster. And Q thinks I am that walking disaster.

"Sup, Flo?" baling ko kay Floell na nakangiti lang sa akin at mahinhing kumaway. I can't help but snicker at what I saw.

The two of them were wearing matching outfits-a pink button-down shirt to be exact and tight ripped jeans.

"Hey, go away!" pagtataboy ni Q pero mabilis na akong nakaupo sa harapan nilang dalawa. "What the fuck are you even doing here? Akala ko ba may klase ka?"

"Wow, man. Memorized mo ang sched ko?" biro ko sa kanya pero mas lalo lang siyang sumimangot.

Dahil magkatabi sila, hindi ko mapigilang mapansing mas maganda pa si Quentin kay Floell kahit inis na inis na siya sa akin. Damn genes. Buti na lang at hindi ako nabakla dahil sa lalaking 'to. Mabuti na lang din hindi ito naging bakla dahil kawawa ang mga babae sa university kapag ganoon. Si Q lang ang papansinin.

"Lan, what brings you here?" Floell curiously asked with her usual innocent expression.

Hayst. Kahit anong bait talaga nito, hindi ko pa rin feel na nakatadhana sila sa isa't isa ni Q.  I don't know why but the "cute angel" vibe she gives off is just too boring. She could only be challenged by a devil-like man, not Q here who looks like a good-looking archangel with a weird personality who's shaped by Floell's love.

Q would be better off with a total psychopath who could ruin him then piece him back together again.

Napansin kong tila naghihintay pa rin si Floell sa sagot ko kaya humingi ako ng paumanhin.

"Oops, sorry Flo. Just remembered something." I laughed. "I'm here for a blind date."

"What's a blind date for?" takang tanong ni Q. "You can just pick some girls on the way."

"I know, right?" natatawa kong sabi. "But I'm bored and Elric said he can't go to this certain blind date."

"Huh," Q scoffed. "You and your boredom. I wonder what you'll get yourself into this time. Last time I checked, you dated a whore."

"Language, Q!" saway ni Floell habang nakanguso. Agad namang natampal ni Q ng sariling bibig at nag-sorry.

I secretly smirked at them.

"Q, order ka nga ng macaroons. Meron 'di ba?" Padabog itong tumayo at nagmartsa na paalis kaya naiwan kami ni Floell na awkward lang na nagngitian. Ilang segundo lang ay nagpanggap akong nagulat at tumayo. "Ah, excuse me, Flo. May ipapa-order pa ako kay Q."

"Okay!"

Mabilis pa sa alas-kwatro akong humabol kay Q. Kumunot ang noo niya at umiling.

"Why can't you still go along with her, man?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I just don't like her for you," nakanguso kong sabi. "She's too good for you!" biro ko sa kanya.

Natatawa naman akong siniko ng walanghiya kaya siniko ko ito pabalik. At dahil lalampa-lampa siya, natalisod siya at napayakap sa babaeng nakapila sa gilid namin para sa kabilang counter.

The lady kept her cool as she slowly pulled Q's hands away from her. Her long wavy Mahogany-colored hair bounced as she turned and pretended like nothing happened.

Sky. Her eyes sparkled like the blue sky.

"E-Excuse me, Miss. Are you alright?" tanong ko sa kanya habang si Q naman ay natataranta na sa paghingi ng paumanhin.

She looked at me and I froze.

Her arched brows, sky blue eyes, cute nose, and luscious lips and her mahogany hair that flowed like a river behind her was my very own new definition of perfection.

Kumabog nang malakas ang dibdib ko nang tinaasan niya lang ako ng kilay bago tumingin kay Q. Kitang-kita ko kung paano sila pareho napatitig sa isa't isa na para bang iyon na ang pinakamahalagang nangyari sa araw na 'yon.

They both looked at their clothes which were weirdly a match. The lady also wore a pink button-down shirt and ripped jeans, like Q.

Her icy stare and his calm bright brown eyes met with that mellow glow and I felt like a bystander beside them.

Mapait na lamang akong napangiti. It looks like I found Q's match.

Unang nakabawi ang mokong kong kaibigan mula sa weirdong paligid.

"A-Are you really alright?"

Her beautiful lips curved into a frown and the most beautiful voice rang out of them.

"Yes, as you can see."

Damn. I'll make her mine.

~

Present time

"You're saying I met Wynfrost before?"

"Yep," I said and enjoyed watching him squirm while trying to squeeze out the memory out of his head. "Matagal na 'yon. Baka hindi mo na—"

"I remember," biglaan niyang bulalas habang nanlaki ang mga mata. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "She's beautiful."

Ah. I thought he won't remember their first meeting.

"She's more beautiful 7 years later though."

"Of course. That's a given," he proudly said in an excited manner. "Man, I didn't know she was 16 at that time."

"Me too. Those boobs and ass—" Sumama ng timpla ng mukha ni Q kaya napahinto ako at natawa na lang. "I mean, she was really so beautiful, man."

Naubo ang mokong at bahagyang namula.

"I want to see her again. I can't fully remember her face," he murmured. "Anyways, so after that meeting, you found out the proxy for the blind date is Wynfrost, right?" I nodded while recalling Wynfrost's pokerface that time. Sinabi pa nito nang diretsahan na binayaran lang daw siya para pumunta roon. "So you then asked her out and you're the one who helped her stop being antisocial, right?"

"Yep." Mabuti na lang at matalino itong kaibigan ko kahit tatanga-tanga sa pag-ibig. "I fell for her at first sight but that woman is a block of ice. I didn't even confess to her because I was sure she'd reject me. And that time, she was already suffering from a lot of stuff."

I became gloomy just by saying that.

"What do you mean?" Q asked in concern.

"She was bullied but because of her personality when she's angry, she'll explode like a time bomb and hurt people." Nasapo ko ang noo ko nang maalala ang mga bagay na nalaman kong pinaggagawa ni Wynfrost sa mga nakagalitan niya. "She was a psychopath." Tinitigan ko kung paano nanlaki ang mga mata ni Q. "She would make these complicated plans to frame up people or even cause some "accidents" for them. Nalaman ko ring ilang beses siyang napatawag sa eskwelahan noong highschool pa siya dahil sa pagkabayolente. She would beat up her classmates but because she was a genius that brought fame to her school, they couldn't afford to expel her. The victims and their families were kept quiet because of Avicii's family."

Namutla si Q sa nalaman at nanginginig na nagtanong.

"I-Is she really—"

"Yes, she's Avicii's sister and they hid it all from her." I sighed. Q's eyes shook in shock. "I know it was really twisted for them to do that. Nalaman kong ang dahilan ng pagkabulag ni Wynfrost mula pagkabata ay dahil sa komplikasyon sa pagbubuntis. Her mother tried to kill her child after knowing it's female. Nang naipanganak na bulag si Wynfrost, pinaalis siya sa pamilya dahil ayon sa paniniwala nila, malas ang mga imperpektong anak. Kamag-anak nila ang nag-alaga sa kanya at nasa college na si Wynfrost nang malaman niyang hindi siya tunay na anak ng nagpalaki sa kanya. Nalaman din niyang gusto siyang ibenta ng mga ito sa mismong mga magulang para sa pera." I sighed again. "Naglayas si Wynfrost at pagkatapos noon ay naaksidente ang mga kinilala niyang magulang habang hinahanap siya. She blamed herself. Naka-comatose ngayon ang mga ito at siya ang nagbabayad ng hospital bills. She never asked money from Avicii's family."

Masakit isipin na hindi ko siya maprotektahan mula noon pa dahil sa takot ko sa komplikadong mga pangyayari. Sa takot ko dahil sa kabaliwan ni Wynfrost at sa weirdong pamilyang iyon, wala akong nagawa kundi pumayag sa pakikipaghiwalay niya.

"If she's Avicii's sister then she must be the only female other than her mother in that family," ani Q habang magkasalubong ang kilay. "So they were backing her up from the shadows."

"Yes, they were still silently monitoring her growth, especially when there's no other female direct descendant after her. You already know about how they want their spouses to be their blood relative."

Nakuyom ko ang kamay sa galit na nararamdaman.

"Then, d-does that mean—"

"Yes, she's also Avicii's fiancee."