🌺

"Alam mo, dapat galit ako sa'yo ngayon, Horhe. Ghinost mo ako."

George smiled awkwardly at Aki. They were currently inside a club waiting for Naia to arrive for her bachelorette party. Hindi niya nga alam kung bakit siya invited dito since it would be kinda awkward but Uno and Kendall dragged her into it. She's not mad 'coz she genuinely like the girl. Sayang nga lang talaga 'coz she and Jarvis are perfect for each other. Not that Inno's bad or anything.

"I'm so sorry, Aki," she sincerely apologized. "I just um... I just got busy."

"Awit. Busy daw pero may time lumandi," nagtatampo paring sambit ng babae. "How come you never told me you have a boyfriend? At pinsan pa talaga ng jowa ko na ex ng isa sa mga best friends ko. Tanginang small world 'to."

Again, she smiled awkwardly at her. Should she tell her about the whole thing? That it wasn't really true? And that the reason why she apparently ghosted her was because of Dos? Dahil inakala niyang ito ang bagong girlfriend ng lalaking mahal na mahal niya?

Napatingin siya sa paligid, Yoon-one of Aki's best friends and also Naia's, was busy helping Uno with the decorations. Synn-another friend of theirs, was with Kendall talking to the bartender about the drinks. Kadarating lang ng tatlo actually after having merienda with Naia as some sort of diversion. But it seemed like Naia got the places confused.

"Here's the cake you ordered."

She stilled as soon as she heard that familiar baritone voice of Dos Montecillo. His voice alone was already enough to send shivers down her spine.

After the events of that embarrassing cake tutorial fiasco, hindi niya na alam kung pano pa haharapin both Dos and Yvo-since he witnessed that kiss. Good thing she got busy and had to fly to Boracay for her resort project there. On her way to the airport, she immediately confessed everything to Jarvis kahit alam niyang hindi naman iyon kailangan. Hindi niya kasi alam kung ano ba dapat ang gagawin after everything that has happened. She needed help.

Should she just drop everything and tell Dos it was fake and that it was him who she really loved? Or she did all of this to make him jealous?

But like what Jarvis said, it was a development. Because seeing Dos react that way and even kiss her like that meant he still had feelings for her. And according to her fake boyfriend, Dos don't throw punches around lightly.

What he meant by that was still puzzled her to this day.

"Uy Kuya Dos!" that was Uno who's still a few meters away from them. "Salamat ha. Wala na kasi akong alam na ibang kasing galing mo mag-bake eh. Yummy na yung cakes, yummy pa yung gumagawa. Hayst. Sana all-ay putangina! Giovanno kabute ka ba?! Wag ka ngang pabigla bigla na lang nasulpot-"

The two youngest started to banter again making her shake her head. Aki was grinning from ear to ear as if she's really amused with the two. Noon niya lang din napansin that Box and Seven were also at the venue and were currently talking to Kendall and Synn. Also, there's another guy-around the same age as Ken and Uno, talking to Yoon. He's the only one she didn't recognize.

But... why were they here? Were they invited too? Can there be boys in a bachelorette party?

"Georgina."

Again, she froze. Hindi niya alam kung pano ba magrereact or if she should face him. This of course caught Aki's attention kaya napataas ang isang kilay nito sa kanya.

"Let's talk," dagdag pa ni Dos making Aki's eyes grew wider. Nagpapalit-palit pa ang tingin nito sa kanilang dalawa. So she had to do something.

"We can talk here," she said as she turned to him-trying to feign innocence as much as she could. "Do you need anything?"

"Yes," diretsong sagot nito. His blank eyes stared right through her. "You."

He grabbed her by her wrist and because she was too shocked, hindi na siya nakawala sa kamay nito. She did not want to cause a scene so she just let him take her a bit towards the bar where there wasn't anyone around.

"Ano ba, Dos. You're hurting me-"

"Why are you avoiding me?" Diretsong tanong nito catching her off guard. "Don't bother denying it. I know you."

"You know me, you say?" She scoffed. The audacity. "Maybe when I was young, kilala mo nga ako. But now? I'm different. So stop being so full of yourself. May sarili akong buhay and it just so happens that I got busy. This has nothing to do with you or whatever it is that happened a week ago-"

Dos' lips formed his signature devilish smirk. Damn it. She admits that she's not the sharpest tool in the toolbox but she's not dumb. Minsan lang talaga kapag involved itong si Isidro the second.

"Look, it was a mistake," she said trying her best to save face. "Nadala lang siguro ako nung atmosphere and I was missing my boyfriend. Let's just forget it, okay? It won't happen again."

"Missing your boyfriend?" It was Dos' turn to scoff. Napakunot tuloy siya ng noo. "Apparently, your boyfriend doesn't feel the same way. You're aware he's in love with someone else, right?"

She looked away. She can't deny for a fact that Jarvis is obviously in love with Naia. Isang malaking kabobohan nanaman on her part if she tried to deny that to Dos. But that's exactly what she did.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied. "I-I'm in love with Jarvis and I'm confident he's in love with me too-"

She spoke too soon. All of a sudden, chaos ensued as a panicked Jarvis ran inside the building carrying an unconscious Naia. Behind him trailed River and Uno who were both just as worried.

"Oh my God!" she gasped and was about to run towards the group. But Dos stopped her and held her arm. "What now? Can't you see there's an emergency?!"

"Save yourself from pain, Georgina. Wag kang tanga."

Her mouth flew open at the harshness of his words as he left. She was about to throw hands and yell at him but realized, he was right. Tanga nga siya. But not for the reason he thinks.

"Matagal na akong tanga," she whispered to herself. "Matagal na akong tanga sa'yo, Dos."

🌺

Apparently, Naia had a long drive from Parañaque to here kaya ito nahimatay. Stress, and fatigue might've caused her to pass out but thankfully ay wala namang malalanh pinsala na natamo. River already gave her first aid and the party started soon afterwards.

George laughed at how chaotic the night was. The younger ones were running around the place and doing shots. Medyo madami-dami na rin 'yon but they were all having so much fun. She also drank with them and grew a bit tipsy after a few shots since she wasn't much of a drinker. Pero she didn't want to be called KJ so she just went with it and danced to kinda wash the tipsiness away.

"Ate! You dance na on the pole din!" Kendall urged her. Her puffy cheeks were red na din and she was slurring a bit. Good thing Box was there to catch her when she almost fell. "Oopsie! Thank you, bud! I love you!"

Kendall's arms were wrapped around Box's shoulders as the latter shook his head in dismay. Really. The dedication of this guy towards her sister is unparalleled. She wished she had someone like him in her life. Someone who'd be always there for her and love her no matter what.

"Sana all," rinig niyang sambit ni Synn-Naia's friend. "Sana all magaling magpigil."

Napatingin siya dito and noticed she already had her bag on. Was she leaving already?

"Aalis ka na?" she asked. "Why? The party's not over pa. Do you want to dance with me?"

"We're not close," Synn deadpanned replied.

"Ouch," she replied. Since she was a bit intoxicated, she couldn't filter her thoughts anymore. "That hurt."

"You stole my best friend's only chance at happiness. Go figure," the girl replied. She couldn't help but frown.

"But I didn't steal him," she defended. "Jarvis isn't an object. He's a human being. Go figure."

She wasn't pissed but she didn't like the fact that she's being judged based on being Jarvis' girlfriend. If it so happens na hindi sila nagkukunwari ni Jarvis, why is it her fault? Naia left Jarvis. And if it is true that Jarvis did fall in love, didn't he have any right to be happy too?

"What?! Nagkukunwari kayo?" Synn blurted out and it somewhat shook the tipsiness away from her system. Natauhan siya. Did she say that out loud? "You said, 'if it so happens na hindi kayo nagkukunwari'. So are you telling me that you're not really Jarvis' girlfriend?"

"I uhm..." She blinked and tried to look around for help. Nagtama ang tingin nila ni Seven. "I... I'm drunk na. I need to pee-"

But the girl grabbed her and did not let her escape. She's so dead.

"I don't agree with Naia's decision before but Naia left because she had to. So don't put all the blame on her," Synn defended her friend. She currently have no one so she has no choice but to do the defending on her own. Also, it's like she's putting the blame on Jarvis as well.

"Then how come you're saying that it's mine?" balik niya dito. "Don't accuse me of stealing someone else's happiness when in the first place, it was her choice to leave. I'm not saying it was easy on her part but she made her decision. And that decision did hurt Jarvis as well. You can't expect him to just wait around for someone who just left him hanging."

"Hindi mo kung ga'no kasakit 'yon para kay Naia-"

"And you have no idea how much it hurt Jarvis too," she rebutted. "I know you only care about Naia so I understand why you're like that towards me. And I don't expect everyone to like me but what I don't like is people judging me plainly for something I had no control over. You don't even know me."

Synn wasn't able to say anything after that and just stared at her. She did the same and stared back. Hindi niya napansing nakalapit na pala sa kanila si Seven.

"Hey. What's going on-"

"My name's Solyn," Synn said and extended her hand towards her. Nangunot ang noo niya. But she still took it and they shook hands.

"Georgina," she answered. "You can uh... call me George?"

"I know," she said and smirked before turning towards Seven. "Bored ka? Hatid mo 'ko sa Bulacan."

"Huh?" Naguguluhang tanong ni Seven. Even she was confused at Synn's behavior. Then the girl laughed. As in laughed like a lunatic.

Was she drunk or something?

"Ayaw mo? Sige. Sa iba na lang ako magpapahatid-"

"Wait, what just happened-"

She wasn't able to continue her question dahil bigla na lang siya hinila ng kung sino. It was Dos. Hinila siya nito bigla papunta sa may mga CR.

"What the hell, Dos-"

"Masokista ka ba?!" sigaw nito as soon as he let her go. "Hanggang kelan mo ba ipagpipilitan ang sarili mo sa taong hindi ka gusto, ha, Georgina?!"

Nangunot muli ang kanyang noo. What is seriously wrong with people tonight? She's having a good time tapos naninigaw or nangwa-warshock na lang bigla. It's not funny anymore.

"He loves me!" sigaw niya na lang pabalik. She's assuming he's pertaining to Jarvis. "And I love him."

As a friend, her head instantly added.

"Oh really?" He fished out his phone and showed her an image of Jarvis and Naia together on the couch. The latter's head rested on the former's shoulder as she slept. "Then what is this?"

"She's tired so she must've slept to take a rest," she replied immediately. But it was too quick. Parang wala lang talaga sa kanya-which is true because they weren't actually together. "J-Jarvis is a gentleman. He must've um... offered his shoulder to her para hindi uncomfortable-"

"You're really with him?!" Dos was losing his patience. Something so out of his character. "He's clearly in love with her, George!"

Yes, Dos. Jarvis is in love with Naia and he's not afraid to show it to everyone. Ikaw? Kelan mo ipapakita sa lahat-sa akin, that you love me? Na ako pa din at nagseselos ka na sa pinsan mo?

She needed to provoke him even more.

"My relationship with Jarvis shouldn't be any of your concern, Dos," she replied as calm as she could. But her heart was already pounding so much, muntik na siyang mabingi. "You lost that right when you broke my heart."

She felt a small sting in her eye and a huge stab in her heart. The pain she felt ten years ago came back as if it was freshly carved inside her. But the thing is, it didn't hurt anymore.

"And you're breaking it again by being with my cousin who is clearly in love with someone else," he argued.

She can feel the pain in his words but why didn't it affect her? Did it finally happen? Did she finally become numb?

"Stop being stupid, Georgina," he added. "Magmahal ka ng taong kaya ka mahalin pabalik!"

Stupid. Yeah, she is. She was stupid enough to fall for him. She was stupid enough para umasang makakaya nito maghintay. She was stupid enough to chase him. She was stupid enough to wait for him in vain.

"Wala kang pakealam kung gusto kong masaktan, Dos!" she blurted out. "Apparently, I'm used to it. And for the record, I found that man. You're just too much of a coward to admit it-"

And lastly, she was stupid enough to be still in love with him even if he had done nothing but break her heart. So yeah. She's so fucking stupid.

"So if I tell you that I love you, will you leave him?"

Napasinghap siya. Her eyes grew wide at his sudden boldness. Is this some kind of test?!

"Iiwan mo ba si Jarvis para sa'kin, Georgina?"

And she's stupid enough to say yes.

🌺

nasira yung plano ko.
next ep na lang yung... 😏