"Aisleen, may nagpapabigay." Napatingin ako sa envelope na inilapag ng classmate ko sa ibabaw ng desk ko. This would be the fifth letter that I received today. Never naman akong nag-entertain at sumagot sa mga ganito pero ewan ko ba. Hindi pa rin sila tumitigil.

Tumayo ako sa kinauupuan ko at naglakad ako papunta sa trash bin sa labas ng room. I was about to throw the envelope together with the other letters I received today when I noticed something different about this one. The smell was frustratingly familiar. I was so sure I've smelt it somewhere before. Since hindi ko rin naman maalala kung saan ko naamoy 'yon, I shrugged it all off. Nung nasa tapat na ako ng trash bin, saka naman may bumangga sa akin.

"Ano ba?! Watch where you're going, will you?" Sigaw ko sa nakabunggo sa akin. I don't usually shout at other people pero ang sakit talaga kasi nung pagkakabunggo sa akin kanina. Napatingin ako sa nagkalat na mga letter sa lapag dahil sa nangyari. I was about to squat to pick them up nung napansin kong may kamay nang pumupulot ng mga 'yon para sa akin.

"Here." Ohmygod. Bakit kinilabutan ako bigla sa boses niya? I closed my eyes to compose myself and when I looked up at the guy in front of me, gusto ko na lang magmura nang paulit ulit.

It was no other than William Tiongson. The guy who was liked by many but didn't even show any sort of interest to the girls around him. What was he doing here anyway? Iba naman yung course niya ha?

"Uhh, thanks." I said as I grabbed the envelopes from his hands.

"You're not going to read those?" He asked and I had to control myself from throwing a fit dahil sa pangingialam niya.

"What's it to you ba if I read them or not?" I straightforwardly asked while trying to control the sound of my voice. I didn't want to make another scene here. Not when people think I'm the perfect girl that could ever exist. I had to be prim and proper every freaking time. But this guy... This guy just had to shake up the little self-control that I have left for today.

My parents fought all throughout our breakfast and my mom got mad at me because I was seen eating at a fast food chain the other day. Like hello? Bawal na bang kumain sa Jollibee? I'm just so full of negativities today and I don't need another source of negative energy. I've had enough, okay?

William immediately smirked upon hearing my answer. Imbis na sagutin niya ang tanong ko, naglakad siya palapit sa akin. Shit. Bakit ako biglang kinakabahan? Ano bang balak nito?

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed at him. Lalo lang lumawak ang pagkaka-ngisi niya dahil doon. Damn it. Why am I affected? I can't be affected!

Napaatras ako nang napaatras habang palapit naman siya nang palapit sa akin. When he got me cornered, alam kong pinagpipiyestahan na kami ng mga tao sa paligid namin ngayon. We were the center of attention now and every move we do and every word we say would be marked down in history.

"If you won't be reading those, might as well read it to you personally, right?" William whispered. He was too close. Too close that I could almost smell his perfume as well as his breath.

Wait. Yung perfume!

Shit. Could it be?

"I-ikaw?" Nauutal kong tanong. When he finally saw my reaction, he chuckled lowly. At that moment, I swear I could feel my heart beating fast. There was no way on earth that he would reject every single girl just to get my attention, right? I mean, bakit? Well, it's not as if may maipipintas naman siya sa akin but hello? He could have easily gotten any girl for crying out loud! Bakit may pa-love letter pa siya?

"Judging from your reaction, I guess you haven't read even a single letter before." He said then he finally gave me enough space to breathe. Damn it. Bakit ba ganito ang epekto sa akin nitong lalaking 'to?

"Why didn't you give it personally before ba? And why are you appearing in front of me now? What do you want?" I calmly asked kahit na tinatraydor na ako ng puso ko. Sobrang bilis na talaga ng pagtibok nito and I'm starting to get more conscious in front of him.

It's not that I have the hots for William but come on. He had this reputation in school din and fine. He's like this super handsome but snobbish guy and when you're in front of him, you just can't help but admire how perfect he looks. So simply put, I'm just admiring a handsome species in front of me. No strings or emotions attached. I think?

"You."

"W-what?" I almost shrieked upon hearing his answer. Was he serious or pinagtitripan niya lang ako? I swear, hindi siya magandang biro!

"You heard me." He said with a smirk. Wow. I didn't know he was like this. Sure, I know hindi siya namamansin ng iba lalo na if the people are not from his circle of friends but to act like this? I'm completely speechless. Ibang klase. Now I wonder kung paano siya nagustuhan ng marami. It was probably just because of his face. Sana pala naging mukha na lang siya.

"Paano kung ayaw ko?" I challenged him. Tumawa na naman siya dahil sa naging sagot ko. Parami na rin nang parami ang mga tao sa paligid namin na gusto lang namang sumagap ng chismis. I wanted to end this conversation so bad but with the rate that we're going now, mukhang malabong mangyari 'yon.

Imbis na sumagot siya sa tanong ko, may tinanguan si William malapit sa amin. Pagtingin ko sa direksyon nung lalaki, he was carrying my beige Chanel backpack already. My eyes widened upon realizing what he had in mind.

Oh no, no, no. Shit. This can't be happening!

"Thanks, Jiv." William said nung nasalo na niya yung backpack ko. Napahinga ako nang maluwag nang hindi bumagsak sa lapag yung bag ko.  I was about to snatch it away from him pero bigla namang hinawakan ni William yung kamay ko.

"Relax, Aisleen. I won't do anything bad to your precious backpack." Pagpipigil niya sa ginagawa ko at mas hinigpitan niya pa ang hawak niya sa akin.

"What do you think you're doing huh? Let me and my backpack go."

"On one condition." Sagot niya sa akin while looking straight in my eyes. I felt like I could melt anytime soon with his stare but I mentally slapped myself to bring me back to my senses. Hindi ako pwedeng magpadala sa gwapo niyang mukha. I don't even know kung ano ba ang balak niya sa akin!

"Sabihin mo na nga nang matapos n—"

"Go on a date with me." Shock was an understatement if I had to describe what I felt when he said those words. Did he really just ask me out on a date? Bago ko tuluyang ma-digest yung sinabi niya, narinig ko na lang ang sigawan ng mga tao sa paligid namin. Damn it. Masyado silang nag-eenjoy sa napapanood nila ngayon! Were they really happy that William said that or were they plotting things against me right now?

"You're kidding, right?" Tanong ko sa kanya when I finally gained my composure back. He smiled upon hearing my question and he was obviously enjoying this moment. Oh god. What did I ever do ba to receive this kind of treatment?

"Who ever said I was kidding? If you have read those letters before, you wouldn't even be asking me that question now."

"So you mean—"

"Yes, I've been sending you some of those letters. Damn. I didn't know it would be this difficult to get your attention." He said sabay suklay sa buhok niya while using his fingers. Why does he look so hot right now? Shit. Was I falling for his spell, too?

"Why would you even do that?" I can't help but ask. A lot of questions have been bugging me ever since we met a few minutes ago. Bakit ako? Bakit ngayon? Bakit dinaan niya sa letters? Seryoso ba siya rito? What's in it for him? What does he even want? Does he really like me or he was just looking for someone to play with? The list goes on but I don't even know what to ask first.

"Do you really want me to answer that here where people would hear everything I have to say or would you rather go somewhere private?" He asked as he scanned the crowd. Napatingin din tuloy ako sa mga taong nakiki-chismis sa amin. True enough, some even had their phones up, probably recording whatever's happening to us right now. It is very seldom that this kind of scenario happens here anyway. I mean, who would have thought naman, 'di ba? The perfect guy and the perfect girl are in one place, talking to each other and would probably end up as a couple. Well, kung gano'n nga talaga ang laman ng sulat nitong si William. He could probably be blackmailing me with those letters or something for crying out loud!

"Fine, let's go." I said in surrender. Lalong lumaki ang pagkakangiti niya dahil sa naging sagot ko. Binitawan niya saglit ang kamay ko and I don't know why pero parang nanghinayang ako bigla sa lost of contact naming dalawa. But to my surprise, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

Shit. There goes the beating of my heart again.

"Where are we going?" I asked the moment we reached the parking lot of the school. Pinagbuksan niya ako ng pinto ng sasakyan niya and I muttered my thanks before climbing in. Instead of my answering my question, umikot siya sa sasakyan at umupo na siya sa driver's seat. He immediately started the car and we left the school without knowing where on earth he would be taking me.

After about an hour of driving silently, we reached BGC. I initially thought we would be eating out somewhere here but to my surprise, we went straight into one of the condominium towers there. After parking in the basement, he got out of the car and he helped me out as well. We then went straight to the elevator and he pressed the button for the 30th floor.

We were silent all throughout the elevator ride. Hindi pa rin niya binibitawan yung kamay ko, as if parang takot na takot siyang tumakas ako bigla. Pagdating namin sa 30th floor, he opened the door of unit 3021. He then motioned me to get in but I suddenly hesitated. Did we really have to talk inside a condo unit? Parang may mali na ewan? Or was it just me?

"Who's condo is this?" Tanong ko sa kanya and his face immediately gave me the answer. It was as if he was telling me that I'm asking the obvious. Of course, it would be his condo. Why would he bring me to someone else's place nga naman, 'di ba?

"Papasok ka ba nang kusa o kailangan pa kitang pilitin?" He asked and I had no choice but to go inside the unit. Once inside, I immediately scanned the area. It looked like a typical bachelor's pad—floor to ceiling windows, dark colored walls with a little bit of white to serve as an accent, large flat screen television partnered with a black leather sofa and a not-so-surprisingly empty kitchen counter.

William motioned me to sit on the sofa and I just followed whatever he said. But of course, I couldn't just let my guard down. Mahirap na. I barely knew the guy yet here I was, sitting on his sofa like we're best buddies or something.

"Explain. What do you want and of all places, why did you bring me here?" I asked then I crossed my arms in front of me. He was looking at me like I did something amusing and when I realized that what I did just emphasized my chest, I immediately uncrossed my arms. Pervert!

"I told you, I want you."

"Want? Are you freaking kidding me? I'm not some material thing that you would grab whenever you feel like it. I'm sure you're aware naman that want is different from like and even love, right? So which is which?" I needed to clarify this to him. Baka mamaya, pampainit lang pala ng kama ang gusto nito. Anong akala niya sa akin, cheap?

"Take a guess." He answered with a smirk at napataas ang kilay ko dahil doon. Nung na-realize niya na I'm not buying his crap, he suddenly cleared his throat at umayos na siya ng upo.

"I wouldn't be sending you all those letters if I didn't like you. Why did you think I would go all through that if I just wanted you?"

"I don't know. You tell me. Baka naman nagsawa ka lang sa mga babaeng itinatapon ang sarili sa'yo. You probably wanted something new to you and here I was, targeted on like a prey." William laughed out loud because of what I said. So tama ba ang instincts ko? Did he really just want a new flavor or something?

"Didn't know you could be this humorous. But fine, to satisfy your curiosity, I've been watching you from afar for quite some time now. We could have met even long before because of our families' businesses but I chose not to. You piqued my interest, Aisleen. And now that I got you here with me, I'm not letting you slip away again." Napalunok ako nang sunod-sunod dahil sa sinabi niya. Oh god. Ganito ba dapat yung feeling kapag may nag-confess sa'yo? I don't know what to feel! Never namang may nag-confess sa akin before. Walang naglakas ng loob na lumapit sa akin, siya lang. And now, I'm lost in a whirlwind of emotions at hindi ko alam kung nagugustuhan ko ba 'yon o hindi.

Nung napansin ni William na hindi ako sumasagot o nagre-react man lang sa sinabi niya, lumipat siya ng upuan at tumabi siya sa akin. He then titled my head so that we would be face to face and shit. Para na talaga akong matutunaw sa paraan ng pagtitig niya sa akin. It felt like I was the most beautiful and precious thing that he had ever seen.

"If what I just said still didn't not answer your question, then listen to me carefully. I like you, Aisleen. I like you, your personality and whatever flaws you may be hiding beneath that façade that you have. At kung hindi ka pa rin naniniwala sa sinasabi ko, I hope that this one will." Before I could even utter a word, he closed the gap between us and he silenced me with a kiss.

OH MY GOD.

***

Before anything else, let me thank each and everyone of you for the warm support that you have given me, PrincessThirteen00 and Imcrazyyouknow. Sana po ay masuportahan niyo kami hanggang sa dulo ng series. Huhu.

And here goes chapter 1! If mapapansin niyo, sabay sabay po kaming nag-uupdate nitong series. So abangan niyo po sana lagi yung updates namin for this.

Let me know your thoughts about this chapter! I love reading your comments at sobrang nakakataba po ng puso yung comments niyo sa prologue. Sana po hanggang sa dulo, ganyan kayo ka-active mag-comment. It would definitely keep us going!

Again, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

xxRaice