"KYLIE ANGELINE BULAN!"

Chloe's voice rang into my ears as I struggled to open my eyes from the blinding light and the droplets of water dripping into my eyes. I willed myself to sit down on my sofa bed, feeling dizzy and with a tugging headache that felt like my whole head was being drilled by something.

As I settled on the sofa bed, more droplets of water found their way down my face, pooling on my chest. I hastily wiped my face with the inside of my shirt's neck, my gaze landing on Chloe. She was holding a small, plastic black basin, a few drops of water still clinging to its surface. I took in the scene around me, the upper side of the sofa bed drenched, and realized the extent of the peculiar method that Chloe chose to wake me up.

But despite the annoyance of being soaked, a wave of relief and joy washed over me at Chloe's presence. After all, I was half-expecting her to avoid me for all the stupid things I did last night.

I reached out to her for a hug, eager to feel her comforting embrace. But she did not accept my hug. Instead, she folded her arms and gave me her death glare.

"I-I'm sorry for last night," I stammered, my voice filled with genuine remorse. The guilt weighed heavily on me as I awaited her response.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I know you don't mean any of those," she said, as she waved her hand and brushed it off like nothing happened.

"B-but I was so terrible! I tried to kiss you then snapped at you..." I said, but I was cut off by her pointer finger in my lips.

"No, no. I've long accepted that you do and say things without really thinking them through," she started. "But girl, you really put me in a tight spot! Ms. Tan was looking for you and was wondering why you weren't with me at BIOTECH, working on each other's thesis. I just told her you weren't feeling well."

I just looked at her, trying to feign ignorance and innocence, and just scratched my head in response.

"Don't look at me like that. I know that you know what this means. Thank goodness she believed me, for she knows you to be hardworking and won't just be absent without a grave reason," she said while rolling her eyes, fanning herself for a dramatic flair. "Your status as a university scholar helped you there, for she didn't even pry and ask for a medical certificate."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I answered in almost a whisper.

"My beloved best friend, since you still want to pretend you don't know anything as if you got amnesia overnight, may I remind you that I brought you here after you tried a walwal session last night?"

I just stared at her innocently.

"Oh, you're still trying to come off as innocent, huh? Let me remind you, my dear, that you got wasted after less than two bottles," she went on, still rolling her eyes, but now covering her mouth with her hands.

"I saved you by finishing off your second bottle and keeping you away from them, but this is how you'll repay me? Not answering my calls?" Chloe said without missing a beat.

Finally, she paused, then immediately added, "I was worried about you."

"Aww," I said as I hugged her. "I love you too, my best friend!"

She gave my head a light pat as we hugged, which made me yelp. She snorted.

"I didn't, for the life of me, think that I would ever bring you a hangover care kit. But tara, I brought you some meds and an electrolyte drink. I bought you food as well."

*****

"Good thing you owned up to what you did last night. Gosh, you almost gave me a heart attack because of what you did here!" Chloe said while pointing at her pouty lips.

We were already at my study table eating the meals that Chloe had brought. It was Lomi and Pancit Canton (the cooked one, not the instant one), two of my favorite foods. I saw the electrolyte drink and the paracetamol tablets beside the microwavable plastic container where the foods were placed.

My heart warms at the thought of her preparing all of these things for me. She really knows me well.

"Yeah, sorry, not sorry. I think I've always wanted to try doing that to you," I said while giving her air kisses. "May I try it again?"

We looked at each other, then laughed.

"Girl, stop! I'm getting goosebumps," she said while pretending to shiver in her seat.

"I know I'm as straight as your mom's cooked spaghetti..."

Chloe stopped speaking when she saw me sucking in a noodle of Pancit, and I wiggled my eyebrows at her suggestively.

She tried to hold in her laughter and said, "But seriously, I know you aren't like me. I know that you don't like girls. I know it from the get-go, and I know you well enough to sense that you're straight as fuck."

She paused, closed her eyes, and took another bite of Pancit Canton.

"And I also just see you as a sister. I never once fantasized about you."

"But people are saying that they got their awakening here in UPLB, and they always even say that UPLB stands for UP Lahat Bading!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. She has been doing it since earlier, that I am already worrying that her eyes might be gouged from all the rolling.

Suddenly, bits of Pancit Canton flew out of her mouth as she coughed while trying to suppress her laugh. I patted her back while she drank her water.

"Ano ba, Kylie! That's just a joke! We've always felt what we feel about ourselves, and we have just embraced ourselves more and gained freedom here."

"What do you mean?"

"Beh, it's not like UPLB just magically made us gay. Being ourselves isn't a fad. So, just be you. It's okay not to be gay." She said gently while smiling.

"I'm just trying to explore," I retorted.

"It's okay to explore. But you didn't feel anything when you kissed me, am I right? I didn't, either."

"Yeah, I didn't. And maybe I should try kissing a guy? What do you think?"

Chloe flicked her finger at my forehead.

"Ow!" I said as I reached out to cover my forehead from her next attacks.

She lowered her hand slowly, and I lowered mine as well, but she flicked my forehead again as soon as I did it.

"You're enjoying this!"

Chloe laughed at my remark.

"I won't be denying it. I think I should be giving you as many finger flicks as I can to put some sense into you until you swear you won't do anything stupid again."

"Yeah, I won't anymore. I promise."

Chloe looked at me and reached out her hand again on my forehead, but this time, she just rubbed it with something that smelled and felt like Vicks. I looked at her hand and saw that she was holding an opened blue container. I was always amazed at how she did that, for I did not even get to see when she got her hands on it.

"It will come naturally."

"Like how you naturally took that Vicks container?"

"Ha-ha, funny! You know what I mean. And please, don't just go around and kiss strangers to get to know who you are."

I was about to have another serving of Pancit Canton when my phone rang.

"Continue eating. I'll get it for you," Chloe said while standing up.

"It's an unknown number. Should I answer?"

"Strange. I wasn't expecting a call from anyone," I said, cupping my chin and thinking hard about who it could be.

"Never mind, I already answered," Chloe said while gesturing for me to keep quiet.

"Hello? Huh? You might be mistaken. Kylie hasn't signed up for anything like that," Chloe said to the person over the phone. Chloe then covered my phone's speaker and then looked at me. "Or have you?"

Chloe cupped my phone's speakers, moved my phone away from her, and leaned over to me.

"The person over the phone said that you signed up for free relationship counseling sessions with Heart Evangeline Abad! What the fuck did you do again?"

I looked at her, then shrugged.

"Hay. You go talk to her!"

I felt my heart beat faster and my palms sweat as I shakily got my phone from Chloe.