I gave up on music when it became clear to me that I am no longer the person I used to be. Sure, I still listen to it, but only just. Never did I imagine myself singing and playing in front of many people again.

But as Grey Light performed "For The First Time" by The Script, I felt like I just found a piece of me that's been missing for a long time. Wearing this ridiculous black t-shirt with our band name printed on it in gray letters (Francis' idea, of course) coupled with jeans and sneakers, with Mira at the audience, staring at me like she couldn't believe her eyes... I decided that attending the homecoming wasn't a bad idea, after all.

When the song ended, the crowd asked for another, but we politely declined. I was so out of practice, it was a miracle that I made it through the first song all right.

Once we were backstage again, Gabe pulled me in for a brotherly hug. "We missed you, bro," he said.

"Stop it, Gabriel. You're too emotional," I kidded. "But seriously, I missed all of you, too. I missed Grey Light." I gave him a pat on the back before withdrawing from the hug.

Xander cleared his throat. "Believe me, Vren, no one liked it when we grew apart. We know you resented us because you felt abandoned, but..."

"I guess we just got jealous of you. Right after college, you were handed this responsibility that gave your life direction," Francis supplied. "Kami? Ni hindi namin alam kung ano ang gagawin namin sa buhay. You could say that we resented you for that."

"You were always the cool one," Ervic said. "And suddenly you were the matured one. The successful one. And we were just these little shits who did nothing but get wasted."

I laughed bitterly. "Seriously? You have no idea what that responsibility costed me. For starters, I lost practically all my friends." I shook my head. "And for that, yes, you are all little shits. Though, I hope you're all doing productive stuff now."

The four of them laughed. "We do," said Gabe. "And dude, we're trying to say sorry here."

"Thank God for that." I grinned. "And I'm trying to say that it's okay. Let's just forget about it."

"So, Mira... she's a nice woman," Francis ventured. "And really pretty. Gaano na kayo katagal?"

"A few months," I answered, changing back to my suit. "And yeah, she's the best."

"Siya ba ang first girlfriend mo after ni Isa– aray! Masakit 'yon, Francis Lee!" Ervic shot Francis, who punched him on the arm, a contemptuous look.

"Shut the fuck up, Erv," Francis warned him.

I laughed. Francis was trying so hard to remain in my good graces, lalo pa at kakatapos pa lang naming magkaayos-ayos.

"It's okay, France." I nodded at him. "And yes, Erv. Mira's the only woman I dated after Isabella."

"Wow. That was a long gap, dude," Xander commented.

Nagkibit-balikat ako. "Dating opportunities don't really come often when you're always locked in your office."

"Or when you started hating women in general," Ervic muttered, earning him a whack on the head from Francis. I chuckled.

"Well, have you seen her yet?" Gabe inquired. "Isabella? She's here."

"Nope. What do I need to see her for?" I threw my Grey Light shirt at him. "We're over. And I'm not giving her the opportunity to bother me, no matter how much she wants to do so."

"No matter how much she wants to do so?" Xander echoed. "What do you mean, bro?"

In response, I told them about the letter Isabella sent me recently.

"Woah. After all these years, bigla na lang ulit nagparamdam si Isabella sa'yo?" Gabe reacted after I finished my retelling of my ex-girlfriend's attempt to get in touch with me.

"Yeah. Weird, isn't it?" I told him. "I don't know what she wants."

"Baka naman nalaman niya na may girlfriend ka na, kaya nagselos," Xander theorized. "Baka gustong makipagbalikan."

"Well, she's out of luck. I love my girlfriend, I'm perfectly happy now, and after the way she ended things between us? Only an idiot would take her back again." I smirked.

"Does Mira know about this ex-girlfriend who's bothering you again?" tanong naman ni Ervic.

"No. And please don't tell her anything, okay?" I replied. "Mira doesn't need to know about her. For me, she doesn't exist anymore."

"Pero paano kapag nilapitan ka niya mamaya? Saktong kasama mo pa ngayon ang girlfriend mo," linya naman ni Francis.

"Kaya nga pagkalabas na pagkalabas ko rito, aalis na kami ni Mira. I'm not giving Isabella any chance to talk to me."

"But what if she needs to tell you something important? Isabella, I mean?"

"I highly doubt it. For one, I couldn't imagine anything of significance that she needs to tell me after all these years. Most likely, she's just stirring shit for the sake of it. Ngayon pa siya magpapakita, kung kailan maayos na ang buhay ko?"

"I smell trouble, bro," Xander said in an ominous tone.

"Trouble won't come if I don't let that woman back into my life again. Hey, Gabe, hand me back my shirt." Gabe threw it back at me, and I hung it on my shoulder. "Come on, let's get out of here."

****

The moment we're back at our table, I instantly noticed that my girlfriend was missing. I looked at my friends, and they all mirrored the horrified look I was sure was on my face. Alam kong pare-pareho kami ng iniisip – paano kung nilapitan ni Isabella si Mira at ngayon ay kinakausap niya ang girlfriend ko? God knows what she might be telling Mira at this very moment. I wouldn't put it past that woman and her stalker tendencies to know how my girlfriend looks like.

"Where's Mira?" I asked one of the remaining girls at our table. If I remembered Francis' introductions right, this was Kate, his girlfriend.

"Oh. Good thing you asked. Muntik ko nang malimutan – pinapasabi nga pala sa'yo ni Mira na sumama siya kina Vince at Hannah," she replied.

"I'm sorry – did you just say Vince and Hannah?"

"Yup. Your brother and his date, I guess?" Kate shrugged. "Nilapitan nila si Mira pagkatapos ng performance ng Grey Light. Don't know where they went, though. But Mira said they won't take long."

"Right." I met Xander's gaze, my expression a little bewildered. He mouthed, "At least it's not Isabella."

While my friends assumed their seats, I retrieved my phone from my pocket and dialed Mira's number, slowly heading towards Crystal Palace's exit as I waited for her to pick up.

"Hey," I said when she answered the call. "Where are you? We're leaving."

"Hindi ba sinabi sa'yo nina Kate na kasama ko sina Vince at Hannah?" Her tone was mildly surprised.

"They did, actually. Anyway, where exactly are you? We really need to go home."

"Bakit naman madaling-madali ka?" Mira laughed. "Makipag-bonding ka muna sa mga kaibigan mo! Lilibutin lang namin ang campus niyo."

I groaned. "Mira, Hollier is huge. It'd take hours. We need to go now."

"Saglit na lang 'to!" Mira whined like a kid. "Uy, congrats nga pala, ha? Ang galing naman ng boyfriend ko. Daig mo pa si Danny O'Donoghue. Proud girlfriend here."

In spite of myself, I smiled. "Of course I'm better than Danny O'Donoghue. What did you expect?" I joked. "Hey, can you please give your phone to my stupid brother? I want to tell him something."

"Okay," she conceded. I heard a distant, "Vince! Gusto ka raw makausap ni Vren!", before my brother's irritatingly cheerful voice assaulted my ear.

"Hey, Vren! Way to go on your performance with Grey Light!" my idiot of a brother said.

I sighed. "Quit the crap, Vince. Where are you? I'm fetching Mira."

"Sa Music Hall. Kakasabi ko lang kay Mira na dito ka lagi tumatambay noong college. Bakit parang madaling-madali ka naman?"

"Isabella," I murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. "She's here, too."

"Oh, shit." Vince's voice dropped as well. "Nagkita kayo?"

"Nope. My friends just told me. Kaya nga kailangan na naming umalis ni Mira. I don't want that woman bothering us."

"Okay. Ako na ang bahala. Sasabihin ko kay Mira na sumama bigla ang pakiramdam mo. Babalik na kami diyan."

"What? No, just stay –" Bago pa man ako matapos ay naputol ang tawag. I looked at my phone and cursed at the blank display. I must have forgotten to charge the thing, damn it.

When I looked up again, my heart almost stopped.

"Hey, Andrei."

It's been six years since I last saw her, but Isabella hasn't changed, not even a bit. Her long, wavy hair was down, framing her delicate face. Her eyes are so captivating, you couldn't help but meet her gaze and stare. Once you managed to get past that spellbinding sight, you'll notice her perfectly chiseled nose, and her supple, rosy lips. And, probably knowing how angelic she looks that she wanted to complete the image, she was wearing a simple white dress.

I cursed inwardly as I realized my hands were itching to feel her velvety smooth skin again.

Stop it, Vren. You're acting like a complete idiot.

"How are you?" she said, a smile starting to form on her lips.

Shit. I inhaled deeply. What am I going to say? Hindi ko naman pwedeng sabihin na, "Fuck off, Isabella. I hate the plain sight of you," kahit alam kong deserved niyang marinig ang mga salitang 'yan mula sa akin. For one, I'd look like a total loser – six years and I still haven't moved on? I wasn't planning on giving her the satisfaction of knowing that she still has a great effect on me.

And I hated it. I hated myself for it, almost as much as I hated her for hurting me all those years ago.

I knew it'd be best if I played cool and supremely unconcerned, so I said in an expressionless tone, "No one calls me that anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me..." I started walking away from her, pocketing my hands to hide how shaky they've become.

"W-wait! Andrei! Please, can we talk?" I heard Isabella's heels clicking against Crystal Palace's floor as she hurried to follow me. I could feel the people's stares burning right through me as I strode the last few paces towards the exit.

"Andrei!" Now she was right behind me. "Just a few minutes. Please. And then you'll never hear from me again."

For God's sake.

I faced her again. "Isabella, leave me alone."

"You used to call me Bella..." Bitterness was oozing from her voice. "I need to tell you something, Andrei. Should we get out of here?"

"No. I'll get out of here while you stay. My girlfriend is waiting for me."

"Girlfriend? Where is she? Nobody told me you have one," she said in an almost-whisper. Her lips were quivering, and her eyes were shiny with tears.

Fuck! I wanted to shout. What the hell is your problem, Bella?

"I'm sorry that you weren't informed," I told her in my best sarcastic tone. I smirked, taking the mockery further by a notch – even though in doing so, a part of me got crushed all over again. Seeing her trying so hard not to cry was a painful sight. "But now that you already know about it – about her – I suppose you could leave me alone for good."

I turned my back on her, just in time to see the door open, revealing Mira. I froze.

"Vren!" Mira's voice was in its usual cheerful tone. "Palabas ka na rin pala. Tara, uwi na tayo? Hindi mo naman sinabi kaagad na sumama ang pakiramdam mo. Nasa labas nga pala sina Vince at Hannah. Nakakaloka ang dalawang 'yon! Naniniwala ka bang friendly date lang ang ipinunta nila dito?" She started to laugh but stopped abruptly as she took in my panicked expression. "O, bakit parang nakakita ka ng multo, ha? May problema ba?"

Please. For the love of God and everything that's holy, don't let Isabella speak. Or move. Or do anything that might make Mira notice her.

"Hey." My voice came out weak, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "I was just about to fetch you." Thank God I sounded normal this time. "Can we go now?"

"Wait lang, magpaalam muna tayo sa mga kaibigan mo." Nagsimula siyang humakbang palapit sa akin.

"No! I already said goodbye to them. For both of us."

"Ha? Parang wala naman akong manners kung 'di ako magpapaalam nang maayos sa kanila."

"It doesn't matter." Before Mira could even react, I closed the distance between us, blocking her view. "I'm sorry that we have to go too soon. Babalik na lang tayo, okay? I'll show you around Hollier and bring you to my favorite spots in the campus. And we'll see my friends again, don't worry."

"Okay." I could tell by her expression that she's confused by my hurry, probably sensing that something was amiss other than the "illness" my brother invented as a convenient excuse. But I appreciate that she didn't make a fuss. "Tara na?"

"Wait." Sure that Isabella was watching my every move, I wrapped my arm around Mira's waist. And, for good measure, I leaned closer to my girlfriend and whispered, "Don't I get a kiss? For being awesome on stage earlier?"

My girlfriend let out a soft laugh. "Nagiging sweet ka talaga kapag masama ang pakiramdam mo." She tilted her face towards mine, lips curved into a smile as she waited for me to make the move.

As Mira and I kissed, I heard the clicking of heels against the floor, sounding farther and farther as their owner fled the scene.