a / n :

I M P O R T A N T

filipino words will keep popping up every now and then throughout this story. i will post in-line comments to translate them, so you can just check those out as you read.

however, in case you don't have access to my comments (ie, you're reading offline, or on the website), you don't have to worry! the words aren't really crucial for you to understand what's happening, and i've provided some context clues in the text. still, don't hesitate to ask if anything confuses you! 

* * * * *

T H R E E

WHICH IS WHY he decides to drop by for a visit later that night.

His mom and Adrian are already sleeping when he slips out of the house. He takes Adrian's motorcycle and reminds himself to use the helmet, else he'd risk having to listen to Hadley lecturing him again.

Not that it bothers him all that much: It reminds him that she cares, and Hadley makes it incredibly easy to forget that she does.

Hadley's house is normally around fifteen minutes away from his on Adrian's motorcycle, but it's only a few minutes until midnight, and the streets are nearly empty so he makes it there in ten.

He doesn't bother texting Hadley beforehand. He never does. He simply shows up and calls only when he's already there, standing on the sidewalk with the bike parked behind him, looking up at Hadley's window as he presses his phone against his ear.

He still remembers the first time he stood in this exact same spot doing the exact same thing two years ago. It had only been three weeks after he and Hadley started dating. He wasn't even sure if she was home, but he took his chances anyway, letting his impulsiveness get the better of him.

"What're you doing here?" she asked him almost as soon as she got out, wearing her coat over her onesies, hair mussed up from sleep.

"Happy birthday," he said in reply, holding out a warm cup of her favorite dark chocolate drink from Coffee Overdose.

Hadley's surprise was evident. She stared at him with a stricken look on her face, and it was such a rare expression on her that he couldn't help but grin.

"You must be out of your mind," Hadley told him when she recovered, cautiously accepting the drink from him.

"Maybe because I'm in yours?"

"It's too early for this," she said with an almost exasperated shake of her head, but there was a sheepish expression on her face when she finally lifted her eyes back to his. "Thank you."

"I just wanted to be the first one to greet you."

She let out a groan and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm dating a romantic. How'd you even get here? It's already twelve, for god's sake."

This time, it was Dexter's turn to feel sheepish. He himself had only just turned sixteen. It took three hours for him to successfully convince his mom to let him go out this late at night, then he had to strike a deal with Adrian just so he'd agree to take him there on his bike.

In fact, Adrian was waiting for him at the end of the block, where Dexter told him to stay because he didn't want him to do or even just say anything that could totally ruin the moment.

"You agreed to do two weeks of your brother's laundry for this?" She gave him an incredulous look, wrapping both her hands around her drink. "You could have just called. That counts as a greeting too."

Dexter gave her a helpless shrug. "I'm out of my mind, remember?"

"You are," she agreed, her voice merely above a whisper. Her eyes lost their sharp edges, her expression soft and thoughtful. She took a step closer and surprised him by standing up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. "So hurry up and get out of mine. You're taking up too much space."

The line nearly made him choke on nothing. He eyes snapped to hers, wide from disbelief. "Did you just--"

She punched him in the shoulder before he could finish. "Yes," she said, keeping her eyes trailed on the ground. "Now shut up and never mention this again because it's the last time I'm ever saying anything like that."

It probably was, but at that time, he was so deliriously happy all he could do was smile and say he'd be more than willing to do his brother's laundry forever if it meant hearing her say something as affectionate as that again.

But Hadley just isn't the affectionate type. That's the way it is; and Dexter's fine with that too because he knows Hadley, and she never would have allowed him to revolve around the same orbit as her if she didn't like him enough.

And he's been in her life for two years now. That's perhaps the only proof he needs.

"I'm out front," he tells her now as soon as she answers the call. "And I brought you some Oreos. Double stuffed."

"What?"

Dexter's brows furrow slightly, not quite used to this kind of response. "I'm standing in front of your house."

There's a pause, then, quietly, she says, "I'm not home yet."

"Oh."

Something heavy settles in Dexter's gut. He checks his wristwatch and sees it's already half past eleven. His grip on the phone tightens.

"Are you... are you still out with Josh?"

At first, she hesitates. He waits, and isn't surprised when she eventually says "Yes."

He doesn't know what to say to this, and his silence sounds heavier over the static, his confusion growing as the seconds tick by.

"Hey, Dex? Sorry, but can I call you back?" she suddenly says. "I'll tell you all about it later."

He swallows, looks up at the sky and numbly says "Okay."

"I'm sorry."

Dexter kicks at a pebble he sees and nods, even though Hadley can't really see him. "No, no. It's fine. I guess I just didn't expect you'd still be out." With him.

"We'll talk soon."

"Yeah," he says. "And Had?"

"Mm?"

"Be careful."

She lets out a snort. "I always am."

"I mean it."

"Is this your way of subtly telling me to use protection?"

A funny feeling washes over Dexter. Only it isn't funny. In fact, it's confusing, and numbing, and it's completely, utterly stupid for him to feel in the first place, so he shrugs it off and says "Well, it's cool if you don't as long as you promise that I get to pick the middle name—"

"First off," she cuts him off, "I don't plan on getting pregnant anytime soon. Or ever. Second," she says firmly, "Josh and I are just talking."

The relief he feels is so overwhelming it scares him. He swallows and tries to his best to keep it from slipping into his voice. "That's what they all say."

"You think I would have answered the phone if we were in the middle of something?" Hadley easily retorts. "Don't flatter yourself."

A rueful smile makes it way to his face. "Right."

"I'll call you later," she says.

Dexter looks down at his feet. "Okay, then."

They say goodbye and hang up. Dexter lowers the phone to his side, taking one last look at Hadley's window, almost as though he expects her to appear behind the curtains with a triumphant gotcha! Not that Hadley would ever say the word gotcha. Or do something like that in the first place.

Then again, he didn't expect her to still be out with Josh either.

In the two years they'd been together, he'd only ever seen her cry twice: the first was when she broke up with him on that cold and dreary December morning, and the second was when she showed up at his doorstep last Friday.

She had cried over Josh, and Dexter knows it takes a lot to make Hadley cry, so he can't help but seethe at the thought of that bastard and Hadley being together right now, regardless of whether or not they were "just talking." Which he sincerely hopes is true.

He drags in a deep breath and runs one hand through his hair, his other making a fist so tight his nails were digging into the skin of his palm. He wants to call her again and demand to know where she is, so he could swoop in and get her out of there as quickly as possible. Maybe land a punch or two (or, like, five) on that bastard's face while he's at it.

But he doesn't. He can't, because he knows it's not supposed to be any of his business, so he simply turns back to Adrian's bike and decides to head home instead.

No use thinking about it now.

* * * * *

"You were out pretty late last night."

Hadley turns to see Taylor leaning against the doorframe. He's got his arms crossed over his bare chest, and he's giving Hadley a mock stern look that doesn't really look all that convincing with his hair sticking up in all directions and his favorite Spiderman boxers on.

She spits out the toothpaste foam down the sink and begins to run her toothbrush under the faucet. "I didn't know you were home."

"I figured I needed to grace this lovely home of my presence once in a while." He grins and steps into the bathroom, purposely bumping her with his hip as he grabs his own toothbrush.

Hadley elbows him in return, which makes him squirm away. Years of arguments over who gets to use the bathroom first paid off once she learned about him being very, very ticklish. Just a slight nudge is enough to make him jump away from her.

He narrows his eyes at her on the mirror, but Hadley simply gives him a triumphant smirk before leaning over to rinse her mouth.

"I hate you," her kuya mutters darkly.

When she's done, she turns the tap off and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Then, she grins and steps away to give her brother some space. "There. Bathroom's all yours."

"About time," he says, reaching for the toothpaste to squeeze a dollop of it on his toothbrush.

She waits until he's already brushing his teeth before stepping out of the bathroom, only to quickly pop her head back in, arranging a vaguely apologetic look on her face. "Oh, hey, was that your toothbrush?"

Taylor gives her a wary look.

"I think I might have dropped that in the toilet last—"

He quickly drops it on the sink, violently spitting out whatever foam has already managed to form in his mouth. "What?"

Her lips quirk up to a smirk. "Just kidding."

"Putangina," Taylor curses under his breath, but Hadley just gives him a small wave before skittering off.

Taylor's already in his second year in college. He had to go away and live in dorm on campus, which at first was a great relief because it meant that she no longer had to wake up thirty minutes earlier than him to make sure she gets to shower first. He never gets rid of those clumps of hair in the drain, and the thought of using the soap after he'd used it is enough to make her shudder.

Later, she kind of had to admit that she misses having him around, and she likes spending time with him whenever he's home for his breaks.

He, however, doesn't seem to share the same thoughts. They've barely seen each other since he flew home last week. He was always out doing something with his high school buddies, and she can't exactly blame him, considering it's the only time they can catch up on each other's lives.

She's fine with it, really. In fact, she likes him more when he makes himself scarce, if only because it means there'll be less chances of them falling into an argument. Naturally, they became less unpleasant with each other once he moved away, and she quickly realized that they prefer each other in small doses.

She eats breakfast while she waits for Taylor, joining her lola in the dining room. The elderly woman's watching some kind of Filipino drama on her tablet as she nibbles on an orange wedge. She was very tech-savvy for her age, courtesy of Hadley patiently explaining the internet to her a few years back.

"What's this one about, Lola?" Hadley asks her, pulling up a chair to sit next to her, grabbing an orange for herself.

"Kambal sisters got separated at birth," she replies, referring to the twins on the screen. "This maldita hates her sister."

Hadley doesn't say any more as she watches the scene unfold. She understands the language pretty well, but she and Taylor can't speak it as easily. Her mom and grandmother rarely speak in English with each other, but Lola often switches between English and Tagalog when she talks to her and Taylor.

The twin with the bad attitude is just about to throw a cup of steaming coffee at her sister when Taylor finally joins them.

"Kain na," Lola says. "There's tinapay in the ref."

"Opo, 'La," Taylor replies with a sweet smile, hiding all traces of his usual attitude from their lola, obviously acting like the angel she thinks he is.

Once they finish eating, both Taylor and Hadley kiss their grandmother goodbye and head to the shop. Their parents go there early to restock the shelves and cook up new batches of the other candies before opening the shop, and Hadley rarely wakes up to find them in the house.

They take Hadley's car, and she happily surrenders the keys to him. She no longer enjoys driving as much as she used to when she first got her license. Running errands for the shop tend to have that effect on people. The car used to be Taylor's anyway, but he had to leave it because they need it in the shop for when they make deliveries or buy ingredients wholesale.

"Is this your girlfriend?" she asks him when she finds a picture of a pretty Latina on his phone.

Taylor casts her a brief look before looking back at the road. He smiles. "Maybe. I don't know yet. I think she likes me back. I changed my profile picture the other night and she liked it, so..."

Hadly gives her brother a look. "You think she likes you back just because she liked your profile picture?"

"Not just because. There are other things, too."

"Yeah? Like what?"

He frowns and suddenly reaches over to snatch the phone from her. "Gimme that."

God, he can be an idiot sometimes.

"Hey, isn't that Dexter?" he suddenly says.

Hadley looks out the windshield just as the car slows down, idling to a stop beside the boy on the sidewalk.

She gets a flashback of last night's phone call, and feels guilty because she hasn't called him yet, partly because she figured he must have been sleeping by the time she got home and partly because she's not quite sure what to tell him.

"Dex!" Taylor calls out, leaning over the passenger seat to get a look at him.

Dexter starts at first, but grins when he realizes who they are.

"Taylor," he says, a look of pleasant surprise on his face. "I heard you were home."

"And I heard I'm your boss now," he says teasingly. "Get in."

Dexter's eyes meets hers. She freezes, not quite sure how to act, but he simply gives her a playful wink. "Hey, gorgeous," before pulling the car door open, folding himself into the backseat.

"You and Hadley were out late last night," Taylor says almost as soon as Dexter shuts the door close.

"Actually," he says, "I was too busy crying myself to sleep because Hadley here ditched me for someone else. Pillow soaked all through." He clicks his tongue. "She's a heartbreaker, that one."

"You were not crying," Hadley protests, twisting in her seat to look at him.

"Well, okay. Maybe not," he concedes with a small smile. "I fell asleep after watching the new LCS Spring Split video."

"Wait," Taylor cuts in, making both Hadley and Dexter turn to him. He narrows his eyes at his sister. "You two weren't together?"

Hadley doesn't reply, and the silence grows unnerving as they drive, the shop steadily coming into view. Hadley nearly gives in, but Dexter breaks the silence to her surprise, not so subtly changing the topic by bringing up some band releasing this new album. Hadley didn't think it would work, but Taylor must really like whatever band it was because he immediately launched into a tirade of animated ramblings about some song or another.

Dexter and Taylor spent the rest of the ride talking and Hadley opted to tune them out, too uninterested to try and keep up with the topic, but when they finally arrive and Taylor goes in ahead of them, she finds herself reaching for Dexter, fingers wrapping around his wrist just as he's about to push the door open.

"Thank you," she says.

Dexter doesn't need to ask what for. He rarely does, so he simply gives her a boyish smile. "Anything for my favorite girl, remember?"

Her fingers tighten around his wrist. "I mean it."

"You think I don't?"

Hadley doesn't know what to say to that, so she drops her gaze and instead says, "Sorry about last night."

There's silence at first. She's afraid to see the expression on his face, so he keeps her eyes on the ground. She doesn't know how long it took until he finally said, "You never called."

He says it softly, devoid of any accusation, and it's this that compels Hadley to drag her eyes back to his. "I didn't want to wake you."

Dexter doesn't say anything for a moment. She waits. And waits. Then he shifts, taking in a deep breath before turning to her with a hesitant look on his face.

The moment she sees his reluctance, she knew what was coming. She can hear the question before he'd even actually said the words, but still she finds herself fumbling for an answer when he finally asked him the question that must have been plaguing his thoughts the night before.

"Are you and Josh back together?"

She takes in a sharp breath and looks at him, willing the words to come out, but there's something about his hooded gaze that scares her, and suddenly she's terrified of seeing how he'd react to the news.

His eyes don't waver, though, and finally she breathes out a "Yes."