Lena couldn't sleep. Pawis na pawis na siya, takot na takot din dahil maya't maya niyang naaalala 'yong multo sa isang Japanese movie na nagpakita sa ilalim ng kumot. But she didn't dare remove the cover. She didn't even move.

Cyrus kept on saying sorry. Paulit-ulit iyon. At one point ay naramdaman pa niyang lumapit ito sa kanya. Lumundoy ang kama nang maupo ito sa may paanan noon.

"Lena, talk to me, please," he begged. "Sorry na."

She didn't budge.

"I know I shouldn't have kissed you. Nadala lang ako, Lena. I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me, please."

How can she tell him that she wasn't mad? She was just embarrassed and frustrated because that's not how a normal girl would react if she was kissed by a guy that she likes. She hates being weird sometimes. Abnormal siyang mag-react sa maraming bagay.

She heard him sigh. Naramdaman niya itong tumayo. He went back to his bed then it went dark, as he already switched the light off.

"Good night, Lena."

--

When Lena got up the next morning, Cyrus was still asleep. Nakaharap ito sa kanya, yakap-yakap ang isa nitong unan. She wanted to crawl in bed next to him and sleep. Wala pa siyang tulog. Antok na antok na siya pero wala siyang magawa. Naiinis siyang hinayaan niyang masanay ang sarili na may katabi palagi pagtulog.

Napatakbo siya papuntang banyo nang bigla itong gumalaw. Agad siyang naghilamos para makalabas ng kwarto. Maglalakad-lakad muna siya, tutal ay hindi rin naman siya makatutulog kahit ano'ng gawin niya. She was brushing her hair with her fingers when her gaze landed on her lips. Seeing those lips in the mirror brought back the memory from last night. Biglang nag-init ang mga pisngi niya nang maalala iyon.

That was her second kiss. Cyrus was also her first kiss, but it was different from before. The last time felt like he was rushing. Last night's kiss was more like a promise.

Aminado naman siyang may epekto iyon sa kanya. That's the problem. She doesn't want to like it. She's not supposed to like it. It will make everything complicated. She knew that she'll be too scared to go on. Kung anoman ang mayroon sila ngayon, sapat na iyon sa kanya. It's too early to wish for something more conflicting because at the end of the day, she knew that she's still in love with Martin. Being in a serious relationship with someone while still being in love with someone else isn't her thing.

Nagulat siya nang paglabas niya ay gising na si Cyrus. He appears to be in deep thought, looking out the window. Lumingon ito nang marinig ang pagsara ng pintuan ng banyo. Agad siyang nag-iwas ng tingin. She walked to her bed, crouched down to get the camera from her bag then headed to the door. He must have sensed that she didn't want to talk because he didn't call her attention.

--

Their last day in Singapore was filled with awkwardness. Nakailang attempt na rin si Cyrus na kausapin siya. Not about the kiss, just random things. Pero hindi man lang siya makatingin dito nang diretso. It was really hard to avoid him, since palaging sila ang magkadikit.

Hanggang sa eroplano pauwi, magkatabi pa rin sila. Pero tahimik na si Cyrus. Hindi na nito sinubukang makipag-usap sa kanya. Nakatitig lamang ito sa labas ng bintana. Dahil ang pwesto naman niya ay sa tabi ng aisle, wala siyang ibang magawa kundi tumunganga. She managed to sleep for a bit pero pinakamahaba na ang 30 minutes dahil pagising-gising siya.

When they landed, Julie and Blake took a different cab so she was again left with Cyrus. Tinanong lamang nito kung saan siya magpapahatid, kung sa bahay ba ng parents niya o sa bahay niya, tapos ay hindi na ito nagsalita ulit. Nagpahatid siya sa bahay ng mga magulang dahil nandoon si Bailey. Hindi siya makatutulog sa bahay niya dahil mag-isa lamang siya roon.

"Good night," she told Cyrus when she got off the car.

He simply nodded and the car took off again.

She was so tired and sleepy that she decided to just worry about Cyrus the next day. Mabuti na lamang at nandoon si Bailey. Nakatulog siya nang maayos. Nang magising siya kinabukasan, tanghali na. No one woke her up for breakfast. Her mother must have seen the dark circles around her eyes last night and simply understood that she needed sleep more than food. Maging si Bailey na personal alarm clock niya ay hindi siya nagawang gisingin. Wala na ito sa tabi niya nang magising siya.

Lumabas siya ng kwarto at agad na tinungo ang kusina para kumain. Nanghihina na siya sa gutom, and that only makes her more sleepy. Naabutan niya doon ang katulong na nagluluto ng tanghalian.

Agad itong naghain ng tinapay nang makita siya. "Malapit nang maluto itong kaldereta," sabi nito sa kanya.

"Si mommy po, nasaan?" tanong niya habang pinapalamanan ng Nutella ang tinapay. Her mother would surely reprimand her if she sees how much Nutella she's putting on the bread. Sila kasi ni Nikola ang madalas makaubos noon. Paano ba naman, awas sa malaking kutsara kung makapagpalaman sila.

"May pinuntahan lang. Bawasan mo nga 'yang palaman mo!" the maid reprimanded. "Mawawalan ka ng ganang kumain ng kanin nyan."

She didn't listen. Instead, she simply folded the bread in half and ate it. Pagkaubos ng tinapay ay tumayo siya para magtimpla ng hot chocolate. Iling nang iling ang katulong dahil sa ginagawa niya.

"Diabetes ang aabutin mong bata ka," she warned.

Ngumiti lamang siya. Kauupo nya lamang ulit nang biglang tumunog ang phone niya. She was half expecting that it was Cyrus kaya nagulat siya nang makita ang mukha ni Martin sa screen.

"Hello? Napatawag ka?"

"Nag-away ba kayo ng boyfriend mo?" bungad nitong tanong.

"Bakit?"

"He's giving me the attitude again. Ang sama ng mood nya kanina pagpasok pa lang. Now he's throwing tantrums. Ano na naman ang ginawa mo?"

"Wala." Of course, she's not going to tell Martin what's going on. Pero sa paraan ng pagsusumbong nito, parang madalas na ganoon si Cyrus sa trabaho. Akala pa naman niya'y mabuting magkaibigan ang dalawa. Why would Cyrus jeopardize his work and their friendship? "Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Martin huffed. "And he always takes it out on me. Kung di ko nga lang kaibigan 'to, nasisante ko na 'to."

"Grabe ka naman."

"Pinasasakit nya kasi ang ulo ko! Talk to him, will you? Maybe you can help."

He sounded so desperate, she couldn't help but promise. Right after Martin ended the call, tinawagan naman niya si Cyrus. Hindi na niya pinatagal pa dahil alam niyang dadagain na naman siyang makipag-usap dito kapag pinag-isipan pa niya nang matagal.

Wala naman sa boses ni Cyrus na badtrip ito. In fact, he sounded rather pleasant. Mukhang natutuwa itong tumawag siya. Kinumusta niya ang trabaho nito, keeping in mind that she had to sound really interested and to never mention Martin's name.

"I'm glad you called," sabi nito pagkatapos nitong magkwento. "Akala ko galit ka kasi-"

"I'm not angry."

"Oh..."

"But let's not talk about it."

"Okay." There was a short pause before he changed the topic. "So... what are you doing?"

"Hinihintay kong maluto 'yong kaldereta," sagot niya. "Ikaw?"

"Talking to my favorite person."

That made her smile. She turned her back to the maid because she's giving her weird looks. Dinala niya ang hot chocolate sa sala at doon itinuloy ang pakikipag-usap kay Cyrus para may kaunting privacy. Nakikinig kasi ang katulong sa usapan nila. Siguradong magkikwento ito sa mommy niya mamaya.

Hindi niya namalayang tumagal na pala ang usapan nilang dalawa. Napilitan lamang siyang magpaalam nang marinig niya ang boses ni Martin sa background. Pinagagalitan nito si Cyrus dahil kanina pa raw ito nakababad sa phone.

"I have to go," paalam nito. "Do you want to have dinner later?"

"Uhm..."

Handa na ba siyang makipagkita ulit dito?

"It's okay if you don't want to," sabi nito nang hindi siya nakasagot agad. "Sa ibang araw na lang siguro."

"Right," she agreed. "Sige na. Magtrabaho ka na."

"All right. Bye, Lena."

--

Lena didn't see Cyrus for the next few days. Palagi siyang may excuse tuwing mag-aaya itong lumabas. Hindi pa lamang siya handang harapin itong muli pagkatapos noong nangyari sa Singapore. Sigurado siyang kung magkikita sila, palagi siyang mapapatingin sa mga labi nito. And if he catches her looking, then it would be really awkward.

Hindi naman nagpumilit si Cyrus na makipagkita. Siguro ay dahil na rin sa may trabaho ito. But they talked every day, dahil sa pakiusap ni Martin. Gumaganda raw kasi ang mood ni Cyrus pagkatapos nitong makipag-usap sa kanya.

When weekend came, though, she was forced to face him. Well, she would certainly hide if she could, but he came to her house unannounced, bago pa man siya makaalis. Saktong pagbukas niya ng pinto nang bumaba ito ng kotse.

"Going somewhere?"