"She's a model. Sure ako, magiging Angel 'to sa future." Patuloy siyang binenta ni Sage.

"Hi." Yumuko si Mia para itago ang namumula niyang mga pisngi. Kung alam ako lang na ipapakilala ako kay Tristan, sana last week pa ako nag-practice ng 'hi' ko.

"Nice to meet you, Mia," sagot ni Tristan na may kasamang nakakatunaw na ngiti.

And then it came. The dreaded awkward silence. Pinagpapawisan na ang mga palad ni Mia. She had never been good at social interaction. Her eyes darted to Kendra, who was glaring at Sage, who was grinning at her. Nag-e-expect nga pala ito ng regalo.

Lumunok siya. "Please don't oversell me, Sage. Mahirap maging Angel." She forced out a nervous chuckle before looking back at her crush. "But really, Tristan, I'm a huge fan. So, uh, do you want to dance with a fan?"

"Sure. See you, Ken, Sage." Tristan took one last glance at Ken, who was still glaring at Sage, before walking with her to the dance floor.

Mia felt her stomach drop. Gusto niya lang namang tumupad sa ipinangako niyang regalo kay Sage. She didn't expect Tristan to agree that easily. So may panibago na naman siyang problema—she had absolutely no talent for dancing.

* * *

While he could easily move in sync with the beat, Mia seemed to be trying her best but she was undeniably stiff. Napansin rin ni Tristan ang sobrang pamumula ng mga pisngi ng dalaga pero 'di niya maitatangging kaakit-akit din ang maamo nitong mukha. She's actually cute pero walang tatalo sa ganda ni Selene—ugh, why do I have to compare everyone to Selene?

Mia had large dark brown eyes with thick eyelashes and soft angled-brows. Her naturally full lips were shining with gloss and her refined nose was not too high and not too low on her face. All these features were perfectly placed on her diamond-shaped face, framed by thick full bangs.

Pero kahit may magandang babae na sa harap niya, palingon-lingon pa rin si Tristan sa dalawang taong umiinom sa may bar. Kendra really looked like Selene.

A shrill voice that was dripping with condescension caught his attention. "Tigas naman ng katawan mo, pa'no ka ba naging model?" So the rumors were true. She was not nice at all.

Beside him, Claire Montero grabbed his arm as she smiled maliciously at Mia. Marami na sigurong nainom kaya lumalabas ang tunay na kulay. "Hi Tristan. How about you dance with me instead?" Claire continued.

Yumuko si Mia at umatras. "Uhm, I-I—"

Tristan quickly shook away Claire's hand. He hated bullies. "It's not too late for her to learn to dance," he said, grabbing Mia's wrists to pull her closer. As the upbeat music transitioned into something slower, he placed her hands on his shoulders then settled on his hands on her waist, guiding her to sway with him.

Saka siya lumingon kay Claire. "Sorry, pero magkakilala ba tayo?"

Napanganga si Claire at kitang kita ang pagpula ng mga pisngi nito. Without another word, Claire turned on her heel and walked away.

Agad niyang pinakawalan ang pinipigil na tawa nang makalayo si Claire.

* * *

Her heart was hammering against her ribcage as she stared wide-eyed at the man laughing so blithely in front of her. Hindi na nasabayan ni Mia ang pag-indak nito.

Tristan stopped laughing when he noticed that she wasn't moving. "Mia? Okay ka lang?"

She swallowed then nodded slowly.

"Hindi ito 'yong first time na may sinabi siyang gano'n sa'yo, 'no?" he said.

Matipid itong nginitian ni Mia. "Ah, wala lang 'yon. Sanay na 'ko do'n."

Tristan exhaled heavily and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Mia, hindi ka dapat nasasanay sa gano'n."

"Sorry—"

"At hindi ka dapat nag-so-sorry sa 'kin."

Napakagat sa labi si Mia. "I meant to say 'thank you.' You didn't need to do that for me."

"Hindi ko na gagawin next time. So you better learn to tell off Claire." He smiled. "I'm sure, insecure lang 'yon sa 'yo kaya niya sinabi 'yon." He started to sway again, pulling her with him.

"Wala namang nakaka-insecure sa 'kin."

"You really think so?" Tristan asked with a raised brow.

"Oy Tristan!"

Sabay silang napalingon sa pinanggalingan ng boses. Two guys were walking up to them. And as a fan of all things Tristan, Mia immediately recognized them as Luke Trinidad and Nate Atienza, Tristan's teammates in the national football team.

"Shot na!" Nate said, a bit too loudly as he attempted to put a shot glass in Tristan's hand. Mukhang nakainom na ito.

"Wait, wait!" Luke said as he looked over to Mia. "May ka-moment pala si Tristan, aren't we being rude?"

"N-no, it's fine, we weren't really doing anything," she said shyly. Sa tagal ng pagkagusto at pagsubaybay niya sa mga laro ni Tristan, hindi na nakakagulat na humanga na rin siya sa buong team. She was truly a fan and couldn't believe that she was standing next to three players of her favorite sports team.

"'Yon naman pala eh! Have a drink with us then, Miss—?"

"Mia." She completed Luke's statement.

"Nice to meet you Mia, I'm Luke," he replied as he shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Nate," the other guy said and he also shook her hand. "Wait, you're Mia? As in, Mia Elizalde who was included in the rankings for sexiest women by that magazine that we don't read?"

"Baka ako nga 'yon." She awkwardly laughed. "I've never posed for that magazine that you don't read, disclaimer lang." Bakit ba kasi ako nasama sa ranking na 'yon? Baka kung ano pang isipin ni Tristan.

"Yeah, we know," sabay na sagot nina Luke at Nate.

"Of course you do. 'Di n'yo kasi binabasa 'yon, right?" Tristan said sarcastically to his tipsy teammates. "Anyway, 'wag n'yo nang isali si Mia sa mga kalokohan n'yo."

"What? Social event 'to, Tristan. Drinking is absolutely expected. Right, Mia?" Nate replied as he grabbed a shot glass filled with vodka from a passing by waiter's tray and handed it to her.

"Yeah, 'wag ka na makinig dito sa ahjussi na 'to," Luke chimed in. Mukhang pagtutulungan nila ang team captain.

"Anong ahjussi? Oppa kaya ako!" Tristan said.

His teammates just laughed while Mia secretly agreed. Oppa-nsin mo naman ako, please.

"Okay, kung oppa ka talaga, shot na tayo," Luke announced. "Cheers!"

Oppa-tola naman si Tristan. He downed the drink rapidly. His face contorted slightly at the taste of alcohol but he swallowed it nonetheless as his friends cheered him on.

"Ikaw naman, Mia!" ani Nate. Despite being in showbiz, Mia wasn't really fond of parties and drinking but damn, this was probably a once in a lifetime chance na maka-party niya si Tristan at ang mga kaibigan nito kaya agad niya ring ininom ang vodka. Soon enough, the four of them got a table and continued getting drinks and playing drinking games.

* * *

They played Never Have I Ever at syempre, ang target na i-bully sa larong 'yon ay ang ahjussi na kasama nila. Unfortunately, it was backfiring 'cause Tristan was such a goody two-shoes. He had never cheated on a test, copied homework, been caught violating traffic rules, ghosted a person, blocked a basher, pretended to be sick to avoid work, jaywalked or recycled a gift among other really common mischievous behavior. Lalo pang humanga si Mia sa binata pero laking gulat niya nang malamang hindi pa rin ito kailanman nagkaroon ng nobya. Nagulat din ang tatlong football player nang malamang gano'n din si Mia.

"Yiie, pareho pala kayo ni Tristan eh," Luke teased.

"Kayo na lang kaya?" Nate joined in the teasing. "Wala na 'yong Selene mo, move on ka na, ahjussi!"

Mia couldn't help but blush but Tristan quickly reprimanded his teammates. "Oy, ano ba kayo, tigil n'yo na nga 'yan." He then discreetly glanced over to the bar where Sage and Kendra were having their own drinking session.

Of course, Mia noticed this, just like how she noticed that he had been doing this the entire time that he was with her. As much as she wished na siya na lang sana 'yong tinitingnan ni Tristan, 'di siya nakaramdam ng kahit anong pagkainis kay Kendra for being the apple of his eye. It was more than enough for her that she got to meet her long-time crush. Or so she tried to convince herself.

"Mia, pagpasensyahan mo na sana 'tong dalawang 'to. Lasing na eh," Tristan said.

"'Di mo kailangang mag-sorry. All of you were very kind to me tonight and I really enjoyed your company." Especially yours kahit panay ang tingin mo sa iba.

"We enjoyed your company too!" Nate said enthusiastically. "Ang corny lang talaga nitong ahjussi na 'to, halos walang nainom."

Luke suddenly stood up and grabbed a shot glass from the tray of a waiter who was on his way to another table. He was visibly shocked by the football player's actions. "Wait lang sir, that's for—"

"Yes, for Tristan, right?" Luke interrupted. He slipped a bill in the waiter's palm. Tumango na lang 'yong waiter at bumalik sa may bar para kumuha ng bagong drink. "Drink up, ahjussi!" Luke said, handing the drink to Tristan.

"Lasing na kayo. Tama na," pag-awat ni Tristan sa teammate niya.

"Kami lasing pero ikaw, walang tama," Nate reasoned out as he pouted. "Ang KJ mo, ahjussi."

"Last na, inumin mo na lang 'yan then we'll stop, promise" Luke tried to convince him.

"Are you sure? You're both going home after I finish this shot?" Tristan reiterated. The two nodded like obedient pre-schoolers, to Mia's amusement.

Tristan sighed and drank all the contents of the shot glass in one gulp para matapos na ang kalokohan ng dalawa nitong kaibigan. After a few seconds, napakapit ang binata sa gilid ng table at kumurap ng ilang beses. He swayed a bit before completely blacking out. His head landed on Mia's lap.

Nagkatinginan ang tatlong kasama ng team captain.

"Shit," Luke cursed as the color drained from his face.