Thread by @elidrl

crush kita? (gagi wag)

a #darlentina au where someone crushes on someone but becomes conflicted kasi— 🥲

- not a social media au, sadly. this author is still lazy ey ef to learn.
- will be like most of my posts sa headcanon thread ko.
- set in 2012
- i hate twt cropping

https://twitter.com/elidrl/status/1627271498041036803

1,

having a crush is so weird, isn't it?

it just comes out of nowhere. it hits you like a truck or sometimes slithers up your leg like a snake and bites you in the singit—

regina sighs.

and sometimes it hits you so hard, you really don't know how to deal with it.

2.

so regina just lives with it. she sits next to 𝘩𝘦𝘳, writes in her notebook, and ignores 𝘩𝘦𝘳 for the most part.

she focuses on studies, studies, and only studies because she genuinely doesn't have time for crushes.

(she does. she just regrets this one.)

3.

because it all started in 2020. she's a freshman, curious about everything, and dealing with general electives she doesn't really care about.

she's not sure why there's still p.e. in college when she should be focusing on subjects related to her program but— anyway.

4.

it was their first session in p.e. everyone was seated on the floor, which was curious for regina because their parents paid a handsome amount of money for their yearly tuition, and yet, there they were, seated on the floor like kids waiting for a jollibee party to start.

5.

except regina was isolated at the front as the rest of the class had chosen to sit at the very back, right up against the wall.

their loss, she thought with a shrug. the view and audio were always better at the front.

but she didn't stay alone for too long.

6.

mere minutes before the professor showed up, someone plopped on the space beside her. first came the notebook, then a figure dressed in the same uniform followed.

regina didn't care to check the newcomer, but her eyes involuntarily flicked up to the mirror in front of them—

7.

six words popped up in her head:

ang pogi. what the fuck.

8.

and she cringed immediately because let it be known that she was regina vanguardia, daughter of rex vanguardia, sole heiress to the vanguardia foundation and god, does she hold herself with such high regard—

hell would freeze over before she'd describe someone as 𝘱𝘰𝘨𝘪.

9.

but she did, and after a moment, she realized she didn't mind. because she just kept on looking— like the deprived, closeted gay that she was.

this girl had gorgeous eyes and a handsome jawline to boot—

it's 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴.

10.

𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘦, she thought as she continued staring at her seatmate. it's a good thing that she's clearly distracted with her phone, ears occupied with a pair of wired earphones. it gave regina more time to really appreciate how handsome she looked in her—

11.

𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘢?

the stranger turned, and it was then that regina found out her name was 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘢.

12.

narda turned to the sound of her name, removing her earphones along the way. the action attracted regina's eyes, and in doing so, she followed her hands as they dropped the earphones on the floor—

where her phone happened to be lying flat, screen open.

13.

14.

𝘰𝘩, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰.

15.

— an hour and a half later. —

16.

— present time. —

17.

18.

two years have passed and regina's still stuck in this limbo, it turns out. actually akala niya naka-get over na siya kay narda. being from different programs, it's expected na they won't always have the same subjects.

in fact, regina went through three sems without narda.

19.

so one can say she had peace for three semesters.

20.

she didn't think about narda at all.

21.

she had room to get over narda, and she really thinks she did up until narda claimed the seat beside her in world lit during their first day of class.

hindi niya alam kung anong nakain niya kung bakit siya kumuha ng world lit as elective for summer class but.

21.

now that she's seated next to narda, suddenly there's no regret — and she resents how fast her regrets went out of the door.

kasi nga wala na siyang crush kay narda. wala na dapat. una sa lahat, ang baduy ng taste niya sa music. pangalawa... ano siya. uh— jeje manamit.

22.

to be fair, nagpatong na ng letterman jacket si narda. for decency in the classroom siguro, which is good. regina's eyes scanned her from top to bottom, and there's this tiny voice in her head screaming:

𝘗𝘜𝘛𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘐𝘕𝘈 𝘈𝘕𝘎 𝘎𝘞𝘈𝘗𝘖.

23.

but she's regina vanguardia, and by that, she means she's mastered the art of keeping a stoic expression on her face regardless of whatever turmoil is going on inside her head.

so she resorts to finishing her appreciation of narda's outfit hanggang sa—

24.

25.

contrary to what other people may think after seeing brian's tweet, regina didn't back down.

the regina vanguardia remained stoic in the face of (her crush) narda because she has mastered the art of keeping a straight face.

she has. she really has.

26.

27.

28.

29.

it is with this skill that she remembered to move the muscles beneath her eyebrow, pushing them up to show defiance when confronted by narda's inquiring look.

𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? she asks, and narda had the 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 to laugh.

30.

𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘨, 𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘱𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘨?

31.

her face had never heated up that quickly before. regina felt the beginnings of her embarrassment at the base of her neck and up to the very tip of her ears. she felt 𝘩𝘰𝘵, humiliated, and deviously annoyed at the audacity—

𝘸𝘩𝘺? 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘱𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘨?

32.

narda smiled.

𝘱𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘬𝘢-𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘰 '𝘬𝘰.

regina scoffed again.

𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘢.

[insert disk scratching sfx] — 𝙤𝙝, 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙩.

𝘶𝘩, 𝘱𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯—

33.

34.

regina 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 feels her heart drop upon recognizing the song.

embarrassing. disgusting. so below her standards.

regina, as an emoji in that moment: 😩

narda answers her phone, regina gathers her notebook, and moves to the chair far away from narda.

35.

— one month later, foundation week —

36.

it's been a month since her last encounter with narda.

the succeeding days after that sad ringtone have been relatively easy. turns out na mas madali palang dumiretso sa gilid ng classroom and sit far away from narda's chosen seat.

(siyempre her actions say otherwise.)

37.

(because even while seated five chairs away from narda, she can't help but look over at her when she's 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 occupied with note-taking.

kasi kapag wala ang cellphone niya containing her favorite jeje songs niya, narda looks like an entirely different person.)

38.

(her side profile is 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. her nose bridge? regina kind of wants to slide down it. her jawline? she'd probably cut her finger if she runs it along her jaw.

even the way she writes in her notebook is ridiculously handsome.)

39.

(when she answers their professor's questions about hercules' choices in the movie, regina can't help but be entranced by the way she speaks—

40.

"𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘰, 𝘴𝘪𝘳— 𝘶𝘩, 𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘰— 𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢! 𝘶𝘮, 𝘴𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪'𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪'𝘥 𝘥𝘰, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘰— 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘴𝘪𝘳." )

41.

(brian: nakakatampo lang na you listen to her speak like that pero kapag sa'kin—

regina: shut up, bri.

brian: as your childhood friend—

regina: bri, i will circumcise you again. i can't hear her.)

42.

so, it's been a full month of moving on; of definitely not paying attention to her. she's gone multiple nights of good sleep, to be fair, and she'll take that as a win.

and this week, she has so much free time and freedom to leave the campus and be far away from narda.

43.

but on the second day of the celebration, regina finds herself wandering around the campus alone with a cup of kwek-kwek because brian's gone and left her in favor of some dude's company.

𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬, she grimaces.

44.

but she finishes her kwek-kwek, licking her lips clean of any remaining sauce, and tosses the cup into the trash bin—

or tries to, anyway.

regina watches as the cup hits the rim of the bin and lands on the grass.

... 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯.

45.

regina turns to leave and—

𝘶𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦.

halts at the words clearly directed at her. she turns around again and instantly feels her heart skip a beat.

46.

because narda's standing next to the trash bin, dressed in her casual joggers and letterman jacket. her hands are kept in her jacket's pockets, looking at the cup on the ground before glancing at regina.

𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘰.

now regina knows her errors. alam niyang mali.

47.

but narda's tone ruffles her feathers—

(there's absolutely nothing wrong with narda's tone.)

and soon, she's all riled up as she marches over to where narda's clearly waiting for her.

48.

𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘩𝘢? 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘦𝘩.

𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦? narda chuckles. 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢.

regina begrudgingly picks up the cup and throws it in the trash bin. 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦?

narda shrugs.

𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩.

49.

... 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘺, regina huffs.

narda snorts. 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪 𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘶𝘭𝘪 𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘨 𝘴𝘢'𝘬𝘪𝘯?

regina bites her lip, eyebrows still furrowed at being confronted with her earlier error and the presence of narda, the bane of her existence.

50.

𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭? 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘪 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰. regina doesn't wait for an answer and turns away from narda with a huff. 𝘣𝘺𝘦.

𝘩𝘦𝘺, 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵!

𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?

narda saunters over to her, grinning.

𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘰?

51.

— 2020 —

𝘀𝗶𝗿, 𝘀𝗮𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝘆𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝘆𝗺?

𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱. 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

narda turns to the direction the professor's pointing at.

pader lang ang meron sa 'straight ahead' niya.

52.

𝘂𝗺—

paglingon niya, malayo na ang nilakad ng professor na napagtanungan niya, so narda didn't have any other choice but to walk straight ahead and hope for the best.

pagdating niya sa pader, nasa right side pala ang entrance ng gym, so napakamot nalang siya ng ulo.

53.

'𝗱𝗶 𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗼𝘀 𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗻...

narda eventually finds their room for the class, pero napahinto siya nang mapansin niya ang babaeng nakaupo malapit sa salamin.

narda sighs. 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲, 𝘁𝗼𝗹.

54.

but narda is anything but a coward. although she knows deep in her heart that this woman is way beyond her league, there's always a way to appreciate and admire someone who's caught her attention without starting anything.

so she sits next to her.

55.

after placing all of her things on the floor, narda locks her gaze on her phone — para lang hindi siya mahalatang hyperaware sa katabi niya.

she lowers the volume of the music and enjoys the moment of being seated next to the pretty girl in class.

56.

said moment doesn't last long when someone calls her name, and regretfully, she stands and runs over to a classmate from her other subject. just in case it's something important.

but she looks back one more time, watching in awe when she realizes—

57.

𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝘆𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗮 𝗺𝗴𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮.

58.

sadly, that was the last time na nakatabi niya si miss pretty sa klase. when she went back, sa malayo na siya nakaupo and the professor arrived not long after.

since then, narda's only been admiring her from afar.

59.

and since then, narda's grown to love listening to old rap songs because she figures it's the only way na she'll have a connection with the pretty girl in class.

especially after seeing her walking around campus with a dude she recognizes from her other class.

60.

61.

and this went on for two years. narda took every opportunity she could get to bask in regina's presence.

she ate her lunch at the canteen kahit maingay.

she stayed a few more minutes beyond her usual library time just so she could be in the same room as regina.

62.

kahit hindi siya mahilig sa mga mataong lugar, she braved through the noise and heat of the crowd and stood next to regina while watching their professors' performance.

just the little things.

sapat na 'yon.

63.

and then world lit happened, and narda can't believe na classmates nanaman sila ni regina.

—
so, obviously, she takes the seat next to her. bahala na kung late si pretty boy or not. basta she's going to claim that seat next to her for the rest of the semester.

64.

they had a moment.

narda's not always confident in many things in life, but she knows attraction when she sees it in people's eyes.

and she 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 na meron talaga.

pero wrong timing exists nga naman.

sana hindi nalang niya sinabihan si ding na tawagan siya.

65.

— one month later, foundation week —

narda's considering going home. foundation week lang naman. walang pasok, walang magawa. after promoting their little area for rescue cats, narda feels exhausted for the rest of the week.

66.

but there must have been someone watching over her, because as she's about to leave the campus, narda spots a very familiar person and she's 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.

narda's not sure why, but for some reason, she finds it endearing more than anything.

67.

𝘶𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦.

regina looks at her, and narda's knees almost buckle.

𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘰.

and when regina marches over to her, narda clenches her hands into tight fists, glad to have hidden them in her pockets.

(𝙡𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙤 𝙩𝙪𝙝𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙤, 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙖.)

68.

narda tries her best to appear nonchalant in the face of regina vanguardia. she nearly fails— sa ganda ba naman niya up close, but she holds up. thankfully. this is a rare opportunity after all. regina's not turning her back on her and they're having a conversation.

69.

𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

they're talking with each other, and this is probably the longest conversation they've ever had.

so when regina begins to walk away again, narda lets go of all shame and reluctance and throws them out the window.

𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘰?

70.

𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨 𝘬𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘢?

𝘯𝘰.

𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯.

𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘸 𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢?

—

... 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘪 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴.

—

𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘨.

71.

𝘬𝘸𝘦𝘬-𝘬𝘸𝘦𝘬?

𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴 𝘯𝘢. 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘢?

𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘢 𝘦𝘩.

...

𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦?

𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.

72.

𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴?

𝘩𝘢?

𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦.

𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴... 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴?

𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢—

𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨. 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘰, 𝘮𝘢'𝘢𝘮. 𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘰.

𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦—

73.

𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘦𝘨.

—

𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?

𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪.

𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘢 '𝘺𝘢𝘯.

𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘪.

𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦?

𝘩𝘪𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢? 𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘯𝘢. 𝘪'𝘮 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺.

74.

𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘢 𝘮𝘰 𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘢 𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭.

𝘪 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.

𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨.

𝘪 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨—

𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘢.

75.

𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦?

𝘰𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢. 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘢.

𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧—

𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯.

—

𝘜𝘕𝘖.

𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢, 𝘵𝘦𝘬𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨!

𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪. 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢. 𝘯𝘰.

𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘢—

𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘢, 𝘯𝘰.

76.

the crowd dwindles down. soon, there are only a couple students left cleaning up for the day, but regina and narda remain in their little spot at the school’s plaza.

𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘺𝘢.

𝘸𝘩𝘺?

77.

narda adjusts her head on regina's lap so she's looking at her instead.

𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪, 𝘢𝘯𝘰— narda shrugs. 𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘢? 𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘮𝘮, 𝘪 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴.

78.

𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸? 𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺?

𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦. regina tilts her head. 𝘪 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

𝘯𝘪 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘱 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦?

79.

regina quirks an eyebrow, her lips curving up in a playful smile. 𝘸𝘩𝘺? 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶?

narda looks away, cheeks warm — grateful for the plaza's darkness.

𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨. 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

80.

regina places a hand on narda's head, carefully threading her fingers through her hair.

𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

and narda looks back at her, blinking languidly as the implication in her words sinks into her head.

𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺.

81.

eventually, the quiet buzz of students subsides until there's only the unceasing chirping of crickets ringing in their ears.

they're soon discovered by a campus guard and, with lethargic movements, they gather their things and begin the long walk towards the exit.

82.

without hesitation this time, narda takes regina's hand in hers, and though they walk in silence, their ears ring with the loud beating of their hearts, threatening to break through their ribs.

it becomes unbearable at one point, and so narda suggests something:

83.

𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤?

𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.

84.

it must have been the serenity of the moment. the campus is quiet, sila lang dalawa naglalakad sa pathway, and their hands are entwined— regina's too at peace to be detached from the feeling of narda's hand in hers, of feeling the warmth radiating from her.

so she forgets.

85.

86.

the song starts off just fine. sounds like any other modern song on spotify, regina thinks, and for a few seconds, she actually finds herself bobbing her head gently to the beat of the song until the vocals come in and regina just—

sighs.

𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘢.

87.

𝘩𝘮?

narda turns to her, eyebrows lifting in question.

𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘪 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥?

88.

narda feels her heart dip, anxiety kicking in, but she smiles through it all.

𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.

regina looks at her in silence — or tries to, in the darkness — and the longer she hesitates, the louder narda's heartbeat gets.

89.

𝘪 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤.

narda blinks.

... 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?

90.

regina grimaces. 𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘪 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶— she coughs. 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘰 𝘢𝘬𝘰.

𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.

91.

regina clicks her tongue.

𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰.

narda quickly presses the volume down button.

𝘢𝘯𝘰?

92.

𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤.

... 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘬𝘰—

regina lets go for a while, nervously combing both her hands through her hair. she likes to think of herself as an honest person, and honesty will always be her priority.

93.

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢 𝘱.𝘦. 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘸𝘢𝘱𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘫𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰...

94.

𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢 shakes her head. 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥.

𝘰𝘩.

the single syllable makes her look back at narda, and despite herself, she feels nervous about the other's response.

is this the end? is this going to be a one-time thing?

95.

but much to her surprise, narda bursts out in laughter and steps closer to her, taking both her hands this time after sliding her phone back into her pocket.

𝘴𝘰, 𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘸 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦?

regina is confused, but she nods either way.

𝘺𝘦𝘴.

96.

narda snorts softly.

𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘳𝘦𝘨.

𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?

𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰 𝘣𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘰 𝘬𝘳𝘦𝘸 ... 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶?

𝘏𝘈𝘓𝘈, 𝘞𝘈𝘐𝘛 𝘓𝘈𝘕𝘎—

97.

𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘨 𝘬𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪.

𝘪 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳—

𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘬 𝘬𝘢?

... 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.

𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘸 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴?

𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘢.

98.

99.

100.

— end —

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