Collide / [Park Jay]

46

Honestly, when Nari unconsciously told the whole class about my situation, it really made me uncomfortable. I feel like this is going to be the start of people asking me more about it. And I'm afraid of what they would think of me if I choose not to answer any of that in an instant. I mean, it's not that I refuse to let anyone get to know me. But in my case, it must take a reasonable amount of time before I can finally open up to someone. Kaya hindi ako napalagay agad nang mabasa ko iyon sa group chat namin.

However, I stayed calm. Ayaw kong mas lalo pang lumaki iyon especially my friends were already so mad about it. Hindi naman talaga 'yon big deal sa akin, sadyang nabigla lang ako. At ipinaliwanag ko naman 'yon sa mga kaibigan ko. I also tried to send Nari a quick message, telling her that I'm fine since I don't want her to feel bad or think that what she did was a big mistake.

After a moment of talking, the mood started to feel light. My friends then said sorry to me for their sudden outburst and gave me a quick hug.

"Ikaw kasi, eh. Hindi ka marunong mag-complain when you're being wronged. Kaya kami na ang gumagawa para sa'yo!" Pabirong sabi ni Hana.

"Next time, I won't take it lightly. If someone tries to do this to you again, I swear... humanda talaga sila sa akin!" Sunhee laughed as she squeezed my shoulders a bit.

We all decided to let things pass and not let it ruin what we planned for today. The mood became much lighter as we start to eat our early dinner because we're having a movie night. They even asked me to order some snacks to make everything complete. May mga natira pa rin kasi kami sa kinain namin kanina kaya karagdagan na lamang iyon.

"I like romance. Tama, 'yan na lang!" Naririnig kong pag-uusap ng dalawa habang pumipili ng panonoorin. Nasa kitchen pa ako noon dahil nagligpit pa ako pero pagkatapos naman noon ay humilera na rin ako sa kanila sa sala.

In the middle of watching, my phone vibrated because of an incoming message. I checked it and was a bit surprised to see Jay's name flashing on my phone's screen. Inakala ko na baka tungkol lang iyon sa club kaya hindi ko na muna binuksan agad. But then, it vibrated again and that's when I tried to open it.

Medyo inasahan ko na naman na mababasa rin niya ang mga naganap sa group chat namin dahil siyempre, parte naman siya noon. What I didn't expect was for him to send me a message just to simply check me out. And I don't know if he's bluffing or what but he said he's on his way here to talk to me.

"Is there something wrong?" Hana asked when they saw me getting up from the sofa bed.

"Oh.. n-nothing." I simply said even though confusion might be evident in my face because of Jay.

"Sino ba 'yang text nang text sa'yo? Ikaw, ha.." Tanong ni Sunhee habang akmang sisilipin ang cellphone ko.

"Wala!" Sabi ko at pilit na tumawa.

I couldn't reply to Jay right away because I think my friends are paying attention everytime I try to check my phone. Hindi ko rin alam kung bakit parang itinatago ko 'yon sa kanila kahit na hindi naman big deal kung siya nga ang kausap ko ngayon. I mean, what about it? He keeps on telling me so many things and I had to reply, of course.

At first, I thought he didn't mean it when he said that he's already on his way here. Inisip ko na baka makikipagkita lang siya sa mga kaibigan niya at didiretso rin agad sa hideout. Pero nang mag-text siya na nasa baba siya ng building namin, halos hindi ako mapakali doon. Is he serious? Bakit siya nandito? Should I tell him to go off? Or should I just go down and face him so he can leave instantly? Pero ano namang sasabihin ko sa mga kaibigan ko..

"May pupuntahan ka?" They both asked when they saw me choosing a jacket to wear in my closet.

"Yeah. Baba lang ako saglit." Kalmado kong sagot.