Niki and Andy

Prologue

Niki shared a post online with the caption "marked safe". It was a post made by Jewel, her high school friend. She and Andy were tagged on the post. It was a testimonial on another site stating that OP had a friend for a long time and just recently discovered that her best friend had been in love with her the whole time. OP said she felt the same. And now, they are married and have one kid together. The post ended with "This is your sign to confess to your best friend."

Andrew San Gabriel commented on your post.

Niki clicked on the notification and laughed when she saw the meme. It was Nam holding her finger to sign 'OK' while walking away from Shone with the tagalog text that read, 'yung feeling na pinipilit mong maging okay kahit deep inside ang sakit sakit na'.

Their friends used to tease them a lot in high school.

First year sila ni Andrew nang una silang magkakilala. First honor sila pareho sa pinanggalingan nilang elementary school. They were put in the star section and they were butting heads since day one. Palaging nag-aagawan sa recitation. Paramihan ng extra curricular activities. Pataasan ng grades sa quizzes and exams. They disliked each other because they treated each other as rivals. They were so busy competing that they were not able to pay attention to another viable candidate for the highest honor, Jewel.

Jewel became the first honor in their first year. Tapos tie silang dalawa sa second place. And then, somehow, they became friends because of that.

The mutual respect was always present and when they stopped competing with each other, they finally realized how much they liked each other as people. Of course, the shift in their relationship didn't go unnoticed.

Sa sobrang closeness nila noong second year high school, akala ng karamihan ay nililigawan siya ni Andy. Hatid-sundo siya nito sa bahay. Palagi silang kumakain sa lugawan tuwing hapon. Madalas na nakaakbay sa kanya si Andy o di kaya ay nakahawak naman siya sa braso nito. And he would always carry her bag for her.

"Nanliligaw sa 'yo si Andy, 'no?" may panunuksong tanong ni Angel sa kanya isang hapon. May faculty meeting kaya maagang natapos ang klase nila noon. Group 2 ang cleaners kaya nasa loob siya ng classroom para maglinis. Andy was with the rest of the class, sa designated area nila sa school ground. Some of her classmates took the opportunity to corner her.

"HA?!" eksaherada niyang sambit. "Sino ang nanliligaw kanino?"

"Aminin mo na kasi!" sabat ni MJ na naglilinis ng jalousie. "Halata naman e."

"Kilabutan nga kayo sa sinasabi nyo! Friends lang kami ni Andy. Hindi sya nanliligaw, okay? Kadiri kayo." She shuddered at the thought.

"E bakit ka hatid-sundo sa inyo?"

She exhaled. "E kasi malapit ang bahay nya sa bahay namin."

"Bakit palagi nyang dinadala yung mga gamit mo?"

"Alangan namang ako ang magdala ng mga gamit nya? E sya ang lalaki sa aming dalawa," dahilan niya.

"Seryoso bang friends lang kayo? As in hindi mo ba na-crush-an man lang si Andy?" paninigurado ni Feliz.

"Oo nga. Ang kulit nyo! Saka kahit manligaw sya–" She made a sour face. "Hindi ko sya papatulan, 'no. I have standards. Gusto ko maputi, chinito, at matangkad."

She was referring to her crush back then, Jake Philianson Sy. Fourth year varsity player. Maraming may crush kay Jake noon, at hindi siya immune. Lumalakas pa ang charm nito tuwing Intramurals. That was when she found herself crushing on him hard. Tinamaan siya ng bola sa ulo. It was Andy who threw the ball. She was sure he intended to hit her.

Jake didn't come to her rescue. The game didn't stop for her. But when their eyes met, he gave her a questioning look and a thumbs up to ask if she was okay. Nag-thumbs up din siya bilang sagot. Tapos ayun, gusto na niya ito.

Third year, wala na si Jake sa school. Mas lalo silang naging close ni Andy. At lalong lumala ang tsismis. To the point na pati mga teacher, mga kapitbahay nila, at pati pamilya nila, nagtanong at nagduda.

Everyone even expected them to go to the junior prom together. Pero may nililigawan si Andy noon. She even helped him with the promposal. She attended the prom alone, wore her hair the usual way, and wore a borrowed dress that didn't make her stand out.

Fourth year, Andy went with his girlfriend. Niki went with someone from the other section. Nag-ayos siya at nagpaganda nang todo dahil huling taon na nila sa high school. Niki got a lot of suitors from that one night and Andy teased her incessantly about it. Fourth year nang mamatay ang tsismis na may feelings sila sa isa't isa.

It resurfaced when Andy and his girlfriend broke up and then ended when Niki got herself a boyfriend. Napagod na silang dalawa ni Andy sa pagpapaliwanag, kaya hinayaan na lamang nila ang mga tao sa paligid nila kung ano ang gustong paniwalaan ng mga ito.

They were each other's constant. Sino man ang dumating at umalis sa mga buhay nila, permanante sila sa buhay ng isa't isa.

And isn't that what friendship truly is?