Me, My Ex, and Him

Chapter 1: High School Sweet Hearts

          I believe a picture is worth a thousand memories. That's what they said anyways.  I was going through some old photos in my scrapbook. I opened the first page and saw a picture of Yvan in the schoolyard. I reminisced of the time in high school in which I took photos of the school yard with my EOS 7D Canon camera. As I was about to take a photo, somebody photobombed my shot. After taking the photo, I looked at it then got annoyed. It was Yvan, a tall and mestizo classmate of mine. Quite a cutie though. Yvan then shamelessly walked to me.

          "Sorry, I just like smiling for the cameras." He said.

          "Ma la-late na ako." I answered back.

          "Tara, sabay na tayo!" 

Yvan invited me to walk with him to our classroom. Who was this guy and why was he talking to me?  

          After reminiscing about that photo, I went to look at another one. It was a picture of Yvan and I in a floral cafe, affordable for students. And so, another memory played in my head.

          "Best, ilang buwan ng lumipas na magkakilala tayo at sa totoo lang, hindi ko kayang hanggang friends lang tayo." Yvan confessed. 

I rolled my eyes then smiled at him.

          "Will you be my girlfriend?" Yvan asked me.

          "Hmmm... Crush din kita. So... yes! Of course!" I answered him. 

          "Yey!" Yvan cheered. 

          That memory gave me so much butterflies. Yvan was annoying but at the same time he was an amazing person. I loved it when he finally asked me out. After daydreaming about that time, I turned to the next page of the scrapbook. There, I saw a photo of Yvan and I on that mountain date. I began to reminisce of that magnificent and wonderful date. We were on the mountain top and I asked him to pose for me. I took photos as he kept posing. After that, I reviewed them on my camera. 

          "Handsome, as always." I said.

I knew that boosted his ego. 

          "Someday, you're going to be a successful photographer, Love. You should name your business, "Lia Del Rio Photographs" or... or "Shots by Lia Del Rio". Yvan said to me.

          "At yung model nang business ko ay si, none other than, ang ever poging love ko na si Yvan Cerrera!" I responded. 

We spent the rest of that day in that mountain. We enjoyed and had some great laughter.  Yvan got tired so I massaged his leg. I was so grateful that he went with me on that mountain. I knew he wasn't into adventures but he told me that no place was too far when he was with me, and that touched my heart. He kissed me then we watched the sunset together. 

          I then focused on another picture which was a group photo of Yvan and I together with our friends, Kurt, Ryel, and Shang. Then, I thought back to that time. We were hanging out with our friends at Yvan's place. I meant his aunt's house, rather. 

          "Yvan, Ano ba yung biggest fight niyo ni Lia?" Ryel asked.

          "Yung time nga pinagselosan ko siya sa guy friend niya." Yvan answered.

          "Bakit? Boy best friend ba yan?" Kurt joined in.

          "Hindi ha. He was just someone nga nag ca-crush lang sa akin. Si Yvan lang naman yung nag-iisang boy best friend ko. Grrr. Galit na galit ako sa kanya noon, hindi ko kinausap kasi ang seloso niya!" I told them. 

          "Hindi ka dapat nagseselos, Yvan. Ikaw talaga yung type ni Lia. Trust me." Shang said.

Shang was right. Yvan didn't need to be jealous. Many girls had a crush on him as well but I'd just tease him about it. Our relationship was so close to perfect that we only fought about the silliest and littlest of things. I could never be more content. 

          Speaking of which, I found myself glancing at the photo of Yvan and I by the monkey bars. I couldn't forget about that time. Yvan was crying while I was comforting him. I understood the pain he went through. I could say it wasn't easy to deal with. So, I assured him he'll be okay and told him that Chichan will always love him. Yvan said he could never find another cat like her. Indeed, we were truly there for each other through the good times and bad. 

          Next, I looked at the photo of Yvan and I having lunch together with each of our parents. We were at a nice restaurant that day. The food was undoubtedly awesome! Memories played in my mind as that day was significant. It was the day when we finally told our parents about our relationship, hence we invited them over for lunch. But um... our folks paid for it. I was just glad they accepted us being together, and that they also got along well. 

          The photo below that was a picture of a bouquet of roses with the date written, January 3rd, 2023. For me, that memory was a milestone of our relationship. I looked back to the evening of that very date. Yvan and I decided to have dinner at a seafood restaurant.

          "Happy anniversary, Love!" Yvan greeted me while handing me a beautiful rose. 

          "Aww. Thank you so much, Love!" I greeted him back, too.

          "Wow. Four years!" Yvan said in excitement.

          "Grabe, we made it this far. I'm so glad I got to spend four years with you, Love." I told him with a big smile on my face.

          "Sobrang pinasaya mo ako. Hindi ako makapaniwala na posibleng magkaka-jowa ng isang photo-bomber lang." I said.

We then laughed at my silly joke. 

          "I want nothing more than years to come for the two of us." I sincerely told him.

He paused for a while. I hoped what I said didn't scare him. 

          "Me, too. That's my wish." Yvan said to me, looking at the ground with a blank face. 

Wow! What an eventful night that was. I couldn't explain how I truly felt then. Looking back at it still warms my heart. I was so overwhelmed just looking at the picture of the roses he gave me. I then turned to the last page and I was looking at a selfie of him and I together, and that brings a lot of mixed emotions. It was picture of Yvan and I standing by the mountainside, leaning on his car during sunset. 

          Reminiscing about that time, it was a sunny afternoon at school, and Yvan invited me to go on a road trip. I was so curious. During our peaceful car ride, I asked him what the occasion was. He and I only went somewhere far from the city on our birthdays and anniversary dates. He stayed quiet and smiled. I was searching for answers but I didn't pressure him to give me some. Maybe he wanted to surprise me or something. When we finally arrived at the place he wanted to take me to, we stayed at the roadside of an elevated ground where we could see the skies and the seas from above. It was too pretty a place not to take pictures of, so we took a selfie together. 

The night arrived, and I noticed Yvan feeling uneasy. It was as if there was something he's not telling me. I didn't want to pressure him, still. Maybe it's school, maybe he was worried about his final grades, because if that were the case, I would just comfort him and assure him he's still a great person. To show him I'd always be there for him, I leaned closer to him and held his arm. Quietness then filled the roadside. We just stood beside each other outside his car, admiring the natural scenery in front of us. There's no room for stress so I stayed silent with him.

          "I'm going back to Cebu, Love." Yvan said.