It's You I Fell Into

V

The towel is soft in his hands. No one is around the practice court every Sunday as it is their day off. But not for Niles. It's the only day he could focus more on his shooting skills without their coach (and yes, King) breathing down his neck.

"Niles? Is that you?"

He looks up as he sits down on the bleachers. Q is walking to him, wearing an obnoxious pink tracksuit. For whatever reason, it seems to fit her.

Still, he clears his throat. "Q."

She smiles tentatively and sits beside him, leaving ample space between them. Her hands slide into the small pockets of her tracksuit and Niles finds it hard to breathe.

"Wala ba kayong practice today?" she asks.

"Oo. Rest day namin ang Sunday." Her question confuses him a bit. King must have informed her about their practice schedules, right? Why is she asking him this now? Weird. "Sobrang boring sa bahay kaya nagwa-warm up na lang ako dito. Ikaw, ba't ka naligaw dito?"

"Nag-iikot lang." She runs a hand through her curly hair. His gaze drops to the deep purple Klean Kanteen she's holding. "Busy si Dien sa pag-check ng quizzes eh. Ayaw niya pa-istorbo."

"Ah. 'Yon lang ba?"

Q stares at him for a second, biting her lip. "Uhh...actually, I need help."

"Saan?"

"PE."

"Ano bang PE mo this sem? Birdwatching?"

Q laughs. "Basketball."

"I know. I already saw you play. Kailangan mo ngang ayusin ang shooting mo, Queen."

She's surprised. She turns her head to hide her blush, reaching for her water bottle. She presses it to her lips and managed to mumble a Why all the same.

"Napadaan lang ako sa klase niyo one time. Hindi ako stalker ah," he replies, avoiding her eyes.

"I didn't say anything like that."

"You'll be good at basketball, too. Magaling magturo si Ma'am Armae. Baka nga mas maging magaling ka pa kesa kay King pagkatapos ng sem na 'to eh. Kaya mo yan. Magaling ka naman sa Judo so kaya mo rin basketball. "

"Good at Judo, yes. Basketball...I'm not," she says. Her thumb brushes over the lid of her bottle.

"Your form is great--"

"I could be so much better."

Niles chuckles. "It's a compliment, Q."

"I'm not good at those, either," she mumbles.

He laughs again. Ah, the Escaño stubbornness is really evident in this one. The only difference is, that he likes this stubbornness more on Q.

Q glares at him, and then sighs, shaking her head. "Hindi 'to nakakatawa, okay?"

"Kaunting practice lang ang kailangan mo."

"Parang hindi naman. Halos dalawang buwan na 'tong PE ko pero wala pa rin akong napi-pickup. Mukha pa rin akong ewan kapag nagdi-dribble."

"Paturo ka sa kuya mo. Sa dribble lang naman siya magaling, eh."

She meets his gaze. "It's not that simple. I know Kuya, walang pasensya 'yon na turuan ako. Mag-aaway lang kami maghapon. And besides, Dien mentioned na ikaw daw ang nagtuturo sa kids' basketball clinic kapag summer. I guess you can help me with my lacking basketball skills."

He doesn't really know how to take that at all. There is a burn in his throat and it trickles down. A month ago, this girl basically told him to fuck off from her life with undeniable anger in her eyes. And boy, that he did. After sending her that birthday greeting, Niles tried his best to ignore everything about her. He thought he'd succeeded.

For the nth time, Queen Escaño proved him wrong.

He swallows hard, pressing his hands to his face as he drags his legs against his chest. "Kasama ko si KP na magturo--"

"Niles," she says.

His lips curl and he meets her gaze.

"I'm not good with compliments, either," he says.

Q laughs this time, the sound full and warm. She tilts her head back and her hair falls into her eyes. "Stop lying," she says, amused. "I don't believe you. You seemed very cool and popular here. Even Dien couldn't stop bragging about you."

He snorts. "You should ask your brother, then. He'll say otherwise."

She makes a soft sound, shaking her head. "He's your number fan and all."

He should change, he thinks. There is coursework to do. He could call her sister and catch up. He could sleep the whole day and play RPG at night. Suddenly, Niles feels irreversibly shy as it is, a first time for him.

Niles Fabellore is never shy. Everyone knows how suave he is in everything. How he could swoon any girl with just one wink and smirk. How he could small talk with almost everyone in the room. He's one of those guys you'd fall for unknowingly.

Apparently, one compliment from Q could make him a shy boy in a snap.

"Yeah, sure," he says anyway.

"You're different," she blurts then.

His eyes widen. Her mouth twists. She draws his leg up too, resting her arm against her knee. He watches as she looks down.

"I'm just your regular jock who happened to like reading stuff," he says quietly, gently even. "Most people can read. I'm not special, Q."

She reaches over, touching his arm without thinking. "You should pay attention to how other people see you, then. I can tell you're more than that."

He doesn't answer, and she doesn't press, letting her fingers linger. She sighs then, too. He pushes himself to stand, the towel falling from his grasp. He spots the faint blush on her cheeks and it puzzles him.

She lets him go.

(Niles ends up teaching her how to dribble properly the whole morning.)