Habang Buhay

Interlude

A/N: Trip ko lang isulat ito pero di ko alam san ilalagay so dito ko nalang nilagay. Haha. This takes place somewhere between Book 1 and Book 2.

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"What are you doing down here?" Rhian asks her. "Is Anntonia not home?"

"She is," she replies from her spot on the couch without taking her eyes off of her phone.

"Are you two fighting?"

That caught her attention and has her look at her friend who was looking at her expectantly. "What makes you say that?"

"It's weird that you guys aren't attached by the hip when you're both home," Rhian says with a shrug. "And you're frowning."

"We're fine," she responds curtly, hoping that Rhian just drops the subject, mostly because she's annoyed that she's so predictable and easy to read.

"Clearly not," Rhian comments as she moves and sits on one of the armchairs by the couch.

"Rhi, just drop it, okay," she says with a whine.

Just then, the other half of the topic comes into the kitchen, wearing a different shirt, one that was notably not Michelle's shirt that she was wearing earlier before their fight.

"Hi, Ann," Rhian greets, her gaze going back and forth from Anntonia to Michelle.

"Hey," Anntonia smiles sweetly at Rhian, and purposefully gazes at Michelle and drops her smile down to a frown. She then goes to the kitchen to do whatever it was she was intending to do.

Michelle keeps her focus on her phone, actively trying to ignore everyone else in the room. But then she hears a box being shaken and a bowl being placed on the table and after a minute or so, curiosity finally got to her and she sits up on the couch to look over towards the dining table where Anntonia was.

"Is that my cereal you're eating?"

Anntonia makes a show of lifting the box and turning it around to inspect it. "Doesn't seem to have your name on it."

"You know it's mine," she grumbles under her breath.

"Whatever happened to what's mine is yours?" she asks pointedly, as she pours milk on the bowl.

"Just don't eat it all," she huffs. "You don't even like that at all."

"Are you two breaking up?" Rhian asks innocently.

"What? No!"

"What? No!"

They didn't know it, but both their heads turned at the very same time, both spoke the very same words, and both directed a deadly glare towards Rhian that made their friend contemplate her question and life for a second. "Ohh-kayyy, I was just asking! What did you guys even fight about?"

"Your friend there won't admit that she's wrong and I'm right," Anntonia says.

"Why would I agree if I'm right and you're wrong," she retaliates.

"And may I dare ask what it is that apparently one of you is wrong and right about?"

Michelle sneaks a glance towards Anntonia before proceeding to tell Rhian a Cliff note's version of what happened earlier, while the exact thing that happened runs through her mind.

-

Anntonia was in the middle of reading her book when she places it down and asks Michelle, "Do you think two people in a relationship can have the exact same amount of love for each other?"