Sincerely, Jayvee

01

Do you remember the first time we met?

It was the summer before high school, at a friend’s birthday party. You stood quietly in a corner, wearing that simple yellow dress, silently eating.

I was awkward and unsure when I mustered up the courage to approach you. My palms were sweaty, my heart was racing, and my mind was in chaos. Despite the flutter of anxiety in my chest, I tried to act casual and cool.

“Alam mo ba kung bakit pumunta yung cake sa doktor?” I asked, attempting to break the ice with a joke.

You just looked at me, clearly puzzled. “Ha? Uhm... ba’t nga ba?”

“Kasi, feeling crumby siya!”

You blinked. Twice. Confused.

“Crumby... uh, you know, parang crummy which means feeling unwell,” I tried to explain, doing my best to look confident.

I shrugged. “Get it? Crumb-y... crummy? Malungkot yung cake, parang may pinagdadaanan. It’s having a crumby day.”

Your confusion deepened.

I awkwardly laughed to hide my embarrassment. I even took the leftover cake from your plate and ate it to keep myself from saying anything else.

My friends, who were actually your cousins, burst into laughter, teasing me relentlessly, making the situation even more awkward. I immediately regretted it.

All I wanted was to ask how your day was because you seemed a bit down.

To my surprise, you laughed too, but not at the joke—instead, you were laughing at my awkwardness.

“Ang corny mo,” you said with a playful smile curved on your lips. “Pero okay lang, cute ka naman.”

Damn, my heart.

Perhaps it was your smile that first caught my heart back then.

And since that day, fate has kept bringing us together. Eventually, you became my best friend, and that’s how everything started...

But what if we didn't start out as friends?