Her Prince

- 40 -

- ADDYSON LOPEZ -

Song for the chapter: Fallin' by Janno Gibbs

As far as I know, pito lang ang Engineering Hotties, pero bakit walo silang nasa harap ko ngayon? What was I missing? Who was this eighth guy? And why did he look familiar?

I was in the bleachers with Hetty and her friends, Diana and Darryl, who came to support the Hotties as well. Kasalukuyan kaming nasa covered court ng subdivision, I was expecting a huge crowd pero kaming apat lang audience sa side namin, bukod sa ilang residente na mas piniling kampihan ang Hotties.

It's the Engineering Hotties we're talking about here, crowds follow them! Palagi silang napapaligiran ng mga tao saan man sila magpunta!

Darryl, seeing my confusion earlier, explained that this was a private game, exclusive only for the residence and whoever the players invited. She was nice and easy to talk to. She reminded me of Julien in a way.

After the warm-up, bumalik ang mga players sa bench, which was right before us, dahil sa first row kami ng bleachers nakapuwesto. Hetty, Darryl and Diana animatedly welcomed the Hotties, of course—something natural and normal for them dahil matagal na silang magkakaibigan.

As for me...

"Hello, neighbor." Keenan greeted me, smiling like a cat. He was holding a clipboard and was their coach for tonight. Siya lang ang hindi nakasuot ng jersey, and instead was clad in black—shirt, pants and shoes. With his fair pale skin, he could pass as a grim reaper.

"Hi, Addy." Reign grinned, kinindatan pa ako bago umupo.

"You're Addy?" The eighth Hottie asked. He was really tall, and big and buff. Syempre, sobrang gwapo niya rin. I nodded my answer and he beamed, flashing his perfect white teeth and fangs. "Misha."

"Hello." I took his offered hand, that was too big for my small one. He gave it a gentle squeeze, bago tinabihan si Light.

"He's a mysterious one." Bulong sa'kin ni Hetty "We rarely see him, too. All we know is that, he's one of them."

Before I could respond, Julien sat on the vacant seat to my left. "Why is everyone calling you Addy? She's Addyson for you guys."

"Because that's my nickname, Jules." Natatawang sagot ko.

His soft pink lips pouted, "Still."

I had asked him about this very game Hetty told me about last week. His puppy eyes had widened with excitement and held both my hands, "Will you come with me and cheer for me, Addy?"

With my whole heart, I said yes.

Mula sa harap namin, lumingon si Light. "We're gatekeeping nicknames now?"

Julien rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Captain."

"Why don't you try calling her love, or baby. Sweetheart, darling—" Morgan suggested and the hotties laughed.

Julien covered my ears, as I too was laughing. "Don't listen to him. Hindi niya alam ang sinasabi niya."

The referee whistled, the Hotties stood up and gathered around Keenan, who enlightened them about the first quarter's strategies. The atmosphere became serious all of a sudden, and it was probably just me, but they all looked... even more handsome and even hotter!

Looking at my seatmates, I could confirm that it wasn't just me.

The sun was setting, giving the sky orange and blue hues, as the game began.