Randomantic (Opposites Attract Hambebe Spin-Off)

2

The late afternoon sun cast long, warm shadows across the streets as Guill drove in comfortable silence. Sheena sat beside him, staring out the window with a soft, contemplative smile, her lavender bouquet cradled gently in her lap. The radio hummed quietly in the background, but neither of them spoke. They didn't need to—not yet.

After so many years of silence, it was almost surreal to be together like this, no longer bound by the unspoken rules they had set for themselves back in high school. But beneath the peaceful quiet was a torrent of thoughts and emotions—memories of the years that had passed and all the times they had quietly avoided each other.

Guill's fingers tightened around the steering wheel, his mind drifting to the countless moments he had thought about reaching out, only to hold back at the last minute. Every time he had scrolled past Sheena's posts on social media, every time one of their mutual friends casually mentioned her name, it had taken everything in him not to pick up the phone and send her a message.

He stole a glance at her now, the fading sunlight catching in her hair, and he couldn't help but wonder how different things might have been if they hadn't made that agreement all those years ago.

---

**Flashback: MJ and Aiah's Engagement Party**

It had been the first time they'd seen each other in years. Aiah's engagement party was supposed to be a simple affair, but when you're friends with someone like MJ, things had a way of getting a little over the top.

Guill had arrived fashionably late—thanks to a delayed flight—and the moment he stepped into the party, his eyes had instinctively searched the crowd for a familiar face. He hadn't expected to see her there. Sheena, standing at one of the tall cocktail tables with Nick and Maloi, looking exactly as he remembered her but... different. More grown-up. More poised. And somehow, more distant.

"Pare, kumusta ka na?" Nick greeted him with a grin, clapping him on the back. "Teka, didiretso ka ba from the airport dito?"

Guill shrugged, chuckling. "Sabi nga nila, the show must go on." He cast another glance at Sheena, who was smiling at something Maloi said. She hadn't noticed him yet, or at least, she hadn't acknowledged him. Guill felt a knot tightening in his chest.

It wasn't like they had parted on bad terms. No, they had made a deal—an understanding that they would give each other space. Guill had known what he was signing up for, and he hadn't wanted to make Sheena feel like he was waiting in the wings, hanging on her every step. But still, seeing her now after so long... it was harder than he thought it would be.

A sudden laugh from Maloi pulled Sheena's attention away, and she turned slightly, finally locking eyes with Guill. For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Neither of them moved, neither of them spoke. It was as if the years melted away, and they were back in high school, sitting on that bench under the mango tree. But just as quickly as the moment had come, it passed.

Sheena smiled at him—polite, distant, just a flicker of recognition. She raised her hand in a small wave, and Guill, not trusting himself to say anything, nodded back.

That was the extent of their interaction that night. They had spent the rest of the party on opposite sides of the room, surrounded by friends, laughing and talking like they always did, but never truly crossing paths. It was as if they had become experts at avoiding each other.

---

Guill sighed, shaking the memories from his mind as he focused on the road ahead. That engagement party had been a wake-up call. For the first time in years, he had realized just how much he missed her. Not just as a crush, not just as the girl he had liked in high school, but as Sheena—the person who had always understood him in a way no one else could.