One of the Boys 1 & 2 (Published by Pop Fiction)

Chapter Twelve

Past

4 years ago...

"Will I ever get to date you?" Ygona asked Agatha for the nth time. At first, tutol sila Bri, Tigs, at Paz sa kanila dahil nga kaibigan nila si Apa at kaibigan rin nila si Ags, pero after everything Ags had been through, they just wanted her to be happy.

Kaya kung ano man ang maging desisyon nilang dalawa, tanggap nila. Besides, masaya naman si Apa sa Canada.

"Ygona..."

"Wag ka ng magsalita kung 'hindi ka pa ready' na naman sasabihin mo." He walked out on Ags. He always had a temper, pero tanggap naman siya ni Ags. Actually, natatawa nga siya sa kanya.

Ags followed him. "You know I still love him, right? You clearly know that. I'll date you, but if 'we' don't work, let's end it. I promise I'll end it."

Ygona smiled at her answer. "Sure." What Ygona liked about Agatha was her honesty. Ilang taon na rin niyang hinintay si Agatha at sa wakas, pumayag na rin siyang makipagdate sa kanya.

Alam naman ni Ygona na siya ang least priority ni Ags since med school was already enough to make her suffer. He just wanted Ags to move on and be happy even if it meant to be a rebound.

"Bro." Kinabahan si Apa sa tono ng pananalita ni Ygona. Para siyang may ibabalita. Kung ano man yung balita na 'yun, alam niyang may kinalaman kay Ags. May kutob rin siyang hindi maganda ang balitang 'yun.

Pagkatapos niyang malaman na ang pamilya niya ang kumausap kay Ags para hiwalayan siya, sinubukan niyang kausapin si Ags para humingi ng tawad, pero hindi niya magawa dahil iniiwasan siya nito.

Isa pa, hindi naman siya sigurado kung gusto niyang patawarin siya ni Ags. He thought he did not deserve to be forgiven.

And so he stopped. He stopped sending presents, but he did not stop calling her family and buying gifts for them. He stopped connecting with her, but never did he stop asking people to keep him updated about her.

He knew where she was studying and even where she was staying, he knew who her new friends and admirers were, and he knew almost everything about her through their friends and families.

"She agreed to date me."

And now he knew she was dating his friend.

Lizzie was about to enter his place when she heard their convo. Nakababa kasi sa table yung phone ni Apa at naka-loud speaker. She was both mad and hurt for her friend. She watched him trying not to break down.

"Ah, talaga?" Pinilit tumawa ni Apa, pero yung expression niya, halatang nasasaktan.

"It's one of your stupid rules."

He remembered it was his rule number five. "Five, sabihin mo sa'kin pag gusto ka na rin niya para alam ko kung maghihintay pa ko." He wanted to get mad at Ygona, but it was his fcking rule.

"Wala naman akong magagawa, diba?" His smile was painful.

Ilang seconds rin silang hindi nagsasalita. Ibababa na sana ni Ygona yung tawag, pero nagsalita na si Apa.

"Don't hurt her." Like I did. "Make everything simple and light for her." Since I was too complicated. "Take care of her." Because she's more than a treasure. "Make her smile." She's pretty when she smiles. "Make her happy." She deserves to be happy.

"I'll do everything, man. I really like her." In his thoughts, it was 'I really love her' but it did not feel right. Everything felt wrong yet so right. He felt good for the first time in years.

Apa thanked him, hang up, and breathe heavily. Kahit mag-isa siya, pinipilit niya pa rin h'wag umiyak. He was still controlling himself.

He tilt his head and stared at the ceiling. "Okay lang yan, Apa. Ang mahalaga, gwapo ka." He closed his eyes until his tears started to fall. He cried silently when he thought no one was looking. He started cursing and kicking the soccer ball  and cursing and telling himself to stay positive and calm down. 

Meanwhile, Lizzie closed the door and let him cry. Maybe what he needed the most was that. Cue to stop waiting for Ags. Alone time. Cry. Think. Think. Think. Alone. Reflect.

Lizzie thought it was time.

Time for Apa to help himself.

Time for her to help Yuki.

(A/N: Don't worry, I'll post the next update minutes or an hour after this one. Malapit ko na siya matapos... I mean, yung next update. Hahaha! Thank you, guys. You have no idea how much your comments make me happy. I love that you get sad and happy for Ags, Apa, and the rest of the characters. I love that some of you even cried like you felt what they were feeling, like you were in their situation. Super thank you!)