Only You (EDITING)

Chapter 5

I COULDN'T LOOK AWAY from the picture.

I was in there. It was a candid shot of my back, softened by the golden light, my hair floating in the breeze, with the sunset in the background.

I took a deep breath, still unable to tear my eyes away from the photo. I handed the phone back to him, my fingers awkwardly brushing his.

"Maybe you should take another pic of the sky without someone photobombing the view."

"Ano ka ba, Tori. Ayos nga tignan, oh." He looked down at the photo.

I shook my head. "No, I think it's better if I'm not in it."

The last thing I wanted was to be the focus of anyone's camera, especially when there were so many other beautiful things around—like the sky, which was clearly the star of the moment.

"Aesthetic nga eh. Gusto mo pa isend ko sa 'yo? Pwede mo pa ngang ipost eh. Mention mo lang ako sa credits." He wriggled his eyebrows.

I know, the photo was good. He took it with much consideration of the angle and lighting. I couldn't help but wonder if he was always this good, or was it just pure luck.

"Ano bang alam mo sa pagkuha ng picture?"

It was too late when I realized the tone didn't come out quite right. It slipped out. I was just curious since he was being so confident about the shot. And also, a bit irritated mostly because he kept insisting that the photo looked good with me in it.

Andrei didn't answer. Instead, he flashed that smile again, but this time it felt like there was a story behind it. He didn't say anything. He just kept that smile on his face, enough to say everything he needed to say.

I stood there for a moment, wondering why I felt a little... unsettled. But before I could figure it out, Andrei simply shrugged and tucked his phone away, letting the silence settle between us again.

~♥~♥~♥~♥~

THE FOUR WALLS of the room vibrated after a loud thud on my door and in a split second, my mother was already standing in front of me. It's already happening.

"Aubri, look at me!" I wouldn't be surprised if her voice reached through the neighbors. I know why she's fuming mad but I tried not to make it obvious that I was expecting this reaction from her because it would only get her angrier.

"I heard from Evelyn that Sabrina applied for a position in the Student Council. Bakit hindi mo 'to sinabi sa akin?!" The grit in her voice dominated as she started to ask questions in a roaring volume. Amidst being scared, I choose to calm myself down. Any moment from now, my tears will fall and I don't want to cry. I want to at least show how strong I am in front of her, even just for pretense.

Iginilid ko ang mata ko at nagkunwaring inaalala ang pangyayari. "Ah, opo—"

"Sagutin mo ako! Bakit hindi mo sinabi sa akin?" Halos mapugto na ang litid sa leeg niya.

"I... f-forgot." Alam kong hindi magandang magsinungaling pero kasi mas magagalit siya kapag nalaman niyang sinadya kong hindi sabihin sa kaniya.

"Letseng nakalimutan 'yan!" I flinched when she smacked the door, creating a thunderous noise. "Don't play with me. Anong nakalimutan? Are you so busy that you forgot to tell me?!"

"Sorry po—"

"Apologize if you've already applied for the same position she's applying for." What?! Am I hearing it right? Hanggang sa Student Council ay gusto niyang kalabanin ko si Sabrina kaya tama lang siguro ang ginawa kong hindi pagtuloy.