Vee and Vince (V series #3) (#Wattys2019) - COMPLETED

6 - Back To Those Days (1/5)

Vince's POV

Veera already fell asleep a few hours ago pero ako, hanggang ngayon hindi makatulog. Hindi ko rin alam kung bakit. Yakap-yakap ko lang si Veera habang natutulog siya. I can't help myself from planting small kisses on the top of her head.

Napa-ngiti ako dahil sa pwesto namin. Veera fits perfectly in my arms. Ramdam na ramdam ko ang init ng katawan niya sa dibdib ko. It's like she's meant to be there.

I can still remember the first time my heart skipped a beat because of her. I mean, I can't remeber the exact time but I think it happened back in high school.

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F L A S H B A C K

"O, boys, remember what I told you ha? 'Wag bakaw sa bola. If you see na merong open sa team mates niyo, ipasa niyo ang bola." Our coach keeps on reminding us that rule before every game. "At 'wag na kayong mag-aim masyado ng 3-points shots. Kung kaya, sige. Pero kung crucial, 'wag na."

We did our team's yell bago kami lumabas papuntang gym para makapag-simula na ng game.

May district meet ang mga schools ngayon and we'll be playing against the Brickwood Colleges, ang pinaka-malaking rival ng school namin. Dito sa Johnston University gagawin ang game ngayon. That only means that we'll be playing in our home court.

"GO, KUYA VIIIINCE!"

There are a lot of girls screaming for our team and for Brickwood pero parang si Veera lang ang naririnig ko.

I waved at her at kitang-kita ko how her smile got bigger. Kasama niya ngayon si Veronica na nakaupo naman sa tabi niya who's also holding a banner for me. Mahal na mahal ko talaga 'tong kambal na 'to.

The three of us have been bestfriends since we were young. Hindi ko alam but if I remember it right, palagi ko pa ngang shine-share ang pacifier ko sa kanila. Palagi kasi nilang nahuhulog yung kanila and they can't keep themselves from crying kapag wala silang pacifier so I always share mine to them.

Yes, ganon na kami katagal mag-best friends kaya para na ring Kuya ang tingin nila sa akin. Hindi naman malaki ang age gap namin. Halos 1 year nga lang.

"WHOOOO! KUYA KO 'YON!" I laughed when I heard Veera cheered for me again nang papasukin ako sa court. Lagi talagang hyper 'to.

Nagsimula na ang game namin. Simula pa lang, intense na. No one wants to lose dahil bukod sa mahigpit na rivals ang school namin, championship na din 'to.

I admit na medyo nahihirapan ako sa mga kalaban namin. Medyo aggresive kasi silang mag-laro, kanina pa nga kami nakakapag-sikuhan pero kahit ganon, pinipilit ko pa ring maka-score pati na rin ang mga ka-team ko kaya lamang pa din kami.

Mas naging intense pa ang game during the 4th quarter. Lamang pa rin naman kami pero possible pa rin na makahabol ang Brickwood.

I was about to pass the ball to one of my team mates pero bigla ako pinostehan ng isang player ng Brickwood. I got out of balance and fell. My head hit the floor pero mahina lang naman.

Nagpatawag ng time-out si coach when he saw what happened.

"Ano, Villamor? Do we need to bring you to the infirmary?" Aligagang tanong ni coach.

I shook my head. "No, coach. I just need some water then papasok na po ulit ako sa game."

"Wait, sub muna. Mag-break ka konti then ibabalik kita sa game." Sabi niya. I nodded in response.

"Kuya? Ano? Are you okay? Masakit ba?" Sunod-sunod akong tinanong ni Veera nang makalapit siya sa akin. "Gago 'yon ah! Hindi ba foul 'yon?"

"Kaya nga. Isn't that a foul move? Are you hurt?" Veronica bombarded me with questions as well.

I reached for their heads before I ruffled their hairs. "I'm okay, twins. I'm not hurt. Tsaka normal lang 'yon sa basketball game minsan."

"Just make sure that you're not hurt. Babalian ko talaga ng buto yung taga-Brickwood." Natawa na lang ako sa reaction ni Veera. I like it when she's like that. She gets cuter. "O, bakit ka tumatawa? I'm serious, Kuya."

Pinigil ko naman ang sarili ko sa pag-tawa. "Yeah, I swear I'm not hurt. You don't need to break anyone's bones."

She sighed. "Halika, pupunasan kita."

I didn't had the chance na gumalaw pa. Lumapit na siya sa akin and wiped my sweat. Halos hindi na ako maka-hinga nang lumapit siya sa akin. Sobrang lapit na ng mga mukha namin. Our lips were just a few inches away.

"O, ayan, galingan mo na. 'Pag binalya ka ulit nung taga-Brickwood, patulan mo na." She reminded kaya natawa na naman ako.

"Okay, Vee. I will." Sagot ko naman sa kanya. "And I'll win the game for you."

She smiled. "You should. 'Wag mong sayangin yung effort ko sa 'pag gawa ng banners for you."

I ruffled her hair then I told coach na ready na ulit akong pumasok sa game. We started playing again. Fourth quarter na kaya mas lalong naging aggressive ang kalabang team dahil nahihirapan talaga silang humabol sa amin.

Halos magka-balyahan na naman kami sa court pero hindi tulad kanina, I made sure that I'm extra careful with my moves now. Mahirap nang ma-injure. Baka mapa-away talaga si Veera.

Last 30 seconds na lang nang mas lalo pang lumaki ang lamang ng team namin against the opponent. Kahit ano pang gawin nila, hindi na rin sila makakahabol kaya in the end, we won.

The whole court was filled with cheers from our school mates. Pero parang isang boses lang ang naririnig ko.

"YES! ANG GALING MO, KUYAAAA!" Si Veera.She ran towards me then gave me a big hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Kuya Vince! I knew you could make it." She whispered in my ear.

I returned her hug bago ko siya sinagot. "Ano ka ba, Vee? Hindi lang ako 'no. The whole team made an effort."

Humiwalay ako ng yakap sa kanya to see her face.

"Pero ikaw ang pinaka-magaling." She pushed, still wearing a beautiful smile that only she can make.

"And that's because of you. I promise that I'll win the game for you, right?" I said, hindi ko na rin mapigilan ang pag-ngiti dahil sobrang saya kong nandito siya. "Hindi ako makakapag-laro ng ganon if you were not there to cheer for me at palakasin ang loob ko."

"Eh 'di ba nga, we promised that we'll always be there to support each other? Tinutupad ko lang ang promise ko sa'yo." She answered.

I pulled her closer again and enveloped her in my arms, putting her head on my chest. This is where exactly I want her to be.

This isn't the first time that we embraced each other.

But this is the first time that I felt my heart skipped a beat because of her.

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A/N: I'll update another chapter next week 😉