You're Blooming the Wrong Way

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Pare, mahal mo raw ako~"

In the corner of my eye, I saw my twin brother pestering Haru, who looked uncomfortable by his touch. Kinakantahan siya ni Lars at hinihimas-himas pa ng kapatid ko ang braso niya. He was stiff on his seat, and he was sweating so bad. I won't be surprised if he snaps at my annoying brother any minute from now.

"Stop that, Lars." I firmly remarked in a straight face.

Lars scoffed at me. "What? It's so boring. You're purposely ignoring each other, not to mention that I'm sitting between the two of you." He rolled his eyes. "Nilalangaw na ako. Kung ayaw niyong mag-usap, kausapin niyo man lang ako!" reklamo niya.

Accidentally, I met my boyfriend's gaze. Sandali kaming nagkatitigan pero agad din kaming umiwas ng tingin. Oh, there's no way I'm gonna apologize first. If I say sorry, it's like admitting that I really did something wrong. Wala naman akong ginawa.

Manigas siya.

"Pride comes first, huh?" Lars commented as he shook his head in dismay. "Seems like your relationship isn't that strong. You should just break up." He smiled sweetly to my boyfriend. "Haru, just leave that brainless piece of shit and come to me. Let's date each other."

My jaw dropped when Haru grabbed him by the collar. "Kuso. Who are you calling a brainless piece of shit? You wanna fight, huh?"

"Huwag galit. Kiss kita diyan eh." Lars pouted his lips.

Napasapo na lamang ako sa noo. Pinabayaan ko na lang din silang mag-away. As long as they're not taking it physically, it's best to leave them be. For some reason, they don't get along. Lars enjoys teasing my boy. Itong si Haru naman, pikon na pikon sa kapatid ko palagi. Baka mamaya sila pa ang magkatuluyan.

Anyway, my heart was moved by the fact that even if we're not in good terms right now, he's still concerned about me. Hindi parin kami nagkakaayos ni Haru at mukhang naghihintayan kaming dalawa kung sino ang unang hihingi ng tawad. Bahala siya.

"Oh, Hana is so adorable. He's about to pee on his pants."

All of us tilted our head to the Hana's direction. True enough, he looks constipated. Nakaupo siya sa gilid ng pool, tulala at namumutla. I hope he doesn't faint before the competition. We're currently here on the seats provided around the pool, so we're quite far from the participants.

"Why don't you give him some pep talk, Lucy? Baka malunod agad 'yan paglusong niya sa tubig." My brows furrowed at his suggestion. Palibhasa alam ni Lars na si Hana ang dahilan kung bakit kami nag-away ni Haru. Nananadya talaga. Kulang na naman sa pansin.

I glared at my twin, hoping that he'd get the message. Instead of backing off, he opened his big mouth once more. "Don't give me that look, my dear sister. If I could walk, I'd go there myself. Besides, what's wrong with being supportive to your friend?"

Tumingin siya kay Haru na noo'y nakayuko at hindi kumikibo.

"Haru, would you rather talk to your brother?"

My boyfriend pursed his lips. "I'm not really in the mood to talk with him. It doesn't feel right to cheer my love rival." I kept an impassive face. Here we go again with the love rivalry.

My eyes narrowed into slits. "Do you want me to go?"

Haru lifted his gaze to me. My jaw clenched at the sight of his pained expression. "You can go. Don't worry about me."

Idiot. How can I not worry when you have that kind of look on your face? Just tell me the truth that you don't want me to involve myself with Hana too much. You're jealous. I know that.