✔ The Casanova's Angel (Filipino Novel)

Kabanata 25

Nickko POV 

Flashback

"Nickko, my man!" Lumapit sakin si Jack at inangat ang kamay para mag high five. 

"Brooo! We won!" Ang sabi ko, hitting his palm with a loud slap. Yes, masaya kami ngayon dahil panalo nanaman ang team namin sa soccer. Jack is my bestfriend. He knows almost everything about me. He even knows my darkest secret.

Yung secret ko na behind all the good looks and seemingly glam appearance, I have nothing. 

Yes, you heard it right. I'm in a sports scholarship here in the university. Hindi naman yun dapat ikahiya pero when you're a star athlete, people will expect you to have the glamorous life you could have. Kasi ikaw yung iniidolo nila eh. And as shallow as it was, I feel the need to impress people. Alam ko na hindi maganda yun per shallow na kung shallow. I have all the benefits I can have - the girls, the parties, the friends, everything. 

It's exhilarating.

I grew up in a place that I can never call home.  Yung mga magulang ko palaging nasa labas doing their own selfish things - sugal at alak sa tatay ko,  lalaki naman sa nanay ko. The only things I could ever be grateful for them is pinaaral nila ako hanggang high high school, kahit na delayed ako,  nakatapos naman at kahit na mahirap ang buhay,  may bahay pa naman akong inuuwian.

And from there,  kelangan ko mag kayod for me to get out of this living hell I face - the constant noise of their fights,  yung usual na gutom pag walang pagkain,  at ang pagpupuyat dahil sa pagbebenta ko sa kalsada.

These things motivated me to be someone who strives hard for the future. 

Pero wala parin pala kapantay pag tumibok na ang puso. Dahil kahit anong motivation sa hirap na naranasan ko,  iba parin ang motivation in the notion na magugustuhan ka ng taong bumighani sayo. 

At yun nga ang nangyari ng makita ko siya.

She isn't what you would call simple.  Branded clothes,  soft silky hair,  long legs, perfectly manicured nails. Siya yung tipong model in real life talaga.  Parang out of the magazine.

And so out of my league. 

Pero wala eh.  Pag ang puso na ang nagdikta,  minsan talaga wala ka na magagawa kundi maghope na sana,  sana magustuhan ka rin niya.  Na sana mapansin ka rin niya.  Na sana sa lahat ng pag hihiling mo sa langit ay mapagbigyan ka naman.

Kaklase ko siya sa English 1, nagcross enroll ata siya dahil hindi naman kami same ng department kaya naman nung nakita ko siya, nanibago ako sa ganda niya. 

She was late at that time.

Pag pasok niya, I still remember her hair flowed with ease pag katakbo niya sa loob.  She smiled sheepishly as if nahihiya siyang late siya.  And by then our eyes connected and it felt like a thousand sparks lit up my body. 

Ibang klase. 

Parang meant to be. 

And then she smiled and said,  "May tao ba sa tabi mo?"

Duon na nagsimula.  Ang paghahabol,  ang pagsusuyo at ang pagkakaibigan namin. 

Hindi nagtagal ay we became close friends. She still didn't know my real state though. Na my glamorous life is not so glamorous after all. 

Although,  usually naman ang mga dates namin sa simpleng lugar lang.  At I try to give her everything she needs even my full attention.

And she motivated me like no one else. 
She motivated me to be better. To work harder.  To be the best I can be. 

And I did it all for her.

My biggest mistake. 

My biggest downfall.

Dahil hindi nagtagal ay pinaalam ko sakanya ang sitwasyon ko.

And it changed everything.  The way her face lit up whenever she sees me, the way she looks up at me like I'm her whole world,  the way she would give her attention to me - lahat yun nawala. 
Like a cold water drowned the fire between us. 

And the last straw?  When I caught her kissing my so-called bestfriend on our anniversary. 

After that,  everything changed.

I changed. 

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Hi Hi!  Sorry sobrang tagal bago ang updatee.  Pero ayan na ang story nila.  What do you guys think?  Hehe