Definitely Out of his League | published under Ukiyoto Publishing

25th League: You and I

25th League: You and I

MAGKAKASAMA ANG magkakaibigan sa Quadrangle. The girls noticed Iris's silence. Kanina pang walang kibo ang dalaga dahil sa mga nasaksihan niya. Her friends knew something about what happened in Loony Bar but they chose to be silent about it. The cold atmosphere remained that way until Elerie spoke up.

"Iris, have you seen this vid? Trending siya sa Twitter ngayon," Elerie said.

They all looked at Elerie's phone. It was a video of Travis and Ryland fighting. Makikita rin sa video ang pag-iyak ni Iris sa tabi. It gained a lot of negative responses.

There were several tweets about Iris cheating on Ryland. May mga nagsasabi rin na nagsasabing two-timer ang dalaga. Gayunpaman, may mga ilan din namang nagtatanggol kay Iris.

"Judgy bitches all over the internet," Alex said.

"What happened ba talaga, Iris? Is it true? Boyfriend mo ba si Travis?" Yuri asked.

"Don't mind me. Walang totoo sa mga accusation na 'yan. Thank you for your concern," malamig na sagot ni Iris.

"But would you just let these people judge you? I mean... If you know you did nothing wrong, you should at least say something," Alex told her.

"What's the point? It wouldn't help the much more painful situation I am dealing with now," tulalang tugon ni Iris.

"Uhh... Well, if you need help, nandito lang kaming friends mo. We respect you if you don't feel like telling it to us yet," Yuri stated. Nginitian naman sila ni Iris.

Iris looked at her wristwatch. She excused herself from her friends and went to the library. She knew he would be there. Nang makapasok siya ng library ay nilingon niya agad ang lamesa sa pinakadulong bahagi ng kuwarto.

She saw Travis reading a book while writing something on a piece of paper. Iris could feel the stares she was getting from the other students. She knew her schoolmates were already made aware of what happened because of that viral video.

She stood up in front of Travis. The guy noticed her but decided not to look at her. Hanggang sa kamay lamang ng dalaga ang mga mata nito at muli nang nagbalik ng tingin sa libro.

"So you're snubbing me," Iris said. Hindi pa rin nagsalita si Travis. Iris sighed and sat in front of him. "Travis, please, talk to me."

"Para saan, Iris?" tanong ng binata. Nanatili itong nagsusulat.

"You aren't replying to any of my text messages. You're avoiding my calls," Iris told him frustratedly.

"Busy ako," malamig na wika ni Travis. Sa inis ng dalaga ay hinablot niya ang papel na sinusulatan ni Travis. Doon lamang nagbaling ng tingin ang binata sa dalaga. His eyes were as cold as ice.

"That's bull, Travis. Bakit mo ba 'ko dinededma?"

"Bakit? Iniwan mo 'ko, Iris. Anong ine-expect mo? Na masaya kitang babatiin pagkatapos no'n? Ang istupido naman ng tingin mo sa 'kin," Travis said, controlling the volume of his voice.

"I'm sorry, Travis. But Ryland needed me," Iris uttered. She felt so guilty about leaving him behind.

"Ako, Iris? Kailangan din kita. Hindi pa ba sapat ang drama ng buhay ko para mag-stay ka sa 'kin? Alam mo, handa na nga ako, eh. Pinag-iisipan kong mabuti kung itutuloy ko pa ba ang plano ko. Kasi... sa tuwing nakikita kita, pakiramdam ko ay kaya ko nang kalimutan ang galit ko. Pero pinatunayan mo lang sa 'kin na hindi ako ang tipo ng tao na pinipili," mariing saad ni Travis. Namumula na ang mga mata ng binata pero pigil na pigil ang emosyon nito.