Dying Embers

Chapter One

Chapter One: Too Much

 ᯓ★ play this while reading: adore you — harry styles 𝄞 ⋆ˎˊ-

Kagat-kagat ko ang labi ko habang nakatingala sa malalaking letrang gawa sa metal na kumikislap sa sikat ng araw.

CASPIAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Parang ang bigat-bigat ng dibdib ko. I don't know anyone here. Lahat ng kaibigan ko nag-transfer sa ibang school for Senior Year, and now I'm stuck here, alone. My gosh, torture ito para sa'kin. I hated it. Pero ano bang choice ko? This is what my parents wanted, at wala naman akong nagawa kundi sumunod.

Huminga ako ng malalim bago ko tuluyang tinawid ang entrance. At first glance, napahinto ako.

Woah.

Massive buildings that seemed to scrape the sky, wide open fields na parang wala nang katapusan, long hallways na puro estudyante, at mga lugar na ni hindi ko alam kung ano ang tawag. For a moment, I felt like I was in a different country. Ang ganda, sobra. Not bad at all, I thought. Pero mas magiging perfect sana kung andito rin ang barkada ko.

Pinili kong maglakad sa daan malapit sa field kung saan may mga naglalaro ng baseball. I kept my head down, hugging my books to my chest. Hindi kasi ako sanay maglakad mag-isa, lalo na surrounded by this sea of strangers. Tahimik lang ako nang biglang may malakas na ugong ng makina ang dumaan.

Halos mabangga ako.

"Great. Just fucking great," I muttered under my breath, sarcasm dripping.

The car screeched to a stop near the parking area beside the field. My pulse raced, and in my head, I was already rehearsing the piece of my mind I was about to throw at that reckless driver. Pero habang papalapit ako, biglang nanigas ang buong sistema ko.

The door opened.

Out stepped a guy. Tall — easily around 183 cm. His hazelnut hair was tousled in that messy-but-effortless way, like he just rolled out of bed and somehow nailed the look. His eyes, pitch black, sharp and magnetic, latched onto everything like they owned it. His lips, curved into the faintest bow, were the kind that could ruin you if you stared too long. His nose, perfectly sculpted, fit his face like it was designed by the universe itself.

Shit. He was the kind of guy that could make the world spin in slow motion.

And it did. The moment his gaze met mine, para bang tumigil ang paligid.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, his voice deep, baritone, unshakably confident. A small, almost lazy smile tugged on those lips.

I blinked, suddenly forgetting the reason why I even walked up to him.

"Martinez, fucking watch out!" sigaw ng isang lalaki mula sa field, tumatakbo palapit, humahangos.

Napalingon siya. Then, in a heartbeat, his eyes widened before they snapped back to me.

And suddenly, his hands were on my shoulders.

"A—" Hindi ko natapos ang salita dahil bago ko namalayan, nakasandal na ako sa malamig na pintuan ng kotse niya. The closeness, the intensity in his eyes — black and burning — pinned me in place.

A sharp crash rang out, somewhere near the field. Siguro flowerpots or glass displays.

Napasinghap ako at pumikit, pero agad kong naamoy ang scent niya — masculine, clean, with a trace of something dark and intoxicating. Damn. He smells too good.

"Fuck shit! Miss Ruiz is going to kill me!" mura ng lalaking tumawag kanina.

Pagmulat ko, nakatitig pa rin siya sa akin, mas malapit pa ngayon.