Flaunting LDR

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Philia

I looked back and there was my guy classmate, whose name I do not know, smiling right at me. "Hey, Michelle right?"

"Athena," I corrected. My first name only sounds so good when Marc says it. I prefer for it to stay that way. "No partner?"

"Yep. Mind if I'll be yours?" he asked politely. I didn't know college men here could ask in the same manner he just did.

"Sure. Sit down, you can't just be standing there the rest of the period." I offered the now empty seat beside me. Gods, he seriously looks familiar, not because I've seen him this week as my classmate, but I feel like I saw him before.

"Rafael."

"Michelle."

No wonder he called me Michelle even if the people in our class called me Athena, even when Mr. Lim calls me Athena when he checks the attendance. No wonder he looked really familiar.

Rafael Arellano was this really pale teen going through puberty, who was just my height, who had that hairstyle no one really cared to maintain or even fix up once in a while, who was scrawny that I had bigger arms than he did, who had top and bottom braces, who wore crocs to practices, and who had that voice that was just beginning to break. But Rafael Arellano was also that pale teen who had beautiful eyes that shined when he smiled, who had lips a shade of pink, and who had the habit of sharing his snacks with me.

It all came rushing back to me. Rafael Arellano, the snack buddy I met back in 2011 is Sean.

"You knew all this time?" I asked. I was thrilled. The vibe was getting really nostalgic. Rafael was there when I cried when I had to quit the school's swimming team because of family conflicts. Rafael was there every time I was down, and I had many problems that time. My dad got diagnosed with cancer, and my grandmother just died. Rafael was there to keep me company. Rafael comforted me when I knew that the snack buddy I grew fond of had to leave for Australia. He did exact same thing, he hugged me and told me all the positive things he could come up with.

Sean's eyes grew weary. He clenched his jaw and looked down for a second and back at me. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me? You had nothing to hide. You know I've missed you. I would have been so thrilled to know that you are the same snack buddy I met in 2011. You could have told me earlier." I said.

"I wanted to tell you. I've seen you a lot of times in the study lounge the previous semester. When I saw you the first time, you were wearing a grey sweater, with your bun up, the exact same way you brought yourself 4 years ago. I wasn't so sure, so I didn't bother coming up to you. Then when I saw you in the classroom the first time you came in for class, I kinda wanted to ask you but it would be weird to suddenly approach you. Then when your name was called when Sir Lim checked attendance, it was confirmed that it was you. When I came up to you that day, I kind of gave out a hint when I called you Michelle instead of Athena. But then you corrected me, so it hit me that you forgot about me, the snack buddy you cheered up at the shed," he got more serious after every sentence. Then he looked up at me, "Then you said I looked familiar. I gave out a recent event just to check out if you will say that you saw me even before, but again, you didn't. So I tried giving out hints over and over again. From buying you tuna pizzas every time we hung out, to buying you necklaces that related to your passion for the beach and swimming, to listening to your problems without giving you high hopes but still comforted you at the same time, to the type of hugs I gave you. But you never got it."

Good Lord, I was missing all the signs. And I blamed him for not telling me when I was the one taking all the things he has done for me for granted?