Phoenix vs Janna

Chapter 25

You would have thought that Janna, being an activist, was the brave and courageous type. She was. She really was.

But when it comes to Phoenix, she runs away. That was the reason for her walk outs that annoyed Phoenix frequently.

And after that earth-shaking kiss, Janna took the usual route and bolted.

The following days, she came home to her parents and stayed there. She avoided Phoenix' calls to the point of turning off her phone. She dropped out of her org's activities, declaring a self-proclaimed vacation.

She refused to think about the kiss but the thought still came frequently to her mind.

Then one day he came to the bakeshop, to the delight of her parents and much to Janna's dismay.

When he got the opportunity to talk to her alone, he said: "Alam ko namang you're hiding from me. I wish we could talk, pero whenever you're ready na lang."

"Wala akong sasabihin sa 'yo. Umalis ka na." Janna fiddled nervously with the plants in the garden as they talked.

"I'm glad na rin na dahil sa kiss na yun ay umuwi ka dito sa bahay niyo. At least masaya sina Tatay." He smiled as he examined the orchids beside her.

"Pwede ba! Baka marinig ka nila!" Janna whispered.

"Fine. I'll leave you alone. Saka na tayo mag-usap."

"Wala tayong pag-uusapan!"

Phoenix smiled.

"You're such a coward, Janna. Nagtatapang-tapangan ka lang pero matakutin ka naman."

He took a step closer and whispered in her ear: "That's one of the things I like about you."

He left, leaving Janna's mind in total chaos.

-o-

As the weeks passed, Janna's life returned to normal. Her self-imposed vacation helped. She did so much gardening and baking that when Lucy called to say they needed her at the org, she was glad to return to her apartment and resume her activities.

But she missed Phoenix and wondered where he was and what he was doing. He was missing in action in social media. He didn't even call.

The thought that he might be with Kat tortured Janna's thoughts.

Although she busied herself with her org activities, singing at the bar at night, and going out with friends to summer jaunts, a part of her always thought about him.

So when she came home one night and found him waiting outside her apartment, she was so happy to see him.

"Hellcat, did you miss me?" He asked as they sat together in her living room, sipping beer like they usually do.

"No."

He smiled.

They were silent for a long time.

"Let's do it, Hellcat." He broke the silence.

"What?" She asked nervously.

"Nagawa na natin halos lahat. Nag-away, nagkakalat, muntik nang magpatayan. Name it, nagawa na natin."

"So..."

"Why don't we try to be a couple, now, Hellcat?"

Janna's heart skipped a beat. Too many questions ran through her mind. Paano si Kat? Paano ang differences natin? Paano...?

"Okay."

He finished his beer and crossed the distance towards where she was sitting. He knelt before her so that his face was level with hers.

He had a gentle look in his eyes when he leaned closer and kissed her.

-o-

"Iho, can't you come for dinner? Your dad misses you." It was mom calling Phoenix.

"Ma, I have a dinner appointment."

"Mas importante pa ba yan kesa sa amin, Iho?"

"Ma..."

"I'm only kidding, Iho! Please do come one of these days! We miss you  already!"

The truth was that Phoenix' "dinner appointment" was with Janna. And if you ask him if his dinner appointment with her was more important than his family, he would have answered yes.

They were together everyday since they became official. He all but skipped all other activities just to be with her. He canceled on his plan to go to Hongkong and visit Kat's dad. He kept taking rain checks on his friends' invites. He skipped football practices and practically stayed glued to Janna's side.

Janna, too, went off-grid. She hardly attended any of  her org's summer activities.

All they did was hang out together. They were content to vegetate either in his town house or her apartment. They alternated between watching Netflix movies or playing video games. They read books and newspapers. Mostly they talked. About anything and everything under the sun. Politics, advocacies, gossips. They talked about their childhood, their present and their dreams of the future.

Janna listened to Phoenix open up about himself and strangely she couldn't find anything at fault with him. When before she was very critical and judgemental, she couldn't for the life of her feel any need now to do so. This must be an effect of being his girlfriend. She was so entranced by everything about him.

Phoenix didn't fare any better. Janna was in his mind every day and night. He was fascinated by everything about her.

It was as if their time of being adversaries was just a facade. Their tightly guarded hearts and the walls they raised against each other had been completely destroyed.

They pushed back the world and focused on each other to the exclusion of everything else.

But when they occasionally had to let the world in, such as when he accompanies her to org activities or watch her perform, or when she was with him supporting his football game or being with his friends, they would still be locked into each other even from across the room.

The summer months passed by happily.

Phoenix got to know more about Janna's activist friends and grew to like them — their passion and intelligence. Many a night they spend on socio-political discussions that opened his mind.

He went with them on many of their
activities, to the delight of Janna's group. Only Janna was worried about this for reasons she couldn't quite define. Probably she was just so used to having her advocacies shared with no one like him.

In turn, she got to spend time with Phoenix' circle of friends. Her long-held stereotypes of the rich and spoiled brats crumbled. There were actually decent kids among them. And through time, she began to understand even the spoiled ones. They were shaped by the environment they're in.

We are all a product of our society. It is the society that should change then. This was the realization that both of them finally shared.

It was a beautiful summer. Quite a gift really. They had gained knowledge more than they had before. And they had each other.

Until the day Phoenix was shot.