only fools fall (for you) | elias/ibarra

chapter two

'Is this a fucking joke?!' was Crisostomo's first thought.

''Why is it Elias?' was his second reaction.

While his mind is panicking and thinking of all the curses in the world, both Filipino and English - he took a deep breath and looked at Maria Clara, who is staring at him hopefully. He felt an ache in his heart when he saw her face.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck. Paano ko to aayusin?' he thought, and wasn't that the question of the century.

The most logical thing to do is to just confess. It's only fair to Maria Clara to know his supposed 'soulmate' (which, by the way, never going to happen.) In that way, this won't go any further and they'd only get hurt less.

But on the other hand, he could lie to Maria Clara and pretend it was her name that was on his left wrist. In that way, they would still be couple and go on in their lives. Maria would never be hurt.

The latter sounds like a really good idea and preferrable for him. But..

... how the fuck would he do it?

'Crisostomo!' Maria yelled in his face, tears already dried off on her cheeks.

'Sorry, sorry,' Crisostomo shook his head, forcing a really fake smile. 'Sorry for zoning out, I'm just really happy.'

'So...?' Maria's hopeful face intensified as she looked at him.

'Yes! You're my soulmate!' He tried his best to be as enthusiastic as possible but his voice quivered when said thr word 'soulmate.' He hopes Maria wouldn't notice.

Maria let out a small squeal and hugged the older boy. (Apparently, she didn't notice.) He let out a fake laugh, and despite his heart hammering on chest, hugged the other girl back. He longed to make Maria happy.

Maria broke the hug and gave Crisostomo a peck on both cheeks before hugging him tightly again. Crisostomo sighed in relief but then his mind wandered to Elias. 'Does he even know? Wait, how old is that guy?'

Maria's voice snapped him out of his stupor. 'C'mon, baka hinahanap na nila tayo sa baba.'

Maria broke the hug again and held his hand, smiling massively. 'Thank you for this, Crisostomo.'

'Let's share the good news, shall we?' Crisostomo winked and smiled at the girl back.

'Pero, seriously, Cris, thank you,' Maria looked at him, smile still present on her lips. 'I've been so worried at nothing!'

Crisostomo just forced a smile. Maria laughed giddily again. 'C'mon, soulmate!'

No more problems for now. Thank God.

'Hmm, you know what? We just have to wait for my birthday nalang.' Maria reminded him, linking her arms around his.

Crisostomo laughed nervously. 'Ha, yeah..'

Well, except for that.

For as long as anyone can remember, the Bonifacios hated the Ibarras. For what reason? No one had an idea. His father didn't pay much attention to it because he's a saint like that.

It was also a known fact that Elias Bonifacio hates Crisostomo's guts. Made his school life a living hell when they were sophomores. (It's not like Crisostomo can't take it.) But that suddenly changed a few months. It's like he suddenly stopped hating him. He resorted to just staring intensely at everyone. He just seemed... lost and sad.

But kudos to the guy, Elias. He's one of the smartest student in the whole school. He gets top scores without even trying. He's also the captain of the school's football team. A lot of people say he's very mysterious. Whereas, Crisostomo would often stay at the schoo library or hang with Maria Clara in the school oval. Crisostomo have a lot of friends and is fairly popular, if he's being honest but he doesn't socialise much. But if it were close friends, he's very open and flamboyant. They were complete oppposites. So, why the hell are they soulmates?