Encore at Midnight (Chances Series 1)

1🏍

Warning: conyo speech ahead.
Start tayo sa college days nila para mas ramdam natin ang sak—kilig.
Enjoy.

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What Laurene wants, Laurene gets.

Marahil ay spoiled brat ang tingin sa kanya ng karamihan, pero pinaghihirapan rin niya ang mga ito. Some blame it on her money, some call it a pretty privilege.

Pero patas rin naman ang mundo. People also loved the fact that there were two things she couldn't get.

One, was intelligence. She barely passed her subjects and sometimes she wondered how she even reached the fourth year in her pre-med course. Bobo siya, alam niya iyon. At bilang parte sa pamilya ng mga doktor, mas nakakahiya iyon.

Laurene had long accepted and even laughed it off. However, what she couldn't accept was the second and the most important thing she wanted the most.

River Aston. THE River Aston. Kahit anong sunod niya sa mga gig nito at kahit anong pa-cute niya, 'di man lang siya naambunan ng ngiti nito.

"May jowa ikaw? I can make paraya if you love her for real."

Alam rin Lauene na baliko ang dila niya. Growing up and being surrounded by people who rarely spoke the mother tongue didn't help her at all. Sa kabila nito, pranka at diretso niyang pinapahiwatig ang nararamdaman. But why can't River understand her intentions?

Hey, gusto kita. Ligawan mo nga ako.

Would you like to go out with me?

Jowain mo ako please.

Can we be magsyota?

Name it, Laurene said it all. Minsan humihingi pa siya ng tulong sa mga kaibigan niya, and she was rejected all the time. Sometimes it creeps her out how much she tried, at marahil ay ganoon rin ang mga tao sa paligid niya.

Alam ng lahat kung gaano siya kahumaling kay River. Bukambibig niya ito, at kahit saang bahagi ng campus ay nagagawa niyang kawayan at isigaw ang pangalan nito.

Nakipagsabunutan pa siya sa campus ground para sa unreciprocated feelings niya at nakailang gawa na siya ng messenger at bili ng sim para batiin ito bago pumasok sa umaga at sa gabi. Sometimes she gets too excited and spam him with emojis, then he'd block her. Then the cycle repeats.

Laurene likes him, really likes him, to a point that she was desperate enough and cornered him one evening after a gig at a dingy bar somewhere in the devil-knows-where.

"So, what na? May jowa nga ikaw?"

"Wala. Tabi diyan."

Bobo na nga, sira-ulo na rin siguro dahil kinikilig siya kahit sa pagsusungit nito. And as always, he looked great. "You look like my future boyfriend," sambit niya.

Suot na naman nito ang itim na T-Shirt na may print ng isang musikero. Jimi Hendrix, tanda pa niya. Nagresearch pa siya kung bakit idolo ito ni River. Four out of his seven gigs within two weeks, he'd wear the same black shirt, ripped pants and a leather jacket with a broken zipper.

It took her a month to realize that River was wearing it because he couldn't afford a better ensemble. Ininat niya ang mga kamay upang harangan itong pumasok sa CR ng bar. "So why don't you subok to ano, like, jowa me? I'm not clingy, promise."

"Hindi ka pa clingy sa dating na 'yan?" Humugot ito ng malalim na hininga, masamang nakatitig sa kanya at tulad ng mga naunang confession ni Laurene ay sumagot ng, "Wala akong panahong makipag-lokohan sa spoiled brat. Please, tigilan mo na kakasunod sa lahat ng gig at raket ko." Marahan siyang tinabig upang makapasok ito sa CR.