The B-Side

Chapter 9: Intervention

Frantic knocks woke me up, and I nudged Neil, willing for him to open the door in my place. He groaned, shoving my hand away, muttering, “Lei, come on. Your place.”

I groaned—more like growled—back, but I forced myself out of the bed, my hair in disarray, grabbing an oversized shirt to pull over my body and picking up my undies from the floor. I was already at the door when I stopped to fix myself, and in the process, I managed to glance at the clock on the wall of my small kitchen.

Holy fudge. Neil and I had just started to sleep a couple of hours ago. What the hell?

 “Why on earth are you banging on my door at four in the morning?” I said almost in a snarl, and I was stopped by Nathan and Andy, half-smiles on their faces. I pulled back on my anger.

“What…?” I said cluelessly, and Nathan stepped forward and gave me the biggest hug the world could ever muster. I even felt my body relax, and that was when I realized how much I missed Nate.

“We haven’t seen you in so many months. We think it’s time to step in. Intervention. You can’t avoid us forever just coz you and Marc aren’t doing okay. So we’re thinking—”

I cut him off mid-sentence. “Get in,” I just said, and Andy nudged Nathan inside the house. She gave me a hug when she passed by me, which I graciously received. I turned on the lights that Neil and I had managed to close last night before the action ensued, and the chaos in the living room just surprised the three of us—Neil’s slacks and polo were strewn on the couches next to my dress and—hello—my bra, and my bag was on the loveseat next to the couch, while his socks, his and my shoes are on the center table.

“Ah,” Nate said in a very curious tone. I rolled my eyes, starting to pick up my things and Neil’s stuff, gathering them in my arms. “If I head to the room…?” he said, leaving the question hanging, and I nodded, not entirely embarrassed about it. What’s the point?

“Neil slept over,” I merely said, with finality in the tone of my voice, and they didn’t ask anymore.

Nate and Andy managed to find some free space on one of the couches, and I waited for what they had to say.

“Intervention?” I prompted when silence reigned after a few minutes.

“You and Marc have been friends for the past six years, L. We’re a gang. We’re the group. We’re the gang. And we’re kind of running on broken parts right now because you and Marc did Houdini acts on both of us,” Andy explained, and I sighed.

The mere mention of Marc’s name...

“We’re kidnapping you, L,” Nate declared when I didn’t speak. “We’re taking you with us to Batanes.”

I was almost confused for a moment, before I remembered that a couple of months ago, before this whole Marc thing blew up in our faces, that the four of us booked a trip to Batanes.

Back when I was still part of this gang Andy was pertaining to.

Back when I was still Marc’s fan girl.

I started to shake my head when Andy spoke. “I believe you of all people know how hard promo fares to Batanes come by,” she said, and I knew that. Not all airlines in the Philippines offer flights to Batanes, much less give out promo fares. To fill in the silence, I started to go around the living room, picking up my and Neil’s things and bringing it to the room. When I barged into the room, Neil peeped at me as I placed our things at the bench at the foot of the bed, and then he tossed me a pillow, which I caught squarely before it hit my face. I nearly snapped at him—I could have dropped my laptop if I was still carrying our things in my arms.