“YOU TWO ARE THE SAME”

“LOOK at your reaction? Is it hard for you to believe what I'm saying?” she laughed and then turned her gaze back to the pine trees she had been watching.

It took a while for Jason to respond to what she said. But eventually, he did say something. "Where did you met that guy and why on earth did he manage to do such a thing to you?" Jenny could even sense real anger in the young man's tone.

Maybe if they were in different circumstances she might be pleased with what she had heard from Jason and the sympathy that she could see in the young man's eyes. But she does not understand why something slips out from her lips.

“Look who’s talking? He did make me a mistress without my knowledge, yes, and you? Well, you just used me to cover up your feelings for my best friend. Now let me ask you, what is the difference between you two? Nothing, right? Because you are both users, you two made me look like a fool!” she said sarcastically then glared sharply at Jason.

She heard Jason's heavy sigh before he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry, but I just want to clarify everything to you. That man and I are very different if that is what you mean because I loved you back then,” Jason said calmly but full of emotion.

That was when Jenny released a dry chuckle. "You loved me back then? Jason, are you trying to make me laugh?"

“That is the truth, I do not understand why it is so hard for you to believe that. That is what I have been trying to explain to you but you still do not want to believe me,” Jason insisted.

Jenny could not understand but because of that topic, she suddenly felt that her anger is now for Jason. And that anger is quite familiar to her because she now has proven that the wound that the young man left in her heart did not completely heal but instead just rested.

"I'm going back to my cabin," she said coldly as she got up quickly and started to walk back to where they came from earlier.

Jenny was already expecting Jason to follow her. So she prepared herself for what she could hear from him but the young lady failed. The young man just accompanied her on her quiet walking and she was almost deafened by that intense silence.

There was a part of her mind that seemed to be dictating her to ask for Jason's apology for what she said but her heart did not give her the consent. She still feels bad for the young man. She could not blame herself for why she felt that way. The love she had for him was too deep. And that is the reason why she didn't hesitate to give herself to him over and over again. Because of her great love for him.

"I'm okay," when she noticed that as if Jason still planned to take her to her cabin.

The young man nodded. "Will you join us for lunch later?" he asked in a pleading tone.

"I'm not sure, I want to rest," the young lady refused.

The young man threw a sad look at her. "Okay," he said before leaving.

*****

WITH an intense tiring and heaviness of her body Jenny dropped herself on the top of the four-poster bed in the middle of her room. At the same time is the abruptly feeling of her wanting to burst into tears for she could feel the sudden heating of the corners of her eyes.

She is quite aware that those tears are not for Ryan and the reason why she is here in Baguio City today.

Jenny knew it's because of Jason. Along with the realization that she has finally proven.

She is not yet okay.

It has been ten years yes, but now that they met again why it's like everything that she felt before came back?

Why is everything that happened between them seem only yesterday?

And her tears flowed, she was in such a state when she did not realize that drowsiness had dragged her to deep sleep.

*****

TEN YEARS AGO...

"JEN," Jenny immediately raised her head when she heard that familiar voice approaching where she was.

"Ara, is your duty over?" she asked then turned her gaze back to the book she was reading.

"Yeah, but hey can I have your attention for a while? I have something to tell you," Ara asked with amusement as soon as she sat down on the chair next to her.

At that moment, Jenny was again forced to turn to her now an insistent friend.

She immediately smiled when she saw her best friend's beautiful face. Especially her beautiful blue eyes. Ara is also a blonde and according to her, she and her twin inherited those qualities from their Italian father.

"What is it? You know I have to focus more on my studies because I have to maintain my grades, right?" she even reminded Ara following her words with a light chuckle.

That is true. She was able to study at such a prestigious university because of the full-scholarship granted to her by the school.

Her mother does not even spend a single cent for her because even the allowance and fare are provided by the university. But in return for that, she has to maintain high grades and she can not drop even a small point from the maintaining grade set by the school.

"Maybe you want to have lunch with us later?" Ara asked her.

"Us?" when what Ara said sunk in her thoughts. "Who's with us just in case?"

"Jason and Daniel," Ara replied.

"Jason and Daniel, your student assistant friends in the library?" she clarified.

Ara nodded. "Yes, those two are both very kind. They invited me actually to have lunch with them. But I told them that I will be having lunch with you so they suggested me to bring you along, the more the merrier right?" her best friend explained to her.

Jenny paused for a moment. She knew Daniel and Jason but not personally. Especially Jason that she knew she would be able to recognize even the tip of his hair.

Yes, she has a crush on Jason, and no one knows about that apart from her.

She would never forget when and where was the first time she saw and had an encounter with the young man.

It was not very romantic, in fact, but for her, it was one of the most memorable events in her life. For the first time, she experienced how wonderful it feels to have someone called the apple of the eye.

She was in the library then, researching for her report. Coincidentally, the book she needed was on the higher part of the shelf and she could not reach it. But because of her shy nature, she still tried to reach the book by squatting. She was surprised when suddenly a tall, dark-skinned man approached her and handed her the book.

She looked up at him. Their eyes met and then it was as if her world had stopped spinning. Jason's eyes are so beautiful and they seem to absorb all her energy. That is what she sees as the reason why she seems to have lost her sanity. She felt like they were the only people there and the color of the surroundings changed. Suddenly it was filled with beautiful flowers and she began to hear beautiful music.

She did not know that Jason is a student assistant at the library except when she saw him on duty at the baggage counter.

The young man has been friendly to her. He even smiled at her when she handed him the duplicate number tag attached to her things with her library card. She even saw in his eyes the admiration that made her feel secretly flattered. And that intensifies, even more, when the young man read her name printed on the card right before her eyes.

And now that the opportunity has come for her to join Jason for lunch, is it right to deny that privilege? Jenny secretly laughed to herself she even felt a little shock when she felt Ara tapping her arm.

“What? Are you coming with us? Yes?” Ara asked her.

"All right, I will also go to the library after we have lunch," she agreed.