Cavite

ANGELLE

"Angelle, don't forget to charge your cell phone. I placed a power bank and an extra charger there. If you get hungry, I left some pocket money on the side of your backpack. And remember my reminders for you, don't go out at night...blah, blah, blah."

I couldn't help but smirk and look at Lica who was quietly laughing as Mama kept on talking. What else should I expect? This is how Mama is, always with extras and instructions that you must follow.

Our agreement was for Prof to pick us up at 10 pm at our house. Soon enough, Ernest arrived as well.

"Mom, Sistah won't go on an adventure." Lica said.

"That's right, but it's better for her to always be prepared. You never know. You also need to be careful." Mama replied.

Lica was about to speak when a honk came from outside. Prof and I stood up and went out first.

"Angelle." Ernest called with a smile when he saw me.

"Is everyone here?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Are you Ernest?" Mama asked, and he nodded in response. "Take care of my daughter, okay? Don't let her stay out late." The man nodded.

"Mom! You're so over-protective!" Lica scolded her. Mama raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you want me to be? An over-protective mother or a mother who doesn't care about her child?" Lica fell silent.

"All right, we're leaving, Mom." I said, hugging her. I approached Lica and gave her a look before moving closer to Link.

"Aww. Give me a kiss," I turned to Jr who had just arrived from the computer shop.

"Rub your face," I said irritably to him then faced Link. "I'm leaving, behave yourself." He smirked.

"You behave. You might become annoying," I rolled my eyes 360°.

"Don't cha worry, I'll be quiet." I said and hugged him.

As I was about to break the hug, Ernest spoke up.

"Angelle, only one can fit in the backseat. Prof can sit there, and we'll go to the front seat." He said.

"O-okay," I replied.

He opened the front seat door and I was about to enter when someone held my arm. I stopped and looked at the person who held me.

"Prof can sit next to you. Angelle can sit in the backseat," Link said, pulling me towards the backseat.

He opened it and gestured for me to enter. I gave him a stern look. What is he doing?

"Sorry, bro, but we'll be sitting together." Prof said to Ernest, who remained silent.

Prof entered the van, and the man followed suit.

"Don't give me a reason to go there." Link reminded me before closing the door.

I was about to roll my eyes at him, but I refrained knowing it would be useless since he wouldn't see it.

"Ernest, sorry for Link's behavior." Prof smiled from the rearview mirror.

The van's ignition was started, and we began our journey. I sighed and smiled at our companions.

"So, Angelle, you're the girlfriend they're talking about with Link?" Iya's comment made me furrow my brows.

Yes, I am Link's girlfriend but—how did they find out? We only started our relationship yesterday.

"Yes, where did you hear that?" I asked.

"One of Gipsy's lackeys." She replied.

"Gipsy?"

"Hey, Iya. If you hear anything, just ignore it. Gipsy just can't accept that Link has moved on from her." Prof intervened.

"Yeah. But you know Gipsy's personality?"

"We're here to protect Angelle."

"Geez! I wish I were Angelle!" Christina exclaimed.

We all laughed.

"It's not surprising, really. Angelle is beautiful and kinder than Gipsy." Brenda commented.

"Yeah, you're right. Angelle is better for Link." They all agreed.

I just sighed and put down my things before resting my head on the seat's headboard.

I took out my phone and earphones, and plugged the earphones into my ears.

"I'm do it solo. Solo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo~"

I closed my eyes and imagined things that were not happening in reality.

"Angelle..."

I was awakened by a gentle tap on my shoulder. I yawned and looked at the person who woke me up. It was Ernest's handsome face, yeah. Ernest looked really good now, like he's in love or something.

"Wake up, we're here," he said with a smile.

I looked around and was almost startled to see how dark it was. Only the main house had lights, but the surroundings were dark. Geez, are they serious with this vacation house? This feels like a horror house.

And it seems far from the city. Who in their right mind would choose this as a vacation house? Well, it's only Christina's family who did.

Ernest took my bag and escorted me down. He closed the van door and walked ahead. I quickly held onto his clothes, causing him to look at me.

Sheesh. I'm scared so he shouldn't be looking at me like that.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Um. I'm scared here," I said embarrassedly.

He smiled. "A perfect place to shoot." He said.

It may be perfect but it's still scary. Ernest and I continued towards the house. Our companions were already inside, and Ernest woke me up.

As we entered the house, I was almost about to scream in utter surprise as a skeleton figure fell down. Trembling, I hugged Ernest tightly, causing our companions to burst into laughter.

"Angelle, are you okay?"

"Get that away," I said.

"Come here, Angelle," Prof called, and I quickly approached him, hiding behind his back.

"You're cute, Angelle. You look like a scared kid," Ven laughed, earning a smack from Ernest who placed my bag on the couch. "That hurts," he complained while rubbing his head.

"Who placed those props by the door?" Ernest asked seriously. They all looked at Harry, who just gave a peace sign. "Hide that. For now, let's rest. The sun will rise in a few hours, and tomorrow we'll shoot the scene when we arrive here." We all nodded.

"Guys, we have five rooms here. Those who want to share a room, pair up. Don't worry, the beds here are comfy." Christina said with a smile.

We grabbed our belongings. I was about to walk towards Iya to invite her to share a room when Prof spoke up.

"Angelle and I will be partners, to watch over you as well," he said.

I raised an eyebrow and nodded. We bid farewell to our classmates and entered a room. It had one king-size bed, big enough for both Prof and me.

I felt secure that Prof wouldn't harm me.

"It looks like Christina's family is wealthy too?" Prof suddenly remarked as we were arranging the bed. I nodded.

"But why did they choose this as a vacation house? I mean, it's scary." Prof smiled.

"Christina said it used to be her aunt's house. When she went crazy, their family turned it into a vacation house," I furrowed my brows at Prof's explanation.

"Why did Chris's aunt go crazy?" another raised his shoulders.

I fell silent, feeling scared. I approached the open window and peeked outside. Sheesh. It's really scary out there. Why are there no neighbors here?

I swallowed hard when I saw two figures in the distance under a tree. O-kay? Are they my classmates?

I couldn't see them clearly because of the distance and darkness. What could they be doing there?

"What are you looking at?" Prof approached the window and looked at what I was looking at.

"Do you think those are our classmates?" I asked him.

"Ven and Iya." He confirmed.

I widened my eyes and looked closely at the two figures. One of them looked like a woman. But it was impossible for it to be Iya, right? She hated Ven.

"That's not Iya," I said. Prof chuckled, then pulled me away from the window and closed it.

"Angelle, you really don't know our classmates yet." He shook his head.

I sat on the bed, looking at him. "But it really doesn't look like Iya."

"Angelle, don't trust our classmates easily. We don't know, one of them might be a member of the Bros. They are nice to you, but remember, everyone hides something." Prof lay down on the bed.

I nodded. "I don't trust easily."

"Especially Ernest." I furrowed my brow.

"Why?"

"Just because." I shrugged.

Why do they seem angry at Ernest? He's nice, isn't he?

"Tell me the reason, Prof." I urged.

"What reason?" he innocently asked, placing his arm over his forehead and looking at me.

"Why do you seem angry with Ernest?" I inquired.

"It's nothing." I rolled my eyes, annoyed, and approached him.

"Just tell me, Prof!"

He shook his head, as if feeling drowsy. But I wasn't planning to stop until he told me. I needed to know why they felt that way about Ernest. I had the right to know.

"I don't want to speak about it, ask Link about it." I playfully slapped his arm, causing him to laugh.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Link, who answered immediately. I put him on loudspeaker so Prof could hear too.

"I thought you weren't planning to call."

I raised an eyebrow at Link's greeting. From his tone, it was obvious he was upset.

"What's your problem?" I asked coldly.

"Why did it take you so long to call?"

"I'm a girl, why should I call first?"

"Sorry, my. I'm just irritated."

"What's bothering you?" I inquired.

"Tell her that you're jealous," Prof jokingly interjected.

"Yes, it feels like that. You should have invited me to come along, but no! You went with Ernest instead." Hmm.

"Did Kervin and Par sleep there?" Prof queried Link.

"Only John-john. He had an argument with his mom."

"I guess, 'cause of the chooks-to-go again, right?" Prof guessed.

"You guessed right, bro. Hahahaha."

"What happened?"

"You know how much John loves chooks-to-go. He even spent his savings just to buy it."

Geez. John is really something.

"Could you find out how much he spent from his savings? I'll pay you, bro, so he and his mom can settle." Prof suggested.

I glanced at Prof, surprised. Why is he so good? Aw.

"Sure, bro. By the way, why are you two alone there with Angelle?"

"We're sharing a room."

"That's good to hear. I thought Ernest would invite her to be his roommate."

"I knew you'd be mad, that's why I invited Angelle." Prof responded.

"I'm sure Ernest still likes Angelle. Wasn't he satisfied when he took Gipsy from me?"

My world seemed to stop when I heard him say that. Ernest?

"Link, is there something I should know about Ernest? Why are you always angry whenever you see him?" I asked seriously.

Prof raised an eyebrow and just looked at me, monitoring my every reaction.

"My, Ernest is the ex-boyfriend of Gipsy whom I saw at the Happy Mall when we were together."

Now I know.

"So that's why you're always angry with him?" I raised an eyebrow as I asked him.

"Yes. I don't want him to take you away from me too."

I swallowed hard. "Do you still love Gipsy?" I asked. I don't know why that question came out of my mouth.

"What kind of question is that, my? Of course not."

"Why are you still angry with Ernest?"

"My, that's something that will always bother me. Especially when that idiot likes you."

"Link, stop being negative."

"I'm not being negative, my."

"Guys, let's stop before it turns into an argument. You, Angelle. You got your question answered, maybe you can get some sleep now," Prof said.

"My, I'll call you tomorrow. 'Par', make sure to look after Angelle for me. You have a girl waiting for you when you get home," Link said with a laugh.

"Hahaha. No need, bro. I'm loyal to my crush,"

"Alright... My, go to sleep. I'll call you tomorrow, I love you."

I smiled and rolled my eyes as I ended the call and set my phone aside. I lay down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Are you happy with Link?" Prof suddenly asked. I turned to him and smiled.

"Yeah. I'm happy because I love him," I replied.

"Angelle, I hope you won't hurt Link. He loves you very much, even though he may not be good at showing his feelings, he's different in loving someone." I smiled.

"Don't worry, Prof. I always feel that from him. I wouldn't love him if I didn't feel that."

"Thank you for coming into our youngest brother's life."

I raised an eyebrow at Prof's words.

"I should thank you. Because you took care of him and never neglected him. Even though his family isn't here, he has you all as his friends."

"Link is our childhood friend. We don't want him to be sad, and he's the youngest among us."

"Link is so lucky to have friends like you." I said.

"You're

our friend too. So don't be envious," Prof said as he messed up my hair, making me giggle.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Angelle." He winked.

I smiled and fixed myself before closing my eyes. I am grateful for having friends like them.

If I were to choose my friends, it would be them.