4

ANDY

I woke up late today. My whole body hurts like I've been beaten up.

 I checked the time.

 7:00 a.m.

 Aish, I'm late! I also checked my phone. I had ten missed calls and five messages, all from Kate.

 From: Kate Manyak

Andy, where are you?

Andy, what time is it? Aren't you picking me up yet?!

Andy? Are you really not going to answer my calls?!

Whatever, Andy. Don't come near me!

Don't you ever talk to me, Andy, bye!

 Those were her texts to me. She's so sweet, isn't she? I'm the one who feels like I was beaten up last night, yet she's the one mad at me now. Anyway, her nickname suits her well.

 Ugh, Kate, you're so hard to figure out!

 I didn't reply to Kate. She said not to talk to her, so I got up.

 That girl, she left so early after what she did to me last night with her naughty behavior.

 I went straight to the bathroom and took a shower. I looked at myself in the mirror.

 Damn! I have so many hickeys, and they're still red! There are also red marks on my arm from Kate slapping me.

 After showering and brushing my teeth, I got dressed. I wore jeans and an oversized army green long sleeve t-shirt with matching white Converse.

 Damn! My body still hurts. I think I even have a bruise on my arm. I'll put something on it later.

 I put on some cologne, and just as I was about to leave, I got a text from Luce.

 From: Luce

 Hey Drew, where are you? Bring your racket and training clothes, we have practice later.

 I grabbed my badminton bag and training clothes and left immediately.

 "Drew, it's already our last subject! What happened to you? Why are you late?" Luce greeted me when I arrived at the room.

 "I overslept. I had a really good sleep," I said, scratching my head.

 She looked at me closely to see if I was telling the truth. Then she pulled me out of the room.

 "Come here, Drew!" she said, dragging me towards the restroom.

 "Ouch, Luce! Wait, it hurts! Take it easy!" I complained as she held onto my bruised arm tightly.

 Once we were inside, she quickly locked the door and pulled up my shirt, inspecting my body.

 "Now, explain those marks," she pointed to the hickeys and other marks on my arms and chest.

 "It's nothing, Luce. I just bumped into something, and those are just ant bites. Don't worry about it," I denied, pouting.

 "Don't act dumb with me, Andrew Torregozon. Is it Kate again who did that to you?! Well, is it? Answer me!" she said, clearly angry.

 I got scared because this was the first time Luce had acted like this. She was so serious.

 "Just drop it, Luce, okay? I promise this won't happen again. Never," I said nervously.

 She just sighed and shook her head.

 "I don't know what to say, Drew. That excuse is getting old. But this is really the last time, Torregozon. If it happens again, I'll be the one to face off with your pervy best friend. That's why you're late, isn't it?" she reminded me.

 "Yeah, my body still hurts too," I could only respond.

 "You're having lunch with me today. No Kate. Stay away from her for now. And one more thing, you're sleeping at my place tonight. Try refusing, and I'll really get mad at you," she warned, giving me a fierce look.

 I had no choice but to nod. We went back to the room, and the class started.

 After two hours, it was our lunch break. Luce and I went to the canteen together.

 I ordered my favorite chicken adobo and water. Luce got afritada and giniling with two servings of rice and a Sprite.

 We sat far away from Kate, thankfully out of her sight.

 We started eating.

 "Drew, try this afritada, it's good," Luce said, feeding me a bite.

 It was indeed good, the meat was tender and the seasoning was just right—not too salty, not too bland.

 "Try this chicken adobo too, it's tasty," I said, feeding her a bite. She gave a thumbs up after tasting it.

 "Luce, what dessert do you want? I'll buy it for you," I asked her after we finished eating.

 "I want ice cream," Luce replied, and I went to get her some, while I picked leche flan for myself. I also bought some water.

 As I was walking back, someone bumped into me quite hard. It was Kate.

She gave me a sharp look and glared at me before walking away. I just let it go.

 "Oh, Luce, here's your ice cream. You eat so much, but you never gain weight," I commented, because it was true.

 "That's just how it is when you're beautiful and sexy. You, on the other hand, barely eat. You must have something else on your mind," she teased.

 I just ignored her and kept eating. After we finished, we went straight back to class.

 The professor was just lecturing, so I took notes to keep myself from dozing off.

 After a few hours, we were dismissed early since there were no more classes. Luce and I headed straight to the badminton gym for practice.

 We changed in the locker room, then warmed up.

 "Andrew, Lucy, you two take care of your teammates for now. I have something to attend to. Push your training hard," Coach Amir told us.

 "Yes, Coach," we replied, and he left.

 We all started playing together. I was up against Luce. She was ahead of me.

 "Drew! Step up your game!" she yelled while I was already out of breath.

 "Wait, Luce, I'm tired," I replied, but she served again, and we had a long rally.

In the end, we were tied.

 After changing clothes, we left. But before heading home with Luce, I excused myself for a bit.

 I went to another gym where the cheerleading squad was and looked for their captain.

 Kate.

 I missed her. We hadn't spoken all day. Just seeing her would make me feel better.

 But the gym was empty. I waited for a while, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but she never showed, so I went back.

 "Luce, I'm going home to get some stuff," I told her as we rode in her car.

 "No need, Drew. I have extra clothes at home that I haven't used. You can wear those," she smiled at me. I just nodded.

 When we got to her place—actually, her mansion—she immediately dragged me to her room and locked the door.

 "Drew, you shower first. I'll follow after you. Your clothes, towel, and toothbrush are already prepared," she said, so I followed her instructions.

 After I finished showering and dressing, I went out. As I approached Luce, who was sitting on the bed, I noticed she was staring at me and swallowing hard.

 "Luce, is something wrong? Are you okay?" I asked her. She snapped out of it and headed to the bathroom.

 What's wrong with you, Luce?

 I looked at myself in the mirror. I was just wearing cycling shorts and an oversized t-shirt.

 Sigh. My outfit is so comfy, especially with the air conditioning in Luce's room.

 When I turned around, Luce was behind me, wrapped in a towel and grinning at me.

 She moved closer and closer while I backed up towards her bed.

 In my last step back, I fell onto her bed. I could only hear her loud laughter as she started getting dressed.

 Damn you, Luce! You scared me!

 "Drew, get up already. Don't get too excited about what we're going to do later," she teased me, and I got nervous.

 "What are we going to do?" I asked, confused.

 "You'll see later," she grinned at me again.

 She left the room after getting dressed, while I turned on her Xbox and played Call of Duty.

 "Drew, Drew! Stop that for now! Let's eat. I've prepared dinner for you and your favorite soy milk," I immediately stopped and looked back when I heard that.

I turned off the Xbox, and we ate.

 "Mmm, this chicken curry is delicious, Luce. Did you cook this?" I complimented the food.

 "Yes, Drew. I know it's your favorite, so I made it. I'm glad you liked it," she said with a smile and fed me a bite.

 "Luce, say ahh," I said like a child, trying to make her laugh before feeding her.

 "Drew, you're such a child! That's why you end up in situations like what Kate did to you," she scolded me again.

 "I'm not a child, Luce, hmph!" I pouted, which only made her laugh.

 After we finished eating, we played a game of Call of Duty and League of Legends. I must admit, Luce is really good at gaming. She kept beating me at it.

Time passed quickly, and when we finished, we prepared to sleep.

 "Drew, turn off the lights. Let's sleep now," she said while adjusting her blanket.

 I turned off the lights and lay down beside her.

 Her blanket was too small to cover us both, so I moved closer to her to share it.

 As soon as I did, she wrapped her arms around me. We were so close that I could feel her breath on my neck.

 "Luce, what are you doing?!" I asked nervously.

 "Shh, let me sleep," she whispered, tightening her embrace.

 My body suddenly felt warm, but I didn't say anything and just let her. We fell asleep like that.