Strings Of Perfection

Gasps. Whispers. Yun ang tanging naririnig ko habang patuloy na nag pla-play ang recording.

"Jusko, peke lang 'yon?!"

"Pucha be, I feel betrayed. Ginawan ko pa naman sila ng edit! Nag trending pa 'yon sa TikTok!"

Dev's face turned pale. She kept pressing the buttons, muttering, "Shit, shit-turn the fuck off!" But unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side. Hindi tumigil namatay ang recording. Right at that moment, I swear, alam ko na. Alam ko na na dito na magtatapos ang amin.

>"You know how much it sucks to watch him slowly fall for you? Habang ako? Nandito pa rin. Umaasa."

Kingina talaga.

My lips were parted as I roamed my eyes around, trying to look anywhere but this mess. Pero syempre, may balat ako sa pwet-nagtagpo ang mga mata namin ni Eliunous.

Of-fucking-course, papahirapan ako ng tadhana. His jaw clenched, throat bobbing as he swallowed back words he refused to say. His expression was unreadable, perfectly composed-pero hindi ako tanga. I caught the pain.

Naglakad siya papunta sa direksyon namin and swear, if looks could kill, patay na siguro kami. His gaze dropped to the device, then back at me. Mabagal. Masyadong mabagal.

"Cute stunt," he said, voice steady. Too steady.

My lips twitched. "Yeah? Rate mo naman. Out of ten?"

Deflect, Leo. Haringina, deflect.

He huffed a laugh-barely. "Seven. Could've used better timing."

"Next time I'll bring fireworks."

Dev opened her mouth again, desperate. "Sylas, I-"

> "Leave him alone, Leo. He doesn't need someone who'll do nothing but mess him up. Total fake lang naman ang relasyon n'yo, 'di ba? It's time for you to end this bullshit."

The air snapped.

Someone even whispered, "Aray, pre."

Sylas stiffened. He inhaled slow, as if suppressing all the overwhelming emotions. "Nice of you to be so concerned, Dev," saad niya, "But last I checked, it's none of your business."

Dev flinched. "I was just-"

"Yeah, I know what you were doing." His gaze cut through her, then back at me-so quick, so fucking unreadable. "We done?"

My throat felt dry. "...Yeah."

Lumingon siya nang hindi naghihintay ng sagot at naglakad paalis na parang walang nangyari.

The weight of the stares and murmurs blurred around me, everything else fading except for that one thing-siya. Ang likod niyang patuloy ang pag layo.

Gago, Leo, gumalaw ka.

I bit my lower lip, heart pounding so loud na parang 'yun na lang naririnig ko. My foot inched forward, pero bago pa man...

My gaze caught someone else's.

Nakatayo lang si Puyo sa hindi kalayuan, hands shoved in his pockets. His hair was tousled by the breeze, strands flying across his forehead, pero hindi siya nag-alalang ayusin. Tahimik lang siya doon, parang... hinihintay 'yung susunod kong gagawin.

Our eyes met.

And then-he smiled. Hindi malaki, hindi rin pilit-just enough to say "Kaya mo 'yan."

He gave me a slight nod-small, but it hit harder than it should. Encouraging.

I sucked in a breath, glancing back at where Sylas had gone. Wala na akong naririnig na iba-wala na 'yung mga bulungan, 'yung mga tingin. Ang bigat pa rin, pero... mas nananaig 'yung kagustohan kong sundan siya.