Hailey's POV
As I finished the last question, a wave of relief washed over me. I handed in my exam and practically skipped out of the classroom, feeling lighter than air.
"Freedom, here I come!" I exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear as I made my way down the hallway.
But just as I was about to step into vacation mode, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see Mike, a classmate of mine, jogging to catch up with me.
"What's up, Mike?" I asked, curious about what he wanted.
"Are you going tonight?" he asked, a hint of excitement in his voice. I furrowed my brows, racking my brain to remember what he was talking about.
And then it hit me. The after-party! I had completely forgotten about it in my exam frenzy.
"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot! Thanks for reminding me. Yes, I'm definitely going. Are you coming too?"
"Absolutely! How about I swing by and pick you up later?"
I grinned, feeling a surge of anticipation. "That sounds perfect. See you later, then." With that, we went our separate ways, each of us eager for the evening ahead.
As I walked towards the parking lot, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement bubbling inside me. I hopped into my car and drove home, ready to kick off my vacation in style.
As I stepped inside the house, a familiar emptiness greeted me. Once again, I found myself alone in this big old house. My parents, both doctors, were always busy with their work in California. It would've been nice if we all lived together in one place, surrounded by our relatives. But unfortunately, they were scattered across different cities, so I had to travel to see them. This big house can get so boring sometimes, which is why I often escape with my friends. Especially when Chris was still studying here, we would hit up every club in town, partying the night away. But then he went back to the Philippines after he graduated.
That's why I'm so excited to go back to the Philippines. I can't wait to see my best friend again, who's been trying to win my heart. But I'm not quite ready to face my ex. It's only been a month since I left, but being there feels more like home because I have more people to hang out with.
As I was getting ready for the after-party, my phone buzzed. "Jhea! I was just about to call you." I said, sliding earrings onto my ears.
"In that case, should I hang up and let you call me instead?" She teased, always the same old Jhea, never changing.
I laughed. "No need. So, what time is your flight tomorrow?" I changed the subject.
"Oh, speaking of that, I had to cancel my flight. I rescheduled it for the day before the wedding."
"What? Why?!"
"We ran into some issues with the plans for the school ball, so we need to sort them out."
I furrowed my brow. "Seriously? But you're not even going to the ball because of our cousin's wedding."
"I know. But I have to be there. After all, I'm the student council president. So even if I'm not attending, I still need to make sure the ball goes smoothly."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Fine, I get it."
"Thanks, Blaire." She teased.
"Come on, not again. Please stop using my second name, it makes me uncomfortable."
"I've been calling you Blaire forever. And you're still uncomfortable." She laughed.
"I know. That's why I'm telling you to just call me Hailey."
"Okay then, Blaire." She teased again.
"Jhea." I threatened.
"Okay, okay. I'll call you Hailey."
The sound of a horn echoed outside my house. I peeked through the window and saw Mike waiting for me.
"I gotta go. Talk to you later, bye!"
"Bye, Blaire." I rolled my eyes and ended the call.
I stepped outside and was greeted by a smiling Mike. "What are you smiling at?" I asked as I walked towards him.
"You're absolutely stunning today." He opened the car door for me and motioned for me to sit next to the driver's seat.
I gave him a side-eye. "Just today? Are you saying I'm not beautiful on other days?"
He flashed a mischievous smile. "No, what I meant is that you look even more gorgeous today." he said sincerely.
We arrived at the venue where the after-party was held. After two hours of dancing, drinking, chatting, and laughing with our friends and schoolmates, I was talking to a friend when Mike interrupted us. "Irene, can I talk to Hailey for a minute?"
"Oh, sure. I'll just leave you here," she said and went off to join the others dancing.
"You okay?" I asked.
"I think I need to gather some courage to express my true feelings to someone," he said, leaning back on the couch we were sitting on.
"So, you need my help to confess? I didn't know you liked someone. Is it Airene?" I playfully teased.
"No, it's you." He replied, looking directly into my eyes.
I raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" I chuckled nervously.
"I have feelings for you, Hailey," he confessed, his gaze lingering on my face. He leaned in for a kiss, but I hesitated. "We should just remain friends," I said, distancing myself from him.
He was taken aback by my actions, but he remained composed. "Oh, you're right. We should definitely just be friends. I apologize," he said, sounding disappointed. I could sense his disappointment, and it made me feel guilty.
"Mike, don't apologize. It's me who should be sorry. I'm sorry if I can't reciprocate the same feelings for you. I'm in love with someone else, and I apologize if it can't be you," I confessed. It was ironic how I claimed to love someone when, in reality, I was unsure of my feelings for either of them. Chris and my ex.
"It's alright. At least we can still be friends, right?" He smiled, a genuine and sincere expression on his face.
"Yup." I smiled back, trying to reassure myself that he was truly okay with the situation.
———
It was two days ago when our cousin's wedding was scheduled. Mommy and I were at the airport today to pick up Jhea. She had taken a two-day leave with Dad, so she accompanied me today.
"Is she already there?" Mommy kept asking, and just as she said that, I saw Jhea walking towards us.
"There she is!" I exclaimed to Mommy and ran to meet her.
We immediately embraced as soon as we got close to each other. "I've missed you, Jhea! It's so good to finally have you here."
We had to let go of our embrace when Mommy approached us. "Slow down, you two. Save the hugs for home. But before that, let's go eat somewhere."
"I'm good with that, tita, because I'm feeling very hungry," Jhea pouted.
Mommy and I chuckled at her reaction. We left the airport and drove to the nearest restaurant.
We chatted while eating. Jhea told us about what's been happening in their lives in the Philippines. After we finished eating, we headed straight home.
"I have something to tell you, Hailey," she said as we sat in the backyard garden.
I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Remember when you were in tears, begging me to talk to Liam and convince him to get back together with you?" How could I ever forget that? I was so heartbroken yet desperate to have him back, back then.
"Yup, I remember. But you refused to do it because you disliked him for what he did to me. What made you bring that up? It's been a year," I chuckled.
"Lately this year, he came up to me and asked me to help him get back together with you. I could tell that he was genuinely serious. However, I still turned him down because I was extremely angry at him for making you cry."
I covered my mouth in shock. "Seriously? H-he did that?"
"Yes. And guess what? I didn't know what had gotten into me, but lately, I decided to talk to him and agreed to help him."
I was truly speechless at what she said. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"That's why I'm telling you now, stupid," she said sarcastically.
"Seriously, Jhea, seriously?" I rolled my eyes.
She took a deep sigh. "I felt guilty because I knew that you still love him. And I know that when you accidentally bumped into each other the last time you went home to the Philippines, he told you that he still loves you, but you rejected him even though you still love him. Why did you do that?"
I looked into the distance. "Because I'm afraid of getting hurt again. I really want to go back to him, but something's holding me back, and besides, I don't want to hurt Chris now that I have feelings for him and he's already courting me."
"Chris?" she asked.
He's my best friend whom I met here in California. He's currently in the Philippines. I suppose you've seen him. He mentioned that his sister is also studying at your school."
I took out my phone and searched for a picture of Chris and me together and showed it to her. "Here he is."
Her eyes widened when she saw it. "Chris Wesley?!"
"See? You know him." I replied.
"Dammit, Hailey. Seriously? Chris is your best friend, and he's actually trying to court you?!" She exclaimed, her tone filled with disbelief.
"Yes," I answered. She paused for a second and observed me. "I know that you know him, but why are you reacting like that?"
"It's just that he's my friend's ex, and his sister is also my friend."
"Really?! Then that's great! Omg, small world. I hope your friend will not get mad because her ex is currently courting me."
"Of course not. They're already friends. From what I've heard from her, he mentioned her the girl he's interested in, which I didn't realize was actually you. And they seemed quite excited to meet you when I mentioned you to them."
"Well, I'm also looking forward to meeting them. I have a feeling that I'll get along well with your friends too," I said excitedly.
She didn't respond but instead changed the topic. "But seriously, do you plan on accepting Chris? How about Liam?"
"I don't know, Jhea. Especially now that I found out that he talked to you to get back together with me, it's even more complicated. I still have feelings for him, but I accept that he may not come back to me. However, after knowing that you agreed to help him, I don't know if I should still accept Chris."
"So, what are you going to do?" She placed her hand on my shoulder, attempting to comfort me as tears threatened to well up in my eyes.
"I honestly don't know, Jhea. I'm torn between the two of them."