MY PRETEND BOYFRIEND

Chapter 14

Sophia looks at her phone, stunned, as an i********: post catches her attention. She tries to make sense of the words, reading them over and over. But no matter how many times she tries, the result is always the same.

@David - Is Horan really flirting with Sophia? Really? No!!!

As soon as she reads that first comment, she feels the urge to grab her car keys and rush out to buy Betadine and bandages. Just in case David’s fans storm the campus. She hopes they’ll show mercy on her. Why is this happening? What should she do? Frustrated, she tosses her phone across the room to escape the problem.

As she throws her phone, the door bursts open, and in walks Yvonne, glowing like a cat burglar in the night. Sophia can see an aura of seven colors emanating from her. Damn, who told you to wear those pants, huh? She looks like she’s carrying a ton of papers. In fact, Yvonne isn’t a burglar at all. Sophia had given her a spare key earlier so she could check her homework. Laziness, however, was her best friend.

"Bakit ka naman naka-holding-bus-handle pose? Naghahanda ka bang sumayaw sa kanta ni Rapter?"

"I'm in a bad mood. Please, don't make it worse."

"What's the matter? Is it that time of the month?"

"Didn't a celeb like you hear what happened? Deep s**t is following me on i********: right now."

"Is that about David? You’re overthinking it," Yvonne finishes her sentence, tossing a book at Sophia's head before casually flopping onto the bed.

Ding!

"That’s your IG notification. Check it quickly," Yvonne says.

"Lazy, I don’t want to open it."

"Then copy the homework quickly."

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding~

"Hindi ko na kaya!" Finally, Sophia snaps, throwing her pen to the floor and cursing in frustration.

"Give me your phone, I’ll fix this," Yvonne says quickly.

"Oh, here."

Sophia tosses her phone onto the bed without looking, but she still catches out of the corner of her eye that Yvonne is commenting on her behalf. After that, she focuses on finishing her homework.

"Ayan, tapos na," she says, satisfied, while Yvonne casually tosses the phone into the corner of the bed.

Hey, that’s an expensive phone!

"Thank you."

"Don’t mention it."

"How is it?"

"Don’t worry. You can go about your business. Nothing to be afraid of."

"Thank you."

Sophia grabs her phone from the bed, feeling relieved that Yvonne says everything is okay. But then, she sees it.

Fuck!

There’s no sound, but her phone keeps vibrating like crazy—nonstop, like an earthquake from the TV series Descendants of the Sun. Damn, there’s no way to make it stop.

@Tobleronei - He said to flirt with you.

@Laurelsaur - Yup. I'm blushing rn >///<

What the heck? I’m not blushing at all! Hmm... okay... calm down, Sophia. Read more comments.

@Laurelsaur - Did he say anything else?

@Tobleronei - He’s asking me how to follow you.

Oh, my God. What the hell did you do, Yvonne?! Why does he have to ask that in public? And why does David’s friend keep replying? Sophia wants to make it clear she didn’t type any of that. Why do these stupid things always happen to her? David’s friends are such a pain.

@Laurelsaur - Then let him know to follow me.

Oh, my God. Yvonne, you’re a piece of work!

What is this? Sophia, you’re such a main character! Hahaha

It seems like this is just a joke.

I ship them since they’re in the same club! Hahaha

Sophia thought the comments would be more scolding, but instead, people are just laughing. Some think it's a joke, some say they’re close enough to mess around like that. But it wasn’t Sophia’s doing. It was all Yvonne.

Her heart… God help me! She can’t stop thinking about David. She knows he’s an introvert and doesn’t like situations like this. What a mess!

Ding~

See? Her concern was sent to him without her even saying anything.

David Horan:

Do you have time?

Sophia Laurel:

Oh, hi, David!! What happened to you? Sophia thinks to herself, but doesn’t answer. She knows his fans will be commenting soon. In five minutes, everything will be clear. Then a new comment pops up…

David Horan recommends an online lottery website. Register for free membership. Tickets for 1,350 pesos. Lottery transactions last for days. Get online transactions 24/7. Fast, convenient, 100% safe.

What the hell? She had been so worried about all this time, only to find out it was just an advertisement.

Ahh! Her heart...

"Hey! You’re so popular now!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, David and Sophia are going viral. I heard the girls say they ship you guys because of the comment section on Instagram."

"That was Yvonne! She replied to those comments."

Talk of the town right now is about David and Sophia. After Yvonne "helped" solve the situation, everything is much better than before. David’s fans seem to think they’re just messing around, and most of them enjoyed it. They seem relieved.

As for the person who caused the problem, David himself, Sophia still hasn’t asked why he created an i********: account. She also wants to let him know he doesn’t have to act like that just because Adrian’s around. It doesn’t need to happen in front of the whole campus. She fears it may end tragically and that no one will ever be interested in her again.

"So, do you have guitar practice today?" Kath asks, her face showing a hunger for gossip.

"Yes, but I’ll be there just for a while. I have cheerleading rehearsal today."

"What a shame. I wanted to take you to eat something I saw on Yvonne’s page. There are promotions like 'eat pork, get dog meat free.' You can bring your partner along, too."

"Dog meat? Which dogs?"

"Around here. Damn! How would I know?"

"I thought you were talking about all three of you."

"Hey! We don’t look like dogs! We’re so handsome! Not like you."

"Watch your mouth! If you say that again, I’ll curse you into conscription."

"Damn! I’ll curse you with black magic! But I think you’ve been cursed ever since Adrian started following you. Hahaha!"

Is it okay to jump up and kick a damn friend now? When she mentioned Adrian, Sophia immediately felt uneasy. In the past two days, he’s been distant and hasn’t come near her.

But she’s still afraid of what comes next. With a silence like this, she thinks a big tsunami is on its way.

She spends the rest of the day with her friends, but Nathaniel’s fans keep coming up to her, sending snacks and asking about him. In just one day, her i********: followers skyrocketed into the thousands. All because of his influence.

Fifteen minutes before her guitar class, she heads to the club room to relax. One hand clutches the branded guitar that belongs to David, while the other scrolls through i********:.

The seniors posted a 15-second clip from the juniors, including hers. Her clip gets talked about, but not for her performance—it’s the haunted dark room she recorded it in, a place that’s popular with girls. They’re talking about the room, not her.

Honestly, it stings. Not even a single comment about her performance. It really hurts.

Sophia checked David's i********: account again. He still hadn’t set his profile to private, probably because he didn’t know how to. She was shocked by the thousands of followers he already had, even though he hadn’t posted any pictures yet. Did he buy followers or something? And his bio was just... weird. The words were spelled correctly, but it felt like someone else wrote it for him.

"My friend created this account. I don’t know how to post pics."

The door suddenly opened, breaking the silence. Sophia looked up, her eyes immediately landing on David, who was dressed in a football shirt from the Political Science faculty. She raised an eyebrow. Was David really someone who played football? She’d always seen him in his neat uniforms, never in anything casual.

"You look weird today," she said, trying to break the silence.

"How? Am I riding a magic carpet? So, you think I’m weird?" he teased, his voice playful.

"Damn! I’m sick of you," Sophia muttered, shaking her head. David laughed softly, and then the sound of plastic bags crinkling caught her attention.

"Someone sent it for you."

"Who?"

"I don’t know. Maybe your fans?"

Sophia raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Wow! So excited!" She reached out and grabbed one of the bags from his hand. It was filled with food and sweets, but what bothered her was that the note on each one had both her and David’s names on it.

"What’s ‘Nat-Den’?" she asked, confused.

"Wow! Barramundi sandwich! I’ve never seen this before," she commented as she pulled out the sandwich.

"Umm."

"It looks delicious! But she wrote our names on it." Sophia glanced at him, her tone a little annoyed. David, however, didn’t seem to care.

"So what?"

"I know you won’t eat it, so... I’ll take it!" She reached for more bags from his hand, spotting some chocolates.

"You definitely don’t like this one either," she commented, taking another bag from him.

David just sighed and said nothing. It wasn’t long before she had taken most of the bags. Then, he finally spoke again.

"If you wanna take it all, would you like to take me too? I’m giving myself to you."

Sophia quickly dropped the bags and raised her fist in playful threat. "Do you want to get hit? Besides, you won’t eat any of this. I don’t understand why you’re even taking it."

"When did I say that?" David asked, his voice low and teasing.

Sophia continued to grab the bags until she found herself sitting beside him, munching on the sandwich. The practice hadn’t even started yet, and it seemed like she was already bored.

"So, you only made i********: yesterday?" she asked, her mouth full of food.

"Umm."

"Who made it for you?"

"My friend, Roble. But he refuses to set it to private. Can you help me?"

"Nope. I don’t want to interfere. I’ll just feel bad for all the people following you. But your friend is pretty nosy, causing a lot of commotion. Lucky for me, my friend helped me clean it up."

"Sorry," David muttered under his breath.

Sophia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at his response. "But did you tell your friend to tease me? Is that why he posted those comments?"

"No," he answered briefly. He didn’t want to elaborate any further, and Sophia decided not to push it.

She threw the plastic bag next to him and grabbed her guitar, starting to practice. David, on the other hand, didn’t bring his guitar today, so he just sat there, laying back in the room. They were waiting for the seniors to arrive, but Sophia wasn’t going to waste any time.

"Do you think someone who has never been in love can write a love song?" David suddenly asked.

Sophia stopped for a moment, looking at him before answering. "I don’t think so. You need to feel it, to experience it to write it well. If you’ve never felt something, how can you express it?" Her response came from personal experience.

"Is that so?"

"You’ve been writing songs lately?" she asked, changing the topic.

"Umm."

"You should write a song about your bad life. About how to escape from all your fans," she teased, laughing.

"Why are you laughing at me?" His tone dropped, and she could see his sharp gaze directed at her.

"Well, have you really been writing songs? For real?" she asked again.

"Not really. But… you could say that."

Sophia raised an eyebrow. "So you’ve been writing love songs? Is that why you’ve been flirting with me?"

David’s smirk grew wider. "Something like that."

Sophia sighed. "Well, if it’s that special, trust me, I’m not the usual type. I’m a complete package. I even have a banana and eggs. See? I’m special!"

David chuckled, his expression more amused than before. "Yes, you are special. That’s why I decided to flirt with you."

"Damn! I got goosebumps," she teased. "But seriously, don’t fall for me. I’m a rare item!"

"..."

Silence fell between them. Sophia silently prayed for someone to walk in, ending the awkward tension. She grabbed her guitar again, playing for a few minutes. After a while, she decided to sing a song she’d been listening to recently.

"If you saw me cry, it’s just dust in my eyes, I didn’t cry. Don’t look back. Don’t worry."

"Are you singing a song? I thought you were chanting at first," David commented with a grin.

"What’s that got to do with you, David? I like the song, so what?"

"Give me the guitar. I’ll play it for you."

Sophia smirked. "So, where’s your guitar?"

"I didn’t bring it. I have a meeting with the football team later," he replied nonchalantly.

"I have cheerleading practice later," she shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Let me visit you later, then."

Sophia shivered slightly at the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes. For a second, she couldn’t control her emotions, and her heart raced. His hand reached for the guitar, and she tried to ignore the strange feeling it gave her.

David started playing, but it wasn’t a song with lyrics. It was a melody, simple yet beautiful, one that filled the room with a sense of warmth. It was smooth and sweet, like syrup.

When the music stopped, she felt a strange mix of emotions she couldn’t explain.

"Was it good?" David asked, a grin tugging at his lips.

"What song was that? I don’t understand it."

"Music is the only language in the world that everyone can understand. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, you can feel the emotion it carries."

"But what emotion are you bringing with that?" Sophia asked, genuinely curious.

"When you listen to that song, what do you feel?" David replied, a playful challenge in his voice.

"Hungry," Sophia joked.

"..."

"Okay, okay, no more jokes."

"..."

"Okay, but seriously, what am I supposed to feel after hearing that song?"

David leaned closer, his eyes locking with hers. "You should feel love. Because it’s a love song."

Sophia’s heart skipped a beat. Was it really a love song? Or was it something else entirely? She couldn’t tell anymore. The trembling in her hands and the pounding of her heart didn’t help either. Maybe it was because she wasn’t used to his jokes, but something about him was making her feel… something.