MY PRETEND BOYFRIEND

Chapter 31

It was so damn boring. Today, Sophia was teased to death by her three friends. Her mind was filled with David, David, and David. Fortunately, she could breathe normally later because she would be heading to the music club. She could finally set aside the story of that tall man.

Today felt like any other day. David wouldn't be here because he had a rehearsal with his seniors. Sophia, on the other hand, spent her time recording video clips to send to the seniors.

After leaving the music room, she was planning to go straight to the medicine building to find Laurel. But for some reason, her heart stopped her. It felt like her heart and mind were bewitched when David had told her not to be with anyone, even with his friends. But it seemed like that would be so difficult to do.

See? His friends were approaching her now.

Roble acted like he was walking on a red carpet. Look at him… such an actor!

"What a coincidence! I thought you went back to your apartment already."

"What do you want?" Sophia answered quickly. She didn’t want to spend too long with them, or else she’d get into trouble.

"Want to watch a live performance tonight?"

"Whose performance?"

"The Bandarito band. They’ll be performing at the bar we go to regularly tonight. We’ll be watching David perform. Wanna come?"

"No."

"But your two friends already agreed."

"Huh? When?"

"Just a moment ago. Well, you need to come with us anyway. See you at nine! The band will perform at nine-thirty. Be on time. Thanks!" Roble’s face came closer to hers, whistling before leaving.

It looked like he was in a good mood. He invited her, but then decided on his own. Why even ask if he was going to force her in the end? Sophia immediately sent an iMessage to her female friends to confirm, and their response was exactly what Roble had said earlier. So, after dinner, she took a quick shower, got dressed, sprayed perfume, and was ready to go to the bar. Oh, and she also brought David's wallet and phone so she could return them to him.

Her two beloved friends and the White Lions were all there. Several bottles of beer were already on the table. She greeted everyone as usual. But no one talked about David or teased her like they usually did on i********:.

Wow! These guys were acting so differently tonight.

They started drinking together. Sophia’s plan was just to drink a little because she got drunk so easily. But somehow, the White Lions kept pushing her to keep drinking. If they saw that her glass was empty, they would immediately pour alcohol into it.

"Where's David? It's almost nine-thirty!" Kath asked suspiciously, but no one answered. Apparently, the Bandarito band hadn’t arrived yet. When Sophia checked the area, she didn’t see anyone. Well, she didn’t want to pay attention to the stage. Drinking and talking were better. And then…

"Hello, we are the band…"

"Whoaaaaah!"

The lights in front of the stage lit up with the sound of the main vocalist. Sophia remembered that senior because she had seen him during the Freshy Night.

"Tonight, we want to warm up the stage before Taylor’s Live event this Saturday. Don’t miss it!"

"We won’t miss it!"

"Woooooo! David!"

"My husband, your wife is here!"

Those were the loud screams of David’s fans who came here to catch his attention. Tonight, David was wearing a black shirt and torn jeans. Every time he stood in the light of the stage, he looked so damn handsome. But he was the usual David… not talking, not smiling, just his usual deadpan face.

He was like a different person from the guy who was with Sophia that night. It seemed like the demon inside him had left for a while. He looked like someone she knew, but not familiar with. She couldn’t forget his cheekiness and his nonsense.

David was the kind of person that even when he was just breathing, every girl would go crazy over him. Sometimes, Sophia just wondered… did he ever have a peaceful life?

"For our first song, we want everyone to dance with us!"

The drunk people here stood up and danced to the song "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon.

The song got the White Lions and Sophia’s friends excited. They were now dancing crazily, holding beer glasses and swirling around the table. After that, they went to the table next to them to talk to girls. They left Sophia sitting alone, watching David with boredom.

Girls were touching his body. For some reason, Sophia felt uncomfortable all of a sudden.

She spent her time sitting, sighing desperately again and again for a long time.

When the song ended, David lifted his head from the guitar and looked in her direction. They stared at each other without smiling, without cursing, without doing anything.

Si Sophia at ang mga kaibigan ni David ay patuloy na nag-iinuman at nagsasaya habang ang banda ay patuloy sa pagtugtog. Isang kaibigan ni David, si Roble, ay andoon sa tabi ni Sophia, pilit siyang pinapalakas mag-inom.

"Sophia, drink some more," sabi ni Roble habang ibinubuhos ang alak sa baso niya.

"Tama na, ayoko nang malasing!" sagot ni Sophia, natatakot na baka mangyari ang huling insidente kung saan hindi niya na kayang kontrolin ang sarili. Isa sa pinakamalaking kahihiyan niya 'yon.

"Come on, konti lang," sabi ni Roble.

"Tawagin mo na lang si Kath, baka mag-inom siya sa'yo," sagot ni Sophia, tinitingnan ang kanyang kaibigan na umiwas.

"Ayoko. Gusto ko lang magmukhang maganda ngayon," sagot ni Kath, kaya’t iniwasan siya ni Sophia.

Nagpatuloy na lang si Sophia sa pag-inom ng kaunti, habang ang mga kanta ay patuloy na lumilikha ng saya sa paligid. Nang dumating ang huling kanta, ang lahat ay tumayo at nagsimulang sumayaw. Hindi pa rin matanggal sa isip ni Sophia si David, habang ang mga mata nilang dalawa ay nagtagpo.

"Last song na ‘to, but this one was specially requested by David," sabi ng lead vocalist ng banda. "This song is for someone who can't sing, but we’ll sing it for her tonight."

"Maaaaan! Si David talaga!" sigaw ng mga babae sa paligid, nagwawala at kinikilig sa pangalan niya.

Habang nagsisimula ang kanta, si Sophia ay nagpatuloy sa pag-inom at nanood, hindi maipaliwanag kung bakit parang may nagbago sa hangin. Ngunit nang magsimula ang chorus ng kanta, hindi niya mapigilan ang sarili.

“Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

All's well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

And at every table, I'll save you a seat, lover.”

Nang tumugtog ang kanta, ang mga mata nila ni David ay muling nagtagpo sa gitna ng madla. Lahat ng babae sa paligid ay nagsisigawan, tumataas ang excitement ng bawat isa sa presensya ni David na abala sa pagtugtog ng gitara. Sa kabila ng lahat ng ingay at sigawan, nanatili ang tahimik na koneksyon sa pagitan nila ni Sophia.

Habang lahat ng tao ay nakatutok kay David, nagtagpo ang kanilang mga mata. Ang mga mata ni Sophia ay naglalaman ng magkahalong saya at kalituhan.

"Si David talaga, ha!" sabi ni Roble habang biglang lumapit kay Sophia at inakbayan siya. "Ganyan ang epekto ng kaibigan ko."

"Teka, Roble," sabi ni Sophia, "Anong nangyari kay David?"

"Siya ang nag-request ng song na 'to para sa iyo, Sophia," ngumiti si Roble, sabay pisil sa pisngi niya. "Walang sinuman ang makakapigil sa kanya."

Habang nagsimula na ang mga babae sa paligid na magsigawan at mag-record ng mga video ni David, hindi maiwasan ni Sophia na magtaka: Bakit si David ang nag-request ng kantang ito? Bakit ganun siya sa kanya?

The last song had ended with a big round of applause from the people. David immediately let go of his guitar and walked down the stage. But instead of going straight to their table, his tall body was pulled by a lot of girls in the front. What Sophia was seeing now was really crazy. Some girls deliberately held him and tried to hug him.

Some of them even gave him a glass of alcohol to drink. He seemed so happy and enjoying it.

Sophia knew it had nothing to do with her, but why did she feel so upset right now? She stopped paying attention to him and continued drinking beer. Now, she changed her mind. She wanted to get drunk. After ten minutes, David was taken again by another group of people. Damn! If she knew this would happen, she shouldn’t have come here.

Until...

"Excuse me. Are you Sophia?" Someone came to her. He was a tall guy with pale skin, wearing a black shirt, and his hair was cool. But she didn’t know him.

"Hmm? Sorry. Have we met?" Sophia asked in doubt.

"You are a university cheerleader. Everyone knows you."

"Oh..." The stranger turned to take a chair at the next table, then sat next to her in the middle of countless eyes staring as if they wanted to kill him. Not to mention, David’s friends were here.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Sophia asked him again.

"Can I have your number?"

"Yari kang bata ka!!!" Their table was filled with loud exclamations. Roble, Dim, Yvonne, and Kath all reacted at the same time, making Sophia shocked for a while. She thought the most surprising thing that happened in her life was when Adrian came to express his love... But now, there was a man asking for her number in a bar!

"Uhm... We don’t know each other yet."

"Is f*******: okay? I really want to know you more."

"Are you sure? My friend is cruel. I mean, another friend." Roble interrupted and glanced to the side, looking at David on the other table. Everyone then began to look at him, and his expression right now was completely unreadable.

"Oh... Is Sophia in a relationship?"

"No!" She immediately denied. She was still in the stage of approaching Benjamin.

"Then please give me your f*******: account."

"Erm... I rarely use the f*******: app."

"Then, can we take a picture together?"

"Umm... Sure."

Damn! Not only was David looking at her right now, but so were their friends. They were all smirking, as if they knew what was going to happen.

"Okay. Look at the camera."

CLICK~

"Thank you." After taking the picture, he returned to his table.

Sophia watched his wide back and saw his group who were sitting at the corner of the bar. They were about five or six people at that table, and they were all waving at her. She didn’t know what to do, so she just bent down and picked up a beer to drink. She was really nervous and embarrassed at the same time.

How many more guys were trying to flirt with her? If she didn’t count David, this was the second time. She hoped this would be the last time as well. It was very scary.

"Finally, our guitarist came back!" Roble exclaimed.

He then sat on the chair right next to Sophia without any words. They were just drinking in silence, and the atmosphere was a bit tense.

"You're in trouble, Sophia!"

"What? Why?"

"Look at this."

As soon as Yvonne started saying it, all the boys looked at her phone screen. She found a photo on i********: by the location of people who checked-in at this bar. It was the photo taken earlier by the stranger.

@Ezekiel.Sebastian with uni’s cheerleader

And lots of comments were popping up.

Wow! It’s like watching a live broadcast on the phone. After that, everyone on the table focused on their own phones. Nobody was drinking, nobody was talking, everyone was busy typing.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

@Ezekiel.Sebastian - Sophia, you are very photogenic!

@Yvonne.Seriosa - My friend is so pretty talaga!

@Tobleronei - Are you going to compete with my friend? That will be difficult... it’s not easy because there is a fierce dog here.

@Dim - I think, you are in trouble.

@David.Horan - ...

Take a look! He only typed three dots, but Sophia could feel a strange energy from him. And it was not good, for sure. She slowly turned to look at him. He was just staring at his phone screen without blinking. s**t! Why was she so scared?

"He just asked me to take a photo with him." Sophia didn’t know why she needed to give an explanation, but she was so worried right now.

"And you allowed him."

"Come on! It’s just a picture! What about you? You let other people drag you to table ten, table twelve, then table twenty-seven! And oh, table thirteen! They hugged you and gave you drinks, but I didn’t say anything, right?!"

"You remembered the table numbers?"

"Erm... I just guessed."

"I refused all their drinks and I am definitely not happy when they were hugging me. Do you understand?"

"Oh... really?"

"I won’t let you come here again." David said while putting down his phone.

"I also won’t let you come here again."

"Annoying."

"You’re annoying too."

"I’m tired of you."

"I’m tired of you too."

"Do you know why I’m acting like this?"

"Then do you also know why I’m acting like this?"

"I’m jealous!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"Okay. Then everyone, let’s go home."

"..."

"Guys, don’t think too much. This is just an ordinary fight between lovers. They can fix this smoothly."

The last sentence came from Roble, which made everyone at the table stand up and disappear all of a sudden. They left Sophia and David alone at the table while staring at each other.

What did she just say now? Was she really... jealous? Oh, no! Her heart...