MY PRETEND BOYFRIEND

Chapter 5

Sophia Laurel sat in a cafe with her friends, her frustration simmering beneath her composed expression. She couldn’t help but think about David Horan, the man who caused her so much embarrassment the day before. Without a single way to contact him—no phone number, no social media, and no email that wasn’t clogged with spam—he seemed like a ghost. Yet somehow, he haunted her every thought.

"I think that cruel David is not the right person to help you," Kath remarked, frowning as she sipped her coffee.

Sophia sighed. "Hindi siya masama, kupal lang talaga siya."

"Mahirap na siyang i-approach ngayon," Kath continued. "Make yourself busy in the group #DavidContent. After all, the people in that group help each other. If anyone finds his number and shares it, we should take advantage of that."

Sophia groaned inwardly. Joining a fan group just to find David's contact information felt absurd. "Is there a better and faster way?"

Yvonne leaned in, her tone sharper. "If one of the girls gets his number, bakit pa nila kailangang ibahagi iyon sa lahat? They’ll definitely keep it for themselves. Idiot!"

Yvonne had a point, as always. She continued, "After psychology class, let’s head to the central building. He has a class there. In the afternoon, he’ll be at the Faculty of Law and then back at the central building for English."

Sophia admired Yvonne's ability to strategize even in situations like this.

"Den, do you understand what I said?"

"Yup. Huwag mo na ulitin kasi baka malito na naman ako!"

"Okay. I'll grab some food. Gusto mo?"

"No," Sophia replied, shaking her head. Eating this early wasn’t appealing, but she watched as her friends indulged heartily. She stayed seated, thinking of ways to approach David without making a fool of herself.

Before she could plan further, a familiar voice called out, "Sophiaaaa~"

Her heart sank. Adrian Martinez was here. She instinctively prepared to run, but he was too fast—like a relentless predator.

"What do you want?" Sophia demanded, pulling her hand away from his grip.

"Ano bang trip mo?" she snapped, disgusted by the sticky sensation of his hand.

"I came and waited for you," Adrian said, his tone almost triumphant.

"I don't want to see you. Go away!"

"When will you change your mind?"

"I’m not into you!"

"If you’re mine, I’ll give you anything you want. A house, a castle, a mansion—"

"Damn it! Even if you give me a mountain, I’m still not into you," Sophia cut him off, her voice filled with exasperation.

Adrian smirked, ignoring her protests. He continued to invade her personal space, his touch creeping from her arm to her shoulder, making her skin crawl. People started to stare, and Sophia felt her frustration boiling over.

"Let’s have lunch together. I’ll pay," Adrian offered, oblivious to her growing anger.

"Leave me alone!" she snapped.

"Why can’t you see the sincerity in my eyes?"

"Because all I see are your contact lenses!"

Adrian pouted dramatically but didn’t relent. "Denise! Why can’t you realize how sincere I am?"

Sophia clenched her fists. "The more you get close to me, the more I hate you."

Adrian suddenly grabbed her hand, placing it on his chest with a loud, exaggerated moan. "Denise, ahhh..."

Horrified, Sophia yanked her hand away. "Don’t cross the line like this! Let me go!"

"No, Sophia, ahhhh—"

Sophia bolted, leaving Adrian standing there, looking pleased with himself. "See you in the afternoon!" he called out, waving cheerfully.

"I have an appointment!" Sophia shot back over her shoulder, still running.

"With whom?"

"Obviously not you!"

"Animal ka talaga!"

"Thank you for the compliment, my future wife!" Adrian shouted, his laughter echoing in the hallway.

Sophia gritted her teeth. If it weren’t for Adrian constantly pestering her, she might have already found David by now. Damn that man!

Si Sophia Laurel, cool na chic chic girl, kailangan talagang maghanap ng paraan para maayos ang lahat. Iniwan na lang siya nina Kath at Yvonne dahil takot ang dalawa na makasira at makaistorbo sa plano. Kaya solo flight si Sophia.

Buti na lang talaga, parang tadhana na rin nang makita niya si David Horan na nakaupo sa cafeteria kasama ang tropa niya. Kalma lang siyang umupo sa table sa kaliwa nila, kunwari busy sa sarili niyang ginagawa, pero todo focus sa pakikinig sa usapan nila.

Grabe, sobrang gwapo nitong si David, swear. Ang table niya halos wala nang space sa dami ng pagkain at regalo. Mga babae from all year levels nagkukumpulan sa paligid niya, parang hindi na makahinga. Pero ang expression ni David? Poker face lang, walang pakialam. Lord, bakit ganito siya?

Mas mahirap pa yatang makipaglapit kay David kaysa sa plano niyang alisin si Adrian. Pero kailangan, kasi dapat maging partner niya si David sa plano niya.

"David, I'll buy you some sweets."

"Thank you, but I don't eat sweets," sagot ni David, walang ka-effort-effort.

"Then, ano bang gusto ni David?" tanong nung girl, medyo hopeful.

"I don't like anything," simpleng sagot niya.

"Talaga? Kahit ano?"

"I don't like others buying something for me," dagdag pa ni David, deadma sa disappointment ng kausap.

Napapailing si Sophia habang nanonood. Kung ako ‘yan, tatanggapin ko na lang lahat ng offers!

Sa loob ng dalawang araw na observasyon, marami siyang napansin tungkol kay David:

• Introvert vibes. Kung hindi ka kasama sa close friends niya, wala kang kwenta sa kanya.

• Rude talaga siya. Kahit gaano ka-effort ang tao, dedma siya lagi.

• Walang social life. Ni number, hindi mahagilap.

• Kahit ganito ugali niya, hindi nawawala ang fans dahil sobrang gwapo niya.

Maya-maya, may isang girl na lumapit para magpa-picture.

“Kuya David, pwede magpa-picture?”

“Kumakain pa ako,” sagot niya, medyo iritado.

“Isa lang, please?”

Buntong-hininga si David bago kinuha ang cellphone ng girl.

“Smile. 3...2...1...” Click!

Binalik agad niya ang cellphone at nagpatuloy kumain na parang walang nangyari. Tawa nang tawa ang tropa niya, at pati si Sophia napahagikgik. Akala ko ba ayaw niya ng ganito? Ba’t parang bigla siyang naging photographer?

Ilang minuto pa, may isa na namang girl na nagtanong.

“Kuya David, sabi ng friend ko, anong club daw ang sasalihan mo sa Saturday registration?”

“Haven’t decided yet,” sagot niya habang kumakain ng egg.

"Sayang naman. Pero may activity ka bang gusto? Sana makasabay ako," shy na tanong ng girl.

“Football, basketball, archery, fencing,” sagot niya casually.

Napangiwi si Sophia. Seryoso ba ‘to? Sino ba’ng girl ang sasali sa mga ganitong club para lang sa’yo?

Nang tumayo si David at nagpaalam sa tropa, agad kumilos si Sophia. Nilinis niya ang table niya at sinundan siya.

“Uy, naaalala mo ba ako?” tanong niya nang maabutan ito.

Tumigil si David at humarap sa kanya, kunot-noo. “Ano?”

“Gusto ko lang makausap ka sandali.”

“I don’t talk to strangers.”

“Di na ako stranger! Nagkita na tayo kahapon,” pilit ni Sophia.

“Still a waste of time,” malamig na sagot ni David.

“Three minutes lang, promise!”

“Stop messing with me,” tugon ni David, iritado na. “You’re so annoying.”

Napabuntong-hininga si Sophia. Grabe, ang hirap naman lapitan nito. Pero hindi ako susuko.

Sophia Laurel, a girl who has never been ignored her whole life, found herself chasing David Horan down the hallway. David, as usual, had no intention of entertaining her persistence.

“Wait! Sandali lang! Kailangan ko lang ng tulong mo!” Sophia called out, trying to catch her breath.

David didn’t respond, walking faster to escape her. The crowd, mostly girls, was now watching the unusual scene unfold. If Sophia weren’t as stunning as she was, she might’ve been booed out of the room by David’s admirers.

"Ten seconds lang, promise!" she pleaded desperately.

David finally stopped and faced her. "Say it."

“I… I want you to help me… pretend to be…” Sophia stammered, struggling to get her words out.

"Your time is up. Now, stop following me," David interrupted coldly before walking away again.

Frustrated, Sophia refused to give up. She hurried after him, her determination outweighing her pride. This time, she reached into his back pocket and grabbed his cellphone.

"Ano bang ginagawa mo?!" David exclaimed, his anger evident.

Finally, he was paying attention to her. Holding the phone above her head, Sophia smirked. "Give me your number."

David’s glare intensified. “What kind of tricks are you trying to pull? Gusto mo bang masaktan?”

"Number mo muna," Sophia insisted, trying to maintain her grip on the phone.

"Ibalik mo ang phone ko!"

"Not until you give me your number," she replied, dodging as David tried to grab his phone back. Her short stature meant she had to tiptoe and maneuver around him, which only drew more attention from the crowd.

"You want to play like this? Okay…" David growled before making a quick, aggressive move to grab the phone.

In her surprise, Sophia accidentally let go, and the phone flew out of her hand.

Bang!

David’s phone hit the floor with a loud crash. Gasps echoed through the cafeteria as everyone stared at the shattered device.

"Uh… Sorry," Sophia mumbled, realizing the gravity of her mistake.

"You!" David’s anger was palpable as he stepped closer, his forehead almost touching hers. His intense glare made her instinctively take a step back.

“I didn’t mean to break your phone,” she said in a small voice, nervously rubbing her forehead.

“You stole it from my pocket. Isn’t that on purpose?” David countered sharply.

“But you’re the one who pulled my hand—”

"Stop making excuses," he cut her off, his tone colder than ever.

Sophia sighed. “Fine! I’ll take responsibility for it. Tatawagan ko na lang ang Daddy ko para bayaran ka.”

She pulled out her phone to make a call, but David snatched it away before she could dial.

“Hey! Ano’ng ginagawa mo?!” she protested, reaching for her phone.

“This is my hostage,” David said with a smirk. “I’m not letting you run away until you fix my phone.”

“You’re scared, huh?” Sophia taunted, trying to grab it back.

David smirked. “I’m guessing this phone has plenty of chats from boys. If I wanted to, I could send them a message, right?”

“Gago ka!” Sophia snapped, lunging for her phone. The two wrestled for it in the middle of the cafeteria, earning amused stares from the onlookers. But Sophia, quick-witted as ever, managed to lock her phone in David’s hands.

"Ha! It’s locked!" she teased triumphantly.

David, unimpressed, shrugged. “I don’t care. You can have your phone back after you fix mine, troublemaker.”

"Why are you like this?!" Sophia groaned in frustration.

David turned to leave, waving her phone mockingly. “Hold my words, Sophia Laurel. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

As he walked away, Sophia yelled after him, “David Horan! Babantayan din kita!”

All she wanted was his number, and now, she was left holding his broken, expensive phone with a huge problem to fix.