Dear Rival

{Chapter 15}

Tanya’s POV.

If there’s a phrase that could summarize my week, it’s:

“Don’t trip while looking at Shan Villafuerte.”

Easier said than done.

Ever since our class started rehearsing for the school festival play, I’ve somehow managed to either:

1. Trip over my own feet.

2. Forget my line.

3. Stare at Shan a little too long.

I swear, he’s cursed.

“Okay everyone, from the top!” our class president yelled, clapping her hands. “Scene four

Tanya and Shan, that’s your cue!”

I exhaled deeply. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.”

Shan smirked. “Try not to fall this time, Miss Graceful.”

“I’ll fall on purpose if it means hitting you,” I shot back.

His grin widened. “I’ll catch you anyway.”

That made my heartbeat stutter, but I quickly looked away before he noticed.

The play was a cheesy romantic comedy about two rivals forced to work together how ironic.

We were the leads, obviously. Because the universe clearly loves watching me suffer.

The scene we were rehearsing was supposed to be a confession moment. Shan’s character was meant to tell mine that he’s starting to fall for her.

“Can we skip this part?” I muttered to the class president.

She shook her head. “Nope. You two need to practice the emotions. Remember, this scene closes the first act.”

Shan glanced at me, his expression unreadable.

“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms. “Let’s do this quickly.”

We stood face-to-face on the small stage.

His character’s line came first.

“You’re impossible. But I guess that’s what makes you unforgettable.”

He said it smoothly too smoothly.

Then he stepped closer, eyes locked with mine. “Sometimes, I hate how much you make me care.”

My breath hitched.

He wasn’t even acting like the cocky Shan I knew. His tone was quiet. Soft. Almost real.

I forgot my line.

The whole class laughed as I stood there frozen.

Keisha yelled from the back, “She’s blushing! Oh my gosh, Tanya’s blushing!”

“I am not!” I protested, hiding my face with the script.

Shan chuckled. “Guess I’m that good of an actor.”

I wanted to throw the script at his face.

Break time.

The chaos didn’t end there.

By lunchtime, the rumor had already spread.

Everywhere I went, I heard snippets of conversations.

“Did you see their rehearsal?”

“They looked like an actual couple!”

“I ship them!”

Ship us?!

I sat down with my group, slamming my lunchbox on the table. “You guys started this rumor, didn’t you?”

Keisha blinked innocently. “What rumor?”

“The Tanya and Shan are dating rumor!”

Cath giggled. “Dating? Oh please, that’s old news. The new one is that you two are practicing after class alone.”

“What?!”

Shell didn’t even look up from her w*****d. “That’s literally the plot of half the stories I read. You should embrace it.”

I groaned and covered my face. “I hate this school.”

Denise quietly sipped her juice. “Well… you do have good chemistry.”

I dropped my fork. “Not you too, Denise!”

Shan’s POV.

If one more person asks me if Tanya and I are dating, I’m switching schools.

“Bro,” Jc said while unwrapping his sandwich, “just admit the rumor’s kinda true.”

I glared. “It’s not true.”

Brent smirked. “You two look like you’re rehearsing for a real relationship.”

“Yeah,” Aiden added. “The tension is insane. Even Ma’am Chavez said you ‘complement each other.’”

“She meant academically,” I argued.

“Sure, academically and emotionally,” Xian teased.

I sighed. “You guys seriously need new material.”

But they weren’t entirely wrong.

During rehearsal, when Tanya forgot her line, I saw the way her cheeks turned pink.

And when she glared at me afterward it wasn’t her usual sharp glare. It was softer. Almost nervous.

It made my chest feel weird.

And I hated how much I liked that feeling.

Afternoon Practice

The next practice was worse.

Because the scene we had to do this time…

was the almost kiss scene.

Our class president clapped her hands. “Alright! Let’s try the bridge scene where your characters finally realize they like each other.”

Tanya looked like she wanted to vanish. “Do we really have to?”

“Yes,” said Mrs. Chavez from behind her desk. “It’s important for the story flow.”

Shan tried to act nonchalant. “It’s just acting.”

“Acting my foot,” Tanya muttered under her breath.

The scene started.

I walked closer. She stepped back.

Our lines overlapped

bickering, bantering

until the script said:

They stop. Their faces are inches apart. The air stills. They realize how close they are.

For a split second, I forgot everyone was watching.

Her eyes were right there nervous but steady.

Her breathing matched mine.

My heart was doing that annoying thing again

pounding like crazy.

And I swear, I saw her glance at my lips.

“CUT!” the class president yelled before my brain could even process anything.

The entire room erupted in screams.

“THEY WERE GONNA KISS!”

“AHHHH!”

“SOMEONE RECORD THAT NEXT TIME!”

Tanya backed away so fast she almost tripped off the stage.

“Nice save,” I said, trying to sound calm.

“Don’t talk to me,” she muttered, cheeks red.

When practice ended, we both stayed behind to clean up props.

It was awkward. Painfully awkward.

I picked up a box of papers and asked, “Still mad?”

“I’m not mad.”

“You’ve been avoiding eye contact for thirty minutes.”

“I’m just focused,” she said quickly.

“On what? Staring at the floor?”

She glared. “Can you not?”

I chuckled quietly. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?!”

“I said nothing,” I replied, smirking as I walked away.

She groaned behind me, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, “I hate him.”

But when I turned around, she was smiling a little.

The Next Morning

I arrived at school early. The bulletin board was already covered with festival posters, one in particular caught my eye:

“Lead Roles: Shan Villafuerte & Athena Dela Cruz, Dear Rival.”

I stared at it, half in disbelief, half in panic.

Tanya arrived seconds later and froze beside me. “Who approved that title?!”

I shrugged. “Probably someone who wants to watch us suffer.”

“Or someone who wants to die,” she muttered.

We exchanged glares before both of us started laughing like we couldn’t even fight properly anymore.

It was strange.

That laugh felt… warm.

And I realized something.

The more time I spent with her, the less she felt like my rival.

She still drove me insane but in a way that made life brighter.

Tanya’s POV.

By Friday, the rumor had grown into something uncontrollable.

People started calling us “Team Math-tched.” Math + Matched. I almost cried when I heard it.

Keisha even made a hashtag: #Shanya2025.

Every time I passed by the hallway, someone would whisper, “There she is! Shan’s leading lady!”

It was embarrassing.

But… deep down, a tiny part of me didn’t hate it.

Maybe because every time I denied it, Shan would smirk like he was silently saying, You sure?

And every time he did, my heart would answer, Not really.

The gym was packed. Lights, decorations, loud cheers.

We stood behind the curtains, waiting for our cue.

“Ready?” Shan asked beside me.

I looked at him, his confident grin, his calm eyes and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Don’t trip,” he said, chuckling.

“Don’t make me push you offstage,” I shot back.

The music started.

Our scene began.

This time, everything flowed perfectly. Our lines, our timing, even the emotion it all felt real.

When the confession scene came, he said his line just like before.

“You’re impossible. But maybe that’s why I can’t stop thinking about you.”

And for a second… I forgot we were acting.

Because it didn’t sound like just a script anymore.

He looked at me like he meant it.

I smiled back softly, genuinely and said my line.

“Then maybe I’m impossible for a reason.”

The audience erupted into applause.

And when the curtain fell, our classmates swarmed us, screaming and cheering.

Keisha yelled, “THE CHEMISTRY IS CRAZY!”

Cath shouted, “CONFESS OFFSTAGE TOO, PLEASE!”

I was red from embarrassment, but Shan only laughed beside me.

“Guess we make a good team after all,” he said.

I looked up at him, smiling despite myself. “Yeah… I guess we do.”

Back at home, I scrolled through the hundreds of photos from the festival.

There was one picture someone took Shan and I onstage, smiling at each other under the spotlight.

I stared at it for a long time, my heart feeling too loud in my chest.

“Still enemies, huh?” I muttered to myself, smiling softly.

Maybe.

But maybe not for long.