MY PRETEND BOYFRIEND

Chapter 38

Under the glow of the TV playing the UEFA championship league, the room was buzzing with laughter and energy. David Horan’s friends were everywhere—on the sofa, the floor, kahit saan na lang sila nagkalat. Sophia Laurel sat there, tahimik lang, watching the chaos unfold. It had only been a week since they agreed to "get to know" each other, pero eto na sila ngayon—celebrating something na hindi naman niya gets.

She glanced at the poster from earlier, the one with the ridiculous slogan. She sighed. *Ano ba talaga ang ginagawa ko dito?*

David’s calm, low voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts. “Sophia, do you want to eat something?”

Ang casual lang ng tanong niya, pero bakit ganito? Her heart skipped. Before she could answer, Roble butted in, may kasamang pasaring.

“Wow... So you're only asking Sophia? Ako din, gusto ko ng chic chok snack! Haha!”

“Putangina mo, Roble,” Sophia snapped, glaring at him. If she ever had the chance, she’d run him over with her car. *Ang kulit talaga nito.*

"No liquor is allowed at this party," Roble declared, trying to sound all proper.

"Only beer! Hahaha!" Dim interrupted, sabay labas ng case ng beer na nakatago pala sa likod ng sofa. Cheers erupted as the glasses were quickly filled and passed around.

Sophia sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. *Ano ba ‘to?* She told everyone *not* to drink too much, pero ngayon, ang ingay na nila. Yvonne already looked pale, and Kath? As usual, siya na ang unang pass out.

David was sitting beside her, tahimik lang. As usual, he didn’t join his friends in their rowdy antics, which Sophia appreciated. Pero kahit ganon, he didn’t stop them from teasing her nonstop.

“So, Sophia,” Roble started, ang laki ng ngiti. “Do you want to know what the slogan means?”

“It’s probably something stupid,” she said flatly. “What’s the point of this party anyway?”

Roble grinned, clearly enjoying her irritation. “This is a celebration party!”

“For what?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“To celebrate David finally getting you as his partner. Now, cheers!”

*CLANK!*

Their beer glasses clinked together, ang ingay ng tawa ng mga kaibigan ni David. They kept throwing jokes and teases her way, their glances shifting between her and David.

Sophia felt her face heat up. When she turned to David, he was staring at her, calm and expressionless as always. Pero bakit ganito? They were so close, na naaamoy na niya yung shirt niya. It smelled clean, plain, but oddly comforting.

Naalala niya tuloy yung incident sa minimart. Days ago, she had dragged him there, and he confidently picked up a bottle of shampoo, declaring, “Pwede na ‘to as liquid soap. Mabango naman.”

*What an idiot.*

Pero kahit ganon, here he was, tahimik beside her habang binabato siya ng jokes ng mga kaibigan niya. He didn’t need to say much, pero bakit parang sapat na yung presence niya to make her feel... something.

David suddenly leaned in slightly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Are you okay?”

Sophia turned to him, her heart doing that annoying skip again. “Not really,” she muttered. “But thanks for asking.”

She wasn’t sure kung hate or like ba ang dapat niyang maramdaman for this guy, but one thing was clear—David Horan had this weird way of making her world spin, kahit gaano pa ka-gulo yung nangyayari sa paligid nila.