Chapter 34 – A Different Kind of Dream
Andrea stared at the email on her laptop, blinking once, twice, like the words might change if she read them enough times.
She'd been accepted into the art program in Manila. Not just accepted — offered a partial scholarship, a spot in one of the country's most competitive visual arts schools. It was everything she had quietly hoped for, but never really believed she'd get.
Sheik was still asleep, curled up with Mochi under a mess of blankets. His breathing was steady, mouth slightly open in that way she found annoyingly cute.
She watched him for a moment, heart thudding.
She had her answer now. Just as he had his.
When he woke up, she was sitting at the foot of the bed, laptop on her knees and eyes wide.
"You okay?" he mumbled, stretching.
"I got in," she said softly. "The art school in Manila."
Sheik blinked. "Wait—what?"
"I got in. They want me. I'd start in June."
He sat up, suddenly wide awake. "Andrea, that's… that's amazing."
She smiled, but there was tension behind it. "Yeah. It is."
Their eyes met. Two kids on the edge of everything they thought they wanted — and everything they didn't want to lose.
"So now it's not just me leaving," Sheik said slowly.
"Now it's both of us," Andrea replied.
They laughed, but it wasn't joyful. It was the kind of laugh you let out when you're overwhelmed — when your heart doesn't know whether to celebrate or break.
"I guess we're officially in 'real world' mode now," she said.
"Do we… break up?" he asked, his voice low.
The question hung there. Neither of them dared to move.
"No," Andrea finally said. "Not unless we stop loving each other."
"I don't think I could," Sheik whispered.
Andrea scooted closer and rested her forehead against his. "Then we figure it out."
"Two different cities. Two different dreams," he said.
"One love," she whispered.
And for now, that was enough. Not a solution. Not a perfect plan. But a choice.
To keep holding on.
To believe that maybe, just maybe, love could grow even from afar.
Even across stadiums and canvases, flights and missed calls.
Because what they had wasn't just a high school romance anymore.
It was real.
And real things are worth fighting for.