Chapter 31
"You're My Favorite Distraction"
It wasn't even 10AM and Fatima had already burst into my dorm room.
Literally burst.
Like—no warning, no knock, just drama.
"Wake up! Your boyfriend is wearing black! That means he's in his 'lover boy' mood," she gasped dramatically, practically throwing a hoodie at my face. "You're going out with him, right? Right?"
I groaned, muffled under the fabric. "What does wearing black have to do with anything?"
Yuri, who had followed her in casually with a muffin in his mouth, mumbled, "He wears black when he's in the mood to break hearts or claim one. Guess which one today."
"I don't like either of you," I muttered, sitting up.
"Lie," Fatima said.
"Lie," Yuri agreed, handing me an iced coffee he somehow knew I needed.
By the time I got to the little spot Keifer had picked — a quiet rooftop café not too far from campus — the sun was warm, and my nerves were out of control. It wasn't like we hadn't been together before. But now… now, it was official. Declared. Public. Real.
And somehow that made it worse.
Keifer stood when he saw me, like some kind of movie scene — black sweater, faint cologne, and that boyish, smug smile he knew drove me crazy.
"I was starting to think you'd chicken out," he teased, pulling out a chair for me.
I gave him a look, trying to be unbothered. "Why would I? I've already survived being your fake date. This should be a breeze."
He laughed, sitting across from me, fingers tapping the table softly.
Then he leaned forward and said, "Yeah, but now I can actually call you mine."
Oh.
My brain short-circuited for a moment.
He grinned like he knew exactly what that did to me. Probably because I froze with my straw halfway in my mouth and just stared like an idiot.
"I hate you," I mumbled, sipping way too fast.
"No, you don't," he said calmly. "Not when you're still keeping this."
He held up the dried, pressed rose I didn't know he noticed was in my planner — the one from that one time he gave me a rose just to mess with me, way before all this started.
"Why do you even have that?" I asked, voice low.
He shrugged. "You left your planner open during our last study session. I saw it. You kept it. So I gave you a new one."
He handed me another rose — fresh, soft, and the same shade of blush I was now turning.
"I'm not swooning," I said out loud to myself.
"I didn't say you were. But your ears are red."
Back at campus, the chaos resumed.
We walked into the university gates and Fatima spotted us immediately. She didn't run. No, she marched across the courtyard like she was leading a parade.
"Did you guys kiss?!" she shouted.
"Fatima!" I squeaked.
Yuri appeared from somewhere, holding up his phone. "I got 500 pesos on Keifer being the first one to say 'I love you.' Any takers?"
"Excuse me?" I hissed.
"Don't look at me," Keifer said smugly. "He's wrong. I already told you I liked you first. It's not even a competition."
"You're not helping."
"You're smiling."
Fatima sighed, pretending to faint on the grass. "They're cute now. Ew."
Yuri flopped next to her and said, "We've lost them to love. Let's mourn."
Classes that afternoon were anything but cute.
Two major deadlines. One surprise quiz. And a long-winded professor who decided to go off-script and rant about "the youth being too distracted by romance."
I glanced at Keifer sitting three rows away. He was doodling something in his notebook again, pretending to take notes.
I rolled my eyes.
Then I got the message.
A folded paper passed by two classmates landed on my desk.
You're my favorite distraction.
—K
I stared at the note. Then at him. He wasn't even looking. Just smirking.
I stuffed the note into my pocket before I could combust.
That evening, Section E group chat was pure chaos:
Fatima:
i ship it i ship it i SHIPPPPPPPP IT
Yuri:
do y'all wanna go on a double date or should we just sit outside your windows with posters?
Ella:
so proud of u J <3
Freya:
wait is this like…for real real now?
Ci-n:
they're gonna marry each other. i can feel it. let me be the flower boy.
Aries:
NO. keifer has to ask me first. i'm still her brother. i will not be ignored.
Keifer:
noted. will bring donuts when I ask.
Jay:
I hate all of you.
Keifer:
she says that. but she kept both roses. <3
I stared at the two roses later that night — one pressed, one fresh.
I wasn't sure when this stopped being fake.
But I was sure that somehow, through all the chaos, teasing, and tension...