C10 CHAPTER 10

If there's someone most excited for their 2 and a half-hour class to end, it's Dwayne. How could he possibly focus for the rest of the period when today they have scheduled to watch Fast 9? They only have one class on Tuesday afternoons, ending at 3:45 pm. Him and Akira were sitting patiently for the class to end. And it seemed like the universe was on their side because...

"Okay, that will be all for today's class. I'm thinking of dismissing you all early because I know too much info can be draining," the professor up front says. Thank goodness. The clock reads 3:15 pm. It's still too early, and the movie starts at 4:15 pm.

Just as Dwayne was about to pack up his things to leave, Akira speaks up. "Hey, we have our SP paper consultation today. Tuesday," she reminds her partner. Right, it's always scheduled on Tuesdays for consultation with the professor. Dwayne slumps his shoulders upon hearing this. "Dwayne Kenzie, the movie starts at four. You need to calm down."

"I know, but what about snacks and drinks, and the tickets? The line at the ticket booth might be long."

"Come on, there's still plenty of time," Akira laughs, teasing Dwayne who's now pouting.

"Fine, I'll go to Prof's office for the consultation to make it quick. See you in front of the library?" Dwayne multitasks, pulling out his laptop to prepare quickly.

"Sure, I'll pass by the CR first."

"Akira babes, you're already beautiful, okay? And besides, you're only with me. You're already beautiful with me - OUCH!" Dwayne interrupts using his arm to block Akira's playful punches.

"Are you crazy? 'babe' huh?" She punches his arm. "Stop saying things like that, it's creepy!"

"Ouch! Is your love language hurting people?" Dwayne argues back, low-key enjoying teasing Akira. After all the classes and after-school hangouts they've been through, it's become a hobby for Dwayne to call Akira 'babes' or 'babe', which he later found out annoys her, especially coming from him.

"You know, if you hadn't insisted on having the consultation now, we wouldn't be rushing for the movie!" Akira says as they exit the classroom.

Dwayne quickly heads to the designated office to finish up, not before ruffling Akira's hair to mess with her. He gets a strong glare and a playful threat from Akira, which he claims to find 'scary'.

When Akira entered the university Comfort Room near their building, she muttered a few words of hatred towards Dwayne while fixing her hair that he messed up earlier. "Oh the annoying person that you are!" she whispered in annoyance.

Honestly, there wasn't much to revise in their paper. During their weekly checks, Akira and Dwayne made sure they were making progress and keeping up with the chapters discussed by their professor so they could have it reviewed weekly. Since their progress was also monitored by their professor, they were told what needed to be improved in any parts of the paper.

During Dwayne's consultation today, the only comment about the added part in the chapter was whether the references to articles could be increased for stronger evidence.

Overall, that's it, and their progress on the paper was praised by the professor. The minute the consultation was over, Dwayne quickly hid his laptop in his bag and almost ran out of the office. Not before thanking the professor.

While waiting in front of the library, Akira felt her phone vibrate while waiting for Dwayne's return. She saw messages from Jayden inviting her to a newly opened café in the Plaza.

She was about to reply when she heard a voice she was so used to hearing almost every day. "Akiraaaa!!!" Dwayne shouts as he approaches her. "Come on, we might miss the beginning of the movie!" He pulls Akira towards the University parking lot where his Civic was parked.

From a not-so-distant building, Jayden stood with a drawing sheet container slung over his shoulder, watching as a guy approached her best friend and pulled her along. He checked his phone for any replies from her - none.

He just stood there, watching her laugh with the guy she was with, in a hurry.

Dwayne almost revs the car engine fast to get them to the mall where the theaters were. It was the same mall where they had gone to Coffee Project once. They first stopped at the supermarket just below the movie theaters to buy snacks and drinks. They were going to need them for the 2-hour movie.

Akira grabbed a large bag of Lay's chips and a bottle of iced tea, while Dwayne grabbed a bag of Cheetos and Doritos and a bottle of soda. They quickly headed to the cashier to pay for their items so they could go up to the cinema. It was 3:50 PM when they reached the ticket booth, just in time for the 4 PM showing.

Both were full of excitement, especially as they walked through the seat-filled cinema room. They quickly found their designated seats, which were somewhat in the middle - not too close to the screen to cause dizziness, nor too far away.

Meanwhile, Dwayne's group chat with his friends was buzzing because of his tweet and Instagram stories.

After the movie, the two were left discussing their viewpoints on the film even though they both watched it. They decided that since they were already at the mall, they should have dinner. Since it was dinner time, Dwayne didn't want Akira to go home on an empty stomach either.

They chose Yellow Cab because they said they could taste the pizza at the tip of their tongues since earlier.

Dwayne volunteered to order. As they were deciding what to order, Akira was about to return to their seats where they had left their things when she saw some familiar faces around. She couldn't escape them because they deliberately approached her upon noticing her presence.

"Is that Akira?" she heard one of them ask. "Omg, it is you! Hi Akira!!!" One of them enthusiastically greeted her. The girl with the Bob cut hair excitedly approached her and hugged her. Akira's face clearly showed shock upon uneasiness.

It's not like she didn't know them completely; they actually had history together, along with the other people they're with. However, there was a phase in Akira's life that she wanted to erase and pretend it never happened.

"Hi, Chateau. It's nice to see you all again. How are you?" Akira casually responded to Chateau's earlier reaction.

Keep it together, Kira.

"We're good actually, how about you?" Chateau returned. "Guys, Nath, Brian, Angelo, West, here's Akira."

Is it normal for someone who had an unforgettable past with one of them to feel this way? She almost wanted to disappear. Akira's gaze fell on the guy she least wanted to look at. It only took a few minutes before he spoke, a teasing smile on his lips. "Hi Akira," that same smile. That same smug smile Akira used to hate so much.

"West," Akira responded with a restrained smile.

She wasn't far from where Dwayne was in line. Basically, Dwayne could slightly hear their conversation, and Akira's awkward responses and laughs were apparent.

The catch-up with Akira's former friends continued. But once Dwayne heard that all-too-familiar name, he remembered it on purpose for some reason. The name was Westlee, and he believed this was the purpose for remembering that specific name.

In their time together, Akira and Dwayne had gradually opened up to each other, even about personal matters.

"I didn't expect to see you guys, what a coincidence," Akira forced a smile.

"Yeah. Actually, we're going back to Manila in a few days because classes are starting," Sophie, one of their companions and West's cousin, said. Some of them studies in Manila, while others stay in the province but attending in different school.

Chateau: "Yeah, it's rare for us to come home once classes has started."

Akira released a sigh amidst the continuous statements from her friends.

Nathalie: "What university do you go to, Akira? Is it the State U here in the province?"

"Ahh, yeah," she nodded along.

Veronica: "What course are you taking, Akira?"

"BSBA, major in Entrepreneurship."

Brian: "Ah, nice. Don't forget about us when you become a successful businesswoman, okay? Hahaha!"

Some of them laughed along. Some things about them hadn't changed, like how she remembered them. The atmosphere was light until that guy she had been trying to avoid spoke up.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Westlee asked, not even looking at Akira. His friends turned to look at him when he spoke.

And the mood suddenly turned heavy with those words. Why did he ask that? Akira frowned, looking at the man she didn't want to remember because of the pain he had caused.

Dwayne was four people away from the front of the line, so he had to wait longer. But he couldn't help but keep glancing at where Akira was. Also, seeing Akira like that, looking uncomfortable, he really wanted to step in. He didn't know these people's role in Akira's past, but with that Westlee dude there, Dwayne couldn't take it anymore.

Sophie: "West, what kind of question is that?"

Chateau: "How insensitive, Westlee."

Dwayne heard Westlee's friends criticize him. Not caring about his place in line, he didn't hesitate to leave and approach Akira.

"What?" West asked, an obviously cocky smirk on his lips. "It's not a big deal anymore, right Akira? And I just wanted to know-"

Akira was about to respond and criticize Westlee when...

"Hey babe, sorry for interrupting, but your Mom called me and said you weren't answering your phone?" Dwayne suddenly entered the scene and stood beside Akira. Ignoring the questioning glances directed at him. He gently held her arm, his eyes speaking.

Akira's former friends looked at the sudden appearance of a guy who stood beside Akira. Dwayne's small gestures tapping Akira's arm to communicate what he wanted to happen. Fortunately, Akira got the idea.

"Ah, yeah. My phone was on silent since the cinema...babe," she turned slightly to Dwayne and held onto his shirt sleeve.

"Okay, well, message her back she seems worried. I also said I'd take you home..." Dwayne glanced at Akira's companions. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?" He chuckled slightly and patted his neck.

Actually, Akira's Mom didn't message him at all. In short, this was all just to save Akira's awkwardness. Another summary, this was all just for show.

"Oh, sorry, it seems our conversation got a bit long, Akira. Sorry," Chat apologizes, looking at Dwayne in the process. "I'm Chateau, by the way, Akira and I were high school friends. This is Angelo, Nathalie, Veronica, Brian, Sophie, and Westlee."

The moment Dwayne's eyes landed on Westlee, he let out a smirk-like smile and pulled Akira closer to him. He nodded, offering his hand to shake Chateau's.

"It's nice meeting you all, I'm Dwayne. Akira's boyfriend."

Akira almost choked on her own saliva, restraining herself from pushing Dwayne aside. She knew Dwayne's intention was just to save her from embarrassment, but she didn't expect him to do it this way? Let's admit it, both Dwayne and Westlee were handsome, but Dwayne stood out more than the other.

Akira clearly saw her friends' expressions shift, especially Westlee's. He raised an eyebrow as if questioning Dwayne's existence in front of him. The girls giggled, teasing Akira.

"It's taking so long to order here, Babe. Should we eat somewhere else?" Dwayne asked, which Akira agreed to. Truth be told, she really wanted to leave that restaurant because she felt suffocated by the atmosphere.

The friend group bids their goodbye to their former classmate before retrieving their things from one of the tables where they were supposed to sit. Dwayne also didn't want to be in the same place with that Westlee guy, he might not hold back because of his cockiness.

Dwayne didn't remove his arm around Akira as they left the restaurant. "Remove your hand now, they're gone," she said.

"Babe, they're literally over there," he pointed out. "Judging by their position, they can clearly see us, your ex too."

"Correction, almost ex."

"Because he's 'almost' boyfriend too?" Dwayne burst out laughing, now was the time Akira pushed him. "Ow! Whatever tho, ang mahalaga ako naman ang present at ang future" Even bouncing his eyebrows at Akira.

While she forcefully took off his arm around her, Dwayne got her hand intertwining their fingers. For sure, through the glass doors ng restaurant, the former's eyes were trailing them.

"You know, you're really feeling it, huh?" Dwayne just shrugged at Akira's statement.

In the end, they ended up at S&R New York Style Pizza. It was in another mall, but it wasn't a problem since they had a car and the mall they were going to wasn't far either. So both of them could eat then driving Akira home.

'What a day...'