Chapter Text
Aiah shot out of bed and grabbed her towel in a rush before turning back around. "Mikha Lim, get up na!"
Mikha grumbled, "anong oras na ba?" she yawned.
"It's past 7:30 na, we're gonna be late!"
"Yes, yes. Magshower ka na, susunod ako," she replied groggily, thanking herself for taking a shower the night before. All she really needed to do was brush her teeth, freshen up, and change.
After hearing a few more text notifications come in from both of their phones, she finally got up, stretched for a bit, and then followed Aiah.
Pagpasok niya sa bathroom, she was met with fog. "Aiah, you forgot to turn the exhaust on nanaman."
"Sorry! Paki on please!" sigaw ni Aiah galing sa shower.
Mikha went on with her routine and was done within 3 minutes. "Bub I'm done na, di ka pa tapos?"
"No, can you help me with my back?"
"Sure, pero I swear if you pull that stunt you did the other week again, iiwan talaga kita."
"Mikha Lim, I'm being serious na."
"And so am I, Arceta." Nonetheless, the younger girl made her way to Aiah. "Turn the shower off, babe, I'm coming in."
She reached for the loofah and began scrubbing Aiah's back while the latter worked the conditioner into her hair.
Out of reflex, binuksan ni Aiah ang shower nang matapos siya sa kanyang buhok, completely forgetting that Mikha was still in there with her.
"AIAH! TURN IT OFF!" Mikha took a step back, but the water still got her.
"SHIT," Aiah turned the knob back, and when she faced her girlfriend, Mikha was drenched. "Babe... I'm so sorry."
Mikha was evidently annoyed, but she tried not to show it. "It's okay, finish showering na, I'll go get changed." She gave the older girl a peck on the lips before leaving. Aiah quickly rinsed off and dried herself. She felt guilty and wanted to make sure the girl was fine.
In the bedroom, she found Mikha rummaging through her duffel bag. "Everything okay?" Aiah asked, making her way to her closet.
"Can I please borrow a shirt? I think I forgot to pack an extra." Aiah tossed her the first thing she could grab, and Mikha put it on before layering her hoodie over it. Afterwards, Mikha quietly sat on the bed, tapping on her phone as she waited for Aiah to finish.
"Are you mad?" Aiah asked as she started getting into her clothes.
"Huh? No, of course not. Why?" But Aiah, being the overthinker that she was, still felt like Mikha wasn't telling the truth.
"Wala, ang tahimik mo lang kasi." Even though Aiah had her back to Mikha, she could tell that the older girl was pouting.
Finding this adorable, Mikha was about to reassure her when she was interrupted by another notification. "The grab's here na."
Mikha took their bags and headed towards the living room with Aiah in tow. Ibinaba niya muna ang kanyang mga hawak and quickly grabbed two pairs of shoes, putting Aiah's on before her own.
As soon as they were done, Mikha held their bags in one hand, while she intertwined the other with Aiah's, hoping it was enough to silence the girl's thoughts about her being upset.
20 minutes, 18 missed calls and 34 messages later, nakarating na rin sila, scrambling out of the grab as soon as it came to a stop.
"Mauna ka na," Mikha said as Aiah was about to open the door to the training room. But instead of entering, she turned around and stared at Mikha's face for a few seconds.
"What? Are you okay?" Mikha asked, concerned, when Aiah suddenly grabbed her wrist and dragged her around the corner where they were more hidden. She looked left and right, making sure na walang tao, before leaning in and kissing Mikha softly. "Sorry about earlier," she whispered into her lips before sprinting into the training room, leaving Mikha a smiling mess.
Mikha waited for a bit bago siya sumunod.
As she pushed the door open, all eyes were on her and she could've sworn she'd hear a pin drop from the silence. It was obvious she had interrupted coach Mickey.
"Sorry, coach," she said, keeping her head low as she walked to take a seat on the floor behind the other girls.
"You know I hate tardiness, Mikha," saway nito sa kanya.
"Sorry, coach. Won't happen again."
"Dapat lang. By the way, nakasalubong mo ba si Colet?" he asked, clearly irritated. "Sabi mag-CR lang daw, pero kanina pa yun—"
As if on cue, Colet hurried in. "Sorry, coach," she said as she made her way towards the back, sitting next to Mikha.
Nagpatuloy si coach magbigay ng rundown on what to expect that day, nang mapatingin si Mikha sa katabi niya, noticing how pale she looked.
She gave her a nudge. "Huy, okay ka lang?" she whispered.
Tumungo lang ito, keeping her eyes to the front. Mikha shrugged it off, knowing that she gets serious when it comes to practice and it seemed like she was just trying to focus.
Practice went on as usual, and when coach called for a break, nakahinga na ulit ang girls since this meant they could drop the professionalism for the next hour.
Sa sobrang init, Mikha decided to take her hoodie off.
"Ganda ng shirt natin, Mikhs ah," Jho called out.
"Yieee, mekaya ka ba?" Stacey teased, and for the first time that day, Mikha finally saw what she was wearing.
Fuck, she internally cursed. She was wearing Aiah's Mickey Mouse shirt with "Mikhaiah" embroidered on it, a couple shirt gifted to them by a fan. Before she could even say anything, Sheena added her own question.
"Wait nga, diba sapatos yan ni ate Aiah?" Her eyes then jumped to her feet. Tangina talaga, Mikhaela.
"Ha? Hindi ah. Kabibili ko lang kaya nito. Feeler kayo." She denied, trying her best to keep her compsure, praying that the girls bought her act. She scolded herself for not even noticing it when she was tying both of their shoes earlier.
Pero wait, magkatabi lang yung shoes na sinuot namin kanina. That means...
At that moment, "we're back!" Aiah announced loudly as she entered the room with Maloi and Colet, dala ang mga binili nilang drinks for everyone. All heads snapped to her – her shoes, specifically, immediately spotting Mikha's favorite pair for training.
Just perfect timing, babe. Mikha mentally facepalmed herself.
"Yiee, couple goals talaga sila oh," Stacey continued teasing, and the other girls joined in the commotion. Meanwhile, Aiah just frowned, completely lost.
"Ewan ko sa inyo," Mikha muttered from the other side of the room, her face red. Aiah tried getting her attention through eye contact, but it seemed like she was avoiding her. She made a mental note to ask Mikha about it later.
After a while, they got back to training, and before they knew it, it was 10 PM and finally time to go home.
For Mikha, that meant finally going back to her Aiah. She might've acted distant towards the girl for the remainder of training, but really, all she wanted to do was kiss and cuddle the exhaustion and embarrassment of the day away. This time, it was Aiah's turn to sleep over at her place.
This had been the routine for both girls every weekend pag wala silang event the next day, since wala ring pasok si Aiah sa school. They'd take turns sleeping over at each other's places and spend the night – or day, if they were lucky – together, just doing whatever.
They all headed into the van, eager to go home. As usual, dumiretso si Mikha sa spot nila ni Aiah at the very back. Agad siyang sumandal sa upuan at ipinikit ang kanyang mga mata.
As soon as she heard the door close, her hand reached out in search of the other girl's hand, as she always did, but she always made sure na patay na ang lahat ng ilaw bago niya ito ginagawa.
It took her a while to find what she was looking for since she didn't bother opening her eyes. Silang dalawa lang naman ang nasa likod after all. Once she felt the other's hand, she weaved hers through it before giving it a squeeze.
"Uh... Mikhs..." Dumilat si Mikha at sinubukang hanapin ang pinanggalingan ng boses ni Colet.
She kept looking for her in the rows before them, blaming the dark for not being able to see properly, until her gaze landed on the person sat right in front of her. She immediately recognized the long brown locks of her lover, squinting in attempt to see better. It can't be... she's right next to me? Moving her eyes to the person beside her. "AHHH!" Napatalon siya sa gulat, at sabay niyang hinablot ang kamay niya mula sa katabi.
"A-ate Colet?" She confirmed, eyes still wide.
"Huy, anong meron dyan?" Pabirong tanong ni Maloi from the front, at napatingin na rin ang lahat sa kanila.
"Wala, kiniliti ko lang si Mikha. Ang cute cute kasi matulog," sagot ni Colet, at mukha namang naniwala sila since everyone went back to what they were doing.
Colet wanted to start a conversation with the younger girl, but Mikha was already leaning on the window with her hood up and her headphones blaring, so she left her alone and figured she'd confront her later instead.
Maya-maya pa, nakarating na sila sa condo ni Aiah, and shortly after, naihatid na rin sina Gwen at Stacey.
After what felt like forever, narinig na ni Mikha ang pagpapaalam sa kanya, indicating that they were finally at her place. Kaya hindi na siya nagsayang ng oras at dali-daling tumayo para makalabas na ng van. She was saying her goodbyes to the remaining girls nang biglang nagsalita si Colet sa likod niya, "kuya, dito na lang rin po ako."
"Huh? Bakit?" Tanong ni Jhoanna.
"May ibibinge kami ni Mikha na show. Tagal niya na akong kinukulit eh," she said as she followed Mikha out, saying "good night" before closing the door. Mikha stayed quiet, figuring it'd be better this way than cause any more suspicion than there already was.
Tahimik silang umakyat sa condo ni Mikha, only deciding to break the silence once they were standing in her living room.
"Ate Colet, yung sa van..." Mikha started, clearing her throat in the process.
"Ano... namiss lang naman kita. I know hindi ako clingy, pero wala, namiss lang talaga kita," she explained.
"Eh bat ka nagulat nung nakita mo ko?" Colet crossed her arms against her chest, watching the red-haired girl intently, as she kept a stoic face.
"Ah? E-eh kasi..." She was interrupted when they heard beeping noises coming from the door's keypad, before it opened.
"Bubby, I'm here!" Aiah called as she made her way to the living room.
"Bub? Look what I bro—" Nanlaki ang mata ni Aiah as soon as she saw the other figure standing next to Mikha, dropping the bag of food she was holding.
"Colet? A-anong ginagawa mo dito?"