Chapter Text
The first time Jhoanna saw her, the girl was carrying three overstuffed grocery bags, a dying potted plant, and what looked like the worst day of her life.
"Shit."
The curse escaped Jhoanna’s mouth before she could filter it.
Not because she was judging. But because right at that exact second, the bottom of the girl’s paper grocery bag completely gave out. Cans and produce immediately went feral across the lobby’s floor.
Or at least, that was the excuse Jhoanna would repeat to herself in the mirror later that night.
I was just stressed about the groceries, not distracted by her face.
The woman immediately snapped her head up, a rogue sharmaine rolling past Jhoanna’s sneaker. "Oh!"
Then, she smiled.
And just like that, Jhoanna’s brain short-circuited. She completely forgot what she was even upset about three seconds ago.
Ang galing. Excellent. Outstanding. Isang ngiti lang, she’d already forgotten basic human functioning. Very demure. Very mindful.
The woman clumsily shifted the heavy potted plant under her arm, trying to salvage a rolling box of pasta with her foot.
Jhoanna looked at the mess, then back up at her. "Need help?"
"No."
The answer came way too fast. Defensive. Defensive and stubborn.
Jhoanna blinked. Mæm, your dinner is migrating down the hall, what do you mean 'no'?
The woman seemed to realize how ridiculous she sounded because she internally punched herself, her eyes closing briefly. "I mean—yes. Please. Actually, maybe?"
Jhoanna let out a soft laugh, finally crouching down to scoop up the rogue pasta.
And God. That laugh.
Because the woman laughed too, this stupid, musical, ridiculously pretty, breathless sound that suddenly made the dingy condo lobby feel a little too bright. Serious attack on her senses.
"Did you still not want help ?" Jhoanna asked, picking up the sharmaine.
"Honestly? I don't know anymore."
That earned her another genuine laugh. Together, they awkwardly maneuvered the remaining bags and the heavy fern into the elevator.
Jhoanna spent the entire ride up staring intensely at the digital floor indicator, pretending she wasn't painfully, acutely aware of the other person's existence. The scent of vanilla and rain practically filled the small metal box.
The beautiful stranger reached out and pressed the button for the 17th floor.
Jhoanna’s heart did a weird little flip. She lived on 17th, too.
Interesting. Very interesting.
The elevator dinged. They stepped out in unison, walked down the carpeted hallway, and then... stopped. Because apparently, they lived right next door to each other.
"Oh." The woman looked genuinely surprised, her eyes widening as she looked from Jhoanna to Unit 1704. "You're my neighbor."
Jhoanna nodded. Words were difficult. Apparently, her vocabulary had evacuated her body. "Ah, parang nga,"
‘Parang nga’? What the fuck was that, Jhoanna Christine!
The woman shifted the plant one last time, tilting her head with a soft, bright expression. "I'm Aiah."
There it was. The name. The official beginning of all her future problems.
"Jhoanna."
"Nice to meet you, Jhoanna."
And somehow, it sounded completely different when Aiah said it. Which was ridiculous. It was literally her own name. She’d heard it for over twenty years, but suddenly it sounded like a melody.
The crush didn't happen immediately. Jhoanna wished it had. That would've been easier. Cleaner. Manageable.
Instead, it happened slowly. The worst kind. The kind that sneaks up on you, one elevator ride at a time, one hallway conversation at a time, one accidental encounter at a time. Until suddenly—boom. You're doomed.
For Jhoanna, the realization started with coffee.
Three weeks after Aiah moved in, Jhoanna overslept. Badly. Her hair was an untamed bird's nest, her blazer was only half-buttoned, and she was running purely on stress, adrenaline, and poor life decisions.
She practically sprinted toward the closing elevator doors, forcing them open with her arm, only to find Aiah already inside.
Aiah looked pristine. Effortless. And she was holding two large iced coffees.
"Good morning, neighbor. Running late?"
Jhoanna groaned, leaning her head against the cold mirrored wall of the elevator. "Ah, um.. oo, kasi, ewan. Hindi ako nagising sa alarm ko. I think my soul left my body around 7:00 AM."
Aiah looked down at the plastic cups in her hands, then held one out. "Here. Take it."
Jhoanna blinked, looking at the cup, then back at Aiah. "Ha? No,hindi na—"
"I accidentally ordered two," Aiah interrupted smoothly.
It was a lie. An obvious, beautiful lie. Right? There was no second receipt. No second-straw wrapper. And who the hell accidentally orders a specific customized iced caramel macchiato twice?
But Aiah was holding it out, her eyes crinkling at the corners, so Jhoanna took it.
Their fingers brushed. Briefly. Barely.
Nothing actually happened. The elevator didn't explode. The world didn't stop tilting. Except for the fact that Jhoanna spent the next three hours staring blankly at corporate spreadsheets while remembering the exact warmth of Aiah’s skin.
Which felt highly illegal somehow, because it was barely a touch. Not even a touch honestly. Focus, Jhoanna. It's just the caffeine kicking.
Then came the umbrella incident that happened exactly two weeks after the coffee fiasco, and it was the day Jhoanna officially realized she was dealing with a lost cause.
Namely, her own heart.
It was five in the afternoon, and the sky above the city had completely opened up. It wasn't just raining; it was a torrential downpour of biblical proportions. Jhoanna stood in the crowded lobby of her office building, staring out the glass doors at the wall of water with a look of pure despair.
She had left her umbrella in her apartment. Because of course she did.
"Ang tanga lang," she muttered to herself, checking her phone. The ride-sharing apps were completely dead, displaying surge prices that would require her to sell a kidney just to get three blocks away. "Napakaswerte mo talaga, Jhoanna Christine."
"Jho?"
Jhoanna perked up, turning around so fast she almost whipped herself in the face with her own hair.
Aiah was walking toward her, shaking a wet, clear plastic umbrella out by the entrance. She was wearing a beige trench coat, looking like she had just stepped off the set of a high-budget indie romance film, while Jhoanna looked like a drowned rat who had survived a corporate team-building seminar.
"Aiah! Teka, anong ginagawa mo dito?" Jhoanna asked, her voice cracking slightly. Smooth, Jho. Real smooth.
"My office is just two blocks over," Aiah smiled, her eyes doing that annoying, beautiful crinkling thing at the corners. "I saw the rain and figured nobody would be able to catch a ride. May dala ka bang payong?"
Jhoanna gestured helplessly at her empty hands. "Dinadaan ko nalang sa dasal actually, and hope that it stops before midnight."
Aiah let out that stupid, pretty laugh. "Come on. Let’s share. We can walk to the train station together."
Jhoanna’s brain immediately screamed. Share? An umbrella? With her? In this weather? That is a textbook rom-com trap, Jhoanna, do not fall for it.
"Oh, hala, wag na. Okay lang! I don't want to get you wet," Jhoanna said, waving her hands defensively.
"Jhoanna, the umbrella is huge, and we live in the exact same building," Aiah said, stepping closer and gently taking Jhoanna by the forearm. Her grip was warm, even through Jhoanna’s blazer. "Stop being so stubborn. Tara na."
Five seconds later, Jhoanna was tucked tightly under the clear plastic dome of Aiah's umbrella.
And when Aiah said the umbrella was huge? She lied. It was a completely average, normal-sized umbrella. Which meant that to avoid the freezing rain, Jhoanna had to step incredibly close to Aiah.
So close that their shoulders were pinned together. So close that every time they stepped off a curb, Jhoanna’s arm brushed against Aiah’s side. So close that the scent of vanilla and rain was practically suffocating.
But there was a tactical flaw. Aiah was holding the umbrella at an angle that meant the plastic spokes kept aggressively tapping against the side of Jhoanna’s head.
Thwack. Thwack.
"Uh, Aiah?" Jhoanna muttered.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry," Aiah gasped, tilting it, but now the rain was instantly pouring down onto Aiah’s own shoulder.
Jhoanna didn't even think. Her protective instincts kicked in before her brain could stop them. "Akin na nga yan," she said, reaching up and wrapping her hand over Aiah's on the handle.
Their hands completely flushed together against the cold plastic. Jhoanna adjusted the grip, aiming the umbrella perfectly over Aiah to keep her dry. But because the umbrella was so small, doing this meant Jhoanna had to sacrifice her own left side. Within seconds, the cold rain was completely drenching the left shoulder of her blazer.
Aiah noticed immediately. Her eyes drifted down to Jhoanna’s soaked shoulder, then back up to Jhoanna's face.
"Cold?" Aiah asked, looking down at her.
"Huh? Hindi naman," Jhoanna squeaked. Her voice was entirely too high-pitched.
Without a word, Aiah closed the distance between them. She reached out, wrapping her arm securely around Jhoanna’s waist and pulling her flush against her side, forcing Jhoanna's drenched shoulder back under the dry dome.
Jhoanna still had her hand high up on the handle, holding it steady above them, which meant Aiah was essentially tucked right under her arm, while Aiah's hand was braced against Jhoanna's hip to guide them through the crowd.
Jhoanna’s entire system entirely crashed. Error 404: Brain not found.
"There. Better?" Aiah murmured, her breath warm against the chilly air, dangerously close to Jhoanna's ear.
Jhoanna couldn't even speak. She just nodded stiffly, staring straight ahead at the wet pavement while her heart beat a frantic, erratic rhythm against her ribs. She was fully convinced that through the layers of their wet clothes, Aiah could feel her chest vibrating.
They walked like that all the way to the MRT station. Fifteen minutes of Jhoanna pretending she was a functioning member of society while navigating a bustling sidewalk, holding an umbrella above the prettiest girl she’d ever seen, who currently had an arm wrapped tightly around her.
When they finally made it under the safety of the station awning, Jhoanna reluctantly let go of the handle. Aiah stepped back, her arm leaving Jhoanna’s waist, and the sudden loss of warmth felt like a physical blow.
"See? We made it," Aiah smiled, shaking out her trench coat, her cheeks slightly pink from the chilly wind. "Teamwork."
Jhoanna looked at her—at a stray drop of rain dripping down Aiah’s cheek, at the effortless way she held her gaze—and felt a profound, terrifying sense of dread.
Oh, no, Jhoanna thought, her internal monologue completely throwing in the towel. I am so incredibly screwed.
And the time they got stuck in the elevator for forty minutes and shared a bag of sour gummy strips.
And the random Tuesday night when Jhoanna came home completely exhausted, only to find a slice of strawberry shortcake sitting on top of her shoe rack outside her door.
Attached to it was a sticky note:
Made too much. Eat up! — A
There were dozens of these tiny moments. None of them important on their own. All of them important together. The kind of moments that built feelings brick by brick, securing them with heavy mortar.
Until one random rainy evening, Jhoanna walked into the lobby, saw Aiah stepping out of the mailroom, and immediately smiled.
Without thinking. Without realizing. Without meaning to.
And that was the exact second she knew.
Oh. Shit. I like her.
That was unfortunate. Very unfortunate. Because liking Aiah felt a little like standing too close to the sunlight—warm, comfortable, blindingly bright, and probably extremely hazardous to her health.
Then, exactly three days later, the universe decided Jhoanna was getting a little too happy.
She was standing right outside her door, humming to herself while digging through her work bag for her keys. Her mind was still completely occupied by the lingering warmth of Aiah’s fingers from that morning's elevator ride.
She was literally one turn of a key away from a peaceful evening.
Then, she heard the elevator down the hall ding.
Jhoanna glanced over and saw Aiah walking toward her unit, a bright, effortless smile on her face as she lifted her hand in a small wave. "Hi, Jho! Just got home?"
"Yeah," Jhoanna smiled back, her chest doing that familiar, stupid flutter. "Kadarating."
"Long day. Get some rest, okay?" Aiah said sweetly, unlocking her own door.
"Ikaw rin," Jhoanna murmured, staring at Aiah’s back like a lovesick idiot.
Aiah pushed her door open, stepped inside, and dropped her keys on the entryway table. And then, in a voice that was dripping with so much raw affection and genuine happiness it made Jhoanna’s chest physically ache, Aiah called out into her apartment,
"Honey! I'm home!"
The words echoed perfectly through the quiet hallway.
Jhoanna froze. Her hand went completely rigid on her own doorknob. Her brain scrambled, violently trying to process the syllables that had just vibrated through the air.
Honey.
As in, a term of endearment. As in, someone you share a kitchen with. Someone who was currently waiting for her inside that apartment.
Someone who wasn’t Jhoanna.
From inside 1704, Jhoanna could hear the faint, muffled sound of movement—someone rushing toward the door to greet her.
Jhoanna’s throat went entirely dry. Her entire body felt heavy, like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over her head. The sweet scent of vanilla that usually made her smile suddenly felt like a punch to the gut.
Of course she has someone, Jhoanna’s internal monologue screamed, a wave of intense embarrassment washing over her. She’s Aiah. She’s human sunshine. Practically Mama Mary! Did you honestly think she was just single, thriving, and waiting to fall in love with her chaotic, permanently stressed neighbor?
Jhoanna didn't even wait to hear anything else. She practically threw her own door open, ducked inside, and shut it behind her, leaning her back against the hard wood.
The apartment was pitch black and completely silent.
She walked over to her kitchen counter, tossed her keys down, and stared blankly at the wall, her heart feeling like a deflated balloon.
Dead. Completely dead in the water.
"And that is exactly how my love life ended before it even had the chance to start," Jhoanna groaned, burying her face into a throw pillow.
"Alam mo, umiiral nanaman kabaliwan mo…," Colet said, not even looking up from her phone as she aggressively stirred her iced coffee.
They were packed into Maloi’s apartment for their weekly sanity-check meeting. Well, mostly it was just Jhoanna using their floor space to have a full-blown existential crisis.
"Hindi ako nababaliw!" Jhoanna defended, her voice muffled by the fabric. "Rinig na rinig ko yun. Honey, I'm home! Mas malinaw pa sa mata ko, teh. Who else says that to an empty apartment? A ghost? "
"Lahat naman mas malinaw sa mata mo eh. Okay, pero nakita mo na ba?" Stacey asked, applying a fresh layer of lip gloss while staring at her phone screen. "Like, physically? With your two beautiful eyes? Is the 'Honey' in the room with us right now?"
Jhoanna paused, peeking out from behind the pillow. "Well... no. Pero muffled nga kasi yung boses! Ramdam ko yung cold contrast ng reyalidad."
"So, ibig mong sabihin, kulang ka sa tulog kaiisip dyan, iniiwasan mo yung tao, at nagpapakagutom ka dahil lang sa narinig mong honey na yan?" Gwen chimed in from the corner, her tone completely flat but devastatingly accurate. "Impressive self-sabotage, Jho. Truly award-winning"
"Guys, hindi niyo kasi gets," Jhoanna groaned, rolling over to stare at the ceiling. "Every time na makikita ko siya sa elevator, yung boses na yun yung naririnarig ko. Hindi ko na kaya. Magre-resign na 'ko sa pagiging neighbor. Babalik nalang ako kanila mommy sa Calamba."
Maloi rolled her eyes, crawling across the bed just to snatch the pillow out of Jhoanna’s grip. "Teh, pakinggan mo nga 'yang sarili mo. Isang buwan ka nang ganyan. You clearly like her so much na umaabot na sa utak mo yung imaginary heartbreak. Just talk to her!"
"I can't just ask her about her partner, ate Maloi! Ang creepy ko naman?"
"Edi wag kasi yun ang tanungin mo. Just ask her out on a date," Maloi insisted, shaking Jhoanna by the shoulders. "Aray ko naman, ate Maloi!”
“Pero seryoso, just ask her out to dinner. Kung sabihin niyang may jowa siya, edi fine, at least may closure ka at makakatulog ka na. Stop torturing yourself over a ghost!"
"What if sabihin niyang no?" Jhoanna whispered, biglang naramdaman yung panginginig ng tuhod niya kahit nakahiga naman siya.
Colet finally locked her phone and tossed it onto the bed, giving Jhoanna a rare, softened look. "Edi no. At least hindi ka mukhang tangang nag-aabang sa tapat ng pinto gabi-gabi para lang masaktan, Jho. Just do it. Ngayon na."
It took another three days of intense overthinking, two practice speeches in front of her bathroom mirror, and a threatening text from Colet saying "Kung hindi mo pa tatanungin ngayon, ako mismo kakatok sa pinto niya para i-date ka", but Jhoanna finally caught Aiah in the hallway on a Tuesday evening.
Aiah was unlocking her door, looking slightly tired from work but still effortlessly beautiful.
"Aiah!" Jhoanna called out. It came out a bit too loud, echoing through the quiet hallway. Very subtle, Jho. Nice.
Aiah turned around, blinking in surprise before a warm, familiar smile immediately took over her face. "Jho! Hey. Ang aga ata ng uwi mo ngayon."
"Ah oo. Um." Jhoanna walked over, her knees feeling like actual jelly. Focus. Heart matter. Stay brave, Jho. "I was wondering... are you free ba tonight? Like, ngayon?"
Aiah blinked, tilting her head. "Yeah, I am. Why?"
"Gusto mo ba mag dinner with me? There's a pasta place downstairs. My treat." Jhoanna forced the words out in one aggressive breath, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard she was convinced Aiah could actually hear the rhythm.
Aiah’s eyes widened slightly, and for a second, Jhoanna prepared for her soul to be rejected right then and there. But then, Aiah’s expression turned incredibly soft.
"Sure," Aiah said easily, her smile widening. "I'd love to. Let me just drop my bag inside—"
"Wait!" Jhoanna blurted out, her paranoia spiking to maximum levels. She couldn't do this under false pretenses. She needed to know right now. "Are you... I mean, okay lang ba? Hindi ba ano.. Won't your boyfriend get mad? Or your girlfriend? Your... Honey?"
Aiah froze, her hand still holding her doorknob. She stared at Jhoanna for three solid seconds.
"My... what?"
"Honey," Jhoanna muttered, her face burning with pure, unadulterated embarrassment. "Sorry, naririnig ko kasi pag umuuwi ka. You always yell, 'Honey, I'm home!' Kaya... ayoko lang makagulo kung you know… if your partner is inside."
Aiah’s mouth parted slightly. Then, her shoulders started shaking.
And then, she burst out laughing.
It wasn't just a polite chuckle. it was a full, head-thrown-back, breathless laugh that echoed through the entire 17th-floor hallway.
"Oh my god," Aiah gasped, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Jhoanna, oh my god. Are you serious?"
Jhoanna wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. "I mean, it's a valid assumption! Sino ba namang—"
"Come here," Aiah giggled, still catching her breath as she pushed her apartment door open. "Come inside. Ipapakilala ko sayo yung honey ko."
Mortified, confused, and ready to cry, Jhoanna slowly stepped into Aiah’s entryway.
Aiah stepped in first, threw her keys onto the table, and in her signature, bright voice, called out, "Honey! I'm home!"
There was a sudden, frantic skittering sound against the hardwood floor.
Jhoanna braced herself to see some gorgeous human being walk out of the bedroom. Instead, rounding the corner at top speed was a round, fluffy, aggressively happy white Chow-Spitz mix, its tail wagging so fast it was a complete blur. The dog immediately threw itself at Aiah’s shins, let out a tiny, excited yip, and then trotted straight over to Jhoanna, sniffing her sneakers.
Jhoanna stood entirely still. Her brain completely stopped working.
"Jhoanna, meet Honey," Aiah said, crouching down to scratch the dog behind its ears, looking up at Jhoanna with an incredibly amused, fond expression. "My one– well almost two year old pup. I actually got her not too long ago."
A dog.
Honey was a dog.
Jhoanna spent an entire month losing sleep, suppressing her feelings, ignoring free pastries, and crying to her friends... because of a canine.
"You..." Jhoanna pointed a trembling finger at the fluffy white ball. "You're Honey."
The dog let out a happy pant, as if confirming the charges.
"I can't believe you thought I had a secret boyfriend this whole time," Aiah teased, standing back up, her eyes dancing with pure mischief. "Kaya ba parang iwas na iwas ka sakin? Because you thought I was taken?"
Jhoanna looked down at the dog, then up at Aiah, her face completely flushed. "I… no, maybe? Yes. Okay, fine, yes. I thought you were married or something!"
Aiah stepped a little closer, the playful teasing in her eyes softening into something much warmer, much more deliberate. The space between them suddenly felt charged, the lingering tension of the past month shifting into something completely different.
"Well, for the record," Aiah said softly, her voice dropping to that sweet, gentle tone that always made Jhoanna’s system short-circuit. "I'm completely single. And I would love to go to dinner with you."
Jhoanna let out a breath, a tiny, self-deprecating smile finally breaking through her embarrassment. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Aiah smiled, reaching out to gently brush her fingers against Jhoanna’s wrist—not an accident this time. "But since you spent a whole month being jealous of a Chow-Spitz... how about we call tonight a pre-date, and you let me take you out on a proper one this weekend?"
Jhoanna looked at Aiah, then down at Honey, who was currently trying to lick her shoelaces.
Highly hazardous to her health, Jhoanna thought again. But this time, she didn't mind the sunlight at all.
"Okay," Jhoanna smiled, her heart finally flipping for all the right reasons. "It's a date."