Jay-jay's POV
This is a dream… a nightmare.
My eyes were still wide as I discreetly peeked out the window of the room I woke up in. My hair was all over the place, and there was even dried drool on my face. But that wasn't what I was worried about.
There he is. The culprit. That shameless man was walking along the shoreline. May the waves get stronger and sweep that asshole away!
Oh no—he looked over!
I quickly ducked to the side of the window. He can't find out I'm awake yet. I turned around and scanned the entire room.
Hoping—praying—there might be a telephone I could use, or that I'd at least spot my belongings.
The room was nice though, with bamboo walls and wooden flooring. I couldn't tell if they were real or just for aesthetic. There was a ceiling fan, but it probably wasn't needed since the wind blowing in from the window was strong enough.
There were two doors inside—probably one leading out, and the other a bathroom. Both were made of bamboo too, but looked pretty sturdy.
I nearly jumped when I saw my bag sitting on the bamboo table. I rushed over and ransacked it. I threw everything out just to quickly find my phone, but my heart sank when I found nothing.
Shutanginamers!
"You unbelievable animal!" I hissed in a tight whisper.
This was definitely planned! Sir Alvin is in on this! And I swear I'll blow up volcanoes if I find out Kuya Angelo is in on this too.
Kuya would never do this to me. Like, nevah!
I had to get out of here without that damn Kei—kwanan noticing. I was sure there were houses nearby where I could ask to use a phone.
I grabbed my bag and looked for my shoes. I found them near the bed, but my socks were nowhere to be seen.
As if they weren't mismatched already, and now one is gone.
I let it go. I just carried all my stuff and decided to put the shoes on later. I could walk barefoot in the sand anyway.
I tiptoed to the door and slowly opened it. I peeked through to make sure no one could see me. Once I confirmed the coast was clear, I quietly stepped outside.
The view greeted me with a cozy little balcony inside the house. The ceiling was high, and there were many glass windows, but the walls were still bamboo. The pillars, though, were clearly made from expensive hardwood.
Perfect for slamming Kei—kwanan's head into
I discreetly peeked down. When I didn't see anyone, I quickly but silently went down the stairs. And because the large front door was conveniently open, I had a perfect view of that shameless guy walking back and forth, occasionally kicking sand around. There was no way I could leave through the front.
Taking my chance, I made my way straight for the kitchen.
Hoping for food—lol, joke! I was just checking to see if there was another door I could slip through. I smiled when I spotted one open. But before heading out, I opened the refrigerator.
Hmpf! All frozen goods.
"And it's a double door too," I muttered, then shut the fridge.
I resumed my escape plan. I was practically ready to jump for joy when I finally got out and walked away without getting caught by the King of All Bastards. I glanced back at him a few times, but he was still doing the same thing.
I kept walking until I couldn't see the house or that traitor anymore. Unfortunately, because of how hot the sand was, I had to stop a few times just to put on my shoes—then take them off again because they kept filling with sand.
Good thing it was already afternoon, because a wide part of the path was now shaded.
Thank you, rock mountain, for blocking the heat of the sun.
I knew I had only been walking for a short while, but the heat was quickly draining me, making me tired and thirsty. I looked up at the coconut tree in front of me. Not too tall, but not exactly short either. It was full of coconuts up there.
Just something to quench my thirst, please!
I used to climb trees before. But I had never climbed a coconut tree. I mean, how do you even climb this thing? There are no branches to hold on to.
But because I was so thirsty, I decided to try anyway. I set down my bag and shoes, looked up one more time, and began my attempt. I stepped on the wider part of the trunk, but when I tried to lift my foot to climb higher—that was it. I couldn't go any further.
I paused, trying to figure out a better technique. Hugging the trunk, I attempted to crawl upward. I laughed when I actually made progress.
But before I could go any higher, I felt myself sliding down.
"Ayyy... Nooo!" I begged the tree.
I was really sliding down. I tried to hold on tighter, but I was still slipping. Until the tree finally heard my desperate plea.
A hand caught my butt—what the hell?!
"YOU ANIMAL! WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING ME?! DON'T TOUCH ME THERE!" I screamed, trying to look back at the demon behind me.
"Do you really want me to let go?"
It was like someone punched me in the chest. I clung tighter to the tree, followed by a stream of curses inside my head.
Kwanan.
"You know, I can do this all day," he teased, his voice dripping with amusement.
Animal! Animal! Animal!
"L-let go of me! You're gonna regret this!" I threatened.
"I can't. But you can let go—I'm ready to catch you."
Catch you? Catch you?! Idiot!
"No way! Go away! And get your hand off my butt!"
I heard his soft chuckle. I removed one hand from the tree and tried to slap his hand away from my behind, but I immediately held on again as I felt myself starting to fall.
"If I let you go, you'll fall on the ground," he said, as if calmly explaining a tragic event.
"I don't care! Even if I break a bone!"
I heard his faint sigh. "Okay, you asked for it."
He removed his hand from my behind and I nearly lost my breath as I completely slipped from where I was holding on. I lost my grip and fell straight down onto the sand.
"OW! DAMN IT!"
'Catch you,' he said. Jerk!
Clutching my aching hip, I slowly stood up. I shot a death glare at the shameless man who looked so amused by my suffering.
"You said you'd catch me!"
He looked at me with pure confusion. "You said you didn't want me to."
"Yeah! But if you really wanted to help me, you should've caught me anyway, no matter is I said no a bunch of times!" I yelled at him. "You're such a letdown!"
His forehead furrowed completely. It was as if the things I said were a riddle with no answer.
Think about it real hard!
"Is that… reverse psychology?" he asked. "Wow. Women and their logic."
I didn't even bother to understand whatever nonsense he was saying. I just walked over to my things, and the moment I got my shoe, I threw it at him.
"Hey!" he shouted as he dodged.
And because he dodged, my shoe flew straight into the ocean.
I screamed. "Why did you dodge?!"
"You just threw a shoe at me!" he answered, clearly annoyed.
I was about to lose it. His constant English was making me even more annoyed. Damn that handsome fa—his face!Damn that face!
"You should've just caught it!"
"Using what? My face?" he shot back sarcastically.
"Can faces even catch? Congrats if you manage it!" I shot back.
Fuming, I stomped toward the water. Thank goodness my shoe hadn't drifted too far. I slowly waded in and grabbed it. When I turned back to face that idiot—oh, how I wanted to throw the shoe at him again.
That punchable face.
"Damn you, you know that?" I asked irritably as I walked closer.
He was just about to take my things when he heard me say that. He turned around and looked as if he was offended by what I said.
He sighed. I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed by what I said. But why should I be embarrassed? He deserves that. He's an idiot!
"On a daily basis, how many times do you curse?" he asked seriously.
"Depends. Whenever I remember you—about 100 times a day," I answered with a smile.
That smug smile appeared on his lips.
"I've been gone for—let's say—about 45 days. Obviously, you're thinking of me like everyday for the past 45 days," he explained.
So full of himself.
I didn't even think about him every day. Just... at night. Every night. Then I cry, then I curse him out, then I cry again, then I start looking for him and wish him to come back, then I cry again, then I get angry and decide not to let him come back. Just those kinds of moments when I think about him.
"Sometimes it's more than 100. Especially when I remember your nonsense, you damn animal." I said in a irritated laugh "I probably hit around 1000."
"So for the last 45 days, you cursed around 450,000 times in total." His lips slowly curved into a smile, like he was truly amazed. "Then if I add those curses I directly heard from you and the ones Ci-N, Felix, and the others reported to me—estimated, 450,347."
My forehead creased. Reported? Why were they reporting my cursing? What's so special about my swearing?
"What's with you? Why are you counting?"
The jerk's smile widened even more, and my forehead wrinkled even deeper.
"Pro..." he began, and I suddenly remembered the clear and real reason. "...fa..." My eyes widened at him as I subtly shook my head. "...ni..." My feet instinctively stepped backward as he stepped forward. "…ty."
Oh hell no!
Just as he was about to come closer, I raised my shoe again. One finger was also pointed at him as I looked at him threateningly.
"G-go ahead! Try me!"
"Ooh..I will definitely try." he boasted.
I backed away again when he moved forward.
"W-why would I listen to your profanity? After you fooled me!" I said bravely.
"Our deal with your curses is a different thing." he replied, as he walked toward me.
I immediately threw my shoe at him. I didn't even check if it hit because I ran away right after. I didn't care if the sand was hot, if I was thirsty, or more than anything, if I was already tired—just as long as I could run far from him.
How did I even end up here?
"Stay away from me!" I yelled when I felt him following me.
"I'm not gonna hurt you!" he shouted, which only made me more nervous.
I felt like he was close behind, ready to catch me at any moment. I ran faster even though I had no real direction. We'd already passed the house I'd come from earlier.
Isn't there anyone else around this place?!
"You jerk! I'm telling Kuya Angelo on you! Damn you!"
"450,348!" he shouted.
"You idiot!"
"450,349!"
"Damn it! Stop counting!"
"...350!"
He's such a pain!
I kept quiet, fearing the curse count would only go up if I kept talking. My feet were starting to hurt, but I couldn't stop.
Until I saw where I was heading. There was no more shoreline. A mountain of rocks now blocked my path. What made it worse was that the rocks stretched all the way into the water—there was no other way around.
I can't let that snake catch me!
With no other choice, I turned and climbed the nearest tree I saw. Thank goodness for the thick branches—I made it all the way to the very top.
"Jay! That's dangerous! Get down here!" shouted the damn King of All Snakes.
When I looked down, he was standing there with his hands on his hips, looking up at me.
"It's more dangerous if I come near you!" I shouted back.
"Come—!"
"Damn it! Speak in Tagalog! My vocabulary's dying over here!"
He sighed. "Come down (in tagalog)" he said calmly. "450,351."
It was starting to get dark. Even if I wanted to climb down, it was better to stay up here. David's words might actually come true. I'll just sleep here. I'll live here if I have to—just to avoid this snake.
"No way! I know what you're planning!"
"Come on. It's dangerous here. It's getting dark." he spoke gently, like he was talking to a child.
"If it's so dangerous, why did you bring me here?!"
"That's the purpose of the villa. It's safer there."
I held tightly to the tree branch. I wasn't coming down. I'd rather rot up here. Even if I became part of the tree, that'd be fine.
"You're insane! Does Kuya Angelo know about this?!"
"Well..." He grimaced and scratched the back of his neck. "Sort of."
Son of a—
"What do you mean 'sort of'?! You Jerk!" I yelled at him angrily.
"He knows you're helping me. But he doesn't know that you're not..." He intentionally mumbled the last part so I couldn't hear.
"What? What? What? Clarify it!"
He looked up and gave an innocent smile. "That you're not coming home tonight."
What the—
Out of pure rage, I broke a branch near me and threw it at him. But the shameless guy dodged it.
"You're the worst! Animal!" I screamed, and for reasons I couldn't understand, I started crying out of sheer anger. "Waaahhhh!! Damn you!"
"Oh no! Stop crying, baby! You look like a chimpanzee on that tree!" he said, laughing.
The jerk even mocked me!
"I'm telling Kuya and Aries on you! You're such an asshole!" I screamed, still crying.
I kept wiping my face, bawling like a child. It felt like all the resentment I had for this animal was pouring out through my tears.
The remaining light was starting to fade. My blood was nearly drained from all the mosquito bites I'd been getting. And because I was so busy crying, I didn't notice that the demon had already climbed the tree.
"You animal!" I screamed when I saw him beside me.
"Come down. We'll talk about this." he said gently. "I just want us to talk properly. After this, I'll bring you back to Angelo. Nothing missing, though there might be a little extra."
Oh you damn fool!
I hit him right away, which only made him laugh. Now I didn't even know if he was being serious or just being an idiot again. What if I pushed him hard? Would he fall? Maybe hit his head? But then again, I might never get to go home.
"No! You animal! And your profanity count!" I screamed, crying.
He laughed softly. He kept slapping at his arms and legs because of the mosquitoes biting him.
"Come on. I'll cook for you."
Ooh, food.
My stomach growled as if it was answering this idiot's offer on its own. I subtly held my tummy.
Behave, you gut! Or else I'll turn you into isaw!
"N-no way! I know what you'll do if I come down!" I accused him, and he let out a deep sigh.
It was like he was tired of trying to convince me to climb down. I knew he was struggling in his spot too. Add to that the swarm of mosquitoes biting us.
"Okay, let's make a deal." he said, leaning slightly toward me. "I will mentally erase the estimated count of your profanities. It's back to zero." he offered, and my face instantly lit up at that.
He looked at me as if waiting for my agreement.
"A-and what else?"
That can't be all. I'd been through so much since waking up on this beach.
He thought for a moment and raised one finger. "I will let you curse at me while we're here on this island, and that won't count."
Nice. Nice.
The freedom to curse out this damn jerk—and no profanity rules? I was going to make the most of him bringing me to this isla—wait! What island?
"Say that again! Where are we?" I asked, shocked.
"Island," he replied casually.
"You animal!" I screamed, my mouth dropping open again.
No wonder there were no other houses and no other people. Because I wasn't at some regular beach. We were on an island—me and this idiot.
If I hadn't realized it sooner, I could've wandered all night looking for a house and found nothing. My eyesballs would've popped out, and I'd have dried up here without seeing another soul.
Damn you! Damn you!
I immediately started hitting him, and he kept blocking my blows. "I'm really going to tell you to kuya! I'll have you beaten up!"
"Or you could beat me up yourself. As long as it's on a soft bed," he said with a mischievous grin.
I stopped hitting him and pointed a finger at his face.
"Damn you! Don't you dare try anything stupid with me!"
"Can we talk about this later?" he asked, irritated, before checking his watch. "Come on."
"I'm not getting down until I'm sure you won't do anything to me!" I insisted.
He nodded. "Okay, as part of the deal. I won't do anything against your will. Unless, of course, you ask for it." Then he winked.
I hit him again, and he just laughed. "In your dreams!"
"I am, Jay. I am," he said with an innocent smile "All good? Let's go back to the villa."
He was about to climb down when I stopped him. He looked at me curiously.
As embarrassing as it was to admit...
"I-I don't know how to get down," I confessed, and he burst into laughter "M-my legs are numb too."
He shook his head before moving to the branch I was sitting on. Good thing it was sturdy enough, or we'd both end up sprawled on the ground. He turned his back to me.
"Climb on. So we can go back already," he said.
Even though I hesitated, I still did it. He struggled at first, so I wrapped my arms tightly around him. Especially when he started climbing down.
Excuse me, I might fall.
"You okay back there?" he asked.
"Don't ask!" I answered annoyed.
He let out a soft laugh while shaking his head. When we finally got down, I thought he'd put me down too—but instead, he wrapped one arm around one of my legs, while his other hand reached out to grab my stuff.
"My shoe" I reminded him. "I don't have a replacement for that yet"
"Tss… I'll buy you hundreds of pairs if you want. I can even buy the whole of Marikina for you," he boasted.
I smacked him on the head. "You're so full of yourself."
"I'm saying it because I can do it."
I didn't bother argue anymore. As he walked, I kept sniffling. My runny nose wouldn't stop, and since his shirt was right in front of me, I used it to wipe my nose.
"What the…" he mumbled, trying to look back.
"Complain and I'll blow my nose right there" I threatened, and he he didn't respond after that.
I was tired and hungry. I had no energy left to keep cursing this fool. Exhausted, my chin eventually rested on his shoulder. I even caught the faint smile that tugged at his lips.
Excuse me, I'm just tired.