I could still recall my first year of college. Everything was new. The environment, the atmosphere, the system, and the people. It was my first time feeling like I was a student who belongs in a huge community, the campus of the Red Spartans. I can't say I wasn't excited but there's still this unusual pressure and it's pretty much not just me who could feel it. It made sense why people always said that the freshmen year is the adjustment period. In terms of difficulty, the curriculum went up dramatically to the point where this former honor student turned to simply a student. But that wasn't the case for other students. The first person I was able to know was an extremely intelligent human being. Being able to see him up close, I could almost tell that he has an inhuman brain. But, let's face it. No one is perfect. Despite being a person with high IQ, Shin doesn't have the capabilities to solve every math problem, remember every words in the dictionary, or understand and answer all riddles. He's even made some significant mistakes throughout the years where even I, his only friend couldn't hide my disappointment.

It was a bright and sunny Monday. As the sound of my alarm echoed inside my room, two sides of my brain were in a fierce debate on whether this lazy petite body of mine should extend my venture inside a paradise called dreamland or reluctantly start facing the real world.

"Oh no!" I screamed. The sound I've produced overlapped with my annoying alarm in the room.

My clock betrayed my expectations. I really thought it wouldn't reach 8 am unless I say so. I guess things do not always turn the way you want them to. I've just recently learned that we must accept things we can't change. The fact that time moves forward without anyone's permission and that it's totally my fault for oversleeping was pretty much acceptable.

I decided to leave my room and prepare for school. I had no classes in the morning but I still needed to get to Batangas State University on time. As a third-year engineering student who barely survives her course, going to school early was the least that I can do.

"There goes another batch of food getting wasted," I muttered as I look towards the dinner I prepared for him last night. It was at the front of his room's door since he never came to the table for his meals. I had to always deliver it to his front door in hopes that he'll eat it.

Upon my arrival at the university, I bumped into Shin who's on his way to his room. His uniform was slightly larger for his size and thus made his skinny, tall figure even more observable. His eyes, despite having those glasses, I could still savor the privilege of seeing his long eye lashes.

"Hehe," I let out a subtle smile as my mind goes crazy once again this early in the morning.

I have always liked him for a very long time. There's a possibility that he liked me too. No, it's not like I was being conceited. These things I've said weren't baseless assumptions. For as long as I could remember, he'd always invite me to accompany him whenever he wanted. He even gave me chocolates last valentine's day. He's such a sweet boy but he couldn't seem to find the courage to confess. I might as well help him indirectly.

"Hey, you have no morning classes to attend to, right?" He asked. "Can you give me company at the library? I need to borrow some books. Is that okay?"

"Sure," I replied. "You know, whatever you ask me, the answer is always yes, right?"

His face was full of confusion and I can't help but make fun of him in my mind. The fact that he's extremely smart but can't pick up small hints made me laugh and disappointed at the same time.

"You sure do attract a lot of attention, don't you?" He whispered, noticing the people who have their attentions centered towards me. It's quite surprising that I still have zero experience when it comes to romantic relationships. Though I often get confessed to by other boys, I never accepted their feelings because I wasn't interested in any of them. That was one of the reasons but the main reason was that I have my eyes for only one person.

As we entered the library, a brilliant idea suddenly came to me. About this setup, I have seen this before in a movie. This is where a girl climbs a ladder to search for a book then accidentally falls. The boy with him will then act manly and catch her. I'll deliberately fall so that Shin would have no choice but to catch me.

To make things work on my favor, I remained calm and anticipated the right opportunity. I waited for him to decide what book to borrow. Pretending to be nice, I insisted that I should be the one to grab the book for him at the top corner of the shelf. I climbed up a little since the book was too high for me to reach. This is it. The moment of truth. This is where the romance between us unfolds. Catch me, my love!

"Aww... Hmph!" It was a cry of pain. I mean, who wouldn't get hurt after that fall?

To begin with, where was he looking at? His attention wasn't on me the whole time. This wasn't what I expected to happen. I thought everything was dancing at the palm of my hands but I was wrong. During that time, nothing good happened except for a failed romantic initiation.

But this is not where we give things up. I'll definitely make him confess to me. After all, I have seen his face turned red at the time. I'm sure he just realized what I was trying to do and regretted not paying attention. With that, I left the library with a smug look of my face.

After his first class, we met up again to eat some snacks at the canteen. I was so determined in executing my new and improved plan, I finished my snack without even understanding how it tasted. It doesn't matter because I was very sure that this next scheme would make him confess.

"So how about we play a little game, Shin?" I suggested, interrupting his precious snack time.

"What kind of game?" He asked. "You won't pull a trick on me again just to win, right?"

"O-oh come on! You just have to answer one question. I'm sure you can answer this since you're extremely smart. But if you guessed the wrong answer, you'll have to face a punishment."

"Hmm... seems boring. Okay let's just get this over with."

Poor guy. He wasn't even interested in the punishment. "Okay and the punishment's that you'll confess to your crush."

"Deal." He answered unhesitatingly.

"Well then, what is my favorite book?"

"It's Wuthering Heights, right?"

To be completely honest, he got the answer right and I'm not happy about it. This was my only chance. He wouldn't do anything to make this relationship progress so I have to take matters in my own hands.

"W-what are you talking about? T-that's not it."

"Really? I wonder what it is then," he gullibly accepted his defeat and pondered what the right answer could be.

"Y-yeah... I wonder what it is as well." I forcefully smiled, trying to hide my guilt. "So about the punishment..."

"Confess to my crush? Sorry I don't have one." He replied.

Wait, what? He's kidding, right? No, he wasn't. His eyes are filled with nothing but firmness. I've known him for years and these are the eyes of him whenever he's telling the truth. No, I don't want to believe this. Does he not feel the same way as I do?

"I actually thought you liked me," I said. The words uncontrollably went out of my mouth.

"Stop messing with me, Sam."

"No! I'm serious!" I was so caught up in the heat of the moment. It's like I no longer have the power to restrain myself. "You've always asked me to come with you as if you have always wanted me by your side!"

"You're not making any sense. Isn't that because you're my friend?"

"Well, why did you give me chocolates last month? That was heart's day!" I kept on running my mouth without even considering what could happen.

"I got that from my mom but I wasn't in the mood for chocolates so I thought it'd be better giving them to you. That's all there is to it. You just keep on getting wrong interpretations about everything. I'm not in love with anyone and that includes you so please stop this nonsense."

I couldn't take what's happening any longer so I walked away. I was such a fool. I got ahead of myself and assumed things according to what made me feel good. I have always thought he felt the same way. I was ignorant, hit by reality in the face, only to realize that the love I was bearing was an unrequited one. I know, I was conceited, but what would you expect from a girl received nothing but hatred in this world? My dad wouldn't accept me for not choosing the course he wanted. As we are a family of doctors, he expected me to pursue the same thing after the death of my mom. My father couldn't acknowledge me so here I am hopelessly wishing to get the love I needed from someone else. I'm a withering flower, desperately asking for the clouds to pour the rain, the love I needed most in this world to keep me moving forward.

Since then, I started avoiding Shin. He would still invite me to come with him to hang out through chats but I never replied to them. We had to move forward without having each other like we always did in the past few years. We didn't have a choice as this journey-like engineering course was about to end.

I was not satisfied with my decisions. I wished I could come back but I couldn't seem to accept the fact that we're just friends and that's as far as we could go. Not to mention, I heard he's doing great. No, "great" was an understatement. He's doing fantastic. He has become known in the whole engineering community for his great knowledge and capacities.

Several months passed, and I still remained silent. Watching him do amazing things in the sidelines was all I could do. I was on my way back to my house but got distracted by the sunset. Before I knew it, it was already past 6 pm. The road was turning dark and empty. My mind and body is the same, but I somehow managed to reach a much calmer state. Christmas has passed but my house, was the same as ever. Silent and lonely as if no one lived in it. I have to hurry and prepare dinner for him.

"Dad, here's your dinner. Please eat it before it gets cold," I said while knocking on his door lightly.

He gave no response and only filled the whole house with silence.

"If she's still here with us, I'm sure she'll be happy that I'll soon become an engineer," I muttered. I think he didn't hear it but whatever, he won't listen anyways.

"Wanna check out the fireworks tomorrow? Let's grab some snacks first before that so come early." A message sent by Shin. He's still messaging me even after I ignored him for several months. Sorry, but I'm not in the mood to do anything tomorrow.

I used to wonder how convenient sleep was whenever a person can't take what's happening in the real world. It allows you to access a place where you can rest. I like it but it's not enough. Sleep doesn't help if it's your soul who's tired.

Morning arrived and I thought I wouldn't notice it. I was sure I didn't set an alarm last night so nothing would force me out of my sanctuary. Those damn kids. I know they're excited for New Year's day but can they at least save the noise for later?

"This is so annoying." Since I was already up, I might as well wash my face and grab something to eat.

As I exit my room, an unusual image was directed before my eyes. "HUH!?"

This can't be true. I must be dreaming, right? Why? Just why was the food I served to him last night all finished? Did he eat them? Why would he? Oh, there's a note left along with the plates. "Thanks for the food. The adobo was amazing. Good luck, Engineer!" It said.

Geez, I'm close to crying. He's finally accepted me. Those long years were too much for me to handle on my own but now, he's here with me. This just lit up my mood. On second thought, I guess I'll be joining Shin for the fireworks display after all.

He did invite me but I was late for about an hour. He must've gone home already. What a waste.

"Hey, your late." Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to me from behind. He was still waiting for me after an hour. I feel so guilty. I wonder how long he waited during his invitations in the past months. I'm such a fool. I should've just cherished the friendship we had.

"The fireworks will start soon. Let's hurry," he grabbed my hand as we ran towards our spot. Stupid Shin. He never learned his lesson. You're going to get my hopes up again but I won't get fooled once again.

We settled on a spot and waited for the fireworks display to start. "Huh?"

What's he doing? He's sitting comfortably at his spot and sleeping! What about the fireworks? Gosh, this guy is hopeless. Wait a minute. This could be a good timing. I have thought to myself that instead of having Shin confess his feelings, I should at least try confessing to him. I can't do it right now, but I can use this chance to practice.

"Shin, I l-like you. In fact, I have always loved you for the past years," I muttered. I made sure the volume of my voice wasn't loud enough for him to hear me if ever he's not really asleep. Well, I couldn't be more satisfied with how things were going currently. I may have failed to get this romantic relationship going but a different form of love was showered towards me. My dad has accepted me and I was able to restore the friendship between Shin and I. I could wish for nothing more than this.

"Really? Guess what, I love you too."

I was so lost in thought while looking at the skies. As the fireworks started, my attention shifted towards the person beside me who's supposed to be asleep. I can't be mistaken. That's him who uttered those words just now. I could ask him again but those eyes, filled with nothing but firmness, the same eyes he makes when he's telling what he think is the truth. Wait! No! I must be dreaming!

He moved closer to me as he noticed the confusion I was having. "I was so ignorant. When you avoided me, I thought it was nothing serious but my heart started pounding. It never stopped and got worse whenever I think about you. The anxiety I was feeling was horrible. I've never experienced this but I somehow managed to understand my feelings. Forgive me if I'm a little too late. You've always been there for me whenever I needed someone the most. This was the first time I had my mind messed up but I finally realized that you're special. I have always liked you as well. No, after those long years with you, I have taken these feelings to another level. Sam, I love you more than anything in this world."

Those words, those eyes, and those feelings. All of it felt surreal. As the sound of the fireworks exploding in the skies filled up the whole area, his whispers of love resonated in my heart where I felt nothing but warmth. It's kind of disappointing to think that Shin, the engineering student who's extremely smart. The person with very high IQ who could basically solve every math problem I could think of, took him years to answer and understand his equation-like feelings.