“Thanks.” He pulled a chair for himself after disentangling himself from Patricia’s embrace. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No. I got here roughly ten minutes ago. You know, I live in the university dorms, so this is just walking distance. What are you having?” Patricia passed him the menu.

“Iced Americano for me. And a slice of blueberry cake. You?”

“A macchiato with chocolate glazed donut.”

“Okay.”

Their orders came after ten minutes. Kairo sipped his drink under Patricia’s scrutinizing gaze.

“How are you, Kai?”

“I’m good. You?”

“Same old, same old. Care to tell me what happened to you during those two years?”

Kairo shrugged.

“Nothing much. I moved back to my mom’s province, finished high school there and transferred here to pursue film.”

Patricia rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee.

“Boring. Would you please fill in the gaps? I don’t want the condensed version.”

Kairo chuckled. “Your penchant for gossip is evident, Miss.”

“Come on! After all, we’re friends. The devil is in the details, you know.”

“What do you really want to know?”

The smile on Patricia’s face is teasing.

“Love life perhaps?”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s zero until now.”

Patricia’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Stop pulling my leg, Kairo. You mean to say you’ve been living like a monk for two years? There has been no one else after Gavin?”

Kairo answered with a smile. He wasn’t even sure if that smile did not wobble despite his effort to maintain nonchalance.

“I’ve got no time to entertain such thoughts. My mom fought against cancer for two years. And five months ago, her fight came to an end.”

“I’m sorry, Kairo. Condolence.”

Patricia’s hand found Kairo’s own and gave it a squeeze. Her eyes were sad, and somehow it gave him a warm feeling. How long has it been since he felt that way? He felt totally alone when his mother died, despite the presence of their relatives. The move, his breakup with Gavin and his mother’s sickness somehow alienated him from people his age.

The emotional turmoil he was going through that time made him distant from people, so he couldn’t gain new friends. He kept to himself, nursing his broken heart.

“Thank you.”

“Is your mom the reason why you and Gavin broke up then?” Patricia’s voice was quiet, as is taking extra care not to hurt his feelings.

Kairo nodded.

“One of the reasons. Gavin didn’t tell you?” he asked, a little bit surprised.

“He kept it to himself. All he told me was that you’ve broken up. I was meaning to call you the next day. But you’re gone. You deactivated your line, e-mail, even your social media accounts. You totally went off the grid, Kai. And for a while, I resented you.”

“Sorry. I was a wreck. I guess, still am.”

“Oh, love. Don’t worry, everything works for the better.”

“Yeah. I hope so.”

“Just believe.”

He wanted to.

He arrived at his unit a little before nine in the evening. Kairo dropped his keys by the table near the door, kicked off his shoes carelessly before plopping down the plush green sofa facedown. The hours he spent with Patricia drained him without him knowing.

Kairo closed his eyes. His right hand clenched into a fist as a memory came to the surface, with so much clarity that it burned his chest, leaving a big lump rising to this throat. He bit his lips to keep himself from sobbing. Shit. It has been two years. Why does the pain feel fresh? Memories came rushing back, even without his bidding, like an unstoppable flood rushing to him.

He pushed the door open, revealing the face who’s been patiently waiting for him. He’s been caught up with school and his extra-curricular activities that he barely has time for Gavin. And that weekend, he finally had a breather. He came to Gavin’s dorm room the moment the practice for a group project ended.

“Hi baby!”

“Hi.”

His smile widened, especially when Gavin dropped a kiss on his cheek. Gavin then slung his arm around Kairo’s shoulder and leaned on his shoulder.

“I missed you,” Gavin said with a little squeeze on Kairo’s upper arm.

“Same. Have you been waiting long?” Kairo asked as he dropped his backpack on the floor to loop his arms around Gavin’s torso.

“An hour,” Gavin answered with a pout of his lips.

Kairo laughed. Gavin behaving like that is just simply asking for a kiss. He complied, giving the other a resounding smack on his plump peckers.

“Hmm. Delish.”

“Perv.”

Gavin’s brows lifted suggestively.

“It’s not even close to the real perv me yet. Why, do you want me to show you?”

“No! I’m still underage!” Kairo squealed, trying to escape from Gavin’s clutches.

Gavin’s laugh bounced off the walls of his room.

Kairo sat up and rubbed his eyes. By that, he was hoping to eradicate those memories from his mind, no matter how futile his efforts are. Now that he’s back in the city, everything he sees seems to trigger various memories of Gavin. What’s more frustrating is that he can’t do anything about it but suffer in silence.

He enrolled in SBU because he knew there’s no Gavin there. But it seems that Fate pulled a joke on him. Of all the universities in the Metro or even in the country, he had the misfortune of enrolling at the same school where Gavin and Patricia go.

Kairo thought the two are still in John Luna University located at the opposite side of the city from where SBU is at. Earlier, he learned from Patricia that Gavin transferred to SBU right after their breakup. Patricia followed Gavin to keep him company. It seems that Gavin’s reasons of transferring schools have something to do with their memories lingering in the campus. And it’s too late to switch schools because already paid his tuition for the semester.

He must be ready to meet Gavin. The only problem is, he isn’t.