10 Chapter 9

Summer, 2016

"Right…" This is all Megan can muster after they took a little trip down memory lane.

She must've regressed those last few moments they had together during the past few years. She knew that she suffered a whole lot right after it happened. Not only was she plagued by the difficulties of adjusting to a new country and school, but she was also drowned with negative thoughts regarding her first love.

And now that she's remembering every detail like it had happened yesterday, she's once again filled with regret and guilt. Regret, because she could've just straight up asked him what his feelings were despite risking ruining their friendship. And guilt, because in Jared's perspective, it must've been so out of the blue. A surprise attack, like the Trojan horse.

"I did have feelings for you, you know." Jared's words snap Megan back to reality. "So, I was crushed when you suddenly broke it off like that."

Did I hear that right?? "...what?" she says confused and a tiny bit hopeful.

"I was crushed when you ended our friendship so suddenly," he repeats, avoiding eye contact. Why in the world was he feeling embarrassed? That was years ago.

"No. The other thing you said. Abou—about the feelings."

"Yeah, I had feelings for you. And I was going to tell you at some point… but that damn fucking rumor." He pauses and sighs. "I was just… shocked. We were so young. I didn't know what to do."

"So, you liked me…" she states.

He only nods to agree.

"More than just a best friend?"

"Pretty much." He shrugs, trying his best to play it casual.

She stares at him in disbelief. "Me too."

His calm and collected front from before shatters as his eyes flutter and widen in shock. "Seriously?"

She chuckles, feeling both silly and embarrassed. "Yeah. You were my first love."

Jared is left speechless at the sudden revelation. All these years, he believed she felt otherwise. But... first love? That is definitely something that would stun anyone. He feels flattered and maybe even a little bit giddy (or kilig as they say in Tagalog). His mind is now wondering whether or not they're too late. To fix things, to restore what they had.

"Wow…" Megan whispers perplexed.

"Yeah…" He scratches the back of his head and dares to utter, "Guess things were just not meant to be."

"It was definitely that rumor," she quips.

Instantly, they break into fits of laughter.

"And I could've fought for you," he adds in a more serious manner.

She merely nods. If she's being honest though, she also could've fought for him.

But she gave up. Just like that.

She's starting to ponder whether or not another world exists in which she chooses to fess up and not care about what he'll think or where they'll end up.

"But now we can have a fresh start," he then declares with a warm smile.

She blinks at him slightly confused. "A fresh…? Start…"

"Yeah. You and me," he affirms, though the statement seems rather vague, even to him.

They're both silent for a moment before she decides to reply, "Of course." She shares a small smile. "...Red."

He grins now. "Megatron."

Who knows where fate would take them this time?

Shortly after their little moment, Jared and Megan went on their own ways. Jared decided to take a quick power nap, while Megan checked the beach out and meditated for a bit by the shore. When she got back to the villa, everyone was gathered on the porch, looking all prepared for an excursion.

Snorkeling, it seems, because Logan was practically shouting it to the heavens. Safe to say that Megan was most certainly not going to be participating in that. She gets seasick easily and the boat ride for that is a big no-no for her.

"Are you two sure you don't want to tag along?" Naia asks her and Jacob. Apparently, they're going to be the only two left in the house.

Megan merely nods as a response and swiftly plops on the sofa, ready to become the ultimate couch potato for the rest of the day.

"We'll be fine," Jacob replies with a warm smile.

"Good luck," Odell whispers, biting down a mischievous grin.

Felicity immediately rolls her eyes and elbows him. "He doesn't mean that."

Without another word, the group leaves, which Jacob takes as his cue to call room service for some snacks. He's only just realized that he's absolutely famished from all the traveling that they did. Thankfully, when he asked Megan what she wanted, she answers in an unusually pleasant and relaxed tone. Not that it's a bad thing, especially if she's genuinely at ease.

"What are you in the mood to watch?" the young man inquires casually as he sits on the couch next to hers.

"Well, I've been meaning to watch Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt—"

"Same!" he cuts her off unintentionally. Too much excitement from having one thing in common.

She says nothing in reply but is both shocked and pleased.

"It's settled then!" he enthuses as he clicks play on the remote to finally start the much-awaited TV show marathon.

It doesn't take long for them to be drowned in a sea of laughter. And if there is one surefire way of getting Megan to feel comfortable with someone, it's certainly through binge-watching movies or several episodes of a TV show. Jacob, on the other hand, is just glad to see her laugh her heart out. It's been way too long since he's last seen genuine joy from her.

By the time they're halfway through watching the second episode, the doorbell of the villa rings, indicating that their food has arrived. Jacob instantly gets up from his seat and happily receives their orders.

Before digging into their meal, Megan reaches for the random Green Cross alcohol bottle on the coffee table. She assumes it is Felicity's since it's always been a habit of hers to leave things lying around.

"That seems to be a hot commodity in the Philippines," Jacob remarks.

"What?" She puts some alcohol on her hands and rubs away.

"Alcohol. The rubbing kind... not the drinking kind. Though let's be real the drinking kind can come as a close second."

She chuckles as she offers him the bottle, which is nearly empty. "Yeah, no idea when or how it started, but ever since I moved here I discovered that it's always been a thing."

"Interesting." He nods before emptying out the bottle on his hands. Guess we're gonna have to get our lazy asses off the couch and to the sink after eating our meals to clean our hands. He thinks before resuming their marathon.

Immediately after Megan takes her first bite from her food, she blurts out, "My pizza tastes like condoms."

Jacob almost chokes on his burger as he guffaws, even wheezes from complete amusement. He mentally pats himself on the back for not tagging along with everyone else. Otherwise, he would've missed this.

"I'm serious. Taste that." She offers him a slice.

He furrows his eyebrows suspiciously and shakes his head. "No, ma'am. I'm not going to taste something I wear." He then proceeds to shove a handful of his fries in his mouth to make a point.

Her eyes immediately widen at the shocking sight.

Jacob looks back at her and tries his best not to laugh. "What?"

"You're like a seagull. Just GULPING them down now, aren't you?"

They stare at each other for a moment before bursting into fits of laughter.

The atmosphere around them suddenly shifts from something delicate and cautious to vibrant and lighthearted.

Megan never really thought this was possible, especially with Jacob. Growing up, they weren't close at all. If it was 2006 and they were both left in the same room like right now, she guarantees that they'd just sit there in awkward silence. She realizes that years and maturity can truly do wonders for a person. Not just her, but for him too.

Meanwhile, Jacob is fully basking in the glory of finally finding that connection with Megan. He knew that it was in there somewhere. He just couldn't figure out how to unleash it.

Needless to say that they enjoy a couple of more episodes, laughing and throwing out witty or funny comments once in a while. When they finish their food, both of them give their butts a break from sitting and head to the kitchen sink to wash their hands.

Jacob goes first and then waits for Megan to do her thing. Weirdly, she takes longer than expected.

"What are you sniffing at?" he questions the minute he spots her repeatedly smelling the nozzle of the hand soap bottle.

She jumps a bit at the abrupt intrusion, but offers a proper answer by reading the soap label, "Cognac…do you call it cognac?"

"I think you mean caviar," he nonchalantly corrects.

"CAVIAR?" She pointedly sends him an odd look. "Who would make a hand soap out of caviar???"

He looks right back at her, confused by her sassy demeanor, and glances at the soap bottle. "Bath and Body Works...?"

She emits an amused grin as she tries her hardest not to laugh at his clueless face.

Still clearly oblivious to what she's going on about, he merely returns a smile.

"Read that word." She points at the soap bottle, which she's currently holding.

He does what he's told. "Co…niar. That's spelled wrong."

Megan couldn't help it this time as a chortle escapes her mouth. "For the nth time, who would make a hand soap out of caviar?!"

"I don't know! It's 2016! People do lots of crazy shit. Were you not there during Brexit?!" Jacob has no idea why, but he's also on the verge of breaking into laughter.

She shoots him an unimpressed glare. "Cognac. Say it after me!"

"Mmm… okay yeah. Whatever." He sends a dismissive wave.

"Do you know the difference between cognac and caviar?" she asks.

"Isn't it the same thing?" he replies, genuinely puzzled by the whole ordeal unfolding before them.

She bites back a laugh and mentally facepalms.

He couldn't help but let out a little chuckle as well. "The one that you have on your wrist during prom."

She wrinkles her eyebrows. "Caviar? Do you put caviar on your wrist during prom?"

"Yeah! I don't, but the girls do," he answers confidently.

"What kind of prom from hell?"

He laughs at the sight of her annoyed expression.

"Jake, caviar is fish eggs," she reveals.

Wait what? Did I hear right?? Did she just call me Jake? "Oh....." He realizes his mistake and instantly feels the mortification course through his entire body. "...….. shit."

The two of them double over with the most jovial laughter known to man.

"So, cognac is what you put on your wrist at prom?" he now asks to clarify the word mix-up.

"Noooo!!!" She starts laughing again, nearly crying at this point. "That's corsage."

"Close enough." He shrugs but joins in with the laughter. "Then what's a cognac?"

"Some kind of fancy liquor."

"Ew." He looks at the soap bottle with disgust.

"I know! But they made it smell nice!"

He shakes his head, still in disbelief of what just happened. He's going to have to distract himself to recover from his embarrassment. And what better way to do that than to play around with Snapchat filters?

As soon as they plop back on the sofa, side by side now, he gets his phone out and opens Snapchat. Megan then lays on her stomach and stretches like a cat, seemingly bored with her surroundings. She starts kicking up her legs and finally sees that Jacob is busy with something.

"Whatcha doooooin'?" she asks in a slight coo as she nears his phone.

The filter he was using, which enlarges your mouth and jaw and minimizes your eyes, instantly transfers to her face. And not even a second passes before they fall into howls of laughter for what seems like the billionth time today.

They don't even notice that each of their friends is entering the villa quite perplexed at what's happening right in front of them.

"What's… going on??" Felicity treads with the question lightly, not wanting to disrupt the good vibes the two are oozing with.

It is only then that Jacob and Megan get out of their little bubble.

"Nothing. We've just bonded while everyone was gone," the widely grinning boy replies.

Odell snorts. "Bonded? Your boisterous laughter says otherwise."

"It's like you've known each other for years," Logan adds.

"Well… technically, yeah." Jacob shrugs as he and Megan go about their business once again, leaving the rest of the group even more confused than they were beforehand.

Not too long after Jacob and Megan's bonding session, the gang decides to head out for a late meal, since the majority of those who went snorkeling was starving. Although Danica said that she would hang back for a while to fix some of her stuff and follow afterward.

Even at dinner, the two newfound best friends couldn't stop talking to each other and laughing to themselves. Everyone with them is pretty convinced that they have about a hundred inside jokes that they're unaware of. But of course, when it comes down to determining their orders, they're cooperative.

"So... what shall we have? The ocean feast? I heard it's really good," Logan suggests, mouth slightly watering.

"Libre mo*?" Megan replies jokingly and almost instantly, she's met by several shocked looks from the others. "I'm game kung libre mo**."

Though a bit confused at first, Logan proceeds to grin at the fact that she's finally not showing any hostile behavior towards him. "Yaaaan! Yan ang gusto ko! Yan ang namiss ko sayo***!!"

"Tingin mo bati na tayo****?" Megan's expression abruptly changes and she puts on the bitchiest frown known to mankind.

He turns from happy to frightened in a millisecond and chooses to remain silent.

"Slight." Her disposition switches back to the one from before as she shares a playful beam.

The rest of the group is then engulfed in a cloudy haze of laughter. After all, it's the first time since they arrived that they've felt such a lighthearted mood.

"Ayos*****! So, ocean feast, a couple o' steaks, and beer!" Logan exclaims with nothing but pure joy.

"Okay, calm down straight-y," Odell remarks amusingly.

"Wow. Porket beer, straight na kaagad******?" Logan glares at his best friend.

Odell doesn't even need to answer him as everyone else in the table does it instead. "Slight."

Logan merely glances back at them appalled.

"And aren't you ACTUALLY straight, Logan?" Felicity questions half-jokingly and half-seriously.

He purses his lips and reluctantly replies, "Fair enough."

The good vibes continue on, despite the light teasing with Logan. That is until Danica comes trudging to their table.

Everyone notices that there seemed to be a gloomy cloud above her, but didn't want to address it and spoil the great atmosphere present. So, even when their food arrives, they try to remain oblivious to whatever it is that is bothering her. There also appears to be some silent declaration that they would bring up the topic once they're done with their meals and they've paid for the bill. She might've just been completely famished, not something else. They didn't really want to jump into any conclusions too fast.

Danica, on the other hand, sensed that they knew something was up. She didn't want to burden them with any of her problems since they went on this trip with an already big dilemma in front of them. But if she kept it in any longer, she knew she was going to go crazy. She had to let it out somehow. Even if it's just a little bit of detail.

"Stephen and I broke up," she reveals as soon as her friends asks about her miserable mood, "And just a while ago, I… saw him here. With a girl." THAT girl. She pauses, trying not to choke up at her words. "We kind of met eyes and I just… looked and walked away."

Pin drop silence. Each and every one of them is perplexed at the unexpected confession; and a heavy one at that.

"Oh, wow…" Jacob mutters, absolutely devastated and shocked.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Dan," Naia says soothingly as she shares a sympathetic smile.

"But you guys were doing so well…" Felicity whispers sadly.

Megan, who's sitting right next to the younger one, squeezes the Danica's hand in reassurance.

"Why didn't you tell me? On the plane?" Logan asks.

Danica shrugs. "Because if I said it out loud, it would become realer than it actually was."

"That is the single stupidest thing you've ever said in our more than ten years of friendship."

Taken aback by his blunt remark, Danica turns to look at him with mild disdain. "What?"

"I mean, yeah, you guys broke up. But didn't we all see that coming?" His eyes then dart towards Odell, then Jacob, and lastly Naia.

The two guys are glaring back at him clearly annoyed, while Naia merely looks away.

"Just me then?" Logan's tone is still as pompous as ever. "What's the big deal? We're young. You can just sleep with someone else and get it over with."

Megan's jaw clenches as she snaps through gritted teeth, "I don't know, Logan. Maybe some of us aren't arrogant assholes."

He only rolls his eyes at the snide remark and chooses to directly talk to Danica. "Sure, you guys were together for like what? Two years?"

"Five," she corrects.

"My bad." He shrugs. "But still… how long have you been broken up?"

"About six months," she answers shortly, ready to get this conversation over with.

Aha! Finally, a loophole! "See? He went ahead and moved on!"

Danica's unimpressed expression doesn't falter one bit. "They've also been together for six months."

"Hold up, say what?" Felicity retorts suddenly pissed off.

"Yeah." Danica avoids any eye contact by looking down at the ground in shame.

Oops... Logan mentally cringes. "Okay… I take back what I said."

"You should," Odell chides with a side-eyed glare.

"Never thought the day would come when I'd think Stephen is an asshole," Jacob comments, shaking his head.

"Hear, hear," Naia sighs.

Although he's been silent the whole time, Jared decides to share his two cents, "Forget about him, Dan. You deserve better."

"Thanks, guys." Danica shares a small smile as she looks at each one of them. "Really. I needed this outing… even if I did see my ex with his current girlfriend." ...who he probably cheated on me with a long time ago.

Felicity gazes at her friend and returns a warm beam. "We've always got your back."

"Gotchu back fam," Jacob and Megan simultaneously quip in the same enthusiastic manner. They immediately look at each other incredulously and try their hardest not to burst into laughter, especially with the situation they're in.

Luckily, the gang decides to finally get up and leave the restaurant. And as they leisurely walk back to the villa, one particular person is anxious to get something out in the open.

"Speaking of conflicts, isn't it about time we address the elephant in the room?" Naia attempts to ask in the most nonchalant way possible.

"You know, I never got that saying. Why an elephant in the room? It could've been a giraffe or a whale… why does the elephant have to be in the room? What room is it?" Logan rambles on, obviously unaware of how grave the previous question was.

Odell casts a knowing glower at him.

Logan's eyes widen. "Right, I'll stop now."

"Yeah, your dumb hetero ass needs to know when to shut up sometimes," Odell murmurs under his breath.

Logan merely furrows his eyebrows and frowns.

Megan sighs and finally speaks, "What's there to address? It is what it is."

"I mean… we can't spend this ENTIRE trip not talking about it," Naia argues, though with a slight chuckle.

"We can actually." Megan just gives her a dead ass stare. "You're just choosing not to."

"And for good reason," Naia says, "Why are you being so stubborn about it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is it getting too uncomfortable for Madame Naia?" Megan sarcastically remarks, matching with even more ironic gestures.

"Yes," Naia replies simply. "Yes it is, Megan. God, this doesn't even feel like the you I knew."

Megan scoffs before retorting, "Because I'm NOT the old me. I'm the me right now. What? Did you just think I would magically fawn all over you? BEG you to be my friend again? Fat chance."

"That's not what I meant!" Naia exclaims as she calms herself for a bit. "Aren't we going to at least TRY to fix this?"

Megan folds her arms across her chest and glares at the taller girl in front of her. "And what? Repeat the cycle?"

"Cycle? What cy—?"

Megan smiles bitterly at clueless Naia. "You don't even know what you did wrong, do you?"

"I do! We—" Naia tries her hardest to search through her mind for the main reason for their fight, why Megan got so upset. But her brain is going on overdrive and she knowingly looks at Odell, silently pleading for help.

The just as troubled guy can only shrug and shake his head, unsure of what the root of the problem is either. Well, if he's being honest, he has some sort of idea of what it is. But he couldn't exactly explain that through eye contact alone.

"I..."

"See? Typical Naia." Megan forces a smile and tilts her head at the pitiful sight before her. "Always subtly undermining everyone else except herself."

Naia scowls at her spiteful comment. "Okay, that is neither here nor there."

"But you're not denying it," Megan coolly points out.

"Only because I have no idea what you're talking about!" Naia almost screeches. Where is this going? This is obviously about more than just the 2010 fight.

"It's fine. I don't mind. Just proves that I was right all along."

"I mean, let's face it. It was pretty obvious since we were kids that you were so envious of Megan," Felicity suddenly blurts out.

A piercing tense silence surrounds all of them for a moment.

"I…" Naia starts before all their childhood memories together come flooding in her mind.

All the tinges of envy and resentment she would feel whenever a moment set just for Megan arrived. Whenever the girls would choose Megan over her as their favorite ate. Whenever she would see Zoe doting on Megan like a mother hen to its chick. Whenever Jared would subtly look Megan's way and smile to himself, despite saying otherwise out loud. Whenever Megan expressed that she felt even a little bit amount of self-love.

She hated it but wanted to be the good friend. She would play the role of an angel in any given problem or sticky situation Megan found herself caught up in, but Naia's plans to help would magically backfire and end up hurting Megan in one way or another. If not, it hurt her. But she never really admitted it to herself until they grew older that she indeed felt better whenever things didn't exactly go well for Megan.

So, it's going as far back that, huh? "Fine, I was jealous. My initially ugly, fat, and shy friend lost weight and became pretty and friendly. Everyone loved you. And you didn't even have to do much. You had Zoe by your side, Dan and Fae; even Lacey. She wasn't even old enough to know that I was new in RT. She just liked you better because you were better than me." She exhales deeply before continuing in a mildly shaky tone, "And then you had to take Jared too? For once I thought he was the one person that I could keep and have. But no. He loved you. How am I supposed to compete with that fair and square?"

Silence once again.

"This is... fuckin' ridiculous," Megan manages to muster as she shoots an intense glare at Naia.

"Drama…" Odell mumbles in a singsong voice, avoiding several of the judging eyes towards him.

Megan only sighs at the huge mess that's splattered all over everyone, especially herself, and walks away.

Naia sighs louder than usual, out of exhaustion from the unexpectedly dramatic situation. "Yep. That's just great isn't it? As always, you have to act high and mighty."

"Naia, please," Danica snaps at her, "You practically dictated everything she had to do from the age of seven. Whenever or wherever she decides to talk to you and settle things, hell whether or not she even chooses to, is NOT up to you. It shouldn't be. So stop being an ass about it."

"She's right," Jared agrees before walking ahead with Danica.

Odell pats Naia on the back as he joins everyone else, who have chosen to walk away from the scene as well. That is, except Logan.

"Who even thought this outing was a good idea?" he grumbles.

"Beats me." Naia runs a hand through her hair and tries to process everything that's just happened.

And later on, all alone in bed, she's left in disbelief at how worse the whole ordeal escalated.