Rawbin didn’t expect that Tanya would cause trouble earlier that day. What’s worse is that Lemon saw it. Thankfully, she didn’t misunderstand anything.
But what bothers him is the fact that he’s deaf. He really thought Lemon called him ‘babe’ when she stopped him from hitting the leech. But then he heard it wrong.
She said she yelled ‘behave’ so he’d stop. Rawbin really thought it was a goal achieved in the middle of the commotion. It turned out his hearing impairment deceived him.
Shoulders slumped, Rawbin got to class, and Al immediately showed him his phone. To his surprise, the scenes earlier were posted on SMU Files.
He asked his classmates if they knew any of the admins from the site so he could ask them to take down the post. It’s not supposed to be there. Unfortunately, no one does.
Nothing happened between Tanya and Rawbin. She’s the one who keeps approaching him after the team-building of the Sports Department. She’s the one who flirted.
He wasn’t even interested in her. If it was Jam, he might have paid attention. She was one of the prettiest cheerleaders he’d seen, and Jam used to be his crush.
But his feelings for Jam dissipated after meeting Leslie Monica Juarez. Speaking of Lemon, he suddenly remembered how he left her outside the restroom without saying a word.
He was so embarrassed because of his deafness. That was why he chose to walk away without saying anything. He’s disappointed in himself and too shy to face Lemon.
‘Whatever, I’ll just send her a message later.’
Rawbin went straight to the gym after class. He didn’t see Lemon during lunch because he chose to eat outside. He really can’t stand seeing her at the moment. He doesn’t even know how to face her after what he did.
But if destiny wants to play with you, he’ll make you see the person you’ve been avoiding. “Hi, Rob!”
Rawbin feels excited whenever she calls him that. It may seem shallow, but when Lemon does, he was like a different person.
“You’re leaving?” He asked as they were on their way out when he got there.
“Yep, the practice was canceled, according to your Coach,” Kale informed him.
“Ah, really? Lemon, can you wait for me? I’ll just log into the players’ sheet,” then he went straight to their coach’s office when she nodded.
When Rawbin came out, no one was with Lemon anymore. She’s standing outside the gym, waiting for him, by herself.
“Where are they?”
“I asked them to go to the studio first. Nico’s coming, and she might find it awkward if she gets there with just the boys,” she explained before they started walking out of the school.
Rawbin was quiet on the way to the studio. He doesn’t know why he’s like this. He’s already hugged and held her hand on their first date. “Lemon…”
“Hmm?”
“I’m really sorry about what happened earlier. When I left you outside the restroom,” Rawbin reminded Lemon.
“Oh, that… Forget it, don’t worry! The truth is, I lied to you earlier…” and Rawbin stopped on his track.
“No, it’s my fault. If I’m not deaf, I wouldn’t have heard it wrong. I probably got too excited when I heard you earlier, so my brain was unable to process what you actually called me,” Rawbin explained.
She was just listening to him, smiling. Then she hooked her arm to his as they started walking again.
“As I said, I lied to you earlier,” she continued. “I did call you babe,” and Rawbin’s world stopped for a second.
He stopped walking before facing her. Holding both shoulders, he turned Lemon to look at him. He tried to catch her eyes, blushing while he felt his knees slowly turning to jelly.
“What did you say?” He asked to confirm and make sure he wasn’t just going deaf.
“I said…” Lemon trailed and sighed, “You were right. I called you babe earlier,” then smiled. Rawbin suddenly felt like he won at the district meet.
“That means–” Lemon nodded before Rawbin could complete his sentence. Out of excitement, he ran away from her and back again. He doesn’t know why he did that, but Rawbin felt like his heart ran out of happiness, and he got carried away.
“So we’re official?” he asked, and Lemon nodded. Then he hugged her by the waist and lifted her.
“Silly! Stop it!” Then she looked around, and Rawbin did the same. That was when he realized that some of their schoolmates were already watching them.
Rawbin was still smiling when they reached the studio. Kellen and Kale creased their foreheads when they saw him.
Even Kevz and Roj can’t stop themselves from teasing him because of the smile painted on his face. They even jest at what happened with Tanya earlier.
“What happened to you? You’re smiling as if you weren’t trending at school!” Kevz called him off as he tapped his shoulder.
Rawbin just gave him a shrug before sitting on the couch. He didn’t bother answering Kevz, who shook his head out of confusion.
After a while, Nico arrived with Maru and Tres. Lemon handed Nico the lyrics sheet. She even asked who picked the song. She probably got curious as to the song choice.
Nico’s a good singer, and Lemon was impressed. The practice lasted for more or less two hours. She managed to sing along with the band, so it didn’t consume too much time.
After they left, the group started cleaning up too. Lemon left the boys downstairs while she went up to Kellen and Kale.
They were busy talking about the view. From the terrace, the beautiful houses from the subdivision on the next street.
“Hey!”
They both stared at Lemon with confused looks on their faces. “I’ve been noticing it since earlier. Your eyes had a different sparkle, my girl,” Kale started. “Spill!”
“Correct, share it with us. What happened?” Kellen seconded.
“We’re official!” Lemon announced, smiling at both of them.
She was startled when they both screamed. Lemon thought they were at an amusement park, riding the rollercoaster with the volume of their voices. The next thing she knew, the boys rushed up the stairs in a panic.
“What happened?” Kippler asked worriedly, and the three exchanged glances.
“What do you mean?” Kellen asked her twin.
“Why are you screaming? We thought someone had already fallen from the terrace!” Kevz stated, facepalming and the three of them laughed at their reactions.
“You guys are overreacting. Can we only scream when someone gets into an accident? Can’t we do that if we happen to get a piece of good news?” Kale asked.
Homme and Roj exchanged glances. Kevz, on the other hand, let out an exasperated sigh. Kippler sat on the chair next to him, and Rawbin leaned on the door to the terrace.
Meanwhile, Drew was leaning on the wall close to the stairs. As if he can’t be bothered with anything at the moment.
“What’s the good news then?” Kip asked curiously. Kellen and Kale exchanged glances, still smiling.
“Should I tell them?” Kale asked Kellen.
“No, I should do it,” Kellen disagreed.
‘Why are they deciding among themselves? Shouldn’t I be the one to tell them about it?’
“Rawbin and Lemon are official!” “Lemon and Rawbin are official!” they announced in unison.
Lemon looked at Rawbin, and he was now smiling too. He seems happy that the group now knows they’re indeed official girlfriend-boyfriend.
Kip stood up to hug Lemon, “I’m happy for you cuz, and you Llamansares, don’t dare cheat on her!” he threatened when he turned to face him. Rawbin nodded in response as he raised a hand as a sign of a promise.
Homme and Roj approached and congratulated her while they gave Rawbin a fist bump and a high five.
Kevz’s reaction was a bit weird, however. He seemed spaced out. He looked toward the stairs before he approached Lemon.
“Congrats, Partner!” He greeted and embraced her. Then he approached Rawbin, and they fist-bumped before he headed downstairs.
Lemon looked at his retreating back, and that was when she noticed something even weirder. Drew’s not where he was earlier anymore.
As no one else noticed, she didn’t say anything either. They stayed on the terrace for another hour before everyone decided to go home.
Rawbin drove them home, Lemon and Kale. While in his car, Kale took the opportunity to ask him everything he wanted to ask.
He keeps asking Rawbin how he started courting Lemon. And how she ended up giving him her sweetest ‘yes.’ Rawbin, on the other hand, answered everything without second thoughts.
Lemon chose to be quiet while listening to them though she didn’t really pick up everything from their conversation. It’s because her mind happened to be somewhere else.
‘What happened to Drew? Why didn’t he congratulate me? Or even Rawbin?
She tried pushing away the thought, but it kept bugging her. Sometimes she even doubts herself, especially when she’s overly curious about Drew.
When they arrived home, she pecked Rawbin on the cheek before she entered the house. Then she went straight to her room, and Kale did the same.
Lying down on her bed, she put out her phone, undecided whether she should ping Kevz and ask. She’s pretty sure he followed Drew earlier. But she also made sure that he’ll ask why she was asking.
She slipped the phone under the pillow, dismissing the thought of asking. It’s probably nothing important. Maybe, Drew needed to use the restroom, and that’s why he left.
Instead of being bothered, she decided to go to the bathroom for a shower. When she climbed her bed, she checked her phone and saw a message from Rawbin.
Lemon smiled when she read it but scrunched her nose when she saw his last words. ‘ILY? I love you? If that’s what it means, then isn’t it too early for that?’
She doesn’t think they can call themselves in love, at least not yet. Maybe he meant like, so she assumed that instead.
‘Gudnyt babe. Thanks for making me happy. ILY!’
‘Gudnyt! I’m happy too! ILY!’
She decided to leave the translation to him. Whatever he’ll think of that, for her, it’s nothing but ‘I Like You.’ She placed my phone back under the pillow and forced herself to sleep.
Yes, she forced herself because if not, she would continue thinking about what happened to Drew. She might not stop thinking of an excuse for what he did.