The night wore on and I hadn't heard Geo mention his brother's name. The fact brought both relief and disappointment to my chest. I wanted Geo to talk about Matt. I wanted to know what went on with his life nowadays that he seemed to have forgotten all about me. Zach didn't feed me with any information, so it couldn't be helped that I had a lot of questions craving for more than answers. Sometimes, I felt like they craved for actions.
During the month and a half I dated Matt, there was only just the two of us. Always. The fact that we were hiding the relationship from my twin brother had a lot to do with that. Matt and I always had to be where there were less to witness. I wanted it that way. In fact, I forced the relationship to be that way. Why not? We had too little a time away from rules and from classes. The least we could do was spend that time with each other.
With that, Geo and I never once had a chance to talk, or at least be in any situation where we were obligated to. Until now. And I guessed that was the very reason he didn't want to talk about Matt.
"So it's true." Until now.
I knew the voice so well that my breathing stopped the moment I heard it. I didn't notice Matt come up to our table, but when I turned, he was already standing beside me, eyeing his brother accusingly.
Geo smiled, leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "What is?"
"You two are together." At this point, Matt turned to me. I narrowed my eyes and tried to recognize what thoughts his eyes revealed, but just as the months had passed us by, my knowledge of his reactions had faded.
"I'm Geo's media buddy," I replied nonchalantly.
I fought hard to ignore how my heart suddenly thudded loudly against my chest and how we gained the attention of most of the BRIS students at the tables around us. There was nothing to be worried about, and I was definitely telling the truth. The way he said together, though, rang a different tune. I didn't want him to think that I was dating his brother.
"Right." Matt turned back to his twin. My brother, on the other hand, walked over.
"Problem?" Geo raised his eyebrows, still smiling.
"Dating?" I didn't expect it, but it was Zach who dropped the bomb. I glared at him for doing so. If anything, he should've been on my side, and not helping Matt accuse Geo and me of anything.
"No." My answer came quickly, revealing my defenses.
Zach was always on my case, though I never was on his. If I saw him old enough to do as he pleased, I kind of thought it was the same with me. Sure, I made a mistake in high school, but that wasn't enough reason! Almost every girl in high school made that mistake.
I looked around, knowing that we had already caught the attention of the restaurant. That was how I saw Holly, smiling mischievously at me, her phone waving in the air at me. It was so low, even for her, especially to reveal exactly who called on my brother and Matt.
As they say, love makes you do crazy things. And I meant cray-cray crazy. Like how Holly was when she organized this not-so-secret-anymore Estevez twins' fans club. You'd think it would stop there, but it elevated to a different kind of low each passing day.
The very first time Holly showed her contempt toward me was during the Berkeley Bulls photo shoot, where Mattheus and I met for the first time. Holly tripped me and I fell flat on the floor. Never mind that I got hurt. My camera lens got broken then, and it cost me more than a hundred thousand pesos just to replace it.
Remembering that now, my head bled. I rolled my eyes at her and she laughed loudly.
"Can't two people have dinner together without being questioned?" Geo reached for his glass of water and winked at me.
What the hell was that? He was pushing his brother to the edge! Never mind Zach and what he'd think. I was more concerned about what Matt would think. Then again, perhaps that was even more reason for me to watch this fuck-fest happen.
"You can. On, say, a monthly basis," Zach replied, eyeing me.
I looked straight back at him, even when deep down, I was shaking.
"Well, I'm sorry, but detention buddies are supposed to be together on a daily basis. At least on our case. If you have a problem with that, maybe you should bring it up to someone who can do something about it." Geo signalled to ask for our bill.
"Like you, for instance." Matt's voice was flat.
Geo shrugged his shoulders. "Like the sports fest committee."
"Who listens to you," Matt countered. "That photo wall was your idea, I heard."
I turned to Zach and widened my eyes at him, asking him to do something to stop this.
"I don't understand why this affects you that much, Matt."
The waiter came forward with the bill and Geo inserted his credit card, without even checking it.
Matt swallowed and remained quiet, his usual reaction to matters. I'd take out every single coin I had on my purse just so he'd break his silence.
"Zach, aren't you supposed to have dinner?" I gave him a light push and he didn't even budge. He stood beside Matt, eyes set on me and Geo, and his face gave a really tight expression.
Geo's card was returned to him and he stood. I was relieved it was over. What he told his twin after placing his card back to his wallet, though, caught me off-guard. "Besides, if anything, this is all for you, Brother."
Then he dashed out.
I ran after him, crossing the street without looking at any side, and pushed him to the wall by the main BRIS gates. The campus had one main entrance, which was greeted immediately by the BRIS Administration Building. I didn't want to get into trouble so I pushed him where there was little light.
He laughed, doing nothing to struggle against my hold on him. If at all, he grabbed my hands tight and kept them on his chest. "Man, you're a strong one."
"What did you mean?" My voice was hoarse, a thousand thoughts screaming inside my brain. What had happened back at the restaurant came on too fast, and I couldn't decide which exchanges were real.
"I meant what I said!" He chuckled. "I'm doing this for him."
That didn't sound right at all!
"For him?" My voice became a tune higher, and it was only then I noticed he had my hands still clasped between his. I tried pulling them away, but he wouldn't let me go. "You're playing with me!"
"Woah, hang on." Geo raised both his hands up, and I almost stumbled. Like I had placed my weight on him without even noticing it. "First of all, I am not Scott."
I glared at him.
"Yes, I know about that." He continued, "Secondly, you are too nice to be played with. I don't think my heart would be able to handle it if you cry."
Wrinkling my nose in distaste at what cheesy line he could come up with, I hit him with my bag. "Then what did you mean?" I asked between gritted teeth.
He brushed his arm with his hand, though I was certain it didn't even sting. "Hey. I meant what I said."
"Then hear me say this: this buddy thing? It's over."
If he was going to put in an ulterior motive that involved his brother, I was out. I could talk to Ms. Rivera about giving me another student council member to accompany me around the school. I didn't need this shit! If they wanted me to finish that stupid photo wall, I would.
Alone! I just didn't want to see Geo anymore.