Chapter 6: Catching Up Part I
As they caught up, Aria, Orion, and their friends exchanged Facebook accounts.
"You should add me on Facebook, di ko alam surname mo Aria eh," Orion suggested with a smile, pulling out his phone and opening the app.
"Aria Quinn Lim, yan fb at full name ko," Aria replied, taking out her own phone and quickly searching for Orion's profile.
"San dito sa'yo kuya Orion?" Aria said, her fingers tapping on the screen as she scanned through the search results.
Orion chuckled, leaning in to peek at Aria's screen. "You'll find me under Orion Xavier Ramirez," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Aria's eyes lit up as she found Orion's profile and sent him a friend request. "Finally! friends na tayo sa Fb," she exclaimed.
"True. Nung bigla kang nagstop sa pagpunta sa court, sinearch ko sa fb name mo pero di ko alam saan ang account mo dun" Orion said as he played with the ball.
Aria laughed, nudging Orion playfully. "Ay, sorry naman. Ngayon alam mo na kuya Orion, wag mo na akong imemessage ha," she teased.
Orion chuckled, "Don't worry, ikaw ang una kong iimemessage mamaya," he replied, his gaze meeting Aria's with warmth and sincerity.
'Naknam! pa-fall pala toh si kuya Orion' Aria thought, feeling butterflies in her stomach from her longtime crush's reply.
Realizing it was already late, Aria, Orion, Emily, Aiden, Marcus, James, Keith, and Rufus bid each other goodbye.
Orion couldn't resist the urge to check in on Aria after they parted ways. He quickly opened up their chat on Messenger and sent her a message.
"Hey Aria, just wanted to make sure you got home safe. Chat lang kung nakauwi kana," -Orion
Aria's reply came almost immediately.
"Yes, I'm home now. Thanks for asking, Kuya Orion." -Aria
"I'm glad you made it home safely. Btw, may free time ka ba bukas? I was thinking we could catch up over coffee or something." -Orion
"Sure kuya, free ako bukas sa afternoon. Meet tayo sa café near campus around 2 PM?" -Aria
Orion smiled at the suggestion.
"Sounds perfect! 3:30 pm pa klase namin sa hapon. Kitakits bukas, Aria." -Orion
"Code muna ako, goodnight Aria."
-Orion
"Thanks, Kuya Orion! Goodnight!"
-Aria
Aria responded with a smiley emoji before closing the chat
'Ahhhh!! Excited ako bukas,' Aria exclaimed to herself, hugging her pillow tightly, feeling a sense of warmth and anticipation.
'May girlfriend na kaya si kuya? Sana wala para continue ang pagkadelulu ko charz,' she thought, a hint of worry creeping into her mind before she pushed it aside, focusing instead on the excitement of the upcoming day.
The next day, Aria attended her classes as usual. Marcus and Emily saved her a seat, and introductions and lessons started in this new subject. Despite the anticipation of meeting Orion later, Aria remained focused in class.
After the class ended, Aria and her friends made their way to another lecture, discussing the day's lessons and sharing notes along the way.
Marcus turned to Aria with a teasing grin. "So, excited to catch up with Kuya Orion?"
Aria felt her cheeks flush slightly at the mention of Orion's name. "Uh, yeah! It'll be nice to see him again," she replied, trying to sound casual.
Emily hesitated for a moment before speaking, "May narinig ako na Orion might still be hung up on his ex-girlfriend. You know, the one from last year."
Aria's heart sank at the mention of Orion's ex-girlfriend.
"Last year? Who?" Aria asked, her voice tinged with concern.
Emily paused, choosing her words carefully. "Di ko rin alam ang details, but apparently, they had a pretty intense relationship before they broke up. Sabi nila hindi pa nakaka move on si Orion," she explained, her expression sympathetic.
Aria nodded slowly, absorbing the information. She hadn't known about Orion's past relationship, and the thought of him still being affected by it worried her. "Poor kuya Orion. Di ko alam," she murmured, feeling a surge of empathy for Orion.
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