For years, Aiah had been overly protective of the younger girl's daytime naps. With her late afternoons spent working at the coffee shop and her evenings consumed by a seemingly endless amount of planning and drafting, it was getting nearly impossible for Mikha to find the time to rest.

So, Aiah had taken it upon herself to make sure that Mikha gets every bit of sleep she could in her free time.

It works like this—Mikha calls her up, asks Aiah where she is, and in a few minutes, walks towards her with a drawing tube slung over her shoulder and a sleepy smile plastered on her face. 

Aiah smiles back, just the slightest bit wider.

They meet up like this multiple times a day in between their classes. It didn't matter if the break was only thirty, twenty, or even fifteen minutes long, they still made sure that they spent it together. 

Aiah personally selected her courses in the beginning of the semester so that she could attend the ones which schedules were aligned with or closest to Mikha's. The initial schedule that her department had provided her with had been perfect, for the most part, having her up and out of the university at no later than 1pm. That gives her ample time to herself—to take a step back and breathe.

But, as she gazed at the girl dozing off by the wall next to her, Aiah figured that breathing had been a bit different now, having the air stolen from her lungs a long time ago.

 

 

"You sure you're not coming with?" Maloi asks as the other students file out of the lecture hall. "We can wait for you at the parking lot if you want."

Their three-hour lab and lecture had just ended and they have exactly forty-five minutes to go and grab lunch before their next class starts, or at least Maloi did. 

"Mhm. No, thank you." Aiah politely declines, mindlessly shoving her textbooks back in her orange knapsack. "Mikha's class ends in about twenty minutes and their professor usually lets them out early, so.."

The corners of Maloi's lips turn upwards, eyes glistening with amusement.

"Oh, right." She sang, causing Aiah to roll her eyes at her.

She already knew where this was going.

"I forgot that you switched schedules for your girlfriend." Maloi giggles, slinging an arm around her friend's shoulders.

Aiah sighs. She could already sense the impending headache Mary Loi Yves Ricalde was about to give her again.

"She's not my girlfriend." The older girl replies flatly.

After gathering her things and cleaning her desk, she tilts her head once to the side, motioning to Maloi that it was time for the two of them to leave. They bow their heads at the new professor entering the hall and swiftly head out the door.

It was a sunny afternoon, much to Aiah's delight. She liked the feeling of sunlight on her skin and the clear skies above. It reminded her of summer, when everything was warm and bright. Just like a certain someone on her mind.

Maloi hums, an unrelenting grin on her face as she and Aiah walk arm-in-arm down the stairs. "But you wish she was, right?" She teases, wiggling her eyebrows at the older girl.

This time, Aiah cracks a smile, shoving her best friend lightly by the shoulder. 

"Shut up, Maloi." She deflects, rolling her eyes once more. "My head still hurts from that impromptu test Professor Alvarez made us take. If you say one more word, I will throw you off this building."

Aiah may seem a little delicate, but she's got muscles that can give a grown man a run for his money—let alone an equally small girl like Maloi Ricalde. It wasn't an empty threat. 

Maloi was very much aware of this, so she shuts ...for now, at least.

"Alright, alright. Geez." Maloi chuckles, hands raised up in defense. She was about to say something else when her phone lit up, indicating that a message just came in.

Upon fishing it out, her smile grew wider.

Aiah didn't need to see it to know who it was.

"I gotta go, A." Maloi says as she taps her fingers on the screen, quickly slipping the device back in her pocket afterwards before facing the girl again. "Because unlike you, I actually had the guts to tell the pretty girl that I liked her." She boasts playfully, walking backwards towards the direction of the cafeteria. "And that pretty girl is waiting for me right now." 

Aiah scoffs. Don't get her wrong, she absolutely loves the pair, but it was practically her job to annoy the hell out of her best friend every chance she got. 

"To this day, it still baffles me that she really liked you back." She quips, mockingly. "That girl's like pretty pretty."

"Try gorgeous." Maloi sighs. 

She couldn't help the grin spreading across her face at the thought of her beautiful girlfriend. Aiah even swears that she could see the twinkling hearts in the girl's eyes. 

"And excuse me?" Maloi glares, finally catching up on the older girl's offending implication. "I'm a catch, Maraiah Arceta!"

The girl snorts. "Sure you are, Loi." Aiah half-heartedly replies, causing the younger girl to flip her off in the distance. "Say hi to Colet for me!" She hollers. 

"Likewise to your girlfriend!" Maloi teases back, making the older girl widen her eyes at her. 

"She's not my girlfriend!"

Aiah shakes her head at her friend's retreating figure, a soft smile on her lips at the thought of a certain person being her girlfriend.

A girl can dream right?

 

She was too lost in her thoughts to realize that someone was now standing a few feet away from her.

"You got a girlfriend now?" A familiar voice asks, pulling her out of her musings.

Aiah snaps her head to the side to see a girl holding a roll of tracing paper in her hand, sporting what seemed to be her great grandfather's clothes.

It still looked good on her, though.

Everything did.

The intruder clicks her tongue and shakes her head in disappointment, a teasing lilt to her tone. "And here I thought that I was the only girl for you." She jests, clutching her chest in agony. "You're killing me, Arceta."

Aiah rolls her eyes for the third time that day, masking the blush threatening to make its way up her cheeks as she mulls over the girl's words. 

You have absolutely no idea. 

Aiah scrunches her face up, playfully, in disgust. "Gross. Why are my friends such drama queens?" She sighs, dramatically, causing Mikha to tip her head back in laughter.

Aiah smiles. Making the girl laugh was one of her most favorite things to do. 

"Hi." Mikha greets softly after a while, tilting her head to the side as she looks at the older girl.

The quietness in her voice made Aiah's heart skip a beat.

"Hey." She greets back with a newfound tenderness. "Have you had lunch yet?"

The younger girl shakes her head in response, easing off Aiah's knapsack out of habit and slings it on her shoulder instead.

"I thought I'd come find you first. I couldn't message you since Sheena has my phone for the day." Mikha explains, scooping Aiah's hand to hold in her own. "And I remembered that you had Professor Alvarez until eleven, so I'm here."

Aiah could only nod in response, not trusting her voice to come out steady because of the pesky butterflies in her stomach.

You'd think that after three years of knowing the girl, she'd get used to a little handholding.

How pathetic.

She stays relatively silent on their way to the field, offering a few words in response here and there as Mikha rants about their latest plate that's already due the week after, and how her new co-worker kept slacking off at work. She listens, intently, all the while their hands swayed back and forth against the wind.

It's times like these that she's reminded of how utterly admiring the younger girl is. Mikha was hardworking. Juggling shifts at the coffee shop on top of what Aiah claims to be one of the most time-consuming and energy-draining programs in the world. Not to mention that she was also very hands-on at taking care of her younger sister. 

And it wasn't like Sheena needed attending to, too, but having grown up with their parents halfway across the globe for most of her life, Mikha made it her duty to make sure that her little sister never felt the absence of a family to come home to like she did. Not while she was around.

So, she makes an effort, cooking Sheena breakfast everyday and driving her to school despite having help around the house. Mikha also made sure to always make time for the younger girl, whether it be helping her with her homework, or just hanging out with her in the living room during their movie nights—which Aiah had participated in on multiple occasions.

She had witnessed firsthand just how much of a hardworking person Mikha Lim was, and it was one of the reasons why she took interest in the girl in the first place. She put in the extra effort even though she didn't have to. She just wanted to.

And Aiah was already a er for pretty girls, in general, but the fact that Mikha was warm like the summer and steady like the wind, made her drawn to the girl like a moth to a flame.

 

--

 

"So did you really get yourself a girlfriend?" Mikha asks, lowering her head comfortably on the older girl's lap.

The two had just finished eating lunch with their friends and were now situated under a tree at the campus courtyard, ready for Mikha's afternoon nap.

Aiah chuckles at the sudden question, eyes still trained on the book she had in her hand. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well, of course I would," Mikha starts, shifting her head slightly to the side. "After that incident with your ex the last time, I think I need to know who I should look out for." She giggles, picking out the loose threads on the older girl's blouse.

Aiah groans, memories of her ex-girlfriend chasing down a terrified Mikha across the field still fresh in her mind. "Oh god, don't remind me. That girl was a nightmare."

It happened in Aiah's junior year. She had broken up with her then girlfriend of three months because the girl was insanely jealous, particularly of her friendship with Mikha. 

She was a decent girlfriend for the most part, but when it came to the point where she asked—no, demanded Aiah to stay away from the younger girl, well, we already know what happened next.

Naturally, Aiah broke it off after countless arguments that kept draining her energy. She did it over the phone, in the middle of the night. Aiah wasn't that serious with her anyway.

The girl took the break up pretty well, much to Aiah's surprise. She half-expected the girl to put up a fight, at least, but she didn't.

Aiah was very pleased with herself that they could end things like adults, even pitching the idea of remaining friends, to which the girl agreed on.

All was well. 

That is until the next morning when Maloi came running to her in the halls, telling her that her psycho of a girlfriend was looking for Mikha all over the campus, a basket of god knows what in her hand.

Aiah had never ran so fast in her life.

 

A laugh escapes Mikha's lips. "Did you know that she threw actual eggs at me? Eggs! You date the craziest girls, I swear." She comments, shaking her head in amusement at the med student who had her face buried in her hands.

It was Aiah's turn to laugh. She remembered the egg thing very well, having spent her whole free period apologizing and picking egg shells from the younger girl's hair.

"I'm not even gonna deny that last part." She replies as she lifts her head up, mindlessly combing her fingers through Mikha's tresses. "And to answer your question, no, I didn't get myself a girlfriend. I don't think that I even have the time for those things anymore, to be honest." Aiah shrugs, returning her attention to the worn-out copy of Romeo and Juliet in her hands.

This was true. After crazy egg girl over a year ago, Aiah had steered clear from the dating scene. No more dates, no more flings, no nothing. Her heart just wasn't in it anymore—not like it was entirely there in the first place, but you get the point.

This is by far the longest she's ever gone without a relationship. She never really did get herself to commit to romantic relationships a hundred percent because something was always missing, and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't know what that something was.

"What about you?" Aiah queries, eager to change the subject. "Word around campus is that golden boy has the hots for a certain architecture student who works at the coffee shop." She side-eyes the girl teasingly, tapping a finger under her chin for good measure. "I wonder who that could be?" 

Mikha rolls her eyes at her, plopping an arm across her eyes to shield them from the light. "Don't even remind me. Colet's been hounding me about it since yesterday." 

Aiah chuckles, feeling a little giddy that the younger girl didn't seem the least bit interested at the news. 

But Mikha didn't need to know that, of course. 

"What's wrong with Adie?" Aiah prods. "The guy's a sweetheart."

And it was true, Adie Garcia was a certified all-around good guy. He wasn't like the other popular guys who became abnoxious a-holes after getting a little recognition. He stayed the same—shining, shimmering, and humble as ever. 

That's why when Aiah got word that he was planning to ask Mikha out, she felt a slight pang in her heart. He was definitely the type of guy that Mikha would fall in love with if given the chance. 

"I never said that he wasn't." Mikha retorts with a shrug. "He's just not my type." 

oh? 

 

She takes it back, then. 

"Wow." Aiah starts, wide-eyed as the girl below her tries her hardest to stifle a laugh. "Adie Garcia? The most sought-after guy on campus...and you're telling me that he's not your type?" She dramatically gasps, placing both of her hands on Mikha's cheeks. "Don't tell me that you're finally coming over to the dark side?" 

 

Oh, that's right. 

Has she mentioned that Mikha was straight? 

 

Mikha giggles at her friend's antics. Aiah always did know how to make her laugh. 

"Maybe I am."

"What a scandalous reply."

Mikha hits her on the stomach, snaking an arm around the older girl's waist as she closes her eyes and snuggles closer. "You're impossible, Maraiah Arceta."

Aiah chuckles, threading her fingers through the younger girl's hair as the latter lets out a yawn.

She smiles. "Go to sleep, loser. I'll wake you up at three."

Mikha just nods, feeling awfully comfortable on the older girl's lap as sleep started to take over her. It calmed her heart knowing that Aiah was always going to be there when she woke up. 

Always.