Chapter Text
The minute she stepped out of the cab with her worn-out duffel bag slung over her shoulder, Jhoanna felt the familiar weight of nerves settling into her chest. New school, new start. Again. The university dorm building in front of her looked quiet, almost too quiet for what was supposed to be the beginning of a new semester. Her phone buzzed in her hand.
SHEENA:
Nasa baba ka na? Labas na kami ni Gwen. Wait lang.
She replied with a thumbs-up emoji, then sighed and adjusted the strap of her bag.
Transferring schools in the middle of the year wasn’t part of her plan. But the scholarship offer was too good to pass up, and honestly, she needed the distance—needed something new. Something to move forward from… everything.
Jho’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
“Uy, ate Jho!” Sheena waved from the dorm entrance, her girlfriend Gwen trailing behind with a tote bag of snacks. “Ang bilis mo ha.”
“Syempre. Traffic was surprisingly light,” Jho said, forcing a small smile as she hugged her cousin. “Thanks again for helping me with this, ha.”
“Of course! Buti nalang may bakanteng bed ‘yung dorm ng friend ni Gwen. Saktong tipid pareho,” Sheena grinned, then nudged Gwen. “Si Col kasi—super kuripot minsan ‘yan kahit loaded. Ayaw umasa sa parents niya.”
Gwen laughed. “Grabe ka, ‘kuripot’ agad?”
“Eh totoo naman,” Sheena said, smirking. “Pero mabait ‘yun. Chill lang. You’ll be fine.”
Col.
Jho stiffened for half a second. She wasn’t sure why the name made her stomach twist. Probably just nerves.
“Wait. What’s her full name nga?” she asked casually, trying not to sound weird.
“Nicolette or Colet,” Sheena said with a shrug, already pulling her toward the entrance. “Basta ang tawag namin ‘Ate Col.’ You’ll meet her in a bit. Nasa taas na ‘yun.”
Colet.
Her grip on her bag tightened, heart suddenly racing.
No. It couldn’t be.
No way it’s that Colet.
There had to be tons of girls named Colet in the world. Right?
Right?
They climbed up to the second floor, Sheena chatting the whole way about dorm rules, Gwen throwing in snarky comments every now and then. But Jho barely heard any of it. Her head was buzzing.
What if it’s her?
What if after all these years, all the silence, all the shit left unsaid… she’s about to live under the same roof as that girl?
“Here!” Sheena announced, stopping in front of a pale blue door. “Room 204.”
Gwen knocked once, then turned the knob. “Ate Colet, roommate mo dumating na!”
Jho held her breath.
The door creaked open. And there she was.
Colet.
Same sharp eyes. Same unreadable expression.
A little older now. A little colder.
The air between them instantly shifted—tense, heavy, loaded.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then, in the most neutral voice she could manage, Colet asked,
“…Jhoanna?”
Jho’s throat went dry. “Hey.”
Colet’s brows drew together, barely masking the flicker of disbelief that passed through her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice calm—too calm.
Jhoanna forced a breath, clutching the strap of her bag like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. “I—uh, transfer student. Scholarship.” She looked away, then back. “Didn’t know it was… you.”
Colet leaned slightly against the doorframe, arms crossing over her chest. Her hair was damp at the ends, fresh from a shower maybe, and her expression was unreadable. “And Sheena didn’t tell you who you’d be rooming with?”
“She just said ‘Ate Col,’” Jho muttered. “Didn’t think…”
“Of all people,” Colet said under her breath, like she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
The silence that followed was awkward, drawn tight like a wire between them.
Sheena, oblivious, peeked her head in with a curious expression. “Magkakilala kayo?”
“Yeah,” Colet muttered, eyes still on Jho.
Gwen frowned slightly, catching the weird energy. “Uhm… okay. Una na muna kami ni Sheena. You two can settle in.”
Sheena gave Jho a quick hug. “Text mo ko if you need anything, ha. See you around, ate Jho!”
The moment the door clicked shut behind them, the room felt smaller. Tighter.
Jho swallowed, suddenly very aware of how loud the rain was outside.
“So…” she started, voice unsure. “You live here alone?”
“Not anymore,” Colet replied flatly, turning back into the room.
The space was neat, minimalist, but lived-in. One side clearly had Colet’s stuff—books stacked neatly, a desk lamp, a potted plant barely clinging to life. The other side was bare. Waiting.
Jho placed her duffel bag down gently on the empty bed.
“I can find another room if this is weird,” she said quickly, not looking at her.
Colet didn’t answer right away. She was at her desk now, back turned, fidgeting with a pen she didn’t really need to pick up.
“Do what you want,” she said quietly. “You always did.”
Jho winced.
There it was.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, exhaling. “Look, I didn’t plan this. I swear.”
“I know you didn’t,” Colet said, voice clipped. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
Jho nodded slowly. “Right.”
They sat in silence again—Jho staring at the floor, Colet pretending to scroll through her tablet.
So much unsaid. So many things that used to sit between them, buried deep and silent. Now clawing their way back up.
Finally, Colet glanced over her shoulder. “Do you still talk to them?”
Jho looked up. “To who?”
“The people you disappeared on.”
Jhoanna flinched like it physically hurt.
“I didn’t disappear,” she said quietly. “I just… couldn’t stay.”
Colet’s eyes met hers, dark and tired. “Right.”
She turned back around, and Jhoanna was left sitting there with the weight of everything she left behind—and everything she just walked back into.
________________________________________
Colet quickly entered into her room.
Her hands were cold.
Dahan-dahan siyang huminga, pinilit maging steady, pero ang bilis ng tibok ng dibdib niya.
What the hell was she doing here?
Colet leaned her back against the door, pressing her palms against her thighs to ground herself. Her room wasn’t big — typical dorm setup — but right now it felt even smaller. Parang kulang ang hangin.
Jhoanna.
After all this time.
After that .
She walked over to her bed and sat down, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. Sheena’s voice echoed faintly from the hallway — nagkukulitan pa with Gwen — but Colet could barely hear them over her own thoughts.
She wasn’t ready for this.
She didn’t even know what this was.
Wala namang nangyari noon, technically.
Wala namang label, wala namang malinaw na usapan. Pero bakit ganito?
Bakit ang bigat?
Flashback
Laughter, soft and low, in the back of an empty gym. Dim lights. Jhoanna leaning too close habang inaayos ang bandaid sa daliri niya.
“Ang clumsy mo talaga,” Jhoanna had said, smiling. “Puro sugat ’to, o.”
“Arte mo,” Colet had muttered, but she didn’t pull away.
She should’ve pulled away.
And she should’ve known better when Jhoanna smiled like that. Like she meant it. Like she meant her.
Back to present.
Colet blinked hard and stood up.
No. Nope. She wasn’t going there.
It’s been years. She’s moved on. She’s supposed to be over it.
Naghanap lang siya ng roommate para makatipid dahil ayaw niya umasa sa pera ng parents niya. Not… this.
She opened her closet, pretending to fix something that didn’t need fixing, just to do something with her hands.
Screw it. She can handle this.
She always has.
Pagpasok ni Jho sa kwarto niya mamaya, she’ll just act normal. Chill. Deadma. Kaya niya ‘to.
Besides, kung kaya ni Jhoanna na mag-walk out dati na parang wala lang, dapat kaya rin niya magpaka-wall ngayon.