That night, courtyard turned into a makeshift campsite. Mats sprawled across the ground, pillows scattered like casualties, and a single flashlight stood in the center, glowing like a fire. The salty breeze carried the crash of waves—and the restless giggles of six teenagers ready to terrify each other.
"Story time," Niko declared, pointing the flashlight at her face so shadows carved her cheeks. "Tonight, I give you… the Lady of the Shore."
Kaia groaned. "Why is it always a lady? Can't we have, like, the Handsome Ghost of Kahelea?"
"Shh, you'll summon him," Mateo whispered dramatically, making claw hands.
Elio smacked him with a pillow. "Summon him fast. Maybe he can do my hair."
The group cackled, but Niko hushed them with a hiss. Her voice dropped low, eerie. "Fishermen say if you walk alone at night, she comes from the sea. Wet hair clinging to her face. Her dress soaked, dripping. And when she calls your name…"
Suddenly, "Celiiiine…" Mateo whispered right behind her ear.
Celine yelled, actually yelled, scrambling back so fast she toppled into the sand. The group exploded into laughter.
"Her scream was like—" Kai imitated a high-pitched squawk, earning another round of wheezing laughter.
Celine's face burned. "That wasn't—! You—!" She crossed her arms, sulking.
But Solana, stretched out at the edge of the mat, smirked. "Loudest sound she's made since arriving."
"Shut up," Celine muttered, but the warmth in her cheeks had nothing to do with embarrassment anymore.
Niko wasn't done. She held the flashlight under her chin again. "They say she knocks three times on your window if she likes you."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Everyone froze. This time it wasn't Mateo. The courtyard dissolved into chaos. Kaia screamed. Elio nearly fainted. Mateo tripped over a pillow.
It was Tata Berto—standing at the kitchen window with a spoon in hand.
"Who left dirty dishes in the sink?" he boomed. "If you don't wash them, I will haunt you!"
"See?!" Niko crowed. "Even the ghosts are mad about chores!"
When the laughter died down, Niko turned off the flashlight again. Pitch-black silence. "Or maybe… the Lady of the Shore doesn't need to knock. Maybe she's already—"
Something brushed Celine's shoulder. She shrieked again.
Kaia was on the ground, laughing so hard she wheezed. "Your face! Priceless!"
"Not funny," Celine snapped, though the corners of her mouth twitched.
"Oh, it's hilarious," Mateo said between gasps. "She almost ascended."
Elio fanned himself with exaggerated drama. "My poor heart. If I get wrinkles from this, I'll sue."
The chaos eventually melted into stargazing. Everyone sprawled across the mats, still giggling, still throwing in the occasional "what if she's real tho?"
The chaos slowly melted into stargazing. The teens lay sprawled across the mats, still chuckling and trading "what if" theories about ghosts, while the night sky stretched endlessly above them. Celine lay back too, her heart still racing—but lighter somehow, tangled between nerves and laughter.
"See that?" Solana's voice came low and steady beside her. Celine hadn't noticed her shift closer, lying on her side with an arm propped under her head. She pointed up. "That one's Orion. Easy to spot."
Celine followed her hand. "The belt," she murmured.
Solana glanced at her, the faintest smile tugging at her lips. "Not bad, city girl."
Their eyes lingered for a moment too long before Celine looked away, her cheeks warming. Around them, Mateo started snoring theatrically to annoy Elio, and the twins were arguing softly over who spotted a shooting star first.
Celine let herself sink back into the mat, staring at the sky again. For once, the heaviness in her chest didn't feel so sharp. The night wrapped around her like a blanket—messy, loud, imperfect, but full of life.
And when her eyes flicked sideways once more, Solana was still watching the stars, but there was something softer in her expression. Something that made Celine's pulse skip before she quickly looked back up, pretending not to notice.
The laughter hadn't fully died down when Mateo clapped his hands. "Okay, new rule—no one sleeps until we play truth or dare."
"Classic," Elio muttered, already lying flat. "But fine. Only because I'm fabulous under pressure."
The circle formed again, flashlight back in the middle. Kaia rubbed her palms together. "Perfect. First victim—Kai. Truth or dare?"
Kai puffed up. "Dare."
"Climb the coconut tree and yell 'I'm king of Kahelea!'"
Groans circled. "Kaia, that's weak," Mateo said.
"Fine," she amended with a mischievous grin. "But do it in your underwear."
The courtyard erupted. Kai turned beet red. "No way—"
"Rules are rules," Niko sang, and within minutes, Kai was halfway up the tree in his shorts, yelling at the top of his lungs while the others howled.
One dare after another rolled by—Elio forced to sing a love ballad to a flip-flop, Niko eating a chili and regretting it immediately, Mateo doing a cartwheel that ended in disaster. Celine laughed until her sides ached, the kind of laugh she hadn't let herself feel in so long.
Then it was Solana's turn. Niko leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Truth or dare?" Kaia pressed, leaning forward.
"Truth," Solana replied without hesitation.
Kaia smirked. "Okay… if you had to share a secret with just one person here, who would it be?"
A chorus of oooohs burst out around the circle.
Solana's eyes slid to Celine. "Her."
"GO! Whisper it to her!" Kaia squealed, clapping her hands.
The others egged her on, Mateo chanting "Whis-per! Whis-per!" like it was a war cry.
With a small, smug smile, Solana leaned toward Celine. Her breath tickled against her ear as she murmured, "Pretend what I whispered is a secret."
Celine blinked, flustered, but Solana leaned back like she had just delivered a revelation.
"Come on, spill!" Niko demanded.
"What's the point of whispering it to me if I'm just going to spill it?" Celine shot back, folding her arms.
"BECAUSE," Mateo drawled, "that's the point."
All eyes bore into her. Celine's mind blanked. Desperate, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"She… uh… she said she once tripped in front of the barangay hall and cried so hard, the tanods thought it was an emergency."
For a heartbeat, silence. Then chaos.
The teens roared with laughter, Elio literally falling onto the sand, clutching his stomach. Even Solana—calm, unflappable Solana—burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking as she covered her face.
Celine wanted to sink into the earth. But at the same time… the sound of Solana's laughter, free and genuine, sent a strange warmth through her chest.
"Fine," Solana said between laughs, wiping her eyes. "I'll give you that one."
The game rolled on until Kaia pointed suddenly at Celine. "Okay, your turn! Truth or dare?"
Celine stiffened. "Truth," she said quickly.
Kai grinned wickedly. "Who here do you find scary?"
The group howled, leaning closer like vultures waiting for prey.
Celine looked around. Kaia and Kai were mischievous, Mateo was dramatic, Elio intimidating in his own flashy way, Niko sharp-tongued… but her gaze landed on Solana. Not because she was scary—but because of how close she had whispered just minutes ago.
Heat pricked her cheeks. "…Elio," she blurted.
The group erupted again, half in laughter, half in offended gasps.
"EXCUSE ME?!" Elio clutched his chest as though mortally wounded. "Scary? Darling, I am FABULOUS."
"That's exactly what makes it scary," Celine muttered.
More laughter. The spotlight moved on, but Solana caught her eye across the circle, her lips curved into the faintest smirk—as if she knew the real answer.
Moments later, the game rolled on—Kaia dared Mateo to do a crab walk around the house, Niko got caught trying to prank-call the barangay captain—but Celine couldn't shake the lingering echo of her heartbeat.
Later, when the chaos had melted into drowsy stargazing again, she glanced sideways. Solana was stretched out, eyes fixed on the sky, one arm resting casually behind her head.
Celine quickly looked back up at the stars, pretending interest. But she could still feel it—like a thread tugging between them, invisible and undeniable.