Cie's POV
"WELCOME TO CEBU HORIZON UNIVERSITY—where futures begin." The announcement echoed throughout the university, accompanied by lively background music. "Here at Cebu Horizon University, education goes beyond classrooms and textbooks. We believe in shaping minds, building character, and preparing students to face the world with confidence and purpose—"
"Oh, come on! I look absolutely haggard right now," I suddenly heard my friend Ven complain as she checked her reflection in a small mirror. "Worse, I forgot to bring my touch-up kit!" she added, roughly tossing the mirror back into her sling bag. She then fanned her face with both hands as if that would ease the heat. "And do they really expect us to just stand here until the program ends? You've got to be kidding me! My legs are already starting to hurt!"
I rolled my eyes. I was already not in the mood because of what she did earlier, and now she's adding more with her nonstop complaints. Complaint here, complaint there—nothing but complaints! "College really is hell!" she added dramatically.
Today is the first day of classes, and we agreed yesterday to arrive early since there would definitely be a lot of students gathering inside and outside the gate. On top of that, there was a flag ceremony at 7:30 and a welcome program at 8:00.
But because she took so long, we missed the flag ceremony.
We only arrived when students were already heading toward the gym, so we hurried and followed them. Apparently, the welcome program for all freshmen would be held there.
The gym was just a simple covered court with a stage, but since there was an event, white monoblock chairs were arranged neatly, along with balloons, tarpaulins, and other decorations on the stage.
And since we arrived late and ran out of seats, we ended up squeezing ourselves at the side, standing among the rows of chairs.
"Can you just be quiet?" I cut in, my tone serious as I kept scrolling on my phone without even looking at her. "It's not the heat's fault you forgot your things." That made her turn to me. Looks like I hit a nerve. But I don't care. "Why don't you just sit on the floor so your legs won't hurt? Stop complaining—you're starting to get annoying."
I saw from the corner of my eye how she crossed her arms. "Ha! And who exactly is 'annoyed'? You? Do you want to fight? Huh, Cie?" she challenged sassily. I slipped my phone into my pocket and turned to her, making sure my expression stayed blank. "How could I not forget my things when someone kept rushing me with all those calls?" she shot back, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course I kept calling—you said we'd come early," I replied, raising my eyebrow too. "You're just too slow—slower than a turtle."
"Well, it is hot. Maybe you just don't feel it because you're numb," she added, clearly ignoring my point. Typical—when she's losing, she changes the topic. "It's already hot, Cie. Don't make my head heat up too—OW!" If her head was about to heat up, mine already did. I couldn't stop myself—I grabbed her hair. She's too loud. She never learns to stay quiet. "Ow, Cie! My hair—I spent so long ironing that earlier!" she cried, trying to pry my hand off. "Cie, please, I'm sorry. Jesy, help…"
"Cie…" Jesy—my other friend—finally spoke. Unlike Ven, who's loud and always complaining, Jesy is introverted and quiet. As for me, I'm somewhere in between. An ambivert, or whatever you call it.
I just shrugged and let go of Ven's hair before anyone saw and thought I was bullying her.
She fixed her hair with teary eyes, shot me a glare, then dramatically moved to the other side of Jesy. Earlier, she was between us—now Jesy was the one stuck in the middle.
I just shook my head and sighed.
I scanned the gym, filled with noise—loud music, students talking, laughing.
Adding to it were complaints about the heat. The sun was already high, and with everyone packed together, it really was hot. And just to be clear, I'm not numb like Ven said—I feel the heat too. I just don't complain about it.
I turned my attention to the stage. Most of the teachers and staff were there, preparing for the program, while others wandered around doing who-knows-what. They were easy to distinguish from students because of their uniforms and slightly larger IDs.
We freshmen didn't have uniforms yet, so we were just wearing white T-shirts, any colored pants, and closed shoes. Our uniforms would arrive around Thursday or Friday, so I guess we could wear them next week.
I checked my watch and sighed loudly upon seeing that it was already past the scheduled time, yet there were still no signs of the program starting.
"Cie?" Jesy looked at me, probably because of my sigh.
I shook my head, then caught sight of Ven still turned away from us, sulking.
I ignored her and pulled out my phone.
To: Seb
It's still early, but I'm already so tired of this day. I'll tell you the details later.
I pressed send and typed another message.
Anyway, you? How's your day going so far? Update me.
"Let's just stay here, bro. We can see the stage clearly from here."
I had just put my phone away when I heard a guy's voice behind us. They must have just arrived and chose to stand nearby.
I wouldn't have paid attention—if not for what he said next.
"Bro, look—it's Cie."
My ears immediately perked up.
"Where?" another guy asked, his voice calmer, deeper.
"Right there in front of us—that's Cierra!"
My brows furrowed. Not just my nickname—but my actual name.
"You sure? Doesn't look like it."
"You never believe me, do you?" the first guy said, slightly annoyed. "That's Cie, ZANE. Fine, I'll call her—"
He didn't even get the chance.
I turned around faster than lightning.
I froze. My mouth slightly parted. My heart started pounding.
Because a pair of familiar eyes were staring right back at me.
His gaze was hypnotizing—I couldn't look away even if I wanted to.
It felt like we were transported somewhere else…
A place where only the two of us existed.
No students. No chairs. No decorations. No noise.
Just me… and him.
That's the effect he has on me.
—I WAS SO THANKFUL when suddenly, a random student walked between us, breaking the moment like a slow-motion scene. It snapped me back to reality.
I quickly looked away from his hypnotizing eyes.
But in doing so, my gaze landed on someone standing right beside me—
D-Dustin?!
I blinked repeatedly as he waved his hand in front of my face.
"Cie-cie, how are you?" he greeted with a smile before pulling me into a hug. I was too shocked to react. "You've been gone for so long."
Wait—what?!
Before I could process anything, he let go. I gave him an awkward smile.
"I-I'm fine…"
Why is he acting like this? He wasn't like this before… or maybe I just forgot?
"What course did you take, Cie?" he asked. "Education? CEAS?"
"Ah, no. BIT-Computer. COT," I replied shortly, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Our university has four departments: CEAS, COE, CME, and COT—which is where I belong.
"Ohh," he nodded, then turned to the guy behind him. "See? I told you it's Cie."
I had no choice but to slowly turn around…
And there he was.
The man behind every poem I've ever written.
The one who has occupied my heart and mind for the past few years.
Zane Cassian Guevarra.
Not just dazzling—but breathtaking.
Wearing a plain white shirt, black pants, white branded shoes, and an expensive watch—he looked effortlessly expensive and commanding.
Everything about him… perfect.
His thick black hair, sharp brows, long lashes, expressive eyes, defined nose, tempting lips, jawline, and Adam's apple—
All of it was dangerously captivating.
I stopped breathing when he started walking toward me.
He stopped just a few steps away.
My gaze drifted to his neck, watching his Adam's apple move as he swallowed.
He cleared his throat.
"Cie?" he said, as if confirming it was really me. I lifted my gaze to meet his again. "Hi."
"Mic check, mic check. One, two, testing, one, two." The sound echoed from the large speaker on the stage.
I snapped back to my senses, stopping myself in embarrassment. For the second time, I had been hypnotized again by his gaze.
Damn those hypnotizing eyes!
Just when you really don't want to embarrass yourself, that's exactly when things go wrong and you end up even more embarrassed!
I saw his attention shift from me to somewhere behind me—the stage. I hesitated whether to turn around or not, but in the end, I decided to look back and turn away from him.
Either way, it was too late. I had already embarrassed myself. Twice.
On the stage, I saw a girl and a guy—probably third-year students—both holding microphones. They were likely the emcees for the welcome program.
I glanced at Dustin, who gave me a sweet smile, and I simply smiled back at him.
After a while, I felt Zane's presence beside me on my right, and his scent filled my nose. I closed my eyes for a moment, overwhelmed by how good he smelled.
With that kind of scent, you could already imagine how handsome the owner must be—which, honestly, was true. No need to imagine.
I opened my eyes and turned to him. As soon as I did, I automatically smiled when I saw that he was already looking at me. He studied my face for a few seconds before smiling back and shifting his gaze to the stage.
I took a moment to admire his handsome side profile before also turning my attention to the stage.
I straightened my posture, unable to wipe the smile off my lips.
"Good day, students!" said the female emcee, as the students cheered loudly. "Today marks the beginning of your journey as Cebu Horizon University students."
"And to officially welcome you all, the school has prepared a special surprise just for you!" added the male emcee.
The program began, with Zane and Dustin standing on either side of me. I could feel both of them—so handsome that girls kept glancing at them. They must be used to it, since they didn't seem bothered at all by the attention. Of course—they're that good-looking.
"And just like that, we have come to the end of our first-day program here at Cebu Horizon University! Thank you, everyone, and enjoy the rest of your day!" the two emcees said in unison, and the students immediately started leaving the gym.
"We've been standing for over two hours. Didn't your legs get tired, Cie-cie?" Dustin asked as we walked out.
More than tired!"Not really, I'm fine."
He nodded. "Well, you're not like others who are fussy and always complaining." That made me a bit proud.
By the time we got out of the gym, he kept chatting about random things while I just listened and smiled at him.
Zane, on the other hand, stayed quiet, just listening and smiling whenever our eyes met. Dustin was between us, so it was inevitable that my gaze would land on Zane whenever I turned toward Dustin.
—I'M DOOMED!!! Suddenly, I remembered something.
I stopped walking, and Dustin and Zane did the same. "Umm… I actually have somewhere I need to go. You guys can go ahead."
"Huh? Where? We'll go with you," Dustin insisted, saying they didn't have anything to do anyway and could walk around a bit. But I made an excuse, saying I just needed to see my older brother for a moment. "Alright, we'll just see you around campus, Cie-cie," he said, giving me a fist bump. "Next time, let us walk you, okay? Let's chat more."
"Hmm." I nodded and smiled in agreement. Then I slowly turned to Zane. "I guess… see you around?" I said with a smile, trying to hide my nervousness.
"Yeah," he smiled back at me. "…see you when I see you, Cie."
Cie. The way he said my name echoed in my ears. He had never called me by my nickname before—he always called me Cierra.
I watched them walk away, and once they were far enough, I finally turned around. Jesy and Ven immediately came into view—Ven with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed.
I raised both hands in the air like a criminal caught in the act, pairing it with an embarrassed smile.
"So that's how it is? You talk to some handsome guys, and suddenly you forget about us," Ven started lecturing me. "And here you are telling me not to revolve my world around men, no matter how handsome they are. What now? Huh?" I wanted to protest, but I didn't even know what to say. I was caught off guard and dumbfounded. It was true—I had completely forgotten about them.
"C-come on, guys. That's different." I lowered my hands and walked closer to them, putting an arm around each of them as we started walking.
"Excuses, excuses, excuses." I shot her a glare.