Chapter 16

PAT‘s POV:

The semester was finally ending.

Or at least, Kat’s was.

Mine wasn’t exactly easier.

If anything, training became worse.

Because the tournament was finally here.

The final round.

The competition we had been preparing for months.

The reason Coach had practically turned us into machines.

—

“Again!”

The whistle echoed through the gym.

I wanted to collapse.

Instead, I stood up.

Again.

—

Everything hurt.

My legs.

My shoulders.

My back.

My pride.

But this was it.

The final stage.

The biggest competition Raven had entered this year.

And I wanted to win.

Not for the scholarship.

Not for the recognition.

Not even for myself.

I just wanted all the sacrifices to mean something.

—

That night, after training, I sat alone in my apartment.

My phone in my hand.

A message already typed.

**Pat: Kat, free ka ba sa finals namin?**

I stared at it.

Then smiled.

Because maybe…

Maybe she could come.

It had been months.

Months since I last saw her.

Months of calls.

Months of messages.

Months of missing her.

—

My thumb hovered over the send button.

Then my phone vibrated.

A new story.

Kat.

—

I clicked.

And immediately smiled.

She was with her classmates.

Laughing.

Eating.

Taking pictures.

Celebrating.

—

**SEMESTER PASSED! 🎉**

—

Another story.

More friends.

More pictures.

More laughter.

More freedom.

—

I stared for a moment.

Then locked my phone.

Without sending the message.

—

Because she deserved this.

She deserved to celebrate.

To rest.

To enjoy herself.

She spent months working harder than anyone I knew.

The last thing she needed was another trip.

Another obligation.

Another reason to leave her friends.

—

I deleted the message.

And told myself it was okay.

Because if I really loved someone…

Then sometimes that meant letting them enjoy things without you.

—

The next day, training continued.

And life moved on.

—

What I didn’t know…

Was that someone else had a different idea.

—

“Pat.”

I looked up.

Mat sat beside me.

“What?”

“You know…”

The moment he started like that, I already knew he was about to annoy me.

“What now?”

He grinned.

“Nothing.”

“Mat.”

“What?”

I sighed.

“Just say it.”

—

He laughed.

Then suddenly asked:

“What’s Kat’s Instagram?”

I almost choked on my water.

“What?”

“Instagram.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“No.”

—

Mat stared at me.

Then laughed.

“You’re impossible.”

“Good.”

—

But apparently…

I underestimated him.

—

A few days later, he walked into practice looking suspiciously happy.

Which was already a problem.

—

“What did you do?”

I asked.

He looked offended.

“Why are you assuming I did something?”

“Because you look guilty.”

—

He laughed.

Then shrugged.

“Fine.”

—

My eyes narrowed.

“Mat.”

“What?”

“What did you do?”

—

He smiled.

A dangerous smile.

The kind that always led to problems.

—

“I found her.”

I froze.

“…What?”

“Kat.”

My heartbeat immediately sped up.

“What do you mean?”

He casually opened his phone.

“As it turns out…”

He looked way too proud.

“Your followers aren’t exactly private.”

I stared.

“Matthew Villanueva.”

“What?”

“You did not.”

“I did.”

I wanted to throw something at him.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I know.”

I groaned.

Then he smiled.

—

“I invited her.”

—

Everything stopped.

“…You what?”

“The finals.”

He shrugged.

“Both our games.”

I stared.

“You invited Kat.”

“Yeah.”

“Without asking me.”

“Yeah.”

I wanted to strangle him.

But then he said something that made me pause.

“I thought seeing her might help.”

“What?”

—

He leaned back.

—

“You always play better when she’s around.”

Silence.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

And somehow…

That annoyed me even more.

“Mat.”

“What?”

“You’re an idiot.”

He laughed.

“Maybe.”

Then he casually added:

—

“She said yes, by the way.”

—

And there it was.

The thing that shouldn’t have hurt.

But did.

Because she said yes.

Immediately.

—

To him.

—

Not me.

—

Not because I invited her.

Not because she wanted to see me.

But because Mat asked.

—

A stupid thought.

A childish thought.

—

But once it entered my head…

I couldn’t stop it.

Maybe it was easier for her.

Maybe Mat wasn’t complicated.

Maybe he wasn’t distance.

Maybe he wasn’t years of unsaid feelings.

Maybe he was simple.

And maybe people chose simple.

The thought stayed with me for days.

—

Until game day.

—

The arena was packed.

The noise was overwhelming.

The lights were bright.

Everything felt unreal.

I was stretching near the court when the crowd began entering.

And then…

I saw her.

Kat.

For a second, everything disappeared.

The crowd.

The noise.

The pressure.

Just Kat.

She looked around.

Searching.

Until our eyes met.

And then she smiled.

The same smile.

The same one from years ago.

The same one I missed every single day.

—

My chest tightened.

—

But before I could move…

Before I could even process it…

I saw Mat walk toward her.

—

And Kat smiled again.

—

Something painful twisted inside me.

Because all I could think was:

*Of course she did.*

—

What I didn’t know…

What I couldn’t know…

Was that Kat almost didn’t go to the celebration.

That she left her friends early.

That she cancelled plans.

That she woke up before sunrise.

That she spent hours traveling.

—

Just to watch me play.

—

Not Mat.

—

Me.

—

But sometimes…

The things we fear most…

Become the things we see.

Even when they’re not true.

—

And from where I stood…

Watching them talk from a distance…

I couldn’t see any of that.

I only saw her smiling at him.

And for the first time in a long time…

The game wasn’t the thing I was afraid of losing.