C6 - House & Lot.

"Ethan, I swear. Allison won't like this," Zion said, trying to stop him from following Ally.

"She will not find out," Ethan said as he parked the luxury car and took off his seatbelt.

It was almost midnight. Ally had come from a fast food place, and they had been following her for a while. She got on a jeepney, and Ethan felt a bit relieved seeing there were still plenty of commuters at that time of night.

But he started to panic when she got off in a squatter's area.

"Bro, we might end up getting into trouble here," Leio said, eyeing a group of men drinking and smoking at the entrance of a narrow alley.

"Are you scared? Just stay here and return your black belt in karate," Ethan teased.

His friends just shook their heads. He couldn't blame them. Even he was nervous. He had never been to a place like this in his life.

But he was more worried about Ally. She was a girl, a very beautiful one. She could easily attract trouble. Did she know anything about self-defense? Unlikely. His desire to protect her intensified.

"Ethan," Zion called out before he could step out of the car.

"What?" he asked impatiently. If he didn't hurry, Ally would be out of sight.

"I'm coming with you," Zion said.

"What?!" Leio exclaimed. "Have you lost your mind too?" He rubbed his hand over his face before reluctantly agreeing. "Alright, count me in."

"Guess you lost yours as well," Zion grinned, and Leio just rolled his eyes before getting out of the car first.

"That's great. Let's go," Ethan smiled.

"Hey, I'm only coming along to be your bodyguard," Leio said.

Ethan and Zion both rolled their eyes.

Of course, Leio wasn't the only one who knew self-defense. Ethan and Zion had been learning mixed martial arts since they were kids. They also knew how to handle firearms.

Given their social status, they were taught to defend themselves as a substitute for having bodyguards. So, they learned self-defense wholeheartedly. Who would want a bodyguard following them around all the time? Worse, someone reporting all their activities to their parents.

Ally passed by the group of men drinking without any trouble. For a while, Ethan held his breath when they offered her a drink. Ally politely declined and waved at them before finally passing by.

"Ally seems safe," Zion said.

"We don't know where her house is. It might still be far," Ethan recalled how Ally had refused his offer to take her home. Now he knew why she didn't let him insist.

For someone studying in an elite school, a squatter's area would be the last place you'd consider a student living in. She must be really intelligent and hardworking to have gotten a full scholarship.

"Kids, what are you up to?" Ethan was snapped out of his thoughts when the men drinking greeted them as they passed by.

"Just passing through, boss," Zion replied. Well, expect the low-tempered friend to fix situations like this.

"You're not from around here," said a shirtless man who was clearly drunk.

"We're visiting a friend."

Ethan turned away. Zion and Leio would take care of the drunken men. He heard Leio call his name, and when he looked back, Zion was pulling some bills out of his wallet. The two then followed him.

"Just put it on the tab," Ethan said to Zion when they caught up with him.

Zion just patted him on the shoulder in response.

They followed Ally at a reasonable distance. When she turned a corner, they hurried, fearing they might lose sight of her.

True enough, when Ally turned right, they lost sight of her. They were about to give up and started blaming each other when they heard a door unlock a short distance away. Ally had entered a two-door gated apartment.

"There she is," Zion whispered, pointing at Allison, who was still oblivious to their presence.

Ethan's heart sank when he saw where Allison lived. Their helpers' quarters were much better than this.

The gate was rusty, without paint, and seemed useless. The unit was dark and unpainted, with visible damage.

"My, my," Leio shook his head. "This is not a safe place to live."

"I agree," Zion added.

Ethan was speechless. There was an urge inside him to take Allison away from that place.

"Do they even have electricity? I didn't see any lights turned on," Leio remarked.

"Ethan—" Zion started.

Ethan took a deep breath. No, he’d find a way to get Allison out of that place.

"Leio, your family is in real estate development, right?"

"Yeah?" Leio raised an eyebrow at his friend's question.

"I'm buying a house for Ally."

"What?!" Leio exclaimed. Zion, on the other hand, just smiled knowingly.

"Looks like it's the first time your Ethan will sit at the back," Kattie whispered to her.

Since she and Ethan met, he was always early to class. They always sat together because even if he was early, he would wait for her. If she was earlier, he would bribe whoever sat beside her, or if it was a girl, he'd just charm them.

It was hard not to like Ethan. The more she got to know him, the more she realized what a good person he was. His reputation as a man-whore didn’t define him. In fact, he had slowed down on his womanizing. More than a few people blamed her for why Ethan was no longer available.

The whole school thought they were a couple.

But no, Ethan wasn’t courting her.

"Do you think he'll even come to class?" Kattie asked again.

"Probably not. Leio and Zion aren't here either," Michael chimed in.

"Maybe they got lazy or were busy with something last night," Ally replied. She felt a pang of hurt at her own words. Was Ethan really busy with something last night? She secretly hoped it wasn't with another girl.

Allison admitted to herself that she was in love with Ethan. But she couldn’t help guarding her heart because if Ethan wasn’t interested in her, it would be a big problem.

"Maybe," Kattie dismissed.

The subject ended without the three of them showing up.

Ethan didn’t show up all day. She saw Zion in the afternoon, but she didn't get to talk to him because he seemed to be in a hurry. She couldn’t help but worry. Was Ethan okay?

She was staring blankly at her phone while on the jeepney on her way to the fast food restaurant. Ethan wasn't calling or messaging her. He used to be so persistent.

Should I text you or not? Would I be too assuming if I asked where you were?

In the end, she decided not to.

"Ally, you're here already. Perfect timing," their manager, Ms. Pam, said. "Fill this out. It's for the management's raffle," she handed her a form.

"Ms. Pam, you know I'm not lucky with these things," she said, remembering how she had hoped to win a brand-new laptop at their Christmas party last year. Instead, she ended up with a coffee mug.

"Don't be so negative. It's for a house and lot," Ms. Pam said excitedly. "And two winners will be chosen. One of the houses is even fully furnished. Who knows, maybe this time you'll get lucky."

"House and Lot?" she repeated.

"Yes, dear. So go on, fill it out," Ms. Pam looked at her watch. "You have ten minutes," she added before leaving her.

Ally suddenly felt excited. She had long dreamed of buying a house and lot. Something decent. A place where her mother and sibling wouldn't struggle. But she accepted that it was just a dream for now. One day, she would make that dream a reality.

In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to dream of winning the house and lot. Maybe this time, she'd get lucky.

She kissed the paper several times before tearing off the stub.

"Ms. Pam! Here it is!"

She was in high spirits for the rest of her shift.

She was waiting for a jeepney home when a handsome black Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of her. When the equally handsome driver got out, Ally felt her heart stop beating.

"Ethan," she said his name, her voice almost just above a whisper.

"Hi, Ally!" he smiled, and she felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

"Hey!" she said when she recovered. "What are you doing here?" She tried to hide the excitement in her voice.

If she had been sleepy earlier, now she felt like she had drunk a whole drum of coffee.

"I'm picking you up," he opened the passenger seat for her.

"W-wait, why are you picking me up? It's so late. Why are you out?"

"Nothing. I just didn't see you all day," he gently pushed her into the car, leaving her with no choice.

"Ethan, you don't have to pick me up," she said when he was already seated in the driver's seat. "I'll drive you home, Ally."

"W-what?" she suddenly panicked.

"I'll drive you home," he repeated. Slightly smiling, he moved closer to fasten her seatbelt. She couldn't move right away. Ethan smelled so good. "There."

"Y-you really don't have to," she was about to get out, but he sped off. "Seriously, Ethan! Let me out."

"Ally, all you have to do is relax and tell me where I should drop you off."

She couldn't help but panic. She couldn't let Ethan take her home. It wasn't that she wanted to hide where she lived. She wasn't ashamed of it.

She just didn't want him to know. She knew Ethan well enough. He would insist on helping her because he would feel sorry for her. She already had enough of his pity.

Allison decided to give him a fake address.

Ethan couldn't believe that Ally had given him a fake address. Instead of taking him to her real home, she directed him somewhere else, even farther away.

He regretted picking her up. Now he had no choice but to carefully follow her as she took another jeepney home to her actual address.

Luckily, traffic was light, and she still got home before midnight.

He couldn't attend class because he and Leio had been busy arranging the purchase of two houses in a regular subdivision. The kind that would be believable as raffle prizes, but still well-made and, most importantly, secure.

He spent the rest of last night thinking about how to give the house to Ally without her knowing it was from him. He knew her well enough by now—she would refuse it, or worse, try to repay him.

He remembered how she had tried to repay him for helping her get new glasses. She said she didn't have much to offer, so she baked him cookies, which she claimed she made at Kattie's house.

The memory brought a smile to his face. He hadn't eaten the cookies. Not because he wanted to preserve them, but because they weren't really edible. His smile turned into a chuckle. Of course, he hadn't told Ally that, but he did preserve the cookies. He appreciated the gesture. In fact, he was touched by it.

Ethan figured the best way to give the house to Ally was to disguise it as a raffle. And two prizes, so it wouldn't be obvious that it was intended for her. He hired someone to talk to the management of Ally's workplace to arrange the fake raffle.

Of course, they didn't just agree to it right away. He had to pay them.

In the end, Ethan decided it was worth it if it meant he could have peace of mind knowing that Allison had a safe place to live.