Chapter One: The One With A Cheating Girlfriend and Childhood Memories

Life didn’t go his way. Anton sighed as he slumped on the bench at the waiting shed. His hiking backpack was finally put to use as he placed all of his belongings in one go. Regrettably, he left his bank card at his old apartment. His stomach growled profusely and the woman next to him looked at him with her judging eyes as she proceeded to scoot a bit farther from him. 

He couldn’t blame her. He probably reeked of sweat and dirt since the last time he showered and Anton wasn’t sure to swallow his pride and beg his former teammates for a place to crash… or just a spare cash for food.

You could say, he’s homeless now. Two weeks after he left the apartment, he blocked all contacts from his friends and girlfriend.

Girlfriend, huh? He smiled grimly, wondering if that’s still a thing. It was supposed to be a surprise. He decided to cancel his trip with Eric to Thailand just so he could spend more time with her instead. 

But then, he caught her sleeping with Victor, the new Running Back in their team. Victor took his position in the football team and his girl. He could probably take his identity if he had to. 

His phone rang and he glanced at the caller. He smiled for the first time in two weeks. He answered and he couldn’t stop himself from grinning. “Eric!” That startled the nearby passersby as the woman next to him finally stood up and scurried away from him. But he didn’t care. He was so happy to hear Eric’s voice. 

“Geez, do you have to be so loud? My roommate almost had a heart attack!” He heard Eric mutter in another language as he said that. 

Oh right, Eric is in Thailand. He’s rooming with another person (probably a local from Thailand) instead of him. 

“Well, you called so I’ve never felt happier,” Anton grinned. Eric is one of his childhood friends. In fact, he’s the only friend whom he’s completely opposite to: Eric was more of an introvert and enjoys programming, Anton on the other hand didn’t understand the concept of it yet he didn’t mind about Eric’s enthusiasm towards his work. Nevertheless, despite their clashing personalities, Eric is the man he could always confide in for anything if he allowed him to.

“Sounds like you’re in some sort of shit,” he heard Eric sighed. “Melissa called me to check on you.”

“She did, huh?” Anton frowned. Funny that she even cared.

“Well, you know that we don’t get along and she called me about you and that’s saying something.”

“I just left the house. You can say we broke up for good.”

There was a pause before he asked, “For real?”

“Remember Victor?” He didn’t wait for Eric to reply before he continued, “He was that nice newbie who replaced me as the team’s runningback. Well, I saw him with Melissa right after I cancelled out on you. My mind became numb and well...God, Eric. I wished I’d gone with you then!”

 He remembered clearly how one day he went to their apartment as a surprise and only to find Melissa and Victor naked in the kitchen counter. He didn’t say a word as he ignored Melissa’s pleas while his hands were busy packing up his things. He couldn’t remember what she was saying then. He just didn’t want to snap at and face the reality that they weren’t together anymore.

“And what? Dating a two-timer as if nothing happened? Anton, you were about to propose to her on her birthday.” 

“Yeah, thank God I didn’t buy that fancy ring yet, huh?” He smiled, wryly. 

No response on the other line. 

“Eric?”

“Where are you staying at the moment?”

“Well, the thing is…I lost my job the very next day after leaving the apartment. I knew that the agency won’t last long but talk about timing, huh?” He gave an awkward laugh. “I was hoping to stay at your place while finding a job, if you don’t mind.”

“As much as I am willing to give you a place to stay, I'm afraid it’s impossible,” he sighed. “I haven’t told you yet, but the landlord called a week before my departure that the building will be demolished. All of my stuff is in the storage now.”

“Oh.” What a bummer. He didn’t know what to say after that.

“Can’t you go back to your folks? At least wait until I’m back?”

“I can’t, Eric. I’m too ashamed to face my ma and pa.” Besides, his parents are too busy taking care of his five other siblings. He couldn’t dare tell them that he lost his scholarship after a small accident and started working as a real estate agent right after. “It’s the last thing I do if worse comes to worst.”

“Well, knowing you, you’ll never go back if only there’s another friend of ours in—,” he paused for a while, like an idea came to a realization.

“Eric?”

“Is it possible? Maybe it’s for the best,” he muttered. Anton could hear the tapping sounds. Most likely he’s searching on his laptop.

“Uh...yeah?”

 “Ah, found it. There’s a way for you to solve this. I just sent you the location. I believe it’s not that far from the university.”

“Uhm, you lost me there, man.” What was Eric trying to do? There was a beep and he looked at his phone to see a GPS location. He clicked on it to see a jewelry store he had never seen before. “Maiden’s Rose Jewelry?”

“I went there to buy a ring for my grandma and guess what? I saw Fin there.”

“F-Fin?” Fin, that Fin? Fin whom he made a promise to go pro in the NFL. Fin who is in every shape and form better than him in football and  Fin whom he lost contact with for years. That Fin...

He’s back.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I thought it didn’t matter to you anymore, that’s why I didn’t bring it up.” 

“No! It still matters to me! I, I have to go, Eric. I need to see Fin! Thanks!”

“W-wait, Anton! Fin is—!”

He hung up the phone as he grabbed his only bag before heading to where the location is at. He could apologize to Eric later. 

He could feel his stomach churning loudly again and his body numbed from fatigue. But he didn’t care. 

 His hunger and weariness could wait, after all Fin is back.

--

When he was eight years old, his family moved to the US. His father got accepted as a cherry picker in a nearby farm and his mom —who was pregnant at that time— was studying to be a caregiver. He was often left alone at home and he didn’t know what to do then. School was even more annoying. He barely spoke English back in the Philippines so he had a hard time adjusting. 

So he went to a nearby park just to kill time. He saw kids playing what seemed to be a mini American football game.

That was where he met Fin.

Fin Naese was an amazing kid. Not only was he an overly confident leader, he also ran really fast the moment he caught the ball. 

Eventually, he joined their group and played football, Fin was the one who taught him English and the sport itself. And since then, football has been his pride and joy. 

Everything went well till Fin’s family had to move to Canada. They promised to keep in touch and for the first few months, they exchanged letters. 

However, a year after they became middle school students, Fin stopped replying to his messages.  

He joined Fin’s favorite university in hopes of meeting him there but to no avail. He asked people around if they knew Fin Naese. Heck, he even asked the school register if his name was registered in the school roster. He finally gave up then.

As Anton turned to the left corner, passing by the university, he couldn’t contain the joy in his heart to see the person whom he considered his brother. Whatever the reason for his disappearance all these years wouldn’t matter, he just wanted to have a chat like the old times.

Finally, he reached the jewelry shop. The shop was just at the right corner of the shopping district. It seemed fairly new as the shop’s name Maiden’s Rose Jewelries were embroidered  with fresh golden paint.

The storefront had many jewelry of different kinds displayed with pictures of cherry blossoms. It seemed kind of out of place since it was already autumn now. But the designs are definitely a mixture of elegance and chic. 

Honestly, it felt a bit feminine for his taste and if his memory served him right, Fin often showed complete disgust in the presence of feminine things. Maybe he started working here part-time? 

He opened the front door as the bells jingled as he entered  inside. There weren't any people around and the store was definitely smaller than it looked. A girl—probably the store assistant—turned and greeted him with a vibrant smile, “Welcome, sir. How can I help you?”

“I..err.. I’m looking for Fin. Fin Naese?” 

“Do you need something from the manager?”

 Manager? Fin is a manager of a jewelry store? He blinked and unconsciously nodded as the woman, Blaire (he caught her name tag while he was in daze) passed by him and headed to the employee’s room. 

This must be a mistake, right? Why is he a manager in a jewelry store and not participating in the football tryouts? Why hasn’t he answered any of his letters and best of all, why didn’t he tell him he already moved back here.

“Sir?” He flinched, his trail of thoughts stopped as the voice behind him caught his attention. It sounded so cool and soothing just like he always thought of Fin.

“Fin?!” As he turned around to face his long-lost brother, he couldn’t help but embrace Fin for the first time. “Damn it, dude, I’ve missed you!”He couldn’t stay mad at all. He idolized Fin a lot and all of his worries disappeared just to see him again. 

Soon after, reality hit him when his skin touched Fin’s. As Anton’s thoughts slowly processed that for a guy, Fin was too slender. He didn’t seem tall enough to reach his head and strangely enough, he felt something soft on his chest.

He quickly pulled away from the person as his jaw slightly dropped of surprise. As he looked closely at the other whose eyes with striking dark brown eyes which were widened from (perhaps) the utter shock of his actions. Long jet-black hair that reached to the shoulders, pale skin and what struck him the most were the silver stud earrings all over the corner of the left ear.

This face has a strong resemblance to Fin when he was younger—

—yet, before him was a female version of his childhood friend.

“Y-You’re Fin Naese, right?”

“Yeah, why the fuck did you do that for?” She growled. She pushed his hands away from his shoulder, which he didn’t realize he didn’t let her go while she scruffled her own hair. Her eyes suddenly lit up as if a thought dawdled in her mind, she sighed as she said, “Don’t tell me…Antonio Emma?”

“Y-you’re the Fin Naese that I know, right?” He looked at her face, bewilderment was visibly shown on his face. 

“Yeah, the one and only,” she rolled her eyes as she said that. “Why the hell are you surprised?”

“Y-You’re a girl!”

“Of course I’m a girl! We grew up together and you didn’t—” she paused as a sudden realization hit her. “Wait, all this time, you thought I was... I was a boy?!” She glared at him as she clenched her fists. 

Behind the scene, the assistant who witnessed everything tried her best to hold her laughter. It seemed that for her, the scene itself was entertaining for her, Fin could only glare at her. 

“N-no, t-that can’t be…” His voice trailed off, looking at his own feet. “Fin is a guy. He’s the manliest kid I looked up to. There’s no doubt that he’s a guy!”

However, the way she talked, despite being less deeper than a man’s voice, her mannerisms like the habit of sighing and ruffling her thick dark hair, all resembled so much of the Fin he knew. 

And shock definitely made him pale, as his vision turned dark.

“Oi, Emma!”

A loud thud echoed in his ears and he felt his head aching upon impact. Fin’s voice became distant as his mind slowly lost consciousness. 

Well, he overestimated himself. He hasn't eaten and slept for days, after all.