synopsis: the summer i turned pretty au sorta
pairings: sophia laforteza x y/n mendoza, sophia laforteza x elliot mendoza (oc)
warnings: mentions of cheating, physical assault.
Mid-July in Manila always felt heavier than other months. The air was thick, sticky, clinging to skin and thoughts alike. Everything smelled like heat, pavement, car exhaust, blooming sampaguita wilting under the sun.
Y/N walked a step behind Elliot along the busy stretch of Escolta, jaw tight, hands shoved into their pockets like they were trying to physically hold themselves together.
They hadn’t wanted to come.
Their dad’s voice still rang in their ears from that morning, sharp, disappointed, loud in that way only fathers who believed emotions were weaknesses could be.
You embarrassed the family. You make everything worse. You will fix it.
Fix it. As if heartbreak were something you could sweep up like broken glass.
Now they were here, trailing behind Elliot like a ghost invited to their own funeral.
Elliot walked ahead, sunglasses perched lazily on his nose, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips as he stepped into a flower shop. The bell above the door chimed too cheerfully.
The shop was cool and smelled overwhelmingly sweet, roses, lilies, peonies arranged in neat buckets. Purple blooms were everywhere Elliot looked.
“Do you have these in bulk?” Elliot asked the florist, holding up a bouquet of deep violet hydrangeas.
Purple. Always purple lately.
They watched him pick out arrangement after arrangement, pointing at darker shades, richer tones, the kind of colors Sophia had never once chosen when they were younger. Not when they’d braided crowns for each other in backyards. Not when they’d decorated cupcakes and notebooks and everything in sight.
Y/N finally spoke, voice low but edged, “Her favourite colour is pink.”
Elliot paused for just a moment, then slowly rolled his eyes without even looking at them. “I think I know my fiancée.”
The word felt like a slap.
Y/N swallowed, shrugging with a hollow laugh that held no humor. “Your wedding.”
Elliot’s lips twitched upward like he’d won something. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Every flower he picked felt intentional. Every purple petal a reminder that Sophia wasn’t theirs. That she would walk down an aisle not toward them, but toward the boy who had stood beside them for years watching everything unfold.
Elliot glanced at them now, eyes sharp behind the lenses. There was no warmth there anymore, no trace of the brother who used to joke with them and Sophia in high school hallways.
“You don’t get a say anymore,” he said casually, like he was commenting on the weather. “You lost that chance years ago.”
Y/N’s chest tightened painfully.
They wanted to argue. To yell. To tell him he was wrong, that love didn’t just disappear, that it still sat heavy and aching in their ribs every time Sophia’s name crossed their mind.
But Elliot already knew that too. That’s why he brought them here.
To make them see the future being built brick by brick with the pieces of what used to belong to them.
The florist continued wrapping the purple bouquet, tying it neatly with silver ribbon.
Y/N stared at it, throat burning.
Lunch at the Laforteza house was loud in the way only Filipino family gatherings could be, forks clinking against plates, overlapping conversations, laughter spilling over one another like waves. The dining table was too full, chairs pulled close, elbows brushing. Carla kept insisting everyone take more food. Godfrey joked about how much Oreo had grown. Basil laughed at something Elliot said. Y/N’s parents chimed in, pretending nothing was fractured, pretending everything was normal.
Pretending this wasn’t a table built on the bones of something that used to be theirs.
Y/N sat there quietly, pushing rice around their plate, barely tasting anything. Every time Elliot spoke, it felt like static buzzing in their ears. Every time Sophia’s name came up in conversation, her career, her wedding, her life, Y/N’s chest tightened like a vice.
Then they felt a kick under the table. They flinched and looked up, startled.
Across from them, Basil was staring. Not smiling. Not joking. His brows were drawn slightly, his head tilting toward the hallway.
Y/N blinked in confusion. Basil subtly jerked his chin again, eyes sharp.
It clicked slowly, like a delayed heartbeat.
Y/N stood, mumbling an excuse about needing the restroom. No one paid attention; the adults were mid-story about childhood antics and embarrassing teenage phases. Elliot didn’t even glance up.
Y/N slipped out into the hallway, heart pounding as they turned the corner near the guest bathroom, leaning against the wall.
They waited and a few minutes later, footsteps approached softly.
Basil appeared, shutting the door behind him without entering, instead leaning back against it. His arms crossed tightly, jaw tense. Gone was the easygoing older brother energy. He looked tired. Angry. Sad in a way he was trying hard to swallow.
“You okay?” Basil asked quietly, though he clearly knew the answer.
Y/N let out a breathless laugh. “You didn’t pull me out here to ask that.”
Basil sighed, rubbing his face with both hands. “I can’t do this anymore, Y/N.”
He looked at them then, eyes heavy with something raw. “Elliot’s my best friend. He’s been my boy since we were kids. But I can’t—” His voice cracked and he shook his head. “I can’t stand the thought of Sophia marrying him.”
The words landed hard, knocking the air from Y/N’s lungs.
Basil continued before Y/N could speak. “You know what she used to talk about when we were younger? When we were all kids?” He gave a sad smile. “She used to tell me she was gonna marry you. She said it like it was a fact. Said it was written in the stars.”
Y/N’s hands clenched at their sides.
Basil’s voice softened. “She called me a few days ago. Crying. Saying she feels like she’s making the biggest mistake of her life.” He looked away briefly, jaw tightening. “And I know her. I know when she’s forcing herself into something because she thinks she has to.”
Y/N swallowed hard, heart racing painfully.
Basil looked back at them, eyes sharp now. “It’s only ever been you. I don’t know why she’s punishing herself by marrying Elliot, but I know she’s not doing it because she’s happy.”
Y/N’s chest felt like it might collapse inward. Then Basil hesitated. And Y/N knew something worse was coming.
“There’s something else,” Basil said quietly.
Y/N’s voice came out barely above a whisper. “What?”
Basil’s jaw hardened. “Elliot’s been seeing someone.”
“What?” Y/N’s voice cracked.
“A girl,” Basil said bitterly. “For months. While planning this wedding. While Sophia’s bending herself in half trying to convince herself she’s okay.” He laughed dryly. “I told her. I thought she’d want to know. She accused me of lying. Said I was trying to sabotage her relationship.”
Y/N stared at him, dizzy.
Basil stepped closer, lowering his voice. “But she’ll believe you.” Silence hung heavy between them. “She trusts you,” Basil said softly. “More than anyone. Even now. Even after everything.”
Y/N’s hands trembled. Their heart felt like it was being torn open all over again, love, betrayal, guilt, rage colliding violently.
Basil looked at them desperately. “I’m not asking you to ruin anything. I just… she deserves the truth. And I can’t be the one she thinks betrayed her.”
Y/N closed their eyes briefly, breath shaking.
Because Basil was right. But the truth would either save her or shatter everything completely.
The house was finally quiet when Y/N got home.
Not peaceful, just quiet in the way a storm leaves behind. Plates had been cleared hours ago, chairs pushed back in, laughter from earlier now echoing faintly in their ears like something distant and mocking. Everyone had pretended through lunch. Pretended through goodbyes. Pretended through smiles that stretched too wide.
Y/N couldn’t pretend anymore.
They dropped their bag near the door and walked straight through the hallway toward the back garden, chest tight with a pressure they couldn’t swallow down. The sliding door creaked softly as they pushed it open.
He stood near the patio table scrolling on his phone like the world hadn’t just detonated in Y/N’s chest hours earlier. Like he hadn’t just spent the entire day flaunting wedding plans, talking dates and flowers and venues like he wasn’t standing on a landmine of other people’s lives.
Y/N stepped onto the grass.
“Are you fucking serious?” they said, voice sharp and trembling.
Elliot looked up slowly, annoyed already. “What now?”
“You’re cheating on her,” Y/N snapped, walking closer. “While planning a wedding. While she’s breaking herself trying to convince herself she’s happy. You’re disgusting.”
Elliot’s jaw tightened instantly. His eyes darkened, not guilty or ashamed, just irritated that he’d been caught.
“Watch your mouth,” he said flatly.
Y/N laughed bitterly. “Basil told me everything.”
In two quick steps Elliot was in front of them, anger flaring violently. “You need to shut the fuck up,” he hissed.
“Why? Because it’s true?” Y/N shot back. “Because you don’t deserve her? Because you knew, knew, she loved me and you still went after her anyway and now you’re treating her like this?”
Elliot’s face twisted and before Y/N could even process it, he punched them.
The impact knocked Y/N backward, pain exploding across their cheekbone as they stumbled, nearly falling. Their ears rang and their vision blurred for half a second.
“Shut the fuck up before worse happens to you,” Elliot spat.
Y/N wiped at their lip, tasting blood and they laughed. Not because it was funny, obviously. But because it was pathetic.
“You’re a joke,” Y/N said breathlessly, shaking their head. “You’ve got this amazing, talented, beautiful woman willing to marry you and it’s still not enough for you. You’re insatiable.”
Elliot scoffed, stepping back like he was done already. Like Y/N wasn’t worth the energy. “Enjoy crying about it,” he muttered.
Y/N’s eyes burned, but their voice stayed steady this time. “Enjoy your fucking wedding. I won’t be there.”
Elliot barked out a dry laugh. “I don’t want you there anyway!”
Y/N turned, walking toward the gate, chest heaving with adrenaline and heartbreak and years of resentment finally snapping loose.
“And you’re the joke!” Elliot shouted after them.
Y/N didn’t look back. They stormed out into the humid Manila night, tears finally blurring their vision as everything they’d been holding together shattered completely. The streets felt too loud, too bright, too alive while their chest felt like it was caving in.
Their feet carried them somewhere familiar without thinking.
The walk felt endless, every step heavy with pain and anger and regret. When they finally reached Theo’s dorm building, their hands trembled as they knocked.
Theo opened the door, eyes widening immediately at the sight of Y/N’s swollen cheek and tear-streaked face.
“Holy shit, what happened?”
Y/N’s composure cracked instantly. They stepped inside without a word, collapsing into Theo’s arms as everything spilled out in shaking breaths.
Theo held them tightly, guiding them inside, sitting them down, grabbing ice, muttering curses under his breath at Elliot’s name.
Y/N stayed there that night, curled on Theo’s couch with a pounding face and a heavier heart, staring at the ceiling as reality settled in.
And under the blanket of the night, when Theo was sound asleep, they snuck out.
@thevisionofafeline @meizinisloverboy @wwwlpgs @iluhwomen @solarzbeam @spid3rmil3s @siderealspark @andyyyyy14 @yournextdooralien @gablmk @cazeeee @cookispark @bookkeepersnook @rosiesauriostuff @uconnwbbluvr @jhgifdbki @spideycat13 @awkwardtoafault @itz-0kay @skz-xii @iviza @aeriyism @h0llyy @rxdeleon09 @levilash @kianthegirlkisser @andyyyyy14 @gabsrevival @trintrillakilla @whoasukiii @everygayhere @lethal-minds @givewandahugspls @antisocisworld @scarly07 @multistann32 @whoasukiii @idkbriiiii @insufferable-yapper @notheroverthinker @mirrawave @prosnale105 @astr-0-wrld @aloneinacity @pitchperfectislife @staxkmj @aliteralrandomperson @katzset @sondrsx @pizzachicken
