Closeted freshman student, Aries Buan, falls in love with his senior after getting partnered with him during their freshman orientation. Afraid to admit his feelings, he kept his emotion in check and watched his first love from afar, swearing to him...
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THERE WERE DOZENS of students when I entered classroom 203 at the Arts building. Aries messaged me earlier and told me that I had to go here to meet my partner and have our photoshoot. I was honestly pretty excited before I arrived, but seeing these insanely handsome and beautiful contestants, I couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
There was a section in the room where people were getting their hair and makeup done. Some were practicing their poses on the side. And the photoshoot was happening near the whiteboard where a makeshift white cloth background was built.
"Domingo Adlawan?" A voice suddenly called out.
I turned around and saw a senior student walking towards me, holding a checklist. "You arrived in time. I'll let Gemma fix your hair and makeup. You'll have your photo shoot in an hour."
The senior didn't even let me ask for their name as they started leading me to where the other contestants were. Before I knew it, I was sitting on one of the chairs, and a student named Gemma was already putting gel on my hair before I could even put a word out.
"You're a handsome one. Your charms are different. You don't have a typical Hollywood face, but your charisma is just oozing. Is this your first pageant?" Gemma asked while she was fixing my hair.
"This is my first one."
"Really? That's surprising," Gemma then commented, and I think I knew what she was talking about. My charisma probably got better since I work at a bar where I'm required to look hot and flirt with the customers. But of course, I can't tell her about that. I'll just have to let her think that this is a natural God-given talent.
"Education Institute's contestant!" Someone then shouted, making me turn my head to the side. I saw the senior student who assisted me earlier, and standing beside her was this really pretty woman who was almost the same height as Aries.
"Adlawan, this is your partner," the senior stated, and the girl looked at me and gave me a shy smile. "You should work on your chemistry before the shoot, okay? I'll get back to the two of you later."
The senior left in a hurry again, and I stood from my seat to properly greet my partner even though Gemma wasn't finished with my hair yet. "Hi, my name's Dom. It's nice to meet you," I introduced myself by showing her my hand.
"I know you. You were the first guy to introduce yourself during the freshman orientation," she said, grabbing my hand to shake it.
I was surprised that she remembered me. I think I saw her once, but I'm really the type to know everyone in our department. But the fact that she remembered me means that she knows that I'm gay. After all, that's one of the things I said when I introduced myself.
"My name's Ashley Almaden, but you can call me Ash. It's nice to meet you too, Dom," Ash said with a bright smile, unconsciously making me smile too.
To be honest, she wasn't like Diane—Aries's ex. I didn't want to bring her out like this, but I couldn't help but compare. Diane's vibe was very different from hers. Diane was an it girl. Her face was the perfect face that'd cover a famous magazine. She might as well join Ms. Universe too with her charisma.
