When I woke up the next day, I thought everything was just a vivid dream, but then I realized that I was holding the beautiful necklace that the boy who calls himself an agent of Fate gave me.
I freaked out, needless to say. Then I got really depressed, I mean when you learned that the world itself is against you being with your greatest love, you would be bummed out for sure. Then I got excited, because if that boy is telling the truth, then the necklace would bring miracles that would help me be with Damien. Then I got worried, then anxious, then freaked out again.
I took a shower, dressed up, and then ate some cereals, all in a hurry. "Axel, come one, hurry up."
"Oh god, how much coffee did you drink?" He complained sluggishly. His hair was still wet, and his eyes were still half closed, as he ate his cereals as slow as humanly possible. "It's a Sunday, Teo, we don't have class until Monday. What did you make me shower this early for?" He complained.
"We're going to Damien's place." I said as my heart almost jumped out of my chest. "I want to see him, but I'm too nervous to go there alone."
Axel perked up in an instant. He has tendencies to get overly involved in my business, sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's just plain annoying. "Finally! You should have told me that sooner." He said as he finished his cereals in a hurry.
We walked towards Damien's door with my head spinning and my heart beating as fast as I could. I mustered all my courage just for that moment. That necklace from Fate hanged on my neck behind my shirt, and wearing it gave me some confidence.
A few steps away, Damien's door opened.
"Thanks for breakfast, it was the best." It was that cookie girl. There were two other girls with her who walked out of Damien's unit. "You're a great cook, Damien."
What were they doing there? Why did Damien cook breakfast for them? Are they close?
"I'm glad you liked it." Damien appeared by the door as he walked the girls out. He had that smile on his face that tells me that he enjoyed cooking for them.
"Next time, you should teach me how to cook like that." Cookie girl added.
"We'll see." Damien replied with a smile.
What happens to "I don't teach just anyone"? Damien told me that last year, I sulked then he added: "But, you're not just anyone, you're Teo". I enjoyed his cooking class, I felt special and honored that he is teaching me his passion.
My heart fell, just thinking about Damien and that cookie girl together in the kitchen. It was painful to even think of those two sharing a moment together.
They would be in the kitchen together, Damien would help her put on her apron and then tie her hair neatly. He would stand behind her and hold her hands as he teaches her how to use the knife properly... It's heartbreaking.
Even more heartbreaking, because they look good together.
They both look good, I'm sure if Damien shoots a video with her and upload, it would gain many views.
Just moments ago I was excited to see him, and all it took was s few moments to make me feel miserable instead. I don't want to be overemotional, but I felt like crying.
"We'll go ahead. Thanks again." Cookie girl said as she waved goodbye.
"No problem." Damien replied as he waved back.
"Teo, are you alright?" Axel asked me as I realized that I've been frozen at my place.
Damien was closing his door when our eyes meet for a brief moment. "Let's go back..." I told Axel as I turned around.
Seeing Damien smile at her and knowing that he cooked for her, suddenly I don't feel confident at all. All courage was washed out of my body in an instant.
"Are you alright?" Axel asked me again once we got back to our unit.
"I... I'm going back in my room..."
Back in my room, I stood in front of the mirror. "What's wrong with you? What happened to being brave? Nothing good will come out if you keep on running away from him? Talk to him, tell him what you feel."
Things could not be any more difficult for me. Not only do they look good together, they wouldn't have a hard time being accepted by their friends and family if they get into a relationship either.
We're both guys, and same-sex relationship is not that accepted in the Philippines yet.
If things aren't difficult enough, the world is trying to pull us apart.
"I can't give up. I won't give up. I want to be Damien, I can't accept any other destiny. It's either that or nothing." As my resolution built up, I felt the pendant behind my shirt pulse. I took it out and saw it glowing.
It has begun.
A whole week had passed, and yet nothing had happened. I am starting to think that the boy tricked me. I haven't seen Damien around, either.
We live next door to each other, and yet we haven't even crossed path for once. I know he lives with two of his friends, and weirdly enough, I haven't seen them around either.
It doesn't help that College of Architecture's building is on the opposite side of the campus where Faculty of Engineering was. I could see their building from ours, it seemed near that way, but it felt so far away.
That boy is right, the world is doing all it can to make sure Damien and I are apart.
Our classes end before noon, and Axel and I just had our lunch at the carpark - slash AMV College of Accountancy building -, where various food stalls and fast-food are located. Well, true to its colloquial name, the carpark also serves as a paid parking building.
"If you want to see him that much, just knock on his door later." Said Axel.
"What are you talking about...?"
"You've been sulking the whole day, Teo. I can't think of any other reason why, other than you missing Damien." He was right, again. Sometimes I think Axel knows me too much. "If you want, I can come with you."
"Thanks, but I don't think I can control myself if I see that cookie girl again."
"Someone's jealous." He said teasingly. "If you don't act fast, that girl would steal Damien from you. I mean, she had already been in his place. She's making progress, while you are not."
"Geez, thanks for making me feel better. That gives me real confidence." I told him as sarcastic as I could.
"That's the spirit." Axel patted me on the back. "I'll just go to the toilet, then we'll go home and make our game plan."
As I waited for Axel, I felt the necklace hidden in my shirt warm up, so I took it out and there it was glowing, for the second time.
"A miracle..." I muttered. I held the pendant in my hand, and then the diamond hourglass turned. "...it's coming." I waited for something else to happen, but there was nothing.
So anticlimactic.
When Axel and I walked out of the carpark, the sun was beaming down. Not only was it hot, the wind wasn't blowing at all. We walked towards the Plaza Mayor - that open space in front of the Main Building - and I noticed a few heads turning our way.
Axel is a handsome dude, he's tall, he works out, plus he got that pretty face. Though, he still falls behind Damien, if you ask me. If only he doesn't run that mouth of his, then he might be close to being most of the girls' ideal guy.
One thing about Axel though, is that he really is dense. He has great observation skills when it comes to other people's business, especially mine, but when it comes to his, he's totally clueless.
It's either he is dense, or just too busy meddling in other people's business.
As we walked, the sun was suddenly covered by clouds. It didn't happen slowly, instead, it happened almost in an instant. The wind blows strongly after that. Dust flew in the air and I covered my eyes with my hand.
Suddenly I felt something on my hand. A paper landed on my hand and stuck into my fingers, after that, the wind stopped blowing and the skies cleared up.
I read the paper, it was a permission slip signed by the Rector - the university's highest-ranking official - for the Thomasian Food Enthusiasts. Apparently, they would have a feeding program for school children that weekend.
"Darn it, I think my face caught all the specks of dust." Axel complained. "What is that?" He asked as he saw the paper in my hand.
"It landed on my hand."
"That's freaky."
"Excuse me, I think that paper is mine." This guy wearing College of Commerce and Business Administration's uniform approached me with an apologetic smile. He's a bit taller than Axel, his face was small, and his skin was flawless. I don't think he has pores. I could tell that he's one of those guys that have that perfect smile as well.
It's conflicting though, it's obvious that he works out, I mean his sleeves are hugging his biceps so tightly, he looks tough at first, but then he had that nice guy smile.
"Ohh." I replied. "Here you go." I replied as I handed him the paper. "It landed on my hand, I was quite surprised." Somehow the guy seemed familiar to me, and I didn't have a hard time talking to him. If only I'm like this with Damien.
He took the paper and smiled in relief. "Thank goodness it's one piece. You saved me. Thank you."
It got me thinking, that paper didn't land on my hand coincidentally, Fate had something to do with it. "If I may ask, what kind of org is Thomasian Food Enthusiast?"
"Teo, are you interested in joining an org? You?" Axel teased.
"Teo?" The guy asked, he sounded quite surprised.
"Yeah, I'm Teo, this my friend Axel."
"James Yuchengcho." He introduced himself, and I was right, he does have a perfect smile. "You two freshmen?" He asked and we nodded. "Well, Teo, Axel, we're just a bunch of people of who loves food, and who loves sharing them. We go on culinary outings and trips, but we're also involved in charity works and feeding programs."
"Really? That sounds interesting?"
"He loves food alright, he spends countless hours watching this channel on YouTube." There he goes again, running his mouth.
"If you're interested, you could sign up and join as members. Well, recruitment week officially starts next week, but since you saved me, actually the whole org, I think we can make an exception." James said with a smile.
"Saved the whole org?" I asked shyly.
"Yeah, you have no idea how long it took us to get his permission slip. Without this, the feeding program would be cancelled. So in reality, you also saved the children we're going to feed."
"Way to go, Teo." Axel chimed in.
"So, what do you say? Want to sign up?" James asked with a smile. Anyone would have a hard time saying no to him.
"Sure." I replied.
"Great, the org room is at Tan Yan Kee, let's go." James smiled and then led the way.
"What's going on? What's with the sudden interest in joining an org?" Axel whispered in my ear. "You're acting weird."
"Relax, this could be fun."
"Since when did socializing become fun for you?"
"Stop making me sound like a sociopath."
TFE's org room was on the third floor of TYK. The whole floor seemed busy for some reason. Some students were just hanging out, but there were students busy with org business as well. Suddenly, I was starting to regret going there.
I'm not really good at socializing.
Each org rooms were pretty small, and can only fit a handful of desks, that's why some students extended their work area to the outside of each room.
"Everyone seemed busy." Axel asked.
"Recruitment week would start on Monday, that's why." James replied. "Our org has it the hardest though, not only do we need to prepare for recruitment week, we also have a scheduled feeding program this weekend. We need new members badly."
"Why, are you shorthanded?" I asked.
"Severely. We do get occasional volunteers, but we would like permanent members instead, that way we can mobilize as fast as we can."
"What about your feeding program this weekend? Would it be alright?" Axel asked.
"The seniors are in charge of that, they got enough volunteers, we underclassmen are in charge of the preparation for the recruitment week." James explained. "We're here."
Like the other rooms on that floor, TFE's org room was pretty small.
"Hey, I brought some fresh recruits." James announced as we entered the room.
But, at that moment, the size of the room was least of my concern, because, through the glass door, I can see Damien working on his laptop, and working closely with him was that cookie girl.
What's more frustrating to me was that the cookie girl was wearing College of Fine Arts and Design's uniform. Her course is on the same building as Damien's.
While the world is pulling Damien and me apart, it kept on pushing her towards him.
Just the sight of the two of them close together was enough to induce that tight feeling on my chest.
I really hate seeing him that close with someone else. It's painful.