So the latest video we shot was a smashing hit, - not surprising - there's just one problem; right after we shot the video, hours before we posted it, Damien posted pictures of him and Teo in his IG account.
They looked really close in the pictures, Damien couldn't get his hands off of Teo. I mean, they were literally close to each other in each one of them, and Damien literally has his hands on or around Teo in all of them.
Those pictures created a little bit of tension with Damien's fans. Some found it cute and adorable, but some possessive fans just wanted to tear Teo apart. They were jealous of how close Teo and Damien are.
It was Aug. 21st, Ninoy Aquino Day, a holiday in the Philippines, which was perfect, because I have feeling that if anyone of Damien's crazy fans finds Teo on campus grounds, they would rip his face off.
Fortunately, Teo doesn't have any social media accounts, he's clueless about the mean things Damien's jealous fans posted about him. If they find out who his mother is, I wonder if they can still say those stuff to him. After all, most of the models they idolize are being handled by Teo's mother.
It was early in the morning, and I was in the mood for some coffee and croissant, so I decided to go down to the coffee shop on the first floor of the building.
The day started wonderfully, and I had no reason to think otherwise. Not until Nelson showed up.
Right after I entered the coffee shop, Nelson ambushed me. "Let's talk." He said in a decisive tone.
"No." I replied as I took a side step to avoid him.
"Let's not make a scene here." He added as he blocked my path again.
"You hate being embarrassed, don't you? That's why you threw me away like some trash, because I'll just be an embarrassment to you." I told him as I walked past him.
When I stood in front of the cashier and ordered my croissant and coffee, I thought that Nelson had given up, but I was dead wrong.
"So, that Axel guy lives here too." He said as he followed me to my seat as I waited for my order.
"Yeah. How did you know that?"
"I was here yesterday, he basically threw me out."
"Really? That was nice of him." I told Nelson to infuriate him.
"Does he know about us?" He said in a low voice, not wanting anyone to hear him.
I scoffed at him. "You haven't changed a bit." I shook my head. "If you're so ashamed about it, why come here to bother me?"
"Sorry, but trust me, Clark, I'm trying to change..." He said with a sigh. "So, what does he know?"
"I don't know. I haven't told him anything. And I have no idea what he thinks happened between us" Axel's brain works in a weird way. There's no guessing about what he thinks. I should've said something snarky that would piss him off instead. "If that's all you need, then you can go now."
When I picked my order from the counter, Nelson was still following me. "Are you really that close with that Axel guy? What's your relationship with him?"
"Would I drive him to the mall to buy a laptop and have lunch with him if we're not?" I replied sarcastically while holding my food. There was a growing urge building up inside me to kick Nelson in the nuts. "What do you really want, Nelson?"
"I want us to be friends again. I miss spending time with you. I miss us. I miss you." Nelson said with a straight face.
I'm so proud of myself. In the past, those words would've have affected me, but I didn't even flinch at that moment. "Don't make me laugh." I said as I turned away.
It was weird though. Why did Nelson say all those things so suddenly? He wouldn't say that he misses me for no reason. If anything, he would hate it if someone hears him and thinks he is gay. So, why blurt it out on public all of a sudden?
When I came back to my room, my phone was flooded with missed calls and messages. I left it when I went down to the coffee shop, thinking that nothing important would come up.
All of those missed calls and messages were from Axel. I'm glad I left my phone. "Why do you keep asking if I'm already awake?" I sighed as I read through his messages. "I was still asleep, all these calls and messages would surely wake me up, you idiot."
Enjoying my freshly baked croissant and brewed coffee was my priority, so I ignored the messages from Axel. I just took one bite and a sip when the doorbell suddenly rang. James was still sleeping, and Damien was out for his run, so I answered the door.
"Oh god, what are you doing here?" I asked as I opened the door and saw Axel. Even though it was still very early in the morning, Axel was glowing, he looked really handsome. What am I thinking, I should be angry at him, not dazzled.
"With all my messages and missed calls, I figured you'd be awake by now." He said with a sly smile. Smart-ass bastard.
"What do you want?" I asked him grumpily. He interrupted my breakfast, so that's the treatment that he would get.
Although he smelled exceptionally good that morning - did he just take a bath? - I fought myself not to be lenient to him.
"I'm bored." He replied.
"And you came here to be entertained? How? Don't you have three consoles and a brand new gaming laptop? Play some games if you're bored. I can't entertain you, I'm not a clown."
Axel's eyes moved from side to side, he was silent for a moment. Was he really lost for words? Doesn't he have any good comebacks? Don't tell me, he chose to come here instead of playing his games... on purpose?
"Is that all you're eating?" He asked me, changing the subject, as he followed me to the dining table.
"There's some cereals and instant noodles in the kitchen, if you want." I told him as I sat down.
"I had my breakfast already. I'm just saying, you should eat more." He added as he looked around the unit like he had never been there before.
"Out with it. What do you want?" I asked him impatiently. I can't enjoy my damn breakfast with him hovering around me.
"It's... you see..."
"For goodness sake, spit it out!" I said impatiently. "Say it or leave and let me have my god damn croissant."
"Aren't you cranky? Now I'm thinking it's not the best idea to tell you since you're in such a bad mood." Axel retorted.
"And whose fault do you think it is?" I asked him rhetorically. "Say it, or I swear I'm going to shove this whole croissant down your throat."
"Nelson was here yesterday..." Axel sounded guilty. "And... we might have exchanged some heated words..."
That's it? He called ad messaged me hundreds of times just because of that? He interrupted my breakfast just to tell me that? "I know." I left out a sigh. "I met down at the coffee shop a while ago. He told me you that you drove him away. Nice job." I said sarcastically as I took a sip of coffee.
"That motherfu... I mean he was here, again?" Axel scoffed. "That bastard doesn't know how to give up. So, did he tell you what happened?"
Axel's tone made me really suspicious. "Why, did something happen yesterday? Come to think of it, he kept on asking me what you know about us. What exactly do you know?"
"Didn't you have a falling out because of a girl? He has the exact face of a bastard that would steal a bro's girl." Everything that Axel said made no sense. It was complete garbage. How did he even come to that conclusion?
I was practically left dumbfounded with my mouth open.
Well, what did I expect? At that point, Axel's mind was filled with games, party, and big breasted girls. It was actually making it a lot easier for me not to fall for him.
"Sure, keep thinking that way..." I sighed. There was no use correcting him, and quite frankly, I didn't know if it would do me any good to tell him the truth between me and Nelson. "So, what happened yesterday?"
"Well... I might've said something to drive him away, but since he came back today, it seemed that it didn't have my desired effect on him. It's weird, I was sure that it would at least stop him from coming back for a while..."
"What did you tell him?" I asked him. He was talking too much and it made me really suspicious for some reason. Axel didn't reply, he just gave me that smile. It was a beautiful smile... no, I mean, it was a suspicious smile. "Oh god, what did you say?"
"Don't get mad. Of course, you'll get mad... just don't get too mad..." Axel kept on blabbering. It's really amazing how Teo can put up to him on a daily basis, and he had been doing so for almost his entire life.
"What's irritating is that you kept on beating around the bush, you idiot."
"That guy wouldn't leave and we got into an argument. I told him to never bother you again and to get lost, but then he said something like I didn't have the right to tell him what to do, and that it's none of my business so I should butt out. That bastard really acts like a big jerk, and he got on my nerves, so..."
"So...?"
"I blurted out something like 'I have the right, and it is my business, because Clark is mine now.'" Axel looked nervous as he told me everything.
I was practically frozen in my seat when I heard what he said. It was infuriating, because he was only making things even messier for me. To be honest, though, I didn't care if Nelson misunderstand.
Clark is mine. Clark is mine. Clark is mine... Axel's voice kept playing in my head, and for some reason, it filled my stomach with butterflies.
"You're angry, aren't you? Of course, you are..." I was suddenly snapped out of my confused trance.
"You crazy bastard." I sighed. "Of all the crazy things you can say or do to drive him away, why that?"
"I panicked, and that was the first thing that came into my mind."
"Why?!" I looked at him sharply and then sighed. "That's why he asked what our relationship is... You really are one crazy dude, aren't you? That sort of thing won't drive Nelson away. He loves getting his hands on what he can't have and doing things he shouldn't do, he loves doing things that people tell him not to. He's one crazy bastard, although in a different way than you."
"So I made things worse?" The look of disappointment and regret in Axel's face made me feel bad.
"We don't know that yet. He said he's a changed man, maybe he would stay away." I sighed. Why am I making him feel better? I'm the one in deep shit, not him.
"I'm sorry, Clark. Teo was right, I have no self-control." Axel looked at me.
"Enough about that. Aren't you worried that your lie might spread around, what people would think...?"
"Oh please, I don't care about those things." Axel said. "I grew up in New York, and do you know how many of Tita Zoey's models are gay?"
"So you're fine with it?"
"Yeah. More importantly, you're not mad at me?"
"I'm still debating myself about that. We'll see in the coming days." I replied. "We're you really that worried that I would get mad at you?"
"Teo said I have a knack for getting in the middle of other people's business. He said that he's used to it, but you might not. I must say, I imagined this whole thing differently."
"How exactly did you imagine things would go?"
"Well, I imagined that there would be a lot of shouting, mainly by you, then some chasing and throwing of some stuff, probably that croissant you were eating... Those basic kinds of stuff..." He said with a nervous chuckle.
"I'm not that violent, Axel." I told him sharply.
"Of course you're not." I could sense the sarcasm in his voice. "Anyway, I'll leave you to your breakfast..." He said as he walked towards the door.
There was something odd about him. "Is there something more I should know?" I asked him, just to be sure.
"Nothing really..." He said by the door. "Just that Elisse was there when I said you're mine. Bye." He said swiftly and shut the door.
"Fuck." I sighed.