"Do you think he would come?" Axel asked me for the nth time. It was starting to get annoying, but it was his birthday, and I can't really get mad at him on that day.
We were preparing for dinner and invited the trio next door to join us. Since Axel already planned a big party night on Saturday, that night was just a small and intimate dinner with just the five of us.
"Honestly, I don't know. Clark seemed pretty pissed off at you." I told you.
Axel sighed. "I don't get why he is so pissed off. So I was wrong about my hunch about Marissa and Nelson, is that really something to be pissed off about? What do you think was the real reason why he hates Nelson?"
"I have no idea. Maybe if you find out the real score between those three, you might understand why Clark seemed so pissed off. Kill two birds with one stone." I explained. "Well, he might also be pissed off because you meddled without knowing the whole situation."
"I told you, it's not meddling, it's helping..." He insisted.
"Yeah, sure..." I replied sarcastically. "But, you seem to be getting really attached to Clark... "
"What are you trying to say?" Axel said as he looked at me, leaning one of his hand on the backrest of the dining chair.
I smiled at him. "Clark might be the feistiest cat you've ever encounter."
"No way..." Axel shook his head, knowing what I meant. "You think so...? Am I...?" He asked me.
"Why are you asking me? You should know that yourself. Besides, between the two of us, you're the one who knows more about relationships. So, why are you asking me?" I told me.
"Experience doesn't really mean anything in romance or relationship, men tend to make the same mistake over and over again, we just don't learn. We still are clueless, even though we experience it many times before." Axel said and then sighed.
I don't really know what that meant, but Axel looked really unsure at that moment.
Axel waited in anticipation, and when the doorbell finally rang, he sprang up from the sofa instantly.
James, Damien, and fortunately, Clark entered our unit. James and Damien had a smile on their faces, but Clark looked troubled. I couldn't quite paint his face at that time.
While James and Damien greeted Axel cheerfully, Clark's greeting was swift and almost non-existent.
"Consider this my gift." Damien said as he placed the beautiful game console designed cake on the table.
"Wow... you made this?" Axel looked really impressed. "Thanks! It's a great thing that you and Teo made up." He said teasingly. "This cake is the only thing in this table that is not from takeout, so it deserves to be in the center." He said as he arranged the table.
We sang the birthday song for Axel and made blow the candle, which he still doesn't like, then we ate dinner.
"I thought you weren't coming." Axel told Clark during dinner.
Clark looked fazed and avoided looking at Axel. "I almost didn't..." He replied.
"What made you change your mind then?" Axel asked.
"Nothing really..." Clark replied in a dismissive tone.
"I said some magic words..." Damien answered for Clark. "Oww..." Damien complained. Apparently, Clark kicked him under the table.
"Hey, stop talking about it!" Clark complained. His reaction only made me more curious as to what Damien said to change his mind.
"Anyway, I'm glad that you came." Axel told Clark. That idiot was smiling, maybe I was right after all.
"You... you are...?" Clark stammered.
"Yeah, totally!" Axel replied gleefully with a smile.
Dinner went great, and Damien's cake was really great. Axel was in a great mood, and he didn't stop bothering Clark the whole night. Clark was acting different though, he wasn't really fighting back, instead, he looked a bit troubled, a bit embarrassed.
When the trio left, Axel smiled to me and said: "I think you're right about this one."
Saturday came and Axel was in a great mood. TFE's GA would end early that night, after that my nightmare would begin. I was pretty sure Axel would get drunk and I would have to take care of him.
His birthday party is like his yearly hall pass to get drunk and go crazy with little repercussions. His parents would let him do virtually anything he wants, as long as no one gets hurt and no laws are violated.
"Is Ethan coming tonight?" Axel asked me on our way to the GA.
"He promised." I told him. When it comes to partying, there's no one else that Axel gets along with better than Ethan.
"If he ditched my party, we're over." He said half-jokingly. I couldn't count how many times he and Ethan argued, but when a party is involved, the person he looks for is Ethan. "What time do you think the GA would end?" He asked me.
"We haven't even arrived, and you're already asking when it would end? Axel, you know Clark is involved in the preparation, right? Knowing him, he might've done a lot of work for this event. It would do you good to show some interest." I told him, hoping that it would turn around his attitude.
"I didn't say I wasn't interested, I'm just more invested in getting drunk tonight."
"Oh god... Don't get too drunk, I'm the one who ends up miserable..." I complained to him.
"It's my birthday, so I can't promise anything to you, but I'll try." Axel said with a smug smile.
The venue for the GA was a posh cafe owned by a relative of Elisse. It was reserved just for that event. The event was pretty simple, TFE's president, Selma, introduced the officers and some prominent senior members, including Damien, James, and Clark. She explained what the org was all about; enjoying food and sharing it with others. There were also some games to get everyone acquainted.
One of the games was about food tasting; guessing the ingredients of the food we just ate. I did fairly well, because of all the cooking lessons I got from Damien.
The crowd wasn't that big, so I managed to stay calm, but from time to time, I would get nervous. Whenever that happens, I would instantly get closer to Axel. He would tell me to breathe deep and slow to calm down. If that still doesn't work, I would look for Damien. His smile calms me down all the time.
If there's one thing I hated about that event, was the fact that Elisse could cling onto Damien as much as she wants, and there was nothing I could do about it. Good thing Clark and James were around to fend her off.
The highlight of the event was the food, of course. They prepared snacks and drinks from all over the world. It was a nice experience, all in all, but the night was just beginning.
As soon as the event ended, Axel pulled me out of the cafe. I was uneasy, leaving Damien there with Elisse, but I can't leave Axel alone. Besides, he said that they'll go straight to the club as soon as they're done with clean up.
Axel reserved a high-class bar for his party that night. He invited as much as he could, and just thinking about the crowd made me nauseated. There was a small secluded area in that bar reserved for his closest friends, and I opted to stay there as I waited for Damien.
As Axel partied with Danny and Gilbert, Yana, Reah, and Janine sat down with me. "How are you holding up?" Janine asked me.
"Well, as long as I stay here, I think I'll be fine." I told her. "You three should go out there too, I'm fine."
"It's still early." Yana said. "We don't want to get tired and drunk too early."
"Did Axel really reserve this whole place?" Reah mused. "Just how many people did he invite?"
"Axel loves partying." I explained to them. "He only invited our block, but he told everyone to bring whoever they want."
As the four of us chatted, Danny and Gilbert joined us, and then Axel followed us, with a drink in both of his hands. "Teo, this is yours." He said as he handed me a cocktail. "It's not that strong, so won't get drunk... I think..."
"We've been pretty curious about this..." Danny said as they rested. "...have you dated before, Teo?"
"Hey, what's with that, all of a sudden?" Yana asked.
"What, aren't you curious too? I've never seen him show interest in anyone, so it made me curious." Danny replied.
"I'm curious too." Reah added. "I've never heard him talked about it before either. Do you have someone you like?" She asked me.
"What was your first love like? Who is it?" Yana finally joined in.
"So you gave in..." Janine chuckled. "Stop pressuring him." Janine told the group. "You might scare him."
"It's alright." I said with a small smile. "My first love..."
"Teo, are you serious? You're going to tell them?" Axel was quite surprised. I nodded. "Hey, are you drunk now? They said the cocktail wasn't that strong though..."
Maybe I was drunk, that's why I started talking.
"My first love was like a dream. It was beautifully blissful, but it ended quickly. We were good friends, we were really close. Every year my family would stay at our house in Tagaytay for a few months. I met my first love there. Ever since then, I looked forward to our vacation every year. My first love was a warm and kind person, my heart would always feel happy when we're together, but even before I can confess..." I paused. It had been so long since I talked about Peter, and somehow my heart still aches. "...my first love... died."
"Teo..." My friends said in sympathy.
"Sorry, I asked..." Yana apologized.
I smiled at them. "What's with those faces? I consider it fate." I said with a smile. "Because of my first love, I met my greatest love." Yup, I must be drunk.
"Greatest love?" Reah asked.
"My first love is my cupid." I said with a smile. That's true. If I haven't met Peter, I probably wouldn't have met Damien as well. If I wasn't heartbroken with Peter's death, Damien wouldn't embrace me that day, and I wouldn't have fallen in love with me. Even in his death, Peter was still looking after me. Making sure that I am happy. "The day I lost my first love forever, I met my greatest love. That day at the funeral, that embrace started healing my broken heart, if not for that, then I don't think I would've recovered. That embrace, made me fall in love again..."
I could feel everyone looking at me, so I lowered my head in shyness. For a moment no one said a thing, no one made a noise.
Then someone cleared his throat.
When I looked up to see who it was, my heart almost stopped beating. It was James who cleared his throat, and beside him were Clark and Damien.
My whole body felt hot in embarrassment. Damien heard everything, I was sure of it. He was standing there, looking at me with an expression of shock on his face. I wanted to bury myself into the ground.
I stood up, without saying anything, and then ran away.
As I made my way through the crowd, I heard Damien calling my name. "Teo! Wait!" There was no way I'm going to wait for him. I couldn't even look at him at that moment, I was dying of embarrassment.
"Leave me alone for now, Damien... Please..." I pleaded with him. I was filled with many different emotions that I just started tearing up. "I... I..." Tears started falling from my eyes. "I won't bother you anymore..." I said and then decided to just run across the street.
"Stop running away..." Damien caught my hand and pulled me. "Listen to me first." He insisted. "Teo, look at me..." Damien's voice was soft and kind, I almost turned around to look at him. "What should I do with you....?" He said and then suddenly pulled me closer to an embrace. "Peter is my cupid too... Because of him, I met my first and greatest love... I met you..." Damien said as he embraced me tighter. "So, stop running away. I won't let you get away, this time..."
Is this a dream? Is he saying that...? What is this? My heart is going crazy... My mind was whirling at that very moment. I was confused, and my whole body felt numb. It felt like I was floating in clouds.
Damien just confessed to me. He just said that he loves me too. I've been dreaming of hearing those words for so long, and when it finally happened, I froze. I was happy, really happy, and I was so happy that I didn't even know how to process everything.
I wanted to shout, I want to jump, I wanted to hug him back, but my body felt so numb. It was like my soul went to the skies at that very moment. For a second, I was in heaven.
"Say it." Damien said as he pulled away a bit to see my face.
"What...?" I asked him, suddenly being brought back to reality.
"Look at me and say it again..." Damien said as his arms were wrapped around my waist.
"Wait... is this real...?" My heart was beating so fast and so loud, and my mind was hazy. "Say what...? Wait, am I dreaming...?"
"This is real." Damien suddenly placed his hands on my cheek, I thought he was going to pinch them, but he just held them gently as he moved closer. Our lips were a few centimeters apart, and my heart was a few seconds away from bursting. "So, say it." He repeated.
Say what? Don't tell me... He wants me to say that to him? Here? Now?
"I..." I gulped heavily. My face burned. "I... love...." I sighed. I felt my knees giving in. I felt weak and tired, and yet my heart was still pounding.
Damien chuckled. "That's good enough for me..." He said as he embraced me again. "I too... I love you." He whispered in my ears. And those words made my knees give in entirely.
As Damien said those words, I suddenly felt something in my chest. The pendant that Fate gave me was warm, and it felt like it was pulsating. That boy said that when the pendant glows for the third time my fate would be changed, sealed, but it didn't.
Because my fate was just beginning to unfold.