"Ano 'to, Uge?" Brent asked while looking at the box Dave gave me last time.
"Stocks ko lang ng sweets, lubayan mo nga!" I yelled at him. Tinawanan naman nya ako dahil dun. "Tsaka bwisit na Uge yan, ang bantot pakinggan!" Dagdag ko pa.
Napahalakhak naman si Ralph na nasa kabilang dulo ng kwarto ko dahil doon. Binato ko tuloy sya ng unan.
Katatapos lang ng birthday celebration ko kanina. Only my classmates, close friends, and family members are here earlier, and after the party, all of them left already. Tanging silang anim na lang ang natira dito dahil may pinlano namin na magsleepover. Katatapos rin lang ng finals namin kaya sinabay na namin dito ang selebrasyon.
Pinayagan naman kami nila Mommy. The girls will be sleeping in my room and the boys will be staying at the guestroom.
"Penge chocolates?" Brent asked while holding the lid of the box.
"Don't! Madami sa baba!" Pagdadamot ko.
"Damot, penge rin." Singit pa ni Oliver.
"Meron nga sa baba, malalaki pa," I said and went to them to get the box. "Lubayan nyo na nga." Nilagay ko muna to sa drawer para maalis sa paningin nila.
"May sikreto kasi si Uge dun, ano ba." Sabi ni Ralph, yakap na ngayon yung unan na binato ko sakanya.
"Oo nga, lubayan nyo na kasi, mahal na mahal ni Uge yung box eh." Pagsali pa ni Dave sa asaran nila. Di ko alam kung kelan ba ko nagsimulang asarin ng mga 'to, pero pansin kong lagi na nila akong pinagtutulungan.
"Tigilan mo nga ako," Sabi ko kay Dave at hinampas rin sya ng unan. Iniwan ko na sila don na nagaasaran pa para pumunta kila Corinne na nasa terrace na ng kwarto ko. Dun nila piniling tumambay dahil mahangin daw, at magulo yung mga lalaki sa loob.
It's only 6PM so the sun is only starting to set, giving us a more relaxing ambience.
I saw Mia holding one of my books, reading its synopsis. Corinne, on the other hand, is still talking to Mia. Tahimik lang akong nakatayo sa gilid ng terrace, pinagmamasdan ang tanawin habang nakikinig sa pinaguusapan ng dalawa.
We didn't notice the boys entering the terrace, just in time for us to watch the sunset. Napatingin naman kaming lahat doon, walang nagsasalita.
The sunset at my room is gorgeous. There are no unnecessary buildings in front since we live on high ground.
"Wow, its beautiful." Mia broke the silence, looking at the sky.
"Yeah, it's beautiful." Dave, who stood beside me, said. Then he looked at me.
"Yooj, can we talk later?" He asked me.
"For what?"
"Basta, I'l tell you later." Even if I'm curious, I just nodded to him.
"Sure, what time?"
"After ng movie? Kahit dito rin sa terrace o sa baba?" Nasa plano kasi namin ang magmovie marathon dito sa kwarto ko dahil may smart tv naman dito.
"Sige," then I smiled at him. "Just remind me later nalang."
Hindi na sya sumagot pagkatapos non at bumalik na lang sa pagtitig sa tanawin sa harap namin.
Nang tuluyan nang lumubog ang araw ay pumasok na kami ulit sa kwarto ko. Namimili na sila ng papanoorin nang magpasya akong bumaba para makakuha ng makakain. Nagiisip pa lang ako kung pano ko madadala sa taas ang mga chips at mga inumin nang makita kong pumasok ng kusina si Ralph.
"Need help?" He asked. Tumango naman ako.
"Yes, yung drinks and glasses sana natin." Sagot ko at ngumuso sa kung saan nakahanda na ang inumin at mga baso.
He got a tray and arranged the glasses there.
"Euge, did Dave told you something already?" He broke the silence while he's arranging the glasses.
"Wala pa," I answered and faced him. "Why, do you have any idea sa paguusapan namin?"
"Kinda, pero hayaan mo syang magsabi sayo." Pinagkibit balikat ko nalang yung sinabi nya and nagsimula nang tumalikod dahil nakita kong ayos na sya.
"Basta I want you two to be happy, ha?" Pahabol pa nya. Nagaantay ako ng idudugtong nya pero wala na syang sinabi. Mas nacurious tuloy ako.
Pagkadating namin sa taas, nakita naming may kanya-kanyang pwesto na sila. Mia has her back on the headboard, and beside her is Brent. Rinne is infront of Mia, using Mia's lap as her pillow. Oliver is also lying down on the bench at the foot of the bed. Dave was the one choosing the movie so he's sitting on the edge of the bed.
I sat beside Mia and threw chips at everyone's direction. My legs are streched, so when Ralph was done placing the drinks down, he used it as his pillow. I let him do it and just gave him his chips, instead.
Dave, who just finished choosing a movie, a horror one, sat beside me after.
"Want some?" I said offering him chips. Kumuha naman sya. Oliver then stood up and poured drinks for everyone.
The movie started. The first few minutes were fine but the movie was too gore on some scenes that I had to shut my eyes closed. I can't handle scenes like that.
Pero mukhang ako lang ang nandidiri sa mga ganon dahil ako lang naman ang nagtatakip ng mata. Nagugulat lang sila paminsan-minsan pag may mga jumpscare na lumalabas.
There was a scene where the girl was being killed by the serial killer, the intestines of the girl was showing so I looked away from the tv again, for the nth time, to avoid looking at it.
Dave who's beside me, got a hold of my head and placed it on his shoulders, helping me avoid seeing the scene but his shoulders was shaking because he's laughing at me. Hinampas ko tuloy sya at binulungan ng pagalit.
"What are you laughing at?!" I tried to keep my voice down para hindi maistorbo ang mga kasama namin. But apparently it's still loud enough dahil hinampas ni Ralph yung hita ko. Hinampas ko rin tuloy kamay nya.
"You're such a scaredy cat. This isn't even that gore." He whispered back.
"Oh, shut up." I hissed at him. hinayaan lang nya akong magtago sa balikat nya every time I get scared of the scenes.
Nang matapos ang movie ay naginat-inat muna kaming lahat at nagpahinga saglit. Corinne called dibs on the next movie so she's now sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at the movie selection intensely. She'll probably choose some rom-com artsy movie.
I went to the terrace to get some fresh air. Dala ko rin ang baso ng juice na kanina ko pa hindi naiinom.
The air outside was nice. Gabi na at tahimik na ang paligid. We don't really have close neighbors kaya walang nakakadistorbo na ingay. I was enjoying the stars above when I noticed someone enter the terrace and close the door behind us. Now the noises inside are already muffled.
"Hey," Dave greeted me, looking like he's contemplating over something.
"Hey." I greeted back, smiling at his way. "Is this 'the talk'?" I said making quotes in the air.
Tumango sya, saka humugot ng malalim na hininga.
"Hoooh." He muttered, blowing air out of his mouth. "Yes, pero teka lang, let me calm down muna." Then he paced back and fourth, looking so stressed.
"Can you please chill?" I muttered.
"Sorry, eto na." He said and looked at me. "Eto na, please let me talk first, ha?"
Tumango naman ako, sipping my juice while focusing my eyes on him.
"You probably know that I like you, right?" He said in his calm voice, parang 'di nagpapanic kanina. Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ko but I tried to hide my shock when I saw na nanlaki rin mata nya upon seeing my reaction.
"You probably already felt it, I just wanted to say this to you para malaman mo na I'm not just doing those things out of kindness," then he sighed. A deep one. "I like you, Eugene."
I was about to talk when he raised his pointer finger, signalling me that he isn't finish yet.
"I don't know when it started," Panimula nya. "Maybe when we got close, when you're showing me sides of you that other people cant see?" Then he locked his eyes on me. "When I can see how uncomfortable you are sa mga taong di mo ka-close, pero pag samin, sakin, gumagaan pakiramdam mo?" I can see his eyes travelling around my face, probably looking for facial cues.
"I don't really know, Alam ko lang na I really like you, and I wanted to tell you about my feelings. I also know that we're still too young for this." He looked down on the ground below us. "And that I suck at this."
"Can I talk now?" I said in a low voice. Tumango naman sya.
"You did great, Dave." I told him. Napaangat naman sya ng tingin dahil doon.
"But you know what my priority is, right?" I asked him, referring to my studies.
"I know, I'm not saying that we should be in a relationship, I respect your decision." He said, looking anywhere but at me.
"But you know that I have feelings for you, too, right?" He looked shocked, nanlalaki ang mata. It's my turn to gasp.
"Come on! I'm not like this to other boys!" I said to him, whining.
"Sorry na," He said, laughing a bit. "Continue."
"I really value my study, plus, I promised Dad..." I told him. "But I guess, we can be M.U. or something?" Sabi ko but I immediately regretted it, namula agad ang pisngi ko sa hiya.
Dave chuckled. "You're so cute." He said, with a smile on his face.
"So... ano?" I asked him while trying to avoid locking my eyes at him to hide myself from the embarrassment.
"Of course yes," He said and stepped a little bit closer to me. "Can I hug you?"
I shyly nodded. He stepped closer to me and pulled me into a hug. I put my hands on his back and returned his hug. After a few moments, he pulled away from me and we stared into each other's eyes.
"What do we do now?" I asked him in a soft voice.
"Di ko rin alam. We'll figure this out together." He said, while putting a stray hair behind my ear. "Balik na ba tayo sa loob?" He asked me.
Tumango naman ako.
Ralph was missing when we came back. Bumaba daw sya para kumuha ng dagdag na pagkain.
Hindi naman na kami pinansin ng iba dahil nagsisimula na ang palabas. We returned to our original position and after a while, Ralph came back with the snacks, which he immediately distributed.
I noticed Ralph and Dave sending some signals to each other. Nagtititigan lang sila and ginagalaw yung ulo ng kaunti para ituro ang direksyon ko.
I raised my brow at that.
"What's happening?" I asked the both of them in a whisper just loud enough for the both of them to hear.
Umiling naman silang dalawa sakin. Ngumisi lang si Ralph sa akin at humiga na ulit sa kama habang ginagawang unan ang hita ko.
Since the movie is romcom, I don't need to hide anymore. I just enjoyed the movie while leaning on Dave's shoulder who's resting his back on the headboard.
He also placed his head on top of mine, and whispered something so faint na ako lang ang nakarinig.
"Thank you for the chance."
I just squeezed his hand as a reply.
I'm grateful. This is the most peace I ever felt.