"Can I get your number?"
Gulf's heartbeat quickened as soon as he heard those words from Mew. His body paralyzed and all he could do was look straight ahead in astonishment. His mind was moving 5 km per hour, it seemed. Buffering, slowly processing the situation.
Mew moved back a little to look at the boy's face just to check if he was still breathing. Upon seeing his adorable dumbfounded face, he couldn't help but chuckle lightly, finally sitting back on his chair. "Why do you look so surprised? You really think I would be put off just because you rejected me once?"
Gulf blinked once and his mind suddenly kicked back into gear. This insufferable guy! Who does he think he is?! "How did you know I'm here?"
Mew smirked. "I have connections. You can't get rid of me that easily."
That Saint! He really doesn't live up to his name! I thought we were friends! How can he sell me out like this?! He thought angrily. He will have a long chat with his friend later, but for now, he has to deal with this problem in front of him first. "Well, you're wasting your time here."
The older one just watched on as the other turned his attention back to his laptop, ignoring the fine specimen laid out in front of him. Gulf tried to look unbothered and nonchalant but deep inside, his heart was still wildly galloping around. Oh please be still, my heart!
"Really? I don't think so." Mew smiled at him, noticing his reddened neck and cheeks. He felt almost glad that he could at least affect him like this, urging him on. The boy looked adorable. "How come you're blushing then?"
Gulf looked back at him, flabbergasted and sputtering. "T-that's ridiculous! Who's blushing?!" He tried to look anywhere but Mew, wishing to be as pale as he was before. He hated how his body easily blushed! It always gave the wrong impression to people! "I just have good circulation. That's it!"
"Ah~" Mew nodded in mock agreement. "Is that so.." Alright, I figured as much. I knew I wouldn't be able to get your number just from asking you straight up. Then suddenly he remembered something that Zee mentioned to him before about Gulf. Zee said he heard Saint mumbling about how gullible Gulf is..
Mew's corner lip pulled up in a smirk and Gulf felt shivers down his spine. He looked so evil yet attractive at the same time. "How about this? Let's play a game. You win, I'll leave right now and never bother you ever again. But if I win, you have to give me your number."
Gulf was in deep thought. How did they get to this? Playing a game just to get his number? And why did he have to play his game? He shouldn't care about this or him at all... But then if he wins, then he won't have to worry about him ever again. All he had to do was win and then all of these would be over. He definitely will win! It's a gamble he has to take.
"You promise you won't bother me again if I win?"
Mew smiled sickeningly sweet. "I promise."
~.~
"What about this one?" Mild pushed his phone over to the person sitting next to him at their campus' cafeteria. "Doesn't it look fine?"
"No!" Gun passionately disagreed, earning an annoyed look from the other. "The color doesn't match, can't you see?!"
Mild rolled his eyes. This person was really hard to please when it came to fashion. "Okay, okay. Sorry, master. I'm going to leave it for you to decide then."
"Why would you leave it for me? Aren't you buying it for yourself?"
"Aaw? That's because you keep dismissing everything I'm showing you." He whined.
"Ugh, give it here." Gun took his phone from him. "If I don't love you so much and care for your well-being, I'm going to just let you wear whatever you want to wear."
"Stop being so dramatic!" Mild laughed. "And I love you too."
"Ugh, stop it, you two!" Saint plopped down on the empty chair across from Gun. "You're making my headache worse."
Gun looked up from the phone and over at Saint, confused. "What in the world are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Gulf right now doing your assignment?"
"That's right! I wonder why I'm here too, instead of being at the library right now and getting stuff done."
"What are you talking about?" This time, Mild asked. "Gulf is so gonna get you later for ditching him. Especially when you're supposed to be working on school stuff."
"I know, I know." Saint put his head in-between his hands. "I don't know how I got tricked into doing it either!"
"Okay, can we stop talking in riddles please?" Gun put the phone down, giving Saint his full attention. "What happened exactly?"
The boy sighed before answering. "It's that damn Zee. He tricked me into telling him where Gulf was-"
"Why? What did he want with Gulf?" Mild asked.
"-so P'Mew could go flirt with him." He finished his sentence after being interrupted.
"Ah~" Both Mild and Gun nodded in understanding, smiles beginning to form on their faces. Suddenly, Gun laughed out loud in the middle of the cafeteria. "Finally! He has finally met his match! Let's see for how long he can keep up with this ridiculous rule of his. You did well, B!"
Saint just grunted. "Easy for you to say. It won't be you that would be hearing it from Gulf later."
"Don't worry, we'll protect you this time!"
Mild chuckled. "Yup, we got you for this one. You did all of us a favor!"
"You guys are annoying," he replied back with a smile.
"Okay, but you and Zee though...?" Gun asked with a knowing look.
Saint immediately started shaking his head. "Nope. Nah-uh. Don't even get me started on that. He is the most annoying person I have ever met!"
"Aaand you like him," Mild added, teasing.
"Most definitely not!"
Gun sighed. "Sometimes, I don't know who's worse, you or Gulf."
"Definitely Gulf," Saint and Mild both answered together as all three of them laughed. Not knowing about the misfortune their dear friend was currently experiencing.
~.~
I.. Lost..
How can I lose?!
This can't be!
"We need a rematch!" Gulf strongly stated, his mind still refusing to believe he lost. The game was so silly, there was no way he could have lost to him! It has got to be his luck! But he has always been lucky almost all his life. Being a Sagittarius that he was, Jupiter - the planet of luck, has always been looking after him. But not this time. This time, Jupiter said he was on his own.
"Rematch?" Mew asked with humor. "I don't think the outcome's gonna be any different no matter how many rematch we make." You thought I was gonna play a game without knowing 100% sure I was gonna win? You couldn't have won against me no matter how hard you tried. Mew evilly thought to himself. "A deal is a deal. You're not gonna go back on your word now, are you?"
"Shit," Gulf cussed under his breath. He actually wasn't prepared for this. He was so sure and confident that he was gonna win! He didn't have time to make or even consider a plan B for when he actually lost. What was he gonna do now? He was really reckless this time.
Mew waved his phone in front of Gulf. "Whenever you're ready."
Dammit! I don't have a choice. If I still refuse, I'll seem irresponsible and cowardly. I'm neither of those things so I can't back out now. Gulf convinced himself, trying to find some hidden courage in him. He can't believe he was actually going to give his phone number to an admirer of his. He has never done this before! Usually if he said no, then they would just run along and move on.
But not this one. This one was assertive, not taking no for an answer. He was different than the rest of them. And it's throwing him off so much!
Gulf looked at the grinning man in front of him. His porcelain skin, soulful eyes, perfect nose, and kissable lips.. With someone as gorgeous as him, how could anyone say no? Mew was born to conquer the world. Is he gonna conquer him, too?
Glancing at the dangling phone in front of him, Gulf quickly snatched it in his hands. Pressing the add contact button, he typed in his phone number, registering it as 'Do Not Disturb Me'. Then he almost shoved it back to Mew. Why did he have to look so happy anyway? It's just a number.
Mew laughed out loud as he saw the name Gulf saved his contact under before giving it a call. As soon as Gulf's phone rang, he ended the call. "You can save mine as 'Future'."
"Future? Why? Are you a rapper?" The clueless boy asked.
Mew smirked. "Because I'm your future boyfriend."
~.~
"Ah, here he is. Mild, get ready to protect Saint." Gun said as soon as Gulf got close to their table. Mild immediately put an arm in front of Saint as he tried to stay as far away from the friend he just ditched.
Gulf rolled his eyes as he sat on the last remaining empty seat across from Mild. Trust his friends to be as dramatic as ever. "Too much, guys. Too much."
"We refuse to let today be Saint's last day on Earth. After all, he did all of us a favor." Mild proudly stated.
Gulf jokingly raised his hand on him. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
Mild immediately backed down. "Nothing, nothing!"
"Good."
Saint quickly made a 'sorry' sign towards Gulf. "Sorry, B! I really didn't have a choice but to tell him about your whereabouts. They had me cornered! I promise I tried not to."
"Uh-huh, you sure did."
"Shut it, Gun!"
"Okaaay."
Gulf just laughed at the two. Why were they bickering, instead of him and Saint? "Don't worry about it. But of course you'll have to accept your punishment."
Saint sighed. "Okay, not like I wasn't expecting this. Spill it!"
Opening his bag, Gulf pulled out two books and a bunch of printed sheets. He placed it in front of Saint. "Read all of that and make it into a report."
"You're making me do the whole report by myself?!"
He shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not that evil. And I also don't want a failing mark that bad-"
"Hey!"
"-so I compiled everything that should be in the report. You just have to structure and pull all of them together."
Mild clapped Saint in the back. "It doesn't sound too bad! You should be fine."
"If I were you Gulf, I'd punish him more."
Saint glared at Gun. "Can you stop?"
Gun just shrugged. "Just saying! You basically just gave him to the person that was about to break his three years chastity."
"Stop talking nonsense, Gun." Gulf chided. "He ain't breaking anything."
"Only time can tell, I guess~"
"I hate you guys sometimes."
"And we love you too!"
~.~
Gulf was just about to turn off his bedside lamp when his phone received a notification. It was from no other than the Mew Suppasit. Why would he send his first message now when he was just about to head to bed? He couldn't wait until tomorrow? He was hoping he didn't have to deal with him this soon.
With a deep sigh, he opened the message:
Not-Future: Good night! I hope you have a good sleep~ Please dream of me! Can't wait to talk to you tomorrow.
"Dream of me, my ass!" Gulf typed back a reply to him as he tried to suppress a smile.
If he really showed up in my dream, then it would be a nightmare! He told himself as he laid back on his bed. Putting his arms behind his head, he mused, it has been so long since I had a nightmare..
And a few moments later, or maybe several hours later, he was off to dreamland..
"Love, I'm so proud of you." A familiar voice softly whispered from somewhere beneath him. He tried moving his feet but he couldn't touch the ground. Is he in the air?!
Gulf quickly looked down only to come face to face with Mew, smiling up at him. Suddenly, he felt the arms wrapped tightly around the area just bellow his buttocks. He realized both of their bodies were stuck to each other like glue. Was Mew lifting him up in the air? And was his own arms also wrapped around Mew's neck?
As Mew went closer into his ear, Gulf's eyes became rounder. "Congratulations on your graduation, boyfriend."
Gulf abruptly sat up in bed. Breathing heavy and clutching his thumping heart. "Holy shit, I actually dreamed of him!"
He tried recalling the scenario..
"He was my boyfriend during graduation?!"
*Ping* His phone suddenly received a new notification, as he felt shivers down his spine. He stared at it for the longest time, knowing full well by now who the message was from. With shaky hands, he finally reached for it and opened the text.
Not-Future: Good morning, sunshine! How was your sleep? I hope you dreamed of me! You were really adorable in mine ;)
Gulf dropped his phone on his bed, as if burned by it. Heat was rising up to his face and neck, acting like a high schooler getting a text from his crush. What's wrong with him? He quickly patted his face awake before picking up the phone again.
"Thanks to you, I had a nightmare last night!" He replied back.
Not-Future: Aha! So you did dreamed of me! I guess I was also your last thought before you fell asleep..
Gulf: Don't kid yourself! It's only because you texted me right before I went to bed.
Not-Future: But still, I was in your dreams. What did we do?
Gulf: What do you mean?
Not-Future: Did we do anything in your dream..? Like..
Gulf: Nothing! We didn't do anything.
Not-Future: Ah, so that means we really did something.
Gulf: I just told you no!
Not-Future: Something you are embarrassed to admit.. Maybe..
Gulf: I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm getting ready for my class.
Not-Future: Ahaha! Okay, I'll see you at lunch later.
Gulf: Wait, what? I'm not having lunch with you!
Not-Future: We'll see ;)
"Ugh!" Gulf grunted in annoyance. Why was he getting him worked up this early? This should not be healthy! He stomped towards his bathroom, mumbling about how a certain someone ruined what would have been a wonderful sunny Friday for him.
~.~
"'Morning, Gulf!" Saint greeted as he sat on the desk beside Gulf who just nodded at him. "And before you ask, yes, I have done the report. I made sure not to sleep until I finished it!"
"Good job, I'm impressed. Now where is it?" He answered.
Saint handed him a printed copy of their report. "Give it a read when you have time. I'll also email you the digital copy so you can easily make some changes."
Gulf nodded at him. He was just putting away the report when his phone vibrated.
Not-Future: What drink do you like?
What is up with this guy again? He has been messaging me non-stop today! Gulf complained inwardly as he read his message.
Gulf: Why?
Not-Future: I'm gonna get it for you.
Gulf: No need.
Not-Future: Okay, I guess I'll just have to buy all the drinks they have available then.
Gulf: Damn you!
Not-Future: I'll ask one more time. What do you wanna drink today?
Gulf: Thai Iced Tea.
Not-Future: Okay, I'll give it to you during lunch.
"Hmm.. I was just about to ask how you're doing with your new admirer but I guess everything's going well?" Saint nonchalantly asked with a knowing smile.
Gulf frowned at him. "He's so annoying! And I hate you for putting me in this situation in the first place!"
Saint shook his head, disagreeing. "I don't think so. You looked quite happy reading and replying to his messages."
"I was not!"
"Whatever you say, B. But let me tell you this, he might have fallen first, but you will definitely fall harder."
Gulf lightly shoved his friend away. "Stop with your nonsense already!" He retorted back but his heart was wavering. He was truly in trouble. He needed to place better barricades around his heart. To replace the already broken ones.
What am I gonna do with you, P'Mew?