Word count: 4 | BrightWin

Nine

"Why is it so quiet? I'm not used to it, except for Bright. But you, Win. Are you okay? You haven't said anything since earlier." Tu noticed that Win kept on spacing out. The other three looked at him while anticipating his answer.

"U-uhm, actually I want to say something but I'm not sure if Bright would be okay with that." Is he going to tell them that he likes me? Oh gosh.

Their attention shifted to Bright. "What's that about?" Nani asked. Why does he need to say it? Well, okay. Maybe he's uncomfortable if our friends are clueless. Bright heaved a sigh before nodding. "Guys, I like Bright and I- uhm, confessed to him last night." Win announced shyly.

Dew choked on his food while Tu gave him his water immediately. Nani, on the other hand, stopped blinking. Bright and Win felt anxious with their friends' reactions. They don't know if they would be okay with it.

"Erm, we were shocked. Not because Win liked a man, but because he liked someone in our circle. Well, for me, it's fine as long as it's okay with you both, especially Bright. Since, you know… he’s straight." Tu explained, Dew and Nani nodded. "Is it okay with you, Bright?" Dew added.

Bright agreed and everyone was left speechless. After a few minutes, Win told them that he'd buy drinks for everyone. Nani and Dew volunteered to accompany him while Tu was left with Bright. "So, how do you feel about it?" She started.

Seriously, I'm still shocked by it. I still couldn't sink it in– Win really likes me. A man is freaking serious about me. As a man who never experienced that, I don't know how to feel or react. But it's already here and I couldn't distance myself to reflect because he's my friend and I'm with him all the time.

Bright answered Tu that he accepts it but he still doesn't know what to feel. This is new to him and it's an unfamiliar feeling. "I understand. I know you’re taken aback but I'm glad you didn't reject him on the spot. Thank you for accepting Win as he is." She smiled. Bright wanted to ask something but he didn't continue it.

"You wanted to ask something?" Tu asked before taking a bite of her sandwich. Bright scratched his head and asked her how she found out her true sexuality. Tu let out a small smile before responding. "Just like any other people in the community, I was confused at first. Me being attracted to women felt disturbing for me because I thought that's wrong."

She paused before continuing. "I expected that it would just pass, like it's some phase that I'd overcome. But the feeling never went away so I realized that maybe I'm different, in a good way. I love myself for who I am and I never hated what I've become." Bright reflected on what she said.

So, it’s normal to get confused at first? Bright heaved a sigh. "The moment you asked me that, I already knew that you're confused about your own sexuality. You're attracted to Win too, right? You just don't understand what you're feeling." How does she know? Bright widened his eyes. Tu giggled.

"Been there, done that. Trust me. But, if you really want to understand your feelings you should be ready to accept that you might have a different sexuality. That's the first thing you need to figure out." Bright nodded to what she said. He then asked her if she could help him with that.

"Of course! I'd love to. You can ask me about anything. I know you don't want to ask Win because you want to figure things out on your own first. But I'm here to help you." She cheerfully offered a helping hand. Bright thanked her for being kind and understanding. Meanwhile, their conversation was interrupted when the boys came back.

===

"Okay, class. We'll be having our department week, 2 weeks from now. If you want to have a booth, you can approach me so we could work on that." Their class adviser announced. The group exchanged glances as they were planning something for the booth they have in mind.

It's near Valentine's day, so they thought it'd be nice to set up a booth that could share love to others. "Win can bake macarons." Nani suggested. "Let's add something to spice it up." Dew woke up from his nap and realized that they're already talking about the booth.

"What if we add some anonymous love letters along with the macarons? You know, if someone doesn't want to have their name exposed, we could do that. But including names are allowed as well." Tu proposed a better idea. Everybody agreed with her thought.

"So, you're going to make the letters and we'll be the delivery men?" Dew asked. Tu snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "Exactly! Nice, right? We have three delivery men, one writer, and one baker." But then, she looked at Bright and came up with something.

"Oh, Nani and Dew, you'll be the delivery men. Bright will accompany me in making the letters. I need a designer." What's she planning? Bright furrowed his brows and put a thumbs up right after. The group wrote their proposal so they could submit it to their adviser.

A few hours later, their adviser approved their proposal and told them that they could already start preparing for the booth. "Bright, if you aren't busy later, stop by my dorm so we could talk about the designs and format for the letter." Tu blurted out while they were going home.

"You're going to start already? It's 2 weeks from now." Win spoke before Bright could even agree. "Yeah, we need to make it pretty. And we're also going to design the boxes for the macarons." Tu replied with a wide smile. He couldn't do anything but to give her a short nod.

Tu looked at Bright for an answer. He then agreed to stop by her dorm.

===

"We're going now. Don't miss Bright so much, okay? He'll go home to you, don't worry." Tu teased Win before she and Bright went inside her dorm. Nani and Dew only laughed because Win felt shy instantly.

They entered Tu's room. It's small and cozy, it also looks neat and organized. Different than when Bright went there last time to knit Win’s vest. "I'm sure you're confused about everything. Well, I didn't ask you to come by for us to make designs. We can just talk it over on social media." Tu explained.

Bright asked her to tell him everything she planned earlier. "We need to spend time together so I could help you understand your feelings. I couldn't just teach you through chat. We also need to observe Win. I know he'd react differently but what we're doing is for him as well." She chuckled.

"I need to make you realize things and I can also give you tips to understand yourself better." Bright gave her a hopeful smile. He said that he wouldn't be able to keep up without her help. "I'm glad to help. I'll be the biggest fan of you both if you're really meant for each other."

Win, I'm now trying what you told me before. I want to live without hesitations. I don't want to think of the consequences for now. I just want to understand what my feelings are telling me… because it's all about you.