How To Tame A Demon

Chapter 55

55 : Request

Time passed in a blink, and now it's lunch break. I find myself standing in the cafeteria line, waiting to buy food for our group.

Wala ngayon sina April at Andrei dahil sila ang nagbabantay sa mga upuan namin. Ayoko namang lagi silang inuutusan kaya ako na ang nag-volunteer to line up.

Andrei wanted to join me, offering to help carry the trays but I quickly refused. I told him I could handle it.

At the last minute, Travis showed up and told Andrei to sit down instead, saying he'd help me with the food.

Honestly, I hesitated for a moment. But I thought it was better this way—mas okay na si Travis kesa si Andrei ang sumama. At least this way, I could do something small to thank Andrei for everything.

"It's your turn next, baby," Travis whispered beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I rolled my eyes and stepped forward.

I sighed inwardly. Unfortunately, this decision came with a downside.

And this downside is standing right beside me.

"Hey... are you mad at me? Why aren't you talk--"

"Dalawang kreng kreng, isang boom tarat-tarat, atsaka tatlong chuchu eklavu nga po, ate." Pagsabat ko sa pananalita ni Travis habang nakangiti ng payak kay ateng nagbabantay ng mga pagkain. Mabilis naman itong tumalima sa aking mga idinikta at tahimik na ipinaghain ang aking mga sinabing putahe.

"Avery..." Travis called my name again, but I ignored him, keeping my eyes fixed on the food.

"I'm really sorry for teasing you earlier. I didn't mean—" his apology was cut short when the lady handed me two trays.

"Eto na po," she said with a polite smile. I smiled back, grateful for the distraction.

"Thank you," I replied and grabbed one of the trays. Travis, without a word, took the other and followed me.

"C'mon, Avery. You know my birthday's coming up, right? I don't want us fighting before then. Can we at least be okay until after my birthday?" he pleaded, causing me to stop in my tracks.

I turned to face him. "Then can you lessen the teasing? Kaya mo ba 'yon?"

He hesitated at first, but then he nodded, his expression sincere. "Yeah, I can do that. I'm really sorry. I just... I don't know why, but I like teasing you. I like seeing you react."

Napailing na lamang ako sa sinabi niya at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad.

"Hilig mo talagang paglaruan yung nararamdaman ko 'no?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" He quickly protested. I shrugged.

"Whatever," I muttered as we reached the table. I placed the tray down in front of Andrei and April. Travis did the same but stayed standing, looking like he wanted to sit beside me.

Before he could make a move, I slid into the seat next to April. His face fell for a second before he resigned himself to sitting next to Andrei.

Ang... awkward.

Travis and Andrei were glaring at each other across the table. I sighed. Nakakapagod na silang suwayin. Wala rin namang mangyayari.

After we finished eating, I immediately excused myself, saying I wanted to go to the library for a bit. But before I could even step away, I realized they were all following me.

Napabuntong-hininga ako. I knew it. There's no way I'll get any reading done with these two around. But there's no backing out now.

We climbed the stairs to the library, and as we walked, I asked if they cleaned up after themselves at the cafeteria. They all nodded, and I simply shrugged.

Pagdating namin sa library, I headed straight to the back shelves where books about space and time were kept. Initially, I thought about grabbing something related to biology, pero naisip kong hindi ko rin naman maiintindihan dahil sa ingay ng kasama ko kaya napagdesisyunan kong tumingin na lamang ng mga pictures ng solar system.

I grabbed a random book and was about to turn around when a hand suddenly reached over my shoulder, brushing against me. It all felt like slow motion as I looked up, seeing Travis towering over me, reaching for a book on the top shelf.

For a second, our eyes met. I felt something stir in my chest, an odd warmth creeping up to my face.

I could barely breathe.

I feel like... I'm on clo--

"Aray!" I groaned, my face slamming straight into the bookshelf. The shelves rattled from the impact. Luckily, the shelf was anchored to the wall, or else we would've caused a massive scene in the library.

I could hear Travis stifle a laugh behind me, but he quickly straightened up, clearing his throat awkwardly. I pushed myself off the shelf, rubbing my forehead.

"You really need to watch more movies on how to properly do that," I muttered under my breath, too embarrassed to look at him. Travis let out a small chuckle.

"Ahem... I-I wasn't doing anything," he said, fixing his shirt. I glanced at the book in my hand and started walking back to our spot.

"But you felt something, didn't you?" he teased, walking beside me. I rolled my eyes, pretending not to hear him.

"Ewan ko sayo. You said you weren't doing anything, but now you're asking me if I felt something? Pinagloloko mo ba ako?" I shot back, annoyed.

He grinned. "You told me to watch more movies so I could do it properly next time, right? You definitely felt something, Avery. Don't try to change the subject."

Gusto ko na sana siyang sapakin pero mas pinili kong huwag na lamang siyang pansinin. He was enjoying this too much.

"And in the first place, you should be the one watching more romantic movies because you don't know how that thing properly works too. You're supposed to lean your back on me but you didn't. Edi ako na ang gumawa ng paraan. It's obviously your fault." Dagdag pa nito habang tumatango-tango. Napahinto naman ako sa paglalakad at hindi makapaniwalang nilingon siya.

Seriously?

I stopped walking, glaring at him in disbelief.

So ako pa ang mali? Ano ba talagang trip nito? May pagka-scripted ba?

Nagpatuloy ako sa paglalakad, ignoring him, but I could still feel him following me.

Finally, I found an empty table and sat down, flipping open the book. Travis sat beside me but thankfully, he stayed quiet for a while.

After a few minutes, he suddenly broke the silence. "About my birthday..." his voice was soft, almost hesitant.

I glanced at him, waiting.

"It's only a few days away," he said, his eyes still on the book. I nodded in response.

"Oo..."

"Can I... can I ask you something?" he asked, lifting his gaze to meet mine.

"Can... we... g-go on a date?"