Pagkakaila, Pag-aatubili || BonesAlexx: HHFB

(ii)

"Ano —Putanginaka Chubs 'wag mo ako sandalan mabigat ka— naubusan tayo ng drinks and pulutan." Shyder speaks up, habang tinutulak palayo si Chubs na mistulang nagkukunwari na inaantok. "Pupunta kami nila Pef at Frids para bumili ulit—" She gets cut off as Chubs, hilariously, plops his entire weight on Shyder's side.

"INUTIL KA TALAGA CHUBS, ALIS!"

"Girl, bunganga mo. Mukha kang honor student pero grabe yung dila mo." Frida jokingly nudges her pink-clad friend while standing up. Alexx mutters something about Shyder being the reincarnation of Heneral Antonio Luna. Frida nudges her boyfriend, "Xyan, sama ka dali."

"M'kay."

"Sama ako!" Chubs and Cris say in unison, with Bones and Alexx about to follow suit.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT." Lahat sila nakatitig kay Frida, her smug face almost copying that of Anya's in that one manga panel. Xyan mutters under his breath, something along the lines of, "ayan nanaman siya" while peeling a banana.

Frida points to Alexx and Bones. The latter caught on with his friend's schemes. He motioned and mimed at her to shut up and let them be, but all in vain. "Kayo magbabantay ng table."

Alexx, about to protest, gets shut down by her kambal, who motioned at her to sit down. Inirapan niya si Xyan and umupo siya, bringing her phone out. Bones' jaw drops. Pati si Xyan nasali sa kabalastugan ng jowa niya. Akala ko ba magkakaibigan tayo dito?

As the rest of them walks off, he could hear a "Bye!" from his friend. Frida's tone seem more condescending than genuine, and by far, Bones wants to die.

An awkward silence spills over the atmosphere as it turns from just a quiet air, to something more uncomfortable, more suffocating. Sinulyapan ni Bones si Alexx, who's scrolling on her phone.

Say, something! Anything!

"Para sa 'yo," With a curious expression, Bones turns his gaze to the female sitting beside him. "Para sa'yo, ano ang pag-ibig?"

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?

The female twin furrows her brows at him. "Ang random ah."

"Sagutin mo na kasi."

Alexx reiterates slowly, as if trying to taste the words on her tongue. "Ano ang pag-ibig..?"

As if on cue, the playlist on Pef's phone (naiwan niya since bumili siya ng extra booze and ice) immediately played Ben&Ben's Pagtingin. Her eyes flashed with a gleam of utter joy, as it is one of the most popular songs. Relatable daw kasi.  Alexx hums along to the tune, ignorant to the soft look Bones gives her.

He looks away before she can catch him.

"Going back; bakit mo ako natanong?" she smiled, amused by Bones' random, but philosphical question. The male sworn his heart was thrown to the skies. "I should be the last person na makakaalam."

Gusto ko lang malaman, he thought. Is it bad to know something of you, kahit na alam kong hindi ko makamit?

He shrugged as he sipped on his own drink, "Sagutin mo na." Alexx smiles at him again, and turned away, sipping on her drink. He convinced himself that he did not turn red at the sight of her smile. Not at all.

Denial is a river in Egypt, he could hear Frida and Meanne's voice in his head. He shakes the thought off.

"Disclaimer, not everyone has known the general consensus of this particular emotion," she waves her finger around, narrowly hitting his ear, getting a half-hearted glare her way. "So take my words with a grain of salt kasi half-drunk ako at hindi ko na alam yung pinagtatalak ko, yes?"

No, He wanted to say. Kahit sinungaling pa yan, basta galing sa iyo, paniniwalaan ko. He internally cringed at the unintentional reference from a certain novel. He nods, still admiring her visage.

He's such a fool in love. A fool. Absolute fool.

"Love is usually addressed as an emotion na kabilang sa feelings ng adoration, admiration, the good stuff," Alexx leans forward with her elbows settling on her thighs as the song plays in the background. "But for some reason, hindi siya the same as the latter ones; or rather, it's just something more powerful, more indescribable."

She droned on and on, as Bones hears the speakers now play Araw-Araw from the same band. Grabe yung timing, sinadya ba 'to?

She closes her eyes, and for a moment, she looks so relaxed, he almost thought she fell asleep under the spell from the 2 (and a half) bottles of beer she has downed in a single hour.

"Anyway, love is two-faced," Alexx started again, opening her eyes once more to stare into the distance. "One half a beautiful, tender feeling of euphoric bliss," she held up a one-peso coin, flashing him the front part, where Bones could see Rizal's side frame. "And the other," she paused to flick the coin to the 'tails' side only using two of her fingers.

"A horrible, excruciating pain only instilled within one's soul with an agony so immense, it can't be named." I know. His lips turn downwards into a frown. I know too well.

"And whether it be in the romantic, platonic, or familial sense," she paused, playing with the silver coin. "The idea of love being two-faced still stands. One cannot exist without the other."

Flicking the coin, letting it spin in the air, and then dropping onto her palm, and encasing it in a fist. Bones wondered what could his ears hear next.

"You surely don't hear love stories without pain, nor hear one that ran smoothly without bumps. It has always been like this, in life too. In every aspect you could name, there's a looming realization that shit isn't all that simple. So is Love."

A sigh escapes her lips. His eyes watch, transfixed.

"Eros and Psyche. Medea and Jason. Daragang Magayon and Ulap. Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara. Elias and Salome. You heard?"

He nods. "Oo."

"It's that inconsistent and rocky, not knowing what to expect and where tragedy would hit, but," Alexx smiles once more, turning lazily to him, her eyes half-lidded. "It's a beautiful concept all on its own."

She downed the rest of her drink, the sheen on her lips looks so enticing and alluring to him.

(Bones wondered if it feels soft as it looks.)

"...Grabe ka pala mag-english kapag lasing." He teased, relishing her glare and the obvious strain of her hand wanting to smack the smug look off his smug face.

"Tangina ka, ikaw nagtanong eh." He lets out a booming laugh, with her glare only worsening, but soon after, an amused smile pulls at the edge of her lips.

Silence ensues. Then, he turns to her, about to say something when the song slowly faded into nothingness, and then, Lifetime by Ben&Ben comes on.

Ah, the irony. He thought, resisting the urge to groan. Tamang-tama ang timing ng song. He gulped down a glass of beer, ignoring a twinge of pain forming in his chest.

"Oy!" The two turn and see Pef with Shyder, holding a case of drinks with Chubs and Cris trailing behind. "Mamaya pa raw babalik sila Xyan at Frids, bibili daw ng pulutan."

"Sa sobrang tagal niyo, nagkaroon kami ng philosophical conversation," Alexx says nonchalantly, waving at the two females before uncapping a new bottle for herself. He turned to look at Alexx, and internally regretting it as the squeezing in his chest only grew.

Sumandig siya kay Cris, the latter trying not to spill beer over her half-drunken, clingy self trying to give him a hug. The lines of the song swam through his ears once more, the meaning behind it even more devastating.

Tangled with another's eyes; nevermind, you were never mine.

(Author's note: Ben&Ben is a good band)