Only We Know

Moving Closer [4/5]

Gab is cunning; that is what Mau thought.

Two days after the fateful night, Gab couldn't even spare him a glance. For all Mau knows, he could be just oblivious, or he simply doesn't care. Or he was just bored back then, so he spent the night with him, without any other intention at all. Gab could also just really not be interested in him in any way. "With the way Gab acts at the moment, that must be it," Mau reasons to himself.

But honestly, when Mau thinks about it, there's really no reason to act differently just because they bonded, right? There really isn't. When Mau realized that, he could only just sigh. He doesn't know if he's expecting something to happen or if he's just that bored with his own life.

That's it. He must be really just bored; he's got nothing to do despite the piled-up tasks he procrastinated from. That's the very reason why he's currently watching the band's rehearsal: boredom. There's literally no hidden intention behind why he immediately accepted Miles' request the night before.

It's three days before the university festival, and they are in full-blast rehearsals. This will be their last performance before the sound check on the day. He's just being a kind member and a kind friend; that's why he volunteered to oversee the rehearsal while Miles is running around the university to do his president stuff. There's no hidden intention at all. He rescheduled his own stuff again because he is being kind.

Well, those are the things Mau convinces himself to believe. He couldn't.

After Mau went back and forth with his thoughts, fooling himself, he is now seriously thinking: should he approach Gab first? But what should he even say if he does? Is there even stuff they can talk about? Would Gab even talk to him? Mau feels like he's back to square one, anxious and irrationally scared.

It pisses him off more because they did indeed spend time together, but he feels like he knows nothing about Gab at all, and that he's so dumb and stupid to think otherwise. But even if he throws a temper tantrum, what's done is done. Mau sighed exasperatedly at how he finds everything frustrating. Both because of the foreseeable chaos in front of him, and yet the desire to know more about the other person is still there.

"Hey."

Mau almost stopped breathing when he heard a familiar voice. He held his breath for a second when he got a whiff of his scent. He only noticed that Gab was now standing in front of him.

Mau looks up; he sees Gab with his usual calm demeanor. His left hand was in his pocket, his phone on the other. He's in his usual fit, but in Mau's eyes, he looks different. He can't pinpoint in what way though.

Mau could only watch how Gab's lips slowly curled up in a small smile. It's a tight-lipped smile while looking directly at him, waiting for a response. He almost stopped breathing a second time. Gab is breathtaking. For the nth time, Mau realized-and now he fully acknowledges and accepts-that Gab indeed had an effect on him, whether he liked it or not. He's done.

After what felt like an awkward couple of seconds of Mau staring, he managed to answer at last.

"Hey," he curtly replied.

"Miles asked me to accompany you." Gab quickly answered, almost nonchalantly. "No one's sitting here, right?" Gab gestured to the seat beside Mau, then he sat on it even before Mau got to answer. They got quiet soon.

"So..."

"So?" Gab, with his curious eyes, asked.

"What do you think about their performance right now compared to their last?"

"Much better than before."

"And?"

"That's it."

"Thanks for the sincere answer." Mau sarcastically replied.

Gab immediately let out a chuckle in response. "The moment I backed out from the line-up, I decided not to think about it too much," he explained. "I was just basically guilt-tripped by Miles to be here, y'know?" Gab continued, trying to defend himself, with the littlest bit of a small pout.

Adorable, Mau thought.

"Really? He's not here right now, though. He won't be able to do anything if you leave" Mau said, almost suggesting for Gab to ditch, as well as asking why he didn't leave already.

Gab got quiet for a couple of seconds. He then flashed a very timid smile. "Right," he slowly answers. His eyes focused ahead.

Mau doesn't know what to think anymore. His chest is pounding. His mind already ran miles.

Gab is not numb; far from it. He's sensitive, overly conscious, to the extent that he knows that the moment he walked in earlier, Mau kept on glancing in his direction. And he finds it amusing.

Mau looks like someone who leads-well, he's in education, so he probably does. But ironically, he's too shy. And he's easy to read. He wears his heart on his sleeves, it seems.

Mau looked like he wanted to talk to him earlier, but for some reason he didn't. Which, honestly, made Gab confused... and more interested, he admits.

After what felt like a number of glances from Mau and a couple of sets from the band, Gab felt that the stealing of glances suddenly stopped. Gab's eyes are on the stage, so he doesn't have an idea about where Mau could be. He can't feel his presence anymore. His voice is nowhere near, either.

Gab fought with himself for a couple of minutes before turning his head in Mau's direction. And there he saw Mau, in a daze. His eyes are focused on the stage, but he's looking at nothing. The band has slipped a couple of times already, but he didn't give a single comment or anything.

Miles had reminded him to accompany Mau earlier, but he just remembered it. And if he's being honest, he now just wants to know what Mau would do in this situation. Gab observed Mau for a couple of minutes before deciding to approach him first.

He walked towards Mau, whose eyes were fixed on the band, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. He stopped in front of him, and Mau didn't even notice his presence. A second later, he saw how Mau looked up at him with a surprised face. Gab wanted to laugh, but he stopped himself. He finds Mau to be kind of dumb yet adorable, but that would be insulting, so he just keeps the thought to himself.

And now here they are, sitting beside each other, their knees touching. Gab feels comfortable, he didn't even think of moving away.

On the other hand, Mau doesn't know what to do with himself. He wanted to ask what Gab is staying for, but he didn't. He decided to just let himself be delusional... or that could really be a hint or something from Gab for all he knows.

The moment he felt Gab's knee on his, he stopped breathing. Electrifying. When Gab didn't back off, he felt like melting in his seat.

Minutes passed, and he can now feel how Gab's knee rests on him comfortably. Gab is comfortably resting on his seat, watching the rehearsal intently while Mau watches him. The band might have made a mistake or whatever, but he couldn't care less. Honestly, Mau feels like they're the only ones in the world.

He stole a couple of glances more before he felt his phone vibrate. Miles just messaged him. He had been messaging him since earlier, and he didn't notice it at all. After reading a couple of messages from Miles, he then realized that Miles might come back any moment now.

Mau is trying to focus on his screen. He doesn't know what to say to Miles to stop him from coming back; is there anything to delay him? He can't think straight anymore.

Just then, he felt someone staring at him. He looks up, and there he catches Gab, stealing glances at him. Or he might have been just looking behind him, Mau reasoned to himself. But when their eyes met for a split second, Gab quickly faced the stage up front.

Mau feels a lump in his throat. He's nervous yet giddy. He took his deepest breath, and without even replying to Miles' message, he went back to his home screen. He cleared his throat before handing his phone to Gab.

"Can I have your number?"