A Miserable Romance [BL]

Chapter 8 - Flags

Chase was tricked. From the very start, Ofius didn't plan on letting him leave, this guy was mischievous. 'Nung una nila sa stall ng balloons, sabi pag nanalo, mage-extend lang sila ng one hour pero pagdating nila sa next stall nagdeal naman sila ulit na kung si Chase mananalo, uuwi na siya pero pag si Ofius, mage-extend ulit sila ng one hour.

And the cycle goes on! Hindi talaga siya pinayagang manalo ni Ofius!

They finished their 9th stall at nagdesisyon ng kumain. It was already evening but the place was still bustling and was even more colorful kasi maraming lights ang umaandar, every shop and every corner was lighted up at mas dumagsa pa ang mga tao which made the place more vibrant. Offius led him into a stall where they serve good warm foods especially the spicy ones since Ofius come to realization that every spicy dish he bought for Chase back on the apartment was completely cleaned by him.

Chase waited on the table while Ofius was the one who ordered. As he looked around, Chase suddenly felt the strange wave of something roll his head and heart again, as if fluttering feathers of emotion that he didn't know how to explain. All he knew was this emotion was giving him happiness and this time, it was pure and genuine.

And it just went past in his mind that once, he loved everything.

Chase snap from his thoughts when he heard familiar voices and laughing and when he turned on Ofius's direction, sure enough, he was surrounded by dozen of his friends. He couldn't what they're talking but he was familiar with Kyle and his friends with some pretty girls along with them.

"Ofius! Ba't 'di mo sinasagot tawag namin?!" Jin stomped towards him when they accidentally spotted him lining up on a food stall.

After the rehearsal of the pageant, them and the girls decided to take a trip on this street and was lucky enough to spot the missing guy.

Ofius was also surprised to see them but not quite happy, "Ba't kayo nandito?"

"Oh, ba't nakasimangot? Ikaw nga 'yung may atraso dito." Kyle spoke up, "Kung ganito rin pala, sana di na naming ininvite sina Stacy."
Ofius stopped when he heard his crush's name and was late to realize that they were actually here!

"Stacy?" he beamed in a smile, "Sumunod rin kayo?"
Stacy smiled back, "Oo, sabi nila maraming events ngayong gabi dito specially yung fireworks."

Ofius got excited but strangely not that too excited as before. But he shrugged these thoughts off and said, "Gusto niyo, sama-sama nalang tayo manuod?"

"'Di na baka lahat kami dito maging third wheel." singit ng isa nilang kaibigan

The girls around Stacy teased her, "Ayieee." As well as Kyle and their male friends.

"Oy, ang ingay niyo." Stacy hushed.

"Sir, here's your order." Ofius snapped back when he saw the tray of his order.

"Para kanino 'yan?" Kyle asked smelling the tasty soup.

"Para kay Chase." Ofius answered and went towards Chase's table.

"Chase?" Kyle was confused and then followed his eyes. Only when he saw the familiar gloomy man he unusually see outside did he want to involuntarily curse but Jin took the opportunity.

"ANAK NG—" But Kyle immediately shut his loud mouth nang makita nito si Chase.

"Chase." Ofius gently took the dishes he specially ordered for him. "Another batch of top-tier food."

And Chase couldn't agree more, the smell was already alluring him.

"Um, Chase?"

Chase lifted his head.

"Nandito sina Kyle and few of our friends and..." he was scratching his cheeks as he say this but Chase understood.

"Hindi ko talaga alam kung anong laman ng utak mo pero okay lang ako dito, you can go to your friends. No need to ask me or anything." He said.

But Ofius seemed to have the inner struggle as he just stood there for a second.

Chase noticed it, "Ofius—"

"Babalik ako kaagad, ako maghahatid sayo papauwi." He said seriously, "Ituturo ko muna sa kanila ang magandang spot para sa fireworks tapos babalik ako kaagad."

Chase was surprised from his serious expression and shook his head, "Okay lang ako dito Ofius, I can go back my own."

"Ako nagdala sayo dito Chase, I should also, atleast, take you home safely. Please."

Chase saw his almost begging expression and sighed, "Okay."

Ofius smiled, "Hintayin mo ako." then he went back to his friends. His friends started to interrogate him on the reason why he was with the gloomy man but he just laughed it off and focused on Stacy's comfort while Chase enjoyed the dish he had. Spicy food with cool outdoor air was a perfect combo.

After a while, he finally finished and decided to wait for Ofius, silently and alone while the other tables were a bunch of families and couples eating. He still waited for a few more minutes for Ofius when his phone suddenly rang and on his screen was a contact he didn't want to talk to right now. He let it ring but when it called again, he had the feeling that he need to answer his call.

"Hello." Chase spoke.

"Good Evening, Mr. Paez, I'm across where you're in." sabi ng tumawag.

But that made Chase frown and looked around with suspicious eyes, "Hindi ka ba titigil sa kakamanman, Julius?"

The Julius guy calmly answered, "Utos lang po."

Chase clenched his fist.

"I came for an important discussion, may oras ka ba?" he said but Chase didn't answered.

Hearing his silence, Julius spoke, "This is nothing related to Sir Harold."

Chase had a lot of thoughts, he was angry about how this guy can be this calm and how this guy can blurt out lies when he was directly under Harold but because Chase also had an obligation, he stood and left the area. As soon as he reached the sidewalk, he took glimpse of a tall man across the street, then when this man confirmed that he finally got out, he turned around him inviting to another spot.

Chase frowned but still followed, and soon ended up on the corner of the street where there are almost no people since they had all gathered up in the park to watch the firework competition.

"Sir Chase." the man gave him a paper bag with an expensive brand on it. Chase just stared at him.

Julius was a middle-aged man, 6 years older than him and has been working under the Family Ligaya for years, directly under Harold and had known each other since then.

"This is from Miss Bella," Julius spoke, "She wanted me to give this to you."

Chase softened when he heard the name but also gave pieces of memories from the past that he wanted to bury. "Tell her thank you but I can't accept it," he said and was about to go back when Julius spoke.

"Who is that man you were with?"

Chase stopped and glared at him.

Julius still reached for the gift to him, "I haven't told Sir Harold about this request from Miss Bella and if you will accept this, I might not tell him what happened this day and that includes that young man."

Chase marched forward toward him and stopped just before him, he glared, "I already dragged my life out of that family! Ano pa gusto niyo?"

But Julius remained the poker face and gave the gift, "This." he said, "And if you think you have taken your life back, then I must say, you haven't." he said as he took a step forward towards him, looking down at Chase.

"Sir Harold may have an earlier flight," he said, "And if you have something to hide, I advise you to hide it now."

Chase's fist was already trembling in anger but before he could exert his anger to any physical movement, an arm tightly pulled him back that almost made him stumble but the person who pulled him secured him close.

"Sabi ko naman sa 'yo hintayin mo ako?" when Chase turned his head, it was at that same moment that the first firework exploded in the night sky and it illuminated Ofius's smiling face.