Vanished

Chapter 12

Gabi skims whatever shirts, trousers, or something he can put as an outfit for today's date with Justine. It has been a week since then and today will be their first date.

"Gabi anak, where are you going?" His mom asks as he tries to scan what her son is doing.

He continues to rummage whatever he can find that will fit the Alorica and just answers in chorus. "Gagala lang mom."

"Sino kasama mo nak? Si Hollow ba?" She asks trying to pry what is happening.

"Justine po, sa Alorica lang kami." Gabi replies and grins as he finds the perfect top for his perfect navy pants.

"Ganon ba, that's good anak. You should enjoy the gala. But anyway, who's this Justine you are speaking of?" She asks again, she wants to know who this Justine is and how he can let her son go out.

"My new friend, Mom. He asked me for a date because he wanted to gain experience with someone he likes. Weirdo nya eh, right? HAHAHA." Gabi arranges the clothes he scattered while chuckling.

"Sabihin mo sa kanya dito na sya mag dinner. I want to meet him." She instructs Gabi.

"Try ko lang mom ha, mahiyain kasi yun." Gabi replies while he starts to dress up.

His mom leaves him alone and he continues to assess if he is satisfied with his outfit.

When Gabi left the house he did not forget to kiss his mom's cheek and cheerfully went out.

Initially, Justine wanted to take a grab and take Gabi on the way because taking a bike on the way to their date seemed so corny.

But Gabi insisted that they take the bike because it's more romantic. So he waited in the bus station where he usually waits for Justine.

There he sees the dashing figure of Justine pedaling the bike wearing a black polo shirt and gray trousers paired with earrings.

"Gab ang ganda mo!" Justine shouts at the top of his lungs.

The people around them stared at him like a whacko. Gabi shyly gets embarrassed and covers his face with his two hands.

"Gago ka, Justine!" Gabi pinches him as he tries to recover from the embarrassment.

"Eh totoo naman diba? Ganda mo ngayon." Justine compliments him, melting the older guy in response.

Gabi takes a silent response and decides to tease the younger.

"Ano? Ako ba pogi ba?" Justine cheekily grins as he tries to look handsomely stupid in front of Gabi.

"Oo na, pogi ka na. Baka lumaki ang ulo mo." Gabi replies while hitting him lightly.

"Hmmm, something is getting bigger but it's not my head." Justine teases the older guy while nudging him lightly.

"Ang bastos mo talaga!" Gabi stretches out Justine's mouth to punish him.

"Ano bang tinutukoy mo Gab? Hindi yung ulo na nasa baba ang tinutukoy mo HAHAHA. Puso yung tinutukoy ko." Justine defends his reasons while chuckling how green minded the older guy's thoughts.

"Oh my god Justine, HAHAHA. Wag ka nalang mag tell please. Sakay na ako." Gabi replies while motioning to sit down in the back and hugging Justine in the process for security.

"Kapit ka lang sa akin Gab, you are safe with me." Justine says endearingly while looking at him.


Gabi smiles at the thought, not even a few minutes into their date it is already magical and enjoyable. Being with Justine really takes off his mind to a certain someone.

The way to Alorica is just ten minutes away from the bus station. When they arrive Justine secures the bike first using a lock before they leave.

"Are you hungry? Should we eat first?" Justine asks trying to see if the older guy is hungry because he does not want him to be peckish.

"I'm still full from the breakfast I ate earlier. Should we go somewhere else? Marami namang activities dito sa alorica." Gabi suggests what to do with their date.

He wants to help the younger to have a real experience of how dating works and he also wants it spontaneous so giving a little hints should work.

"Hmmm, let's go shopping first. I want you to buy something for yourself." Justine suggests.

"Okay, let's also buy for yourself." Gabi agrees and they walk inside.

When they arrive at the shopping center, all kinds of boutiques and shops are seen. It's almost like being cornered like a rat with all the temptations around.

"Let's start with this section." Justine motions him to follow towards the makeup section.


"Bakit dito? Are you saying I needed makeup to look pretty?" Gabi asks trying to tease the younger into thinking he's offended.

"No, no, never. I just thought you wanted to buy some lip balm ba yan or lip gloss." Justine nervously scratches his neck while staring at Gabi so intensely.

The last thing he wanted to do was to make Gabi uncomfortable with this date that he set up.

"I'm kidding silly! Masyadong seryoso mo naman Justine." Gabi chuckles at the scene in front of him.

Justine exhales a nervous breath because the thorns in his throat are now gone.

"Yup, I wanted to try makeup, Justine. Although everyone says that I really look good without makeup, I still want to improve my creativity. You know, makeup is art?" Gabi says to him opening up what he thinks about it.

"Of course, makeup is art. I support whatever you want to do with it as long as you are happy. I bet you are gonna look good even more wearing it." Justine supports the idea while giving a thumbs up.

"Sure ka ba? Should I buy make-up? I mean, there are possibilities people would hate me for it." Gabi voices out his concern about being judged.

He knows that people who often wear makeup get judged by society. They feel the need to bring down the confidence of the makeup enjoyers to glorify their egos.

"I promise it won't happen. I am here to make sure it won't happen or if it ever happens I'm here to protect you. Just do what your heart tells you to do." Justine endearingly tucks the strands of hair in Gabi's face.

Their conversation gets interrupted when a lady starts to approach them. "Hi po mga sir, couples po kayo?" The lady asks in cheerful manner.

"Ay hind-" Gabi could not finish what he was about to say because the lady immediately grabbed him.

"Ganda mo naman po sir, gusto mo po free make up? I'll recommend you some products for you to buy." The lady forces him to sit on a swivel makeup stool.

Justine just chuckles at the scene in front of him. The lady did her thing by applying various products to Gabi's face and explaining the process.

The process took 30 minutes and Justine enjoyed every minute of it. Just by looking at Gabi's face get munched up and dolled up is satisfying to see.

From Gabi who looks 100 percent to Gabi who is now 200 percent. His face glistens with the dewy skin tint from Issy and Co, eyes that draw you using the pastel coquette colors, lashes that are amplified using the Maybelline hyper curl, a slight tint of blush that comes from milk tint blush from GRWM, and the lips that glisten upon using a lip gloss from Barrenbliss.

Justine gets taken aback and his mouth opens from the enchanting enhanced features of Gabi. He really looks like an idol that came from Korea.

"Justine, do I look good?" Gabi asks embarrassed while acting cutesy.

"Damn, ganda mo na pag walang make up but you are fucking different now. You look like someone who I can't even reach." Justine replies honestly, that's the greatest compliment he could ever muster.

Gabi blushes at the thought that the makeup suited him. After all, he wasted 30 minutes for this so it should be worth it.

"Thank you sir! Ganda nyo po talaga kaya napa-nga nga boyfriend nyo." The lady cheekily teases them.

"Ah hindi ko po sya boy-" Gabi gets cut off when the lady motions him to pay for the products he is going to buy.

Of course, that's how makeup antics work. They offer you free make-up or samples then they will guilt trip you into buying something so that they can gain sales.

In this case, Gabi is not forced to buy it because he really wants it considering how he finds his look right now so pleasing.

They make their way to the counter area. "Sir, 3,656 in total."

Justine immediately hands his debit card to the cashier, not letting Gabi to take out his cash. "Hoy ako ang magba-bayad! Ako ang gagamit nito."

"It's okay Gab, diba I told you that everything is on me today." Justine reasons out.

"Wag Justine, para naman akong mang-gagamit kung ganyan." Gabi replies while feeling bad about it.

"Wag ka nang mag tampo Gab, today's all for you," Justine says while consoling the older guy.

"No! Today is about you. For you to gain experience about dating. It's not about me." Gabi insists on his principles.

"Okay, okay. I understand Gab. Why not let me pay this first and you can buy something I want after this." Justine replies while patting his head.

"Sure yan ha! I'll pay whatever you want." Gabi smiles again knowing he will not just leech whatever Justine is planning.

"Of course, today is not only about me. It's about the two of us." Justine says while motioning him to follow to their next place.