Vanished

Chapter 15

When Gabi woke up there was no sight of Ven at his side, so he figured it out that the older guy left already. He strides his way to the kitchen because he is feeling hungry.

"Oh anak, Ven told me earlier na wag ka nalang gisingin but he said he was leaving because something came up." She said to Gabi.

"Ganon ba, thanks mom. Anong ulam natin?" Gabi asks while washing his hands.

"Fried chicken! Kain ka na, sabay ako sayo because I have something to tell." She mutters while scooping plenty of rice and grabbing Gabi's favorite part which is the thigh part.

"Mom, thank you so much. Ang sarap talaga ng fried chicken mo." Gabi says while munching the chicken.

"Eat ka lang, just wanna ask some questions." She says while looking at her son so endearingly.

"Anong question na naman yan mom, The Buzz yarn?" Gabi chuckles a little bit and gulps water to push the food down.

"Well, I'm just curious about your date today." She inquisitively opens up.

"Ha? Date? Hmmm, yup it's a friendly date between Kill and me." Gabi clarifies the assumption.

"So ano ngang nangyari?" She asks while crossing her arms being invested in the story.

"Well, he was very funny. He kept throwing funny jokes which by the way were so funny! May pag ka clumsy din sya which I find cute. But he pushed me to buy makeup Mom. He told me I look good wearing it." Gabi opens how Justine just controlled the situation.

"And what happens after that?" She asks trying to inquire more.

"He paid for it and I declined at first, but he was very persistent. Wala nalang akong nagawa. So I decided to pay something for him but ended up paying so much less than what he just bought for me. Then we ate so much food and talked about so many things. Ang saya nyang kasama mom, I feel like he's my little brother." Gabi talks while his eyes are sparkling.

"That's great, Gabi. You never wore make-up before even though I told you, you can wear one. What is the reason?" She asks.

"Ven did not like it when I wore it. But now I decided to do what my heart speaks. I like how my skin glows under the skin, I love when my cheeks look flustered, I love when my lips glisten smoothly." Gabi replies feeling blue looking back at it.

"Medyo controlling si Ven no? Well, you should always do what you want to do. But what happened after the date? Yun na lang yun?" She asks trying to pry the tiniest detail.

"Mom, I don't know what possessed me to do it. I freaking kissed Justine in front of so many people." Gabi embarrassingly covers his face.

"Ha! HAHAHAHA cute mo naman anak. May I ask why?" She asks trying to get context.

"I have never experienced one before so I just thought a date would not be complete if I don't kiss his cheeks. Now I'm starting to feel guilty about it. What if nandiri sya sa akin? What if hindi na nya ako gustong kausapin? Oh my god, should I apologize right now, Mom?" Gabi anxiously mutters under one breath.

"Calm down, Gabi. You are overreacting. I'm sure di naman sya galit because I think it's the other way around. I'm sure happy din yun ki-niss mo sya sa cheeks. But that's just me speculating ha! HAHAHA anyway anak, I'm happy you found Justine a good company."She says while teasing her son.

"Yup Mom, Justine is very good to me and I find him good," Gabi says while gnawing the last bits of chicken.

"I just hope, that-" She could not finish what she was about to say.

"You hope that?" Gabi asks curiously.

"You understand your priorities." She replies.

"Of course naman mom, I will only get a boyfriend after graduating," Gabi answers awkwardly.

"Wag ka maging dense anak hahaha, you know exactly what I mean by the priorities." She confronts him.

"I'm trying to change my priorities but can you let me hold on to this little time of friendship Ven and I have?" Gabi asks rhetorically.

"I'm not saying you should stop being friends with him. What I'm saying is that you should straighten your priorities. Ven already managed to know what he wants and baby I'm sorry it is not you who he wants."She says coldly, even though she wants to console her child but at times you need to steel and strike the truth.

"Alam ko naman yan mom, that I will never be that person. Gusto ko din naman mawala tong feelings mom but when I see Ven, my best friend, my lifeline, just like an addict I sometimes cannot control my actions and go back to square one." Gabi reasons out.

"I understand you anak, I'm just reminding you because I don't want to see you breaking down when the worst thing happens. Masyadong fragile ang heart natin anak, baka hindi mo kayanin na mawala si Ven kaya kahit unti-unti put some distance between you and him." She hugs him.

Gabi understands where his mother is coming from. He knows the advice he just received comes from a good place and good intentions. It's just that at this point in his life, he wants to savor the care, attention, and love he can receive from Ven while it stays.

Because at this point, he knows he is fighting a borrowed time.

A borrowed time, a borrowed love, a borrowed affection

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Gabi woke up an hour early because he decided to wear makeup right now. He ate his breakfast and went inside his room wearing his uniform.

He starts dabbing a little bit of skin tint on his face making the discoloration even out, and he starts to put a brightening concealer under his eyes and blending it after.

He also put a dot of blush on the focal point of his cheeks in a sweet pink creating a soft look, he added curled lashes using mascara and a cute winged eyeliner.

After setting his face with powder, he then puts on a pumped sheer red-tone lipstick topped with lip gloss. After looking at the finished look, he left the house.

He walks happily on the way to the bus station carrying his Doraemon tote bag which was given by Ven. After a short walk, he sees a familiar figure.

"Gab!" Justine calls him out happily like Gabi was the savior of the world.

"Justine! Why are you here? Bakit hindi ka pa nauna?" Gabi asks.

"Ganda mo, potang ina." Justine mutters his inner thoughts.

"Ha?" Gabi shyly caresses his hair from getting flustered by Justine's remark.

"I'm sorry Gab, I did not mean to curse. I just find you so fucking pretty today, I mean you are pretty every day but today's different and to answer your question, I waited for you." Justine replies while still scanning the older guy's features.

"Ah thank you talaga Justine, appreciate ko comments mo. Anyway, what would you do if I already left here?" Gabi asks trying to make sense.

"Well, I figured maghihintay lang ako ng 30 minutes because baka may naghatid sayo or nauna kang pumunta sa school. But don't worry, this is all entire my decision. Kahit maghintay ako para sayo it is okay." Justine reasons out.

"Hoy, wag Justine. If you want to go to school together pwede namang mag text ka or chat. I don't want you to wait for me lalo na ang heat index ay 41-degree celsius. Init init kaya." Gabi suggests.

"Oh-okay, I'll do that next time. I just thought surprising you today." Justine scratches the back of his hand.

"Yup, na surprise mo nga ako. Let's go na nga, baka ma late pa tayo." Gabi rides the bike and envelops his hands on Justine's waist.

They talk a lot on the way to school and about the funny things. Although Justine wanted to ask what was the kiss all about last week, he just did not have the courage to ask it.

He did not want to hear that it was only a friendly gesture even though it was the truth. He can only wish to live in delusion.

And it is right when they say ignorance is bliss.

When they arrive at the school most people the difference between Gabi last week and Gabi now. Some guys and girls are already in awe of Gabi's looks.

They already that Gabi is a looker but when his features are enhanced he just looks surreal.

"Is that Gabi? I thought bawal sa kanya ang make-up as per his best friend?" A girl whispers in the crowd.

"Yup, mas lalong gumanda si Gabi. Tang ina baka may chance pa." Bret a president of fourth year said.

Ken Saavedra did not hesitate to come up. "Sanchez! Musta, you did not reply to my messages. Na hurt ako." He acted hurt while chuckling.

"Oy hi Ken! I'm fine, sorry talaga I'm just busy these days may tinapos lang na investigatory project. This is Justine pala, my classmate. Justine this is Ken." Gabi introduced them to each other.

But one look could tell right away that these two did not like each other. The other covets the attention of Gabi and the other one protects Gabi.

"Fuck, can I just say this that you are so pretty today? Ibahay nalang kaya kita?" Ken teasingly says.

"Gago, anong ibahay hahaha." Gabi replies while finding his statement as a joke.

"I mean, you stay at our house cooking while waiting for me, and when I come home sasalubungin mo ako. You like that?" Ken embarrassingly opens his type.

He wanted a conservative type of partner. Someone who manages the house affairs well while waiting for him. He can see Gabi doing it for him.

"Don't fucking go there." Justine threatens. He did not like how Ken projected his ideals to Gabi.

"Justine, behave please and as for you Ken, I'm sure mahahanap mo din yang ibabahay mo HAHAHA. Una na kami ni Justine, and sorry pala." Gabi replies while dragging the younger guy away.

"What the hell was that?" Justine asks.

"Hindi ko din alam. HAHAHAHA." Gabi laughs hysterically. While Justine's mood went right back after hearing the older guy's laughter.

When they arrive in the room, Tine immediately approaches them accompanied by the whole Bolakbol gang.

"Gabi, ganda mo ngayon ha." Tine complimented him.

The others also complimented him and he felt touched by the sentiments. However, the only guy he wished who could have said a compliment did not say anything.

Ven only looked at him indifferently.

"Hoy nakita ko si Saavedra lumapit sa inyo, may nangyari ba?" Vince asks.

"Yup, he was complimenting Gab and for some reason, he wanted to elope with Gab. Hindi ko nagustohan yung tabas ng dila nya so I warned him." Justine replies and explains the situation.

"And that happens because you are fucking hard-headed. Diba I told you many times before that stop wearing that makeup? Nababastos ka naman because sa katangahan mo." Ven suddenly blows up.

"Hoy BNT, ang harsh mo naman. Di naman kasalanan ni Gabi na gago yung Saavedra!" Kite explains.

"At anong nababastos, eh may gusto naman talaga si Saavedra kay Gabi nuon pa." Tine added.

Gabi did not know how to react. Ven just suddenly said something harsh to him. He wanted to cry, he wanted to leave at this moment. But his friends protected him.

"Ikaw ang tanga, bakit mo naman sisihin si Gabi when that guy started it. Besides, I'm there to protect him. Ang sabihin mo lang you are angry because you were not by his side when it happened!" Justine angrily mutters.

Ven looks at Gabi's hurtful expression, it is true that he got jealous. He was supposed to be by his side shooing away the admirers. That's why he projected his anger on his best friend.

He looks at Gabi for a second and leaves the classroom in a confused manner.

"Kausapin ko muna, sorry talaga Sanchez!" Topi says and leaves.