She who hides

Chapter I: Reach

Solitude is the only place I wanna go.Being submerged with the fullness of your existence, a quiet refuge from the noise beyond your space.

It has always been that way ever since I was a child.Mas nadepina lang iyon ngayong matanda na ako.

The scent of cigarette and after rain surprisingly makes my nerves calm.Nilingon ko si Nic na kanina pa nakahithit sa kaniyang sigarilyo, habang ako, galing sa lumang bintana ng dating college building, nakatanaw sa malayo.Nakapatong ang baba sa dalawang kamay.

I know what harm could get me if I stand beside someone smoking.But I wonder why I don't mind it.And it's not like I do this everytime, minsan lang din naman siya mag smoke.Kada before exam or after exam lang.Or whenever he's stressed.

"Gusto mo?"ani ni Nic nang mapansing nakamasid ako sa ginagawa niya.

Umiling ako, alam na niyang hindi ako naninigarilyo, hindi rin naman niya ako pinipilit.Ginagawa lang niya iyon out of respect daw.Parang kapag kumakain ka lang, nag-aayaya ka sa iba.

Nagkibit-balikat siya bago binalik sa labi ang sigarilyo.

"Ikaw baklitang ka, h'wag mo akong masisisi pag nagkaroon ka nang sakit sa baga ha."saad niya.

"I don't mind,Nic."saad ko nalang.

"Ang weird mo?May crush ka ba sakin?!"nandidiri niyang tanong, his thick fake lashes fanning on his face.

Pumait ang mukha ko sa sinabi niya, pero nakuha paring ngumisi, "Delulu ka?"

"Malay ko ba!Kapag nag smo-smoke ako lageng andyan ka nakasunod.Gusto mo bang magkasakit?!"

I groaned, "Come on, Nic.Kakatapos pa lang ng exam.Minsan na lang din tayo nagkikita dahil may show ka pa..."

"Na hindi mo pinupuntahan."dugtong niya.

"Dahil sa sobrang layo.Plus I got my father with me, remember?"

Umirap siya, I know he understands pero di lang mapigilang magtampo.It takes two hours from Oscuro to La Luz.May bahay naman si Nic doon kasama ang ka fling niya ata, pwede naman ako doon makitulog but...I just can't leave my sick father alone.Sure we have his sister, Aunt Mirasol but she's pregnant plus it's embarrassing for me to crash in Nics home at Oscuro.Who knows, they might want some alone time together, right?

Nic puffed one last smoke bago niya pinatay iyon sa pamamagitan ng pag dikit nito sa dingding at tinapon sa labas ng bintana.He combed his curly hair before popping a gum on his mouth, he handed the gum sticks to me, I pulled out one and slipped the wrapper on my pockets before throwing the gum in my mouth.

"Baka pag pwede ka nang gumala hindi na ako mag show."he pouted.

"Awee, I doubt that.You love what you're doing."

"Yeah, right. Kung hindi pa malaman ni lolo ang pinakakatago kong sekreto then sige, i'll continue with my extravaganzzz!"

He said before mimicking Catriona Gray's walk.It's still 6 am in the morning and I just got here at school, wala pang tao halos sa mga ganitong oras.Nick also got home from Oscuros.May show siya kaninang madaling araw doon sa syudad.Hindi na niya suot ang pulang wig, wala na ring make up pero nakasuot parin ang makapal na piluka.Nakasuot na rin siya ng uniporme namin.

He's popular but not that popular para malaman na he does cosplays or burlesque.Hindi rin alam nang mga kaklase namin o buong school na bakla siya, lalaki rin kasi to manamit, minsay ay nakikipaglandian pa sa mga senior na babae sa kabilang department.He has this curly disheveled hair, that's not entirely black and almost close to brown.Thick eyelashes compliments his dreamy eyes.I don't know how to explain it,but it's almost like he's so relaxed when looking at you but at the same time his eyes are still so expressive.