Worth the Trouble

chapter 9

Paglabas ko ay nakaupo na silang lahat sa harap ng TV. Pinapapak ang mga chichirya na inilabas ni Clark kanina.

"O, tapos na?" Tanong ni Dana na may nakakalokong ngisi sa mukha. Tumingin siya sa likod ko na parang may hinahanap. Lumingon rin ako at napagtantong si Clark siguro ang hinahanap ng mga mata niya. "Nagpupunas pa?"

"Ha?" ani ko, naguguluhan. Nagpupunas? Si Clark ba? Ng ano?

Pero hindi na siya sumagot at tinulak ng marahan si Dave na nakupo sa sahig bandang ibaba niya.

"Dave, baby. Tapos na sila. Ipasok mo na sa loob... ang CD tape. Please..faster..." si Dana sa malambing na boses at humagalpak ng tawa ang lahat habang pumula ang buong mukha ni Dave at nag tiim-bagang. Parang galit siya sa paglalambing ni Dana sa kanya. Tumayo rin naman siya at ipinasok ang napili nilang panuorin pagkatapos ay nagmura.

Lahat sila ay nakabihis na. Ako nalang ang hindi pa. Mamaya na siguro pagkatapos nito.

Nag high five si Justin at Gavin kay Dana bago tumawa ng mas malakas. Umiling ako sa kabaliwan nila.

Napatingin ako ay Belle. "It's okay. Huwag kang ma awkward." aniya.

Napasinghap ako nang mapagtanto kung ano ang ibig nilang sabihin. I felt my face burning. "What?!- I didn't- we never- Clark's not- shit!"

Humagalpak silang lahat ng tawa. Nanatili akong nakatayo at inihilamos ang isang palad sa mukha. Minsan talaga hindi ko alam kung bakit ang lalaswa nilang mag-isip.

"We understand, Biancs. Really. We do." Belle said, trying to sound sincere.

I slumped on a two-seater seat and decided to not bother explaining. It's futile. The laughter died and the girls were back to annoying Dave who in the other hand seemed pissed all of a sudden. The room is filled with laughters and familiar jokes. I can't help but remember my friends. We were like this. As loud, as annoying and as close as this.

Biglang may bumukas na pinto. Everyone gave Clark their undivided attention when he at last went out of the room. Like my reaction a while ago, he looked totally confused with the sly smiles directed to him.

"What?"

"Wala." they all hummed in unison and the girls elbowed and nudged each other. I can feel my face reddened.

I rolled my eyes before realization hit me. Wala na siyang pwedeng upoan maliban sa tabi ko. I thought of moving down to the floor but the idea seems stupid. Bakit ako uupo sa sahig kung kasya naman kami diba? Hindi naman ito ang unang pagkakataon na magtatabi kami.

Kada lalabas kami ay palaging sa akin tatabi si Clark. As if it's the default system, he would always sit next to me, stand next to me and talk to me almost all the time.

I resisted watching him stride towards me but the urge is too strong. He is now in his gray sweatpants and white shirt. I'll be damned if I refuse to admit he's painfully hot. His body is lean with the right muscles at the right places. And he walked confidently like he knows how good-looking he is. His gaze was locked on me so I looked away. Umupo siya sa tabi ko at sa paglapat pa lang ng aming mga braso ay nakaramdam agad ako ng nakakakiliting init at sensasyon.

I was so engrossed with his body heat that I jumped when the movie started making a loud sound coming out from the speaker. They turned the lights off but the brightness of the big tv screen is enough for me to see Clark's face clearly. He laughed at my reaction but he never glanced at me.

Minutes later..

He is watching seriously and I can't help but wonder if he's still mad at me. Nakakuyom ang panga niya at ang mga mata ay sumasayaw sa liwanag na nagmumula sa kanyang pinanunuod. Ang mga pilik-mata niya ang mahahaba at kulot. Ang ilong niya ay matangos at ang labi ay mapupula. Hindi ko masisisi kung bakit nagkakarandapa ang mga babae sa kanya. Pero sisisihin ko siya kung bakit niya pa pinapatulan. Hindi ba siya natatakot na baka may umasa at masaktan?