Play of Fate [COMPLETED]

Chapter 27

Day of the ADMU-STU game

"Naks, Paps! Gwapo natin ah." Sam teases as he enters their classroom.

"Alam mo, ikaw, kaya ka napagkakamalan na may pagnanasa sa'kin dahil sa mga hirit mo na ganiyan e." He scolds, taking the seat beside him.

"Oh eh ano. Tsaka feel na feel mo naman kapag tinatawag kitang gwapo e." Sam says, side eyeing him.

"E kasi totoo naman, Paps." RJ places his hand on his chin, cocks his head lightly to the side, opens his mouth a bit, and winks at his cousin who in response smacks his forehead.

"Ulul." Sam says laughing. RJ rubs his forehead as he looks around the room, checking for Jerald.

"Si Napoles?" He asks.

"'Yan na oh." Sam points at the door where their friend is coming in. He immediately grins at them and walked to where his seat is. Sam stands up from his and welcomes his friend, arms opened. Je hugs him back and kisses Sam's cheek. Their classmates guffawed at this but RJ, who's used to seeing them like this, winces in disgust and shakes his head.

"Ah ganun, maarte ka?" Jerald says and steps towards him. RJ quickly stands up from his seat to escape him but Jerald, be the athlete that he is, is too quick for him. Jerald cups his cheeks, pouts his mouth, and kisses his forehead sloppily, causing laughter to erupt from their classmates.

"Lintek, kadiri!" RJ spats. He reaches for the hem of Sam's, who is laughing at his discomfort, shirt and wipes his forehead with it.

"Gwapo mo ngayon ah! Manliligaw ka ba?" Jerald asks as he grabs RJ's left ear and turns his head sideways. "Oo nga pala. Manliligaw ka na. May bayag ka na, shet." He says, whispering the last sentence in his ear. RJ pulls his ear from his hold and glares at him.

"Pakyu."

--
The four hours allotted for their last four exams passed by quickly. After passing their papers, the boys leave the classroom and run to the building of Jake. They all agreed to meet there as it is the closest to the gym and the parking, where their stuff is. Jake and Valeen are already outside the building when they arrived and so they hurriedly proceeded to Jake's car, which is parked at the far end near the place where they will be setting up.

Since Jake's girlfriend of five years, Andi, is a science major, they were able to get a pass to use the botanical garden for two hours because of her. According to Jake, Andi's college usually ends a term by planting plants on the garden and naming them after who ever they liked. Since Andi has not done hers, she used that excuse to get the permission to enter the garden.

They four boys and Val laid the set up as planned while Andi is on one side, planting her plant. The group laid a blue and white checkered Matt under the oldest narra tree in the university. There are throw pillows scattered around and a bouquet of white and yellow carnations is in the middle of the mat. There is really nothing special with the whole set up because RJ did not to make Maine uncomfortable during their talk. He wants her to relax and feel his sincerity through the simplicity and tranquil vibe the place has. They also prepared her favorite fruits - frozen - just the way she likes them.

At half past two, when Andi has finished her project, they all walked towards the gym and prayed to all saints that everything will go as planned.

But. They were wrong.

They arrived at the gym with barely two minutes left in the gym. RJ spots Maine who is seating behind the STU team, irritation written all over her face. When two students passed them talking about the score, RJ immediately understood why her face looks like that. She's just so... passionate. With everything she does, and it is one of the many things he's always liked about her. Maine taught him how to value everything that is his grasps, making him be appreciative of what he has, treating them with care, as if they are the last piece on earth.