whispers and mutters • blasnique

Chapter Nineteen

BADJAO

Unique approaches me while I was watching TV, eyeing him and turning away when he does.

"Hi." said he listlessly. Unique is probably drowned in thoughts of Blaster again like he always is. What's wrong with this kid?

"Why are you usually out of the mood?" I ask for the first time. It was the first time I have talked to him without some awkward tension filling the air. "I don't know." answered he, then closing his eyes.

I chuckled. "That's impossible. There's always something bringing you down." I replied, closing the TV slowly playing static.

"Okay... so, uh, this is about a..." he was playing with his fingers and blinked two times. He bit the tip of this tongue inside of his mouth. He's pissed, isn't he? His lips twitch and his fingers subtly shake whenever he speaks a word. His eyes were bloodshot-red, glassy and swollen. "What is this about?"

Unique lit a cigarette, puffing a cloud of smoke as her turned to me.

"It's about a guy, isn't it?." I answer.

"How do you know?" He asks, scrunching his eyebrows together in a very subtle confusion.

"I know." I reply nonchalantly.

"Well, so.. uh.. this is about a guy... who I think I fell in love with.."

I chuckled under my breath. At the moment his words fell off from his tongue like water from a dripping faucet.

Definitely Blaster.

"I'll listen." I say as I smile a little.

"He's

"So.. i guess you've done something toge---"

"Wrong. Totally wrong. We haven't done anything yet." interrupted he, cutting off what I'm supposed to say.

"But have you done anything to keep you both distant from each other?" I was trying to find the right word but I failed.

"Uh.. We kissed. Probably that's the reason why."

I knew it. It's Blaster. It always was.

I always have noticed the way they look into each other's eyes when they speak. How Unique's face light up whenever he hears Blaster's voice.

"What's his name?" I asked, looking at him. He smiles slightly as he stared at his cigarette light out on his ashtray.

"His name is Bla-"

"What are you guys talking about?" Zild interrupted, cutting Unique off.

Unique was startled and his eyes widened, the younger looking up to Zild. Pissed off and rolled his eyes.

Then the unsaid words fought in Unique's mind like a menace. He turned to Zild and gave him the finger. "Fuck you, man." he smiled sarcastically. "Love you too."

Unique then turned to his lap, fidgeting his fingers and tapping his cigarette on the ashtray beside him. He held his cigarette with his two fingers. "You fuck," Unique chuckled at Zild. "if you try to piss me off again, I swear I'll press this little death-stick on your fuckin' face, man." he threatened, but it only made me and Zild cackle.

"Alright. How about we just buy some lunch? Little Nikkoi is too pissed off 'cause he's running out of Marlboros." Zild cooed, petting Unique mockingly as he ruffled the boy's hair. "I told you, don't touch me!" Unique reached out for his pack of cigarettes again, frantically and shakingly lighting them, blowing a cloud of smoke onto Zild's face.

"Let's just buy food." I laugh, tugging on Zild's arm. "You're gonna pay." commenced Unique with an evil smirk crawling up his lips.

"Me?" I asked, clearing out some confusion in my mind.

"No." then he turns to Zild and smirks. "You, fucker, are gonna pay my lunch." Unique smiles broadly.

"Fuck you!"

And all we did was laugh.