Ferocious Affection (COMPLETED)

14TH

Ysa's

Brett proved himself right the next days. Lagi siyang tumatawag sa akin ng suot-suot 'yung maskarang hindi ko alam kung saan niya kinuha. Gabi-gabi niyang ginagawa 'yon at minsan ko nang naihagis ang phone ko dahil sa pagkagulat dito. That broke my phone's tempered glass and gladly, siya ang nagpa-palit nito. He said, his conscience bothered him. Pero ang sabi rin niya, hindi siya nakokonsensya na natatakot ako. Sabi niya, it's part of the process.

"Is it effective?" he asked. Naghahanda na kami ngayon para sa booths na naisip ng bloc namin at na-assign kami sa pagde-design ng booths. They knew that Brett wasn't friendly enough to deal with unfamiliar blockmates except for me and Nicoㅡbut he's unfortunately not hereㅡso they put him in the same committee with me.

"The what?" tanong ko pabalik. I was busy dealing with thumbtacks dahil ayokong magkasugat.

"The clown-thingy." I laughed at his term. He frowned. "Ano?"

"Bakit parang sinasabi mo 'yun na parang hindi mo alam ginagawa mo?"

He scratched his nape. "At first, I bought it for fun. Then, I ended up trying to remove your fear. Funny, right?"

I grinned and rolled my eyes. "There's nothing funny in what you're talking about."

"Uhm... this?" at may kinuha siyang mask mula sa photo booth at isinuot ito. It's a clown mask. "I look funny, right?" inilapit niya ang mukha niya sa akin kaya bahagya akong napaatras.

"You don't," umiwas ako ng tingin dahil nagsisimula na namang bumigat ang dibdib ko at itinuloy ang paglagay ng thumbtacks. Nanginginig ako at hindi ko ito mailagay ng maayos. I groaned and let it go.

"Takot ka pa rin," he commented and removed the mask. "That'll ease up soon." at sinimulan na niyang gumawa ng calligraphy para sa booth signs. Hindi bagay sa personality niya ang hand writing niya dahil masyado itong girly. You wouldn't even believe that it was written by him.

I heard him let out a sigh. "We're out of pentel pens."

"I'll check," I said and went to our room. Medyo mahirap umalis dahil busy ang lahat sa kanya-kanyang gawain dito sa open field. Marami pa akong nasabihan ng excuse me bago tuluyang makarating sa room namin.

I was about to enter when I saw Nico and Folke talking inside. Folke was clutching his collar. Nagtago ako sa isang gilid at nakinig. I know, eavesdropping is an invasion of privacy but why are they fighting? At kababalik lang ni Nico, napaaway siya agad?

"Believe me, she was the one who kissed me. Kinakausap ko lang siya." Nico explained.

"Why were you talking to her in the first place?" galit na tanong ni Folke.

"I know that she knows something, may kinalaman siya sa mga nangyayari ngayon," mahinahon niyang sagot.

"What is happening? I don't understand."

"Dahil hindi mo alam!" sigaw niya. "Wala kang alam! You'll understand. Once you fix that little brain of yours, matatauhan ka rin sa pinaggagawa mo."

I was taken aback from what I heard.

Ano'ng ibig niyang sabihin?

Mabilis akong naglakad paalis nang marinig ko ang mga yapak ng isa sa kanila. Nangangatog pa ang tuhod ko at naghahabol ng hininga habang pabalik ako sa open field. Hindi mawala sa isipan ko ang naging pag-uusap nila.

Nico...

Have I met him before?

"Dummy!" napako ako sa kinatatayuan ko at napairap nang tawagin niya ako. Humarap siya sa akin. "What are you doing here?" naghahabol pa siya ng hininga at parang kinakabahan.

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Me?" pagturo ko sa sarili ko. He nodded. "You mean, what are you doing here?" natigilan siya. "You suddenly thought of showing up after leaving us clueless!"

He chuckled. "You're cute." napairap ako. "Sorry, I had to fix some things."

And that includes arguing with Folke?

Hindi ko na lang siya kinulit dahil baka masyadong private ito. "You don't care about us and your studies, do you?"

Natigilan siyang muli. He smiled and chuckled. "You were looking for me?"

"Duh," I mumbled. "Wasn't it obvious?"

His smile became wider.

"Oh my gosh, don't put colors on it."

"It's just that..." muli siyang tumawa ng mahina. "It has been a long time since a friend cared for me. My... last friend is messed up."

"Oh," umiwas ako ng tingin. "Sorry to hear that."

We walked to the open field. Sinabi kong nag-aayos kami ng booths para sa simula ng foundation week bukas. Mukhang wala siyang ka-ide-ideya sa mga nangyayari ngayon sa university. Sinabi ko na lang na tulungan niya kami ni Brett sa booths since hindi naman siya nakasama sa division para sa iba't ibang committee.

"Galit ba si Brett?" he asked. He looked bothered.

Hindi ko alam kung kaibigan ba ang turing nila sa isa't isa because they have always been dull to each other. Brett has always been cold to whoever he talks to but it's different when it comes to Nico, and I don't know why. Nico is still jolly whenever he's talking to Brett but not as jolly as he is talking to others.

"It's for you to find out," hindi siya sumagot at nanatiling nakatingin sa akin. Napailang na lang ako at napairap. Mapilit talaga 'to. "It's fifty-fifty. I don't know how he really felt."

He let out a sigh. "I wish he wasn't or isn't."

"Did you hit the home run?" pag-iiba ko ng topic.

He stared at me in disbelief and laughed. "Seryoso ka ba sa tanong mo?" I nodded. He laughed again. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to girls asking questions like that."

"I have always been straightforward." tumawa ako ng mahina. "So, ano?"

Umiling siya. "No. That won't happen because I don't want that to happen. Yes, I like her. She kissed me first but I won't take advantage of that, she's still a woman."

I smiled.

Maybe I really misinterpreted him on the first day we met. He was more than the guy I thought he was. Siguro nga loko-loko siya, but he still knows how to respect. I like the nice Nico much more than the naughty Nico.

---

The awaited weekㅡfor some studentsㅡcame. They were very excited for that so-called concert. Each bloc had a presentation and my classmate represented ours. Naririnig ko sa mga tsismis nila na maraming gwapong lalaki at nagpe-perform do'n kaya't excited sila.

Kasama ko ngayon sina Brett at Nicoㅡas usualㅡna nakaupo lang dito at nagbabantay ng booths. We weren't in the mood to roam around and get in any other booths, except for Nico.

"It's boring here," he mumbled. Lumingon siya sa akin. "Can we go and grab something to eat?"

Napairap ako. Kanina pa siya nangungulit, kabibili nga lang namin ng pagkain ten minutes ago. Hindi na ako magtataka kung tumaba siya someday.

"I'll just get some coffee," sambit ni Brett at naglakad paalis. He wasn't in the mood, lagi naman.

"Bakit ba laging bad mood 'yun?" inis na tanong sa akin ni Nico.

"Ingay mo raw kasi."

"Kahit naman hindi ako maingay, ganito pa rin itsura niya..." he mimicked Brett's usual face expression which made me laugh so hard. He pressed his lips hardly and both eyes partly closedㅡbecause Brett has chinky eyes. Gayang-gaya niya ang itsura niya but he's overacting. Bigla ko siyang nabatukan dahil ayaw niyang tumigil.

"Aray!" bulalas niya at napahawak sa kanyang ulo. "Pinasaya ko na nga, sinaktan pa ko."

Napasapo ako sa noo dahil sa sinabi niya. He's stressing me out.

"You have to pay for that." sambit niya habang naka-pout. He's trying hard to be cute, but it's cute.

I chuckled. "What's the payment?"

"You owe me a dinner."