The Archer's Curse

19

His jaw dropped as he looked at me with so much emotion in his eyes which I never thought possible. Para sa isang taong katulad ni Jax na halos pag-iisipan mo na walang pakialam sa lahat ng tao? This is a great achievement, making those emotions within him burst.

"I'm taking that question as the answer to mine Cali, so that's probably a yes" he said calmly.

He carefully pulled me closer to him as he kissed the top of my head. The butterflies rumbled inside my stomach once again but I'm too occupied with my chest pounding nonstop.

"Wala naman akong sinabing pumayag na ako ah?" pag-dedeny ko at agad siyang kinunutan ng noo.

I was just teasing him and I expected a very weird reaction but here he is, chuckling beside me like an angel sent from above.

"I will court you whatever your answer is, I'm not asking for permission Cali, I'm just informing you" nagkibit balikat siya at patuloy na tumawa.

I taught I was the one in control of the situation but I guess I'm wrong. Naguguluhan ako sa sagot niya kaya naman tinaasan ko siya ng kilay at agad naman naging seryoso ang expression sa mukha niya.

"Ano sabi mo? Wala akong nagets, nagtatagalog ka ba?" mapaglaro kong bigkas as I flicked my eyebrows at him.

He maked face kaya naman napatawa ako "Kahit anong maging sagot mo, liligawan parin kita" I was dumbfounded by his answer.

I understood what he said earlier, hindi ko lang talaga mai-proseso sa utak ko. Kung totoo ba yung sinabi niya? Does he really mean that?

"What if I said no, then you continued tapos aasa ka lang pala sa wala? How's that?" I asked while glancing at the city lights he's admiring earlier.

"That's the purpose of courting Cali, hindi ka manliligaw dahil lang alam mong sasagutin ka. Kaya ka nga manliligaw para mapamahal din siya sayo, hindi yung manliligaw ka lang kase alam mong makukuha mo yung gusto mo sa huli" I can see him smiling in my peripheral vision kaya naman napangiti din ako.

"Iba yung dating ng tagalog kapag ikaw yung nagsasalita geez" I teased para mawala yung tensyon na nararamdaman ko.

He just laughed at me before pulling me inside. Sobrang ingay sa loob at sobrang stress na si Gia at Sab sa ginagawa ng mga kaibigan namin.

The whole unit was a mess. Stan was eating and drinking nonstop while laughing so hard. Lia and Ki were still singing like mad ones. While Gia and Sab was busy telling them to stop and to act proper.

"So ingayyyy!" Shen screamed while walking.

Tinawanan ko siya na ikinairap niya. Kumuha siya ng wine bago lumabas ng veranda, probably mad at everyone. She gets irritated easily kaya hindi na ko nagtataka.

That night was chaos. Everything seemed so bad and all I can say is that my friends are really crazy. Hindi naman sila mga lasing pero parang lasing talaga, and that's the normal state of the squad.

We went home earlier than usual dahil mas malayo itong condo ni Stan para sa iba kaya nagmamadali silang umuwi. We still have classes tomorrow kaya hindi kami pwedeng magpa-gabi masyado.

Just like that, a week passed. Jax would always stop by at our unit o kung minsan ay pumupunta pa siya ng UST. Hindi ko talaga alam kung hilig niyang magpagod palagi o ano e.

We also finished our practicals at sa kabutihang palad ay nakapasa naman kami.

"Cali, may naghahanap sayo sa baba" agad kumunot ang noo ko ng sabihin iyon ng isa sa mga blockmates namin.

Hindi naman nag-text sa akin si Jax na pupunta siya kaya naman dali-dali akong bumaba ng building namin. There I saw Ynna who looked so pale walking back and forth kaya naman agad akong kinabahan at nilapitan siya.