Walang kasing tamis ang ngiting namutawi sa mga labi ko habang pinagmamasdan ang ilan sa mga estudyanteng kasama namin sa munting salu-salo ngayong gabi. It's the 24th and in a couple of hours it's finally Christmas. May kunti man lungkot akong nararamdaman dahil hindi ko kasama ang mga taong mahal ko, masaya pa din ako na makakapagpasaya ako ng ibang tao na gaya ko ay may kanya-kanya din lungkot na pilit tinatago.
Tonight's motif is Black Christmas. Masyado na daw kasing outdated ang green at red tuwing araw ng pasko. Kaya naman halos lahat ay pulos nakaitim. And right now, I'm wearing a black Santa Claus outfit that I don't know where they got it from.
I'm amazed on how my friends managed to make the decorations of our school's auditorium extravagant in just a few hours. Wala talaga akong masabi sa mga kaibigan kong pinaulanan ng napakadaming talento. Kristine and Shiro are the masters of arts and crafts, Rei is the one managing the design and Jupiter is her slave who she commands to do the rest of designing after Shiro went to Elijah's mausoleum. Nakaayos na din ang mga sound systems na gagamitin namin para mamaya.
"What are we going to play later? May naisip ka na ba?" Tanong ni Kristine sakin na hindi ko nakuhang sagutin agad dahil sap ag-vibrate ng phone ko.
Pamilyar na pagsikdo ng dibdib ang naramdaman ko ng makatanggap ako ng mensahe galing kay Vaughn. We just parted for a couple of hours but I miss him already. I do want to spend Christmas with him but I don't want to act selfish towards his pregnant mom. And for his mom having her second baby, it's Vaughn's only time to make time to his mom and act as a spoiled kid.
"Minsan nakakainis din kapag may kaibigan kang may jowa no?" Parinig ni Rei na kahit hindi ko tignan ay alam kong gusot na naman ang mukha nito sa pagkakatingin sakin.
"Choosy mo kasi bakla! May nanliligaw sayong gwapo, matalino at may abs eh mas bet mo pa din yung gwapo at matalino nga! Wala namang abs! Oh ano ka ngayon? Inggit ka kay mamang Marcielle dahil sya may jowa na, ikaw nganga!" Pambabara ni Jupiter sa kanya na agad naman nakatanggap ng malakas na hampas sa balikat.
"Siraulo! Anong tingin mo sakin? Hayok sa abs?!" Inis na tanong ni Rei na agad naman namin sinagot na apat.
"Bakit? Hindi ba?" We said in chorus that made her pout in defeat.
Naiiling na pinanood ko na lang ang dalawa sa patuloy na bangayan nila. Sometimes I wonder how they end up being best friends when all they do is fight. It was like a part of their life, bickering I mean. Hindi makukumpleto ang araw nilang dalawa na wala silang pinagtatalunan. And facts, when they're fighting for real, they don't talk at all and the mood is so damn heavy.
May ilang pagkakataon na nasaksihan namin kung paano sila mag-away na dalawa. Ju is a known player that Rei hates the most but she can tolerate it as long as she won't get involved in any of Jupiter's affair. Alam namin na madalas pumasok si Jupiter sa mga relasyon na walang commitment. All he wants is to get laid and every girl he beds knew about it. It was all fine not until Rei discovered that Jupiter is doing it with her closest cousin. On Ju's defense, it was consensual. Na pinatotohanan naman ni Freya, Rei's cousin. But it was not okay for Rei. We found out that Freya is in a long-term relationship with Keanu who happened to be Rei's first love. She was over with the fact that Keanu loves Freya so she chose not to confess, but what she couldn't accept is that her cousin and her best friend cheated on her first love, making her regret of not telling Keanu his feelings.
It was a real mess between them. Doon namin nakita kung pano sila mag-away at kung paano magalit ang isang Rei Buenavista. Mahinahon syang magsalita pero dama ang galit sa bawat salitang binibitawan nya. Jupiter on the other side kept quiet during those moments because he knew that what they did was unforgivable. He knew that Rei still loves Keanu that time and hurting her first love is a real sin but he still did. Kung ano man ang dahilan nya kung bakit nya ginawa ang bagay na yun ay sya na lang ang nakakaalam. Cause after that day, Rei ignored her for two months. Bagaman hindi naapektuhan ang banda namin noon, we still feel uncomfortable whenever we hang out and they both come along with us but choose not to talk at all with each other. I don't know how they reconcile and we didn't ask them about it too. Hindi man natapos doon ang pagiging palikero ni Jupiter, nabawasan naman iyon kahit papano.
"Hey Shiro! Bat ngayon ka lang?" Tanong ko sa bagong dating na si Shiro na gaya ni Ju ay nakasuot naman ng itim na dwarf's costume.
"As usual, alam mo naman yan kapag dumadalaw kay Eli, tumitigil ang oras nyan." Kantiyaw ni Kristine na sinagot lang naman ni Shiro ng isang pilit na ngiti.
Elijah was Shiro's girlfriend who died three years ago. I actually looked up to him. Dahil kahit ilang taon na ang lumipas, hindi man lang nya sinubukan na humanap ng ibang mamahalin. He keeps on loving her even after she's gone. That makes me worried and hate Cupid more. For shooting Shiro with his vicious arrow and not taking the other end back even after Elijah died.
Kristine and Shiro is actually related with each other. Kristine is Shiro's second cousin on his mother's side. Even though, Kristine is one of the hottest girls in the University, she's actually gay. She likes women and currently in relationship with the former Queen of ADA. Bagaman madami ang naddisappoint na kalalakihan, hindi iyon naging hadlang para hindi sya magustuhan ng mga tao. She's so friendly and always gives a smile to everyone. At sa aming magkakaibigan, silang dalawa ni Jupiter ang pinakalapitin ng mga tao.
"Traffic ba? Bakit ngayon ka lang?" Muling tanong ko kay Shiro na kababakasan ng pangamba ang mukha habang nakatingin sa akin. Kumunot ang noo ko sa paraan ng pagkakatitig nya sakin na tila ba may gusto syang sabihin na hindi nya masabi-sabi.
"May problema ba?" Umiling lang sya bilang sagot bago ibinaling ang tingin sa cellphone nya ng tumunog iyon. His face lightened up and an excited smile plastered on his lips.
"Are you ready guys?" Tanong ni Kristine sa amin na nagpabaling ng tingin ko mula kay Shiro.
I was about to answer her when Shiro said something that not only surprised me but also my friends.
"Akihiro came back and he's coming to our party tonight." He said and as if on cue, the crowd squeaked in happiness mostly the girls, when a familiar figure entered the auditorium with a few securities behind him holding lots of food and drinks with them.
"I'm back!" Nakangiting wika ni Aihiro sa amin bago ibinaling ang matiim nyang tingin sa akin na walang bahid ng kahit anong emosyon ang mga mata.
"Am I late?" Tanong nya na tila ba may iba pang kahulugan ang sinabi.
Naramdaman ko ang pagsiko ng Kristine sa braso ko kaya alanganing ngiti ang umalpas sa mga labi ko bago sya nakuhang sagutin.
"W-we… we're just about to start." I cleared my throat after stuttering that made him chuckled. Ngunit kapansin-pansin ang lungkot sa mga matang maaaninag sa mga mata nya habang marahang lumapit sa akin.
He just stares at me for quite a while before pulling me in his arms and hugged me tight. "I miss you Cielle." He whispered in a low and sincere voice that sends a melancholic feeling in my heart.
I wanted to cuss cupid not only because of his sadistic way of hooking people up, but also for making it hard for people like me who got his cruel arrows from the two kings of ADA. But what makes me hate him more? It is for using me to his amusement.
For using me to hurt this King who loved me so dearly.
And for making me hate myself for willingly letting the other end of this King's arrow.