It's midterm exam week and students are busy with their studies. During the week I am with my friends. We study most of the time in the library after class. We also go together during lunch, however, in the afternoon, Gilbert and I always go for an afternoon break. After that, we go back to the library together and join our own separate study group. Gilbert is no longer hanging out with Adam. He still hangs out with his old mates but I don't see Adam to be joining them. One time I saw Adam and Marivic together and it looks like they have been hanging out more often after the Halloween event.
As I promised myself that evening, I will be taking care Gilbert from now on; I sometimes fetch him from his classroom so that we can go together to library. Sometimes, if he cannot join for a snack break, I come back and bring him his sandwich or drink. His friends are teasing him whenever I do that and of course I could not escape my friends flirtatious bullying as well. One thing that we never failed to do is to wait for each other and walk out of the school together.
We agreed to study together for the final round of the quiz bee competition a week after the midterm exam. Sometimes we walk together to the library and sometimes he is already waiting for me in our favorite spot in the library. Every time we are together I can't help to avoid looking to some students especially his followers and the way they look at me even though we just act normal in public. When Gilbert notices my reaction and my being uncomfortable with some student's response, he put his arm in my shoulder and doesn't really care how students will react from it.
One time I came early to the library so I decided to start studying, we don't need to study anyway at the same time since we have a different subject matter for the competition. Someone join me in the table and he said hello. I remember him it was David. He brought a bottled water and box of chocolate. I tried to refuse it but he insists and said he will feel bad if I will not accept it. We chat for a little bit until he saw Gilbert walking towards our desk from a distance. He said goodbye and wish me luck to the competition.
David and Gilbert could not avoid the encounter along the way since there is only one way to come in and out from our spot. Gilbert stops in the middle and asks David and said, "Can you please leave my boyfriend alone?" David said, "Then don't leave him alone!" And they both walk away.
Gilbert sits in the desk and not looking at me. He is looking at the water and the chocolate and said, "I am thirsty and I am hungry!" And he grabs the water and chocolate from my side of the desk and opens the water and started to eat the chocolates. I sarcastically said, "Aww, would you like some?" He pretends he didn't hear me and said, "You better not eat these because you don't know if that guy mix it up with some spell." I ignore what he said and goes back to my reading. I think he is still irritated because he staring at me as if I was like I did something bad and then he said, "Why are you talking to him? Why are you entertaining him? Is he courting you?" I pretend I didn't hear him and continue my reading.
When he knew he could no longer get any response from me, he opens his books and started to study. After a few minutes, he passes a note across the desk and it says, "What are we?" I wrote back and passes it back to him and it says, "Friends!" He passes back the note and it says, "Just friends?" And I wrote and pass it and said, "Best friends!" And he wrote, "Are we more than just best friends?" I wrote, "Brothers!" And he wrote, "I don't want us to be brothers!" I wrote, "What do you want us to be?" Finally, he wrote, "Boyfriends!" I look at him and give him a mocking smile and continue on my reading.
Later that evening, I am about to go to bed and before I lie down I start to think about Gilbert and what happened to the library earlier. Quickly, I noticed I was rubbing the necklace that Sherwin gave me and I remember what he said, ""Keep wearing the necklace as long as you can, and when you meet someone you like and fall in love again, I would understand if you will remove it from your neck." With no doubt, I took the necklace off and put in the box and keep it in my drawer, I just realized I have move on and have found a new love.