Raffy's POV
As the hours passed, everyone started to get drunk, except for James, who appeared unfazed by the alcohol. It puzzled me because I knew he wasn't a heavy drinker. Despite the amount we had all consumed, he remained unaffected.
"James, you're quite impressive with your drinking tonight. Aren't you even a little tipsy?" I asked.
James just smiled at me and continued drinking. I noticed his odd behavior, perhaps influenced by the alcohol.
"Let's head home now," James finally smiled.
I felt a bit annoyed. James had a way of getting to me, and his temper sometimes frightened me. I hoped he wouldn't repeat that behavior. It could really drive me crazy. I mustered a smile as his reaction lightened my mood.
"You're such a fool back there," he said and then laughed.
"I can be foolish, especially when I'm scared you might be angry with me. I don't know how to handle you in those moments. Besides, it's not fair. When I get upset, you effortlessly make me laugh, but when it's you, I have to act like a fool. That's not fair," I admitted.
"It's fair. I never win any arguments against you anyway," James said, trying to fight back in the argument.
"That's not fair. What you said earlier was different. I can tolerate your slowness, but I can't bear your anger because you mean a lot to me," I retorted, noticing a smile forming on James' face, so I smiled back.
"You know, I can't tell the difference between showing concern and teasing in what you say," I laughed at his comment, not because it was funny, but because I knew he was back to his normal self. It was truly remarkable that he didn't get drunk.
"Ugh! You're going home wasted, huh?" I playfully said.
"I didn't even inform mom that I'll be staying over at your place."
"I'll handle your mom, don't worry," I reassured him.
We continued chatting and reached our house. Quietly, we went inside, avoiding any noise to not wake up my mom. We washed our feet and freshened up before going to bed. As we lay down, I spoke softly.
"Friend, tell me the truth. Why were you upset earlier?" I asked.
"I wasn't upset. Forget about it; it was probably just the alcohol talking. You know I had a few too many," he answered with his eyes closed.
"Really? You looked so sad when I glanced at you."
"Damn it! I told you there's nothing. Why do you have to be so persistent?" He can easily be annoyed.
"Well, I want to know. Would you be like that for no reason? That's impossible. Perhaps you were jealous earlier? Haha," I teased him, as we often did when we had a bit too much to drink.
"You're crazy! Haha. Sleep now, you're talking nonsense."
"One last question, why were you like that earlier?" I continued pestering him.
"You're really relentless. Fine, yes, I got upset because you were paying so much attention to them. I wanted to see how you'd react when I got a little upset," he explained.
"Haha! So, you were jealous?" I asked, teasing him.
"Yes, but only because you were ignoring me while focusing on them. I got used to having all your attention when we're together, but earlier, it seemed like you didn't even see me. Don't you dare think of something else, huh? Fool, I'll make sure to put you in your place," he answered.
"Eeeiih! He admitted he was jealous! Haha," I chuckled a bit louder.
"I knew I shouldn't have answered your question. That's how you are, so annoying. I'm going home," he said.
"Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore. It doesn't suit you, acting like a woman on her period. And you've never noticed that every time you get upset, I struggle to win you back? I have a harder time making you happy than I did with my exes. You're worse than them," I told him with a little annoyance.
"Then just ignore me when I'm like that. If it bothers you, then just leave me alone. And by the way, who wouldn't get annoyed? You're good at teasing. Stop with your teasing, or I'll really go home," he said.
"I'm not going to answer anymore," I thought to myself, realizing that James was starting to get annoyed. That's just how James is, his intellect might not be the sharpest, but whenever he makes up his mind about something, he follows through with it. I never dared to challenge him to act on his words. He's the kind of person who, once he gives a warning, I fall silent. That's the trait of his that I fear the most – the possibility that if he decides to distance himself from me, he'll slowly forget about me. And one day, he might treat me as if I'm just another insignificant person in his life. I couldn't bear that thought. There are only two people who truly matter in my life – my mother and him. I've grown so accustomed to having him by my side, sharing in all the joys and sorrows of life. He's not just a dear friend but also a cherished sibling, and losing him would be unbearable. Slowly, I embraced him.
"Sorry, it was just a joke," I finally spoke, trying to ease the tension. "You should be used to it by now."
"It's okay, just stop teasing me. You know I get irritated easily, so you should be used to that too," James replied in a gentle tone.
"Dern it! You two, go to sleep," my mother suddenly yelled, startling both of us. "You're like buzzing bees, constantly whispering to each other. If you don't go to sleep, I'll throw dung at you!"
Our voices must have been louder than we thought for her to hear. We stifled our laughter at her words. That's how my mother is, unlike James's mom, who is more gentle in her demeanor. My mother has a touch of brashness, but even with that, she's very kind. It's fortunate that they have different personalities; otherwise, we'd be stinking up the place by now. We stopped talking and went to sleep.
When we woke up, it was already noon. As I opened my eyes, I was momentarily blinded by the intense sunlight streaming through the window. My head was throbbing a bit, so I didn't get up right away. I closed my eyes again because I was still feeling sleepy.
"Hey! Get up, and let's go," James urged, as he noticed me stirring. "It's already noon, and there won't be any goods left for us to trade."
"Let's not work today; my head is hurting," I groaned.
"You're so stubborn! We can't afford not to work. It's a waste of time, and if you don't get up, I'll pour water on you," James threatened, naturally prompting me to get up immediately.
"I said, let's not work for now; let's rest for once. My head really hurts," I pleaded, trying to persuade him.
He looked at me for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, let's just rest for a while. We can split the earnings from last night." I said to James
I reached for the money I earned from Ella, which I had kept in my underwear last night. I showed him the 600 pesos.
"Here, take this. We'll each get 300. Let's just split the 500 later, but not now. Let's go back to sleep," I said with a hopeful tone.
I put the money back in my underwear and held James's hand, pulling him back to bed. I embraced him, closing my eyes again. I knew he couldn't resist because he knew I wouldn't let go of him. We both fell asleep again until we heard my mom shouting.
"Hey, you two, are you still planning to sleep? It's already ten o'clock. And why didn't you go to work today?" my mom called out.
"We'll do it tomorrow. There's still money here; my head really hurts," I replied.
"That's what you get from drinking. Tsk! Hey, James, your mom came looking for you earlier; she's worried. Didn't you inform her last night that you wouldn't be coming home?" my mom inquired.
"I told her, but I didn't mention that I wouldn't be able to go home," James explained.
"Alright, I'll talk to her. Maybe she doesn't have money for lunch." my mom said, to which I immediately handed James all the money so our moms could split it. After all, we'd be giving it to them anyway.
"Here you go, Mom, you can divide it to yourselves." James handed the money to my mom.
"Oh, looks like it's quite a bit. Okay, we'll split it ourselves then. Get up and eat; you can't just sleep all day. You'll get hungry. Thanks for this anyway. We're really lucky to have kids like you both. Don't give us any grandchildren. I don't want to become a grandmother yet."
We were confused by what she said, but we just laughed it off. I hugged James again and fell asleep for another hour.