🏞️

CHAPTER TWO

"ASA NA man sila Kriszaula ug Lavern? Taga Valencia man unta silang duha duol ta's sila pa'y dugay mu-abot," Junnivah said in a bored tone.

"Padulong na man daw silaa," tubag ni Tyndareus kay Junnivah samtang busy'g tutok sa iyahang cellphone.

The three of them are currently waiting for their remaining friends sa sulod sa Robinson's Valencia branch. Nang hanggat man gud kalit si Dayvon sa ilaha nga magtan-aw daw ug new movie sa sinehan. It is a sci-fi and dystopian movie, which Midnight doesn't like much.

But maybe for Dayvon, he'll painfully watch it.

"Dayvon and Jaime are on their way na diri also," Midnight informed them as he reads a message from his beloved Dayvon.

Nandako ang mata ni Tyndareus sa na-dungog nga pangalan kay Midnight. He's not seriously tagging along with them.

Iyahang gi-duolan si Midnight ug gi-kuha ang atensyon ni-ini. "Taysa langs," he said. His face contours into confusion and annoyance. They can tell, Tyndareus doesn't like Jaime around but it looks kinda fruity. "Uban diay si Jaime sa atoa? That's no way in Hell."

"Uh, yes . . ?" Midnight confusingly answered him. Does he still disdain Jaime up until now? Damn, I won't be too shock if they'll ever end up being together.

"Asus! Igna lang gyud, bayot, nga crush nimo si Jaime," kalit nga sungog didto ni Junnivah kay Tyndareus, with a teasing expression on her face.

"Ew, like, never. He's the definition of straight, corny and cringey guy," panlood didto ni Tyndareus with quotation gestures with his fingers. "Ni-kaon na kaa, Langga? Kaon na, or kaonon tika 'run. Maligo na ka? Aws, sabay ko'g ligo beh. HA HA HA, joke lang. Lami siyang bayhana," he mockingly said with an exaggerated deep voice to impersonate a straight guy kuno.

Ni-katawa ang duha sa gipang-ingon didto ni Tyndareus.

Jaime is kinda arrogant, actually. Kung magka-uban ang duha kay puro sungog ug away ang mahitabo sa ilaha. They can't get along pretty well tungod sa disdain ni Tyndareus sa mga lalaki nga straight and as he describes them, cringey and corny as fuck. But not all, though. Jaime, however, likes to tease Tyndareus and grab all the attention he can get from him.

"Unsay lami siyang bayhana?"

Naay tingog nga ni-ingon unahan sa ilaha. Napa-lingo sila sa direksyon gikan ang naturang tingog, ug didto nakit-an nila sila Dayvon ug Jaime. Finally, they're here.

"Hey, jelly bean," Dayvon greeted Midnight and walked straight to his side. As usual, he smells really, really good. He also wears a casual yet a head-turner outfit that suits his handsome face. Midnight is truly lucky, indeed.

"Ugh, stop that already." Midnight groaned out 'cause he really hates nicknames and endearments. He pushed Dayvon a little, and it made the guy just chuckled in amusement.

Tyndareus rolled his eyes as he fully faced Jaime. Jaime casually wears a typical oversized shirt and a khaki pants, and he looks boring to Tyndareus' eyes.

"Kinsay nanghanggat nimo nga mu-uban diri-a? You're not welcome here," pag-maldita ni Tyndareus sa lalaki.

Jaime dramatically clutched his left chest nga mura'g nagsakit iyahang dughan. "Ouch. Grabe ka-harsh," ingon ni Jaime. Gi-atubang niya ang best friend nga si Dayvon with a little pout. "Brad, murag dili man ko welcome diri. Si Tin-tin, oh, gina-pahawa ko. Kung mao na iyang ika-lipay, mu-hawa na lang ko. Sige, bayy."

"Hoy, gago," ga-tawa nga ingon didto ni Dayvon sa amigo.

"Lagi, bayy. Mu-lakaw na lang ko kay si Tin-tin na'ko dili ganahan nga naa ko diri," ingon pa didto ni Jaime nga ga-aksyon nga mulakaw daw.

Tyndareus rolled his eyes sa naga-kita.

"Ew, don't call me Tin-tin. Dugyot kaayu paminawon ang Tin-tin, yuck," arte nga sabat didto ni Tyndareus sa ilaha.

"Ah, dili gyud, bayy. Dili ganahan si Tin-tin nga naa ko diri." Jaime wiped an imaginary tears from his eyes kuno daw.

Ka-OA na lang gyud. Hay naku.

"Adto na kaw," Tyndareus said with a smirk, urging Jaime to leave kuno. He knows nga atik-atik ra neh sa lalaki. But he does wished nga mu-lakaw gyud si Jaime.

Not this time, baby. "Kabalo ka, dili na lang diay ko mu-lakaw. Mag uban-uban ko ninyo tibuok gabii," Jaime said as he cross his arms above his chest, smiling tauntingly at Tyndareus. Abi pa lang gyud.

"Edi mu-uban kaa. But mu-sugot koa in one condition, dapat librehan koa nimo ug popcorn ug drinks," Tyndareus propositioned. " Dapat large sila duha. Deal?"

"Yati. Two hundred na lang gani taga adlaw akong allowance," alma diritso ni Jaime didto. His allowance per week is estimated to one thousand to two thousand per week ra, so iyahang gina-igo perme iyang budget. "Pero sige, ah," diritso nga sugot ni Jaime didto. Jaime is anything but rich.

Simple lang ang kinabuhi sa pamilya ni Jaime, dili dato ug dili sad pobre. But he is friends and afflicted with Dayvon, nga dato ang pamilya ug angkan. Ingon nila, wala naa sa status sa kinabuhi basta tinuod nga amigo imong kasangga sa kinabuhi. It's better to have a poor yet loyal friends, than rich yet toxic friends. For Dayvon, he's very thankful nga best friend niya si Dayvon.

"Okay, nice." The smirk on Tyndareus face became a wide grin as he approached Jaime. "Friends taa karung gabii kay librehan koa nimo. MWEHEHEHE," ingon niya kay Jaime and tugged on his shirt.

It made Jaime cheer inside kay ni-duol sa iyaha si Tyndareus. "Dapat lang," he said ug gi-bira na lang si Tyndareus ug gi-agbayan. Medyo na-kurat si Tyndareus pero gipa-sagdan na lang niya ang pag-agbay sa iya sa lalaki.

They look good together, to be honest. Kanus-a ba neh ah magtukaan at mag-uyab? Mga pakipot.

"Wala ko na-informed nga magdala diay ug boylet para lang mu-tan-aw ta'g sine, noh? Salig kay naa'g barko akoa," istorya na lang kalit ni Junnivah didto samtang gipang-tan-aw ang mga uwag nga amiga.

"Ew, kini na lang, akoang boylet? Never ever, girl," pangluod didto ni Tyndareus.

"Ka-arte ba. Swerte na ka na'ko, uy. Engineering kaya neh."

Gipaduol pa niya si Tyndareus sa iyaha ug gi-agbayan ug ayo. Lisod na.

"Excuse me, I prefer Architecture students, for your information."

"Mas chada kaya ang Engineering kay hawod meh mu-higugma. Dagko pa gyud me'g mga kuan."

Oh, yeah? Like, Dayvon is the exact opposite of having a huge package. He may be a big dick energy, but he's just . . . huna-huna didto ni Midnight.

"Yuck. Ka-luod gyud mu-banat aning mga straight nga lalaki, uy."

"We're not together, yet," tubag sad ni Midnight didto kay Junnivah.

"It'll be soon, though. And I can't wait, Snowflake," gigil nga ingon ni Dayvon kay Midnight ug gi-kusnit ang aping ani.

"Stop that, I'm not a letchon para kusniton nimo."

"Hays. Ambot na lang gyud."

🏞️🏞️🏞️

"WOW. THEY'RE huge and tall!" Amazement is dancing on Dayvon's face as he gestured toward the screen of the cinema. Midnight, however, just blankly stares ahead of him, stopping himself from leaving this room.

Why am I agreeing to come here just to be tortured? I want to leave na.

"Yeah. So tall," pag sakay niya kay Dayvon.

He sat there, eating his tall bucket of popcorn with a tall cup of some sort of beverages, too. Murag ang popcorn ug ilimnon na lang ang gaka-entertain sa iyaha 'cause he really hates sci-fi and dystopian movies. He's fine with fantasy or dystopian movies, as long as the lead character are badasses, powerful women characters. He loves watching strong women leads kay it brings excitement and inspiration to him.

Women can be strong too, as he says.

Kaning movie man gud ilahang ginatan-aw kay lalaki ang gadala. All is fine naman, kaso he felt quite unamused since this is a sequel of a movie, like, a decade ago na. All those years of waiting, and this is it? Medyo disappointed siya like how he was disappointed to his favorite Kpop girl group's comeback after all those years of hiatus. Ma'y gani ni-gawas ang second song nila from their new album nga mas better sa supposed to be comeback song nila.

[A/N: No hate. I love the implicated movie and the Kpop girl group. It's his perspective, not mine. Kalma.]

He sounds like a critique sulod sa iyahang huna-huna tungod sa pang-judge sa movie karun. If he was a critique, he would give a rotten tomatoes to this movie. The first movie was a blockbuster, so he expected more for this since all of them waited for this sequel.

Halos tanan sila didto enjoy kaayo sa movie sa atubangan, while si Midnight gusto nang mu-gawas. Tyndareus, on the other hand, is quite annoyed tungod sa iyahang katapad.

"Gi-huna-huna gyud niya nga dako ba gyud ang oten nila bah. Asus," kalit nga sungog ni Jaime sa iyahang kilid.

Seriously, this guy is---argh.

"Bastos. For your information, wala sila'y private parts. Kanang ilahang buhok nga churva-churva ilang ginagamit during mating. Ew, boomer mindset."

"Wala lageh sila'y oten or bilat, pero ako, naa ko'y dako nga oten."

"Hoy, bastos gyud kaa, noh. Palayo na'ko beh."

"Ngit-ngit bitaw ang palibot, okay ra nga hilam-hilamon nimo akoa. 'Ge na."

"Hoyyyyyy. Nganung bastos man gyud kaa, uy? Ayaw ako, okay? Wala ko'y one-fifty nga ika-hatag nimo, so stop na."

"Joke-joke lang gani," Jaime said with a chuckle. "Pero kung gusto ka, saba lang. Always neh libre para sa imoha."

"Shutacca! Pag puyo dihaa or putlon na'ko imohang oten 'run. Nagtan-aw ang tawo sa salida nah."

"Bawal bad-bad diri sa sine, uy. Basin unsa na nah iyong gipang-buhat diha, ha?" kalit nga panitsit sa ilaha ni Lavern sa kilid nila.

Ni-puyo didtoa si Jaime pagkadungog sa ka-uban bantog nagpa-salamat si Tyndareus kay wala na'y ga-sinamok niya. He can peacefully watch this great and epic movie. He positively thinks that the sequel will become a blockbuster and the greatest movie with loads of views and money earned like the first one. He loves watching movies and K-Dramas pud sad lageh.

🏞️🏞️🏞️

THEY FINISHED the movie, and everyone seems satisfied except Midnight. Na-bantayan neh ni Dayvon bantog iyahang neng gi-pester with questions.

"The movie was great, right?" pangutana ni Dayvon kay Midnight samtang ga-gawas sila sa mismong theater room.

Midnight shrugged. "Yeah, it was," ingon niya nga blangko ang nawong. His face doesn't said so.

"Are you alright? You seemed . . . not in the mood. Gutom na ka, am I right?" pangutana didto ni Dayvon ug na-bantayan ang ekspresyon ni Midnight sa nawong. Even if Midnight is frowning, he's still looks angelic and ethereal.

"I'm fine," tubag ni Midnight sa iyaha in monotone voice.

"Are you sure?" paniguro ni Dayvon. "'Cause heck, the movie was really good. Worth it ang money na'to,"

"Worth it, my ass," hunghong ni Midnight sa iyahang ka-ugalingon.

"What is that?" kalit nga atubangan ni Dayvon sa iyaha ug pangutana. His arm smoothly wraps around Midnights shoulders, pero na-kurat na lang siya kay gi-hawa kini ni Midnight.

"Wala," Midnight nonchalantly says.

Dayvon is now suspicious kung nganung na ga-ing-ani si Midnight karun. Sure, there are times nga wala sa mood si Midnight, but he's still not used to it.

"Did you not liked the movie?" pangutana ni Dayvon sa iyaha.

Bag-o pa ma-dungog ni Dayvon ang tubag ni Midnight, ni-singgit ang ka-uban nila sa ilaha.

"Guys, Jollibee daw tah!" announced sa ilaha ni Junnivah. Si Kriszaula ang nag-suggest sa ilaha nga mag-Jollibee, which is sugot naman sila.

"Yey! Gutom na gyud kaayu koa, bayy," ingon didto ni Tyndareus.

"Gusto ka'g Jollibee?" pangutana didto kalit ni Jaime kay Tyndareus. "Hali, naa ko'y Jolli-hotdog diris akong pantalon."

"Bastos!"

"Free lang neh tapos dili pa gyud mahurot. With mayonnaise spurt pagka-uliwit pag tarungon nimo'g kaon. Gusto ka?"

"Hoyyyyy. Paka-ulaw man kaa, uyy. Naa taa sa public bah."

"Are you hungry ba bantog wala ka sa mood?" pangutana utro ni Dayvon kay Midnight. This infuriates Midnight more and he wants nothing but to kick Dayvon on his balls. "Ah! It's passed your eating time bantong bad mood ka. It's fine, we'll eat plenty of food as you can didto sa Jol---h-hey!"

Kalit na lang ni-hawa si Midnight sa ilahang tipok ug na-bantayan kini nila. Where is he going?

"Unsay na-hitabo niya?" pangutana ni Kriszaula sa ilaha.

"Ambot lang," ingon ni Lavern. "Uy, brad, na-unsa toh? Gi-away nimo noh?" Iyang gi-atubang si Dayvon didto nga na-kurat sa paglakaw ni Midnight palayo sa iyaha.

"I-I don't know. He seemed like not in a mood. He's in his one of his mood swings 'guro." Dayvon isn't sure about it. "Adtuon sa na'ko, guys," pananghid niya kanila.

"Sige-sige," tubag nila sa iyaha.

Iyang gi-sundan si Midnight ug gipa-atubang sa iyaha once nga na-abtan niya kini. He faced Midnight with sad expression and confused one.

"What happened, Dandelion?" he asks him in a calm tone, but Midnight's face is the opposite.

"I said, wala. Dili ka ka-sabot?" gi-samokan nga ingon ni Midnight sa iyaha.

"What do you mean?" Dayvon is very frustrated right now. Why is he acting like this? "Look, if you're hungry, we can eat na. You can eat anything you want, Peppermint. You don't want Jollibee, is that it? We can go to another food chains that you like."

"Just fucking stop!" singgit didto ni Midnight bantog naka-tiklop si Dayvon ug naka-hilom. "Your nicknames are really annoying, and it's not about food that I'm infuriated about. Your taste in movies is also annoying. I hate that you forced me into watching that shitty movie. That was plain torture. And you know what, just fucking stop," he vents out to him.

Dayvon is speechless. They are arguing in a crowded place such as the shopping mall. Basin unsa na lang ang ma-ingon sa ilaha sa palibot.

"W-What do you mean? I wa---"

"Whatever. I'm out of here." Ug gi-talikdan na siya ni Midnight ug gi-biyaan.

"Baby, wait! I'm sorry!"

Iyaha untang gukdon si Midnight, pero ni-balik kini ug ni-lingo sa iyaha. And he said, "Don't think and try to follow me. Diha ra ka. Asshole."

Dayvon stood there and watch as Midnight strode his way to the escalator pa-naog sa ubos. He wanted to shout, but he have to compose himself. Naay uban nga tawo nga ni-agi ug gi-lantaw unsay naga-hitabo. Apparently, Midnight was shouting banto'g it grabbed some of the passerby's attentions.

"Fuck!"

xAPLHA_SYRICx | SYRICH

• • • • • • • • • •

So, mao toh. Sorry kung medyo sabaw ug gamay ra thrilling nga eksena. I'm just not feeling well to write na, eh. Actually, sugod atong nag-college na'ko, my passion for writing has been decreasing lately. Pati sad pag basa nko. HUHUHUHUHU.

Wala ni-abot ug 2.5k ang word counts ani. 2.3 ra intawon. Hays.

Dili na na'ko patas-on akoang author's note kay magsulat pa sad ko'g update sa Unexpected Heat. Or maybe not. Mag FB or internet2x na lang sad siguro koa ani. HUHUHUHUHU.

Anygays, byers! Ingats kayo! Love yah! Muahx!

EDIT: Hey, guys! Guess what, our dog just died tonight. Amoang iro kay 7 or 8 years na naa sa amoa since before koa ni-graduate ug elementary. And now, I'm starting my life as a freshman in college, she's gone na. I don't know what emotions akoang ipa-gawas karun. I'm still in denial of her death. Her name is Love, and a crossed breed of Shit Zhu and Poodle kuno.

She's the cutest dog I've ever laid my eyes to. Like, literally.

Oh, ghod. I'm tearing up. I just want to vent out this emotion and feeling---of losing someone so suddenly.

None of us wanted someone in our life to leave us unprepared. Tanan taa naka-experience ana, and it is the most scariest thing you don't want to experience. Sakit lang gyud kaayu, watching your Mom cried kay iyang pinaka palangga nga manghud ug baby-baby namatay tungod lang sa Parvo virus.

I'm gonna publish this chapter without being edited kay I don't feel like editing it anymore. Maybe on the next day I'll edit this.

Fun fact (if you call this a fun to learn fact), while editing the first few paragraphs of this chapter, I heard our dog, Love, cried her last agony before she went limp and lifeless.

I don't know what to say na. Sakit lang gyud kaayu bayy. Dili pa koa gusto nga mawala pa siya. Shuta.

This was the start of the year, yet it is already painful and sad. I don't know kung ganahan pa koa sa the rest of it. But keep thriving, you guys.

I'm atheist, but I do hope there is a dog paradise out there nga padulngan sa mga iro nga nangamatay. And I want to go there, and meet Love and Pag-ibig once again.

Basta. I want to cry now in the corner. I want to vent out my tears. Sakit lang gyud kaayu bayy.

Ingats mo, btw. Keep yourselves healthy. Don't forget to love everyone around you before it's too late. Love y'all!

Here's a picture of our baby Love.

Isn't she adorable? She really looked healthy here. I missed her annoying presence beside me on the bed. Guess I'll sleep forever nga wala na'y Love nga feelingon nga sige'g tapad na'ko starting today, then. Love you, Love! Be free in doggie paradise! Hope to meet you again! I love you so, so, so much!