IVAN

This was my first time walking on a roof. Medyo nag-aalangan pa ako kung sasama ba ako sa kanya. I had a bad feeling na isang maling hakbang lang ay puwede akong mahulog sa loob ng bahay ng ibang tao. Manipis ang yerong gamit nila rito sa kanila Yuki. If my tatay found out what I was doing right now, paniguradong papauwiin niya ako sa amin.

"Sabi naman sa 'yo huwag ka nang umakyat dito." Yuki was holding my hand. Sa bawat yerong lumalagutok, ramdam kong mas pinipisil niya ang kamay ko. "Bumaba na lang kaya tayo?"

"Ayoko nga. Minsan na nga lang ako makapunta rito. Pagbigyan mo na ako."

"Kulit mo rin, ano?"

I actually liked it kapag naasar siya. I dunno, but this version of Yuki at home was totally different from the Yuki at school. Walang bahid ng Eastampton sa kanya.

"Oops!" My foot almost fell inside the roof.

"Sabi na kasing bumaba na lang tayo!"

Pigil ang ngiti ko sa tuwing naii-stress siya sa akin. He looked so cute when upset. Walang angas sa mukha niya. Nakakatuwa siyang pagmasdan habang magkasalubong ang mga kilay niya.

"Ayos lang ako. Malayo pa ba tayo, Yuki?"

"Dito na, puwede na rito."

We sat on the most stable part of the roof. Magkatabi kami sa bubong ng bahay ni Yuki. I invited myself to his house mula nang manggaling kami sa pond kanina. I decided to stay a little longer, dahil wala naman ako klase kinabukasan, just a game of soccer that I have to attend. Noong una ay nag-aalangan pa siya nang yayain ko siyang umakyat sa maninipis na yero. Pero ngayon, ito siya at katabi ko habang may tag-isa kaming tub ng ice cream. Inilibre ko siya ng ice cream kanina para mawala ang inis niya sa akin. To be honest, I still dunno why he became mad when I talked to Angel this afternoon.

"Kakaiba itong trip mo, Yukihero Azukawa. Ibang-iba ka sa bahay ninyo."

"Anong kakaiba? We're just eating ice cream."

"Ayon na nga, kakaiba ka. Ice cream instead of beer, pare."

"Pare?" Natatawa siya habang inuulit ang huling sinabi ko. Nakataas pa ang kanyang kilay.

"Yeah, pare. Magkaibigan naman tayo, kaya isa ka na sa mga pare ko, Yukihero."

"Hindi bagay. Ayokong tawagin mo akong ganoon, Ivan."

"So ano? Bro?"

"Muntanga ka, Ivan."

"Dre? Short for compadre?"

I could hear him muttering something pero hindi ko marinig. But I was pretty sure na naiinis na siya sa mga pinagsasabi ko.

"Honey," I said in jest.

Nawala ang pagkabugnot sa mukha niya. Natulala lang siya sa akin. Pinalobo niya ang mga pisngi niya. His grumpy face turned into his brother's cute little face.

"Honey," pag-ulit ko. "'Honey cake' 'yong flavor ng ice cream na binili mo sa 7-Eleven."

Napatingin siya sa ice cream tub niya. Inusisa niya ang akin. "Macapuno," he said as if he was calling me.

Pareho kaming natawa.

"Well. Ice cream flavors are definitely not going to be our nicknames," saad ko.

Then we were quiet. I was enjoying my macapuno while he munched on his honey cake.

"Dito ka ba palaging tumatambay, Yuki?" tanong ko. I figured dahil wala naman ibang pwedeng tambayan sa bahay niya sa loob.

"Oo. Gusto ko rito, simple lang. Tsaka mahangin dito. Madaling magpalipad ng saranggola. Dito kami madalas ng kapatid ko."

Napatingin ako sa paligid. Simple was actually not the right word to describe it. May gulong na nakadagan sa isang yero ilang metro lang mula sa amin. May nilipad na panty sa kabilang bubungan. Tapos may mga nakasampay pa na damit sa aming likuran.

I was smiling as I scanned our surroundings. Napatingin ako sa langit. It was a clear sky, pero wala akong makitang bituin. Ibinaba ko kaunti ang mga mata ko. I saw Yuki smiling at something in front of us.

I followed his gaze, and my smile faded away dahil sa nakita ko.

"I like watching those high-rise buildings," he said. Pamilyar ang hilera ng mga gusaling iyon na napapalibutan ng magagandang ilaw na tila mga Christmas lights.

"The So Corporation?" I uttered quietly.

"Oo, malaki kasi talaga ang paghanga ko sa mga So," ani niya. "They are so successful. Do you know that Dante So also grew up in a squatter's area like this?"

"I guess."

"Oh, to be a successful tycoon someday." Napaliyad si Yuki as if he were looking at the stars beyond those buildings. "Ang sarap siguro sa pakiramdam."

Nakaharap pa rin siya sa matataas na gusali. Yakap ko naman ang mga tuhod ko habang nakatitig sa kanya.

I could see the lights of the buildings shine in Yuki's eyes. Mga iba't ibang kulay na tila mga alitaptap sa isang iskwater na gaya nito.

Then I saw the light drip from his eyes toward his face. Mabilis siyang tumalikod sa akin as if he is wiping something from his cheeks.

"Yuki—"

"Napuwing na naman siguro ako."

"Do you want us to go down?" yaya ko.

Itinaas niya ang ice cream niya. Hindi pa niya nakakalahati. "Sabi mo uubusin muna natin ang mga pinamili natin dito." He finally put the lead back on the tub. Tinakpan ko na rin ang ice cream ko.

"Baka giniginaw ka na kasi." Nag-aalala lang ako sa kanya. He was wearing his usual house clothes; habang ako ay naka school uniform at may headset pang nakasukbit sa leeg ko.

"Concerned kang giniginaw ako pero nilibre mo ako ng ice cream, Ivan?"

I started laughing. May punto nga si unggoy.

"Edi ako na ang uubos." Inagaw ko sa kamay niya ang ice cream niya.

"No, wait—"

Akmang aagawin niya pabalik ang ice cream na siyang dahilan para mapasubsob siya sa kinauupuan ko.

Kusang gumulong ang mga ice cream namin pababa ng bubong. We heard the ice cream tubs drop on the ground.

"Uy ice cream!" rinig naming halakhak ng mga batang dumadaan. "Amin na 'to." At mabilis silang nagtakbuhan palayo.

"Sayang," Yuki was about to shout at the kids. "Hoy—"

Tinakpan ko ang bibig niya. I held his cheeks and moved them to face me. "Bibilhan na lang kita ulit."

"Pero—kasi—'yong," I heard him muffle behind my hand.

"Shh."

My hands automatically moved to his cheeks.

Pareho kaming natigilan.

Nakatitig lang siya sa mga mata ko. I was staring at his eyebrows, down to his pointy nose. My fingers moved on their own as they touched his lips.

His face moved closer as I slowly pulled him closer. Nakatitig kami sa mga labi ng isa't isa. He closed his eyes. I kept mine open, trying to keep in my memory the beautiful lips of Yukihero Azukawa before it touched mine.

Then he stopped moving, even before our lips became one.

Mabilis niyang inalis ang mga kamay ko. He slowly stood up while I was still lying flat on the roof, shocked by what could have happened.

"Tara, Ivan. Bumaba na tayo." Yuki extended his hand, dodging my gaze.

I immediately reached for his hand so he could help me get up. Tulala ko siyang sinundan paalis ng bubong as if nothing actually happened.

I left his house that night with his beautiful expression stamped in my head.

***

Kinabukasan, I got a call from Angel. She sounded stressed sa kabilang linya pero hinidi ko siya gaanong marinig.

"Ivan, favor naman, hindi ako—"

"Angel, you're breaking in and out."

I was about to go to school. Naghahanap ako ng mas magandang cell connection sa kuwarto ko. I was wearing my soccer uniform, dahil inimbitahan ako ng dati kong coach to judge the tryouts of freshmen.

I was busy trying to fix my connection when another call came in. I had to drop Angel's call.

"Boselli, asan ka na? Magsisimula na kami," bungad sa akin ni coach sa kabilang linya.

"Papunta na po, coach."

He ended the call. Then I heard a text message come in. Pero hindi ko na pinansin as I rushed to Eastampton.

***

The new recruits were good. I played center forward sa team namin. Pero hindi ako official member ng varsity dahil sabi nga ni tatay, I should never stand out. He already allowed me to take fine arts as long as hindi niya makikita ang pangalan ko sa kahit anong form of news media.

Eastampton had a good soccer team. I just so happened to be great with that sport, dahil madalas rin akong dumalo sa mga sport clinic noong bata pa ako. Isa rin ito sa mga inenrolan sa akin ni kuya. Sports daw helped me manage my anger issues. Sabi niya, once we exhaust the body, it also clears the mind.

So ito, we finally got the complete list of freshmen na magiging kasama sa team for this year. Sobrang busy ko ngayong araw to the point na hindi ko na napansin ang oras. When I looked up, the sun was already behind the western building of the campus.

Mabilis akong pumunta sa bag ko sa bleachers. I grabbed my water bottle and immediately drank all of it. I took out my phone. There were twenty missed calls. All were from Angel.

Then I saw her text from this morning.

Angel: Ivan, I need your help. Hindi ako makakapunta sa presentation namin ni Yuki. I had an emergency. Can you tell his professor that he can do it on his own? His class starts at 5pm

I looked at the time. It's 5:30 pm

Hindi ko alam ang sunod na nangyari. Ang naalala ko lang was that I was running faster than the center forward role I have on the team. Nawala lahat ng pagod ko buong araw and my legs never sprinted so fast in my life.

From the soccer field, I reached the gym in no time. There, I found Yuki being scolded by his PE professor.

"I gave you ample amount of time, Mr. Azukawa, pero wala kang makuhang kapartner? Pambihira ka naman!"

Nakatayo si Yuki sa gitna ng stage inside the gymnasium. He was wearing that familiar black male corset vest and black skin tight jeans na madalas niyang sinusuot tuwing napunta siya sa Almasen. Wala siyang inner shirt. His muscular arms were popping out. Everyone could see how beautifully cut his arms were.

Hinihingal pa ako noong abutan ko siya. Sinasabon siya ng professor niya. His classmates were all sitting on the floor in front of the stage. Some of them were familiar faces na minsan kong nakitang kasama rin namin sa math.

Nakita ko ang ilang estudyante sa likod na nagbubulungan na tila natatawa sila sa itsura ni Yuki sa itaas.

"Go on, Mr. Azukawa," sabi ulit ng teacher niya. "At least go and ask your classmates if they can accompany you on the stage."

But Yuki was silent. Hindi niya magawang tingnan ang mga kaklase niya.

"Sige, ako ang magtatawag." The teacher turned around. "Do we have any volunteers?"

Everyone kept quiet. His friends at the back were even giggling.

"Paano ba 'to, Mr. Azukawa. Mukhang better luck next sem—"

"Ako!" sigaw ko. I immediately removed my shoes as I dashed up the stage. "I'll dance with him."

Mabilis na napatingin si Yuki sa akin.

Doon ko mas lalong nakita ang mukha niya.

Yukihero Azukawa was crying.

But when he realized that it was me who spoke...

He gave me a fake smile and shook his head.

Nilapitan ko siya lalo.

"I'll dance with you. You owe me one, Yukihero," bulong ko. "Kelangan mo akong pagbigyan ngayon."

"Anong owe you one, Ivan?"

"Iniligtas kita kay Greg sa basketball court, baliw."

Hindi ko na siya pinasagot. I went directly to his speaker and played the song "Everglow" by Cold Play.

Then, I saw the colorful lights return to the eyes of Yukihero Azukawa.