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I took a deep breath as I waited by the balcony on the third floor, my favorite out of all the floors in Town in a Building. I was waiting for Chris, alone on the balcony, staring at the same colors of the clouds that once brought us together. While Carrie, Maddie, and Paris already drove home, Chris pledged to drive me home. At least that was how I understood his words when he said, "Sige na, mauna na kayo umuwi. Ako na ang bahala kay Cerulean."

I thought, It's still my birthday. It's okay. Chris won't let me down.

"Hey," I heard his voice. "Oh, shit!"

I turned around, but when I did, I was shocked when Chris shut two of the doors for the balcony. What does this mean?

"Tingin ka muna sa langit," he said.

"Ha?"

"Tingin ka muna sa langit, at 'wag mo muna akong tingnan," ang sabi niya pa.

"Bakit?"

"Basta."

I obeyed. Turning around as quickly as I could just to get over it as soon as possible, I looked up at the sky, trying to enjoy everything the sky had to offer to me.

"Take two," I heard him speak again. "Hey."

As if it wasn't funny and as if I wasn't on the verge of laughing, I faced him, still completely having a straight face.

"HAHAHA!" I finally laughed, my hands flying to hit him lightly. They ended up landing on his chest as I saw he was wearing Gideon as his mask again. I took my laughter back, as if.

"Why are you laughing?" Gideon asked, smiling. "Nakita mo ba ako matapilok?"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed even more. "Hindi, pero—HAHAHA!"

"You're laughing at me, my lady," he chuckled. "Wait again."

He left before I could keep my face straight.

"Gideon?"

I couldn't find him in any direction I looked. Ang hilig na niya ako paglaruan, ah. Nakakatampo naman. By then, I decided that I would be acting as if I had already lost my patience. I would play hard-to-get this time. And he won't win. With whatever game he's playing.

Turning around, I faced the sky again, trying to regain every single piece of self-control that I could muster. It wasn't easy. It was utterly difficult. I was about to play this game with the person I could not stand seeing bothered even with just the slightest thing.

Without a warning, I felt an arm around my waist, calling my attention to turn around, as if, involuntarily. Just like that, all the walls I built just for fun had crumbled down. I lost control over the 'playing hard-to-get' thing. Gideon was almost kissing me when I faced him. Just like how it always was. Close enough but never kissing me.

"Why a-are you dressed as G-Gideon right now?" I asked, trying to get my eyes off of his. Still, I failed every time I tried.

"I wanna be your own kind of uncertain," he said, and all I could feel was the strong pull between the two of us.

We were lucky enough to get this balcony alone since it was a little bit late already. And I was thankful that there were no prying eyes that I could be insecure of. And I love my friends, but right now, I am grateful we are alone.

"I want to give you one more gift," Gideon said, pulling me closer as though we weren't already so close.

I could feel his body against mine, and if the other sounds could all be filtered, I thought I could already hear his beating heart.

"What is it?" I smiled, and I felt like it was the most playful I had done in my life.

"This, my lady," he said, softly running his thumb over my lips.

That was when I remembered I had put lipstick on just for this day. I worried that his thumb might have smudged my lipstick even just for a bit, but all I could think of was him. And he was stronger than any other thought that could cross my mind.

My mind lingered on the last words that had escaped his lips while I stared in his eyes. I thought of what might be his gift for me, according to him, but the connection I felt was stronger than any of our other spark in the past I could barely think straight.

At that moment, I realized what he might give me. He might kiss me.

He had to.

I needed him. I was yearning for it. That was the last thing I could have in order to have my day extra complete.

"I—" I stopped, unsure of what I would say. But I started saying something way too soon. Way too soon before I could even think of what I would say.

"Hmm?" he said, smirking. "Are you okay, my lady?"

"Y-yeah," I said, giggling.

Gideon touched my chin, carefully letting our faces get even closer. He left a slow and gentle kiss on the side of my lips, where an earthquake or any accident could easily and effortlessly make our lips touch.

It was always just almost, but I didn't know why I couldn't complain.

I liked the way he held me ever-so-dearly. I liked the way he kept me waiting. I liked the way his thumb carefully touched my lips. I liked everything about our silly little almost's.

"I love you so much, my lady," he said, loosening his pull on me for a bit. "Happy 17th birthday to you."

"Thank you," I giggled, looking down as I bit my lip.

I did that on purpose. I loved how he didn't kiss me and how he kept his promise that he would kiss me for the first time only when we get in front of the altar, but I wanted to make him feel like "oh, man, I should've kissed her."

Gideon placed a gentle kiss on my forehead as I smiled.

That was when I knew that it was his last little gift—the two kisses he gave me, the symbol of his love for me, for Cerulean.

---

Busy weeks rolled. The night before this damn speech—oh, my, I just cussed in my head. Chris wouldn't have to know it. Anyway, continue: The night before this speech, I just drew two, well, charcoal drawings. They were all about how I felt when my birthday happened. I was all over the place, crying, close to begging Chris to stay in my life only if he hadn't shown me everything was fine early on. At the same time—no, actually, a few moments after—I also felt so happy and so loved.

Chris became my home and my rain-pour. He made me feel cold and at the same time, warm. That was beautiful.

And those drawings were beautiful to me, too, and they would always hold a very special place in my heart. I named one "Luckiest" and the other one "Abrupt."

I guess it was all too obvious because I felt like the luckiest, and I felt like everything abruptly changed when I saw Chris's flailing arms.

Back to the first topic: The night before the speech, I just drew two drawings. In short, I procrastinated.

And today was a disaster. My teacher told me that I looked at the walls by my side way too often when I delivered my speech, and she thought that I had a copy on the walls. But I did not.

I wished I had done better, and I wished that I memorized my speech instead of just improvising whatever I just said because I wasn't used to improvising whatever that much.

"Hello, my lady," I heard Chris, so I turned around, welcoming him in my arms.

I hugged him tightly. I had missed him.

"Lies looked familiar but not you," Chris whispered, caressing my cheek, when we pulled away.

"Ay," I giggled, letting everything he said to me get into me.

"Please proceed to the third floor for an important announcement," a woman called out through the large speakers. "I repeat, everyone available, please proceed to the third floor for an important announcement."

Even though I was so tired because of the awful speech I delivered, Carrie, Paris, Veronica, Chris, and I headed to the third floor. I wanted this, anyway. I wanted to go in Town in a Building despite me being exhausted, so I had to face it. There weren't loads of people using the elevator, thankfully, and I noticed that there were fewer people than the normal. I guessed they also had busy days.

Or other people got bigger and more complicated days than what I experienced.

That's gonna be so busy, then.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" the speakers blasted before I could even realize that we got to the third floor already.

"This year, we will be hosting Mr. and Miss Town in a Building." I tiptoed to see the woman in a completely black mask speak. "It is a pageant open to everyone!"

"We can list two participants per family, organization, fam-organization, or squad," she continued. "You can only represent one group of people in Town in a Building for Mr. and Miss Town in a Building. The competition will be held here on the third floor of Town in a Building's main building. The competition will be on March 11th, and the registration will start tomorrow. Same venue rin."

On my man's birthday.

"Sali tayo?" Paris hesitatingly asked. "Ay—'wag na lang siguro."

I looked at Paris to know who she was talking to, and by the time that I saw her face, she was looking at me.

"Sali tayo, Cerulean," she clearly said.

"H-ha?" I stuttered. "Bakit naman ako? Kayo na lang."

"Ikaw kasi lagi ang sumasali sa mga quiz bee no'ng Junior High," ang sabi ni Paris. "Kaya tayo na sana ang magre-represent ng squad natin." Oh, I forgot that we're already a squad.

"B-but iba 'yon," I said. "Kayo na lang ni Carrie o kaya ni Veronica."

I looked at Veronica and at Carrie.

They were both shaking their heads furiously.

"Hassle," Veronica said.

That's true, I thought. Hassle 'to. Lalo na at birthday ni Chris.

Pero experience din siya.

That was like how I thought of the contests back in Junior High School. Ganitong-ganito ang impression sa akin ng mga quiz bee. . . noong nasa Junior High pa ako. Hassle pero experience din. May matututunan pa rin.

Pero iba 'tong Mr. and Miss Town in a Building. Pageant 'to. And I'm not pretty.

Duh, whatever. Naka-mask naman, e. At saka, I could give him the gift of winning.

"Sige, tayo na ang representative ng squad natin," I said. I was sure this time. "Pero sali ka rin, Chris? 'Di ba, may organization ka?"

"Nope—I won't join, and yes—I am a part of an organization," he said, staring at me like I was the most beautiful lady he ever met. "I will just be here, supporting my lady. And no matter what happens on my birthday, whether you win or not, you will always be the queen of my heart."

I felt that I was flushed. That was. . . so beautiful.

"So don't worry about me and my organization, okay?" he said.

"But you're too perfect to not join," I said.

"No," he said. "Just what I said, I will just be here, by your side, supporting you no matter what."

Even though I liked the thought that we would compete in the same pageant, I gave his decision completely to himself. Chris already made himself clear.

"Okay," I said with a smile.

The announcement continued on as the speaker asked questions of those who had queries. But everything seemed too fast when Veronica spoke.

"Ano pa hinihintay natin?" Veronica said funnily. "Mamili na tayo ng mga susuotin niyo."

"Tama, tama," ang sabi naman ni Carrie.

"Ngayon na agad?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Ngayon na, oh," ang mapanghamong sabi ni Paris. "Ngayon na, oh."

"Sige na nga," I said, reaching for Chris's hand as I looked at him.

"Let's go," Chris said. "I know a place where we can buy apparel."

"Le'gooo!" Paris bubbly said.

Like the squad that we are, we walked our way to one of the bridges connecting the B-Side and this building. I glanced at the sky that looked like white cotton candy. Maybe I was just hungry at that moment.

"Ay, oo, tama," Veronica said. "Nabanggit sa akin ni Hannah na may sale daw para sa ibang apparel sa men at women's section."

"Ayos pala, e," Carrie said. "Saktong-sakto."

From the neon lights of Town in a Building's main building to the bright lighting of B-Side, my eyes adjusted. Parang medyo nasilaw pa ako sa biglang liwanag, pero nawala rin agad.

"How come you can do that?" Carrie said all on a sudden, in the midst of the silence between us five.

"Ha?"

"Tingnan mo 'yong paa nina Cerulean at Chris," Carrie giggled as I stopped walking.

Since I had my arm wrapped around Chris's right arm, he also stopped.

"Ha?" I said again.

"Your pace is perfectly in sync," Carrie smiled.

We, then, continued strolling, and when I looked down on our feet, I noticed that Chris and I had our paces in sync.

"That's weird," I giggled, restarting the engine of our conversation. "I barely get the chance to have my pace perfectly matched with someone else's." I grinned at the word I said—perfectly.

Then, I looked at Chris, who was smiling, and said, "Let's just keep it this way."

I looked down on our feet again. I could still remember when I tried so hard to keep my pace matched with Abby and Nica's, but I never got the chance to match my pace with theirs. It seemed as if the pace determined how happy I get with the person.

Every time I was with Chris, the up-to-100 scale of my happiness always exceeded up to 200 or even 500. There was just so much beauty Chris had made me see.

Again, just before I could realize it, we were already in the apparel shop. The mannequins stood tall and flawlessly, wearing different clothes that were, like, "best" showcased.

"I think I already know what I want for you," Chris said, tracing my body with his eyes.

"U-uh. . ." I shyly said, looking down.

"Remember what you wore when we first met?" he said, looking into my eyes.

I, as if, rummaged through my memory.

"The animal print shirt?" I asked.

"Yes," Chris smiled. Then, he held my hand and led me in front of a mannequin wearing a long-sleeved shirt with leopard print. Carrie, Veronica, and Paris followed. I touched one of the same stacked shirts on the table in front of it.

"This is it," Chris smiled. "I want you to wear this for your talent portion."

"Why?" I looked up to him.

"Because you looked stunning in that blouse, when I first met you," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Kaya isukat mo na 'yan."

I smiled at what he said. He thinks I was stunning in my favorite blouse? Oh, my goodness. I feel so elated.

I grabbed a size of the shirt Chris wanted me to wear and ran a meter to where my friends were.

"Ayan, tamang-tama," Veronica said after she saw me holding the leopard print shirt. "Magsukat na kayo ni Paris."

"Actually, samahan na natin sila," Carrie said. "Let's go."

And so, we went to the fitting room. Fortunately, we were the only people in the fitting room.

"I have a question," I said as soon as I entered one of the fitting rooms. I remembered what Chris told me before, and it was complicated. I didn't understand it. I remembered, he whispered to me, "Soon, my lady, we will finally leave the town of lies with our hands intertwined."

"Ano 'yon?" Paris answered from the other fitting room, eager to answer as she was the first ever Citizen of the Building among us four, making her the most knowledgeable about this town.

"Is the phrase 'finally leave the town of lies with our hands intertwined' an idiom connected to Town in a Building?" I asked, my heart beating fast as I wore the shirt Chris picked.

"Yes," Paris said loud enough so I could hear it clearly. "Ibig-sabihin no'n, the relationship in this town of lies will finally be brought outside, brought to the real world. Gano'n."

"Bakit? Bakit?" Veronica asked enthusiastically as I exited one of the fitting rooms, wearing the shirt Chris wanted.

"He said we would do that," I answered. " 'Finally leave the town of lies with our hands intertwined'."

"Oh, my," Carrie squealed. "Sinabi niya talaga 'yon?"

I nodded, smiling and blushing as I fanned my face.

"How romantic," Carrie sighed, smiling.

I looked at Chris from the distance. He was just using his phone. How perfect, still.

And I still couldn't believe he might actually mean that. I might lose my mind before we could buy long gowns and what I would pair with my shirt for the other portions of the contest.

It was just. . . . I didn't know how to explain it, but I was so happy.

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