Nox Castillo

I grinned when I saw how pissed off she was after I placed an icing on her cheek.

"John-john! I hate you!" Ces yelled when she realized the gooey spot on her skin as I surprised her outside her room.

Today is our friendship anniversary.

Oo. Baduy man pero we decided to celebrate it ever since we became the best of friends.

And we have been very close friends since we reunited six years ago.

Yep. Hindi ko alam kung kaninong idea eto but we found ourselves hanging out and doing what we love to do, indulging on chocolates or anything sweet during our special day.

"Wait. Hala! Anong araw na ba ngayon?" She asked in astonishment. I nodded and smirked at her, still holding our fave chocolate cake from Goldilocks.

She glanced at the calendar and saw the date: Aug. 18, 1996.

"Luh! Sorry! Nakalimutan koooo! Tara, pasok!" Ces exclaimed and let me inside her bedroom.

As usual, her bedroom wallpaper is filled with posters of her favorite boy bands namely Backstreet Boys, N' Sync and 911. Knowing her, as soon as she have started to like someone's songs, she will automatically download their songs and as soon as she have learned to love them, she will eventually be an avid fan of them.

"Kwarto pa ba 'to?" I chuckled as I placed the cake on top of her study table.

"Ha-ha!" Ces mocked and began dipping her fingers on the icing. "Mmm! Sarap! Happy friendversary, Nox!"

It took me a while to come to my senses when she hugged me and stayed for a couple of minutes.

"Ang swerte-swerte mo talaga sa akin, John-john!" She guffawed and pulled back. "Para kang tuod dyan! Galaw-galaw, oy!"

I blinked and cleared my throat, "tuod ka dyan! Gwapo ko namang tuod!"

"Buhatin mo sariling bangko mo! Haha!" She giggled and I winced looking at how she spelled her nickname using her fingers on the cake.

"Ces! Kumuha ka nga ng kutsilyo! Nakakadiri!" I complained and shook my head. I roamed my eyes around her room to find her mini-refrigerator and stood up. "Ikaw na lang, Nox. Ikaw na." I talked to myself in sarcasm and got her plastic bread knife from the door's refrigerator.

When I turned around to face her, my eyes widened when I saw her almost ate half of the cake.

"Hoy! Plano mo ba ako tirhan o patikimin ng cake na 'yan?" I protested, raising an eyebrow as I approached her.

She flashed me a quick smile as she chewed on the slice of cake in her hands, chocolate icing on her fingers and beside her lips.

"Wag kang gagalaw. Ganyan ka lang. Saglit." I immediately snatched her digital camera and snapped a picture of her and it was my turn to laugh at her.

As I was in fits of laughter, I didn't notice that she had come to me and put an icing on my face.

"Amp! Ces!" I shrieked and it was a good thing that I was able to process what she had done and returned the plastic bread knife on top of her  mini-ref before I began to wrestle her.

"Ang daya mo! Akala mo, ikaw lang ang malinis sa atin ha!" Ces exclaimed and continued drawing on my face with her icing-filled finger.

"Cecille Bianca!" I complained again but I have no choice since my face is almost chocolate-filled one.

"Hoy! Ang iingay nyong mga bata kayo!" Her mom, Tita Sol, yelled and roared when she saw us. "Anong mga itsurang yan! Teka nga! Akin na ang camera!"

"Mamaa!" "Tita!" We both chorused in protest but we impulsively smiled and even made wacky poses.

"Ang tatanda nyo na pero mga isip-bata pa rin kayo!" Tita Sol chortled. "Halika na, magsibaba na kayo at dito ka na rin maglunch, John-John."

"Opo, Tita." "Yes, Mama." We both said and she left us alone here in Ces' room. We looked at each other and giggled.

"Tara, tingnan natin ang pictures!" Ces grinned and she began to pressed the arrows to display the next shots in her camera. We cackled at how ridiculous we looked.

"Lika na. Bago pa magalit si Tita." I said and I went to her bathroom to wash my face. After doing so, she took her turn to wash her face and we both went down to their dining room.

As we went down the staircase, Tita Sol was singing along with the latest song of Mariah Carey entitled Always Be My Baby. We saw how Tito Romy emerged from their sofa and danced with her.

"Ang agang kay tamis naman po niyan, Tita Sol at Tito Romy!" I commented and Ces' dad winked at me.

And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feelin' this strong
No way you're never gonna shake me
Oh darlin' cause you'll always be my baby

"Can I have this dance, Cecille Bianca?" I turned to face the girl beside me whose eyes blinked in surprise and laid out my hand. She looked at how her parents enjoyed the song and she got the picture.

"Why not, Yuan Equinox?" She smiled and took my hand as I held her by the waist.

Soon, we became two dancing couples in the Fernandez' humble abode.

I am indeed treasuring every moment with her. One of the rarest chance that we have this kind of fun with her parents who are always busy.

This woman in front of me may grow old but she will always be my baby.

💞💞💞

A/N:

Please play the Youtube video for better reading experience. 😊

All photos credits to their respectful owners.