EHLEIN POV'S
"Are you fre*kin kidding me?".
"Ang oa mo naman, dude. Kung ayaw mo talagang makatabi si Ehlein, pwede ka namang umupo sa kabilang table".
"The hell", anas nito saka nayayamot na naupo sa tabi ko.
Ang discomfort na nararamdaman ko kanina habang kaharap si Hessiah ay lalo pa tuloy nadagdagan. This time, I could also feel my heart pounding out of nervousness.
I was just quiet until the foods came. I was stunned upon seeing the amount of foods that Dian ordered. He ordered quiet much for 3 persons and I doubt that we could even finish all of those.
"Are you planning to feed an entire neighborhood?", hindi ko maiwasang komento kaya pareho silang napatingin saken.
"Haven't you seen a guy eats?", balik-tanong ni Hessiah.
"No", then I remembered Patty's brother. I indeed see him eat, "I guess I did".
"Your brother?Cousin? boyfriend?", tanong ni Dian.
"I'm an only child. I only have two girl cousins and I don't have a boyfriend".
"So who's the guy? ex mo?", tanong ni Dian sabay subo ng pagkain.
"No. It's Sam. My friends brother".
"Mas gwapo ba ito keysa kay Hessiah?".
I just stared at him for a moment. The question just came out of nowhere and I don't know how to respond to that.
"Anong klaseng tanong 'yan?".
"A question involving comparison between two person".
For the second time ay napatitig uli ako sa kanya. Why do I even need to compare the two?... I know the fact that they're both good-looking, and I've also seen quite a lot of handsome guys before. But, Hessiah——
I immediately averted my eyes as I realized what I was thinking. Did I just think that Hessiah's the one that I preferred the most?...
"Ehlein?", tawag pansin sakin ni Dian kaya muli akong napatingin sa kanya.
I definitely can't tell him about that.
"Okey ka lang ba? Namumula ka kasi".
"Huh?", napansin ko ang pag-aalala sa mukha ni Dian at pansin ko din na nakatingin si Hessiah saken,"I'm fine", tugon ko saka bahagyang yumuko. Why am I flushing?...
"Are you thinking about lewd stuff?".
"What?", agad akong napatingin kay Hessiah kasabay ang pag-arko ng kilay ko.
Dian just laugh and nearly choke from his food.
"Your face is tomato red. Your not even sick. So, that's probably because you're thinking lewd stuff, aren't you?".
"I'm not dirty minded so stop accusing me with such reason".
"Then why are you flushing?".
Nag-iwas ako ang tingin, "I don't know myself either. So stop asking will you?".
Totoo naman talaga. Pati sa sarili ko hindi ko alam kung bakit ako namumula. Was it because of what I was thinking earlier?....
Fortunately, hindi na muli pang nagtanong si Hessiah. Ngunit nagulat na lamang ako ng lagyan nya ng 3 slices of pizza ang lalagyanan ko.
"You should eat. Gain some weight, idiot".
"Are you telling me that I'm skinny?".
"Most likely".
"Hindi naman sya payat Hess ah. Teka, kaya mo ba tinatawag na chopstick si Ehlein dahil tingin mo mukha syang chopstick?", sabat ni Dian.
What? So that's why he's calling me with that name?...What a jerk.
"Yeah".
'Jerk', I murmured. But, Hessiah seems to hear me.
"What? You want another slice?", tila nang-iinis nitong wika kaya tinapunan ko sya ng masamang tingin.
This guy really knows how to piss me.
Part 12
It's already 7:24 when the guys finally decided to escort me to my apartment. Nang makarating na kami sa building ay nagpasalamat ako kay Dian saka lumabas na ng kotse. I don't want to thank that rude guy dahil naiinis parin ako sa kanya.
The moment I got out from the vehicle, I noticed na bumaba rin doon si Hessiah.
"I'll walk you until we reach your floor".
"No need. I can get there by myself", tugon ko saka naglakad na patungong hagdanan.
But he followed me. Binilisan ko na lamang ang aking pag-akyat. Yet, he still persistently followed me.
Where at a flat surface when he abruptly grab my wrist causing me to stop from walking.
"Wait. We still need to talk", seryosong wika niya.
Batid kong patungkol na naman ito sa necklace kaya pilit kong binawi ang wrist ko mula sa kanyang pagkakahawak but unfortunately, I can't get away from his grip.
"Ano ba, Hess. Bitawan mo nga ako", inis kong sabi saka muling hinila ang kamay ko mula sa kanya.
To my horror, he suddenly pull me and pin me against the wall.
"I said. We need to talk".
"Did I just tell you a couple of times that I won't accept that necklace? Why are you so persistent?".
"Then. Tell me the reason why".
I pause for a moment. Gathering every reasons that I have. I tilted my head on the side to avoid eye contact.
"Say".
"Because.....because—I hate you".
I have plenty of reasons to say but that was the only words that came out from my mouth. After kung sabihin iyon ay ramdam kong lumuwag ang pagkakahawak nya sa wrist ko. I was surprised, for I was expecting him to argue with me.
Nagulat na lamang ako ng bigla nalang nyang ipatong ang kanyang ulo sa aking balikat. I suddenly felt nervous and my heart started to pound. Aalisin ko na sana ang ulo niya, but his words stops me from doing so.
"Just accept it", in a tone na tila nakiki-usap,"Accept it and I'll stop bothering you".
"Huh?".
"Accept the necklace and I'll stop bothering you", ulit niya.
He lift his head and put the box on my hand. I just look at him, unable to utter a single word.
"I'll be going now. Goodbye, chopstick".
Naglakad na ito pababa ng hagdan. Nakakalimang ang-ang na ito when I finally manage to speak.
"Thanks".
He stop and look up at me. And the next thing he do causes my heart to skip a beat.

And then he smiles at me.