Chapter 8: Yes I do the cleaning!

Jenna woke up not long after she fainted the second time. Luke finally had a shirt on... so I won't need to worry about Jen fainting again. I put the soup in the microwave to reheat it. I prepared an extra breakfast for Jen and we all gathered around the dinner table.

"I'm so sorry for what happened earlier, " Jenna said as she removed the cotton ball out of her nose.

"It's not your fault Jen, I wasn't able to send you a message beforehand that Luke stayed for the night, " I said taking a bite on my toast.

Luke just nodded and ate his breakfast as well.

"So... anything happened between the two of you?" She asked. She really got a dirty mind. I can sense that she's fangirling again when I saw her eyes glimmering.

"Jen... like I told you... he just slept here. He slept on the couch and I slept in my room." I explained.

"He tried to seduce me this morning." Luke suddenly spoke with his nonchalant voice.

"Shut up, Luke! That's not true..." I totally defied him

"He crawled up to me half-naked and tried to kiss me..." He added with the same tone.

"You know what? You should be a writer... You're good at making up stories..." I felt a spike of a headache just by listening to him.

"Don't believe him, Jen, nothing like that happened..." I said.

Jenna was smiling and her eyes were still glimmering. She was spacing out.

"Oh, she teleported to her fantasy land..." I said I just shook my head and took another bite on my toast.

I heard the microwave tinkled so I stood up and took the soup out of it. Then  Luke got up walked towards the living room.

Jenna snapped out of her fantasy and asked him, "Where are you going?".

Luke picked up his cellphone and said, "I need to make a call..." Then he went off the front door to make the call.

Jenna moved her chair beside me.

"Oh my God! Tope! I can't believe my eyes laid on his gorgeous body... I can't get enough of those abs..." She said as she put one hand under her chin.

"Well... I witnessed that... You fainted twice..." I teased her and cackled.

"If I can see those muscles again I'm willing to pass out over and over again..." She mumbled and put her other hand under her chin.

"You're unbelievable!" I just shrugged.

"You know what... I got a feeling that he likes you..." Jenna said in a whisper leaning closer to me.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"He likes to tease you... He stares at you... Then even slept here in your house just to be with you..." She explained.

"He got left behind by his friends and it's already late to book for a cab... So... As a friend... A good friend to be exact... I let him stay... That's it!" I clarified.

"I'm pretty sure there's a reason behind that," she's being persistent.

"You can think whatever you like but we're just friends... Okay?" I'm getting tired of explaining myself to her so I just picked up my coffee and took a sip.

"I don't know about that... something about you tells me you like him too..." She suddenly said staring at me with suspicion and I almost choke on my coffee.

"I'm not gay... I like girls... You should know me better.. You're my best friend..." I blurted out of shock.

"I know!... And that's why I said that. I'm your best friend." She sounded so sure about her statement.

"Well... You got me wrong this time..." I said as I drank all of the coffee in my cup.

"We'll see..." She just smiled at me. She stood up and prepared the soup in bowls.

I'm pretty sure I'm not gay. There were times that my heart panicked every time Luke was around but that was because I'm anxious thinking about what kind of lousy tricks he will play on me... That's it! Right?

I stared at my empty cup thinking about it then I remembered that it's Saturday and Luke and I have to work today at the café.

"Wait... What time is it?" I asked Jenna who was already back at the table with the bowls of soup.

"It's almost 9:00 AM." She answered as she checked on her watch.

"What? We need to get ready for work." I said. I stood and was about to rush to my room when...

"There's no need for that. I called the manager and he said we can skip work today." Luke said then closed the door behind him.

"Did he say the reason why?" I asked as I walked closer to him.

"Uhm... He said... The cafe won't be open today." He explained.

"That means I can have both of you all by myself the whole day... Yey!" Jenna exclaimed so happily.

I wonder what happened? Well, I don't need to worry about that. No work today that means I'm free to do anything.

"So what should we do now?" I asked.

-----

We decided to clean our house... Well, Luke was kind of forced into it as he got no other choice after he decided to stay. Jenna worked on the dishes... I swept the floor and Luke dusted the bookcases and shelves...

I'm almost done with the sweeping when Luke called my attention, "Hey, Kris!"

"What's up?" I asked as I approached him.

"Where's your guitar?" He said as he turned around to face me.

"How did you know I got a guitar?" I asked as I wondered how he got to know about that. Then, he showed me a picture of me holding a guitar in a frame that was on one of the shelves. I took it and looked at myself in the picture from a year ago.

"I didn't notice your guitar when I was in your room or in any place around your house," he said.

"You've been to his room?" Jenna inquired as she joined our conversation. But I knew then that Jenna had dirty things going on on her mind.

"Yes, Jen! ..to put some clothes on after you faint..." I interrupted Luke from saying anything that could make Jen's imagination more severe.

"I see..." She nodded then she saw the picture that I'm holding. "What's that?" She added as she took it off my hands. "Oh, I remember this.  This was during the Open fair last year. You brought your guitar at school. You played it like a pro and your voice was so good."

"I know," Luke mumbled suddenly.

"Huh?" I uttered out of curiosity what he meant.

"I mean..." Luke seemed to run out of words. I saw his eyes gazed from left to right and I thought he must be thinking of something to annoy me.

"Whatever... It's too long ago." I said then I put the photo frame back on the shelf.

"Too bad you can't play anymore," Jen said and pouted her lips.

"What happened?" Luke asked.

"Well... He pawned his guitar months ago to help his brother pay their mother's medical bill when she got hospitalized." She explained.

"I will get it back when I have extra money," I said then I remembered the moment I let go of my guitar and hand it over to the pawnbroker. I felt sad all of a sudden.

"You should hear him play sometime I'm sure you will love it," Jen told Luke with her hands together under her chin. That quickly took me out of my unhappy moment.

"You really can't stop your mouth huh?" I said as I pulled her ear to make her stop with her gibberish.

"Sorry!" She uttered holding on to her ear and acting like a child.

Luke just smiled. I looked around and everything seemed clean.

"I think we're done here... Let's order some pizza!"

-----

It was noon when we finished cleaning the house. After that, we decided to chill in the living room.

We were watching a movie when the doorbell rang. It's the pizza guy. Luke volunteered to get it for us.

"He really looks cute in your shirt... you're like a couple sharing the same wardrobe..." She said as she watched Luke walked towards the front door.

"Not again, Jen... When will you ever stop?" I said. She never gets tired of this illusion.

"I told you I won't stop...  You two are perfect together... Besides... You had your chance with Pam but it seems to me that you're no longer interested in her, " she asserted.

"She caught me off guard and she did things that I didn't expect. But that doesn't mean I don't like girls anymore, " I justified.

"Okay... If that's what you say, she said. " Uhm... Tope, can I ask you something?"  She sounded quite serious this time.

"What?" I uttered.

"What would you feel if someone made an effort for you... Something that would make you happy?" She asked.

What's with the serious question? Is she referring to Niko? I knew from her reactions when Niko and Miya are together that she's jealous... Did Niko do something for her?

"Are we talking about me or about you?" I asked.

"Just answer my question!" She said then rolled her eyes.

"Hmmm. Well, if I were you and someone made an effort just to make me happy... I will appreciate it... And if I like this person... I will like him more... But I will wait for the right time until my heart is ready for love..." I told her hoping that I was able to give her some insights.

"..And if that happened to me... I will feel and do the same..." I concluded.

She just smiled at me and turned back to what we were watching. Luke joined us back in the living room bringing the pizza with him.

I opened the pizza box and the aroma of the garlic and grilled cheese filled my nose. "Oh, it's my favorite of all the pizza... garlic and shrimp." I had one of the slices and took a bite. The flavors played in my mouth and it gave me such happiness. I opened my eyes and I saw Luke just staring at me. I glanced at Jen and she was enjoying the pizza as well. I looked back at Luke and wondered if I got something on my face like... cheese. Wait... He can't eat anything with cheese.

"Uhm... Sorry... I forgot about your allergy to dairies." I suddenly felt bad for him.

"Don't worry. I ordered Charlie Chan chicken pasta along with the pizza," he said as he pulled the box of the pasta out of the paper bag.

"I can't believe you're missing some of the best food around because of your allergy," I said.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I got it from my mom," he said with a sad tone.

"I'm sorry about your mom. Jessie told me what happened to her." I said trying to console him.

"What happened to her?" Jenna uttered as she leaned forward to us being nosy.

"Jenna!" I wanted her to shut up and be more sensitive about it.

"What?" Jenna still didn't get it. I just scoffed at her.

"It's cancer," Luke said.

Jenna and I were both stunned after we heard him.

"Sorry, Luke... I didn't mean to, " Jenna apologized and looked at me with her guilty face. I just widened my eyes at her and tightened my jaw.  I want to pull her head off and smack it on the ground.

"That's okay... She died of breast cancer two years ago. It was stage 3 already when we found out about it. There's nothing much the doctors can do about it then. After a few months... she passed away." He shared the story like it just happened yesterday. I can see the grief and sadness in his eyes. He really loved his mother so much that losing her meant losing his sense of belongingness with other people around him. I finally understand the reason behind his aloofness with other people. And with the attention that he is getting from everyone at school, it should have been very hard for him to handle.

I wanted to hold his hand and make him feel that we, his friends will always be here for him. I'm about to reach out to his hand when I heard Jenna sniffing and started to cry like a baby.

"T-that is s-so sad, Luke!" She said as she sobbed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"Well, that's a long time ago... Besides I found the one that makes me happy again..." He said then looked at me.

"Oh? Who is it?" I asked. Could it be the person behind those texts he's getting? Well, technically it's me but I'm doing it for Claire. If I was able to make him feel this way then it's good news for Claire.

"You don't need to know." He said then looked away.

-----

It was about 6:00 PM when Jenna went home. His father called her to help him prepare their dinner. Shortly after she left, she sent me a text message that says 'I'm sorry Tope!' followed by a big smiley emoticon. I'm not sure why she's sorry. I only thought it could be for being insensitive earlier but what's with the smiley?

Luke asked me to go with him to the nearest park to meet his friends, Jessie and Mike. Since I've got nothing else to do, I agreed and we went our way to the park.

It was a very calm night. There were few people spending their time in the park. As we walk, I saw two young children running around their happy parents. I remember the old days when my family got to spend time like this together. Luke was just walking with his resting face. I can't tell if all these laughter and smiles around us make him remember his mother. I didn't bother to ask him anything. I just want him to enjoy the same peace that I'm feeling inside.

"Thanks for today," he said suddenly.

"You're welcome!" I said as I smiled.

"I never had a chance to spend time with friends for a while now... My friends and I mostly hang out just to past time... but to spend time like we did today was something different," He said. Since when did he learn to talk so much? "..I almost forgot what it feels like..." He added.

"So what it feels like?" I asked then I halted in front of him.

"It's fun to be with friends but... It feels like forever when you're with someone you like." He said so calmly as he stared into my eyes.

Well, it didn't make sense. What does he mean by that? Does he like Jenna? Or... Jenna is actually right... That Luke likes me? Or maybe... He's just teasing me again... That's it for sure.

I knitted my brow down and stepped closer to him.

"I won't fall for it!" I said then stuck my tongue out.

"Huh?" He uttered.

I just turned around and walked towards the place where we are going to meet his friends.

As we got closer to the meeting place, I saw Jessie waved at us and Mike was sitting at one of the benches.

"Kris! Wait!" Luke called out to me.

"What?" I asked.

"Would you do me a favor?" He said.

"Uh... Sure!" I uttered.

"Will you stay here and close your eyes till I say so?" He said those words so straightforward.

"What?" I asked confused but I realized it could be another gimmick. "Whatever you're planning. Your tricks will not work on me anymore."

"Just do it... Please?" He said with a soft voice. I saw his eyes, they're not what they supposed to look when he's teasing me, they're honest. 

"Okay... But if this turns out to be one of your evil plans to annoy me... I won't talk to you." I said trying to warn him.

"I promise..." He said.

I closed my eyes. I don't have a good feeling about this. I felt like someone would knock me off or when I open my eyes, he would go off with his friends and left me here like an idiot. I'm getting impatient and uneasy as time passes by.

"Luke... Where are you?" I said in a whisper.

My worries were gone when I heard him say, "I'm right here..."

I took a deep breath and a big sigh to release all the uncertainty that I'm feeling inside.

"You can open your eyes now," he said.

I slowly opened my eyes... He's holding something in front of him. It's blurry at first as I saw a black leather case. I winked my eyes several times to see it clearly. It's a black full-grain leather guitar case. It's the same as what I have before. I went closer to him to touch it. Then I saw my name on the tag hanging on the buckle of its strap.

"Wait... Is this my?" I uttered.

He opened the case for me and gently took out the guitar. I recognized it all; the body, the fretboard, the headstock, and the strings. 

"It's my guitar!" I was so much surprised! I can't stop myself smiling from ear to ear.

"How did you get it?" I asked kind of overwhelmed with what's happening.

"Well... When I heard how much this guitar means to you and I saw how much regret you have in your eyes. I can't help myself but ask Jenna where you pawned it," he explained.

So that's what her sorry was for. Suddenly, I felt warm on my face. I didn't know how to feel exactly. There's so much joy but my eyes were betraying me and I'm trying to hold it in.

"I asked Jessie and Mike to pay back for it," he added.

I didn't know how it happened but I found my arms around him. My eyes can no longer hold the tears. I didn't care who can see us, or whatever people may think around us... I just want to let him know how happy I was... How thankful I was for what he did.

"Thank you so much, Luke..." I whispered to his ear.

I felt his arms wrapped around me as well and he said, "anything for you".

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