05

"Tib! Tibby!" I heard him shouting while running towards me. He was getting a lot of attention because he was shouting along the corridor. I didn't really mind other students looking at him like he's some weirdo because to be honest, he really is one.

"What is it, D?" I ruffled his hair and stared at his face which was bright as the sun.

"I passed the math test! Look!" He showed me his paper. He gets all excited and cheerful even with the smallest things.

I chuckled. "Good job. I'll treat you to lunch."

His face lit up more and jumped. "Really?! Omygod, I don't have to spend my allowance!"

See? He's really like a kid. So innocent. I can't help but smile. I'm kinda used to it now. The stares, I mean. Being with Diesel attracts a lot of attention. One, because he's handsome. Second, because he's really weird. Kidding. He's weird but in a cute way. I like how he acts all childish around me but matures when he's talking to others.

•

"Tib, can you treat me to coffee?" He looked at me with puppy eyes. We were walking home now. It's 4:30 pm and the sun's almost setting.

I felt my ears turn red that's why I averted my gaze. My heart was pounding so fast and loud. I just laid my hands on his head. "Nope. No coffee for you, you won't get tall."

He groaned and pouted. He's doing this on purpose! He knows I can't resist that face. "Pleaseee?"

I exhaled. "Okay, fine." I placed my arm around his shoulder. "I think I'm spoiling you too much."

"Hmm?" He acted like he was thinking. "Nope! I don't think so." He giggled.

"I think I am. Should I stop spoiling you?" I touched under my chin and acted like I was thinking about it.

"Oh no, not in the options, Tib."

"Then should I stop seeing you for a week then?" I always use this line to tease him. His face gets all cute when he's angry.

He turned his back at me and crossed his arms. "Hmp!" I saw him roll his eyes and pouting. See? He's so cute, my heart can't keep up with this.

"I'm kidding, D. Why wouldn't I not want to see that face of yours, hmm?" And this is the usual routine when you get him mad. Compliments. Show him a little bit of affection and he's back to normal.

"You said that multiple times already, if you haven't noticed."

"I'll buy you coffee right? What flavor do you want? Cappuccino, your favorite? C'mon, stop ignoring me?" I snuck up behind him and gave him a back hug while we were walking. Advantage of having your crush as your best friend, you can hug all you want without putting any meaning go it.

"Ah, fine! I give up." Slowly, his grumpy face turned back to normal. He was now smiling again. He's so bright. He's like the sun but as a person. No matter where he goes, it's like he affects everyone with his bright aura and everything turns bright as well.

We arrived at the café we frequent because it's close to our neighborhood. The cashier, Alex, already knew what we'll order so that didn't take long.

"That'll be 245." I gave him my payment. "It's been a while since Diesel ordered coffee. Did he sway you again?"

"Haa.. you know him. I think I'm spoiling him too much nowadays." I chuckled and held my nape.

"You can't say no to him, can you?" He laughed. "It's cute seeing you two."

I stiffened and felt my ears heating up. I cleared my throat. I don't want to be too obvious about my feelings for D.

"Mygod, Tiberius, how can you be so obvious?" He laughed at me and gave me my change. "I'll see you. Don't go around blushing like that just because you got a compliment."

I fwipped my hand. "Stop teasing me."

"Omg, look at him. Omg, he's so obvious!" he kept on teasing me even as I was moving aside to the pick up counter where D was. Oh, I forgot how Alex and his boyfriend were doing. I guess I'll ask him some other time then.

"What did Alex say?" He looked at me with curious eyes.

I somehow managed to calm myself down. "Nothing much. He asked how we were. He also told me to stop spoiling you."

He gasped. "Whaat?!" He jokingly answered.

"Kidding. That'll probably never happen." I smirked.

He scoffed. "I know right." He cockily answered me and hummed something while bopping his head from left to right.

"You always hum that song. Is it one of your favorites?" I copied his position. His chin on both of the palms of his hand. We were looking outside the window, the sky's color was orange with a little bit of pink and the sun's almost saying goodbye.

"Yeah. It's jazz, though. For sure you'll just sleep on it." He sticks out his tongue.

"I'll try to listen to it, then. Come on, tell me the title!" I gently bumped my shoulders to his.

"I've never been in love before by Chet Baker." He continued humming the song.

After a while, our orders were served in front of us. He leaped in happiness as he sipped from his favorite coffee. It's fulfilling seeing him smile like that. Why do I sound so whipped for him?

"As expected, nothing tastes better than free food." He laughed as he continued to sip. We were still walking down to arrive at the gate of our neighborhood.

"Diesel." I called him with a serious tone.

"Yeah? Is there something wrong?" He immediately looked at me, wondering if I had a problem.

I've been wanting to tell him about my feelings for him but it's hard for me. I'm also finding the right timing too. It's not like we can be like a normal couple if ever we do like each other. It's not that easy.

"Tibby? You okay? You're worrying me." He stood in front of me and looked up at me.

I smiled and wiped the cream on the edge of his lip. "Such a messy eater." I teased him to try to ease the feeling earlier. I really can't tell it to him right now. It doesn't feel like the right time yet.

"I'm not a messy eater, for your information!" He defended himself which made me laugh. I know he was trying to drop the topic because he noticed that I dropped it already.

We were now at the neighborhood park. There were no kids at this time. The sun's almost gone now. We both sat on the swing. This is one of our routines before going home. We spend time together here, talking about things, problems, just anything.

"D, what do you think about liking someone of the same gender?" I asked without thinking which shocked me. "Nevermind, you don't have to answer that."

"Ehh?? It's okay. I don't really oppose it. Nothing's wrong with loving someone of the same gender. It's still love, right?" He smiled and turned his attention back to his straw and bit it.

I slowly nodded. "Yeah. It's still love."

"I mean, I don't get why people are against it? Like, we all want to love and be happy. It doesn't really matter if it's the same gender or if it's what's normal for them. Just let people be happy, dang it. It's not like it'll affect their lives, you know." He laughed and shrugged.

I laughed as well and ruffled his ever so messy hair. "When did you get so grown up?"

He glared at me. "We're the same age, in case you forgot, grandpa."

•

I felt like I woke up from a very long dream. This is the most peaceful and longest sleep I've had since that happened. I felt lighter. It was him again. He's the reason why I couldn't sleep but also the reason why I slept so peacefully.

I saw the book laying on my chest so I closed it and placed it on my desk. I stood up, did some stretches, and went to the kitchen. I don't have a class today. I just have that appointment with Darwin and the freshmen.

While I was cooking breakfast, I thought about what happened when I listened to his favorite song. Ah! I remember. I was so shocked that I didn't sleep while listening to it. In fact, I enjoyed it very much and listened to it multiple times that night. The next day, I told him about it and he repeatedly told me how proud he was of me.

I shook my head while smiling and cooking this bacon. I just get to see his smiles in my dreams. I miss seeing him smile.

While eating, I was reviewing the homeworks and projects that I need to do and finish by this week. God, this is hell. I don't even know where to start but I started with the easy one. A report. I started typing and just before 12 strikes, I was done with 3 paper works. Wow, 4 more things to do plus that group presentation.

I stood up and washed my dishes. After that, I took a bath and picked my clothes. Since it's kinda hot today, I'll probably wear this oversized retro black shirt and some pants. This shirt was one of his gifts for me.

"Now don't I look too handsome?" I looked at myself in front of the mirror and how the outfit looked on me. My shirt was tucked and I wore a belt. There, perfect. I think D's weirdness infected me and now it's stuck. I don't usually talk to myself.

I hurriedly packed my laptop and some things that I'll need. Without thinking, I grabbed the book from the desk and left.

•

When I arrived at the café everyone was there already except for Darwin. Unusual. As expected, Samantha was glaring at me and Angel was waving at me.

"Sorry, I thought I was early. Did you wait long?" I put my bag down and brought out my laptop.

"No, not really. We were just here early because we were dismissed early." Angel answered. I guess she's not that shy now.

"I thought you guys were gonna ditch us. Good thing you came." Sam wasn't looking at me but outside the window with her arms and legs crossed.

"Not happening. Should we start without Dar or should we wait for him?" I opened my laptop and typed my password.

"We should start so we can wrap up early." As expected of Sam. She's a very formal person. Angel looked at me like she was saying sorry for her friend's attitude but I just smiled at her.

We started to brainstorm for the content of our presentation. We exchanged ideas and asked if this certain information will be useful. We finished almost everything for the content and that's when Darwin arrived. Wow, he's very late. That's unusual of him. He left me with an impression that he'll always be on time.

"You're late." Sam stated. She didn't look angry maybe because we did a lot in just a short period of time.

"I'm sorry! I had some matters to attend to. Let's continue, shall we?"

Everyone got back on working on the project and after god knows how many hours, we finished everything we need for the content. We decided to wrap up for today and meet up on Thursday to start on the PPT.

I thought that Sam and Angel would leave early but I was surprised that they stayed for some coffee and to chill.

"So, what do you think about being college students?" Darwin asked to break the silence. Before he asked that question, we were just whispering to each other.

"It's fine." Sam plainly answered. Dar and I looked at each other. Well, we kinda expected that.

"It's very new to me. It's like you always need to do something. Everything's so complicated now!" Angel ranted.

We chuckled at her frustration. "Hang in there, Angel."

We were discussing things about school and giving some advice that would be useful for them when we suddenly heard someone from the table near us talk about the couple that just passed by. They were both guys. We see everyone who passes by since the wall is glass.

He said, "Wow. Do they think they can flaunt their relationship like that? How courageous." The guy scoffed. "I thought gays only liked to wear like how girls do? Have they evolved now?" He added and laughed with his pathetic friends.

I was about to say something when Sam butted in. It was so unexpected that we were so shocked.

"You know, it doesn't immediately mean that they're gay if they like someone of the same gender. You don't get to assume what their gender is. Also, what the f*ck? Stop having this image in your mind that people like them can only wear girly shit. They can dress normally because it's normal. No matter what their gender is, gay or not, they can wear whatever the hell they want. It's not like your clothes define what you are."