Chapter 2

After the first class, Ersel planned to go to the school canteen to have his lunch.

[I'm so hungry now.] Ersel thought before placing his hand on his tummy.

“Excuse me!” a deep male voice called out from behind Ersel once the latter was outside of the classroom.

Ersel turned around and saw a tall and muscular guy coming towards the former himself.

“Are you going to eat lunch?” the taller guy asked while grinning in a friendly way.

“Yes,” Ersel replied while smiling at the guy gently. “Want to come with me?”

“Yeah,” the tall and muscular guy said cheerfully and eagerly. “By the way, my name is Van. You are…?”

“Ersel,” Ersel replied while feeling glad that he had made a new friend.

“Nice to meet you, Ersel!” Van declared cheerfully and extended his right hand for a friendly handshake with Ersel.

Ersel felt that he would get along well with this guy, so the former also extended his own right hand and shook hands with his new friend.

[I can tell that this guy is very friendly.] Ersel thought while looking at the taller guy from head to toe. [We'll be really good friends with each other! I can feel it!] Ersel thought merrily.

“Nice to meet you too, Van!” Ersel replied with a smiling face.

First, let us describe what Van looks like.

His thick black hair was tousled back neatly, and he wore a pair of glasses. Ersel could see that the guy has a rather large and nice build, with his arms taking a nice shape and his breasts being large, indicating that he must be going to the gym regularly. He was very tall, with his height being one hundred eighty-five centimeters (about six feet and once inch). He has a rather handsome-looking face, with his kind eyes, sharp nose, and pinkish lips. He has wide shoulders and fair skin too, yet Ersel's own skin was fairer than the former's.

“Shall we go now?” Ersel asked eagerly.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Van exclaimed cheerfully.

Naturally, the two new friends got to know each other more while eating their lunch.

“Any sports that you engage in?” Ersel asked Van.

“Oh! I engage in basketball, volleyball, and swimming!” Van replied cheerfully. “What about you, man?”

Ersel thought for a moment and replied, “So far, I have engaged in chess, arnis*, and taekwondo. The sports that you mentioned aren't really my kind of thing, although I'd like to try swimming too.”

“I see,” Van answered in an impressed tone. “You know, playing chess sharpens a person’s mind, so just keep on playing it, man.”

“Really?!” Ersel asked in a surprised tone.

“Yes, that’s true. Creating strategies to defeat your enemy is a way to sharpen your analytical skills,” Van explained while grinning gently.

“I see. I didn’t know of that before,” Ersel answered while feeling glad that he learned something new.

"Well, now you know about something new," Van remarked while smiling gently. "Also, I think engaging both in taekwondo and arnis is really cool. It also makes you develop a habit of disciplining yourself."

"Thanks, Van," Ersel replied while smiling back at Van.

"You're welcome," Van answered cheerfully. “So, got any girlfriend, man?” Van inquired in an interested tone.

“None,” Ersel replied, feeling slightly embarrassed. “What about you?”

“I don’t have any right now,” Van answered. “The last relationship I had was already one year ago.”

“Oh.," Ersel mumbled. "That was so painful, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. That girl...I caught her cheating on me,” Van replied in a more serious tone than before.

“So, how many girlfriends have you had so far?” Ersel asked interestingly.

Van closed his eyes, searching his memories before replying, “Hmmm...If I remember correctly, I have already had four of them. What about you?”

“I've never had a girlfriend before,” Ersel replied rather awkwardly.

“So you're an NGSB (No Girlfriend Since Birth) guy? Why not?” Van asked curiously.

Ersel tried to think of an excuse. He could not afford to tell Van that the former is actually gay for fear that the latter might be disgusted with the former.

[No, I can't tell him that I'm gay. What if he finds me disgusting once he finds out about that?] Ersel thought nervously.

“I just...don't have plans to have any yet,” Ersel replied while his voice was slightly quivering.

“I see,” Van replied with a smirk. “Well then, I hope you find your own girlfriend someday!”

“Same to you,” Ersel answered while laughing out loud. “You do not have any right now, after all.”

Both of them laughed afterwards.

"Anyway, let's eat now, shall we?" Ersel declared with a grin.

"Yeah, right!" Van replied cheerfully.

While they were eating, Ersel felt like he was being watched. He looked to his right and saw the person who was watching him. The guy looking at him was seated to another table a few meters away from theirs.

To his amazement, Ersel saw the same handsome and muscular guy he bumped into that morning. He was staring at Ersel with a cold, piercing glare, as if the former wanted to kill the latter.

Ersel broke his eye contact with the mysterious guy while feeling chills over his spine as he continued eating his lunch.

[What’s up with him, anyway?] Ersel thought anxiously. [I've already apologized to him for accidentally bumping into him this morning, so why is he still mad at me?]

Ersel could feel that the guy was still gazing at him intensely, making the former begin trembling in nervousness.

“Ersel,” Van called out, startling Ersel. “Is there anything wrong?”

“What do you mean?” Ersel asked with his voice slightly quivering.

“You're looking paler than before,” Van remarked with a slightly anxious tone. “And you are trembling, too.”

“Oh! It’s nothing,” Ersel replied with his voice still quivering. “Let us finish this quickly before our next class.”

“Okay,” Van said although he didn't seem to be convinced by Ersel's answer.

Van continued to look at Ersel with a worried face, making the latter feel rather conscious.

“Van,” Ersel called. “Please don’t look at me like that.”

“Why not?” Van asked in a worried tone.

“You’re making me feel conscious,” Ersel replied awkwardly.

“Okay then. Sorry,” Van answered before breaking his gaze on Ersel and resuming to focus on his lunch.

[I can't let Van know about that guy staring at me or we might get involved in some kind of trouble.] Ersel thought while trembling. [I have to hurry up and finish eating, or I might become even more anxious. For some reason, he is still glaring at me intensely. Why? Why? Why?]

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The school bell rang as the classes ended for the day. At the hall, Ersel and Van heard many female students screaming in admiration, as if there was a handsome celebrity at the hall.

Feeling curious about who it was, Ersel decided to check it.

[I wonder what's going on over there.] Ersel thought curiously. [I'll go check it then.]

“Van,” Ersel called.

Van turned around and asked, “Yes, what is it, Ersel?”

“I will check what is going on there,” Ersel replied. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Van answered with a smile. “I will wait for you outside. Please do not take too long, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t take that long,” Ersel reassured while grinning.

“See you later, then,” Van replied before waving his hand and smiling at Ersel.

Ersel waved and smiled back at Van before proceeding to push his way through the crowd of girls to check who the person was.

To Ersel’s astonishment, the guy that the girls were going crazy for was the same mysterious guy he bumped into that morning.

[Oh, so he's also popular among girls.] Ersel thought grinning awkwardly. [Well, I can’t blame them at all. He is tall, dark, handsome, and has a muscular body. Even I myself find him very attractive.]

While the mysterious guy was walking, he suddenly looked at Ersel with the latter slightly flinching upon meeting the former's gaze. Afterwards, the guy’s blank facial expression turned into a serious facial expression with a cold, piercing glare, making Ersel feel the same chills he felt at the canteen before going down his spine again.

With his body trembling and his heart beating fast in nervousness, Ersel broke his eye contact with the mysterious guy.

[Oh no...here he goes staring at me like that again.] Ersel thought fearfully. [I have to get away from here now. ]

Ersel walked away, disappearing among the crowd of screaming girls.

Ersel did not know yet, but that mysterious guy was actually Lino, his best friend whom he suddenly got separated from ten years ago. Lino actually recognized Ersel during the first time they met that morning, but the latter did not recognize the former.

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Definition of Terms

*Arnis - This is the Philippine National Martial Art and Sport. Most usually, the practitioners of this martial art use a pair of sturdy canes known as the baston. Practitioners of this martial art are trained not only in unarmed combat but also in the use of various weapons such as knives. (Source: Wikipedia)