Show off

Some people are good at singing, some at dancing, and there are those few genius ones that are good at academics or sports.

And then there was me, who's not good at any of those.

I'm not a singer, not a dancer, just an average student at school, and an idiot at sports. I don't have any kind of talent, aside from the fact that I could chew my chips without making any noise, if that's even called a talent. Other than that, nothing.

Wala.

Nada.

But if there's one thing that I could say I'm really good at, even though it's not technically good, that would be partying... hard.

You know, those types of events where you would get really wasted and would do crazy shits that you wouldn't remember in the morning? That. That's what I'm good at.

Which is why I was invited over at this killer party that my friends have set up. Sabi nila hindi raw masaya kung wala ako. Hindi ko nga alam kung matutuwa ba ako ro'n o ano. It's like their telling me I'm their personal clown or something.

Maybe I am, sometimes. Though, I never intended to be one. I just like doing crazy things and blabbing whatever's on my mind. Call it being true, or maybe stupidity. But that's me. And fortunately, that's what everyone likes about me.

"Danny and Maureen are here!" someone shouted as my best friend, Danielle and I pushed through the wooden door.

I scanned the whole house. A smile slowly crept across my face as I took in the dim-lighted and somewhat wild ambiance before me.

There were balloons floating at the ceiling, streamers hanged loosely across the room, almost-but-not-quite drunk people whose eyes have darted towards our direction, dancing lights beaming all over the place, and a couple of drinks and foods, here and there.

Not bad, I thought.

May napuntahan na akong mga party na mas malaki at mas masaya pa kaysa rito. But so far, this party is pretty lit. Kudos to those who organized this.

"Thanks, peeps!" Narinig ko na lang na sinabi ni Danielle.

Paglingon ko sa kanya, kumakaway na siya sa iba naming kakilala habang may malawak na ngiti.

"Andoon daw sila Meo sa second floor. Nagwawala na raw," natatawa niyang sinabi.

Anong bago ro'n? Lagi namang nagwawala ang mga 'yon, may alak man o wala ang sistema.

"Ano? Puntahan na natin?"

I shrugged, not really sure what to say. "Tara?"

Danielle took my hand and started pulling me towards the staircase. May ilan kaming nadaanan na kakilala na binigyan ko ng pilit na ngiti, at mayroon din namang mga bagong mukha na hindi ko alam kung sino ang nag-imbita.

Pagkarating sa ikalawang palapag ng bahay, isang malakas na sigawan at tawanan kaagad ang kumuha ng atensyon namin ni Danielle.

It's them, I immediately thought.

And apparently, my best friend did, too. She didn't waste another second and just pulled me towards the room where the noise came from.

"Uy!" Andrea quickly said, prolonging the word, as soon as she noticed us. "Andito na sila Maureen!"

All eleven pair of eyes turned to our direction. My close friends Romeo, Andrea, and Macky were sitting on the floor, forming a circle together with a few others namely: Blaine, Olly, Yasmin, Rick, Walter, Franco, Isaac, and one particular person whose name I don't know yet.

"Hey!" Danielle greeted back, then started walking towards them. "Anong meron?"

"Spin the bottle," Macky answered. "Sali kayo?"

Danielle sat in between Romeo and Macky, clearly wanting to join the game without even answering.

I shrugged, when my friends' eyes landed on me. Obviously, wala naman na akong magagawa kundi ang sumali na rin. So I said, "Sure."

"Yes!" A few of our friends cheered.

Naglakad na rin ako papunta sa kanila at umupo sa gitna ni Andrea at Romeo. Agad namang ipinatong ni Romeo ang braso niya sa balikat ko, bagay na nakasanayan niya nang gawin.

We've been friends— me, Danielle, Romeo, Macky and Andrea —for as long as we could remember. Our mothers are best of friends just like us, kaya naman halos wala nang ilangan sa aming lima kahit pa gaano kami kalapit sa isa't isa.

"Kung sino matapatan ng bote, gagawa ng isang dare," Romeo explained to Danielle and I. "Tapos ang mag-pass, kailangang uminom nito." Then pointed at the whiskey in the middle of the circle using his thumb, before wiggling his brows up and down.

A disgusted expression quickly showed on my best friend's face. She's not a fan of whiskey, and neither am I. But then again, I came here to get drunk and be distracted from a few problems, so trying something new might just make this night more interesting.

"Game," I quickly said, before Danielle could even protest.

"Ang tapang n'yan, Maureen!"

"Bakit? Sinapak ka?" I said, jokingly, earning a glare from her.

"Edi 'wag kang mag-pass!" sabat naman ni Andrea.

Danielle made a face, as if Andrea's suggestion was pathetic. "E pa'no kung hindi ko kaya ang challenge? Syempre magpa-pass pa rin ako at some point."

Romeo smirked. "Then good luck crawling your way home."

"Exactly," Macky agreed.

Almost all of us laughed when Danielle pulled off her signature pout. Because of that, my eyes couldn't help but scan our small group, until it landed on someone— the new guy.

He was talking to Yasmin. His face turned to her direction, making his high-bridged nose more noticeable. He also have this thick sexy lips, hooded eyes, and gray-dyed hair that's sticking out in every direction, not until he raked his fingers through it, fixing it into a slightly slicked back look.

He's kinda cute, to be honest. But then I remembered that the last thing I want to think about tonight are boys, so I quickly shook off the thought and brought my eyes back to Romeo.

"Walang KJ ha!" he said, before spinning the bottle in his hands.

Everyone was excited as the bottle spins continuously. Blaine and the other boys are already talking with smirks plastered on their faces. Siguro nag-uusap na kung ano-ano ang gagawin nilang dare. Habang ang iba naman ay nakatitig lang sa bote habang unti-unti na 'tong bumabagal sa pag-ikot.

'Spin the bottle' may be a stupid game for others, but somehow, my friends can make the game thrilling and exciting, and sometimes even funny. It might involve a few absurd or perverted dares, but at least, the game always turned out fun.

* * *

"Kadiri!" Yasmin shouted after kissing Isaac on the cheek... His butt cheek.

I couldn't help but burst into laughter, while watching Yasmin, as she furiously wipe her lips with her sleeves. The room was suddenly filled with cringy jokes, and sexual innuendos, but only half of those got registered in my brain.

Naka-ilang shot na nga ba ako? Hindi ko na matandaan.

Pero shit, umiikot na ang paningin ko.

"Okay, next!" sigaw ni Yasmin na siyang susunod na magpapaikot ng bote ngayon. "Peste kayo, gaganti ako!"

Pinaikot niya ang bote kaya sandaling natahimik ang lahat. I, on the other hand, averted my eyes from the bottle because I felt like my vision would get even dizzier if I looked at it longer than I should.

It's been almost twenty turns now. Pero hanggang ngayon, hindi pa ako natatapatan ng bote. Kaya habang naghihintay na matapatan ako, ilang shots ng whiskey na ang ininom ko.

I know, I'm stupid.

But what's the point of going to a party if you're not going to get drunk? Especially now, when I needed to get really drunk in order to forget about something. Or should I say, someone.

Kaya kahit pa parang napakatanga ng ideya na uminom hanggang sa mahilo ka, to the point na baka hindi ka na makatanggi sa mga pwedeng maging dare sayo, ginawa ko pa rin.

As I've said, I'm stupid. But at least, the buzz is distracting me from my problems.

My eyes only went back to the bottle when I heard someone said, "Seb!"

Without even realizing it, I was already staring at the new guy, whose name is apparently Sebastian.

Romeo told me that he's his friend from high school. He's from Muntilupa Alabang and only moved in somewhere in QC, then transferred into our school a week ago. That pretty much explains why he only showed up in this particular party, and why Romeo only mentioned him now.

"Go ahead, shoot!" Sebastian challenged Yasmin, referring to the dare.

Yasmin looked at him, intently. Sebastian laughed, and even threw his head back when someone suggested to dare him into stripping naked. But thankfully, Yasmin had another dare in mind.

Aalis talaga ako kapag pinaghubad nila si Sebastian.

"Since you didn't laugh at me earlier, and I wanna see something good," Yasmin started, "I dare you to do a lift with someone in our group."

My brows immediately furrowed.

Lift?

"Sure!" Sebastian quickly agreed.

I turned to Romeo, my eyes clearly asking him what they were talking about.

Ano ba kasi 'yong lift na 'yon?

Literal na lift? Or is it something else?

Romeo smirked. Then as if he heard my unspoken question, he said, "Lift, Maureen. Kagaya sa cheerleading, pero 'yong ginagawa naman ni Seb, para sa sayaw."

Lalo lang kumunot ang noo ko. "You're not making any sense. Anong pinagkaiba no'n?"

"A lot. Mas komplikado ang sa sayaw kaysa sa cheerleading."

I nodded, and waited for a few more explanations. Dahil sa totoo lang, hindi ko pa rin maintindihan.

Pero nang umiling si Romeo at muling ibinalik ang paningin kina Yasmin, alam kong hindi na siya magpapaliwanag pa.

"Manood ka na lang," he even said, that pretty much confirmed what I thought.

"Explain mo na lang!"

"Tinatamad ako. Mabagal ka pa namang maka-gets." He laughed, so I punched in the arm. Pero bandang huli, ako pa ang nasaktan.

Nakakainis.

I brought my attention back to Sebastian, who's now standing on his spot. He was scanning our group, for reasons that I don't know. Hindi ko na kasi napansin ang mga napag-usapan nila nang kausapin ko si Romeo.

Then my heart felt like it stopped for a second when Sebastian's eyes landed and stayed on me. He smiled, as if he just found an answer for a question in his head.

What the heck is going on?

I looked around, hoping to find answers for why Sebastian just looked at me like that, and is walking towards me at the moment. But before I could even find any, he was already in front of me.

"Hi..." he said, a smile still intact. "Maureen, right?"

"Oo, Maureen," Andrea answered in my place, with a mischievous smile slowly creeping across her face.

Nilingon ko siya at tinitigan nang masama. Alam ko na ang nasa isip ng babaeng 'to, at hindi ako natutuwa ro'n.

"Maureen," Sebastian repeated, taking back my attention. "Are you willing to do a lift with me?"

"Ha?"

"A lift... Would you please do a lift with me?"

Would anyone tell me what a lift is, first? Is what I wanted to say.

Pero bigla akong tinamaan ng hiya. Ayaw kong magmukhang tanga, lalo na sa harapan ng lalaking 'to. Kaya sa halip na magtanong, tumango na lang ako at tumayo sa kinauupuan ko.

Of course, with the help of a little push from Romeo and Andrea, too.

Sebastian took my hand and guided me towards the center of our circle. The whiskey sitting there was now gone, and the others also gave us space so the whole spot was ours. For a moment, I felt embarrassed because I know my hand is freakin' sweaty, but good thing Sebastian didn't kept his grip for much longer.

"Have you done a lift before?" he asked a few seconds later.

I turned to him, and blankly stared at his frustratingly gorgeous face. "Mukha bang nagawa ko na 'yon?"

"Sabi ko nga hindi pa e." He chuckled. "Well, it's pretty easy. When I say arch up, just arch up. Okay?"

"Wow. That's very helpful."

"Kaya mo 'to. Akong bahala sayo." Sebastian started rolling his long sleeves up to his elbows. "Ready?"

I made a face.

Siguro para sa kanya, madali lang 'to. Narinig ko mula kina Yasmin kanina na mukhang kasali si Sebastian sa dance crew ng university namin, pero ako? Anong alam ko rito? Wala. E kahit mag-split nga hindi ko kaya.

"Do I look ready to you?"

He laughed, almost as if he was flaunting his perfectly white teeth.

I've been immune to pretty faces and charming looks, thanks to my friends. Halos lahat din kasi sa kanila ay kung hindi naggagandahan o naggugwapuhan, ay may mga itsura naman.

But Sebastian has this unique charm in him. A charm that is too dangerous if you get too close.

"Okay, let me rephrase that," he then said, and stared straight into my eyes so I was able to see just how light his brown eyes were. "Do you trust me?"

I kept quiet, and raised a brow.

To be honest, I don't know. This guy's about to lift me into the air and probably break a few of my precious bones when I've only met him a few minutes ago. So, yeah. I don't really know if I trust him.

"Somewhat. I guess?"

"Good enough." He smiled, then stepped closer to me, probably getting ready to lift me up.

"Just so you know, I don't have upper body strength, or any strength at all capable of all this," I said, gesturing him and what we're supposed to do. "So you'll be carrying my weight all on your own."

His smile grew wider. "Don't worry, I'm confident that I can handle your..."

"Body?" I supplied, while watching him check me out. His eyes traveling from my legs up to my face.

Sabihin lang talaga niyang oo, masisipa ko siya.

"No. You're weight."

Good answer.

Instead of replying, I rolled my eyes then stepped closer towards him— near enough for me to feel his hot breath.

His hands then snaked around my waist and grabbed it. But then he shifted it to my hips, and back to my waist, again.

"Ano bang ginagawa mo? Bubuhatin mo ba talaga ako, o hihipuan lang?"

"Sandali lang, parang nakalimutan ko na kung pa'no gawin 'to e." Natawa siya matapos sabihin 'yon.

The heck? And I'm supposed to trust this guy?

"Shoot. Is it this way?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"No, wait. It's this way. Yeah. Okay. I think I got it. Ready?"

"Uh, no?"

He laughed, again. God, this guy likes to laugh.

Then he counted to three, as if that would help my pounding heart to calm down.

Well, maybe it did help a little. But I still couldn't stop thinking whether the stunt would be successful, or my face would end up kissing the floor.

When he finished counting, his grip on my waist tightened. Then just after a few seconds, my feet left the floor and he was already carrying my whole weight on his arms. So instinctively, I arched my body up, just like what he told me earlier, and lift one of my arms to balance myself.

"Omg! I'm gonna take a picture of this!" Danielle said, her phone and mine was already on her hands.

Our other friends clapped in amusement then begun taking pictures, as well. I wouldn't mind it if Sebastian and I are in a normal pose, but shit, my back and his grip on my waist is starting to kill me!

"Paki bilis!" sigaw ko, habang may pilit na ngiti pa rin.

Narinig ko namang tumawa si Sebastian. "I don't mind. You're not that heavy at all."

"Well, thanks. I appreciate the sarcasm."

"I'm telling the truth, though." He chuckled.

When the others are finished with the pictures, Sebastian finally put me down. I felt like my waist was burning, my back was numb, and my legs have ran out of strength. But when Danielle showed me the pictures, everything felt really worth it.

I have to admit, we looked good.

"See? It's not that bad, right?" Sebastian said, suddenly standing on my side.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that crept across my face. "Show off."

I walked over to my spot just as I heard Sebastian's chuckle on my back.

I think this night might not be as boring as I thought.