Chapter 3

Nakahinga ng maluwag si Choe at maingat na niligpit ang mga gamit sa kanyang table. Sa wakas, ay nakaraos sya ngayong araw. Mariin nitong hinilot ang kanyang sentido at naisipang dumaan sa restroom bago umuwi.

"Don't c-cry..Chloe" she said with a cracking voice.

But this time, liquid flows rapidly through her cheeks, she released a plentiful stream of tears.

"Taksil k-kang luha ka! Enough...You have to be strong! You do the right thing Chloe!" Now, she's trying to convince herself,mahina nitong sinapo ang kanyang dibdib at pilit na ngumiti ka sabay ng paglabas sa building.

Chloe was surprised when she saw Augustus,nasa gilid ito ng building at matyagang naghahantay sa kanya. Kahit kailan ay napakabait at maalalahanin ng butler.

"my Lady!" masiglang bati nito.

Chloe immediately raised and waived her hand and run towards the direction of Augustus.

"Kanina ka pa?"

"Sì, my Lady!"

"Anu ka ba? ilang beses ko bang sasabihing Chloe na lang ang itawag mo saken?!"

Ngunit walang ibang iginanti ang butler kundi ang ngumiti. Augustus is very dedicated to his job, he oath to serve Nightingale's as far as possible. It is his life purpose.

"Akin na po ang bag nyo, my Lady at ako na po ang magdadala."

"It's okay Augustus, maliit lang naman tong bag, napakatamad at abusado ko naman kung pati ito iaasa ko pa sayo" she chuckled .

"By the way m-my Lad-d..."

"Chloe!"

"Lo siento mucho mì señora. I'm so sorry, my lady, I mean C-chloe... but can I treat you outside? Kabado at nauutal na tanong ng butler.

Chloe was speachless,hindi nya alam kung matatawa ba sya sa ikinilos ng butler.

"You can say no if don't want to mì señora."

She replied with a smile.

"Sure! You know what Augustus? Chloe es mucho mejor para escuchar que mi señora.Chloe is much better to listen to than my lady. S*ck those titles! mahinang tawa nito.

After having a simple dinner to "Goodbye Kiss" restaurant kaagad na itong hinatid ng butler.

"Gracias por este día mi señora. Thank you for this day my lady.

Hindi na natuloy pa ng butler ng panlakihan ito ng mata ng dalaga.

"Pwede ba Augustus,mag tagalog ka wala na tayo sa Spain!"

"Yes m-my Lad...Chloe!"

"English naman ngayon? seriously Augustus? mahinang tawa ni Chloe

"Sin-nusubok ko po Contesa"

"Mali! it's 'Sinusubukan ko po Contesa' simula ngayon, kakausapin mo ko ng wika nila dito.My God! Augustus! Ilang years na tayo dito, kailangan mong aralin yan para matuto ka! lalo na pagkakausap ka ng ibang tao, may mga taong hindi sapat ang kaalaman sa wikang ingles kaya naman ikaw dapat ang bumaba sa level nila, Ikaw tong nandito sa lugar nila,Hindi sila dapat magaajust sayo, ikaw ang dapat magaadjust para sa kanila At tsaka para maintindahan mo sila.Malay mo minumura ka na di mo pa alam"

"S-sige."

"By the way, thanks for the treat."

"Bu-kas po... m-maaga ako pupunta dito, at ako ang maghahanada ng al-musal."

Chloe lips parted. She gave Augustus a warm smile kasabay ng pagsara ng pinto ng kanyang pintuan.

Although, Augustus is her butler, she decided to live independently alone in a simple house. Bumibisita bisita lang ang butler upang magluto, maglinis at iba pang gawain bilang butler katulad nalang ng paghatid minsan at pagsundo sa kanya. Tapos na ang pagiging butler nito, ngunit mapilit parin si Augustus, may mga oras din na nahihiya na ang dalaga dahil wala naman syang maibigay kapalit o pampasweldo man lang but guess what? He doesn't care kung meron man o wala coz he's willing to served her wholeheartedly. Some people think that loyalty is something that can be demanded but for Chloe, it is something that is earned over time.

-

"Cheers!" They said in chorus.

"Congrats! Second Lieutenant Ninth Apolinario Andrada!"Erox said then he stood up straight and raised his right arm up to correct position. His hands and wrist are straight,his elbow inclined slightly forward and his forearm is at forty five degree angle to the ground. His fingers and thumb are also in straight line then the tip forefinger touches the outside edge of his tight eyebrows.A well executed salute.

Ginaya ito nila Sander, Cleon at Marcus.

"Salute Sir!" pagkatapos ng sabay sabay na pabirong bumati sa kaibigan.

"Dude! we're happy for you!" nakangiting sabi ni Cleon while giving a dap to Ninth pagkatapos noon ay bumalik na ang mga binata sa kani-kanilang upuan. As usual,si Damon ay tahimik lang na pinagmamasdan ang kaibigan.

"Hey!Damon, kanina ka pa walang imik diyan?" saad ni Marcus

"Di ka pa nasanay Marcus, He's a stump until now, nothing changes."dagdag ni Sander.

"Yeah you're right Sander, he always ignore us. Kaibigan mo ba talaga kami?Dude we're hurt you know" Erox said while slightly hitting his chest.

"Stop acting like a shit Erox, you look like gay! Pagnakita ka ni Crisostomo na ganyan baka mamaya hiwalayan ka non." Malamig na sabi ng binata

"She's not gonna do that as*sbag."

"You can win an award for being too dramatic Pendragon."

"Tignan nyo? bestfriend ko ba talaga tong tuod na to? At inaaway nya pa ako ngayon, pagkatapos nyang ipahanap sa akin yung address ni Chloe..."

"Stay calm and shut your filthy mouth Damon, according to our bro code we should not keep things diba? so, what's about Chloe? dagdag ni Cleon.

"Can you just shut the fucking up for two seconds fellas?" inis na sagot ng binata.

"You know Damon, you're ten times grumpier these days, what's the problem?" alalang tanong ni Ninth kay Damon "And you're too old to keep secret, so spill it out"

"Yup, spilled out the tea este the Martini."

Damon gave a heavy sigh,he's not the type of friend who shared thoughts because he finds it too awkward, He didn't want to be burden to others like how he become a burden to his mother but this time he gave himself a chance to speak about what he feel.

"Fine!"

"I was fuck..."

"You always fuck, different girls right? we already know that." Pagpuputol ni Sander.

"No! not that! Dry up your drip!" iritang sabi nito.

" What I mean is...m-my l-life was fucked up."

"Bro, you know? if like fucks you hard,just moan! Easy."

"You know Sander? just zipped your perverted mouth before I ripped you up. Wala kang sense kausap,itutuloy ko pa ba?"

"Go a head." saad ni Cleon.

Seryoso namang bumalik sa pakikinig ang mga magkakakaibigan si Erox naman na bestfriend nito ay tahimik lang na nakikinig.

Damon took another shot of martini, he lowered his head and said "I already found her."

There was a strained silence in the atmosphere, na kahit si Sander na palabiro kanina at biglang natahimik. They know Damon's past and they witnessed how broke he was after that woman left him hanging.

"C-Chloe? but how?" takang tanong ni Ninth.

"I asked Erox."he said with a low tone.

"But why? she hurt you, remember that Damon."

"I know! Im just curious...and you know? I saw her with another man and she's happy that hurts me more..."

"After those things you saw,what's your plan?"Cleon blunty said.

"I don't know?"

"D-dude?! are you fucking insane? you already found her. This is the right time to punished that girl for leaving you without reason." saad ni Sander.

"Like what punishment?"

"Tss! the "Boss of Asia",a freaking wealthy man with a highest score in IQ test ay bobo pag dating sa pag-ibig" sabi ni Cleon.

Sander snapped his fingers "How about you do the same thing that she did to you? You know, Stole her heart, make her deeply fall in love with you again, to the point that she will leave her present relationship then after that, dumped and leave her broken.

Napatango si Damon sa sinabi ni Sander.

"That was a great advice from a casanova like you Sander, you're a pro." Marcus said with a sarcasm to his voice "Is that way too much for that woman? what I mean is... kahit naranasan mo masaktan that's not a good thing para yung ibabalik mo sa rin ang sakit sa kanya? that's unbelievable...at bestfriend din sya ni Aziale diba?"

Natahimik si Marcus ng pukulan ito ng mata ni Erox.

"Relax Pendragon you little prïck, my concern here is Damon."

"You know what? Damon? don't cut off your nose to spite your face,by the time you started this things there's a chance that you'll end up being hurt" seryosong sabi ni Cleon.

Sumeryoso si Damon pagkatapos nyang marinig ang sinabi ng kaibigan.

"We all know you Damon, you're smart and evil. Don't do things that will give you problems in the future. You already suffered a lot. Kaibigan ka namin kaya ayaw ka namin masaktan. That was Dawgs are for..." Cleon added kasabay ang pagtayo sa luxurious leather couch.

Sumunod naman si Ninth at sinabing "Dyan muna kayo magpapalit lang ako."

"Ninth wag na! You look damn good in uniform, It makes you more human."Erox teased.

"Look whose talking, a happy prick,bakit ka nga ba nandito Erox ha?ininvite ba kitang ungas ka?"

"Y-yes?" mabilis na sagot ng binata.

"Nope! sabi ko sa group chat ng Sad Boys Club malulungkot lang ang pwedeng dumalo, look at you! ikakasal kana at masaya so evicted kana sa Club! Hahaha!"

"Fuck off Ninth! bitter ka lang dahil wala kang lovelife, Bless your ignorant heart fucker!"

"I don't give a shit!"

"Cut those childish attitude para kayong mga ungas" dagdag ni Sander.

"Tss!Look whose talking the Great Greek Cassanova,I remember last time you asked for a help dahil sa problema mo sa isang babae alam mo dapat ka narin maevict!" Marcus teased.

"Seriously? Is this Pinoy este Greek, American, Irish, Spaniard Sad Bro House? or International Sad Bro House na kailangan may ma evict-evict pa? So yes po.Big Dude dalawang puntos sa para sa ungas na si Erox kasi engage na sya tapos isang puntos naman po Big Dude para kay Marcus dahil nakikita ko pong unti-unting nakakamove on na sya." pagkatapos sabihin ni Cleon ay napahalugalpak sa sahig si ang buong magkakaibigan.

"It's good to laughed like this again after a long time" Sander added while wiping a single tear in the corner of his lids.

"Yep nakakamiss, lalo na yung Hiraeth, You guys are so lucky to have a hot vocalist like me."a boastful phrase comes from Erox.

"Eww that's gross Pendragon,You have a thick face."

"Talaga naman, I clearly remember how we ended up being friends. It's all because of HIRAETH, our band.In english, it is equivalent to the word "nostalgia" but it is a welish term, It is associated with the bittersweet memory of missing something or someone, while being grateful of that/ their existence.

Before, we are all have own issues in life, we are all sad, broke and unloved. Failure poisoned our minds,sadness devouring our lonely souls but because of the same taste in music, we created a world that is free from the reality. The sadness takes a side,we faced failure with each other backs. Admit it! before, You faced the world alone but now, we faced it together."

"A big clap for a great speech Erox you grown up man! " proud na sabi ni Damon.

"S-sabi ko naman ako lang ang matino magisip sa barkada." dagdag ni Erox.

"I am going to cry?" tila nanunudyo na sabi ni Sander.

"Yep Motherfecker! please a gallon"

"Enough mag videoke nalang tayo."

"Highest score, will get a Ducati from Damon." sabi ni Erox sabay higit ng microphone sa table.

"What the heck?!" Why still on me?"

"It's okay mayaman ka naman" hirit nito

"No!kayo nagpupustahan kayo dapat—

Hindi na natuloy pa ng binatang magsalita when Cleon cut him out "Stop being stingy Damon, ang yaman yaman mo."

Walang ibang magawa ang binata. They are spoiled.No! Damon spoiled them, kahit tinatanggihan niya ang kaibigay but in the end pinagbibigyan nya din ito.

"DEAL"

After hour passed.

"Holy Sh*t! Please Ninth have show us some mercy! Marcus exclaimed while putting his both hands to cover his ears.

So now I come to you

With open arms

Nothing to hide

Believe what I say 🎤

"Put the fucking mic off! nakakapurga na!" sabi ni Erox.

"I think my ears gonna explode please Ninth"Sander pleads.

"This is the fucking tenth time you sang that song... are you  fucking out of your mind? or are you totally fucking insane nicompoop?" Damon said in peeved.

"Ninth we all know that you're not in your right state of mind. Blessed your fucking voice and celebration but If you continue to sing again for eleventh time, we will send you to the fucking mental institution near in your place." Damon added.

"Easy cursing machine." Natatawang  sabi ni Ninth na nilapag ang mic sa lamesa. He was satisfied.

"Thanks God! Feel na feel pa ni ungas ang pagkanta with matching actions pa" Marcus said while brusing his hair.

"I almost loose my sanity, his song and his freaking voice is playing on my mind until now" reklamo namang sabi ni Erox.

"Na LSS Last Song Syndrome ako ng dahil sa mokong. I think I have to go now. Medyo marami narin ang nainom ko"pahabol ni Sander.

"Truth, me too" pagsang-ayon ni Marcus.

"You guys! Get off your ass and go! see you around, thanks for tonight...sana maulit ulit to. I know you're all busy but I hope that you you'll find time para makapag onding tayo. I considered myself super lucky you know why fuckers? They say that frienship is like a four clover difficult to find but lucky to have one but in my case, I have five I LOVE YOU ALL" Ninth said with sincerity.

"Ingat kayo sa byahe, pano ba yan hihintayin ang delivery ng Ducati dito Damon ha?" he added after that he gave the boys a salute before he closed his door.

•Yep! Ninth wins, sa kanya mapupunta ang Ducati. Wanna know why?

Sa ilang ulit na pagkanta ng binata ay panay lower score ang nakukuha nito kaya naman nakaabot sya ng ilang ulit. Hindi na maatim pa ni Damon pa ang parang sirang plakang kaibigan, kaya ibinigay nya nalang kay ninth ang titulo bilang panalo to shut his mouth.