Chapter 12: Moment Of Truth

March 25, 2009.

It was 8:20 am when my dad dropped me at Ian's place. The time I got to the gate, I saw Ian's mom driving the car out of the garage. I greeted her a good morning when I peeked through the car's window. Ian then went out of their front door, closed the gate, and ushered me to their car. We were to go to Eastwood at that time.

Eastwood...? Early morning? Why?

We were supposed to go to the Ayala Museum that morning as a final enrichment activity for our Asian History... with Bianca. Oh-ho, there goes the twist. We were to pick her up. That was why we were at Eastwood; supposedly, Ian's mom would drop us there and it's up to us on how we would get our asses off to Ayala.

It was kind of easy because there were available cabs anywhere and we're just to call out one. It was around 9:00 am when Bianca, as beautiful as ever, descended from her kingdom-slash-condominium and met Ian and me at the entrance. Her smile was just pulverizing - pulverizing in a way that you'd be 1-2-knocked out.

A minute and we were already in a cab. Ian sat at the front seat beside the driver. Bianca and I took the back seats (Thank you Ian for a wonderful cooperative game play. You are a good friend!). That was when Bianca told us that she didn't tell anyone but her grandma that we were kidnapping her out of Eastwood, which seriously scared me off my skin. She was all too precious that deserved the best of care, and she was on me and Ian's very hands to watch for.

In a short while Bianca and I were already seated on one side of the back seat because she moved towards me. Jesus Christ, what was that? I learned she does not want herself for a sun beam and so she had to put all our things on her side of the seat so that she could move closer to me. I kept entertaining her all the way to the museum in exchange for my freaking paradisaical happiness. You know what I mean... being side to side with the girl you admired the most with all your life and balls - and you can do what you want - you get the idea.

The museum was a grand epic experience primarily because I was beside Bianca almost all the time. I paid more attention to her than any other historical display on all four floors of the Ayala Museum; seeing her delighted was more than enough and would certainly be a lot greater than an A+ History paper. Besides, she is a museum of beauty that I'd be willing to explore all year round. We went around the Ayala museum in a planned route though, thanks to Ian who was familiar with the place. As for me, my mind went in circles, bedazzled by Bianca's stunning beauty.

I think she hit her forehead once because she was amazed by a certain diorama that she didn't notice the glass covering it, semi-hurting herself in the process. That was cute. She held her forehead with both hands and approached me with a sad face. I think that was the first time I hugged her, and the first time I held her head with both of my hands and almost kissed her on the forehead. Well, a good guy I was, I resisted the temptation. Can't believe how good I am.

It was a battle of indecisive minds before we had lunch at PiaDina at Greenbelt. It took us ages to choose where to eat and I had a severe headache that started like 2 hours before which took out my appetite because I lacked sleep the night before. My vision was literally a vortex tunnel that I lost my noise level and hyperactivity as well. I was trying my best to put on a fine facial expression but I couldn't even hook the pasta with my fork. I realized then that I was dehydrated which explains why I was a little fine after I had water down my throat. Damn fucking metabolism.

Another cause of my dizziness would probably be Bianca's beauty overload, but if that's the case, I'd rather be dizzy all my life.

We left Ian and a friend at Greenbelt because apparently Bianca and I had to go back to Eastwood to meet Kris and Jeimi just to hang out for the rest of the day. We crossed a street where Bianca grabbed my arm because she was scared in crossing roads but I brought her safely to the other side. Who's the hero? Me. We then took a cab and history repeated itself. We were on one side of the seat again and I was quite happy of course. It was a bonding moment for the both of us throughout the trip and these were the times that I get to truly know her.

2:30 pm and we were at Eastwood; I had Bianca wait for me outside a restroom because I had to pee. I thought I lost her though 'cause she was nowhere in sight when I stepped out. But when I texted her, she just came out of nowhere. We had a good laugh for some odd reason.

We were off to DQ yet again just like before and we were supposed to meet Kris and Jeimi there. I wanted to treat Bianca something sweet too that's why I chose the place. When the whole bunch assembled we hung around for half an hour before going to the cinemas to see what time would 'Watchmen,' the movie we wanted to see that day, start since we knew we were off the playing time schedule. Anyway, the movie was only available at Ultra 7 (the cinema at the new mall) and it would start at around 5:30 pm. It was only 4:00 back then so we just headed to National Bookstore to help Kris find a gift for his dad who had his birthday the day before.

We went to the parking area because Kris wanted to get a jacket for Jeimi which was placed in his car and that I'd be depositing my bag at the same time so that I'd be having no load to bug me around. We went to Ultra 7 afterwards and bought tickets. It was 5:00 pm and we descended a floor below to sit on a couch and put our asses to rest for a while since we've been walking the whole day.

That was another epic moment since I had the balls to lean on Bianca and steal her wallet and her ID again and again. It was a fail attempt though because she wasn't so happy about it, especially when I was looking at her high school baby face picture. Fail means fail, really. Well in fact I've been leaning on her all day long because I felt like being an asshole (Hi Bianca, if you ever noticed that, just so you know). And oh, her perfume, whatever it was, I loved it. Or is it just my imagination? No epic win although I've been leaning on her.

Oh wait there's one! I grabbed her phone. What's the epic win then? She held my closed fist with both of her hands in the struggle of having her phone back. The moment I realized she was holding my hand I was stunned and I didn't know I was already letting go of her phone and dropping it to her lap. Her hands... MADE OF WIN!

We went back up to Ultra 7 at 5:30 pm and immediately took our seats after a restroom break. Soon there were people flying around asking what flavor everyone wanted for popcorns and what drinks everyone wanted to have.

"Is this included in the 700 bucks you paid?" Bianca asked me.

"Yes," I responded as soon as she finished her question.

A lady approached us and I had my order patterned after Bianca's, which was cheese for popcorn and a root beer in can. The seats were awesome too. They were all in pairs and seemed as if you're in bed. So in the far right there was Kris and Jeimi having their moment, and in the middle there was Bianca and me. Bed sensation = for the win. Kidding. I'm a shy person, you know. Don't get the wrong idea. Nothing happened.

"You sure these are all free?" she asked me again when we were having our snacks and seeing that Kris and Jeimi had none.

"Nope they're not. You're going to pay for them," I cooly lied.

"WHAT!?" she exclaimed in shock, but she later learned that they were all included in the payment.

Half of the time I was watching Bianca. She kept on asking me about the details of the movie of which 99% I couldn't answer. I was still confounded by how God bestowed her such overkilling beauty. The movie was good though but it is quite evident that I'd rather watch Bianca.

Just like good old times, we had dinner at Yellow Cab. Unfortunately, it rained when we were watching the movie. So that explains why it was freezing at Ultra 7, considering too that Bianca was having a hard time dealing with the temperature and that I was using my cap as a fan to 'comfort' her and give her some heat. Screwed. Anyway, I wanted to have dinner at the balcony but it was wet so we all opted to take the seats inside at the second floor by the farthest corner table of the room. Kris and Jeimi sat together of course and I was sitting beside Bianca. Kris and I were on the wall; to his left was Jeimi and to my right was my beloved.

This time too, I chose the pizza - Hawaiian 14". I couldn't remember the exact time when we were eating because I lost track of everything since I have been planning something hideous. When Bianca went downstairs to get the condiments she wanted, I told Plans A and B to Kris and Jeimi.

We finished dinner in 15 minutes and when I was already prepared to execute my masterful killer GG plans, I kindly sent Kris 'the sign.'

"Uhm Bianca, I'd be buying something and I'll have Jeimi along. We'll return as soon as we're finished..." Kris said to assist me on my Plan A.

"Uhhh, okaaay..." Bianca responded, thinking what would be happening next. Then, Kris and Jeimi left their seats. Plan A seemed to be working effectively. So far so good.

"We'll be back in a while," Jeimi mentioned before they turned around and descended the flight of stairs.

"So," I started, "That..." while pointing to Kris and Jeimi walking away, "... is scripted," I told Bianca.

She laughed out and gave me a light punch on my right thigh. Her smile almost killed me to my balls again. After she was settled, I moved my chair really close to her and I placed my right arm on her right shoulder. I started out again,

"This was all part of the plan, Bianca, and I know that you know where this is going," I slowly and carefully said, before continuing, "But I'd just like to tell you something."

"Hmmmmmmmm, what...?" she said while giving me her killer smile. I'm perpetually GG-fied by that ever-beautiful lips of hers.

"You know, all this time, I've been thinking, but not just of you of course but of the whole situation we are in. And I've concluded that what I'm feeling inside me is quite right although it may seem outright stupid at first. But still, I'd like you to know that you're a very special person to me. I mean, without you, I would not have changed and I could have been a useless person I was. But you, you defined me. You molded me into a new person which is what I am right now. And I thank you for that," I continued on saying the sincerest of things, and some lines of mine of which I couldn't remember anymore.

"Thanks, Mike. I thank you for everything and I appreciate every single thing you did for me," she eagerly responded while looking directly at my eyes. "Good speech by the way, but why are you all red?" she quickly placed in as a comic relief. We both laughed at that really loud like we were the spotlight at the second floor of Yellow Cab, Eastwood City, Libis.

"What!? Me? Red...? You have to be kidding me. You're the one who's red!" I responded because she was really red at that time. We laughed yet again, but I continued,

"Anyway, I'd just like to ask you a question."

"What?"

I gave her 'the question.'

"Uhm, Mike, uhhhmm..." she responded then she immediately gave me a short, sweet hug.

"Whatever happens, please don't be sad whatsoever, okay? You know my situation, right? And, uhm, I don't want to turn you down," she continued. "Damn you, your question's really hard to answer!!!"

"Ah come on, it's totally fine by me if it's a 'no.' We're still going to be friends after this," I said while laughing.

"NO, I don't want to give you a 'no!' But well, you know my situation and I couldn't say--"

"It's okay," I smiled at her before looking away. "I can wait," I followed through while smiling.

This time, we were really really close to each other. Suddenly,

"HAHAHAHA! Why are you so RED!?" she deliberately asked me (emphasis on red because I myself felt that blood was rushing exuberantly through my veins).

"HELL NO, you're RED!" I retorted.

"Want me to bring out a mirror!?" she did and we both looked at it at the same time.

"See!?" she insisted.

"Oh well. Yes, you're right, but still... (5 second pause) I love you," with a head turn that I hoped was all too suave. GG.

We conversed for like thirty minutes before I texted Kris asking where they were. I knew they felt excited over my situation but I still did not want to tell them that it was a 'no answer.' After receiving his text message though, Bianca and I came over to their spot which was a silent area in the Citywalk. We saw the two in a bench and so we decided to get ours.

It was a drama session. She was the only person in the world that I've shared my inner problems to. I mean, wow, a drama session at the end of the day? Ftw.

"If those are the only things you're worrying about, then you're no match to mine," she said.

"Damn."

We talked about problems, but I didn't really bug her to tell her side of the story else she might lose her stability. She just told me what she comfortably wanted to and that was enough for me. I felt at that time that the burden she was carrying was really really heavy and I hugged her for that.

That was when I changed again towards a better person because I knew that this petite gorgeous English block mate of mine whom I admired the most was a strong person.

I felt like a weakling. Well, weakened more to my knees because of her smile...

10:30 pm when we stood up from our bench and moved towards Kris and Jeimi. I told them I'm going to walk Bianca to her place. Bianca said her goodbyes before we walked to her condominium. I asked her if I can hold her hand. She looked at the direction of her place and then thought for a second or two before looking at me again,

"It's faaar!"

"HAHA! I was just kidding." I said.

She was quite silent but I managed to put off a few laughs out of her and I kept the talk going. We walked slow and I was cherishing the time we were together. Her backhand was touching mine but still I didn't grab her hand because I didn't have the permission in the first place.

When we were in front of her condominium, she told me she's going to her uncle's unit first so we had to say good bye to each other. But before we parted ways,

"Bianca, gusto ko lang sabihin sa'yo na mahal talaga kita."

[And that's the only goddamn Filipino dialogue in here. Take note of that.]

In English, "Bianca, I'd just like to tell you that I really love you." After that, I gave her a long, tight hug that should've choked her.

She joked if I had enough already during the course of the hug. We laughed at that, then we bid farewell to each other. But before she could go any further, I picked up her left hand, which was the nearest to me, with my right hand and kissed it softly. She turned around again and we found ourselves laughing harder than before.

"It was a stolen one," I sweetly said. Still, we were laughing.

When we turned our backs to each other, I texted her my apologies for doing such stupidity. She replied it was fine though. I immediately went back to Kris and Jeimi and told them the whole story. They were happy for me. Well, I'm only happy if I see Bianca happy, but she didn't seem to be really happy after our whole day adventure. She was confounded.

The next moment we were at Kris' car and we dropped off Jeimi to her place first. Kris then brought me home.

Just like good old times, we had blasted our wallets and pockets but we coursed through the path home satisfied. Well, I wished I was that time, but I really wasn't. I was troubled.

The good old times, huh?

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