Chapter 10 was posted on Patreon/Facebook group! Kindly message to join. Thank you!

Chapter 7: Attachment

I thought that maybe I get attached quickly because I always look or long for attention...

Siguro ay dahil lumaki ako na kulang ang atensyon na nakukuha simula sa mga magulang ko kaya naman hinahanap ko na pala ito sa iba...

At kapag nakita ko na kahit sa konting atensyon pa lang na naibibigay sa akin ay kumakapit na agad ako doon...

"Stare monster..." Noah said that distracted me a bit from getting ready to what we're about to do today.

And now that I think I'm getting that attention from Noah... Parang ayaw ko na rin na bitawan pa...

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya. "What are you talking about?"

"That," bahagya niyang turo sa mukha ko. "Your eyes, you stare too much sometimes..." he said.

Bahagya naman akong natigilan at napaisip pa. I think I have the habit to stare at people for longer than I expected, at hindi ko lang namamalayan. And if it's something that caught my attention lang din naman.

"You were also like that on our first meeting. At the boulevard, remember? I caught you staring beside me... And I thought that you were weird..." Noah said.

I just smiled. I just have that habit sometimes, too...

Do I love attention? Do I seek it that much? I don't think so... Hindi naman kasi ako nagpapapansin lang... Ang gusto ko lang naman ay may tumingin din sana sa akin... Ang iparamdam din sa akin na may nag-aaalala din sa akin. Someone to look after me, too...

So I'm loving what Noah does for me right now...

Kasi nararamdaman ko na talaga sa kaniya na may pag-aalala rin siya para sa akin... That he really cares about me...

Noah gets interested with a lot of things. He's been trying out new things and he's always with me... So he brings me with him, too... A lot of times that it happened already.

At ako naman ay hindi tumatanggi sa mga pagyayaya niya sa akin. Dahil gusto ko rin naman kapag kasama ko siya. Napangiti na lang din muli ako sa sarili ko pag-iisip nito.

Today I got to meet some sculptors and ceramic artist. Noah and I will be trying to make some ceramic with the help of the experts now.

We started and we were guided properly and patiently. Ginawa ko lang din iyong tinuro sa akin.

I locked my elbows to my knees while I sit there to be comfortable enough in front of the wheel... And it was a lot of fun!

Isa lang ito sa mga bagay na pwede mo rin gawin at ma experience dito sa Dumaguete City.

I'd like to think that this was a date... Kahit hindi naman talaga ako deretsahang niyaya ni Noah... Pero iyon pa rin ang gusto kong isipin ngayon.

Am I going delusional after all this? I hope not. One day I'll also talk to Noah about this, about us. Para magkaroon na rin kami ng linaw sa isa't isa...

I just don't want to always assume of his actions...

So I guess it's better to be straightforward or just ask than to feed all my delusions every time, right?

And then aside from that, nasundan pa nang nasundan iyong date namin ni Noah... When we're both free ay niyayaya niya akong mag-explore pa sa Dumaguete at iba pang mga karatig na probinsya at lugar. And I always enjoy my time with him. Exploring from cities to cities became much fun because I was with him...

And then one day I just had to ask him and become more straightforward with our communication... Dahil tingin ko ay importante rin iyon. "Are you asking me on a date?" I asked him.

I looked at Noah and he looked like he was a bit taken aback by my question, at hindi niya pa ako agad na nasagot sa tanong ko.

And I just smiled. He's the cutest when he's flustered or shy... I can't help it but to smile genuinely as I watch him acting like that in front of me. I giggled a bit. I can't help it.

But I also stopped doing that and held my laughter. I behaved myself. Ayaw ko na ma awkward pa siya lalo.

Bahagya rin napatikhim si Noah. And then he answered, "I guess so..." And his eyes widened a fraction. Muli pa siyang tumikhim at tingin ko ay inayos pa ang sagot niya. "I mean, yeah, yes! I mean, I'm inviting you to..." And then he sighed obviously like he's ready to give up on himself. "Would you like to go out on a date with me?" He finally asked me. And I knew that he tried so hard in doing so—fighting his flustered self!

And I can't help it but to chuckle. Pero tumango na rin ako sa kaniya pagkatapos. "Yes, yes. Sure! Don't be so nervous in asking, Mr. Noah Irizari." I can't help it but to chuckle a little more.

Sa huli ay napangiti ko na rin si Noah sa harapan ko. Pagkatapos ay nakangiti na lang din ako. And I took his hand and held it between us... I don't know why I did that but maybe because I wanted to hold his hand and stop his little nervousness by reassuring him through my touch? "Let's go?" Ako na rin ang nagtanong sa kaniya.

And I saw him gulping a little. Napangisi na lang ako sa hitsura niya. He's just so cute. "O-Okay..." At halos mautal pa siya nang kaonti.

Ngumiti na lang ako at napailing.

Maybe nagulat din siya nang bigla ko na lang din naging topic ngayon sa pagitan namin ang date. Halatang hindi niya siguro napaghandaan, and he looked like he was off guard... I'm sorry, Noah... Babawi na lang ako sa date din natin ngayon. I will be a good date tonight.

Naisip ko na rin tuloy na ngayon lang ay mukha siyang hindi sanay sa ganito... I mean, have he ever invited someone to a date before? Parang kasi hindi naman siya marunong...

Ang laki na lang tuloy ng ngiti ko ngayon habang ginigiya na ako ni Noah sa sasakyan niya. Tonight he's bringing me naman to a fancy dinner... date. Napangiti pa ako lalo sa sarili ko sa mga iniisip ko ngayon.

Ewan ko ba pero parang nakakagaan lang ng loob itong mga nangyayari ngayon...

It feels refreshing, like it's all new feelings to me...

At tingin ko pa ay mukhang nagkakamabutihan na ngang talaga kaming dalawa ni Noah...

We went to this fancy restaurant, too. It's called Casablanca Restaurant here in Dumaguete. And for dinner we had steak, and I also tried their Tuna steak and it was good, too. "Hmm." I reacted pagkatapos ng isang subo sa pagkain. At napatango-tango pa ako nang malasahan ito lalo.

"Do you like it?" Noah asked me.

Nag-angat naman ako ng tingin sa kaniya at tumango. "Yes. I didn't know that it can taste like this, you know... I mean, it's really good." I smiled. "You wanna try?" habol ko pang tanong sa kaniya pagkatapos.

Tumingin naman sa akin si Noah looking like na parang hindi pa niya alam ang isasagot niya sa akin. I just gave him a smile of reassurance. I think it's okay lang naman to share food. Kaya unti-unti na rin siyang tumango sa akin. Ngumiti pa ako and I sliced a bite size on my tuna steak at sinubo ko iyon kay Noah nang maayos.

"How's it?" I asked him after.

Tumango-tango rin naman siya. "It's good." Nag-thumbs up pa siya sa'kin bahagya. Iba naman ang in-order niya kaya naisipan kong ipatikim din sa kaniya iyong inorder ko naman na pagkain.

Ngumiti ako. "I told you." I said.

Ngumiti rin naman sa akin si Noah. "I'm glad you like it." He said like he's happy that I'm enjoying my food.

Tumango naman ako sa kaniya at ngumiti pa. Marami na rin kaming mga nakainang restaurants ni Noah dito sa Dumaguete. And also the cafes that I love. And I must say that I just love most of the things here in Dumaguete now. I like the food, the aesthetic, the arts and even the people... Everything just makes my heart warm here...

I continued to watch Noah in front of me. Katulad ko ay ini-enjoy lang din niya ang dinner namin. At bago pa man niya mapuna rin ang paninitig ko na naman sa kaniya ngayon ay binalik ko na rin ang atensyon ko sa pagkain.

I feel happy now... I feel like I've never been this happy my whole life until now...

I'm in love with this place... And then I realized that I'm also probably starting to fall in love with Noah, too...

Author's note: I've been to Dumaguete city about couple of times or so. And right now I just want to go back there. I remember pa nga on my last visit there nasabi ko na sa sarili ko na parang gusto kong tumira roon one day when I retire... haha! Anyway, do I have readers here who's from Dumaguete? Thank you everyone for reading It Was All a Mistake! I've been loving writing this story so far!