"I chime in with a haven't you people ever heard of closing a goddamn door! No! It's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality!"

Amidst the sea of people, Slade and I had such a great time as we sang at the top of our lungs. We jumped up and down, letting loose to the beats and riffs. We glanced at each other from time to time, smiling and laughing, sharing the moment with each other.

The entire bar was filled with noise but it was a good one. Wave Syndicate was doing covers and everyone's just having a great time, especially us.

I let out a sharp sigh as the song ended, laughing as I chased my breath. I ran my fingers through my tousled long hair upwards, combing it down to fix it. All of a sudden, someone spoke from my side.

"Hey, I like your shirt." I looked to my side and found a boy just as tall as I was. He had a mischievous smirk up his face that reminded me so much of Haji when he's trying to find girls to play with.

He casually pointed the cropped Guns N Roses shirt that I was wearing. Well, it wasn't exactly a cropped shirt. It was Megatron's shirt back when he was younger, I liked it so I borrowed... and I forgot to return it.

"My girlfriend's shirt doesn't like you." Slade's left arm snaked around my waist, his skin brushing against my exposed waist. I couldn't see it but I was sure Slade had his smug look up his face again. 

The guy realized what Slade meant by his subtle words. He raised both of his hands in surrender and casually walked away, probably looking for other girls to hit on.

I looked at Slade, the same time as he looked at me. Our faces were just merely inches away from each other. Unlike before, I no longer felt nervous or awkward. Months have passed by so I have already made peace with the foreign feelings he brought to my system. 

His nose crinkled as he playfully frowned. "Konti na lang at mananapak na ako."

I mimicked his expression. "Kahapon sana noong may cast ka pa. Dagdag damage sana 'yon sa mukha niya." I joked even if Slade still can't really move his right arm.

"My left hook is no joke, babe." He grinned as he planted a soft kiss up my lips.

Napansin kong pasikip na nang pasikip sa paligid namin, dumarami ang mga tao at mas nagiging malikot dahil sa sobrang kalasingan. Ayokong matamaan nila si Slade lalo't sensitibo pa rin ang braso nito.

It had been a day since Slade's cast was removed. His fracture was healed but his nerves were still far from being in good condition. Ni hindi pa rin niya naigagalaw ang mga daliri at kahit hindi niya sabihin, alam kong nakakaramdam na siya ng pananakit.

 I found prescribed painkillers in his room. I asked Haji's Mom about it and learned that it was for the pain he'd been experiencing. Ni hindi man lang ito sinabi ni Slade sa akin.

"Sakit na ng paa ko. Upo muna tayo." I lied and held his left hand, guiding him to our booth.

As Slade and I were finding our way across the crowd, Haji suddenly popped right in front of me.

I couldn't hear what he was saying at first. The band was playing a loud riff and the crowd screamed so loud. 

"Ha?!" I yelled.

"Ha?!" Slade yelled as well as his left hand snaked around my shoulders.

"Haji panget! Wohooooo!" Biglang dumaan sa harapan namin si Cohen na tumatalon-talon habang habang may hawak na bote ng beer. Nakabukas ang mga botones ng polo, may mga kiss mark sa pisngi, halatang malakas na ang tama. Kung gaano kabilis sumulpot si Cohen, ganoon din ito kabilis naglaho. Cohen and I never apologized to each other over the blackmail and motorcycle wreck, we just became civil as months passed by. 

"You guys seen Magno? He's supposed to be my Wingman." Reklamo ni Haji, this time mas maayos na namin itong narinig. His face was pinkish, obviously drunk.

Before we could even answer, Sawyer walked up to us, looking all tipsy and drunk as he held a bottle of beer. He had a confused smile up his face as he pointed the stage. "Am I drunk or is that really Magno up the stage?"

We all looked at the stage and saw Wave Syndicate performing like the awesome dudes like they were. But as my sight panned to the left, I broke into a fit of laughter.

Up the stage was Magno, jumping up and down with only his pants and white sando on. He was drunk as hell as he jammed to Wave Syndicate's music. All of a sudden, he began flapping his arms like a bird, as if he was channeling his inner Dante Gulapa. But I was wrong.

After flapping his arms like a drunk bird, he suddenly jumped to the crowd making us scream in shock. We all thought he would end up on the floor but to our surprise, the crowd caught him and never let him fall to the ground.

We all screamed and cheered as Magno crowd-surfed like a mad man. All of us grabbed our phones, trying to document the moment.

"Is that Magno the human crowd-surfing?" Braylee ran up to us with Piper, Riley, Warren, and Silver in tow.

"Yes!" Sabay-sabay naming sagot lahat habang nagtatawanan. 

*****

I woke up with the nasty hangover but I regret nothing. I had so much fun and that was all that mattered. 

I laid in bed for a few minutes, trying to adjust my body from wakefulness. As if on reflex, my hands reached over to the bedside table, trying to find my phone. I jolted up when I couldn't find it.

My heart raced a little. I got up my bed and went towards my small sling bag. My wallet was still there but my phone wasn't. I remembered bringing it at the bar the previous night, I even used it to take photos of Magno as he crowd-surfed. I placed it back in my bag as we went towards him. That was the the last time I saw it.

My heart raced all the more at the thought of losing my phone. There was so much memories inside it! All the photos, all the messages! I didn't back it up!

I tried to calm myself by trying to think that maybe I just misplaced it. Maybe I left in Jethro's car. Maybe I left it in the bar. Or Maybe I left to Slade or any one of our friends.

I stood up quick and opened my window blinds. Usually, Slade would be the first to wake up and hang out by the window to wait for me but he wasn't there. Thinking he overslept, I quickly washed up and fixed myself.

I went to the kitchen to cook breakfast since Dad was away to check on his business but I was surprised to find Mom doing it for me. 

"Good Morning." She smiled as she stroked her baby bump. 

"Mom you're not supposed to cook. Remember what the doctor said? Dapat chill ka lang." I reminded her but she just chuckled as she took a bite of a carrot.

"'Tong kapatid mo kasi eh, parang gustong active lagi." She joked. "How was the party last night by the way?"

"I think I lost my phone." I sighed in defeat. "But I don't know, I'll try to ask my friends. Baka naiwan ko lang sa kung saan ko kung kanino." I shrugged, being hopeful.

"That's okay, just ask your Dad for a new one." She joked again and winked. "By the way, did you have fun? Tagal-tagal na rin kayong hindi nakakanood ng gig na magkasama?"

"It was fun." Natawa ako nang maalala ang mga nangyari. "Magno got too much to drink kaya nag crowd-surf bigla. Good thing may sumalo at hindi siya nagaya kay Lucho na nag-land talaga sa sahig. My head kinda hurts though. Hangover." I shrugged once more.

It had been awhile since we watched a gig. Sobra kasi akong naging busy sa school at si Slade naman ay naging busy rin sa pagtuturo ng mga bata. He's been giving lesson to kids, online and offline. Nagsimula lang iyon kay Megatron hanggang sa may mga iba nang bata na gustong magpaturo sa kanya, minsan may mga parents pa na gustong magbayad sa kanya.

Slade does it for free especially for the financially struggling kids tapos kapag galing naman sa mayamang pamilya, tumatanggap na siya ng bayad. Mabuti na lang at kahit injured siya, hindi naman siya masyadong nahihirapan sa pagtuturo.

Hindi rin nakatulong ang pagiging strict ni Dad. He'd only let me hang out with Slade for a limited amount of time, at sobrang bawal ang pagha-hangout sa bar or anywhere na may alak kapag kami lang ang magkasama. Kailangang kasama namin si Silver o si Magno. 

"Rei, pakitawag ng kambal." She asked since our breakfast was almost done.

Naging ganoon na ang sistema namin sa araw-araw. Nasa kabila mang bahay sina Slade at Silver, lagi naman itong sumasabay sa aming kumain. Mom and Dad were treating them like they were their own kids... except for Dad na parang nasasapian ng demonyo sa tuwing nakikita niyang magkasama kami ni Slade. Dad is nice to Slade pero iyon ay kapag hindi kami magkasama. I wanted to talk to dad about it but Mom stopped me by saying I should just let Dad be.

Nagtungo agad ako sa bahay ng kambal. Pagpasok ko sa kwarto ni Silver, nadatnan ko siyang nagbibihis at nag-aayos pa.

"Anong ulam?" 'Yon agad ang unang sinabi ng elemento nang makita ako.

"Nakita mo ang cellphone ko?" Tanong ko.

"Bakit nawawala ba?" Tanong niya pabalik.

"Hahanapin ko ba kung hindi nawawala?" I rolled my eyes.

"Syempre hindi ko alam. Hindi ko nga alam na nawawala diba?" She asked with her usual monotonous tone.

Napangiwi ako. Walang patutunguhan ang usapan namin kaya lumabas na lang ako at nagtungo ni Slade. Kumatok ako ngunit hindi siya sumagot. 

I found him curled up in his bed. His forehead was creased and he looked like he was forcing his eyes shut. He looked like he was in great pain. My heart sank. Seeing him suffering was pain for me as well. 

"Slade?" I called out to him softly since it looked like he wasn't asleep. 

He opened his eyes and smiled, acting like nothing was bothering him. He sat up his bed but his movement was limited from the pain he was under.

I sat on his bed, next to him, as I stroked his hair. "Does your arm hurt? Don't lie to me."

He sighed and nodded as he looked at me directly in the eyes. 

"Dalhin ko rito ang pagkain mo. Higa ka lang muna." I smiled a little as I guided him to lay down again. 

"I just want to sleep," aniya kaya tumango ako.

As he laid down, I covered him with his blanket. I was about to get up when all of a sudden he grabbed me by the hand. Alam ko na agad ang ibig sabihin kaya naman naupo akong muli. 

Slade moved a little, gesturing me to lay down next to him. As I did, pulled me in closer to him and made me lie on his left shoulder as his right remained still the entire time.

"Since when were you in pain?" I asked it.

"Nakaramdam ako noon pero nawala rin naman, bumalik lang nitong mga nakaraang linggo." He spoke with a soft and weak tone. I couldn't help but wrap my hands around his waist and hug him.

I looked up at his face. "How about painkillers?"

Umiling siya. "Uminom na ako kagabi. Ayoko ring masyadong dumepende. I know someone who got addicted to painkillers. It was bad."

I tapped his chest. "Hang in there, okay? The pain will be gone eventually."

"I know... You're more than a morphine to me." He chuckled as he pulled me closer to him. I could even feel his lips touching my forehead. "When the doctor gives me the signal, I'll undergo surgery. I know the risk but I still want to give it a try."

"I'll always be by your side. You can count on that." I promised him.

▬ end of 60// thank u ▬