Work Text:
One twist to the left... one twist to the right... then loop...
Paulo, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes focusing on his hands working to tie his unruly, thick hair into a ponytail. He is almost done with the last loop when he hears the sound of the plastic band tearing.
"Arrghh!"
Paulo gritted through his teeth as he stares at the torn plastic hairband on his right palm.
Josh and Jah are on the corner of the dance practice room chatting animatedly while Ken is lost in his own world, watching the latest episode of AoT. Paulo stared at them sulkily from the large mirrors.
"Wala na naman sa mood, Ate Chona?"
Paulo glanced up and saw Stell smiling down at him, his right arm streched toward him with his fist curled into a ball. Stell wiggled his eyebrows and gestured toward his balled fist.
Paulo raised one eyebrow but nonetheless reached his palm out, resting below Stell's fist. "Pag kadiri yan Stell, humanda ka sa akin."
Stell laughed heartily before opening his fist - a tiny pink double-loop rubber band with two dangling pearls falling into Paulo's palm.
"Use that instead."
"Pink talaga? Saan mo nakuha to?" Paulo stared at the other guy suspiciously.
"Sa kapatid ko." Stell smirked. He then dropped to his knees and positioned himself behind the taller guy. "May suklay ka?"
Paulo shook his head while sitting very still. He gasped softly when he felt Stell's hand comb through his hair.
"Kahapon ka pa nahihirapan kung anong gagawin mo sa buhok mo kaya kinuha ko to sa kapatid ko." Stell explained while staring at their reflection in the mirror.
"Thanks..." Paulo said in a small voice, biting his lower lip to hide his smile.
Stell combed through Paulo's bangs, pulling the strands up into a half bun.
"You look cute in this style."
Paulo felt his face getting hot. He is sure his face is turning as pink as the hair band.
"Ako na magtatali!" He tried to get hold of the clump of hair that Stell was holding but the latter was quick to swat his hands away.
"Wag kang magulo Pau!"
Paulo shut his eyes sharply and crossed his arms, "Kainis."
Stell just laughed at him, "Akin na yung panali."
Paulo indignantly tossed the rubber band upwards and it landed on top of his head.
He pouted as Stell continued to laugh at him. "Ang cute mo Pau."
Other times, Stell's words would have made him swoon but Paulo is sure that the other guy is just making fun of him so he just narrowed his eyes at him through the mirrors.
"Ayan, tapos na. Madali lang kasi to kapag sanay ka na."
Paulo checked his reflection on the mirror, glancing sideways. Stell has gathered a section of his hair from the top of his head which he then twisted into a half bun. He then secured it with the pink rubber band but the dangling pearls are barely visible as they were covered by the loose parts of the bun.
"I look like a girl," he complained.
Stell's face appeared over his shoulder in the mirror, his dark eyes fixed on Paulo's. "No, you don't," he said. "You look very manly to me."
"R-really?" Paulo can see the tip of his ears turning pink.
Stell squeezed his shoulders. "Really," he assured him. "Pero next time, may bayad na yan na ice cream ha?"
Paulo smiled, already looking forward to more of Stell's hairstyling. "Basta ikaw." he said.
-End-