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Maggie cleared her throat as she stood from her seat. Seven people are gathered with her today, all encircled on the floor. They just finished the exchange gift segment of the party.
"Okay guys! Simulan na natin ang next segment!" Maggie said in a loud, cheerful voice enough to make Loki flinch in his seat and roll his eyes in response.
"Can I just go home?" Loki said in a bored tone. Lorelei managed to pinch his right arm in hopes of making him behave.
Maggie paid no attention to his remark as she continued, "This time, we're going to play a game. I prepared a few questions at isa-isa tayong pupunta sa table para bumunot." Tinuro niya naman ang table na nasa likuran niya.
"You're not going to read the question out loud but instead, you're going to answer it by hugging the person you think the question applies to. Let's just think of it as a truth or dare game but with a twist," Maggie added, a somewhat mischievous smile forming across her lips.
"No thanks, I'd rather go home and continue the detective novel I'm reading than play this boring game and hug someone." Tatayo na sana si Loki ng pigilan siya ng dalawang katabi niya.
"Come on, Loki dear! Minsan na nga lang tayo maglaro ng ganito, aalis ka pa. Ayaw mo ba makatanggap ng hug galing sa'kin?" Jamie said as she grinned at Loki. If there's someone who'd be the most enthusiastic while playing this game, it's going to be her. Knowing Jamie, she would never let this opportunity slide.
"Don't be such a killjoy, Loki. How about i-try na rin nating ideduce kung ano ang nabunot na question ng bawat isa based sa kung sino ang niyakap nila? Sounds fun, right? Now let's begin!" Maggie replied as she made them all stand, arguing that the hug would be 10x more better that way.
"And by the way! We're all going to hug each other from the back, okay? Para naman may element of surprise," Napatawa ng bahagya si Maggie. Loki sighed, Jamie flashed a smile, Luthor remained with his unreadable expression, while the rest of them stayed silent.
"I'll go first!" All heads turned to Jamie when she spoke, excitement evident in her voice. Naglakad na siya papunta sa table at bumunot ng papel sa jar.
She's going to hug Loki no matter the question anyway. Lorelei thought to herself, shaking her head.
"Oh wow, interesting question!" Jamie exclaimed. Agad naman siyang pumunta sa likuran ni Loki at niyakap ito. Loki expected it already but he almost lost his balance because of the impact. Jamie hugged him tightly like there's no tomorrow.
"Wala namang time limit 'yung hug, 'di ba?" Giggles filled the room, she can't seem to let go of Loki any time soon.
"Let me guess, the question goes something like, 'who would you want to be with for the rest of your life'?" Emeraude spoke and Jamie shook her head in response.
More like who I want to exchange bodies with for a day. Jamie thought as she smiled to herself. There's no particular reason as to why she wants to exchange bodies with Loki. She just really wanted to hug him, end of story.
"Okay, tama na muna 'yang hug mo Jamie, konti nalang magmumukha ka nang tarsier dyan," natatawang sambit ni Maggie na sunod namang tinawanan ng iba. "Next na tayo! Alistair, it's your turn."
Alistair went to the table and picked his question.
Who is the person you think the world will become dull without them? Alistair read in his mind. He immediately thought of one person to answer this question with. He walked around the encircled space, finding his way into someone and hugged her gently from the back.
"Oh wow! I didn't expect that at all. Bakit ako?" Jamie asked, there's a hint of surprise in her tone.
"You're someone I know many people wouldn't want to lose," Alistair whispered as he let go of the hug, leaving Jamie puzzled. She wondered what the question might have been for him to say that. Alistair left all of them wondering.
A few turns went on, Maggie hugged Rye, Emeraude hugged Maggie, and Rye hugged Emeraude. For whatever reasons they could've been, they're the only ones to know.
"Now it's your turn, Loki," Maggie announced. Loki, who's been bored for God knows how long, was pushed forward by both Lorelei and Jamie. Seems like he had no choice after all.
Loki's eyebrow raised as he read the question he just picked. Who would you want to get stuck in an island with?
In normal occassions, he would've walked away and left all of them hanging but right now, everyone's anticipating him to do something. Maggie, Jamie, and most especially Lorelei, would definitely scold him for being a killjoy. They wouldn't shut up. And for that reason, he went straight to someone's back and hugged them half-heartedly, a bored and annoyed expression still painted all over his face.
"Omg! Bakit naman kaya si Alistair ang napili mo, Loki dear?" Jamie said, her hands on her mouth. Maggie, Emeraude, and Lorelei are trying to hold back their laughter.
Loki chose Alistair to be stuck in an island with because he knows the latter would be the resourceful type and he has all the physical capabilities as well. If he wants to survive, then maybe Alistair isn't that bad of a choice for company.
"Let me guess, 'who do you want to be bestfriends with?'" Lorelei chuckled. Loki went back to his spot as he shrugged.
"I don't know what the question is exactly but I appreciate the hug, Loki," Alistair stated with a seemingly teasing smile.
Lorelei's turn came next. She took a few steps towards the table as she left it all for fate to decide the kind of question she gets to pick. As she read the words written on the small paper, two people immediately came to her mind.
Who do you want to see smile more often?
As for the first person, she thinks she still manages to see him smile from time to time, just not as frequent as everyone else she knows but atleast he does. Unlike the other one, Lorelei stops to think if there was ever a moment that this person flashed a smile in his entire lifetime—or if that word even exists in his vocabulary. For a few moments, Lorelei didn't know where to go. Should she walk towards the first person whom she's closer with, or the second one who has never failed to give her chills whenever he's around?
Slowly, she walked around the circle that the others are in. For some reason, she can feel her heart hammering inside her chest. But why is she so nervous anyway? This is just a hug, Lorelei. Relax. She reminds herself, trying to keep a calm composure.
Then she halted, that person's back turned against her. She hesitates again, but the next thing she knew, she had already wrapped her arms around the great Luthor Mendez.
"I knew it! Ano..."
Lorelei couldn't even process what the others are saying because this time, she could only hear the wild beating of her heart and nothing else. Hugging Luthor felt like many things. Many unexplainable things. But in that moment, she didn't feel the chills she used to feel around him. Ironically, it seemed to vanish right when the distance between them was nonexistent.
She let go of the hug without uttering a single word. She had no idea how Luthor reacted to it—or if he even reacted to it. She didn't even know if she should say something—to him, atleast. But that doesn't matter, I just answered the question. She thinks, as she went back to her spot.
"Last but not the least, papahuli ba ang ating pinakamamahal na vice president?" Maggie said with a teasing smile.
Luthor broke out of the circle and went to the table to do what he had to do. He was still somewhat shocked from the hug that Lorelei gave him. He didn't expect that. He didn't even expect to receive any hug today, but he just did.
As he read the last question, he was stunned for a moment. It was a question he never thought he would have to answer in his life.
If you could possibly date someone, who would it be?
Luthor blinked for a few times, he didn't know if he was enjoying this game or not. Certainly, Maggie knew what she was doing when she prepared the questions herself. Now, it's time for him to decide.
He could think of two people. He's not the type to go on romantic dates, but to answer this question, he had to pick the most likely person he would go for. At that moment, maybe he had already made up his mind.
And so he walked his way into someone. From his peripheral vision, he can see Maggie staring at him, still with her teasing smile, as if she knows exactly what question he's about to answer.
The next thing, he stopped his tracks when he reached that person. Without any more hesitation, he gently wrapped his arms around her, enough to startle the people in the room, and the person he's hugging as well.
"Grabe! Alam niyo bagay talaga kayo!" Jamie cheered. He can almost hear their giggles and cheers. Almost. Time seemed to stop for the both of them, as Luthor's arms are enclosed around Lorelei's tiny frame.
"W-why me?" Lorelei managed to ask in a whisper, her eyes wide in shock.
"I had my reasons. Anyway, I appreciate that hug a while ago, I don't know what the question was, but thank you," Luthor whispered as he let go and it was enough for Lorelei to feel thousands of things.
After all, it was up to them to figure out what the questions were about. The eight of them went home that night, feeling content. The hugs were the best gifts they could ever wish for this Christmas, and they would be lying to themselves if they said they didn't like it.