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It's Student's Week and the campus is bustling with activity. Students and professors alike are taking full advantage of the temporary respite from their academic workload, attempting to de-fry their brains from the recently concluded midterms. There were food stalls, tiangges and your run-of-the-mill booths scattered around the campus grounds... even a "Haunted House" attraction by the theater geeks.
Gregorio del Pilar wouldn't even have bothered to go to school this week if it wasn't for his best friend Vince Enriquez convincing him to show up and keep him company at the henna booth. He figured since he's already here anyway, might as well check out some of the other booths... and keep an eye out for a certain adorable weirdo from a few of his classes.
"Huy, ano, hinahanap mo nanaman si Rusca? Try mo sa mga kainan brad malamang nandoon lang yun." Vince said with a laugh as he watched Greg attempt to be subtle.
"Wag ka nga!" Greg shot back, face turning the slightest hint of pink.
Greg has had his eye on Rusca since they first became seatmates in their General Psychology class back in the first semester. Rusca was running late that day and the only remaining seat available was the one beside his. He remembered being fascinated by this mysterious creature right from the moment he looked straight into his face and said "Hi bro, Eduardo Rusca, pero Rusca nalang, ang tanda pakinggan ng Eduardo eh." Now, Greg was not what you would call a shy guy, but at that moment he failed to do anything else but stare blankly at this Rusca fellow until the professor walked in.
They weren't friends. Well, they were - but they weren't, like, tropas or anything. They shared a few classes together, occasionally said hi to each other in the campus, and at one point shared a table at the library in a coincidence totally not orchestrated by the great Vicente Enriquez. Greg has spent a solid semester-and-a-half convincing himself that his fascination with Rusca has not bloomed into a crush, resulting in months of self-imposed paranoia that Vince was only too happy to egg on.
"Yooooo, tulala ka nanaman! Baka mabilaukan na yun kakaisip mo ha, alam mo namang kain yun ng kain!" Without even noticing, VInce has somehow managed to draw dots on his face, thankfully not with henna ink.
"Gago ka talaga!"
---
It's day 2 of Student's Week and Gregorio del Pilar has just narrowly avoided getting dragged to the marriage booth again.
"Hirap maging pogi no, Greg?" A laughing Vince shouted from his usual spot in the henna booth. "Sayang, yung taong gusto mong kumaladkad sayo sa altar di ka naman napapansin!"
Greg smacked his best friend on the head as he approached the bench near his booth.
"Uy, bro, team weirdo incoming!" Vince fake-whispered before taking care of one of the booth's customers.
Greg instinctively looked to his right and saw Eduardo Rusca himself walking towards him with his friend Jose Bernal. He felt his heart drop straight into his intestines when Rusca made eye-contact with him and stopped within touching distance from where he sat.
"Uy Greg! 'Musta? Naghe-henna ka pala?" Rusca greeted cheerfully, giving him a high five that very nearly sent him into cardiac arrest. He barely noticed Jose giving his greeting as well.
"Ah h-hinde... ano, sinasamahan ko lang yung friend ko. Si Vince nga pala, kaklase ko nung high school." He stammered while hopefully gesturing to the right person.
Vince grinned and stood up just as he finished his latest masterpiece on a professor, of all people.
"Vicente Enriquez, at your service!" He mock-saluted. "Hey guys, gusto niyo magpahenna? Libre ni Greg, dali!"
"Huy, wala akong kinalaman diyan ah!" Greg protested.
"Tamang-tama Rusca, pa-henna ka ng bigote at balbas para magka-angas points ka naman kahit konti."
"Tumigil ka, Jober! Eh kung pa-henna kaya ako ng nunal sa pisngi para match na tayo?" Greg watched as Rusca and Jose goofed off, trying to swallow the very light hint of jealousy he was feeling. Wala yan, friends lang sila. Kami rin naman ni Vince ganyan magharutan eh. He was surprised when Rusca suddenly sat down in front of the henna booth and presented his left arm to Vince.
"Sige brad, since friend ka ni Greg, suportahan ko yang booth mo."
"Ayos! Anong design ba gusto mo? Teka may libro ako dito..."
"Ikaw na bahala brad, surprise me." Rusca said with a laugh and a playful wink. Dios mio panginoong mahabagin!
Vince smirked at Greg and got to work. Greg watched in muted horror as his best friend, that evil asshole, carefully and artfully inked the words "irog ni goyong" in Baybayin on Rusca's arm, Rusca blissfully unaware of this travesty occurring. He silently plotted Vicente Enriquez' demise as he finished up both Rusca's and Jose's henna.
"Uy, ganda ah!" Rusca admired his new tatoo as soon as he finished paying. Greg shot Vince the most menacing glare he could manage before smiling up at Rusca and trying not to start weeping right then and there. "Sige salamat ah, una na kami. See you, Greg!"
Greg watched them walk away, praying to whatever deity is listening that Rusca doesn't suddenly decide to take up Baybayin anytime soon. He was horrified beyond belief when Jose Bernal suddenly turned back to look at him and mouthed "Irog pala ha!" before jogging behind Rusca. He let out a litany of curses while attempting to pummel a hysterically laughing Vince to the ground.
---
Greg was rudely awakened by an overly cheerful voice screaming into his phone.
"Brad may booth pala ngayon na naooffer na i-handcuff ka sa isa pang tao! Pagkakataon mo na 'to oy!"
"Vince leche ang aga-aga!"
"Pasok na dali! Sila Janolino from PolSci yung in charge dun sa booth, kausapin mo na para magka-moment kayo ng labidabs mo!"
"Gago." Greg switched his phone off and went back to sleep.
---
Vicente looked up to see his best friend shuffling towards him. "Oh, buti naisipan mo pumasok."
"Pakyu brad. Kakatapos lang namin magusap ni Janolino."
"Ayown! Sabi ko na nga ba kakagat ka din eh."
"Singkwenta for 30 minutes, sana naman may magandang kalabasan 'to."
"Dalawa lang naman yan eh, either papatayin ka niya, o mamahalin." Vince chucked while dodging the notebook that went flying towards his head.
---
Rusca and Jober were munching on some french fries while checking out the ROTC practice when two mischievous-looking PolSci freshmen and a nervous-looking Greg approached. Jose shot Greg a knowing look and smiled, while Rusca just shrugged and carried on eating.
"Eduardo Rusca from Psych?"
Rusca smiled and looked up at them, finally noticing that Greg had half of a handcuff attached to his right hand. As he slowly nodded in confirmation, one of the guys grabbed him and attached his left hand to the other half of the cuff while Greg watched on, immediately regretting his life choices.
"Uy dahan dahan lang, yung fries ko!" Rusca laughed good-naturedly.
Greg looked nervously at him. "Shet pasensya na jusko di ko yata napagisipan to ng maayos. Ano, wag nalang uy pakawalan mo na kami!" He called to the PolSci guys.
Rusca just giggled and shook his head. "Ok lang adventure din to!"
Jose just winked at them and ran off, leaving a freshly handcuffed Greg and Rusca in the middle of the grandstand.
Oh crap. Greg felt his hands shaking as he opened his mouth to apologize once again, but Rusca cut him off with a smile.
"Ano naman trip mo, Greggyboy?"
"W-wala, wala. Naisip ko lang kasi since first sem may ilan tayong classes na magkasama pero di pa tayo nagkakausap masyado..."
Rusca laughed again, making Greg smile despite the awkwardness he was feeling.
"Kung gusto mo ako maka-bonding sana sinabi mo nalang. Pero ok din 'to ah, first time ko ma-posas sa ibang tao. Tara gala tayo para challenging naman!" Rusca grinned and started jogging, dragging Greg along with him.
---
Ok Gregorio, may 30 minutes ka lang para gawin ang dapat mong gawin. Wag kang tatanga-tanga. Greg and Rusca walked around the campus at a leisurely pace - as though all was right with the world, as though they weren't inexplicably handcuffed to each other. Greg had to admire Rusca's ability to just go with the flow, not showing even a hint of annoyance at the fact that this whole thing was just sprung on him by a classmate he barely knows.
"Uy Greg pinagtitinginan tayo oh," Rusca sounded more amused than he should be. "Baka ipapatay ako nung mga fangirls mo bukas ah!"
Greg was starting to feel his face heating up again. "Grabe ka naman. Uy pero pasensya na talaga dito ha, libre nalang kita ng ensaymada para makabawi."
"Sabi ko nga ok lang eh, pero hindi ako tatanggi sa libreng ensaymada. Tara!"
The two of them ate and checked out some more booths. At one point, Greg very nearly jumped right out of his skin when Rusca nonchalantly reached into his right pocket for him. Other than the awkward stares and some spine-tingling (though Greg might be exaggerating at this point) moments of accidental physical contact, Greg was surprised to find that he was not nervous at all; Rusca is very easy to be with and he seemed to be enjoying himself. Before he knew it, Greg was texted by Janolino, letting him know that they only had 5 minutes left of being handcuffed before the PolSci squad hunted them down. And yes, he did use those exact words.
"Uy, 5 minutes nalang daw tatanggalin na 'to" Greg gestured to the handcuffs, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.
"Ganun ba? Ayus lang, di naman natin kailangan maghiwalay agad pagkatanggal eh. Diba iche-check out pa natin yung haunted house?"
Greg could only stare at Rusca as he tried to process exactly what the guy just said to him. Totoo ba 'to? Nananaginip ba ako?
"Huy, ano? Ayaw mo?"
"H-hinde! Gusto ko, shempre naman." Greg mentally steeled himself. "Actually may... may kanina pa ako gusto sabihin sayo. Kahapon pa, actually. Well, actually matagal na pero -"
Rusca chuckled again. "Ano, na crush mo ko? Grabe akala ko di mo na sasabihin eh, torpe ka pala?"
Greg is now sure his face has turned an unhealthy shade of red.
"Ha? P-paano...?"
"Paano ko nalaman? Sinabi sakin ni Jober yung ibig sabihin nung henna nung friend mo. Smooth ah, nakakaimpress!"
"Wala akong kinalaman dun! Pero... totoo naman. Hindi ka galit?"
To his surprise (and utter delight), Rusca suddenly clasped their handcuffed hands together and simply flashed his brilliant smile at him. Greg smiled back, squeezing his hand as they made their way back to the booth to get their handcuffs removed. They didn't need those anymore.
---
"So... does this mean na pwede kitang ligawan?" Greg asked sheepishly.
Rusca laughed yet again and took a bite of his 3rd ensaymada that day. "Gusto ko yung style mo ah. Handcuffs. Medyo kinky."
"Ay grabe siya oh!" Greg nudged him with his shoulder as they walked out of the campus, Vince and Jober right behind them doing an overly cheerful rendition of "Start of Something New" from High School Musical.