THE LOVER : Lucius Marco

[Veintitrés] PUNISHER

The moment he stepped in the bar, everything is quiet. It's still six in the morning, and people in the bar would slowly decrease around 4 am 'till 5 so surely at 6, there will be no longer people partying there. He spots some employees cleaning the dirty liquor glasses, tables, chairs, the dance floor, counters, windows and everything that needs to be cleaned. Well, considering that this bar is indeed packed everytime it's open- there are a lot of things to clean. And considering their manager, everything should be clean and has 0% dust and dirt.

The employees greeted him with a faint smile despite of them being tired when they noticed him entering. He's a VIP so there is no surprise that he's known to them.

He smiled back and greeted them before he approached the squinted eyes man, talking to the bartender- they seem to be having a serious talk regarding with the drinks and concerns about the bar.

"Zack," he called.

Napatingin sa kanya ang chinito. He flashed his eyebrow at him.

"Well, you're early," nakangising saad ng chinito na si Zack. "Early in the morning." He finishes off with a chuckle. Halata ang pagiging sarkastiko sa boses niya. Lucius playfully rolled his eyes at the manager of the bar, Zack.

"Thanks, I purposely came here this early." Sarkastiko ding tugon ni Lucius sabay upo sa stool ng bar counter. Napaupo din naman si Zack sa bar stool sa tabi niya habang napatawa.

"You're obviously not here to party alone so what are you doing here?" tanong ni Zack. Lucius was about to answer but he was cut off when Zack talked again.

"No, wala akong planong maging artista, Lu. Bahala ka d'yan." Tilang seryosong saad niya pero halata ang pabirong tugon nito kaya napatawa naman si Lucius sabay na pabirong pagsampal niya sa balikat neto.

"Idiot," he murmured between his chuckle."I am not here to lure you into the world of showbiz, that is not my work, you idiot." Natatawang saad pa ni Lucius.

Napaharap siya sa counter nang mapansin niyang naglagay ng kape ang bartender sa harapan nilang Lucius at Zack. Alam na ng bartender ang dapat gawin kaya hindi 'to kapanipanibago kay Lucius lalo na kay Zack na siya mismo ang manager ng bar.

Napaharap din si Zack sa counter.

"Don't blame me, asshole. Your dad didn't stopped from bugging me about it, good thing I turned out to be boring in his eyes." Zack said as he took a light sip from his hot coffee.

"Don't flatter yourself, you're boring in anyone's eyes." Lucius said, sounding serious but it's actually something they would consider as a joke.

Zack narrowed his squinted eyes at him.

"Damn, now I regret that I didn't join judo class. I would've kicked your ass right now." Pananakot ni Zack pero bahagyang napatawa lang si Lucius.

"Yeah right and don't call me Lu," he rolled his eyes. "Para akong bata." Dagdag pa ni Lucius bago uminom ng kape.

"Take it, para namang may something na bata sayo. Nagmumukha ka kasing gurang baka mamaya pagkamalan kang tatay namin." Zack said as he nonchalantly took a sip from his coffee as if he didn't just burn Lucius by saying that he might looked like a father if he's with him and the boys, their friends.

May something na bata. Eh meron naman talaga.

A smirk subconsciously plastered on his face. Pero nawala naman agad 'to nang maalala niyang iniwan niya ang bata na 'yon na mag-isa pagkatapos sa nangyari nilang dalawa. Pangalawang beses na niyang iniwan siya sa sarili niyang kwarto pagkatapos ng nangyari, ayaw niya mang iwanan siya pero kailangan.