Flipped Justice: A KENTIN AU (COMPLETED)

FJ 14

Hearing his fiancée's voice at the door, Philip nearly dropped the porcelain dish. Justice looked back, but Flip grabbed his hand and drew him into a tight embrace before he could even glance at the door.

Justice was nestled between Flip's arms, too stunned to even blink. In a whisper, Flip said, "Kahit saglit lang, let me have you."

Javier saw his friends in the kitchen, sharing an intimate moment. He stood in front of Jade, obstructing her view. "I'm JC," he introduced.

She answered, "Oh, please. Lee, I know you," while continuing to shake Jav's hand. Jav couldn't quite get it, but he reasoned that perhaps Flip had previously introduced him to her.

Jav exhaled with relief as he noticed Just and Flip had broken their embrace. He gestured for them to make their way into the living room.

"Everyone, this is Jade, my cousin," Isaac introduced her as everyone gathered around. "Jade, meet everyone," he added.

Javier grumbled, "Bonak! Ipakilala mo naman isa-isa," to Ice.

"No need; I'm Jade. As you all know, I'm Carter's fiancée," she responded. As soon as Justice heard her, he moved back. "So, it's you."

"I've met almost everyone, except," she said, turning her gaze to Justice. "Oh, wait," she continued, looking amused.

"Pucha! Don't tell me, magkababata rin kayo?" Javier, observing her sudden shift in expression, questioned.

"Si tanga. Kung kababata ko eh di sana kilala mo. We basically grew up together," Justice replied, making Samuel chuckle.

Looking intently at his face, she said, "Naur. You're user Just-inn?"

Justice said in a skeptical voice, "User jade-ugh?" not knowing where to look.

Javier asked Justice, astonished, "Pota! 'Yong ka-eyeball mo dapat?" He laughed thereafter.

With both hands covering his mouth, Samuel exclaimed, "For real?! Tangeks, eyeball?"

Philip also questioned, scratching his head in perplexity, "Seryoso? What eyeball?"

Isaac yelled, "Eyeball? What the hell!"

Justice's brows furrowed as he said fiercely, "Tangina niyo pala eh! Paulit-ulit?"

Jade rolled her eyes at them and said, "What the heck is an eyeball? It's a blind date."

Apparently, they met on a dating app years ago.

"Isa pang ulit niyo malilintikan talaga kayo," Justice sternly warned his friends. He asked, "Samuel, pati ba naman ikaw?" after observing his attempt to contain his laughter.

With Jade and Just on either side of Flip, everyone took a seat on the couch. Javier was sitting between Justice's knees on the floor. Samuel is lying on the ground in front of his bespal, next to Jav. And Isaac is standing next to his cousin.

Being the loquacious one and the social butterfly, Javier started off their conversation with, "Naalala ko na, how we've met! Nautusan ako ni Hustisya to meet you in a cafe kasi he didn't mean to stand you up. He just bumped into someone and guess what happened."

Samuel was the first to guess, "He spilled his drinks on him?" But Javier shook his head and grinned widely.

Isaac attempted to respond with a hypothetical situation, "We bumped into each other and you fell... in love with me," but Jav laughed vastly.

"Kaya nga makikipag-date to get over you eh," Jav replied, dismissing Ice's idea.

"Bwisit! Foul, your honor," Justice cackled.

Philip was not laughing like the others. He made the following guess after a short while, "Did you somehow hold a bread knife and cut someone's arm by accident? And instead of apologizing, you took off running and didn't come back?"

Justice gasped for air, unable to respond to his question. "Just, don't tell me ito 'yong time na bumalik ka sa lab nung freshies tayo na may bloodstain 'yong uniform mo. Gaga ka ba?" Samuel said.

"Oh, that's interesting. It's a small world," Jade answered.

Immediately turning to face Flip, Justice apologized, saying, "It was an accident. I really didn't mean to. I swear bumalik ako—" but Flip interrupted, pressing his index finger to his lips.

He shushed the younger and said, "It wasn't me. Calm down."

Javier burst out laughing, "Potangina niyo!" He was already gripping his stomach with laughter. "Rollercoaster, dre," he remarked.

Philip went on, "It was dad's," which caused Javier to replace his laugh with a deep gasp.

"Yare," Javier said in reply.

Philip saw that Justice's eyes were nearly full of tears and went on, "It was dad's friend." However, Justice frowned even more and began to run his tears down his cheeks.

Philip tried to console him, saying, "Justice, tahan na. It wasn't that deep. He's fine now." It wasn't really his intention to make him cry; he was now panicking and didn't mind having his fiancée by his side anymore.

He pulled Justice into a hug, gently rubbing his back. "I knew it," Jade said, moving away from Philip.

"Giving you the benefit of the doubt is really dumb! Late ka na nga sa date natin kanina, then suddenly may emergency? Thanks for the group photo story from Samuel; I tracked down your location. And now, this?" Jade said angrily before grabbing her keys.

Isaac looked at Samuel and said, "I'll be back; wait for me." He stopped her from leaving and said, "Hand me the keys; I'll drive you home. Gabi na."

"Ahh! Who told you to be hot and gentlemanly all at once?" Samuel asked himself. He did, however, say something else that caused everyone to look at him, "Pakiss with respect, your honor."

Biting his lower lip, Isaac tried not to show off his smile."Pakshet! Sorry sa tropapips ko, dre, your honor," Javier interrupted and assisted them in heading out.

Justice commented, "Ang harot mo, Well. Kinakahiya kita," as he wiped away his tears.

Samuel countered, "Sino kaya sa atin ang may hindi nga syota, pero kayakap naman sa gabi?" and fled from Justice before he could even strangle him. He yelled, "Dibs sa tabi ni Ice!" claiming the bed.

"Mga kulugo, may nangyayari na. All Is-Well!" Javier exclaimed proudly. Teasing Flip and Justice, he went on, "Kayo diyan? Ano? Nganga?"

"Kidding aside, I'm proud of you two. Although I'm not sure what exactly you have with Jade, I place more faith in deeds than in words. Flip, ingatan mo si Hustisya. Please," Javier stated.

Once again, Justice welled up in tears. He dashed over to Jav and hugged him so tight without uttering a word. Jav rubbed his back tenderly.

Flip looked at them, but he was no longer in pain. For the first time, he perceived the bond between Jav and Just as that of brothers. A smile spread across his face at seeing them up close.

He stepped in and joined them for a hug.