ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE

17: DINNER WITH DEAN

17: Dinner with Dean

FAITH

A/N: I know there has been some confusion. It should have been Dean instead of Dale. It's been so long since I updated AHBL that I forgot the names already. Oops, my bad. 🥴

Neither Orion nor Dean was in my class this afternoon.

Ayaw kong isiping maaring si Orion ang dahilan kung bakit hindi pumasok si Dean, but there are so many possibilities. Also, I am not gonna ignore the fact that Orion is mean and all. Mula sa pag-uusap namin kanina, it seemed like he's all upset over some peanuts.

What is he even mad about? Oh, those poor innocent peanuts!

And Dean's absence... It seemed suspicious but I have to give Orion the benefit of the doubt.

I hope Dean's fine.

Paglabas ko ng classroom ay si Orion agad ang natanawan ko. He stood on the side na tila ba hinihintay talaga ang paglabas ko. He's got both hands behind his back, as if he's hiding something. He looked like a kid who's about to say something nice pero malabong may sabihing "nice" si Orion. So whatever he's up to, I'm kind of nervous about it.

"Hi!" bati niya nang tulayan akong makalabas ng classroom. He wore that grin and I know there's always something behind that smile. It looks so suspicious as always whenever he grins, barring that pointy teeth.

"Hi?" Hindi na ako nagpaligoy-ligoy pa at tinanong ang tungkol sa pagiging absent ni Dean. "Uhm, be honest. Did you do anything to Dean?" hindi maiwasang tanong ko. His absence in class truly bothered me and I can only think of Orion as the reason.

He snorted. "Who's Dean?" Naguguluhang napakurap siya, tila ba pilit iniisip kung sino ang Dean na sinasabi ko.

"Dean!" sagot ko sa kanya. "'Yung classmate ko kanina na binigyan ako ng mani!"

Oh, here goes that annoyed pout again. That peanut seriously annoyed him so much for whatever reason.

"Aha, the assface!" he replied in recognition.

"Dean," pagtatama ko. "Dean ang pangalan niya, Orion," I replied, rolling my eyes.

He just grin, shrugging off such topic. "Whatever. Well anyway, I have a good news and a bad news."

Did he just tried to dodge the topic of Dean's whereabouts?

"Orion, where's Dean?" ulit ko.

He shrugged. "Mmm. Don't know. Don't care. Maybe he's drowning in his pee, or he's been hit by a bus... Or worse..." Sinadya niyang bitinin ang sasabihin.

I raised a brow, shoving all the crazy possible things he just mentioned. "Or what?"

He had that mean look again. "Or he's rotting in heaven. Hopefully!"

What?

Oh. I'll just ignore him.

Muling bumalik ang kanyang ngisi. "So, which one do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?"

Ugh, I don't feel so good about this.

Bago pa man ako makasagot ay nagsalita na siya. "Let's hear the bad news first! Okay, here it is..." He paused for a while. "Bad news is that..." He paused just to add dramatic effects. "... The puppy's gonna shit everywhere, bite your stuff and be a handful sometimes."

Hindi ko alam kung ano ang ibig niyang sabihin. I just blinked, unsure what to think. "Uhm, but I don't have a puppy," sagot ko sa kanya.

"Now that's the good news," he said, barring again that pointy teeth he got. It was weird to look at him like this. Like he's genuinely happy. Inilabas niya ang kung anong bagay na nakatago sa likod, which was a puppy. "I brought you a puppy!"

Oh.

A puppy.

A bit muddy and wet puppy.

He didn't try to drown it , did he?

"What?" untag niya nang mapansin ang tingin ko. "You don't like puppies? Who hate puppies? Who the fuck don't like puppies? Why the fuck they don't like puppies?" sunod-sunod na tanong niya.

Before he could start saying things, mabilis akong umiling. "Of course, I like puppies... But..." Uh-oh, it's Orion we're talking about here. I know for sure he didn't get me a puppy just to be nice.

What's the catch?

"Hindi mo naman nilunod 'yan ano?" hindi mapigilang tanong ko. Now that I noticed, he looked like he's a bit wet too.

That toothy grin suddenly vanished. He frowned like he's offended.

"I'd drown you first before I'll drown every puppy," sagot niya na hindi ko na lamang pinansin. Napabuntong-hininga siya at inangat ang tuta upang matingnan iyon nang mabuti. "I was throwing rocks by the river nang may makita akong nagtapon ng sako sa ilog. I tried to ignore the puppy's call for help but failed."

Bahagya niyang inangat sa direksyon ko ang tuta.

"He may not seem cute because he's all soaked and muddy but believe me, he's adorable."

Honestly, not just the puppy. Right now, Orion also seemed adorable.

Hindi agad ako nakasagot sa kanya. I know for sure that the puppy is adorable but what's more adorable?

Looking at Orion like this.

I mean, like what he is right now.

No hostile behavior.

No sexual innuendos.

No mean remarks.

Just plainly adorable.

Pero teka, kung may salitang hindi bagay kay Orion, iyon ay ang "adorable." The devil is nowhere near that adjective!

He saved a puppy? Hard to believe pero kung titingnan siya ngayon, ano namang rason niya para magsinungaling tungkol doon?

Kinuha ko ang tuta mula sa kanya. Bahagya pa itong nanginginig. "Hey puppy. Don't worry, you're saved now, okay?"

"He's shivering," puna ni Orion.

"He is."

Bigla na lamang niyang inangat ang laylayan ng suot na damit at akmang huhubarin iyon. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at agad na nagsalita.

"What are you doing?!" I know I panicked a bit.

"The puppy is shivering," sagot niya.

"So?"

He looked at me like he's saying that he's gonna wrap the puppy in his shirt.

Which is stupid...

Considering he's also wet.

At isa pa, maglalakad siya ng walang pang-itaas na damit sa loob ng campus? No way.

"Orion, you're also soaked."

Bahagya siyang natigilan. "Oh right. We have to hurry home so Ollie will be comfy," suhestiyon niya.

Huh?

"Ollie?" taas-kilay na tanong ko.

"Yup, his name is Ollie," ngisi niya. "I think of such name and I'm proud of it."

Well, he certainly is.

Ollie is a nice name pero ano namang pumasok sa isipan niya at ang bilis niyang nakaisip ng pangalan ng tuta?

"Why Ollie?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, it just popped in my mind."

Hindi na lamang ako sumagot pa. Tama siya nang sinabing kailangan na naming umuwi para maging komportable na si Ollie. Orion followed me around ngunit hindi pa man kami nakakalayo ay may tumawag sa pangalan ko.

"Faith!"

Sabay kaming napalingon sa pinanggalingan ng boses. It was Dean who was running towards me at nakangiti, the opposite of Orion who looked so annoyed.

"Hi, Dean!" bati ko nang tumigil siya sa harap ko. At least now, alam kong walang ginawang masama sa kanya si Orion.

Thank goodness!

"Sorry, I told you I'll see you in class pero hindi ako nakapasok. Bigla kasing nagpatawag ng meeting si coach eh," nakangiting sabi niya. Napatingin siya sa likuran ko at bahagyang tumango kay Orion. "Hey bro."

Bro?

At kailan ba sila naging mag-bro?

"Ew, don't call me bro, you're nowhere near my real bro," Orion replied, na para bang batang nang-aaway.

He stepped closer towards Dean at pinigilan ko ang sarili matawa. Right now, Dean looked better as an overall assessment dahil dugyot ngayon si Orion dahil sa basa at maputik na damit at sapatos.

He looked at Dean with disgust. "Didn't I tell you to rot in heaven? Why the fuck you're showing up here?!"

Now this is an upset Orion. May mga pagkakataong alam kong naiinis siya and most of the time he'll say something mean or do bad pero ngayon ay hindi ko alam bakit iyon ang kanyang reaksyon.

He seemed irritated.

Naguguluhang napangiti si Dean. "I'm not quite sure what do you mean when you say that I should rot in heaven," sabi niya at muling bumaling sa akin. "Faith, I realized this guy is right. I should have considered a lot of things before giving you so much peanuts."

I heard Orion groaned. "Wait, am I that guy?" he asked, quoting the guy but Dean ignored him.

"And to make up for my irresponsible deed, I'll invite you to dinner. How about that?" Dean said with an apologetic smile.

Biglang hinablot ni Orion ang braso ko upang tumingin sa suot kong relo. "Dinner? At 3:45 in the afternoon?!"

Bakit ba daig pa niya ang daddy ko sa tanong na iyon?

I pulled my arm back at hinarap si Dean. "No, it's okay Dean. No harm done. In fact I love peanuts-"

Muling sumapaw si Orion. "See? Ayaw niya- you love what? NO! Don't love peanuts!"

We both ignored Orion.

"I insist, Faith. Dinner at seven, I'll pick you up, is that okay?" he asked.

I said "sure" the same time Orion yelped no.

Bumaling siya sa akin na nakakunot ang noo. "No! Why would you let this guy pick you up?"

Again, we opted to ignore him. "O-okay. If you insist," nahihiyang sagot ko. I heard a disappointed groan from Orion ngunit hindi ko na lamang pinansin.

"Thanks! I'll see you later!" paalam ni Dean bago kumakaway na lumayo.

And for the second time today, I witnessed Orion walked out for whatever reason.

***


Naunang makabalik sa apartment ko si Orion-which means he went home straight after walking away. He sat on the floor, legs crossed and his back pressed against the side of the bed. His arms were crossed on his chest too, looking straight at the muddy puppy in front of him.

Hindi man lang siya nag-abalang sulyapan ako nang pumasok ako sa loob. I tried to put my shoes a little loud on the side ngunit kahit konting sulyap ay hindi niya ginawa.

"I didn't know you went straight here," sabi ko at inilapag ang bag ko sa mesa.

Still no answer.

I sighed. "Should I bathe the puppy?"

Still dead silence.

Lumapit ako at kinuha ang tuta sa sahig, expecting him to roar something or react but still, there was none. I'll take it as a yes to clean the puupy kaya bitbit ang tuta ay humigit ako ng lumang towel at dumiretso sa banyo.

Nang matapos kong paliguan ang tutua ay naroon pa rin siya sa pwesto niya, still unmoving. I plugged the hair blower at maingat na tinuyo ang tuta. Kung hindi lamang maingay ang blower ay malamang nakakabingi ang katahimikan sa pagitan namin.

"Ollie's all done," I anounced but I still got no reply. Naghintay ako ng ilang saglit baka sakaling may sabihin siya but it felt like forever so I ended up shrugging my shoulders and walked to my closet to find clothes instead of waiting for his reply.

I picked out few dresses I seldom use dahil hindi naman ako ang tipong mahilig sa mga dress. I prefer jeans and other comfy clothes but a dinner with Dean should be in a dress, I suppose.

"Are you really going?" sa wakas ay tanong niya.

Napatigil ako sa ginagawa at nilingon siya. He was still on the floor, forehead more creased than it was before.

"Y-yes...?" sagot kong tila patanong.

I saw how his face darkened, before he sighed like a kid. "Then what am I suppose to eat here?"

What? Is that what he's worried about?

Of course, ano bang iniisip kong dahilan kung bakit siya dalawang beses nagwalk out?

Napakamot ako sa ulo. "Should I order-"

"I hate fast foods," sagot niya.

Liar!

He loves them! He's got that sunny smiles everytime we order fast food at halos siya nga ang nakakaubos niyon! But I won't argue on his obvious lies.

"Should I cook?" tanong ko. Teka, bakit ko ba sinasakyan kung anong toyo ang meron siya? Hindi ko naman problema kung ano at saan siya kakain ng hapunan. Just to remind myself, he's a freeloader who can't even do the dishes but consume almost ¾ of my daily budget.

"Not an option," he said before turning to me with a grin. "I suggest you tag me along."

"No!"

But Orion is getting none of that. Narinig ko na lamang siyang sumisipol ng lumang awitin at sukbit ang tuwalya ay agad siyan pumasok sa banyo upang maligo.

Ugh, I'll be getting indigestion on my dinner with Dean later.

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Shinichilaaaabs