Strings Of Perfection

12

"Late na nga, parang runway pa ang dating," Aki muttered under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

"Shhh," I whispered back, though I couldn't help the smirk tugging at my lips.

Sylas looked composed as usual, his ID perfectly straight, his hair somehow behaving kahit galing biyahe, and that serious expression on his face na parang laging may bigat ng mundo sa balikat niya. Beside him, Devina was all smiles, chatting animatedly, obviously comfortable in his presence.

"Good morning," Sylas greeted when he reached us, setting the bags down on the booth table. His gaze shifted to me for a brief moment, his eyes narrowing slightly, before he looked away.

"'Morning, Pres," Aki said, his tone dripping with fake innocence. "Bagay pala sa'yo ang apilyedo ni Leo, no?"

I nearly choked on air, shooting Aki a murderous glare, but the damage was done. Several heads turned to Sylas, eyes darting between his jersey and mine, the realization dawning on their faces.

"Wow," Devina chimed in, her smile faltering for a split second before she forced it back. "Matching jerseys? Ang sweet naman."

I smirked. Huli ka.

Sylas blinked, clearly caught off guard, but then he recovered with his usual composure. "Wala. Accident."

"Accident?!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

He raised an eyebrow at me, his lips twitching as if holding back a smirk. "Problem, Creu?"

"None," I said, crossing my arms. "Ganda lang ng timing ng 'accident' mo."

Devina laughed awkwardly, her gaze flickering to Sylas. "Bagay naman talaga sa inyo," she said softly, trying to sound playful but failing to hide the edge in her tone.

Sylas shook his head, picking up a marker from one of the bags. "Focus on the booth, Devina. Too many distractions already."

But as he turned back to the table, his gaze flickered to me again, lingering just a second too long.

I smirked. "Distractions, huh?" I muttered under my breath, loud enough for him to hear. His hand froze mid-air for a second, then he ignored me.

Aki nudged me, grinning. "Gago, kinikilig."

"Shut up," I hissed, but my face betrayed me with the slightest tinge of pink.

Si Devina, busy pa ring nag-aayos ng supplies, pero every now and then, ang mga mata niya'y tumitingin kay Sylas. Parang may hinahanap siya sa mga kilos ni Eliunous, or maybe she was just trying to hide something-either way, kitang-kita ko na hindi siya komportable.

Si Sylas naman, yun pa rin ang seryosong expression niya. As usual, he was focused on the task at hand, but I could tell his mind was elsewhere.

The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

Hindi ko na napigilan pa. "Ang tahimik niyo, mga prez." I teased.

"Focusing lang, Creu," sagot ni Devina, with that sweet smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Si Aki, na tila hindi mapakali sa panonood, hindi nakatiis. "Sana all may 'something,'" he chimed in, as he flicked his eyes back and forth between me and Sylas. "Parang may namumuong sekreto dito, ah."

Nakita ko yung pagbagsak ng ngiti ni Devina, and for a moment, it looked like she couldn't hide whatever she was feeling. I caught it and I couldn't resist.

"Devina...."

Napa tingin sila sa kin nang tinawag ko ang pangalan ni Devina.

"You have something for Pres, don't you?" I threw out, my voice dripping with playfulness.

Tensed na tensed si Devina, and it didn't take long before her smile faltered.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped, trying to act all nonchalant but I could tell she was getting rattled.

"Shut up, Creu," Sylas warned, his patience clearly running thin. "Don't start something you can't finish,"

Tinutok ko ang tingin ko sa kanya at sumagot, "Don't worry, Pres. I'm just making sure everyone's clear about the situation."

At dahil gustong-gusto ni Aki ang gulo, he added fuel to the fire. "Baka si Pres talaga ang may something for Vice?" he teased, sabay tingin sa akin.

Kitang-kita ko na medyo naiinis na si Devina, but she was trying so hard to keep it together. Her eyes kept flicking to Sylas, then to me, but I knew she was feeling the heat.

Tsk. Iwan ko sa kanila. Wala akong pake sa kung anong nangyayari sa paligid. Ang importante na lang sa'kin ngayon, bakit ang konti ng mga tao na pumupunta sa booth namin?!

"Walang bumibili ah?" Biglang saad ni Ari, may konting inis sa boses. "Hoy, Enthralls, gamitin niyo na yang mga ka-pogi-an n'yo!"

I smirked. Na compliment pa nga. Small things, bro.

"Sayawan mo ng Wet The Bed, Aki," I said, teasing him with a grin.

Aki stared at me for a few seconds, clearly thinking if I was joking. "Seryoso ka ba? Magpapaka-tanga ako d'yan?"

"Wala kang choice, bro," I laughed, still grinning. "Kailangan natin 'to para makakuha ng customers."

Ari, who overheard us, raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Ge nga, tignan natin kung hanggang saan makakaabot 'yang moves n'yo."

Aki gave me a challenging look before hitting play on the speaker, blasting Wet The Bed.

I couldn't help but chuckle. Anong klaseng event ba 'to?!

He positioned himself right in front of our booth. As soon as the first notes of the song played, Wet The Bed got everyone's attention.

Baby you're just like a storm raining on me... Girl you're soaking wet...

The crowd started getting louder, as Aki broke out into a dance that was equal parts hilarious and embarrassing.

Tang ina, hindi ko alam kung tatawa ba ako o mahihiya.

"Imma kiss you right? Yeah! Yeah!" The crowd started singing along, egging him on.

Aki went all in. May pa lip bite pa! This guy's shameless. I could barely hold in my laugh, but also, how is he pulling this off?

"Bro, deeper!" Kyan suddenly shouted jokingly from behind, na mas nag pa intense pa sa hiyawan ng mga tao sa paligid.

And Aki, of course, mas in-OA pa ang galawan niya. Wala talagang hiya sa sarili!

"I'm gonna lick all night? Yeah! Yeah!" Sinabayan ko na rin ang pag kanta. Mas lalo pang dumami yung tao sa booth.

The noise and hype were crazy, but it worked. People were stopping by, laughing, and buying stuff from our booth.

Jusko, Aki. Last mo na 'yan!