C9 Ten, Day One

"Are you crazy?" I asked after a long period of silence. The man in front of me is staring at me with his serious, deep amethyst eyes. His lips pursed in a grim line, and his brows furrowed a bit.

"I'm serious. I want to have a date with you. I want to confirm the weird things I feel towards you."

"Why date someone you don't even know that much? I thought relationships start with friendship!" Startled, I replied.

He crossed his arms and lean his back on his chair. "This is why we need to date. It's not about getting in a relationship right after that. We will just try getting to know each other and evaluate whether we would fit or not then decide afterward."

Though he sounded so serious, I am still not convinced. I shook my head, what we are talking about is ridiculous.

When you date someone, it means you want to be with her. You already confirmed that you want to start pursuing her. It would inflict pain if the girl doesn't like you at first, then eventually likes you when you started to date, and then boom, you confirmed that what you felt was a short term attraction.

It doesn't make any sense to have this kind of thing. And though I want to voice it out, I'm sure he would rebut. What I realized for days of observing him is that he would oppose what I said whenever we don't have the same stand on something.

And I don't have time to prolong this talk anymore.

I sighed and pick the last portion of food and washed it, ignoring his weird looks and small noises from tapping his finger at the table.

I walk towards my room and pick my bag and folders before locking it.

"You are now going to leave? Wait for me in the parking lot." I heard him talking behind me, his keys creating a noise like it was being played on his fingers.

"No thanks, I can go by myself," I uttered in a low voice and opened the door going to the hallway of the whole floor, turning my head to glance at him.

"Lock the door when you leave," I added and strode the way to the elevator.

The same, noisy street going to the University welcomed my ears the moment I step out of the jeepney. Smokes coming from the barbecues, the smell of the newly dipped kikiams on oil invaded my nose, and the same, boring and lazy feeling is all gushing inside my system as I entered the green gates.

The line from the cashier and registrar is a bit long that I spent about an hour just so I could get a form, but when I was about to fill it up, I realized I don't have a ballpen. I started to glance at every mirror windows in front of me, but almost all the cashiers were busy and writing things on their papers that I would feel bad if I will borrow.

I bit my lips and glanced at the long line behind me, the impatience was evident on some students, throwing me some sharp stares and infuriated looks. I shook my head and was about to ask the cashier for a pen when someone from behind put a metallic silver pen in front of me.

My lips parted and didn't look back to see who he is and started to fill up the details, determined to go home and get away from the scornful faces of the people behind me.

When I am done filling up the forms and giving my tuition fee, I turned my back and was about to go out of that place when someone poked the back of my shoulders.

"Miss, my pen?" A familiar voice of a man spoke.

I slowly turned my head and saw the nerdy guy that I saw when Auton went to Talk and Chill. He was wearing a navy blue shirt and black pants, his eyes hidden behind rectangular, thick glasses, and his hair a bit curly, far from the near hair he sported the last time I saw him.

"Oh? You are the other man from the bar, right? What brings you here?" I smiled.

"I study here..." he shifted his gaze on the counter. And then, I remember that he was asking for his pen.

"You are the girl that Auton talks about a lot these days," he replied in a low voice but enough for me to hear it clearly.

"Auton talks about me?"

He glimpsed at the pen in my hand, and then to the cashier. I immediately extended my hand and apologized for taking too long, but he said it was his girlfriend's pen and that he takes care of it nicely.

I said my thanks and then decided to go home and spend the last free day sleeping, my steps getting fast as I became eager to ride a jeepney and contact Terren to ask small news about him, and of course, my supposed rest day.

But the moment I opened the door of my unit, the aroma of an unknown food from the kitchen invaded my nose.

My eyes went big, my heart beating fast as I marched towards the small kitchen of this unit and find Auton Smith stirring Shrimp Sinigang on a black pot.

"What are you doing here?" I furrowed my brows, trying hard to stop myself from showing him that I liked the smell of his food.

He halted from stirring it and let go of the ladle, the front of his body covered with a transparent apron and hairnet.

"Oh? Good thing you are here!" The corners of his lips rose as he turned to face me, lifting the ladle on his hand and welcoming me with his bright face, but mine remained perplexed and shocked.

"I waited for hours! You didn't tell me that it would be that long!"

And why the hell do I feel like he is so happy? He was again, acting all weird.

"Why are you here?" I glanced at the pot in the induction cooker and shifted back my gaze at him. "And why are you cooking?"

His smile grew bigger, he let go of the ladle, and held my shoulders, turned me around, and made me sit on the dining table.

"Give me ten dates and decide if we are good enough for each other. This would be the day one."