| Fan Fiction |
by DTLCT
“That smile is supposed to make me forgive you for being late?” Jacky asked.
“You just called 15 minutes ago,” Yoyo said. “How would you expect me to come right away?”
“Didn’t Ray tell you I was coming around midnight? You should have been more prepared.”
“Ray and I didn’t talk about that.”
“Of course not.” He flashes out his mischievous smile. “You were busy pestering Ray for more information regarding 'Tim'.”
“Would you stop?”
“You think he’s cute, right?”
“Stop.”
They walk back out to the parking lot as Jacky keeps on nagging Yoyo and she’s hitting him on his right shoulder for him to stop.
“So…did you tell Ray yet?” Jacky asked, halting the tease temporarily. “Or do I have to wait about two more centuries?”
“Why do you want to know so much?”
“Maybe it’s because I like her.”
Yoyo drops Jacky’s hand since she has been yanking it to torture information out of him. She stops in her tracks and looks straight at him.
Jacky stops also, still smiling. “What? I can’t like Nnadia?”
“What kind of joke is that?”
“No joke. I used to have a crush on her, did I tell you that?”
“You don’t even know her!”
“Says you.”
“Stop it. You’re messing with my brain.”
“Ohhh…I get it. You like me, so that’s why I can’t like Nnadia, right?”
Yoyo hits his shoulder harder than before.
“All right. I’ll stop. Geez.”
“Good then.”
They continue to walk towards Jacky’s car. Like always, every time they meet, she would take a Taxi instead of going by her car. Then they would go into his car and talk. It’s the best distraction method.
“Where to first?” Jacky asked. “Constant Comfort?”
“Why there?” Yoyo asked. “I thought you want to talk to me about the whole Ekin thing.”
“You know we always talk during the drive.”
“All right. You’re driving. What’s stopping you from telling me about it?”
“You.” Jacky makes a right turn before he speaks up again. “Okay, here’s the deal.” He tells Yoyo the whole story – excluding the part where he told Wallace about whether to trust Yoyo or not. He finishes his tale as he parks in front of Constant Comfort. “You want to go in or you want to wait for me here?”
“Might as well go in.”
They get out and head inside the lobby after Jacky activates his alarm.
Jacky looks sideways at Yoyo. “Ready?”
“What do you mean?” Yoyo asked.
“No one knows about you and Ray.”
“They might as well now.”
“I wonder what they will think when they see us together.”
“Probably shocked. Even Ray.”
“You haven’t told him?”
“No. You?”
“No way, are you kidding me? He might think that’s the reason why I know so much about him.”
“Isn’t that the case?”
Jacky lets out a chuckle. “Sort of, but I did read his files. I didn’t get all the information from you.”
“Sure. Lie to yourself.”
They get into the left elevator at that time. Jacky pulls out his cell phone as Yoyo punches in Level 7.
“Who are you calling?” Yoyo asked. “They’re probably all asleep by now.”
“Says you,” Jacky said. “They’ll be up when I call them. Just a matter of who first.”
Yoyo knows too well of Jacky’s nature, so she just smiles and waits while he’s dialing numbers. Before the call comes through, Jacky snaps his cell phone shut.
“What happened?”
“I changed my mind.”
“Oh?”
“What do you mean ‘Oh?’?”
“As in oh. Nothing.”
Jacky looks at Yoyo with one of those looks again. She knows too well when he’s annoyed. Now he’s half annoyed.
Yoyo shrugs her shoulders. “Just a cue for you to continue.”
“Yoyo.”
Yoyo tosses her hands up in frustration. “What?!”
“I know you too well.”
“All right. It’s just it’s not like you so I’m just curious.”
“I was just kidding. Don’t need to get all work up.”
Yoyo smiles. “I was kidding too.”
Jacky smiles also. “All right. Let’s get back to this thing. I want to give them a surprise. Great or what?”
Yoyo rolls her eyes. “And I thought someone has changed already.”
Jacky wrinkles an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me?”
Yoyo shrugs her shoulders again. “Who knows.”
“Are you asking or making a comment?”
“Whatever you want it to sound like.”
“Slick, huh?”
“Learned it from you.”
“I’m impressed then.”
“Don’t you mean flattered?”
“No. I’m impressed that you can actually learn from me.”
Yoyo turns her attention away from the keypad to look at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jacky smiles. “Whatever you want it to mean.”
Yoyo ignores him and turns her attention to the ascending red number. The elevator is unusually slow at the moment although no one is getting in or out. The rest of their trip up remains in silence – except for Jacky’s constant tapping of his feet on the floor. When they finally reach the 7th floor, they both try to get out at the same time. Yoyo steps back in time so Jacky could step out first. Although Jacky looks calm, but his actions show otherwise. Yoyo couldn’t blame him. She walks silently behind him.
First stop? Who else?
Jacky stops in front of Apartment 7H and rings the doorbell. He wishes that the metal door isn’t there so he can knock on it with his hands. He taps the bell several more times although he hears some rustling sounds inside already. Gallen appears at the door a minute later, looking annoyed. His expression turns to surprised when he sees Jacky and most of all – Yoyo. He opens the metal door and lets them in before anyone speaks up.
“What is going on here?” Gallen asked.
“You tell me,” Jacky said.
Gallen shuts and locks the door again before joining them at the sofa – to which both Jacky and Yoyo have already made themselves comfortable at. He sits down at a chair nearby before addressing Jacky directly “Does she know what you know?”
“No. But she will know what I know if you still make it so obvious.”
Yoyo looks from one guy to the other. “What’s going on here?”
Jacky flashes on an innocent smile. “Nothing.”
Yoyo wrinkles her face at him.
“All right,” Gallen said, looking at Jacky. “Why are you here?”
Jacky smiles. “Visiting.”
Gallen looks at his watch. “At this time of the night?”
Jacky has on passive look but a mischievous glint in his eye. “Hey. You invited me to a hot pot gathering around midnight too. So what’s the difference in visiting at this hour?”
“We were all up last time.”
“How did you know I was up though? Spying on me from the apartment of one building over?” Jacky has put his feet up on the coffee table now, folding his hands backward to rest his head on it comfortably.
“Hey. That was before I could trust you.”
“So you admit in spying on me?”
“Guys!” Yoyo jumped in before things get out of hand.
Jacky glance at Yoyo quickly before speaking up again. “Oh. Almost forgot.” He sits up straight again with his feet off the table. “Is Ruby still here?”
“Maybe,” Gallen muttered.
Jacky gets up from his seat at that time. “Maybe? Didn’t I tell you guys to detain her?”
“She’s onto us, okay?”
Jacky paces around the apartment while retrieving his cell phone from his pocket.
“Who are you calling now? Cory?”
“Just listen.”
Yoyo has gotten up from the sofa and is sort of sitting slightly on its armrest while Gallen stands in the middle of the living. Jacky almost cracks up in the middle of his pacing, realizing that Yoyo looks more comfortable standing in this apartment than Gallen. But he stops himself as soon as he hears someone picking up on the other end. “Did I wake you up or you couldn’t sleep yet?”
“Jacky?!” A guy’s voice exclaimed out from the other side, sounding both confused and shocked at the same time.
“Yes,” Jacky said, his tone passive.
“Aren’t you supposed to…I mean aren’t you…”
“What? I can’t take a break?”
“Ummm…”
Jacky signals to Gallen and Yoyo while walking towards the front door himself. He continues down the hallway. “What? Go on.”
“It’s just late, that’s all. I thought you want to get some rest so you could go visit Jan next weekend.”
“Oh sure. But I’m just calling you up regarding something.”
“Don’t tell me you can’t cover my shift anymore. I can’t come back now. I…um…have something to take care of.”
Gallen and Yoyo are walking behind Jacky right now. Yoyo steps forward when they reach the elevators to push the “Down” button as Jacky continues to stall for time. They all get in as Jacky continues to give the guy a hard time about it.
“Things to take care of?” Jacky asked. “What is it?”
“Ummmm….”
“I can’t believe it! Cory’s stuttering through a conversation he could finish in five seconds.”
“It’s…uh…”
Luckily for the threesome, the elevator cart takes them straight down to Level 5 without any interruptions. Or maybe because it’s past midnight already and no one in their right mind would be up at that moment. Jacky steps out first as the other two follow closely behind. He turns left.
“Are you going to answer soon or no?” Jacky pressed.
Jacky is in front of Apartment 5B now. Gallen and Yoyo are standing behind him. He uncovers the mouthpiece on purpose and presses the doorbell. He lets out a satisfying smile as he hears Cory’s gasp on the other side of the line. Cory opens the door a minute later as Jacky clicks his cell phone shuts and lowers it. His face shows a calm smile while Cory’s face shows an intense expression.
“Aren’t you going to invite us into your apartment for a cup of tea or something?” Jacky asked, tapping his right foot on the floor.
“How did you…?” Cory asked. Then he stops short because he sees Gallen. “No wonder. That was why you’ve been following me?”
Gallen looks towards Jacky.
Jacky could see Gallen’s unsure expression from the corner of his right eye. “Don’t pick on him. If you want to know something, ask me.”
“Why are you here?”
“I feel like visiting, what else?”
“But how did you know I’m here?”
“Doesn’t all run-away couples make sure they’re in the same place? So in case one is busted, they can inform the other? And wanting to stay together is the reason why they want to run away in the first place, right? “
“Uh…”
Jacky gestures to the metal door. “Are you going to let me in or let me make a scene here?”
Before Cory could speak up, a girl’s voice speaks up.
“Cory, who is at the door at this time of the night?” She asked, her voice sounding slightly authoritative.
Cory turns back inside to glance at the girl before turning back to face Jacky.
“Ruby, tell your boyfriend to open the door before I make a scene here,” Jacky yelled in to the girl.
Ruby walks to the door at the time. Her face looks passive at first, but it turns to irritated as soon as she sees Gallen. “What are you doing here? I told you to stop causing trouble for us.”
Before Gallen could step forward to explain, Jacky pushes Gallen aside gently with is right hand and faces Ruby. “I’m the mastermind behind the whole spying operation, not him or your brother. So stop acting like half of the world owes you. Because you’re the one who owes us an explanation right now. And a really good one also before I call your brother up and tell him where to find you.”
Ruby has on the same hostile expression that she had expressed toward Gallen earlier in the day. “It’s my personal matter and it has nothing to do with any of you.”
“Oh it does…”
Ruby cuts him off. “It doesn’t, okay? Just because you’re Cory’s boss at work doesn’t mean you can control his personal life also. So get a grip and stop your ‘controlling’ attitude.”
Jacky’s smile fades. Gallen and Yoyo watch Jacky carefully. Ruby has somehow pushed Cory aside and is now staring Jacky down – unmoved.
“I admire your bravery,” Jacky said in his passive tone. “But if you want to leave some dignity left for Cory, you better let him handle it.”
“You have something against girls? You…”
Jacky cuts her off. “Ten…”
“What are you doing?” Ruby could see Jacky’s left hand rising again – his cell phone still in his hand.
“Nine…” He flips the cell phone open. “…eight…”
Ruby’s anguish expression turns into fear.
“Stop scaring her already,” Yoyo interfered.
Jacky turns to look at Yoyo. “I’m serious.”
Yoyo smiles still. “Sure you are.”
“I’m not…kidding.” He turns back to Ruby. “Four…”
“What?!” Ruby exclaimed. “You’re cheating.”
“Does time stop when she interfered?” Jacky asked, pressing the keys on his cell phone.
Ruby opens the metal door quickly and advances forward, trying to snatch Jacky’s phone away from him. Jacky jumps back in time and grabs her right hand with his free hand.
Cory steps out into the hallway in panic. “Stop! What are you doing to her?”
“She attacked me first,” Jacky said.
Although Jacky still looks mad, but he releases Ruby’s hand with a hard yank. Ruby rubs her hand and steps back behind Cory. Cory shields her from Jacky and gives Jacky a stern look.
“If you care so much about her, you wouldn’t even run away in the first place,” Jacky said.
Ruby pushes Cory aside once again. “Who are you to lecture him?”
“If you were my sister, I would have…”
“Well, I’m not!” She shouted out angrily.
Before Jacky could go on, his cell phone rings. His phone has clicked shut again in the event of dodging Ruby and all. He snaps it open again to answer the call. Ruby attempts to attack him again.
“It’s not your brother!” Jacky shouted in an irritated tone. “Back off already!” He jumps aside as he said that and answers the call. “Go ahead.”
“What’s going on with your side?” A girl’s voice asked.
“I’m at Constant Comfort right now.”
“That explains it.”
Ruby attempts to grab the phone from Jacky again – not believing his previous words at all.
“Back off!” Jacky yelled out, taking a step back himself. “Or else.” Then he returns his focus to the girl on the phone. “What in the world are you doing still up at this time?”
“I was feeling a bit uneasy and thought it has to do with you,” The girl said.
“Sorry.” His voice has softened a bit.
“It’s all right.”
Ruby stops in her tracks since she realizes that Jacky couldn’t be so gentle if he’s talking to her brother.
“Go to sleep,” Jacky said. “I’ll handle things. I’ll call you tomorrow to update, okay?”
“All right, but…”
“It’s going to be all right. Don’t worry so much.”
“All right.”
Jacky hangs up before she could persuade him into quitting his mission. He turns his attention to Cory, ignoring Ruby completely. “Alright. I’m not beating around the bush anymore. Why are you following Wallace?”
“I…” Cory hesitated.
“Well?”
“I…”
Ruby steps in front of Jacky’s vision line again. “Could you stop harassing him?”
Jacky has on his stern expression again. “Could he stop following Wallace then?”
“Like he want to.”
“I don’t care if he wants to or not. But…”
“Stop it!” Yoyo yelled out, trying to interfere once more. “Can’t you guys just sort this thing out without arguing? It’s past midnight already. We’re all tired.”
Jacky turns to Yoyo. “I’ve been yelled at twice already today. I’m entitled to do it back to him since I’ve been his shield. And don’t you forget I’ve been lied to six months plus already.”
“You’re lying to us too.”
“And you’re not lying to us either?”
“I…”
“Stop!” Gallen jumped in, speaking up at last.
Everyone turns to look at Gallen. Jacky’s expression even turns to surprised like the rest since Gallen doesn’t get mad as easily.
“Why are we all targeting each other now? We have to solve one problem before moving to the next or we won’t get anywhere at all.”
“You’re right,” Jacky said, exhaling. “Give me a minute.”
Jacky walks to the corner and dials a number before anyone else could say another word.
“Who are you calling?!” Ruby yelled after Jacky.
“Don’t aggravate him,” Gallen said. “It won’t help the situation.”
“But…”
“Trust me. Aggravating him is the least you want to do.”
Although Ruby looks reluctant, but she stands there to wait like the others.
At the corner of the hallway, Jacky taps the back of his cell phone as he waits. Someone finally picks up after the 5th ring.
“Hello?” Someone said groggily into the phone.
“I’m here,” Jacky announced. “Get everyone down to Level 5. I’m going to sort this one out once and for all.”
“Are you kidding me? I mean just get everyone up?”
“At least the guys.”
“No way. I’m not suicidal.”
“Ray!”
Ray knows from Jacky’s tone that he’s irritated right now. “All right. I’ll try.”
Jacky snaps his phone shut and makes his way back to the others. He could see that Ruby looks anxious. He ignores her and looks directly at Cory. Cory looks away and meets Yoyo’s eyes instead. Yoyo stares him down. Cory looks away again. This time towards the wall on his right.
“Don’t play this game,” Jacky said. “I’m too tired for it.”
Cory looks back at Jacky.
“All right. Your place or want to talk about it somewhere else?”
“Who did you call?”
Jacky turns on his mischievous expression. “Your future brother-in-law, who else?”
“What?!”
Jacky smiles. “I’m kidding. The guys.” His serious expression returns. “I think that they need to know – at least I need to clear my name to them that I have nothing to do with it.”
Cory nods. “All right then. Go ahead and come in.”
Cory leads the way and Jacky follows. Gallen and Yoyo follow Jacky, not leaving space for Ruby. Ruby couldn’t do anything else at all, so she follows the rest in. When she’s in the living room, she could see Jacky, Gallen, and Yoyo sitting at the sofa with Yoyo in the middle. Cory is sitting at a chair nearby – next to Jacky. Ruby sits down at a chair next to Cory, but stays quiet. Her face still shows anger towards Jacky and the others but she doesn’t feel like arguing anymore. At least not until the guys come. About 5 minutes later, they hear a knock on the door. Cory stands up and goes to the door. Cory could see Ray, Kevin, and Wallace walk in – in that order – after he opens the door.
“This has got to be good,” Ray said as he’s walking by Cory.
Ray stops in his tracks when he sees Yoyo. Kevin almost bumped into him. Lucky Wallace was paying attention and had stop the minute Ray stopped or he would have crashed into Kevin already.
“You’re telling me you’re not socializing with the enemy?” Ray asked, glaring at Yoyo.
“I…” Yoyo stuttered, standing up.
Jacky stands up also. “Leave her out of this. We’re not here for that, remember?”
“But…”
Yoyo raises her hand to stop Jacky. “It’s all right. I’ll tell him real quick.”
Ray keeps his eyes on Yoyo while Kevin and Wallace sit down at the chairs to the left of the coffee table.
“I know Jacky since little,” Yoyo said.
Ray looks away. “A likely story.” Then he snaps his attention back to her. “What?!”
Gallen, Kevin, and Wallace look from Yoyo to Ray. Even Ruby’s interested in this one. Cory has somehow made it back to his chair and is listening in also.
“He was my neighbor,” Yoyo continued. “Then he moved away. We only got back into contact like several years ago.”
“And you guys told me that you only knew each other like six months ago?” Ray asked.
“Uh…”
Jacky stands up again since he had sat down when Yoyo stops him from interfering. “You know me. I like to keep things secret. Want me to ask you the same question?”
Ray looks at Jacky. “What?!”
“How did you know Yoyo then?”
“Uh…”
“See?”
Gallen stands up also. “Wait…”
Everyone turns to Gallen.
“Why did you pretend to not know Jacky or recognized him when you talked to him on the phone at Seahorse Fest last time?” Gallen asked Yoyo.
“You should have figured it out, man,” Jacky said. “I know her too well to know her reactions. That was why I asked you, ‘Did she give you the evil eye?’”
Gallen finally realizes it. “Oh…”
“So bottom line, we both know Yoyo and I don’t know Nnadia yet but I will later. The point is…we’re all updated, happy? Let’s get started on the other problem at hand.”
“Wait…” Ray said.
“What?”
“Did you pull my files or asked her?”
Jacky smiles. “You’re too quick.”
“Did you know he has the highest potential to be a cop when we were taking classes to test our abilities and see what we want to do?” Yoyo asked Jacky.
Jacky looks at Yoyo. “Oh really? No wonder.” He turns to Ray again. “And no...I didn’t ask her. At least not all of it.”
Ray looks to Yoyo. “What else did you tell him?”
“Quit it,” Jacky said. “Like I can’t find out stuffs on my own.”
“Are we having a reunion here or getting on with whatever it is that you dragged us out of our beds for?” Wallace asked, speaking up for the first time.
Jacky looks at Wallace. “That’s a good one.” He scans the room once. “Okay, everyone. Let’s get started.” He turns to Ray real quick. “We can play catch up later.”
Ray finally sits down since he could see Wallace’s impatient expression. Jacky, Yoyo, and Gallen do the same.
Jacky clears throat. “So…where to begin?”
“You tell me,” Gallen said.
“Oh right.” He looks at Cory. “Want to tell us why you’re stalking Wallace in the first place?”
“I…” Cory stuttered, feeling the heat since everyone’s staring at him again.
“You…” Ruby jumped in, giving Jacky an annoyed look again.
Cory cuts her off. “It’s all right. He has the right to know.”
“But…”
Cory looks at Ruby. “He’s like a brother to me. I should have told him in the first place.”
Everyone stays quiet and waits for Cory to go on. All eyes are on Cory. The room’s atmosphere is somewhat intense right now. Jacky, Gallen, and Wallace all have their hands crossed while Ray’s tapping his right foot.
Cory clears his throat before continuing. “I just want Wallace’s help.”
“Why?” Wallace asked.
“You were so close to Kenneth. I thought I could get your help with getting him to calm down and listen to me for once.”
“You could have used a better way.”
“There’s a thing called phone,” Ray added.
“And you could have called me when I was trying to lose you in the traffic.”
Cory licks his lips. “I…”
“So you made me cover for you for two weeks so you could meet up with…” Jacky gestures his right hand towards Ruby. “…this girl here?”
Ruby gives Jacky a dirty look, but he ignores it.
“Yea,” Cory said, nodding. “I have to meet up with Ruby since she said Kenneth found us out again. I finally thought up of a plan. Kenneth rarely comes here. In fact, if it wasn’t for what happened here six months ago, he wouldn’t even know this place. But then somehow he found out. We thought that you guys gave him the tip.”
“I was the one who told them to tail Kenny,” Jacky said. “But we didn’t know you’re Ruby’s boyfriend until like today – or you can say yesterday since it’s way past midnight now.”
“Then how did he find out we’re here?”
“Use your common sense. He’s a cop. A lieutenant too.”
“Stop picking on him!” Ruby yelled out, frustrated.
“I’m not. He’s a cop too. He should know it.”
Yoyo tugs on Jacky’s right hand. “Stop.”
Jacky’s mind shifts back to about six months ago, except the one tugging at his hand is Jan. Suddenly he realizes how much he misses Jan. Is that the reason why he’s losing control of the situation? Is that the ultimate reason why he keeps lashing out at others?
“Jacky!” Ray called out.
Jacky snaps out of his thoughts – alarmed. He turns to Ray. “What happened?”
“Your phone’s ringing,” Ray informed him.
“Oh,” Jacky said absent-mindedly. He automatically grabs his cell phone from his pocket and answers it. “Hello?”
“You’re still up?” A girl’s voice asked him.
“You’re still up too.”
“How are things going then?”
“We just got started.”
“Don’t hang up. Let me listen in.”
“Why?”
“Three reasons.”
“Which are?”
“I can calm you down.”
“And?”
“Never mind. I guess there’s only one reason.”
“The second one is you’re concerned for Cory and the third one is you can’t sleep anyway.”
The girl utters a laugh.
Jacky smiles also. “You’ve got a deal. But don’t interrupt, okay?”
“Fine.”
Jacky puts the phone on speaker mode and puts it at the edge of the coffee table. He looks at the others again. “Where were we?”
“Cory wants our help,” Wallace reminded him.
Jacky looks at Wallace, his expression displaying surprise. “He does?”
Wallace wrinkles his face. “You mean you haven’t paid attention?”
“Uh…”
Yoyo puts her left hand on Jacky’s right shoulder. “You all right?”
Jacky looks down at his phone. “Yea.” He looks up to Cory. “Continue.”
“I said that since you guys already found us out, is it possible that you could help me with this also?” Cory asked.
Jacky glances around to the others.
“I thought someone said that it’s personal matter and it has got nothing to do with the rest of us,” Wallace said, his voice edgy.
Jacky smiles, leans over to his right, and gives Wallace a high five. Ruby looks annoyed at the guys’ interaction.
“I’m serious,” Cory said.
“We’re serious too,” Jacky said.
“I…”
“Let’s vote then,” Ray jumped in.
Jacky looks towards Ray. “I thought you have like…two other things to do. Are you trying to play cupid now? Or are you just nosy?”
“Hey! I’m the only one among all the guys here that didn’t doubt you when they were blaming you for stuffs here.”
Jacky shrugs his shoulders. “All right. Fair enough. Let’s vote then.”
“All right. Who agrees to help them?”
Everyone in the room looks hesitant. Only Jacky and Yoyo look somewhat definite about their answers.
“Looks like you’re not so full of the idea either,” Jacky said, still looking at Ray.
“Mixed feelings,” Ray admitted.
“Doesn’t matter. Just divide then.”
“What?!”
“Who agrees to help Cory?”
Surprisingly, everyone raises their hands, including Jacky and excluding Ray since he’s still confused.
“Here is the part where you raise your hand also,” Jacky said.
“And?” Ray asked, still not catching Jacky’s drift.
“Then we put our hands down.”
Jacky puts his hand down. The others follow.
“Who agrees to help Ruby?” Jacky asked.
No one raises their hands.
“Oh,” Ray said, finally getting it. “I’m in on the first one then.”
“Of course you are,” Jacky said.
“You guys don’t make sense at all,” Ruby jumped in. “How can you help him and not me?”
Jacky looks at Ruby. “It’s really simple actually. You’re the only one that didn’t get it.”
“Fan Gang!” The girl on the phone scolded him.
Jacky leans forward to speak into the phone. “I’m not kidding. She has been giving us attitude since the beginning. Why should we help her?”
“You were stalking them, remember?”
“Is that Jan?” Ray asked at about the same time as the girl.
Jacky nods at Ray’s question before answering to Jan. “I didn’t give them the go on that one. We just found out about the boyfriend like yesterday.”
“Still…come on…”
“I said it already. I only want to help Cory.”
“We’re not getting anywhere with this,” Wallace said. “Why don’t we just call it quit and let them solve their own problems?”
Jacky looks at Wallace. “Run and hide?”
Wallace nods.
Jacky stands up at that time. “Sounds good to me.” He grabs his cell phone as he’s making his way to the door. “I’m crashing at Tim’s place tonight. Or does anyone else want to take me in?”
“I can let you in at your old apartment,” Kevin offered.
“Maybe.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” Jacky mumbled. He opens the door and lets himself out.
Kevin follows behind, getting out his keys.
Jacky turns the speaker mode off and places the phone over his ear again. “That went well, huh?”
“When are you going to stop with this game?” Jan asked.
“I’ll wrap it up by the end of this week.”
“It’s not funny, you know.”
“I wasn’t laughing either when people kept calling in to yell at me and not giving me a chance to explain at all.”
“Fan Gang.” Her voice has become softer.
“Hmm?”
“Whatever it is, you know I’ll support you, right?”
“I know.”
“Hey, I think everything’s pretty much the same except for the amount of dust collected these past months,” Kevin said to Jacky.
“Thanks, man.” Then he tunes in to Jan again. “I’m staying at the old place again. Can you believe it?”
“You mean you’re staying at Constant Comfort?”
“At least until I sort things out.”
“Oh.”
“All right. Go to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“All right. Good night.”
“‘Night.” Jacky snaps his phone shut before taking the key from Kevin. “I’m going to make a trip downstairs to get my stuffs first.”
“All right then,” Kevin said. “See you in the morning, I guess. I’m going to catch some sleep.”
“Yea.”
The guys separate since Kevin goes back into Cory’s apartment although he said he was going to go back to sleep. Probably going back in to get Ray. Jacky makes his way to the elevator again. When the elevator opens, he takes a step forward. But before he could take another step, Yoyo’s voice stops him.
“Hey!” Yoyo called out.
Jacky turns back to her. “What?”
“What about me?”
“What about you?”
“Hello! I have to get back home.”
Jacky looks at his watch. “It’s past midnight already. Camp out here.”
Yoyo frowns. At that time, Ray and the others are piling out of Cory’s apartment.
“Either stay with me or Ray,” Jacky continued. Then he could see Gallen walking towards them. “Or you can stay with 'Tim'.”
Gallen snaps to alert since he hears his name – with the emphasis. “What are you talking about?”
“No. Dr. Mung can’t get back ‘cause she came with me earlier. She needs a place to stay since I don’t feel like driving her back. So I volunteered you."
Gallen glances nervously towards Yoyo’s direction. “Uh…”
“Come on.”
Ray steps towards the group. “What are you talking about? It’s either yours or mine place. She can’t socialize with the enemy.”
“Enemy?”
“Don’t play dumb. Probably she told you what I’m up to, right?”
“Not really.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Gallen asked, confused.
“Never mind that. Let’s get in some sleep, everyone.”
“Guys!” Yoyo shouted out.
Jacky turns to Yoyo again. “I’m serious. Stay here.”
Yoyo gives Jacky her famous look again.
Jacky sighs out. “All right, how about this?”
“What?” Ray jumped in.
“Rock, paper, scissor.”
Yoyo looks at him again.
“Hey, it’s an idea.”
“Okay,” Ray agreed. “Might as well. Hurry.”
“Don’t I get a saying in this?” Yoyo asked.
“Yes. I’m representing you. Come on.”
Jacky and Ray’s face off leads to nowhere. At least for the first five attempts.
“Come on,” Jacky urged. “Give in.”
They try yet two more times with Yoyo standing by, annoyed.
“The rock is overused already,” Jacky said. “Stop using it.”
“You stop then,” Ray shot back.
Wallace suddenly feels mischievous. “If you guys can’t break the tie after two more tries, I’ll take Yoyo.”
Jacky turns his rock into a scissor. “Fine with me.”
“Hey!” Ray exclaimed out.
Jacky smiles. “After the umpteenth time, it gets easier.”
Although Jacky agrees, but he won anyway. The reason was because when Jacky changed his rock into a scissor, Ray changed his into a paper – thinking that Jacky would do a rock again. At the same time, Jacky agrees with Wallace and withdraws so Ray’s rock can crush his scissor. Too bad for Ray that he changed his rock into a paper at the last minute.
Jacky turns to Wallace. “Okay, I get to decide now.”
Wallace gestures his right hand. “Go ahead.”
“Yoyo, go with Ray. I’m sleepy.”
With that, he disappears into the elevator.
Wallace and Gallen look at Yoyo to see her reaction.
“Why in the world did you make me stand around for the last five minutes for?” Ray yelled after Jacky.
“I guess he just wants to win,” Wallace said.
“Or he has way too much time on his hands.”
“Let’s just get some sleep,” Gallen interfered.
“I agree,” Kevin added.
Wallace, Gallen, and Kevin make their way to the elevator also. Ray looks reluctant, but follows the guys anyway. Yoyo talks with Ray on their way up. She honestly doesn’t want to stick around and was thinking of hauling a Taxi back or something. As she’s about to tell Ray, her cell phone rings. She picks it up by the 2nd ring.
“Hello?” She said.
“Can you come down here for a minute?” A guy asked.
“Where?”
“My car.”
“Your car? You want to give me a ride home after all?”
“No. Just need to talk to you about something and I don’t want to say it in front of the guys.”
“What’s with all the secrets here?”
“Yoyo!”
“All right.”
“Thanks.”
He hangs up after that. Ray looks at Yoyo. Yoyo shrugs her shoulders and presses Level 1 on the keypad by the wall.
© Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Re-posted: Thursday, October 15th, 2009