Wednesday - April 23, 2014

The worst thing about summer was the rising consumption of electricity. There was so much use for air conditioners and electric fans. Living near the equator, it wasn't really surprising. Even at night when there was no breeze passing through the open windows of our rooms, the air got so humid that by the time the sun came up, we'd be lying on our own puddles of sweat.

With the rising demand for electricity, supply can oftentimes fail to meet the needs of the households. That's when the worst thing happens. Before we knew it, we'd be having scheduled blackouts that lasted for two to four hours (sometimes six) per day. The power can suddenly be cut off in the morning or it gets disrupted at night when it gets so dark that the only light we see are dancing beams from flashlights. The whole neighbourhood would suddenly be bathed in these lights and it would look like a big dance club or something. The air got more humid and people would take off their clothes and go outside while cursing the power company at its failure to address the problem.

As for Alex and me, it only presented an opportunity.

"What time is it?" Alex asked.

"Almost 6pm," I answered while still playing with my mom's phone. She was kind enough to let me borrow it for a while.

"You have everything taken care of, right?"

"Yeah."

Damn it. I almost got to 2048.

"Hurry it up," he nudged me.

"Almost there," I assured him and he moved closer and watched me play till our little plan would be set in motion.

"It's six already," he sighed. "They better hurry up."

"It'll come. Just..."

That's when all the lights went out. Except for the light that shone off my mom's phone, we were in complete darkness. Despite that, I could see Alex's grin as the battery meter of my mom's phone settled at 1% and after a couple more minutes, died away.

Complete darkness and it was awesome.

Alex pushed himself off our couch and slowly dragged me outside. By the time we reached the front door, our eyes adjusted well enough to the lack of light and I could finally see Alex's hand gripping my arm.

"Ssshh," he reminded me.

And that's how we snuck out of our house before getting everything we needed from the tree house and setting off into the dark horizon.

Somewhere up in space, that big mean satellite that tracked me was desperately trying to connect to my mom's phone. Sadly, darkness had already engulfed it.

We rode my bike to that familiar dirt road with a flashlight tied to the handle bars, facing forward. We started seeing lots of other kids coming out of their homes and inviting their friends for a little game of hide-and-seek or anything spooky they could come up with. There were lots of other people who sat on the pavement and waving their beams of light at the bike that passed by them in blinding speed.

My heart was pounding, the night was perfect and my mom was unaware of our little adventure. She'd know soon enough anyway.

When we got to that little untamed ground high above our neighbourhood, Alex took care of setting up our tent while I made sure to set up a nice patch where we could sit and be alone together. I turned on the electric lamp I brought and placed some stones around it so that it would still look like a campfire.

"That wasn't so bad," Alex said as he finished setting up our tent. "I'm so glad they cut off the power."

"You do understand that we can only do this once, right?" I told him. "My mom will find out and who knows what she'll make me do."

"Don't worry big bro. We'll stick to our plan and nothing will go wrong."

On a night as glorious as this, I could only begin to think of a million things going wrong. I smiled at Alex and gestured for him to sit beside me.

"Who knew the sky can be so bright," he thoughtfully said as I pulled him closer to me.

"I can hear the stars laughing."

"You can?" he asked curiously.

"Listen."

And so we kept quiet and listened.

After quite some time, Alex turned to me and was asking all sorts of questions with his eyes. I shrugged at him and pointed up above.

He looked up and that's when I poked a finger at his side, causing him to jump slightly and stifle a giggle.

"Hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"My star just giggled."

Soon, he was laughing real loud and drowned the eerie sounds of the night. The stars were laughing, but Alex laughed louder and sweeter.

"I wonder what Pau is doing right now," he whispered.

"I got a letter from her earlier."

"You did? What did she say?"

"You're up for another dance battle."

"I am?"

I nodded.

"But...she's so good and I'm still a beginner."

"So how come you beat her last time?"

Alex blushed and smiled sheepishly. He looked away from me and down to our lonely neighbourhood with dots of light moving through the streets. His face looked peaceful and the faint glow from the lamp in front of us made him look like a real angel.

"Okay," he decided. "Tell her I'll be ready."

~*~*~*~

Saturday - April 19, 2014

And that's how Alex won his first dance battle.

~*~*~*~

"Another one off our list," I told Alex who was still looking up at the sky.

"Go out camping," he said, repeating the words written on the piece of paper we picked out earlier.

"When will the lights go back?"

"9pm, I guess," he answered. "Want to go inside our tent?"

I nodded and led the way inside our small tent. We didn't pack lots of things, only two sleeping bags and some snacks to fill our tummies with later. We just sat inside, staring at each other with the light from the electric lamp outside failing to penetrate the tent completely.

"I have an idea," Alex said and he looked really excited.

"Let's hear it."

"Before we finally pick out the `have sex with my boyfriend' thing, how bout we practice first?"

"Practice? What do you mean practice?"

"Will we take it slow or will you rip my clothes off before we even get to our room?"

"Huh?"

He giggled and shifted closer to me.

"Will it be like this, big bro?"

He demonstrated what it was on his mind by placing one hand on my shoulder and carefully pulling on my shirt collar. His other hand brushed my lips and before I knew it, the hand on my shoulder travelled down to the hem of my shirt and pulled on it.

Alex pushed me down and brought my shirt up over my head. When I saw his eyes again after the fabric went over my face, he looked so mischievous and playful already. He smiled sweetly and innocently, though.

"Will it be this slow?" he whispered and went down to kiss me again.

"I...I don't mind," I told him.

His warm hands ran over my chest, trailing little hearts along the lines of my torso and circling a finger around my navel. It tickled. I didn't tell him that. I won't tell him where I'm ticklish because he'd surely take advantage of that.

"You're ticklish here!" he exclaimed.

"I am? Where?"

"Your bellybutton!" He laughed and started tickling me.

I couldn't hold and laughed along as well. I tried not to kick him off me, but I guess I must've been squirming too much and I ended up rolling both of us over before settling on top of him.

My laughter died down and Alex's giggles went away. Save for the sound of our breathing, there was nothing else we could her. He stared up at me, smiling sweetly and looking so innocent with his hair messed up.

"You laughed so hard," he told me.

"Oh yeah? Wait till I tie you up and tickle you senseless."

"I can't wait already."

I smiled back at him and leaned in to kiss his tasty lips. I loved him so much. My heart was pounding against his chest, my bare torso on top of his clothed one and our crotches rubbing against each other. He didn't even need to pull me down. He just lay there and I'd drown right on top of him.

"I love taking it slow," I whispered once we break the kiss.

"Me too."

So we took it slow. I removed his shirt and he submitted completely to my caress. He lay naked from the waist up before me and his skin looked so soft under the dim light. I moved down a bit before leaning in to take in the wonderful scent of his naked chest. It smelled like sweat mixed with something so sweet and so mild that it lingered long after I stopped inhaling.

I knelt above him and started tracing the outline of his small frame. He was so soft to touch and he even shifted a bit when I got to his sides. He was ticklish after all.

"Can you guess what underwear I'm wearing right now?" he asked.

"Is it that one with lightning?"

"Nope," he said. "Take a peek at it."

I moved a bit lower and started pulling the hems of his shorts. There was white fabric underneath. As I pulled his shorts inches lower, I was met with a very red circle that looked like a button directly above his hard on.

"Uhh...," I paused. "So, what does this button do?"

"I think it's like a jack-in-a-box," he said. "Something pops out when you push it."

"Really?" I giggled. "Can I push it?"

"You don't even have to ask, big bro."

I got off of Alex and he was looking so anxious when I began closing the distance between my face and his underwear. Slowly, the smell turned intoxicating.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm trying to push the button."

"Uhh...with your nose?"

"Nope."

He looked confused.

"With my tongue," I finally told him and I heard him laugh before I got the tip of my tongue against the fabric.

"That tickles!" he hollered.

I felt sure that the stars up above were trying their best to see what we were doing. I heard their voices. They sounded eager and even jealous that one star was getting so much stimulus on one part of his body. That one special star laughed the loudest.

The button worked its charm and Alex's hard on tried to push its way out from underneath. I pulled his undies down and was met yet again by the third most beautiful thing on Earth. First, there was Alex's eyes. Second was how he looked after I made him cum. And third, was the sight of his dick. Soft or hard, it was still stunning.

"Are you going to stare at it all night?"

"I'm painting a picture right now," I told him.

"A picture of my dick, no doubt."

"A masterpiece all by itself."

When I finished painting, I worked my way through his whole length, starting from his nuts before riding my tongue along his member. Alex moaning in no time and he seemed very impatient as he kept thrusting right against my nose. So much for taking it slow.

"You're just so good that I can't hold it long enough," he mumbled huskily.

I smiled. I got between his legs again and pulled his shorts off him. He kept staring at me, demanding me to get on with it. I couldn't agree more and before anything else could happen, I folded his legs and spread it apart to once again get acquainted with his virgin butthole.

"Time together isn't ever quite enough. When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home," I chanted and Alex listened carefully.

"Are you singing?"

"Trying to," I answered.

He smiled and looked thoughtful.

"So tell me, big bro," he whispered as my hand rested on his erection, twirling it a bit. "...do you wish we'd fall in love?"

"We already have," I told him and began to slowly stroke his member.

"Why are you so good to me?" he moaned.

"Coz you're always so good to me, too," I said. "...do you like what I'm doing?"

He breathed out `yes'. I just had my finger brush down the line of his butt, starting from his nuts down to where it ended before touching the ground. I did it slowly, making sure that Alex was enjoying it with each passing second.

I bent down and started licking the tip of his dick, still amazed at how I could never get tired of giving him a blowjob. I'm not sure if my...skills improved a lot ever since the first time I gave him head, but from how Alex kept moaning and thrusting, it was enough to assure me that he loved my tongue going under his foreskin and my mouth taking in his whole boyhood.

"Even down here," I whispered. "...you're being so good to me."

"Same here," he said.

His back bent upward and I carried him closer to me. I quickened my pace on his member after I gave him a quick and lustful rimming. He never stopped saying my name through his moans and grunts and I loved hearing all of it.

I knew he was almost over the edge when his hands grabbed my messed up hair and he pushed his dick deeper down my throat. He could've choked me to death, but he wasn't really that big to begin with. I'd rather keep his size a secret because I'm sure he'd never talk to me again if all of you knew about it.

Warmth filled the back of my throat. It felt familiar and different every time he came in my mouth. I could never anticipate it enough, but I keep looking forward to it.

"Still the best," he whispered and took his hands off my hair.

"Always," I told him and moved up to give him a taste of his own jizz.

It was almost a routine for both of us how I gave Alex a blowjob before he did it for me. I loved making him cum first. When it was my turn, he'd try to surpass how my tongue handled the curves and outline of his member. He was sweet like that.

"Stop trying to tickle me," I told him, stopping my giggles from escaping.

"I was just curious with how it feels when you're laughing and moaning at the same time," he said.

I couldn't describe the feeling well enough. He was trying to suck me dry, his one hand circling around my navel while his other hand traced my crack up and down and up and down before pushing in a finger into my butthole. With so many things going on and with my laughter mingling with my moans, I could never begin to describe the feeling.

"They should name an ice cream flavour after your cum," Alex suggested.

"Good idea," I said and giggled. "...and one after yours, too."

He smiled and went back to sucking me and before I knew it, he left me gasping again. He always sucked me dry. He was amazing.

Later, when we were back outside with the power still cut off, we chose to just keep silent and listen to nature. Our eyes drifted down our neighbourhood and we didn't need to say anything to understand how we're feeling.

We stayed that way till all the small houses in the distance got bathed in light once more. Block by block, corner by corner, fluorescent lights were trying to outshine the stars up above.

"They can't be brighter than you," I absentmindedly said.

"Huh?"

"Those lights," I said as we looked at each other. "...and the stars. They can't be brighter than you."

"You're so sweet, big bro." He smiled. "I can say the same about you. You're literally my star here on Earth, but you're like a black hole, too."

"A black hole? Why?"

"Coz you draw me in so easily and I can't," he paused. "...no. I won't escape. Don't even want to.

"As if I'd let you."

"Exactly."

The plan was to go back home in the morning without my mom suspecting a thing. That's really impossible, though. She could recharge her phone and track me easily. However, we made sure to leave my tracker up in my tree house and locked the trap door. Only I knew how to lock it from outside. She could just check in on me up there and perhaps think that I was already asleep and Alex went home.

When it was almost 10pm and after we had our fill of soda and some chips, we settled for the night with Alex's arm over my chest. We took off our shirts and shorts, but kept our undies on.

"I'd give anything to stay like this with you," he whispered.

"Me, too," I told him before thinking to myself, `Anything...but not to stop you from making all of this come true.'

"I have a confession to make, big bro."

I looked at him expectantly and waited for him to continue.

"I've kept a diary for so long now."

Then, that magic word sounded inside my head. `Poof'. The curtain was slowly revealing the trick before my eyes.

"A diary?" I asked.

"Yep. It's special to me."

"When...when did you start keeping it?"

"Third grade."

"Wow...that's ages ago."

"I know," he mumbled. "I wanted to throw it several times already, but I just can't"

"What? Why?"

"I can never say goodbye to it."

I'm sure the curtains were drawn to the sides by now, but nothing was revealed. For one thing, he didn't refer to it as his `calendar'. But I couldn't be sure if he called it that. Maybe it was only Tom who insisted on calling it a `calendar'.

"I want to say goodbye to it already," Alex continued. "It's pointless to keep a diary."

"If you like keeping it, then it isn't pointless. Besides, a diary is so much better at listening than people."

He giggled and nodded. He shifted closer to me and brushed his thumb on my lips. It was warm and nice.

"You know why I can't throw it away?" he asked.

"Why?"

He sighed, took his hand off my lips and settled it back on my chest. He took his eyes off mine and looked reluctant to continue.

"A diary is the only thing we're entitled to keep to ourselves," he said. "...it's a secret written on every page."

"Alex..."

"No one else should read it." He looked back at me. "You're not s'posed to read it."

"I know, but..."

"I can't throw it away coz someone else might find it and ruin everything."

I waited for him to slip and to tell me everything. However, he wasn't even dropping any hints if he was, indeed, referring to that long list down to December 28. And what was the deal with him sending it to Tom?

"Can you promise me one thing, big bro?"

"Anything."

"Don't listen to what anyone tells you about me."

"About you? What would they even say?"

"That I'm obsessed."

"With what?"

"With keeping you, but..."

I smiled warmly at him.

"But what?" I asked.

"My whole life's already laid out in front of me," he whispered, almost to himself. "I can't do anything, but I can still change it."

He was definitely talking about his `diary'. What else could he be talking about?

"Do you wanna change it?"

"I dunno," he answered. "If you want me to, I can."

"I don't even know what you're trying to change," I told him. "It's your diary. It's a secret you can keep."

He nodded gently and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed and he seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Alex?"

"I'm tired."

"Okay," I mumbled and rolled over to my side to hug him before whispering, "I only want you to change one thing."

"Hmm...," he sounded and his breathing was already slowing down

"Make it last this time. Don't let it end so quickly."

We didn't kiss goodnight. We just fell asleep and waited for the sun to wake us up.

~*~*~*~

Wednesday - April 28, 2014

I never got to read his diary. We didn't even talk about it the morning after our camp out. There was no doubt that he was referring to the list I was reading right now on my phone.

Good things. He had written about good things. Those things, he didn't need to change. Only the entry that said `Goodbye' needed to be changed.

As planned, my mom didn't suspect a thing when I got home after our camp out. I made sure to be home before she was up and quickly pretended to still be sleeping when she called out to me. She didn't ask questions. She just gave me a serious and doubtful look.

Our small business was drawing in lots of customers and Alex seemed to be doing his magic as a culinary expert. His dance lessons were in the morning and in the afternoon, we were salesmen.

Tom's number popped up in my inbox again, just below Pau's messages telling me that she'd come over next week and that she missed Alex already. She didn't say anything about missing me. I think she got over me already.

*********69: u'r fuckin slow bro
Me: what do u want?
*********69: an ending for u
Me: stop being a goddamn bastard and leave me alone
*********69: how's ur boyfriend?
Me: FUCK OFF
*********69: hehe
Me: what's so funny?
*********69: u
Me: me?
*********69: fuckin slow
Me: asshole
*********69: let's practice
Me: STFU
*********69: May 3rd

Before I could send a reply, I quickly scanned my photo of Alex's diary. He was busy serving his prized creations and talking to several kids while I handled their payments. He didn't seem to notice that I kept texting on my phone.

May 3rd. Nothing was written about May 3rd.

*********69: Look up, and what do you see?

I looked up. Sunny with clouds scattered here and there.

*********69: A dagger unsheathed, set free

A fucking what?

*********69: Do you run away or stay?

Run away from what?

********69: An angel will fall, your star will sway

It sent shivers up my spine. An angel. My star. He was clearly referring to Alex. A dagger pointed right at Alex? What did he mean by that?

As I looked toward Alex who was giving a little girl her glass of halo-halo, I didn't see any danger around him. He looked carefree, happy and was beaming like the sun. He was just being himself.

"How much do we have, big bro?" he called out.

"A lot," I answered. "...and your customers keep pouring in. You're amazing."

"Thanks! But I think some of the girls keep coming back `coz of you."

"They are?"

"You're a handsome devil," he told me before walking toward me. As he got closer, he whispered, "My handsome devil."

I smiled at him and swatted him to get back to his work. Another group of kids were headed for our stand and they looked like they've been sweating a lot and could use something to cool themselves down.

*********69: u hav till may 3 and don't be so naïve

I stared blankly at my phone and waited for the next message I'm sure he'd send.

*********69: u only got the other half of his list