justin smiled before sliding his phone back into his pocket. the thought of stell driving him home clouded his thoughts but at the same time, he didn't want to bother the older anymore as he felt like he had already done so much for him.

9:00 p.m.

it was 30 minutes before closing time and the whole crew of 'make me mango' cafe started cleaning up by the counter and the kitchen. only a few customers would still enter only to buy takeouts so the other workers also cleaned the tables and placed the chairs on top of them. justin sighed as he sat down on a stool, tying his shoelaces.

warren, one of his co-workers said. justin smiled at him and bid him goodbye as well before he stood up and leaned towards the counter. justin felt satisfied with himself, knowing that he did well that day and he was indeed productive. a few more minutes later, jamie turned the 'open' sign to 'closed' sign and they started packing their stuff, getting ready to leave.

his co-workers started to leave one by one but justin double-checked everything before leaving and he always wants to be the last one to leave. when everyone was gone and he was done double-checking the stuff, he went towards the door and made sure to lock it properly before he left.

justin was about to walk towards the bus stop when he felt a hand touch his shoulder and he immediately faced behind him, slapping the person who touched him hard as hell on his cheek.

the younger eyed the person he just slapped and his eyes widened in shock as he realized who it was.

he immediately walked towards him and held the older's chin to check his cheek. it turned light pink because of justin's slap but it seems like it glowed even more pink when stell realized how close justin's face was to him.

seems like the younger noticed as well and he immediately moved away.

justin asked, hugging his backpack infront of him.

stell shrugged.

justin felt his heart leap once again because of the older's words.

he replied and giggled which the older found too adorable for his own good.

both of them fell silent after stell said that. the older, resenting himself for saying those words in such an impulsive way of thinking while the younger, shocked at what his professor just said, tries to hold his breath and bites his lip to prevent himself from smiling too hard.

in the end, they both chuckled. justin hugged his backpack even tighter and lowered his head as he laughed and stell covered his mouth with his fist, feeling more comfortable now then earlier.

stell carefully asked, pointing his car behind him using his thumb.

justin nodded.

justin went to the passenger side and stell followed him, opening the door which he felt shy about but still thanked the older after. when stell got to the driver's seat, he asked justin something before starting the engine.

justin didn't know why but at that moment, he immediately felt like stell was someone he could trust, wholeheartedly. so, he did. he nodded and genuinely smiled which made the older grin even widely before they drove off.

as we go i see the lights

watch them glimmer in her eyes

in the darkness of the evening

and i've got all that i need...

right here in the passengers' seat

no, i can't keep my eyes off the road

knowing that she's inches from me

the music from the radio, the cool wind brushing against their skin and blowing their hair lightly, and the faint sound of the noise from the city was all they could hear as they drove along the busy highways of katipunan. justin would steal glances at his professor, who was driving, every now and then. it was dark but everytime they would pass by the city lights, he would see how beautiful stell's eyes would glimmer beneath those. he observed how long his lashes are, how perfectly sculpted his nose and his jawline was, and how his plump lips would shine against the light everytime the older would lick it. god, how is he perfect? justin thought.

justin noticed how stell handled the steering wheel so smoothly with his big veiny hands and the younger only dreamed of holding them and feeling them under his touch.

soon enough, stell felt someone staring at him and he looked at the younger, who looked away from him in an instant. stell smiled. his heart suddenly felt full, not knowing why, but he's happy about it.

without thinking, he reached out his right hand over to justin's left hand which is placed comfortably on his lap. stell carefully strides his fingers at the back of justin's palm and the younger immediately felt it. he looked at stell who only kept his eyes on the road. finally, stell successfully took hold of justin's hand and he gently intertwined their fingers before looking justin who seemingly stopped breathing at that moment.

stell said and justin nodded, biting the inside of his cheeks after looking away to prevent himself from smiling too hard.

on the other hand, stell smiled widely, not even trying to hide it towards the younger as he felt a genuine type of joy in his heart. he felt happy. it was a different type of happy. it was joyful. like he never wanted it to end. ever.