"Thank you for that very inspirational message Vice Mayor Ampoy. Now, may we request our
band to play a sweet song for our distinguished guests?" The emcee said.
The band played a sweet song. A few pairs had already went to the dance floor. Albert stood up
and offered his hand to Diana.
"May I have this dance with you? he asked.
Diana planned on rejecting the offer but she wanted to avoid Arjay's gaze. She took Albert's hand
and they walked towards the dance floor. While they were dancing...
"I thought you were close. Why aren't you talking to him?" Albert whispered to her.
She looked up at him, and leered.
"I'm shy. Is that enough reason?" she asked sarcastically.
"I'm just asking. Why are you mad at me?" he asked again.
"Because we can sit anywhere but you chose to stay with them. Do you even know how awkward
that is?" she asked.
"What's awkward with that? You're friends with him. l'm friends with Hanney."
She sneered at him and shook her head.
"You wouldn't understand." She said and looked at her side.
Arjay asked Hanney to dance with him. Hanney didn't refuse but Arjay could feel that she was pissed. While they were dancing, Hanney suddenly leaned on him.
"You attended this event with me but your eyes were on somebody else. Don't you think that's unfair on my part?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked, clueless.
"You're looking at her, and you can't lie to me. My eyesight is still as clear as day."
He felt guilty. He sighed but he kept his silence. He doesn't want to add fuel to the fire.
"Why don't we exchange partners? What do you think?" Hanney suggested.
He met her gaze.
"Do you want to? I mean, is it okay with you?" he asked.
"A matter of minutes won't make me feel bad, but staring at her while you are with me? It actually makes me feel jealous and insecure."
He can hear pain on Hanney's voice. He felt like he was slapped. He sighed.
"I'm sorry for making you feel bad. I didn't mean to." he apologized.
"Let's exchange partners. l actually wanted to talk to Albert privately." Hanney said coldly.
They waltz towards Albert and Diana. Hanney cleared her throat to get their attention. They both
looked towards them.
"Hi again. Can we exchange partners? Just for a few minutes. I just wanted to talk to you Albert."
Hanney said.
"Why do we still need to exchange partners? You can just tell me here whatever it is that you wanted to say." Albert replied.
"It's important. So I need to speak to you, privately." She insisted.
Albert looked at Diana.
"Is it okay, Diana?" he asked.
Diana nodded. Albert handed her over to Arjay and he offered his hand to Hanney. Hanney grabbed Albert's hand and they went away from them.They were both left alone. Arjay offered his hand
to Diana. She hesitated but she doesn't want to be rude so she accepted his hand.
Arjay placed Diana's hands over his shoulder, and he placed his hands on her hips. He tried to meet her gaze but she looked away.
"Why were you ignoring me back there?" he asked to start a conversation between them.
Diana looked at him. He smiled. She looked down.
"1 uhhh... I was.. how do I say it..? Uhm... Hanney looks great and I felt a bit insecure and intimidated by her so... I'm sorry if I snob you a while ago." She said and looked up.
She was startled to meet his gaze. Was he staring at her this whole time?
"What do you feel so insecure about? I actually liked how you looked tonight. You look gorgeous."
He said without taking off his gaze away from her.
She blushed and she felt it! She immediately looked away and laughed to release her embarrassment.
"Wow! Gorgeous is such a big word. I didn't even put efforts on my make-up. You're bluffing. I will
not do this on myself ever again."
"Why not? You're beauty stands out more!"
"I didn't know you're a very good joker." She laughed a bit.
"Do I look like l'm joking right now? Look at me. Does this face Iooked joking to you?" he seriously asked.
Diana met his gaze. She thought he was already handsome when he's smiling but he looked even
better with his serious face. She subconsciously bit her lip. She was startled when Arjay wrapped his arms around her waist. It made them get closer together.
"Arjay..." she said, more of a whisper.
"Can we stay like this for a moment... please?" he whispered back.
Diana felt as if her tongue moved back towards her tonsils and betrayed her.
'pWhat's happening to you, Diana? Control yourself! Yes, 1 know you wanted this but this is wrong. Do something! Pull yourself together! she castigated herself. When she found the will to let go, Arjay's
arms tightened a bit around her waist.
Albert and Hanney went across the dance floor, away from Diana and Arjay. They have been dancing for a few seconds now and Hanney kept her silence. Albert cleared his throat.
"I thought you're going to tell me something? Why aren't you talking?" he asked.
Hanney leered at him.
"What did I do now?" he asked, clueless.
"Nothing!" she snapped
"But you're snapping at me. That doesn't look like nothing." He remarked.
"Okay fine! I'm pissed, alright? Who's that girl you were with, by the way?!? She ruined my night." Hanney said angrily.
"How could she ruin your night? She didn't do anything to you. She even barely speak." Albert
frowned.
"That's what I am furious about! She's literally doing nothing! Just sitting there being a goober, yet all the attention was with her! You could have invited someone else other than her, for Pete's sake!"
she said furiously.
Some of the people dancing around them, looked at them frowning. Albert sighed and kept his calm.
"1 think you're a bit too much there, Hanney. I'm respecting you because we are old friends. I'm not even saying anything bad towards your escort tonight but you're calling my date a goober. I think thať's offensive not only on my part but also on Diana's part. By the way, I still don't get why you're mad at her." he said.
"1 am mad because YOUR date is snatching all the attention of MY date. Do you get it? Don't be
such a slow!" she snapped again.
Albert sighed. Yes, he noticed that, too, but he ignored it. He raised his gaze and looked at Diana and Arjay's direction. It's a good thing Hanney has her back on their direction because what he is seeing right now will just add a fuel to Hanney's rage. He can clearly see Arjay's arms were wrapped around Diana's waist while her hands were on his shoulders. He felt jealousy flowed through his veins. His hands tightened on Hanney's waist.
"Ouch! You're hurting me." she whispered.
Albert loosened his grip.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." He said
"I'm sorry for snapping at you. I was just jealous." She said.
"If you're jealous, you should have told your escort that. Don't blame others, specifically, don't blame Diana for the things she doesn't have a control of. She didn't do anything wrong. She didn't do
anything bad towards you. If her presence here tonight intimidates you, then the problem is on you,
Hanney."
Hanney kept her silence. Albert was right. She's venting out her anger on the wrong person.
"A bit of advice, don't vent out your anger towards others. I am still your friend. I don't blame you
if you feel that way because I can't control your feelings. I respect how you feel so please respect my
feelings, too. How would you feel if I say something bad about your escort? he asked.
"Yeah, I get it. I am very sorry." she sincerely said.
"Apology accepted." He said.
The song ended. Albert looked at Diana and Arjay's direction. He saw her pulled away from him as soon as the song stopped but they walked towards the table together. Hanney pulled away from him,
too. They walked back towards the table.
"That was a great song from our band and a great dance number from our distinguished guests!
Let's give ourselves a round of applause."
They all clapped. The waiters then served the food and the drinks in each table. They all ate silently.
The atmosphere on their table was a bit awkward. No one dared to speak to cut the silence. All the tables around them were noisy with glee but not in their table. They have their own insecurities to deal with and no one wants to talk it out. The dinner seemed longer to them than any other guest felt.
After the dinner, the waiters then served the desserts. Still, no one dared to cut the silence. It was the most awkward dinner the four of them had.