Before The Stars (Fan Series #1)

Chapter 20

"Seriously? Is she really your childhood bestfriend?" Hassi asked. Hindi pa rin makapaniwala ang mga members noong sinabi ko na sa kanila tungkol kay Cassi.

"That's it? You just saw her childhood picture, the hanky, and you concluded it was her?" Si Kuya Cian.

"Yes." I answered with a straight face. Their lips cracked in surpise, obviously don't know what to say. Katatapos lang namin mag-live sa social media pagkatapos ng show kanina sa Seoul.

We aced all the categories where we were nominated. After everything we've gone through, the feeling of surreality will always be innocent. I mean, how do we do it? How long can we do this? Well, this is it. Ito na talaga iyon. We just got to be thankful and work harder to improve.

Akala ko ay matutulog na kami, iyon pala ay mangungulit pa sila tungkol sa buhay ko. They were asking for specific details. Alam na naman nila 'yon. I don't need to elaborate more. Paulit-ulit lang 'yong mga tanong nila kaya paulit-ulit lang din 'yong mga sagot ko. They told me that they are happy for me and that I needed to be careful also.

"Tell me more about your trip together!" Pangungulit ni Jiyo.

"Oooh, I've seen their pictures! It's obvious that they're both head over heels with each other. He took a lot of pictures of Cathy, bro!" Masama ang tingin kong lumingon kay Hassi. "Oh! Doesn't everyone know it? Is it supposed to be a secret?" He waited for my absent response before bursting into laughter.

Who on earth is Cathy?

"Did you already tell her the three-words? Yieee," Pang-aasar ni Jake, siniko-siko pa ako. I bit my lower lip, embarrassed and shook my head. "Then what are you waiting for?!" Galing pa talaga sa kaniya ha. Akala mo naman ay may dinidiskartehan din. I'm not sure, baka mayroon nga.

"That's good. Take it easy," Sagot naman ni Kuya Reeze.

"He gave her a bracelet. Couple bracelet actually, then a couple scarf, what else?" Pantsitsismis na naman ni Jiyo.

"Jeez! So cheesy, man." Cian made a disgusted face and turned his back against us.

"Trey, let me tell you some tips you should know." Kiro spoke beside me, his index finger gestured me to lean closer to him. When I didn't budge, his palm reached my shoulders. "Listen carefully, kid." Kung anu-anong pick-up line ang sinabi niya sa akin kaya mas lalo akong nainis.

"We're a little different, Kuya. It won't work on me." Hinawakan ko ang balikat niya at marahan siyang tinulak palayo. Kinulit niya lang ako ulit.

Simple and enough. She wants something like that. Not that she settles for the bare minimum, it's just that if things will go well between us, it would be far from being simple. And even if I have everything any woman could wish for, it wouldn't equate Cassi's perspective of being enough.

"Why? What's wrong?" Jiyo asked and they all turned to me, noticing the downfall on my face.

"Uhm," I glanced at them and looked away right then. "It's just that...She wants to have a simple and enough kind of relationship... I don't think... I don't think I can do that." My voice slowly fading.

I saw how they looked at each other, talking eye to eye. Reeze made a sound clearing his throat so I looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Well, you just need to trust her Trey. She didn't push you away so there's no reason for you to ignore your feelings. Show her what you truly feel." I licked my lower lip as my brain and my heart was processing every single word.

"Really? Based on experience?" Kiro breaking the oblivious silence.

Tumawa naman ng malakas si Jiyo, muntik pang matumba sa kanyang upuan. Inasar pa siya ni Kiro bago sila magsituruan doon. When the night deepened, we started to talk heart-to-heart thoughts. They started to share their personal comments and advices. I appreciate their concern in return.