Cats and Hickeys

vii. rebel

CHAPTER SEVEN
Rebel

EVIE left Stella with me who confidently offered her hand.

"Hi, I'm Stella. I don't think we've formally met before."

Paano ba naman kasi ay halos i-sarili na siya ni Evie. It's all good-natured banter whenever Evie says she's scared I might steal the girls she dates. Parang timang. I won't stoop that low to flirt with the girl my friend likes just because I also like women.

"I'm Mikaila. It's nice to finally meet you," sabi ko pagkatapos tanggapin ang kamay niya.

Kudos to Evie for bagging Stella who looked like a Miss Universe contestant. Sandali kaming nagkuwentuhan tungkol kay Evie at ngayon ko lang nalaman na gagawin na nilang opisyal ang namamagitan sa kanilang dalawa. Bakas sa mukha ko ang gulat.

All while I thought they wouldn't last when they leave the island because summer loves are rapidly hot at first. Kung gaano kabilis magsimula sa una ay gano'n din kabilis lumaho.

Like a distant bittersweet memory.

Napalunok ako sa inisip at bumaling sa stage. Nagsimula nang magsalita si Gabriel nang matapos ang kanilang set-up.

"Good evening, Brisas!" His charismatic presence on stage alone was enough to ignite a screaming crowd. "We're Soulbound, homegrown in Cebu. It's our second night here and we've been loving it so far," he smiled when the people cheered. "To kick things off, our first song of the night is Use Somebody by Kings of Leon."

The camera panned towards Lukas again as he started to play the drums to start the song.

Smog from the stage started to spread and they bleed the color red to set the mood when the stage lights dimmed for a moment. The crowd cheered once again when Gabriel start to sing the first verse of Use Somebody into the mic. Ang lamig ng kaniyang boses ay umalingawngaw sa buong baybay.

I sat there entranced by how passionately he sang while the two guys, Mateo and Aiden, echoed beside him as they played their guitars. But what struck me the most was how Lukas was playing.

He looked so focused, having the time of his life when hitting the drums. It was like he was lost in the beat–his golden skin and the swaying of his hair made him look like a handsome devil under the red spotlight.

Nasa pangatlong kanta na at halos pawisan na silang apat. The screen showed Lukas again, fixing his earpiece, and breathing heavily.

"You know him?" Tanong ni Stella sa 'kin nang kunan ko ng litrato si Lukas. Just to feed his ego later.

"Mhmm,"

Sumimsim siya sandali sa kaniyang inumin. "The drummer right? Heard he's from a prominent family in Cebu."

Natigilan ako sa narinig and recognition lit my face. No wonder his last name was familiar.

"Twitter's going crazy about him. Curious why he would settle on music and band when his clan's about politics," kwento ni Stella at nakinig lang ako habang umiinom.

I didn't know much about the Yniguez. They're a famous surname in Visayas but the family is private, probably because of their connections in the legal-political world. I never dabbled on things like that because it gets messy. Kaya hindi ko masisi ang mga tao dahil kagulat-gulat na tumaliwas si Lukas sa kinagawian ng pamilya niya.

Hindi ba't gano'n sa mga teledramas? The descendant usually goes the same path as the ascendant. Ang pinagkaiba ay totoong buhay 'to at kung iisipin, hindi malabo na sariling desisyon ang sinunod ni Lukas.