We Shared a Kiss

THIRTEEN

"Menggay... are you okay? Nagulat ka ano? Ngayon alam mo na ang feeling ng magkaroon ng fans. Hahaha."

"Grabe, nakakatuwa, nakakatakot, at nakakaoverwhelm. Ganun ba palagi sa'yo? How do you do it? Parang ang hirap."

"Nasanay na ako. Nung umpisa siyempre nakakatakot, I didn't know how to receive my fans pero tinulungan naman ako ng mga co-artists ko. Eto, tikman mo 'to, favorite ko 'tong luto ni Mama Ten na bopis."

"Hala grabe RJ, subuan stage na kayo? Ang cute niyong dalawa. Friends lang pala ha."

"Mama Ten panira ka ng moment. Don't mind him, Menggay."

"Uhmm, pwede ko po bang matanong kung bakit RJ ang tawag niyo kay Richard?"

"Jr. kasi siya, Richard Faulkerson Jr. Kaya RJ. Oh siya iwan ko muna kayong dalawa, puntahan ko lang sina Tristan sa kusina."

"Sige po. Since nasa nicknames na tayo, tatawagin narin kitang RJ, pwede?"

"Sure. Nageevolve yung tawagan natin ah, baka mamaya tawagin na kitang baby."

"Bago mo ako tawaging baby, I still don't know the reason kung bakit ka galit noon sa roof-top. Bakit nga ba?"

"I'll be honest with you kasi sa tingin ko mapagkakatiwalaan naman kita. And I feel like I can tell you anything. You know Hannah San Jose?"

"Yung singer? Yeah, I've seen her sa mga commercials. What about her?"

"We had an incident years ago that changed me. I was ready to leave showbiz before and continue my studies abroad dahil dun sa nangyari. I was new in showbiz kaya di ko pa alam ang pasikot-sikot ng industriya when I met her."

"So ano yung incident na 'yon, if you don't mind me asking."

"We became friends. It was my first year in the industry and I was awarded the Break-through Artist of the Year and Best Actor for Drama Series dahil sa role ko as Dr. Jose Rizal sa Illustrado."

"Oh, I've seen that series. Ikaw pala yun, you look so different now. Go on."

"We were good friends. At least for me. I thought we had a genuine friendship which is rare sa showbiz kaya ganun na lang ang gulat ko nung nalaman kong ginagamit niya lang pala ako to gain more fame."

"How so?"

"She dragged me into this thing called Showbiz Monopoly, where artists use each other to help boost their career. I didn't want to be a part of it. I hated it. Ayoko sumali dun so nilayuan ko siya. I kept my distance. Then ginamit niya yung paglayo ko sa kanya as a way to get sympathy. Nagpapa-awa siya sa social media at mga press noon."

"Omg, she looks so kind naman pag nakikita ko siya sa TV. You really can't trust someone judging by their looks no?"

"Exactly. But do you trust me?"

"Of course I do. I don't know why pero alam mo yung feeling na kahit kakakilala mo palang sa isang tao eh feeling mo parang matagal na kayong magkakilala? That's how I feel about you, us."

"Us... thank you, Menggay."

"So ano nangyari after nung ginamit ka niya?"

"I kept quiet. Tapos inulan ako ng bash noon. I was so close to quitting. Especially when... when they started talking... talking shit about my mom. Shit, I'm sorry. I don't want you to see me like this."

"It's okay RJ, iiyak mo lang. I'm here for you."

"It was so horrible... Kakamatay lang niya a year bago ako nag-artista... shit, okay lang sana kung ako na lang... ako na lang sana at hindi nila dinamay ang mom ko. Someone posted my number in Facebook tapos they flooded me with hate texts. Kung alam mo lang sana kung ano pinagsasasabi ng mga hayop na fans ni Hannah. And you know what? Alam niya pala yung ginagawa ng fans niya pero wala siyang ginawa to stop them."

"I'm so sorry, RJ."

"Oh god, I'm a mess. It's okay. Masakit parin kasi yung nangyari... and I miss my mom so much..."

"I'm sure she's happy for you, ang layo ba naman ng narating mo. Smile ka na—ummphh."

"I'm so sorry about that. I can't help but kiss you."

"No, you don't have to apologize this time. If you want, you can kiss me again..."