Because It's You

14 - Yannie Bear

'Where are you staring at?' Scarlett asked as she noticed Rachelle staring somewhere with her hands on her cheeks.

'HEY!' Scarlett snapped her fingers,

'Oh. Sorry. So... what were you saying again?' Rachelle asked,

'Are you on drugs?' Scarlett put her hands on her waists, 'I can't talk to you 'cos your mind is out somewhere. You're smiling all by yourself and you're even blushing.... AHA! Right! You haven't told me about it yet!'

'What?'

'What my ass. So how was the surprise?' Scarlett giggled,

'It's... well, it's kinda sweet... I was stunned. I didn't know what to tell him... I was very clueless about it...'

'Ayieeeeeeee!'

'Stop it. You knew about everything and you didn't even gave me a clue. You didn't tell me he goes here almost every night. I'm pissed' Rachelle said,

'Don't be silly, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, duh. What happened?'

Rachelle told Scarlett everything.

'...then we ordered pizza, chat a little and we star-gazed and then after that he leaved...'

'What? He leaved?! Why?'

'Because he's heading to Paris to meet some theater professionals. Part of the West End workshop. He'll be back by tomorrow anyway.'

'Awww... yeah, I forgot. Nicolas is with him by now, for sure. 'Cos if he's here, he's probably knocking on the front door now, bringing you breakfast'

*knock knock*

'Who's that?' Scarlett stood up to open the door,

A modest-looking delivery man appeared, 'Good Morning, ladies! Breakfast delivery!'

'But we didn't order anything' said Scarlett

'No worries, Ma'am. Bill has already been taken care of... Hmmm, let me see here...' the delivery man checked the receipt,

'That's courtesy of Mr. Christian Bautista' he said mispronouncing the surname

'Owww, I see...' Scarlett smirked at Rachelle, 'Just put it on the table right in front of that veryyy beautiful lady with a veryyy long hair, so long it will make Rapunzel embarrased...'

'She's a very beautiful lady indeed' said the delivery man and he lay the breakfast meals on the table,

'You're beautiful as well, Ma'am' he said to Scarlett, 'Enjoy the breakfast ladies!' and he leaved.

Rachelle noticed a note inside, it said:

Shin,
Good Morning! Eat your breakfast para hindi ka na maging payat. Binabatayan ka ng Teddy Bear dyan, pag hindi ka kumain lagot ka dyan habang wala ako.
Eat well!
Ian

Rachelle smiled and looked at the teddy bear Christian gave her which is lying on the sofa. She took her cellphone and messaged Christian.

‘Seriously, what’s with Christian and breakfast?’ Scarlett said as she checked what the breakfast was.

At Paris, France

Christian is laying on his bed on their hotel room with his hands at the back of his head, staring at the ceiling and smiling.

'What are you staring at?' Nicolas asked, he looked at the ceiling as well, 'Oh well, I'm just gonna stroll outside, see you later, bro.'

'Yeah, see you...' said Christian and Nicolas leaved,

His cellphone buzzed. His smile went up to his ear when he saw who sent him a message:

From: Rachelle Ann V. Go
Ian! Thank you sa breakfast! I'm gonna eat now with Scarlett. She seems more excited than me. Hahaha. Masasarap kasi lahat ng foods. Thank you! :)

There was an attached wacky picture of Rachelle and Scarlett holding spoon and fork with the foods.
Christian laughed at their picture. He replied:

Xtian Bautista: Good. Pinili ko talaga yung mga masasarap for you. Glad you guys liked it. Enjoy! ;)

Then he quickly received a response:
Rachelle Ann V. Go: Muka kasing magagalit si Yannie bear pag hindi ako kumain...
There was an attached picture of the Teddy Bear

Christian laughed. That's cute, he thought.

Xtian Bautista: Nice name! Haha. Sige, kain ka lang dyan. Papagalitan ka nyan pag di mo naubos meal mo.

Rachelle Ann V. Go: Oo na po! Ikaw? Kumain ka na ba?

Xtian Bautista: Hindi pa nga eh... :(

Rachelle Ann V. Go: Ay! Bakit naman? Kain ka na! Hayaan mo next time ipagluluto kita ;)

Xtian Bautista: Talaga? I'll be expecting that! Haha! Sige na tapusin mo na meal mo. :D

Rachelle Ann V. Go: Sige. Thanks ulit!

Rachelle sighed upon texting her last message.

'What did he say?' Scarlett asked,

'Nothing much. He said he's glad we liked the food'

'Ayieeeeeeeee!' Scarlett teased with a silly smile, 'Tell me, what's the score? Ayieeeeee!'

'Stop looking at me like that it's not like what you're thinking of... We're friends.'

Scarlett's jaw drop 'Friends?! He's been always with you, bringing you breakfast, flowers, he even surprised you and still... FRIENDS?! SERIOUSLY?!'

'Yes, friends. Can't a friend do things like this?'

'How could you... I know you feel something more than friendship!’

'Let's just eat, okay?' Rachelle started eating her meal,

Scarlett chewed a toast while glaring at Rachelle, 'Friends my ass' she snorted.

'Oh by the way, we have another long break coming on the next next week. Are you coming back to the US?' Rachelle asked her.

'Nah. I've changed my mind. How about you?'

'I'm gonna visit Philippines....'

'What? You're leaving me alone? Noooo! Stay please! Let's go visit some place!'

'But....'

'PUH-LEASEEEEEEEEE?' Scarlett said, blinking her puppy eyes. Rachelle sighed, 'Fine!'

'YES! I love you sis!' Scarlett hugged Rachelle

'So where are we gonna go?'

'Hmmmm.... I dunno yet. Where you wanna go?'

'You decide since it's your idea'

'But you promise to go with me huh?'

'Of course'

'Yes!' Scarlett hugged Rachelle again, 'I'll let you know when I’m finished with the itinerary'

---

After Christian’s visit to Paris, everything turned back to the normal routine that Rachelle was used to – Christian visiting on her dressing room, walking her home, taking her to dinner, visiting places all around London at weekends, sending her breakfast and sometimes, eating breakfast with him, star-gazing at night on her garden. All the romance you can imagine but there is just one thing that hasn’t done yet: confession of love.

'Ang laki ng ngiti natin dyan ah?' Mark jested, giving Christian his coffee cup. They are on a coffee shop just a few walks away near the Wet End hub. 'Ano ba yang iniisip mo?' Mark sat beside him. 'Ay mali, I mean, sino yang iniisip mo?' Christian’s smile became wider.
'Naku, pangiti ngiti ka na lang dyan bro ha. Di ka man lang magkwento. Ano na ba? Kamusta na ba kayo?'

'We're…’ he paused, thinking of words that could fit their situation, ‘…we’re good… we're okay…'

'Ang showbiz ng sagot' Mark shook his head.

‘Basta ang alam ko lang masaya ako pag andyan siya’ he grinned at Mark

‘Pag-ibig na kaya itoooo~ oooh oooh oooh~ Pagka’t nararamdaman, pag-ibig ating nang natagpuan’ Mark started singing holding Christian’s hand, impersonating Rachelle.

‘Hoy, magtigil ka nga. May makakita sayo sabihin…’ He raised his hand acting like he will punch Mark right at the moment.

‘Umamin ka nga… Talaga bang may auditions ka dito sa London?’ Mark asked him suspiciously,

Christian put his hand down, ‘Oo naman! Andun pa nga si Shin e!’

‘Talaga?’ Mark gave him a scrutinizing look.

'Oo nga!’

‘Pero, alibi mo lang yung auditions, siya talaga yung pinunta mo dito?’

‘Oo… Ay… Hindi… I mean’ Christian sighed, accepting the fact that his friend has a very interesting level of intelligence. ‘Yes… Kind of…’

‘Patay tayo dyan!’

‘…pero, I really wanted to audition!’

‘Kaya nabalitaan ko tinanggihan mo daw lahat ng offer sayong projects’

‘Saan mo nalaman yan ha?’

‘Connections. Connections that you don’t have’ Mark mimicked Sarah Geronimo’s movie line, ‘Kaya umamin ka na’

'Well… Yeah, I turned down some projects and finished some contract para lang makapunta dito and stay here for the mean time'

‘Congratulations, binaliw ka na ng pag-ibig!’

‘I don’t know bro, that moment she left for Miss Saigon, it felt wrong. Parang I am doing another mistake.’

‘Wow. Deep.’ Mark nodded.

'You know what, I felt so awkward when we crossed paths again, I was always being asked to sing again with her. We are brought back together.' Christian looked from afar. ‘Sabi ko, okay, lagi naman naming tong ginagawa noon. Sanay na kami sa ganito’

‘What’s interesting is I became fond of her again. It was fun knowing her again. Nag bago na nga siya.' Christian smirked, 'Iba na yung Rachelle Ann Go ngayon....'

'But she changed into her better self naman, what's good is andun pa rin si Shin na nakilala ko' he sighed and looked below his coffee cup.

'You know what happened next?' He asked after a long pause

'Hmm?' Mark looked at him

'I fell for her. Again.’ He continued, ‘Just right after she introduced me the new Rachelle Ann Go, this strong independent woman who keeps on excelling on everything that she does but still keeps a good heart, oh man, I just keep on falling in love with her. Even more every day'

Mark snickered with a huge smile on his face. 'Iba ka talaga, bro' he said tapping Christian's back.

‘Funny thing was… I never told her anything that I felt. I don’t want to spoil the feeling. Ayoko din naman isipin niya na just because I am singing with her or working with her again kaya ako ganito. And…’

‘And ano?’

‘And… I am a little scared’

‘Scared scared ka dyan. Saan ka naman matatakot?’

‘Scared because we already broke each other’s heart. Ayokong maulit yun’

'Problema ba yun bro? Edi wag mo na ulitin.’

‘Yeah, you’re right’

‘What you need to do now is to let her know about what you feel. Forever mo na lang ba itatago yan?'

'We'll get there. Soon... We'll get there...'

Mark sighed, 'Simulan mo na' he took a sip of his coffee '...and to know, if the feeling is mutual. You must know the answer to that question first. 'Kaya wag kang babagal bagal dyan, bro. Kung ayaw mo kumilos sige, ako na lang ang poporma kay Shin'

'Hah?!'

'Hehe. Joke lang. Matagal na akong suko sa kanya, past is past, alam ko namang wala akong panama sayo pagdating sa kanya e. Kaya galing galingan mo naman, bro. Ikaw ang manok ko e'

'Basta, bro, suportahan mo na lang ako kung ano man mangyari.'

'Haaaay... Oo na. Dito lang ako para suportahan ang ShinIan. Hahaha. Basta kapag kailangan mo lang ako, just call my name and I'll be there... Hahaha'

'I love you bro'

'I love you, too, bro. Namiss kita. Pakiss nga' said Mark.