Don't Let Go S1

S1 EP5 - SEVENTEEN FOREVER

I bow and bask in the applause the audience is giving us. I look at my partner and we smile. I hear cheers from the crowd and chants from my department. This is my first University Week and I'm glad I'm onstage.

I finally reach the school gate after walking all the way from the auditorium. I go out and walk towards a hidden coffee shop just right beside campus grounds.

I order an iced latte and take a seat on the patio. I take a pack of Marlboro Blues out of my bag and fish out a stick.

I light, sip and blow. Fuck that's good. I took a break from smoking a week ago to make sure my voice won't crack when I sing. The waitress brings me my drink and hands me the bill. I pay and she takes it with her. I put my things back in my bag just as my phone vibrates. I see a text from David.

"Where are you?

"At Stew. Smoke break" I reply.

"Coming"

It's been a month since Paint Party and I've seen David almost everyday since then. We've been hanging out at Joseph's or Jomo's. Eating together everyday and laughing at every silly detail we remember.

He would always join me and Jomo on sleepovers. We'd sleep at Jomo's or cramp ourselves in my room. We'd watch movies or play board games. We would talk for hours about stupid things, like what we would do if ever there was a zombie apocalypse or who in our family would we choose if we could only save one. Stupid, I know.  But we'd stay up till dawn discussing those stupid things.

I'm happy yet amazed at how I've grown fond of David in just a short amount of time. I feel like he's a long lost part of our group. The more I got to know him, the more I understood why I've always felt comfortable around him. He's soft spoken but firm. He's touchy but knows his boundaries. Often giving us hugs and putting his arms around our shoulders. He's also game enough to be the receiving end of a joke but intense enough to dish it out. But most importantly, he seems to be very caring towards us and his family.

I check my feed for a while and fish out another stick from the pack. I light and see David coming through the door. His face lights up when he sees me.

"CONGRATULATIONS!!" He greets me and gives me a hug.

"Thank you" I say and he sits down infront of me.

I offer him the pack and he fishes one.

"I didn't know you sing that well" He comments.

"I didn't know it myself" I joke.

He laughs and motions for the waiter. He orders an iced mocha and stretches in his seat. He yawns and checks his phone.

"I had a bad dream last night you know? David says.

"What about?" I ask. I'm a big dream reader. I like to interpret dreams and discuss meanings and possibilities. I've talked about it a lot during our sleepovers.

"Oh I can't remember" He replies.

I stop scrolling. I grab the lighter and throw it at him. The lighter misses by a mile and he laughs. He points to the lighter then to himself. He kept laughing until he had tears in his eyes.

"Dinner at Joseph's house. We're celebrating your win" David says as he recovers.

"The results don't come till later" I say.

"What results? To us, you've already won" David smiles.

We stay at the patio in silence until Jomo, Joseph, Claud and Gab finally troop in. They all congratulate me and give me a hug. I tell them we won't know until later. We excitedly talk about the competition and laugh hard when Jomo mimics me singing earlier.