Hearts Unmasked And Unbound

Chapter 23

genuinely, i love this chapter sm. ive been imagining this scene since i started writing HUAU 🥺🥺

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"Livreun, are you sure? Don't forced yourself to do something against your will just for the sake of our grade. Okay lang naman kung wala tayong participant, Mrs. Laina would understand-"

"No, it's fine. I can do it."

"Wait lang!" Thiara put her right hand on the air, "Kakanta ka, Artist? Sure ka ba? Sure na 'yan ha..."

"Yeah, you can fix yourself up now - you could pass for a zombie in Plants vs. Zombies at this point," I teased.

She punched my shoulder jokingly, looking really offended. "Hoy! Grabe na 'yan ah! Ang creative, 'pag ako umiyak, vice... sige ka..."

I was about to respond, but Kyan broke in, his voice cutting through the air. "Alright, so it's settled then? You'll be the one performing?"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you deaf or what? I already said I'm sure. I can improvise."

His lips parted slightly in what appeared to be shock and dismay. I could almost feel the tension in the air thicken as he stood there, his eyes betraying a mix of disbelief and disturbance. "Okay... I'm sorry."

"Wait lang.... seryoso na kayo d'yan? 'yan talaga?"

My jaw clenched when I heard a irritating voice. The room went silence and only his disbelief sigh were what we're able to hear.

The guy stood there, giving me that look, like he was annoyed and irritated by my whole existence. "Hoy! Lahat nalang gusto mo ikaw 'yung bida no?! May main character syndrome 'yan? Tol, hindi sa lahat ng bagay, ikaw ang magaling!"

I squeezed the bridge of my nose frustratingly. I can't even comprehend how someone could be this... stupid.

This was the very same guy who had the gall to criticize my score back then. Honestly, I couldn't be bothered to know his name, and I wasn't about to waste any energy trying to learn it.

I eyed him with a mix of disbelief and annoyance, barely containing the words on the tip of my tongue. But before I could even respond, Kyan stepped in, shoving his chest forcefully. "What the did you just say?"

The guy's mouth opened in surprised, But eventually grinned playfully, "Bakit may mali ba sa sinabi ko? Totoo naman ah? Pa bida yan!"

"Can you even think-"

"Hey, are you even able to grasp what's going on here?" I interrupted. "No one else was willing to participate, and so I did!" I smirked and slightly bent my neck backwards. "I'd never put myself in this situation if I couldn't pull it off, you know... just watch and see how it goes. Panindigan natin 'yang insecurities mo, okay?"

The guy let out a scoff, as if he was going to approach me, but before he could take another step, Vault stepped in between us. "Fighting won't solve anything," he firmly stated. Turning to the guy, he added, "Dongdong, you need to give Artist a fair chance. You can't just insult him based on your personal biases."

That's his name....? It rhymes with the name of the president of this country. That makes sense.

I saw how dongdong harsly took Vault's hand away from his shoulder. "Oh bakit guys?" He roamed his eyes around the room, "Gusto niyo bang ito maging participant natin?"

He let out a satisfied smile when no one dared to answer yes. "'yung kanta ng section natin 'yung pinaka hinihintay eh, tapos lalaroin niyo lang? Hoy, hindi ka mag vi-videoke!"

I had not heard Ice sing yet, but seeing the reaction of the audience, I could only draw the conclusion that he was exceptionally talented at it. Their disappointment about me performing was reasonable, and I understood their perspective, to a certain extent. But the guy was being overly dramatic about the whole situation. I mean, really, did we even have a choice? Probably not.