Running Out of Songs (LenRisa One-Shot Stories)

Ikot

To relate well with the following scenes, listen to Ikot by Over October while reading.

Paikot-ikot lang mula no'ng mailang
Gawa ng 'yong tingin at ngiti
'Di sinasadyang mahulog, mahibang
Aasa na tayo sa huli

We were all in Pasig for our campaign sortie. The air was thick with excitement, and I was trying to fix a few stray strands of hair that had escaped from my ponytail. As I fidgeted, my eyes wandered and eventually settled on Leni. Suddenly, everything else around me faded into a blur, and she was the only thing in focus. She had this way of holding the crowd's attention that was completely captivating.

"Huy, Risa!" I snapped out of my daze when I heard Sonny Trillanes call my name. He was sitting right next to me and gave my shoulder a light pat to get my attention.

"Bakit? Aren't you listening to Leni?" I asked, trying to cover up the fact that I had been completely zoned out.

"Okay lang naman makinig, pero para ka kasing nabingi at nabulag sa paligid mo except kay Leni," he said, half-teasing. "Your assistant backstage has been signaling to you for a while now—apparently, you have a text message to read."

"Oh, thank you!" I said quickly, realizing I had completely missed the signals. I grabbed my phone from my pocket, but instead of reading the message, I found myself holding the phone up to capture a few pictures of Leni as she continued speaking to the kakampinks gathered.

Sonny noticed and shaking his head slightly. "Pambihira, akala ko babasahin mo na yong message. Nag-picture pa talaga?"

"Bakit ba ang init ng dugo mo? Bawal ba mag-picture?" I shot back, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Dami mo ng kuha kay Leni, di mo naman pino-post," he pointed out

"E, bakit ba? For my eyes only," I replied with a small grin, even though I could feel my face getting warm.

"Halata ka talaga," Sonny said, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

"Halata ang ano?" I asked, genuinely curious about what he meant.

"Halatang may pagtingin," he said, his voice carrying that teasing edge.

"Gago! Magkaibigan kami," I retorted, giving Sonny a light punch on the arm, but I could feel my heart beating a little faster. I couldn't help but overthink. Was I really that obvious, or was he just teasing me, trying to make me admit what I'd been denying even to myself—that maybe, just maybe, I was falling for my close friend?

"Joke lang! Masyadong defensive, siguro totoo?" he added, his voice laced with mischief. I didn't bother to respond.

A few moments later, we were all back at the backstage area. Despite the long and tiring day, Leni's smile hadn't wavered. Her eyes still sparkled with that familiar warmth as she moved around, greeting each of her friends. I found myself watching her again, completely enchanted by how she could still look so joyful after everything.

"Aguy, ayan na naman. Admiring from afar," Sonny's voice cut through my mind again

"Susuntukin na talaga kita," I muttered, half-serious.

"Ginawa mo na nga kanina, di ka pa ba kontento?" he quipped, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Manahimik ka na," I shot back, though my eyes never left Leni. She was making her way toward us, and just as she passed by, she glanced in my direction and smiled. My breath caught in my throat, and before I could stop myself, I quickly looked away, feeling a sudden wave of shyness. We used to look and smile at each other, but these past few sorties, it suddenly became different- nahihiya na ako sa tingin at ngiti niya.