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The Trusted Ones

When they weren't busy taping, Saturday nights were always reserved for the Enca boys to play some basketball or hang out at Rocco and Carlo's restaurant in Pasig, the "Yuan Asian Bistro".

Ruru wasn't supposed to be present tonight, since being by Kylie's side was much more important than their "boys night out", but he couldn't just allow his co-stars to call him a "lolo" and a "kill joy", when he knew that he wasn't.

Tonight, the plan was pretty simple; play some basketball and have drinks at Rocco's place.

While the other Enca boys were busy battling it out on the court, Ruru and Rocco sat by the lanai and listened to some chill, acoustic music care off Spotify.

"Sana ganito nalang palagi no? Yung tipong, walang stress. Chill lang talaga." Rocco said, as he took a long chug from his first bottle of beer.

"Um... oo. Oo nga." Ruru agreed despite the fact that his attention was all on his phone. Of course, he was texting none other than Kylie and asking how she was.

"Alam mo, nandito ka nga, pero parang wala din." Rocco teased. "Kanina ka pa tutok ng tutok diyan sa cellphone mo ah. Sino ba yang ka-text mo?" He asked.

Upon hearing this, Ruru awkwardly laughed and hid his phone in his pocket.

"Si mama. Ang kulit eh." He reasoned out, then took a sip from his bottle of beer.

"Ayan na naman tayo sa mama eh. Ilang beses ko ng ginamit 'yan pag nag-tetext kami ni Sanya, so please, wag mong iisipin na maniniwala ako sa'yo." Rocco laughed.

"Sira." Ruru smiled.

When silence fell upon them a few minutes after, Rocco was the first one to speak up.

"Siya nga pala, Ru. Alam mo na bang naglayas si Kylie sa bahay nila ni Aljur?" He asked, concern evident in his voice. "Sinabi sa 'kin ni Sanya a few days back. Di na nga siya nakakatulog ng maayos sa kakaisip kay Ky eh." He added.

"Talaga?" Ruru said, trying to hide the fact that he knew every little bit of this story. He wasn't going to say anything. He promised her.

"Saan kaya siya nagpunta, no? I just hope she's okay. I mean, huling balita ko sa kanya, maselan daw talaga ang pagbubuntis niya." Rocco said.

"Well, kung nasaan man si Kylie ngayon, sigurado akong inaalagaan siya ng maayos." Ruru answered.

Suddenly, Rocco looked at him and seemed to have "read between the lines".

"You know something." He said. "You know where Kylie is."

"Ako?" Ruru said, pointing to himself. "Bro, ano bang pinagsasabi mo?"

"Bro, matagal na tayong magkaibigan. Alam mo 'yan." Rocco said, beginning his speech with the typical "we've been friends for so long" line that was effective in making the secretive friend feel guilty in any given situation.

"Nung umiyak ako na parang gago dahil sa break up namin ni Lovi, ikaw ang unang nakaalam. Nung nag-date kami ni Sanya for the first time, ikaw din ang unang nakaalam. Kumbaga, wala talaga akong tinatago sa'yo. Pare naman. Can I also say the same for you?"

Ruru looked away, with that feeling of guilt starting to eat him up. Rocco was right. They've been friends for quite some time now and it was unfair that he was hiding these major happenings from him.

It wasn't as if he couldn't trust Rocco. It was just that he really valued Kylie and the trust that she had given him.

"Bro, if ever nasa 'yo nga si Kylie, just protect her. Protect her with all your heart." Rocco said. "Mabait na tao yang si Ky at simple lang naman talaga ang gusto niya noon pa, at yun ang maging isang ina." He added. "I brought her up tonight kasi umaasa si Sanya na baka sabihin mo sa 'kin ang totoo. Hindi kasi siya naniniwala na wala kang alam eh."

"If you're ready to tell us what's really going on, nandito lang naman kami ni Sanya. Alam mo 'yan. But for now, I won't force it. Don't worry." Rocco said, as he lightly tapped Ruru's back, then walked towards the boys on the court.

As Ruru watched his friend go, he couldn't help but let out a deep and heavy sigh. It would feel nice to have trusted friends who could help them carry the weight of the situation they were in, but Ruru repeatedly reminded himself that before divulging information or letting other people into their world, Kylie had to know first. She had to be okay with it first.

So he whipped out his cellphone and typed a message.

"Ky, sa tingin ko, kailangan na nating sabihin kina Rocco at Sanya ang mga nangyayari. May tiwala ako sa kanila. Para wala ng doubts at wala na ring drama. Ang bigat kasi sa puso na parang may tinatago tayo sa kanila. Pero kung ayaw mo, maiintindihan ko naman."

After a couple of minutes, a reply came in.

"I agree. Pero sina Rocco at Sanya lang please. And don't tell them about our hugs and kisses. Those things are for us only :) Haha"

"Siyempre naman :) Sige na, magpahinga ka na diyan. Uuwi na rin ako maya maya."

"Okay, take care, Ybrahim x"

"Ikaw rin, Amihan :)"

As soon as Ruru got the approval that he needed, he and Rocco had a lengthy conversation that night, and let's just say that the first agenda on Sanya and Rocco's schedule before heading to taping the next day was to visit Kylie at the Madrid residence.

"Pero bro, ipangako mo sa 'kin. Wag na wag mo 'tong ipaparating kay Gab. Please, ayoko ng gulo." Ruru said as he was very much aware of how close the both them were as well.

"Don't worry, bro. You have my word."