Back To You (A NASHLENE fanfic)

#NashLeneTogetherAgain

The flares of light were blinding. The noise was deafening. I'm dazzled. Ngunit para akong nakalutang dahil hawak-hawak niya ang kamay ko habang sabay kaming naglalakad patungo sa stage ng ABS-CBN conference hall. Mahigpit ang pagkakahawak niya sa akin. Ramdam ko ang kaba niya na maging ako man ay hindi ko rin maitago. Ilang taon na ako sa industriya na ito pero parang hindi parin ako nasasanay.

"Ladies and gentle men, Nash Aguas and Sharlene San Pedro!" Bungad ng host na isang social media influencer.

Pinaupo na kami ni Nash at binitawan ko na rin ang kanyang kamay. Kung ako lang, I would have wanted to hold that hand for long pero hindi pwede.

"So, NashLene is finally here. It's really happening!" Blurted the host.

All I can do was smile and fake the happiness they want to see. I can tell Nash is doing the same thing.

"Are you guys ready for the questions?" Tanong ng host.

"Yes po." Sabay naming sagot.

Sampung questions daw ang kailangan naming sagutin. Terrible! They're all crappy questions and the bad thing is I can't be honest most of the time. It's just the way it should go. Otherwise it would ruin everything.

"Okay, this question is for the both of you..."
Panimula ng isang news caster.

"It has been 5 years since nabuwag ang love team niyo. And you both had different partners at those times. How does it feel na magkakasama kayo ulit? More specifically, how did you react when you found out you were gonna be love team again?"

I knew this would come out! Pop quiz.
Nash answered first.

"What my manager did was hindi niya muna sinabi sakin kung sino ang ipapartner sa akin. So at first, nabigla at nalungkot ako kasi alam ko kung gaano kahirap mag adjust lalo na kapag nasanay ka na sa partner mo..."

Alam mo ba talaga Nash? Nahirapan ka ba talaga?

"But when I knew that it was gonna be Sharlene..." he looked at me smiling.

"... I felt relieved. At least I won't be having a hard time to adjust. I mean, Sharlene's my best friend and it's so easy to get along with her."

Jerk! So easy for you to say. Why does this seem okay to him? Hindi niya ba talaga alam kung anong namagitan sa amin noon? Was I just really on the friend zone? O baka naman ang pagkakaibigan namin ay parte lang din ng trabaho. Fuck! I feel so stupid.

"Your turn, Shar." He looked at me with those godly eyes. I am so damned.

"Uhh, same thing po. Nagulat at nalungkot din po ako. Kasi talagang totoong ang hirap mag adjust. But then, this is the life I chose to live so there's nothing I can do but to be happy about it and get on with it."

May nagbabadyang kahulugan sa aking mga sinabi na hiling ko sana'y nakuha niya ang mensahe.

"And we're verry happy po. We get to make people happy sa magiging project naming dalawa." He added.

Yeah. Happy.

Sunod-sunod na tanong ang naingkwentro pa namin. Deep inside, I was getting tired.

The last couple of questions hit me like knives. I was sure to lie. Why is the media so insensitive?

"We saw how you grew together and we can't avoid to think na mayroong espesyal na namagitan sa inyo noon. Was there any? Natigil ba iyon ng pinaglayo kayo?"

I could swear I heard Mamang Artie cursed behind my back. He knew everything. I was so open with what was happening between me and Nash because I thought it was real.

"Wala naman pong ganun na nangyari. Talagang sobrang close lang po namin ni Shar. We were only 5 years old when we became friends. That's enough foundation to build such a close relationship with her. She's my best friend." Diretso niyang sagot.

Pinilit kong wag mangilid ang luha ko. God knows how I tried my best to look fine. If I wasn't an actress, they'd know I was hurting. Ang sakit. Lahat ng tanong na bumabagabag sa akin sa nakalipas na limang taon ay nasagot na sa isang diretsong sagot. I was devastated on the inside. Gusto ko ng matapos to.

"Sharlene, do you want to add anything?" Tanong nung isang reporter.

Tinapik naman ako ng mahina ni Mamang. Akala niya ata ay natameme nalang ako sa narinig.

"Yeah. Nash and I are just really close friends. And our separation was somehow a way to strengthen our friendship." I said smiling.

Natapos ang press con at exactly 11 am in the morning. Mag la-lunch pa raw sana kami pero I refused to join. Mamang helped me para hindi ako mapilit ni Direk Nancy. Alam na niya kung bakit ayaw kong sumama. He said I need rest and fortunately, nag agree naman si Direk Nancy at sinabing sa ibang araw na lang kami kakain together. She figured Nash needed rest too.

I was in the car with my best friend Miles. Mommy called her para samahan ako sa pag uwi. Alam na alam na ni mom kung anong kahihinatnan ng araw na ito. And Miles being my best girl friend, she knew seeing her would comfort me.

Hindi ko na kinaya. Ibinuhos ko na ang mga luha kong limang taon ng lumalabas sa mga mata ko. This time, they were sadder. They were as miserable as I am.

"Shar, sige iiyak mo lang yan. Nandito lang ako. Saka mo nalang sabihin sa akin kung ano ang nangyari." Mahinahong sabi ni Miles sa akin while she's tapping my back lightly. I was sobbing on her shoulders like I always have.

"That jerk! Honestly, hindi ko na gusto ang lagi mong pag iyak dahil sa kanya. I mean, I really loved the two of you together but now, that guy is getting on my last nerve. Wait till the guys hear about this!" Naiinis niyang sabi.

She's referring to Andre, Aaron, and CJ. Sa lahat naman ng mga naging kaibigan ko sa SCQ at GB, sila lang ang nanatili kong ka close. Kami nalang lagi ang nagkakasama. Only Nash went away coz he had Alexa and his four new friends.

"Oh yeah, I bet they already know. The internet is all about it." She blurted out.

The press con was everywhere on the internet. There was even a hashtag NashLeneTogetherAgain that was becoming a trend in just an hour.