When We Collided

The Gift

"Where is it?" Onyx asked me excitedly.

I shook my head. This poor boy really loved his gifts. I pointed to a large gift-wrapped box on the far seat of the van.

"Happy birthday. Hope you'll use it," I told him amusedly.

"Thanks," he answered in a distracted tone. He was busy tearing through the wrappers.

His eyes seemed to shine when he held his new fluffy blue pillow and matching fluffy blue fleece blanket.

"Really?" he asked, pretending to be annoyed.

"Yes sleepyhead. So you don't borrow my pillow and my blanket anymore," I retorted.

"Okay."

We had been on tour for most of the week. We spent a lot of hours in the van, so we needed to rest and sleep while traveling. We'd all found our individual comfy sleeping spots, and it seemed Onyx's spot was on my lap, using MY pillow and MY blanket. Not that I was being selfish or anything. But I needed my sleep too!

And so I bought him those crucial things. I anticipated a more comfortable sleep this time.

Two hours later, his head was back on my lap, still using MY pillow and MY blanket.

The boy was impossible!

I sighed and grabbed the blue pillow and blanket that were supposed to be his. They were actually quite nice and soft when I tested them. I managed to sleep in no time.

It was in this position that I woke up much later. My Instagram account was filled with notifications. Curiously, I looked at the photo Dee tagged me in.

It was of Onyx and me asleep, in aforementioned positions. Gladly, there wasn't any drool on our faces. We usually thought nothing of our sleeping arrangement, but I realized how this looked like to the fans.

This innocent pose caused lots of speculation and fangirling all around, it seemed.

Onyx stirred. He sat up and looked over my shoulder. "Dee," I explained.

"Huh," he commented. "Effective," he continued his post-slumber one-word statements.

"Happy to push the ShanOn love team!" Dee laughed from the seat in front of us.

"Onyx," I began in a serious tone. "Don't you like my gift?"

"Of course I do! Why do you ask?"

"Because you're not using my gift," I said sadly. "Why do you keep on using my stuff anyway?"

"I like the smell." He shrugged.

Seriously?

I didn't argue because he went back to sleep, still using my pink floral sleeping things. Whatever. It was his loss anyway because I now used his newer and cooler stuff!

It seemed that I bought his gift for myself. LOL.

We got to our destination at a distant city where we were going to have a mall tour to promote our movie. We had at least two hours' rest then off to wardrobe to get changed.

I couldn't really sleep so I rang Mom. She usually came with me but on this occasion she stayed home because one of the boys got sick.

"How's Jadz?" I asked worriedly.

"He has still got a temperature, but he's sleeping soundly now. The doctor said it's just a virus. That he doesn't need to be in hospital." I heard her sigh.

"Thank God," I murmured.

"Take care of yourself, Honey."

"Yes Mom."

"Say hi to Onyx for me."

"Will do."

I ended the call. I looked up to see Onyx at the open doorway of my hotel room.

"Is Jadz okay?" he asked.

"Yes." I smiled. "Mom says hi."

"This is the first time she's not with us. She's always around."

"I know."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I guess this means I could do stuff she won't know about. Nyahaha!" I joked.

"Na-ah. She told me to keep an eye on you. I got my eyes on you, woman." He bent two fingers in front of his eyes and pointed them to me.

"Really? Of all people?"

"She trusts me." He shrugged.

"I know." And he deserved it. "Go back to sleep."

"Nah, I had enough in the van. Come with me to the resto. I'm hungry."

We sat at a corner table at the hotel dining room. We were the only customers at that hour because lunch had already finished and dinner was not yet served.

We browsed through the menu silently. "What are you having?" he asked.

"Can't decide yet," I told him. "I want pizza but I also want carbonara."

"Order both," he replied. "We'll share."

When the food was ready, the waiter placed the pizza in front of me and served him the pasta. I began slicing the pizza into bite sizes. Onyx started taking some pieces and transferred some of the carbonara to my plate.

"Thanks Dad," I joked.

"Eat up woman, lest your mother think I'm starving you," he retorted.

We both laughed and enjoyed our food.

"So, how's Rex?" He asked.

"Rex?"

"The guy who took you to his house when you were drunk." His eyes seemed to pierce my soul.

"Oh, Rick." I frowned. "Whatever was going on between him and me, it's over."

I wondered at the smug grin on his face.

"Oh em gee, look! That's Onyx and Shana! Aren't they sweet? They're even sharing their food. Squeee!" We both heard soft squealing and giggling when we were almost finished eating.

We looked up to see a group of teenage girls standing at the dining room entrance.

Onyx and I looked at each other. We were so used to sharing food and even using the same eating utensil all the time. Our jobs required us to kiss; exchange of saliva through shared forks and glasses didn't really make much of a difference. Besides, I always thought food tasted better when I was sharing it with somebody. It was jarring to know other people saw this in a different light.

They saw us staring at them, which silenced them. They approached us and asked for our photos to be taken. I quickly texted my handler if this was okay. She said yes, so we conceded as well.

Then it was time to get ready.

I wore my movie costume, a bright-colored college girl outfit. They applied simple make up and tied my straight hair up into two ponytails. I vocalised as my coach taught me to prepare my voice for my solo, our group song, and my duet with Onyx. I also quickly but quietly went through our dance steps in my mind.

I then took a deep breath and relaxed. Today was like any other promo mall tour I had been to. I had gotten used to it and had actually come to like it. The feeling of nervousness went away and anticipation took its place.

I got into the van to see Onyx and the rest of the cast and crew looking as excited as I was. When we got to the mall, we passed through the security entrance.

And then we emerged onto the stage and we were greeted by our fans' screams. My ears temporarily lost their ability to hear but my heart swelled with pride and happiness. This was it. This was what we were waiting for. It was finally within our grasp.

Photo credits: http://spilledemotions2011.blogspot.com/2011/10/dear-dream-boy.html