Take A Chance On Me | A Juan GDL Epistolary (Completed)

35

"So what's this? Are we celebrating something special?" Juan asked in pure curiousity. Bet he was overwhelmed with how much stuff I ordered.

"This, Juan Gerardo, is how I say thank you." I told him with a large smile carved on my face.

"Thank you? For what?" He asked innocently as he dug right into the feast.

"For lending an ear. For listening to my shit. For giving the space. It gave me time to think and clear my head."

What I said stopped him in his tracks. From his plate, he lifted his gaze at me and I saw the sparkle in his eyes when he said "Well, I'm really glad you're doing fine now."

He gave me this sense of gratefulness in his smile that was really contagious. It made me feel soft inside and I had the utmost urge to hug him, if only we weren't separated by the table and food in front of us. Surely, I would've squeezed him so tightly, he wouldn't be able to catch a breath.

"Oh, and I also have fantastic news! Hear me out." I've been dying to tell him this for days.

"I'm kinda one of the official photographers for the team now. You can say that today was my first day on the job."

"Wow, that's great Pen! Finally doing the thing you love most, huh?"

"Yeah. I wonder who recommended me. They told me it's someone from the team." I gave a little smirk.

"Maybe, it's... Javi?" He pretended to be innocent but his voice sounded otherwise. What I heard was an apparent loss of nerve and cracking at the end. He was a bad liar.

"No, I already asked him." It was way too obvious. This could only be a Juan-GDL-kind of gesture. But I needed to hear it from him.

"It's you, isn't it?" I slammed him with the ultimate question and he couldn't say no for an answer. He gave up.

"Alright, alright. You caught me. I just thought going serious with photography would be a nice outlet for you to... heal. It's your passion, right? It's what you love. And there's nothing else in this world that can quickly mend you other than doing what you love the most."

His words were so archaic and driven to the heart. It was more than I could have asked for.

"That's really sweet of you, Juan. Thank you."

Many hours passed and we weren't paying that much attention to the time. We just realized how long we were talking when we looked back at the restaurant window and the sun was nowhere to be found.

It felt like the first time in forever. Mike wasn't in my head running in circles. This was my first taste of freedom. What Javi told me a few days ago was right.

This is worth giving a shot. Why not give Juan a chance?

"Oh, I almost forgot! I'll be taking pictures of you guys tomorrow in support of the UP Blood Drive. Tell the boys to... wear their shirts on."

Author's Note:

Huhu 1.6k reads na tayo!! Thank you for reading labyu ol 🥰 Share niyo rin sa mga friends niyo hehe 💖