Chapter Two

| Smile |

♥

Everyone has a heart. Who doesn't? Ang hindi nga lang maganda, lahat ng tao meron no'n pero hindi lahat ginagamit nang maayos. Sean has, but he doesn't know how to handle it, so unconsciously, he's starting to cover himself up with his walls. Not only it protects him – it protects others, too.

Sean was the aloof, rock star of the town, and of the school (he was sixteen but he played electric guitars, drums, and he sings so well). He played on some contests on the town, sometimes, even on clubs. Girls liked him for his handsome looks and sensational singing voice, which added on his aura as a boy.

He did play in school once, awesome enough to be idolized, but an awful rumor have spread about him, and he was considered a bad influence that instantly stopped his fame. At his first year he was seen having a fight with seniors in school, because, rumors had said, those seniors picked on him. Some says Sean was being airy and started a fight.

People in school believed on either, and these rumors affected his image and popularity. He was still popular, but in a bad kind of way. He was notorious. Whenever he passes a hallway or wherever part of this school, students avoided him, like they were stars, and he's a black hole ready to suck all them away.

Back then, I don't think I really cared. Like I've said, I was studying – hard, for my parents to be proud of me. They prepared a clear path ahead of me and I'm not supposed to turn left nor right. I just had to walk straight. Listening to rumors is a waste of time.

I don't think I cared until that fateful day.

The senior was a varsity player, idolized by both girls and boys for his amazing basketball techniques and for his ravishing looks.

Sean was the quiet rock star, ignored, and scared of.

But look who was the villain and the hero of my day that time?

I honestly didn't think it's fair for Sean to be treated like that. He saved me, he came like a hero, he was kind enough to save me, but why does his image says otherwise? Why did he look so wicked in front of other people's eyes when the truth is, he's a gentleman, that just didn't get enough chances to prove himself that he is?

I want to prove to everyone they're wrong.

Simply thanking him wasn't enough. I followed him one day when he was going home. I was wondering maybe if I can capture him having a good time while playing a guitar and singing, people might start to think that Sean is just a simple high school student who has something he loves doing. That he's no different. That he doesn't need to be ignored. It was a lame idea – it is, and now I am starting to think maybe that's just one idiotic excuse to know him more.

I thought I was good at following, but I was wrong.

"Why are you following me?" he asked.

I was dumbstruck. Nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan ko, lalo na nang tiningnan ulit niya ako sa mga mata.

"Ano'ng plano mo?"

I was never the shy one, but wasn't the extroverted, either. I talk when needed and when asked. But when he threw me a question, and looked at me with his dark expressive eyes, I feel more nervous as an unprepared student in a graded recitation.

"W-Wala –"

"Edi bakit mo ako sinusundan?"

I couldn't answer. A lump is forming in my throat, and I still couldn't find for an answer.

"Why aren't you avoiding me?"

That question startled me. It was a question that came out so naturally, like he knows he's supposed to be avoided. It pained me, right there, to think that that man in front of me, is thinking he deserved to be ignored. I brought my head up to meet his eyes, and I saw wonder. Astonishment. Irritation.

"B-Bakit kita iiwasan?" I managed to say. "Niligtas mo 'ko kahapon. Gusto ko lang –"

"Hindi ko kailangan ng pakikipag-kaibigan mo."

My right hand balled. "Ayos lang." I gulped. "Susundan lang naman kita... kasi inaasahan kong may pupuntahan kang club – tapos tutugtog ka. I want to see you play and hear you sing, again. I just... I just heard na... y-you sing. In clubs after school. So... I took this chance."

It was unexpected – for me to say those. Yes, I remember that day in school, when he was holding the electric guitar in his long firm hands, droplets of sweat falling down on the sides of his head, eyes closed shut, in the world of music he creates. I saw his passion for music he loved. His voice wandering through the ears of his listeners.

The joy of his playing in front of everyone.

I want to see it again.

I want to see him play again, not in school where he was judged and ignored, but in the place where he feels more accepted and complete.

It was also unexpected – his reply.

It was the first time for me to feel my stomach flip. My heart flutter. All at the same time when his unforgettable reply hits me.

A smile.

♥