#COMM

Chapter 17

After that 'weird' walkout from Jasper, he just got weirder! Or maybe it was me who got weirder kasi parang every move niya, inaanalyze ko na talaga? Ewan! Nakakainis naman kasi siya kasi super obvious na bothered siya kung anuman 'yung problem na tinatago niya! Ni hindi na siya nag-e-effort para ipakita sa akin na okay siya, unlike before na super sabi pa siya na 'wag ko siyang lapitan.

Gulu-gulo talaga ni First Lieutenant.

"Kayo na talaga assigned sa akin?" I asked Kellan who was sitting beside me.

He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. Kagabi lang po sinabi ni Sir na kami na raw ni Nico."

"Ah..." I replied, although what I badly wanted to ask was why. Kasi 'di ba he was supposed to sort his issues out while I was away? I gave him three weeks to think about whatever was bothering him, tapos pagbalik ko parang mas lumala lang?

"Ayaw niyo talaga malaman, Ma'am, kung ano 'yung nangyari nung wala ka?" Kellan asked maliciously. Ayan na naman 'yung grin niya!

"Nope," I quickly replied. "At saka 'wag na nga kasi kayong issue. Kaya kayo pinag-iinitan ng Sir niyo, e."

"E hindi naman dahil 'dun, e..." he said with palpable malice. "Di ba, Nico? Iba problema ni Sir?" he asked and then shared a look with Nico at the rearview mirror.

"Hindi nga ako 'yung problem!" I said out of frustration dahil sa totoo lang, heightened 'yung anxiety ko dahil sa dalawa na 'to! Lakas nilang makadagdag sa tension!

Kaya siguro ang bilis mag-upgrade nung crush ko into something. Lakas kasi ng influence ng twins na 'to. 'Yung ayie pa lang nila, ang grabe na, e!

"Pustahan, Ma'am? Pambili lang ng t-shirt," sabi ni Kellan. Sobrang gambler talaga. Ayaw gayahin si Nico na binibigay sa mom 'yung sweldo.

Hanggang sa makarating kami sa venue nung gig ko, sobrang ayaw nila akong tigilan ni Nico. Ang sakit lang nila talaga sa ulo! Bigla ko tuloy na-miss si Jasper kasi kapag siya 'yung kasama, ako 'yung nag-e-effort na magkaroon naman ng kahit konting ingay sa car.

The assistant briefed me about the work for the entire day. Good thing buong araw 'yung commitment para busy ako. Bago 'yung model na ka-work ko. Good thing it wasn't Rafa anymore kasi super awkward lang talaga when he's trying to flirt with me.

"Baka maging super busy kasi bago 'yung director, so hindi ko pa sure if he'll be lenient or what. Basta kumain kayo on time, ha!" bilin ko sa kanila. Sobrang crazy kasi. Kung hindi ko pa ipapaalala na tao sila na kailangang kumain, hindi talaga sila kakain!

"Yes, Ma'am, papakainin namin si Sir Jasper," Kellan replied.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Sobrang epal mo." Nico nodded in agreement—na parang masaya siya na finally, hindi na lang siya ang kinakawawa.

"Hindi, Ma'am, supportive lang po," Kellan said and then grinned. Napailing na lang ako. There's really no winning an argument with this guy. Palagi na lang siyang may pinaglalaban!

Dumiretso na ako sa dressing room for my makeup. Pinanindigan na yata talaga ni Jasper iyong pagiging away guard niya dahil hindi ko siya nakita buong morning. Though very aware naman ako na nasa paligid ko lang siya kasi palagi namang pinapaalala ni Kellan at Nico! Para silang redundant na reminder sa phone, grabe lang talaga.

Paglabas ko ng dressing room para dumiretso sa shooting area, napahinto ako dahil naka-salubong ko si Jasper. His brows were knitted na parang he's so deep in thoughts! Ni hindi nga yata niya alam na nasa harap niya na ako.

"Okay ka lang?" I asked because he looked really bothered. It's been three days since I arrived pero parang lumalala lang 'yung problem niya.

"Yeah," he replied with his deep voice. It's so unlike Jasper. He's usually the snarky one... pero ngayon? Parang sobrang problematic niya lang na hindi niya na magawang magsungit. Sobrang nakaka-panibago na nakaka-worry.

"Okay, sige..." sabi ko. I still knew where I stood kaya naman hindi ko siya tatanungin kahit na gustung-gusto kong malaman kung ano ang problema niya. I gave him a small smile before I began to walk away.

"Ma'am—" he said. Napahinto ako.

I turned around and faced him. "Just call me Maggie," I told him. I didn't like being like this with him—iyong pagtawag niya sa akin ng Ma'am. It felt too serious... like we weren't even remotely close before. Super feelingera ko na, pero alam ko naman na kahit once man lang, nagkaroon kami ng moment ni Jasper.

But I also didn't want him to call me Siobhan.

I didn't want him to be different from everybody else.

"Just call me Maggie like everyone else," I added.

And even though it was just for a fraction of second, I saw his jaw clenching. I willed myself to just ignore it. Kasi 'di ba ako na naman ang mahihirapan kapag binigyan ko na naman ng meaning iyong simpleng bagay na 'yun? Kasi kahit naman ganito, kilala ko si Jasper. I knew there's a reason why he's acting this way.

And I trust him enough to know that he knows there's a limit to which I could wait.

"We can be friends naman, right? Like kami nila Kellan. I treat them as friends," I said while trying to look at him and smile. But it was hard to lalo na kapag ganyan siyang tumingin. Like I was deliberately hurting him by offering him friendship. Pero ano ba ang pwede ko pang ibigay? He was the one who said that he'd leave.

At sobrang tanga ko lang kasi mas gusto ko na maging magkaibigan na lang kami kaysa naman umalis siya.

"I'll be nice, don't worry. I won't even bother you like before," I continued, trying to keep up the smiling face. Para hindi niya malaman kung gaano kalakas ang kabog ng dibdib ko habang sinasabi ko 'to sa harap niya.

I stared at him—freaking smiling even though all I wanted was to sigh—and waited for his response.

"Ayaw mo bang maging friends?"

He didn't say a word.

God, stop staring!

"M-masaya akong maging friend," I said, barely managing to finish my sentence with the way he's trying to melt me with his eyes. What Jasper lacked in talking, he made up with the intensity of his stares.

"H-hindi mo ba nagustuhan 'yung pasalubong ko?"

"Gusto," he said, not breaking eye-contact. "Gustung-gusto."

Oh, Lord!

Feeling ko biglang natuyo 'yung lalamunan ko.

"A-ah..." iyon lang ang nasabi ko dahil hindi na talaga ako makapag-isip! I wanted to blind his eyes kasi grabe siya tumingin! Grabe na talaga si First Lieutenant! Nag-evolve na siya from being a dull boy to intense boy!

I knew I needed to say something to fill the silence, but I just couldn't think of anything! His stares rendered me speechless! God, this man knew how to freaking stare! Wala pang words 'to, pero drowned na drowned na talaga ako!

"Ms. Gomez de Liaño, shoot na raw in 3 minutes!" sigaw nung production assistant. That was my cue to stop staring back at Jasper. God, that was probably one of the most intense minutes of my life! Titig lang, pero biglang ang lambot na ng knees ko!

"S-sige, alis na ako," I said and then literally ran away from him. Hindi ko siya kaya!

* * *

After the shoot, nagpanggap ako na asleep na habang pauwi kami. Gosh, hindi ko na talaga kaya if Jasper would stare at me like that again! Feeling ko transferred sa kanya lahat ng energy ko!

Upon arriving home, my forehead crunched upon seeing my brothers with Aidan. They were talking and laughing.

"Why are you here?" I asked Aidan habang kunot ang noo ko.

Aidan shrugged. "What? We're friends, right? And friends are allowed to visit?"

Psalm laughed. "Friendzone," he said in a sing-song voice. Hindi ko alam why napatingin ako kay Jasper who was tailing behind me. Alam ko na nasa likod ko siya kasi ewan ko. Alam ko lang talaga kapag nasa paligid ko si Jasper. Parang may energy.

I just threw Jasper a quick glance, but even that fraction of a second was enough for me to see that he was not happy to see Aidan. Same naman kay Aidan. He's been very vocal na hindi siya fan ni Jasper.

God, there's just too much testosterone in the house.

"Whatever. I'm tired," sabi ko tapos nagsimulang maglakad paakyat. Pero ramdam ko na sinusundan ako ni Aidan. "This is not your house. Don't feel too comfortable," I told Aidan kasi balak niya yata akong sundan hanggang kwarto!

"Come on, Maggie. It's not like I'd never been inside your room," Aidan said with his playful smile.

Nanlaki iyong mata ko dahil alam ko na naka-sunod din si Jasper. Gosh! Balak ba nilang dalawa na pasukin ako sa kwarto?

"What?" ulit ko. Huminto ako at nakaharap ako kay Aidan. I could also see Jasper—and the three stooges! Siguro kung pwede lang kami i-video, ivivideo na talaga kami ni Kellan!

"Nothing. I'm sorry," Aidan said. "I just... want to talk to you."

I sighed. "I'm tired."

"Tomorrow?"

"I have work."

"The next day?"

"I have work."

"Okay. Just tell me when you're free. Even if it's just 15 minutes, I'll take what I can get," Aidan said. My heart clenched because I knew he's really trying. But what's done is done. Tapos na. Hindi ko alam bakit hindi niya maintindihan 'yun...

May mga tao siguro talaga na mahirap sa kanila na magmove on sa past. Kaya kahit tapos na, pilit nilang binabalik.

"Please?" Aidan asked.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me. Like they were waiting for me to decide. Feeling ko bigla akong naubusan ng hininga dahil ramdam na ramdam ko iyong tingin nila...

Lalo na si Jasper.

Who looked like he was ready to break Aidan's neck. Pero syempre baka hallucination ko lang talaga 'to.

"Ano'ng meron?" Psalm asked nang makita kami na parang may shooting dito sa gitna ng hagdan. Kasama niya rin sila Austin who looked confused, as well.

"Maggie, please? If you can't take me back, at least don't avoid me," Aidan said in front of my brothers! "I'll do everything you ask me, I promise. Everything's on your terms."

He's really serious.

And he wouldn't stop.

"Just say yes, Mags. You act as if you weren't crazy over Aidan before," Psalm said. "And if Aidan pulls anything funny, your guards are here to punch his face in behalf of us."

Napa-tingin ako kay Jasper. His jaw was clenched. His hands were fisted.

Yet he's still confusing.

"Okay," I said. At least Aidan knew what he wanted.