Chapter 21
Immature

The whole arena was slowly filled with fans waving their lightsticks and singing along to the songs of New Classic playing while waiting for the concert to start in a few minutes,

"Zendaya's just near us..." Ida whispered to me at pasimpleng tinuturo sa akin ang kinaroroonan ni Zendaya.

Nilingon ko naman ito't nakita ko siyang kinukuhanan ng pictures ang kabuuan ng arena. Kinakausap siya ng mga katabi niya sa kaniyang upuan. Siguro'y marami siyang kaibigan na fan din ng New Classic.

My phone suddenly chimed and vibrated kaya naman tinignan ko ito't nakita ang message ni Isaiah na kakadating lang.

Isaiah:
We'll be out in a few. Wish me luck, please.

Napangiti naman ako't mabilis na nagtipa ng reply sa kaniya.

Me:
Goodluck! :)

I put a smiley face on the end of my text before I silent my phone and put it on a 'do not disturb' mode. Nilagay ko na ito sa loob ng bag ko't hinanda na rin ang aking lightstick na bigay ni Cloe.

Ang sabi niya'y may gagawin daw na fan project para sa encore concert ng New Classic at kailangan ang lahat ay mayroong lightstick kaya binigyan niya kami ni Ida.

When all the lights inside the arena suddenly went off, the crowd went wild.

The concert was started by a VCR showing some video clips of the whole tour of their first ever concert and tour. There were also clips from the backstage and when the boys were travelling in Europe. They were visiting some great landmarks and places in Europe.

"It was very pleasing."

Suddenly Sic's face popped out from the VCR, the fans, specially his fans are screaming. Nakisigaw na rin ako at umakto pang nababaliw dahil baka nakatingin sa akin ngayon si Zendaya kung nakita niya man ako.

"Performing not just for Philippines, but also outside of our country is so overwhelming. I think thank you isn't enough to express my gratitude." sabi ni Sic.

The next one to deliver his message was Ike.

"Exciting... thrilling... memorable..." sunod-sunod niyang sabi. "Every moment that I've spent during our tour is very memorable. I've learned a lot of things. I was able to travel to my goal destinations before. It was all a memory worth remembering. I would definitely treasure it all."

Jirro's the third one...

"I'm very, very, very thankful to our fans. Not just in the Philippines, also outside of the country. In Europe where we first made a tour... je vous remercie... grazie... dank je. I even heard that our fans in the US want us to include them in our tour but unfortunately, we weren't able to. Maybe on our second tour. If God allows us to, we will definitely include US in our list." Jirro flawlessly said.

And the last one to deliver his message was Isaiah were the fans screamed the loudest. Kapag sa isang banda talaga, mas maraming tagahanga ang vocalist kaya hindi 'yon maiiwasan.

"It was very fulfilling." Isaiah started with a wide smile on his face. "To be honest, our goal was to make music that our fellow countrymen will like. We want to make the best OPM in our country. We didn't expect that our music will reach to the different parts of the world. Who wouldn't feel complete with that, right? We received and are still receiving overflowing of blessings. Hindi ko alam kung paano pero gustong-gusto ko kayong pasalamatan isa-isa. Maraming, maraming salamat. Your sincere hearts to support us, touched my heart deeply."

Nang matapos ang clip ni Isaiah ay nawala ang tanging ilaw na nagliliwanag sa buong arena dahil natapos na ang buong VCR.

Suddenly, a spotlight was directed to Sic as he played his drums. After him, the spotlight was averted to Jirro who's also playing his bass guitar. Pagkatapos ay kay Ike naman ito tumapat at pinatunog din ang kaniyang electic guitar. Pinakahuling tinapatan ng spotlight ay si Isaiah na nagpatunog ng kaniyang acoustic guitar.

After they played their opening solo parts, muling namatay ang mga ilaw sa buong arena. Nang bumukas itong muli matapos ng isang sandali ay nakaayos na ang puwesto nilang apat sa gitna ng stage at nagsimulang tugtugin ang kanilang unang kanta.

"I need your love to light up this house. I wanna know what you're about..." Isaiah started singing the first lines of their song and the crowd cheered so loud. "I wanna feel you, feel you tonight. I wanna tell you that it's alright."

Pakiramdam ko'y hinehele ako ng malamig na boses ni Isaiah. His talking voice's already enough to give me chills pero kapag kumanta na siya, napaka-ironic dahil nakakatunaw ang kaniyang napakalamig na boses.

Whenever Isaiah's singing, alam mong hindi lang siya kumakanta dahil alam niya ang lyrics at ang tono ng kanta. Kapag kumakanta siya, ramdam na ramdam mo at tagos na tagos sa puso mo ang bawat lirikong kaniyang kinakanta. Kaya kapag nagsasalita siya, alam mong totoo ang kaniyang sinasabi't sincere siya sa lahat ng binibigkas niyang mga salita.

The concert continued it's flow flawlessly. May mga ibang invited guests din sila kapag nagpapalit sila ng kanilang mga damit. They played almost all of the songs in their album. May mga ibang kanta sila at mga covers na ginawan nila ng bagong rendition at sa tingin ko'y mas maganda 'yon kaysa sa original.

"This second to the last song is a song that Isaiah just finished composing." bigla namang sabi ni Jirro para sa introduksyon ng kanilang sunod na kantang kakantahin.

"This new song, along with the other tracks and new renditions of songs that we sang during the whole tour will be the included in the New Classic Tour Album that will be sale nationwide next week." dagdag naman ni Sic.

"One hundred random copies of the New Classic Tour Album will be signed by the whole member so make sure to buy one. You may be one of the lucky hundred people who'll be able to get the signed albums." sabi ni Ike.

"And now, this new song that I wrote is about a guy who always wants to be close with the girl he loves." Isaiah said. "I hope you all will like it."

Muli naman silang umayos sa pagkakahawak ng kanilang mga instrumento bago sinimulan ni Isaiah ang pagkanta.

"Ohh... I wanna be, girl let me be..." simula ni Isaiah sa pagkanta.

Is this the song he wrote about me? Naalala ko noong sinabi niya sa aking may ipeperform silang bago nilang kanta na ginawa niya tuwing break time nila at habang iniisip niya ako.

"I wanna be the smile you put on your face
I wanna be your hands when you say your grace
I wanna be whatever is your favorite place
Oh... I just wanna be close..."

Isaiah turned to me when he began to sing the first chorus. Nakangiti lang siya habang nakalingon sa akin. Kahit na alam kong marami akong katabi ngayo'y alam kong sa akin siya nakatingin at para sa akin ang kaniyang kinakanta.

"See my life's filled with ups and downs
I'm okay, when you're around
And when I'm in a storm and my nights are cold
Reach out your hands for me to hold
See you're my queen on a throne
And you're the reason for a song
And I can't wait to fill you up with love
Fill you with love..."

I can't stop smiling while encarving the lyrics of the song to my heart and mind. Isaiah already made me songs before that's already on their past albums, pero itong kantang 'to ata ang pinakagusto ko sa lahat.

"I wanna be the sun, your stars, and your moon
I wanna be your hot summer day in June
I wanna be the smell of your sweet perfume
I just wanna be close...

I wanna be the seed that bare your life brand new
I wanna be the one that's faithful and true
I wanna be the man down the aisle in that suit, yes
I just wanna be close..."

My lips slightly parted when I heard him sang the last lines of the song. Hinayaan kong magproseso sa aking isipan ang linyang 'I wanna be the man down the aisle in that suit'...

I'm not naive to know that he's talking about wedding and marriage.

Hindi ko alam na naiisip na pala ni Isaiah ang mga ganoong bagay patungkol sa aming dalawa. It seems like he already has some plans for the both of us in the near future. Parang napagplanuhan niya na ang lahat. Like he's going to make sure that he's gonna be the man who's waiting for me while I'm walking down the aisle.

"I love you..." he whispered in the microphone after he sang while looking at me.

Napaawang ang aking bibig sa kaniyang biglang sinabi't ngumiti lang siya sa akin saka nilingon ang mga fans niyang nagwawala na dahil sa tatlong salitang binitawan niya.

After they sang their encore song, the staff escorted Ida and I to the backstage. Sina Tito at Tita'y nagdesisyon na doon na sila lalabas sa nilalabasan ng mga fans.

Pinapasok kami sa lounge room ng New Classic at nakitang nandoon na ang apat na muling kumakain. Nakapagpalit na rin sila ng kanilang tee shirt. They must be very tired from performing. Para silang mga tahimik na batang ngayon nalang ulit pinakain.

"Congrats, boys!" masayang sigaw ni Ida't pumapalakpak pa.

Agad namang nag-angat ng tingin sa akin si Isaiah. He's got a serious face this time. It was like I saw a different Isaiah on the stage earlier who's smiling at me, the whole time he's singing.

Nalaglag ang aking panga ng bigla ba naman akong irapan ni Isaiah. Nagtawanan sila Ike nang dahil sa kaniyang ginawa.

"Ohh!" they all howled while laughing.

"Ang sungit naman this guy." natatawa at mapang-inis na sabi ni Ida sa kaniyang kuya.

Now what did I do again?

"Ida, kumain na kayo ni Blair. You ladies need to fill up your stomach before you two head home." sabi naman ni Ike.

Wala na kaming nagawa ni Ida kundi ang kumain dahil gutom na rin kaming dalawa. Tumabi naman ako kay Isaiah sa pagkain ngunit tahimik lang siya't hindi niya ako pinapansin.

Magtatanong pa sana ako kung ano ang problema niya ngunit nang maalala ko ang nangyari kaninang meet and greet ay mukhang alam ko na.

"Isaiah, if this is about what happened earlier then I'm sorry." agad kong paghingi ng paumanhin sa kaniya.

Natahimik naman bigla sina Ida, Ike, Sic at Jirro. Mukhang balak nitong apat na 'to na makinig sa aming dalawa ni Isaiah.

Bahala na!

"Ginawa ko lang yun dahil maraming fans na nakakakita sa akin. I just want to mislead them and nothing more. Para hindi lang sila magduda tungkol sa ating dalawa. That's all." I explained my side.

"I know." tipid na sabi ni Isaiah at saka uminom ng tubig.

"Then why are you mad?" tanong ko.

"I'm not mad. I'm just pissed off." paglilinaw niya. "And please don't tell me that it's the same because it's different." panguna niya sa akin bago ko pa sabihin.

Napakunot naman ang aking noo. "You know I'm just doing this for the both of us, Isaiah." sabi ko. "If you don't care about what your fans might think, then I do. I care about it because I care about you. I don't want you to slowly lose everything that you've worked hard for just because of me."

Narinig kong magbulong-bulungan ang apat at agad naman silang nagsitayuan upang lumabas ng lounge. Ngayon, ay kaming dalawa nalang ni Isaiah ang nasa loob.

"Isaiah, we've been arguing about this since when? Nakakasawa na. Paulit-ulit nalang nating pinagtataluhan 'to." pagod kong sabi.

"I just can't help it, Blair." he argued again. "I'm so terrified... I don't want to lose you."

Napatahimik naman ako nang marinig ko ang kaniyang garalgal na boses.

"I can't do anything for you. Alam ko 'yon. Kaya ngayon kahit alam kong mahirap pa rin ang sitwasyon nating dalawa, sinusubukan ko kasi ayaw kitang mawala sakin. I don't want you to just slip away nang wala akong ginagawa o nagagawa para sa'yo." he said. "Pero bakit ganon? Parang wala na akong magagawa para lang mapanatili ka dahil kahit anong gawin ko, pakiramdam ko mawawala ka pa rin."

"Isaiah, I won't..." agad kong pag-iling sa kaniyang mga sinasabi. "Naiintindihan kita. Kung natatakot ka pa rin dahil sa inamin ko sa'yo noong isang araw, then please don't. Kahit anong mangyari, ikaw at ikaw lang ang pipiliin ko. So please... trust me. Trust my feelings for you para matulungan mo ako. Don't doubt me."

Napabuntong hininga naman si Isaiah. Mabilis niya akong hinagkan papalapit sa kaniya at hinalikan niya ang aking ulo.

"I'm sorry for being immature. I'm just really jealous." he apologized, whispering in my ear. "Don't ever hug a guy again. I might break their arms for hugging you back."