Jackie felt that the worlds collided against each other and fell down on her--on her plans.

Standing on stage, holding a microphone and making everyone gape in awe was the girl every man in the place wanted. She was just pure perfection even with her simple black shirt, baggy pants and baseball cap. Her face was giving too much of her beauty. Her cheekbones were high enough, her lips full and smiling like they were trying to keep a funny secret from slipping away. And her nose was just the right shape and height, something that Jackie had always wished she had. She was not that tall, but she was in complete proportion.

Jackie prayed that her hair, which was obviously pulled up and completely hidden underneath the baseball cap, was not long, dark and wavy.

And Jackie wished that she would sound awful and that her voice would make the gaping men in the crowd frown with disappointment, including Troy, Miguel and Lee.

But the singing started and Jackie was the only person who was greatly disappointed.

“Alright!” the lead singer started, looking at the woman beside him.

And together they sang, “Yeah it’s been a bumpy road.” She sounded so cool, her voice just the right one for the song Compass by Lady Antebellum. “Roller coasters high and low.”

And when she sang the part with the roller coaster, she made a waving gesture with her hand and whirled around, getting a collective clap from the audience--except Jackie, of course.

Pedal fast, pedal hard

You won’t have to go that far

Jackie turned her eyes back on Dean Gamboa and for a moment, her heart leaped. His eyes met her and she thought she saw a smile on his face before his gaze returned to the woman who was the center of everyone’s attention.

Who the hell is she?

The only way to know the answer was to ask. Jackie vowed to do just that once the band would go on a break. She had to clear the woman’s role in her boss’ life once and for all. She was not that selfish as to ruin a relationship, but she was desperate enough to wish there was no relationship.

Troy, Miguel and Lee howled as the lead vocalist and the pretty singer sang the chorus.

So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when you’re lost

And you should follow it wherever you may go

When it’s all said and done, you can walk instead of run

‘Cause no matter what you’ll never be alone

Never be alone

Never be alone

The worse part for Jackie was when she saw Dannie and George look at the lady with smiles on their faces. Dannie rarely enjoyed such events and George had a completely different type of music to even put up a smile like that. It must mean that the lady in front of them was just amazing.

When the song ended, a series of claps erupted from everywhere and Jackie was forced to do the same. Fine, the lady was a great singer. She was pretty--fine, she was beautiful in a lot of way.

“I wonder if she’s single,” uttered Troy. No one paid him any attention because the vocalist was saying something.

“Tonight, we are glad to have here with us our dear friend, Nikki. Be nice to her, guys,” the vocalist said.

Nikki.

But was it even her real name?

“We would also like to address the most frequently asked question,” added the vocalist and everyone was silent. “Who are we? Well, you guys call us Anon, so we’ll leave it at that. We haven’t really figured out a name for our group just yet. But let me introduce you to each and every one of my friends.”

Jackie could almost taste the excitement in the air. Everyone, especially the ladies, wanted to know the names of the guys. She wondered if they would be using their real names.

“I am Phil and most of the time I will be singing the songs and playing the lead guitar alongside Kurt here,” he said, pointing at Kurt beside him, the not-so-handsome guy holding the guitar, but probably the one with the most fans. “And the one behind the keyboard is Rene,” Phil continued, pointing at the man with the glasses. “And our bassist is Spike, say hi, Spike.” The man called Spike just nodded his head. He was the weird one, Jackie thought. “And for the drums, we have Dean.”

Dean Gamboa didn’t do anything but touch the hood of his cap with one finger, looking at the audience.

“Ah, so they are using their real names after all?” Jackie asked aloud. “Phil, Kurt, Rene, Spike,” she uttered aloud, counting with her fingers. And Nikki, she added in her mind.

“I don’t really care. My eyes are on their guest today,” Troy commented beside her. “We should invite the band at our table, guys,” he said to Miguel and Lee who nodded their approval.

After a few more songs from the band, beers, and a lot of bickering around their table, the band finally decided to have a break. Since Troy seemed to have a charming personality--the boys couldn’t really figure out why that was--he managed to successfully invite the band to sit around with them.

“’Evening,” Dean Gamboa said to Jackie when he approached after taking his time talking to Nikki who seemed ecstatic over the success of her performance.

“Hi,” Nikki greeted and Troy and his two goons just stared at her like they were witnessing a natural phenomenon before their eyes.

“Hi,” Dannie uttered before Jackie could say anything.

Because the guys turned out to have a lot of things to talk about such as work and their personal interests, they didn’t have to suffer a lot of awkward moments. George and Nikki seemed to have the same hobbies and they talked about them for a while.

At one time, Jackie turned her head and met Dean Gamboa’s eyes. A long awkward moment passed between them before she smiled and said, “You guys really play great.”

And for the love of all that was holy, his lips formed a stunning smile. “Thanks,” he uttered, tearing his gaze away from hers. Then they transferred to Nikki who was still talking with George. “What do you think of Nikki?”

Jackie was speechless. What the hell did he mean by that? “Nikki?”

His eyes returned to her. He nodded his head.

“She’s really great. I mean, she sings really well.”

“She should know that,” he said with a smile. “She didn’t think she had the talent. We had to practically drag her out of their house today.”

At that moment, Jackie realized she didn’t like how the night was turning out. Troy was busy talking to the other guys while throwing glances at Nikki and slowly inching his seat toward her to even grab his camera and do his task of pointing it at Dean. Second, Dean Gamboa was talking to her about the girl.

“She’s your girlfriend?” The question just came out. She didn’t even realize when her brain commanded her tongue and lips to blurt out the words. When her ears heard her own question she felt her cheeks heat up.

But Dean Gamboa was looking horrified like he ate something cooked from Jackie’s mom’s kitchen (no one ever liked her mom’s cooking). “Girlfriend? No, no, no, she’s not. She’s my cousin.”

Relief washed over her. It felt like a thousand nasty needles stuck at the pads of her foot were taken off all at the same time.

So that was why he seemed so attached to Nikki. She was his cousin. Her plan was still intact after all.

“Why did you ask?”

“What?” she asked.

“Why did you ask?” Dean repeated.

Jackie tried to hide the flush on her cheeks by looking around the table. Everybody seemed busy with their own world of conversation and she realized that she was talking to Dean Gamboa alone. Alone! Where was Brian when he needed to be here? He had to witness this!

But then, she remembered she had to answer Dean’s question. “Nothing. I was just curious. Troy and the others were wondering about it earlier.”

Dean Gamboa just nodded.

Jackie was lost for a moment, watching his face under his baseball cap. She wondered what his hair looked like without his usual Dean Gamboa office look. She wanted to know how his hair would fall over his face if he didn’t brush it up.

“We’re up!” Phil said to the group and all the members started to stand up including Dean and Nikki.

“See you around,” Nikki said to the group and this time, Jackie was all smiles at her. Who wouldn’t when she found another person she could be friends with?

Being friends with his cousin will make it all look legit, she thought.

When all the ladies were done being amazed with Nikki, they were back to their own business. The guys, such as Troy and his two goons, were still in a trance, staring at the lady on stage with wonder and amazement in their eyes.

“What’s wrong with you? You’re drinking more than usual,” Jackie asked George. Her friend, though she seemed to have enjoyed talking to Nikki earlier, was drinking her tenth bottle.

“Nothing,” George answered, looking around, her eyes getting heavier by the second.

Dannie and Jackie exchanged looks. They knew something was up, but they have learned a long time ago that digging into George’s problem would lead them nowhere.

“I want to go home,” Dannie announced after the band finished singing their own version of September.

“Take George with you,” Jackie suggested, looking at George with worry. Her friend was on her thirteenth bottle. “Troy will drive me home.”

Troy’s head turned to her sharply. “I am?”

“Yes, you will.”

“I’m not going home just yet,” George said, her speech slurring.

“You are,” Dannie and Jackie uttered in unison.

“No, I’m not. No one’s going home!” George shouted.

Jackie dropped her shoulders. “Fine. Troy, take Dannie home. I’ll take George later with Toto.”

“Why me?” Troy asked, stealing a glance at Nikki who was talking with Dean and the band for their next song.

“Because you are.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll go get a taxi,” Dannie said.

“No, it’s late,” Jackie insisted.

“Why are you going home anyway?” Troy asked Dannie.

“Because I need to go to work tomorrow,” Dannie answered and then turned to George and Jackie. “And these two should be going home with me as well.”

“I’ll stay here,” George said.

“I’ll stay with her,” Jackie answered, grabbing to chance to stay a little longer.

“Fine. I’ll go,” Dannie said, getting up.

Troy followed suit. Dannie stared at him.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I’ll take you home,” he answered.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am,” Troy said, fishing for his keys.

“No, I’ll go home alone. I can manage.”

“He’s taking you, Dannie. Period. Or you’ll stay here until we’re all ready to go home,” Jackie said strongly.

Dannie assessed the situation. And when she finally managed to deduce that no one was going home in a few more hours, she sighed. “Fine. Faster, Brady.”

“Yes, teacher Danica,” Troy said, bowing and gesturing his hand sideways as Dannie passed by.

“Stop that! What the hell is wrong with you?” Dannie was asking as the two of them walked away.

“Hey, I’m doing you a big favor here,” Jackie heard Troy answer before their bickering voices could no longer be heard.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jackie asked George.

Her friend just looked at her dryly.

When she saw Miguel open his mouth, most probably to say something that would piss George off, Jackie sent the tip of her toe against his shin under the table. He almost bellowed in pain but it stopped him from provoking George who was obviously already pissed about something.

Jackie was sure it had something to do with her trip earlier. Deep inside, she hoped her friend would be more open with her problems.

But Jackie knew as well that the only way to help George was to act normally, like nothing was happening, and she did just that. She took Troy’s camera, after a fight with Lee who was guarding it, and started clicking away. She pretended she was documenting her fun night, but she managed to steal more candid photos of Dean Gamboa.

Troy returned and assured Jackie and George that Dannie was home and safe. When he saw his precious camera in Jackie’s hand, he grabbed it out of her hand and said, “Not your property, Jackie.”

“Fine. Then do your job and take more photos of my boss. When they’re done, invite them back at our table. We have to have photos together, please.”

“Okay, okay. Geez, you’re not even paying me for this.”

“Geez,” Jackie mocked, “I’ve been paying you in advance since high school. Remember all those assignments you copied off me?”

“They were not yours. You copied them off from Danica.”

“Yeah? You think you could have copied them if you asked her?”

“Of course not.”

“Then we’re even. I already paid four years of assignments in high school and countless of papers in college. No, no, don’t argue. Just do your job.” Then she turned her eyes at Miguel and Lee and added, “And that goes for the two of you as well.”

“We’re not saying anything,” they both uttered and gulped down their beers.

When the band finally sang their last song for the night, Troy invited them over once again and they agreed. They took the same chairs and Dean was back beside Jackie.

“Where’s your friend Dannie?” he asked.

“She went ahead. This is not really her thing, you know.”

He just nodded. It was that same awkward moment again. They were lacking of more things to talk about.

“Your other friend seems to have returned the bar’s capital for the night,” he said after a few minutes.

“She’s just going through something. I’m keeping an eye on her,” she whispered beside him, looking at George who was calling the waiter for another bottle.

“Where do you work?” she heard Nikki ask and when she turned her eyes at her, she realized the lady was looking at her.

“You were talking to me? I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Jackie answered, giving a laugh.

“It must be the cap,” Troy said. “No one can’t see your eyes so we don’t really know who you’re talking to.”

If Jackie could just reach his leg under the table with her foot, she would have kicked him already. What a lame excuse to ask the lady to take her cap off.

But Jackie was as curious as Troy, Miguel and Lee were.

Taking Troy’s cue, Nikki laughed and took off her cap. And lo and behold, she had long, wavy hair, just as Jackie feared earlier. And she could almost hear the gasp that came from her friends when they finally got a good look of her beauty.

Good thing she’s his cousin, Jackie thought.

“So?” Nikki asked her again.

“I work at Collins Corporation.”

Nikki frowned. “Dean also works at CC, right?” she asked her cousin.

He just nodded.

“Yeah, he’s my boss,” Jackie volunteered to provide the information.

“What?!” Nikki exclaimed. “You didn’t tell me!” Nikki accused him.

“You didn’t ask,” he said.

“So that’s why the two of you seemed to know each other earlier,” his cousin added.

“Yeah, sort of,” Jackie said. “We’re really not that close.”

“Really? Why?”

“Oh, you don’t really want to know what he’s like at work,” she answered.

Dean Gamboa’s head turned to her and she didn’t bother check what look he was throwing at her direction. They were not in the office after all and he didn’t have that much hold on her.

“Come on, tell me,” Nikki said with excitement.

“There’s nothing much to tell,” Dean said.

“That’s what he thinks, but I do have a lot to tell,” Jackie contradicted.

This time, Nikki had already stood up and went to sit beside Jackie.

And that was how she managed to make a friend out of Dean Gamboa’s cousin. As the night turned to morning, Jackie and Nikki talked about a lot of things. Yes, they talked about how Dean was at the office in whispers so he wouldn’t hear, but they also talked about music and food.

It was Dean who finally said, “I think your friend is not doing so well, Jackie.”

It took Jackie a long time to recover from shock after she heard Dean Gamboa call her by her first name. She didn’t know, but she guessed it was the first time that he called her that.

And when his words finally registered in her brain, Jackie looked at George and she gave out a defeated sigh. Her friend was already falling asleep after fifteen bottles of beer. And it was too much even for her. She knew Troy was lost in conversation with Nikki and the other guys to even bother taking pictures of her and Dean Gamboa. And she had to take care of her friend first. “I guess I’ll take her home,” Jackie said, trying to assess her own condition. She had had a few drinks as well while she was talking with Nikki.

“You’re driving?” Dean asked.

“Yeashh,” she answered. She knew her voice slurred a little, but she couldn’t help it. “Leshhgo, George,” she said, reaching out to shake George’s hand.

“Someone should take you home. I don’t think you can drive in your condition,” Dean said, looking at her. Her mind was clear and she could understand his every word, but they travelled to her slowly.

“No, I’m fine,” she said, shaking her head. It only made it worse.

“No, you’re not,” he said, his voice back to his bossy one.

“I’lldrivethemhome,” Troy said, his eyes drooping, his head hanging and falling forward.

Dean looked at him and shook his head. “I don’t think you can drive, bro,” he said to Troy. Then he looked at Nikki.

“I’m driving him home,” Lee suggested. “And him,” he said, pointing at Miguel who was already asleep beside him. “And then Jackie and George.”

Lee looked okay. He was the only one in their group of friends who always had the control. And Dean Gamboa seemed to have assessed that as well so he nodded his head.

Oh, no, not again, I uttered to myself when I saw Jackie and Lee dragging George, Miguel and Troy out of Art District and toward Tata. They shoved Miguel inside Tata’s passenger seat first because Troy was still busy watering the grasses with his gastric juices. When he was done, his friends opened the back seat to let him in.

“Just get in!” Lee was shouting at Troy who was crawling his way inside Tata’s backseat.

“Hey! Shhit up!” Jackie was shouting at him when he finally managed to climb in.

She was using too much ‘shh’. It only meant she was almost as drunk as the other three. George was already walking toward me and opened the driver side.

No, Georgie, you can’t drive like this! Jackie! Help! She’s going to drive!

“The boys won’t fit inside if you lay there, Troy,” I heard Lee tell Troy.

“Let’s go home, Toto,” Georgie was saying, her eyes almost a line now. Her grip against my steering wheel was lax. Not a good sign, I guessed.

Jackie! Georgie is going to drive! Hey!

But she was still busy pulling Troy to sit up inside Tata that she didn’t hear. And where was her other shoe? Oh, yes, she was holding it in one hand and she was attacking Troy inside Tata with it.

This is not good! Hey, Jackie girl! Georgie is about to do something stupid!

Good thing a group was coming closer and I saw Dean Gamboa. My savior!

Hey! You! Help us! I know Jackie hurt Beatle and all, but you’ve got to help me, man. I don’t think I can survive another car-wrecking accident!

He approached Jackie and I heard him say to Lee, “It’s okay. Let him. Just take him home.” And then he turned to Jackie saying, “I’ll drive you boys home myself.”

“But--”

“No buts, Jackie. Just let me drive you home. George is already behind the wheel. We need to stop her before she runs your car against the Nara tree,” he ordered, turning to one beautiful lady behind him. “Are you okay driving on your own?”

“Yes, of course, I am,” the pretty girl answered. “I didn’t drink that much.” The other guys with them seemed to be amused of the situation. They were holding guitars and other instruments so I assumed they were the band. It would have been great to meet them in a much better situation, but I was not in the mood to be struck by their awesomeness after hearing great songs from them tonight because I was in a panic. Georgie had already managed to insert the key and was about to turn me on.

Faster, faster, I shouted at Jackie and Dean.

Dean nodded at the group and grabbed Jackie’s hand and dragged her toward me. It was then that I managed to feel a great deal of relief. I was saved. And this was going to be another exciting night.

Dean Gamboa was taking my girl Jackie home!

“I’m shooober, I am faynnn,” Jackie was protesting, but her boss was not hearing her.

Oh, I have a feeling this is going to be a good night!