8 Knocks [KathNiel]

Sitting on her hotel room bed, Kathryn sighed as she sat under the white covers. Her mom, more exhausted than she was (Kathryn blamed it on the age, “Mommy really should start letting me go to my schedules alone”), was already asleep on the other bed a few feet beside hers. Turning on the TV, she flipped through the channels looking for something good to watch.

Earlier that day she and Daniel had a mall show in one of the malls outside Manila. It was fun. She got to enjoy the stage with one of her best friend, their fans, and got to see a scenery other than the usual filming set. The both of them not having any other schedules that day, their managers decided they might as well spend the night at a hotel than spend the whole night driving back home. Schedule for tomorrow was Growing Up filming, and it starts at noon, plenty of time to drive tomorrow morning.

She stopped on HBO as she saw Zac Efron’s (beautiful) face on the screen. HBO was playing 17 Again. She shifted her pillow up so she’d have a comfortable back rest when she heard a knock from the other side of the wall.

She slowly turned, bringing her ear towards the wall and knocked back. “Daniel…?” She asked.

Knock, knock, knock, knock. pause. knock. pause. knock, knock, knock, knock. pause. knock, knock, knock.

“Hindi ko kaya alam paano mag-basa ng morse code.” Expecting to hear more knockings, Kathryn was surprised to hear Daniel reply.

“Hindi morse code yan, Kath!”

“Eh nakakapag-salita ka pala eh.” She smiled, she should be used to Daniel childish antics, but she can’t help but find them adorable. “Ulitin mo nga mga katok mo?”

Heaving an almost impatient sigh, Daniel knocked again. “Kuha mo?” He asked earnestly.

“Teka, kuha ako ng papel at ballpen, tapos kakatok ako para ulitin mo.” 

Kathryn reached for the hotel pad and pen on her bedside table, and then sticking her ear back to the wall she heard Daniel say. “Kath naman eh, alam mo na ‘to.”

Kathryn smiled again, picturing Daniel scratch the back of his head while he said it. Impatient little child. “Eh bakit ba pakatok-katok ka pa diyan. Kung sabihin mo nga nalang sa’kin.” She knocked.

She heard a sigh from the other sighed before the knocking started again. “KAAAATH” She heard him drawl her name softly along with the first four knocks but the last eight knocks came unaccompanied by his voice.

She looked down at the 12 dots she made for each knocks. The first four were for her name, as Daniel had clued her. K. A. T. H. All she had left were the eight knocks to figure out.

8 knocks.

Kathryn smiled wider. I guess he wasn’t so childish after all.

“DJ” She enunciated each letter of his nickname as she knocked twice. It was Daniel’s turn to keep an ear on the wall as Kathryn continued knocking.

Knock. pause. knock, knock, knock, knock. pause. knock, knock, knock.

She smiled earnestly as she brought her ear back on the wall, waiting for a reply. After a few seconds of silence, she sat back up, and frowned. About to knock again, but this time it wouldn’t be a sweet message, when her cell phone vibrated. Text message from Daniel.

“I. LOVE. YOU"