For Keeps (Published in Dreame app)

1

Chapter One

Gabriel

"Gab, I heard the news that you're coming home here in the Philippines! What time will you arrive in Manila? :) " Binasa ni Gab Ponce ang text message ng kaniyang pinsan na si Yunna Dominique sa kaniya.

Sigurado siyang nagfi- fish ito ng information para sa best friend nitong tagahanga niya bilang siya ay ang sikat na si GP of Infin8 boyband hindi lamang sa Asya kungdi sa buong mundo.

"Tsk! Dom talaga." Napailing siya sa text message ng kaniyang pinsan na kasing edaran lamang niya.

Ipinagpatuloy ni Gab ang pagbasa sa mga sumunod na text message ni Dominique sa kaniya.

"By any chance, kasama mo din ba si Vinci? Magbabakasyon ba siya sa Manila? Kailan mo ba ako papa-date sa kaniya? Hehe!"

Bahagya siyang napatawa sa sunod-sunod na tanong ng kaniyang pinsan. Matagal na ito nagpu-pumilit na ireto niya ito sa kanyang matalik na kaibigan na si Vinci. Patay na patay kasi si Dominique kay Vinci.

Nag-reply siya sa text message ng kaniyang pinsan. "Asa kang ipakilala kita kay Vinci! Wag na yon, Dom! Iba na lang." Pinindot niya ang send, bago niya nilagay sa airplane mode ang kaniyang mobile phone.

Gab hoped Dominqiue would stop asking him about Vinci, because he would be forced to put his best friend in a bad light, just so his cousin would understand why he would rather not encourage her.

Matalik niyang kabigan si Vinci. He knew Vinci so well as they practically grew up together ever since they trained and joined the Infin8 boyband managed by their South Korean MM Management Agency. Mabait si Vinci, ngunit playboy ito at takot sa commitment. Wala din itong balak mag-settle down in the future. Kaya naman gustuhin man niyang pagbigyan ang kaniyang pinsan ay hindi niya magawa. Naga-alala siya para dito lalo na ang gusto lamang gawin ni Vinci ay i-enjoy ang pagiging buhay binata. Baka umasa at masaktan lang ang kaniyang pinsan.

As the saying goes, "birds of the same feather flock together".

Gab and Vinci secretly observed that women would come to them naturally because of their good looks, fame, and fortune they've earned as famous members of Infin8 boyband. They admit that it was arrogant of them to think that way, and they were sure they would even get a beating from the senior members of the Infin8 boyband to think of women as a way to pass the time. But, these two youngest members of the group think they were not to blame. They had witnessed how women flocked and offered themselves to the members of Infin8 a thousand times, as they rose to fame in the entertainment industry.

Ladies naturally gravitated towards bachelors with good looks, fame, and fortune.

But, deep inside Gab's heart, he still secretly hoped he was wrong. He still wanted to have the kind of love that his parents had for each other as he would often wondered how it felt like-- to be very happy and contented. It was something he knew would be impossible for him to achieve with the kind of life he led. Sa tingin niya, ito ay isang pangarap na mahirap makamit.

The fame and fortune that GP of Infin8 achieved through the entertainment industry came with a very high price to pay. He had to give up his time for relationships.

Gab, unfortunately, had no time to be with loved ones. He did not have time to grow up like normal boys do- nage-explore, nagloloko, nagkakamali, nagdi-discover, naga-adventure, natututo, bumabangon muli, at tinatanggap ang sarili sa pagkakamali.

Sa industriya na kanyang ginagalawan, walang room for error. Otherwise, it could become his instant downfall. What was worse would be the great possibility that he would unintentionally drag Infin8 boyband down, as well as those working for them, and because of this, many people may lose their jobs and affect their families. He never would want such a thing to happen. Baka hindi siya makatulog sa sobrang konsensiya.