___
Jairus' Perspective
Hindi ko talaga sure kung anong reaction ang ieexpect ko sa kanya.
Maybe a sarcastic laugh, a shrug or a witty comeback like “Of course he needs me—everyone does! Pinapatunayan lang non na ganito ako kagaling.”
But when I told Steve what Jean said—that I could only join the band if I brought him—His smirk vanished. He went quiet.
Too quiet.
He leaned back against the hallway wall, head tilted up, eyes half-closed. Like he was somewhere else entirely.
“Steve?” I said, softly.
He blinked slowly, then sighed. “Yeah. No.”
That threw me off guard. “Yey! Thank you—wait, what?”
“No,” he repeated, pushing himself to his feet. “I’m not joining Jean’s band.”
“That’s it? Just like that? Why?”
“I don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
I stepped in front of him before he could leave. “Maybe not, but I’m asking anyway.”
He stopped.
His jaw clenched. “Why does it matter to you so much?”
“Because this is my only shot, Steve. You know that I trained for weeks, I built everything around this audition. I need this.”
His eyes locked with mine, just for a moment, something in his expression softened. Then he looked away.
“He doesn’t even remember me now…I doubted that he would”
“…Ha?”
Steve laughed, a bitter and quiet one. “ Akala mo ba, si Jean ay isa lang ‘quiet genius’ na mahilig gumawa ng music sa isang madilim na lugar at walang pakialam sa tao? Yeah, he’s like that. Pero…he also used to be…more than that, well, at least to me. He used to be my everything and he didn't even know.”
I stared at him, stunned.
“Sayo ko lang sasabihin to, pag ito talaga kumalat, Ikaw ang titirahin ko” he jokingly said, trying to lighten the mood around us.
“I had a thing for him a long time ago,” Steve said, still not looking at me. “Nung freshman ako, nag collab kami sa isang duet piece para sa showcase ng school natin. He asked me to sing with him, Isang beses lang. Like what we did for your preparation, we rehearsed for weeks. And sa kakaunting sandaling iyon, I observed him. The way he thought, how he wrote music, how his hands shook when he played and his expression while playing the piece.”
He paused.
“He looked… Majestic. At that moment, I fell...”
Hindi ko alam kung anong sasabihin. Ang bigat ng pakiramdam ko at ang sakit ng dibdib ko. I wasn’t jealous—There’s no reason to be jealous—but I felt something. Maybe because Steve never let himself sound like this when he's around me…He sounded…Vulnerable. And maybe what I felt right now is sympathy.
“So…what exactly happened?” I asked gently.
He scoffed. “Wala. Yun yung problema, walang nangyari! I tried to confess—well, sort of. I gave him my lyrics kase gusto ko humingi ng feedback. ‘Puyat’, my written song, was my confession letter…it has subtle hints of what I've felt for him. But I think he didn’t get it…or maybe he did and just didn’t care. Either way, he never said anything.
YOU ARE READING
All Strings Attached
FanfictionTo follow his dream to become a great performer, Jairus Klyde Dela Cruz approached his Junior/ Idol in performing-Steve Zairen Valerio, to be his mentor. The only thing is, there are rumors going around their campus that Steve 'supposedly' enjoys ma...
