Invisible Line in Between

Chapter 4

It wasn't Isaiah's fault, actually. It was my on my own accord to get my hopes up and lift my expectations from him. He shouldn't be blamed for the disappointment I was feeling. I did this to myself.

My brother lonely gazed at me, when he looked up again. "Look at this, Zendaya..." He took my hand and placed the guitar pick back on my palm. "Look at the smiley face he drew."

I did what he told me. I focused my eyes, looking at the smiley face.

"The smiley face he drew on this pick had faded out now. It was almost unrecognizable." He pointed out what was obvious. "You may have taken good care of the pick, but the smiley face still faded. You told me it's been four years, so I didn't question more on why it happened."

My lips parted, starting to get his point.

"If you can still remember how it looked like before, it doesn't change the fact that it looks different now," he said. "And this isn't the only thing that's changed. You changed, too, Zendaya."

My eyes were still glued on the pick, while my brother tucked my loose hair strands at the back of my ear.

"I watched you grew to be a very beautiful lady."

I lifted my face to look at my brother. He had this proud smile on his face.

"When you were still in high school, the time when you met him, you were like a budding flower that time. You were still undeveloped," he told me, still wearing a smile. "And now, you are like a beautifully bloomed rose. You look different, but still the same. Just like the rose when it was still a bud."

As I took by heart and understood what my brother meant, I finally understood. It had been four years, I consoled myself with that thought. Madami na ang nagbago―hindi lang sa akin, kung hindi pati na rin sa kanya. I should, at least, be thankful that he could still remember what happened that night. It only meant that he valued what happened before as well.

And besides, his song still made me happy. It helped me get by for years. Through his song, I found the reason to smile.

Even though he couldn't remember me, I still love him and his band―as a fan. Their songs gave me strength and inspiration. I would continue to support them as long as I could, especially that my determination to keep on supporting the band had heightened up, when the official account of New Classic followed the fanbase account I created. They also invited me for a meeting at Top Star.

@NewClassicOfficial:
Good day! This is the manager of New Classic, Joel Lacson. Are you free on coming Sunday at 1PM onwards? We would like to invite you for a brief meeting at Top Star Records HQ in Quezon City, in regards to the official fanclub, which we are planning to establish for New Classic. If you are interested, your reply would be very much appreciated.

It felt like I was walking on air as I stared at the notification and message that I screenshot. Out of the six accounts it was following, my fanbase account was one of them. I created a simple post to tell the followers of the account that it was noticed and followed by the official account of the band. It received a lot of pleasant and harmonious responses from my fellow fans, congratulating the fanbase. At the same time, the number of followers also sky rocketed that I almost couldn't keep up with it. My notifications were going wild.

@dawnramos:
Congrats, Zendaya! Kinikilig ako para sa 'yo!

After the event, Dawn and I constantly communicated and kept in touch. We also attended one of New Classic's mall tour together last month. Siya ang pinakaunang fan din ng New Classic na naging kaibigan ko. I sent her the message I received from New Classic's official account. She was genuinely happy for me.