"What's with you and Lance? Akala ko ba si Ethan ang crush mo?" Sulpot ni kuya Sev.
Inirapan ko siya kasi nakakaloko na naman ang ngiti niya. Ugh! I wear his coat properly because its already sliding on my shoulders.
"At nakita pala ni Papa yung eksena niyo ni Lance. You'll need a lot of explaining to do later young missy."
Dagdag niya pa. He sounded like Papa when he said that.
"I'll explain kuya. Don't worry."
Hindi na ulit nagsalita si kuya. We go to the table when Mama called us. We ate first. Hindi nga ako nakakain ng maayos, because Lance kept glancing at me. Nandoon siya sa other end ng table. Wala namang pa-activities si tita except sa pagkanta ng E-Levate. Which is making me more excited and nervous.
Nang matapos ang lahat sa salu-salo ay saka naman ang dating nina Corrine at Stephanie. Ano kaya ang hidden agenda ng dalawang ito?
"Dan sama ka muna sa amin."
Hindi na ako nakapalag ng hatakin ako papasok ni Corrine.
"Where are we going? Magpe-perform na sila Lance."
They are already setting up!
"Dito sa room ni Cams. Magpractice lang tayo saglit para hindi ka naman mabigla sa pagkanta."
"What?! Kakanta ako? Bakit?"
I don't know what to say. Corrine's always surprising me.
"This is easy Dan. Acoustic naman to, so don't worry. It's a duet with Lance."
She gave me her beautiful smirk. Yes, she's teasing me. Magkakaibigan nga kami. Hay!
A duet with Lance? Why do I feel like I'm excited? These butterflies in my stomach won't go away either.
....
Napahinga ako ng malalim habang hinihintay matapos ang pagkanta niya ng From Here To Mars. After that song is "our" first ever duet.
I want to hate Cams, Corrine and Steph for making me missing out on their opening act but now I can't even look in his eyes. He's singing to me instead of tita Ice. Bakit pakiramdam ko ako yung may birthday?
The song ended and everyone clapped their hands. Vaughn Adrian and Terry got off from the mini stage. They leave Lance and Ethan. Corrine handed to Ethan the acoustic guitar that she used earlier. They planned this because of how coordinated they are.
"Happy Birthday tita Ice, we've got one more song to sing. Alam niyo po siguro 'to dahil sa lumang album namin galing. But, I need miss Danarine Grimley here on the stage to sing with me.."
Everyone gasped because of what he said.. Camilla gently pushed me on the mini stage. I heard kuya Sev's cheers.
Tumayo si Lance at inalalayan ako paakyat ng stage. Nakarinig naman ako ng mga tilian. My other cousins.. Iginiya niya ako sa wooden chair na katulad ng inuupuan niya. Para kaming nasa campfire! He smiled when he handed me the microphone.
"Ready?" He asked.
Tumango lang ako and them Ethan starts strumming his guitar..
Sad Song Acoustic version by We The Kings feat. Elena Coats
You and I, we're like fireworks and symphonies exploding in the sky
With you, I'm alive..
Like all the missing pieces of my heart, they finally collide..
Chapter Twenty Three
Start from the beginning
