I was surprised when Teo's Mom, Zoey Lopez, called me early Saturday morning. I didn't expect her to move that fast. I mean, it was only the night before when I told Teo the problem.
"I heard you ran into some trouble." She told me.
"Yes. I'm sorry, I don't know who else to ask for help." I told her honestly.
"After your series ends shooting, come back, I have some agent that can introduce you to some casting directors." She told me.
"I also think it's for the best if I come back there, that way I won't cause any trouble for James anymore." I told her.
"As for your leading lady, I talked to some friends, she'll be receiving some offers for some movies and advertisements soon; we'll make her name big enough that making her career fail would be next to impossible." Zoey said.
"Thank you. Really..."
"Ethan, I can only help you this much. You started this mess, you should be the one to finally fix it." She was right, as always. "So, how are you planning to do it?"
"I made a big mess, and I plan on cleaning it up in a big way." I told her.
"I'll be looking forward to it, then." Zoey said.
I realized something, after everything that happened to James; no matter how many times we stall or stop his wedding, he would never be truly free as long as he is with that family. I was the one who stopped him from running away from that controlling family because I thought that he would regret losing them, but I was wrong. James has more family loving and supporting him aside from them. He has Damien and his parents, he has his friends, and sure, he also has me. He has many more people that love and supports him.
He won't lose anything at all, instead, he would gain the freedom to be with anyone he loves.
I tried my best to prepare breakfast, but cooking had never been one of my talents. I haven't woken James up yet, but it seems that the burnt smell already did.
James didn't have anything to wear last night, so I lent him some of my clothes, and I hate how good it looked on him. Hell, he was filling the clothes in all the right places.
And somehow, seeing him wear my clothes sent a weird sensation of satisfaction to me.
"Are you cooking?" He asked me as he walked towards the dining table.
"I tried." I admitted. I only cooked some eggs and hotdogs, but I still managed to burn some of them. At least the toast was totally fine. "I think we should order some food instead."
"Why? This seems fine." He said with a smile. He was smiling again. I felt relieved, at least he was back to his usual self. James took all the burnt stuff and left the perfectly cooked ones for me. "Let's eat."
We decided to eat at the café located near the lobby of the condo. "I don't have a schedule today, should I drive you back to your place? Or... do you want to stay here for another day?"
"I think, it's better if I stay here for another day. Once my Mom finds out I'm back at the condo, she'll send someone to get me." James replied.
"Alright." I told him. "We should go to the mall, you need a new phone, right?"
"I don't have enough cash. I can't use my cards or withdraw from ATM's Granddad have connections with banks, they'll notify him right away."
"Don't worry about the money." I told him. "We're also going to buy you some proper clothes. My shirts don't fit you well, it's too small for your arms." James chuckled. "What's funny?"
"Usually I would buy things for someone else, this is the first time that someone would take me shopping instead." He added.
"Don't expect too much, I'm not as loaded as you are." I told him.
"My family is loaded, not me." He replied.
"One more thing."
"What is it?"
"You're not getting married. You don't have to worry about my career or Diana's, I already took care of it, so forget about the wedding."
"You took care of it?" He asked me.
"Well, Teo's mom did, so don't worry. You should do what makes you happy. If you don't want to get married to Cathy Chua even if your family disowns you, then I'll support you. I won't stop you anymore."
James smiled at me. "Thanks." He said.
When we went to the mall, we were both wearing a cap and a pair of shades; I was trying to hide from prying eyes, and James was trying to hide from his family.
"Do you usually go out like this?" James asked.
"Like what?"
"Like trying to hide from attention."
"Well, that's the downside of being famous." I said in a cocky tone.
James smiled. "Well, I'm not that famous, but people stare when I walk around the mall. Do you think it's because of my handsome face?" He asked, replicating my tone and chuckling.
It's definitely because of your handsome face. "Being cocky doesn't really suit you."
I bought James the latest model of Samsung Galaxy, it was the same model and color as the one I was using. "Hey, make a pose." James called as he pointed the camera at me. I played along and took my cap and shades off and gave him a smoldering look. "Ohhh, that's great!" He said and took the picture. "I'll use it as your contact picture." He said.
"Don't lose that phone, I'll kick your ass if you do." I told him.
"I'll guard it with my life." He replied jestingly.
After buying him a phone, we walked around the mall for a while, and when we got tired, we decided to rest at one of the restaurants inside.
We were having our drinks and some snacks when I noticed some people taking pictures of us. Instead of hiding and running away, I took my shades and cap off. "I guess this is not working anymore." I said as I leaned towards James and took his off too.
"Are you sure you're fine with this? They're taking pictures..." He said worriedly.
"Let them be." I told him.
"You're going to make the headlines again. Are you really trying to ruin your own career?" He asked me.
"I can always go back to modeling, and I could take a shot at Hollywood too." I told him. "Don't get me wrong, I want to succeed here, but if it means being indebted to the Chuas and sacrificing your freedom, I'd rather go back to the States."
"It seems we finally have something in common." James said. "We both don't want to sacrifice each other."
I'm getting soft.
That night I was called by Mr. Hernandez because yet again I made the headlines. I left James at my place and told him not to worry.
"Have you gone insane? Are you trying to kill me?" Mr. Hernandez demanded as he showed me pictures of me and James together. The thing had blown up, and the public started speculating that I met with James to talk about his engagement with Cathy Chua. There was a link to one of the comments that showed a picture of me and Cathy together, and that's where people got the idea that maybe I was telling James to back out of the engagement "What are you trying to do? The network executives called me, the Chuas are threatening to pull out their sponsorship if you keep on getting involved with their affair!"
"I don't care about their affair, I couldn't care less what they do." I replied. "But I don't like being manipulated. They can pull out their sponsorship, for all I care, I won't be their little puppet. And, let me be clear, I have no interest in Cathy Chua or whatsoever, she can whoever she wants, but I won't let her lay a finger on James."
"You've gone crazy!" Mr. Hernandez shouted. "If you continue to act like that, you would lose the TV series even before it starts showing!"
"Fine, I'll handle everything." I told him. "Hold a press-con tomorrow evening, I'll make everything right." I told him.
"You better not be planning on making any trouble, Ethan." He told me.
"Not at all." I lied.
When I came back to the condo, James had a worried expression on his face. "How did it go?" He asked me. "What did your manager talked to you about?" He asked.
"Nothing serious, just my schedule..."
James sighed. "You, are you that eager to commit career suicide? That's why I told you; you shouldn't have taken our shades and caps off." He told me.
"You saw the articles?" I asked him rhetorically.
"What would you do now? You're all over the news again. Are you somehow addicted to being in scandals? Do you like it?"
"Why would I like it? It's tiring. Don't worry, I'll hold a press-con tomorrow evening, I'll end this whole spiraling mess once and for all." I told him.
"You're planning something crazy, aren't you?" I was surprised that he got what I was trying to do. "Can't you let this whole thing die down first?"
"When will it die down? When you're married to Cathy Chua? Let me handle this, I'll make sure your engagement would be broken in a snap." I told him confidently.
"Should I really? The last time you said that, you..." James said.
"I know, no need to remind me." I complained. Remembering the mess I made was quite embarrassing. "I won't do it in a roundabout way this time, just give me this one last chance, alright?"
"Alright." James finally said. "Just be careful. I know you want to help, but, I don't like it when you end up being the one in trouble instead."
What's this? Is he worried about me? For real?
When Sunday afternoon came, everyone around me was nervous. Mr. Hernandez and Pam couldn't seem to relax at all. They were anxious about what I was planning to do. "Listen, Ethan, just tell the press that there's nothing going on between you and Cathy, if they ask about the pictures tell them you're just friends." Mr. Hernandez said.
"No need to remind me that." I told him.
"I do need to remind you." Mr. Hernandez insisted. "Or else you'll just do something crazy again. Get ready, the reporters are coming in."
Just before I walked in the conference room, I called James. "The press-con is about to start." I told him.
"Don't do anything stupid. If you're doing it for me..."
"Listen, everything that would happen tonight is my choice. I started this whole mess, and I'm ending it." I told him. "Just one thing, though, James don't force yourself do anything you don't want to. They're calling me, I'm going..." I told him.
I would be lying if I say that I wasn't nervous because my heart was racing so fast. Quite frankly, I don't know what would happen after that night, and I don't know what I would do next.
The press-con started and I told everyone why I asked them to be there. I told them that I wanted to clear all of the issues that I've been involved within the past few weeks.
"Is it true that you're dating Cathy Chua?" One reporter asked.
"No, I'm not dating her. There's absolutely nothing going on between us." I replied.
"Then, what about the pictures of you with her? Did you know about her engagement with James Yuchengco? Why did you meet with James yesterday?"
"I knew about their engagement, that's precisely why I approached Cathy Chua. I just can't let James get trap in an arranged marriage against his will." I told them as my heart raced.
"Hey... What are you doing?" Mr. Hernandez lipped at me.
Everyone in the room looked surprised. "Have you known James Yuchengco beforehand? What is your relationship with him?"
"I met James during a friend's party. I brought Diana along with me to that party. I was busy having fun with my friend, and he kept Diana company, that's how the rumor about them dating started." I explained. "His parents heard about the rumor, and they sped up his marriage with Cathy Chua, I felt guilty for causing trouble, so I approached Cathy Chua first. I wanted to make her back out from the engagement."
"Is that true? Are you not just making an excuse because you're being pressured? I heard that the Chuas agreed to sponsor your series if you keep your distance from Cathy." One reporter asked.
"If James really didn't want to go through with the wedding, why did agree to it in the first place?" Another reporter asked.
"Because he's too kind that it's annoying." I said honestly. "He's such a filial son and he always thinks about other people while he forgets about himself. I really hate how never puts his own happiness first. He likes a friend of mine, but he can never confess because that friend is happy with someone else. He rather gets hurt than hurt those around him, that's the kind of guy he is."
"So, let me make things clear, once and for all." I told everyone. "There's nothing going on between Diana and James, if anything, Diana just get involved in a malicious rumor because of my carelessness. And, I'm not dating Cathy Chua either. If anything..."
What am I doing? Am I going crazy? What was I about to say?
"If anything?" One reporter asked.
That's right. This mess happened because of me. It became worse because I tried to solve it in a roundabout way. Just be straightforward, Ethan. Just be honest.
"If anything... even though he's in love with my friend... it's James that I want to make mine. That's I won't let anyone else take him away from me."
Everyone in the room had the same expression of shock. Even Mr. Hernandez and Pam had their eyes wide opened in shock.
Ahh, haa... I did it again. I've totally gone insane.
But...
It feels great...
Being honest about my feelings.