FOREIGN BLISS

CHAPTER NINE

 Lights, timing, decorations, and several effects. All were being checked thoroughly and everyone is busy, anxious that only 23 minutes were left and the most awaited concert will finally start.

“Are you guys excited?!” Melanie asked the two of them, her voice was a bit louder due to the noise of the other people that are also waiting for them as well, her hands holding one of the posters they made.

“Of course I am! Duh.” Fiona answered and rolled her eyes, her voice were also louder that the usual, waving her hand who’s holding the other poster. “How about you Daph? Felling nervous or something?”

Daphne stared at them for a while before shrugging. “I feel normal.” she said and rolled the poster she’s holding, causing them to react quickly and get it away from her, getting her hand slapped in the process.

“Don’t roll it for crying out loud!” Fiona said and smoothened the poster, glaring at her before harshly shoving it back into her hand’s once again.

“Anyways, remember that I reserved you guys for the fan meet?” Fiona asked the three of them, making them nod. “So you better enjoy and pay me back.” she continued and smiled. “Except Daphne of course.”

“That’s best friend discrimination!” Melanie protested, stomping her feet in the process “It’s my first fan meet to so I should be exempted! That’s unfair!”

Fiona looked at her and rolled her eyes, putting her hand in front of Melanie. “But you agreed back then. You said that you’ll pay because my reservation for you is more than enough, remember?”

“Yes, but I was so so happy back then! I’m like drunk and you believed me?!” Melanie asked with a groan. “Life is unfair.”

Daphne just stared at them silently and can’t find the strength to bicker with them. Her heart was beating faster, a total opposite of she just said earlier. Her mind’s creating several chains of questions and her panic were slowly eating her.

What will I do?! Do I look okay? Ugh. I shouldn’t have come here! No matter how hard she’s acting like she’s fine, her inner self’s near on collapsing.

“What’s good in this place?” Yuan asked, making the three of them look at them with different expressions. Daphne looked at him with a blank face then a shrug, Fiona looked at him with her brow raised, and Melanie faced him with an irritated one.

“What? I just asked.” Yuan said, confused on their reaction. Instead of a verbal response, Melanie hit the back of his head, causing him to yelp in surprise and rub the part that was hit.

“No one forced you to come here stupid jerk!” Melanie shouted, receiving the great impact due to her being beside him. “You should’ve just stayed home or something!”

“That’s why they should have a warning poster preventing guys on attending the concert.” Fiona said with a burning glare. “Talk about rudeness.”

Daphne just looked at them before facing the empty stage. For some reason she can’t find, her heart continues to beat faster as if it’s increasing every second. “I think I’ll die.” she whispered to herself before looking at her arguing friends.

In the Gray Sky’s waiting room, several staffs were surrounding the three of them. Some for their hair, some for their wardrobe and some were for other things that are needed to be checked carefully.

“Are you kids ready?” Lucas asked them, holding a rolled paper filled with their concert flow, while leaning on the wall. “You guys need to be on the rising platform three minutes before the call time.”

“Seriously El? Will you stop calling us kids?” Denver asked while fixing some strands of his hair, looking at their manager through the mirror. “We aren’t that young anymore you know.”

“I’ll stop when you guys are finally grown-ups.” Lucas answered and shook his head. “And I bet that’ll happen after some decades.”

“If we hadn’t lost to Topher back then, Lucas here won’t mock us.” Johann said as he smoothens the collar of his clothes. “Now he feels more superior.”

“It’s not my fault you let the big baby win in the rock-paper-scissors you guy called a ‘war’.” Lucas said, using his finger to quote the last word. “But at least, you kids finally respect me as an El too. Right Topher?”

“But I’m pretty sure he cheated.”  Johann said and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he changed before dropping his hand.” Denver added.

“Nah, you guys still let him win even with saying that.” Lucas said and smirked, looking at Christopher. “See Topher? They’re against with you winning yet they still agreed in the end.”

Denver and Johann shook their heads, but still, they know that deep within them, they acknowledge that Lucas is right. They can’t just stand and see their youngest mope and sulk around when they can’t give what he wanted.

Upon hearing no response from the many times mentioned person, their eyes landed on him. Christopher is currently staring at the table while silently seated on his chair, letting his assigned artist do the final touches for his raven hair.

He feels more nervous than the other concerts they did the past years. She knew me before, right? Maybe she’s here? Will I see her in the fan meet later? Why am I feeling edgy and restless?  His mind just keeps on sending questions yet none of them were answered, causing him to fall more and more into his thoughts. Why am I even worrying about it?!

“Topher?” Denver asked, tapping his shoulder in the process. He blinked twice before lifting his head and face him.

“Huh?” he asked, not catching their former topic. After seeing Denver’s curious face, he looked at the others, realizing that Johann was looking at him silently and Lucas stared at him with his brow raised, all waiting for his answers.

“What’s up?” Christopher asked after all of them remained quiet and just keeps on staring on him. With a sigh, he stood up and faced them. “Is it time already?”

“You’re spacing out.” Johann commented before walking towards him, putting his hand on his shoulder before speaking once again. “What’s on your head Topher?”

“You should clear it for a while kid.” Lucas said and went towards them as well. “The concert is in seven minutes. But anyways, what’s up?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind listening before we go to the platform.” Denver added. “Besides, you seemed to have a lot in mind lately, especially these past few days.”

Christopher looked at each one of them before sighing. “Nothing, I just-” instead of continuing, he just sighed. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Johann asked. “Yep, let’s go Els.” Christopher said and smiled, acting like his usual self.

Upon hearing his answer, their gut feeling tells them that his not ready to talk yet, so they just let their youngest be and proceed to their planned event.

While they were nearing the platform, the loud cheers and their voices were becoming clearer and louder, making them smile and more fueled to do their best and not disappoint those who trusts them.

On the arena, they were getting more and more excited as the countdown was shown in the huge screen. “This is it!” Melanie shouted, cheering along with the others.

“Hey Daph.” Fiona called loudly, making her looked at her and wait for her next words. “You should enjoy okay?! My money isn’t dead now for nothing!” she said and laughed, nudging her as she waves the poster on her free hand.

Daphne smiled and nodded. “I’ll try.” she answered with the equally loud voice. She faced the stage and clutched the poster tightly, her heart was beating much faster than before, clearly excited and nervous about seeing him again.

 “Hey RDs!” Christopher’s loud voice boomed, making the cheers increase tenfold.

Daphne watched in amazement as Gray Sky emerge from beneath the stage, all in their respective position. The camera focused them one by one, showing their faces in the huge screens in the stage.

Denver flashed a smile and wink before tapping the drum sticks to each other. Johann smiled and blew a flying kiss before making his finger ran through the piano keys. Christopher winked and held the mic firmly in his hand, raising it up with a triumphant smile.

“Are you guys ready?!” Christopher asked once again, their loud ‘yes’ rang throughout the venue. “Then let’s start in three!! two!! one!!”

The sound of the drums and the piano boomed, along with the other sound effects that added beauty in the tune and melody of the song.

They say time is what we need

But we say actions matters more

They say we can’t cuz it’s not for us

But we say ‘no’ and yes! we can

“That’s ‘First Everything’ Daph!” Melanie said, looking at her with gleaming eyes. Yuan, on the other hand, seems to be bored yet he’s slowly enjoying himself through the bop music he’s hearing for the first time.

Waves of trials blocks our path

But no! we won’t back down

And this is our first everything

Yes, this is ours!

The song continued as the people who patiently waited for them sang along with them, making the vibes be as airy and fun as it can be. Everyone watched them with awe as they flawlessly make the song come to life.

Daphne looked at them with so much amazement, specifically, staring at Christopher with admiration. “Wow.”

“Having fun everyone?!” Christopher asked, his face was focused on the huge screens. The crowd screamed as an answer making the three of them laugh and smile, each of them took turns in being the focused one that is shown he screens.

They sang and played their music for 30 minutes straight, and upon finishing the final song, the lights switched into a calmer one, all with shades of blue and white, with the combination of several light hues that made the stage appear cold and serene.

“Everyone, you guys helped us shine.” Christopher said, the huge screen made everyone see how grateful, happy and how much he appreciates them. “No matter how high or great we appear to be, we always see each other as those who isn’t alone in reaching it, because we have everyone who stood with us until now and till the end. We wanted to show our gratitude through reaching out with our music, so we hoped you enjoyed and appreciated the thoughts included in every song we made throughout the years. Thank you everyone! We love you! Let us create more meaningful songs and cherish beautiful memories together!”

The crowd cheered, all in awe with how appreciative and humble the three of them are. The screen then focused on Johann, his eyes were showing the excitement he’s feeling. “We are fortunate to have RDs on our side, ever since you guys trusted us, you became our strength, along with our families and those who supported us and stayed through thick and thin. We are very lucky to have all of you, we won’t stop in making ourselves better, we promise that we’ll try our best to not you all down. We can’t say enough words to express our feelings, but unlimited ‘thank you’ is part of what we wanted to say. RDs! We love you!”

The crowd erupted with cheers once again, finding his message cute and warm at the same time. The camera then focused on their leader, whose smile showed his deep dimple. Denver waved at it before speaking. “Thank you for allotting time for us even if it’s night already. Because of you guys, we realized that our passion really is not enough to make us shine, but it is more than enough to make you guys notice us and help us shine. RDs, we really thank you from the bottom our hearts. We might not know every one of you, but please do know that we all love you. We don’t base with names, looks, status, or whatever almost everyone looks up to, we love those who love us and also, we also love those who don’t. Because haters point out our mistakes, and we thank them for that. So RDs! Keep smiling and we love you!”

“Aren’t they the sweetest?!” Melanie asked as she cheered along with her fellow RDs. “You bet! They’re really appreciative!” Fiona said and let her voice blend in with their yells.

Daphne looked around and saw many unfamiliar faces, but all were showing identical smiles. She then realized that not everyone goes out and shout their lungs out when singing were just crazy and had nothing to do. She felt deeper feelings than that, something she can’t see without the power of music and unity.

“Then let’s all meet one on one!” Denver said and tapped the drum sticks to each other. “Are you guys ready?!” Johann said after the camera focused him.

“Let us meet each other in three! two! one!” the moment Christopher said the last number, all nights went black except for some lights that are enough for the viewers see those who’s with them. The screen showed a timer that counted starting from 15 minutes, indicating their waiting time before their fan meeting will officially start.

“Come on, let’s go.” Fiona said and stretched her hands, followed by her moving her neck and shoulders. “I think I moved too much.”

“It’s fine! You only live once!” Melanie said and giggled, clearly showing her still excited and hyper self. “Let’s go before they all get in the line!” she added and grabbed their hands, nearly dragging them.

“What’s going on?” Yuan asked as he looked around. “They’re all leaving, where are you girls going anyways?”

“There’s a change in venue, we’re going in the huge hall beside this concert place.” Fiona said and let out a small yawn. “Guess I became too excited that I drained my energy too fast.”

Yuan followed them with his both hands at the back of his head, walking silently while still looking around the place he has never seen before. “This place is quite huge. It can fit thousands of people.”

Melanie looked at him with a smirk, proud that she knew something her childhood friend don’t. “This place exists for a reason, and that reason is to fit everyone who wanted to be in here. Cool huh?”

“Yeah yeah.” Yuan said dismissively and rolled his eyes, deciding to let her enjoy without an episode of their bickering. “You’re lucky I love you.” he whispered and just watched the girls talk and enjoy themselves.

After reaching the line where the fans gather, they stood and waited, glancing at the screen hanging on the ceiling from time to time.

“Jeez! I told you guys to hurry because we might be late!” Melanie said with a groan. “Now look! We are last!” she added, exaggerating every syllable of the last three words.

“Shh!” some from the people in front of them said, putting their finger in front of their mouths, causing Melanie to blink with wide eyes before staring at the floor. “Sorry.”

“What happens in a fan meet?” Daphne asked curiously. Melanie and Fiona looked at her before they looked at each other, thinking on how to answer her question.

“To be honest, I haven’t experienced one yet.” Fiona said and chuckled. “I only attended two concerts, one before and this right now. But I heard it’s about having a limited one on one talk with them.”

“Me too, I haven’t attended one yet.” Melanie answered. “This is also my second concert, I went with Fiona before, remember? And I heard that you can ask anything to them as long as they can answer it.”

“Oh.” Daphne said and nodded. “Thanks.” she said softly and stared ta the wall beside her. So I can really talk to him? I wonder how will he react, Daphne thought, but then shook her head after realizing something. Nah, it’s not like I’m someone important to him anyways.

08m: 07s

“Why are you so worked up this time?” Lucas asked as he saw Christopher having a hard time choose between black leather and denim jackets.

Denver and Johann were looking at him as well, curious on why, their youngest with a good taste and fashion eyes, was having difficulty on what will he use to finish up his top looks. “Yo Topher, you good?” Denver asked, eager to know why as well. But the same as Lucas, his question got ignored.

“Chris. To. Pher.” Johann called him, stopping in every syllable while tapping his hand on his shoulder, making him look at him with surprised eyes, snapping out his thoughts.

“Huh? What?” Christopher asked, looking at him with confused eyes. Upon receiving no response, he sighed and raised the jackets with his both hands. “Which one’s better?”

Instead of answering, Lucas and Denver walked towards them, then the three of them exchanged glances, leaving Christopher more confused.

“Leather."

"Denim." 

"Both.”

Denver, Johann, and Lucas said at the same time. Christopher blinked. “Thanks.” he said with a blank face. “That helped me a lot.” he added monotonously.

“But seriously, what’s with the sudden over carefulness with clothes and styles?” Lucas asked, tapping his foot on the floor.

“I-” Christopher stopped and shook his head, changing his answer. “What will you guys do if you’ll meet someone you wanted you meet again?” he asked in a whisper tone, but loud enough for the three guys that surrounded him to hear.

Denver, Lucas and Johann looked at each other, confused with his sudden question. Upon realizing, they all looked at him with different expressions. Johann looked at him with a brow raised, Lucas stared at him with a smirk, and Denver shook his head while looking at him teasingly.

“You’re worrying with your clothes because her, aren’t you?” Denver asked with a teasing smile. “Don’t be, your looks are good enough to make a trash bag as your clothes a fashion trend.”

“That’s another thing a person do for his crush, it’s called the urge to impress.” Lucas said and nodded understandingly. “Look at our kid, he’s growing.” he said and smiled like a proud father.

“Topher, both jackets are good. I’m sure- I mean- we are sure she’ll like anything you’ll wear.” Johann said and pointed the jackets. “Why does this kid find a love interest earlier than us?” he added and sighed.

“Pal, I have a girlfriend.” Lucas said, emphasizing the third word. “Don’t drag me in your misfortune, Hawkins.”

“Ah right.” Johann said and snapped his fingers. “There’s someone patient enough to stay with you. Poor girl, ending up with you.” he said and looked at him blankly.

“I am not that unlucky too.” Denver chimed in, making them look at him. “I may not have a girlfriend but I enjoy being single.” he said with a triumphant smile.

“Lame excuse.”  Johann said and rolled his eyes. “You just beautified the meaning of being single.”

Christopher sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’ll just take the leather one.” he muttered and put the denim jacket down, putting the black leather unto him, matching his navy-blue shirt. He stared at himself through the mirror for a while before sighing. This will do.

“Let’s go Els.” Christopher said and faced them. Denver, Lucas and Johann stared at him, and as if on cue, they all gave him a slow clap.

“Finally, you chose one.” Denver said as they stopped clapping, then gave his back a light slap. “Act casually okay? If you meet her later, don’t be stupid and make a fool of yourself.”

Johann then positioned himself on Christopher’s other side before slapping his back a bit harsher than what Denver did. “Yeah, don’t copy Denver, he makes stupid things and that’s why he’s single all this time.”

Lucas laughed loudly, clapping his hands in the process. “You say that as if you have a girlfriend.” he said and smirk.

“Shut up old man.” Johann said and sighed, glancing at the screen that’s located on their ceiling. “Let’s go now, we have two minutes left.”

Christopher watched as they all walked towards the next venue, sighing as he can’t help but feel nervous and curious as the same time, still wondering whether he can see her there or he just let his hopes raise too high.

00m:00s

“They’re here!” Fiona and Melanie exclaimed in unison, delighted to see them walk inside after the timer let out a loud noise.

“I know, I can see.” Daphne said and rolled her eyes, but her friends’ haven’t commented on it since their eyes were focused on the three men that took their respective seats in the long table in the middle.

Deep breath Daph, act normal and don’t scare him again, Daphne thought, mentally cheering herself. The panic she felt while waiting were nothing compared to hat she’s feeling right now. Despite her extreme nervousness, she cannot deny the fact that her heart’s beating too fast with excitement as well.

“Did you guys wait for too long?” Denver asked through the mic he’s holding, making them cheer and yell out their answers.

The three of them laughed, amazed by their energy. “Rest assured, we won’t wait you guys again.” Johann said, flashing out his smile.

Christopher cleared his throat before taking his mic off the table, displaying his smile. “On my count of three, let the fan meet begin!” he said and the three of them tapped their hands on the table repeatedly.

“Three..two..one!”

The red line that was used to separate them from their fans were now removed, signalling the first one to move forward and for the next ones to take her former position and patiently wait for their turn.

“Hey, what will you ask them if it’s your turn?” Fiona asked Melanie and Daphne, clearly waiting for her time to meet them closely.

“Uhm, I don’t know.” Melanie said, smiling widely while holding the poster. “Maybe I’ll ask if they have a girlfriend?”

“You won’t pass their standards.” Yuan interjected, snorting after. “I’m sure they want a high quality one.” he added with a smirk, clearly forgetting his mental note to let her enjoy the night.

Melanie rolled her eyes. “Shut up unwelcomed peasant.”

Fiona sighed at their usual bickering. “How about you Daph?” she asked, nudging her. Daphne looked at her before facing the line that moves slowly, with every RDs moving from one member to another. “I don’t know. I’ll just think later.”

On the table of the three members, they were busy with their own interactions and different ways of making them enjoy.

Johann being the first one to get approached teased them by asking for their ID and Birth Certificate, Denver as the last member to get into asks them to play rock-paper-scissors with him before going, and Christopher being the one in the middle looked like the balancer of teasing and fun, yet he knew something’s off.

Christopher can’t deny the fact that he was getting more anxious as more people pass by him. Being the member in the center, he got the opportunity to look on both sides and check on any sign of what he’s looking for.

“I just turned 18 today.” the girl in front of her replied after he asked her name while he’s signing in the poster she had. He looked up and smiled.

“I didn’t know such names exist.” Christopher said and shook his head. “Nice to meet you ‘I just turned 18 today’.” he said jokingly and extended his hand, causing the girl to laugh and accept his offer.

“I’m Merlina.” the girl said after she withdrew her hand. “You do have a sense of humor.” she added and giggled.

“Happy birthday Merlina.” Christopher said with a smile, handing the poster back to her. Merlina smiled and bowed slightly. “Thank you. Your greetings alone is a best gift already.”

Rhianne, Honey, Leila, Merlina and many more. But none of them are her. Christopher thought as he remembered the names of the former ones he’s talked with while interacting with the next girl. Is she even here in the first place?