Chapter 17: Prince's Understudy

<p>"What d'ya think?" tanong ni Via sa katabing si Matt at Monique habang nakatuon ang tingin ng dalawa sa nakatayong si SJ sa stage ng theatro kausap si Samantha.<br/><br/>Naisip niyang i-cast si SJ bilang prince understudy ni Matt. Besides, eto naman talaga ang usapan nila.<br/><br/>"This is perfect!" bulalas ni Monique. Tila naexcite ito sa idea. Obvious na nagka-crush ito sa British Actor. Ngunit natigilan ito nang makasalubong ang tingin ni Matt. Tila hindi nito nagustuhan ang pagpabor nito kay SJ. "No offense, Matt. Gwapo ka pa rin pero gwapo din si SJ. Mag-usap na nga lang kayo, dun muna ko," anito na mabilis lumayo sa kanilang dalawa. <br/><br/>Natawa si Via. Humarap sa kaniya si Matt.<br/><br/>"Where did you met him, again?" anito na tila may di pagtanggap sa suggestion niya.<br/><br/>"Matt, he's a friend. He waited for me last night sa hotel where I'm staying. Bumibisita."<br/><br/>"A friend?" Sarcastic na tanong ni Matt. "I drop you off almost midnight, what is he doing in your hotel that late?"<br/><br/>Matt knows who SJ is. When he met Via, he got interested with her that he end up researching about her life. He knows SJ was Via's so-called boyfriend. But since halos araw-araw niya itong kasama, hindi niya ito nakitang tinawagan or kinausap man alng ang SJ na iyon. He then thought that SJ must've been an ex. Plus she kissed him last night!<br/><br/>"Kung iniisip mong pinatuloy ko siya sa tinutuluyan ko, wag ka mag-isip ng ganyan. I book him a different hotel. Ask the hotel themselve." She doesn't want to be defensive but she felt the need to defend her dignity. Ayaw niyang isipan siya ni Matt ng masama.<br/><br/>"Then why are you casting him?" hindi na maikaila ni Matt ang irritation na nararamdaman nito. He seemed pissed.<br/><br/>"Because he fits the role. Besides, ikaw ang nagrequest ng understudy di ba? You will only do the opening night."<br/><br/>Malayo sila sa cast and crew kaya't silang dalawa lang ang nakakarinig ng usapan nila.<br/><br/>"What if I told you, I don't like him? Will you insist?" hamon ni Matt.<br/><br/>"Insecure ka ba kay SJ?" tanong niya na may halong panunukso.<br/><br/>"I'm not!" he sounded defensive.<br/><br/>"Yes, you are!" natatawang turan ni Via. "Comm'on, where is this coming from?"<br/><br/>Hindi sumagot si Matt. Muli nitong binaling ang tingin sa stage. Via can see he's square jaw clenching. Napalunok pa ito. Tila inis na inis. Lumapad ang ngiti ni Via.<br/><br/>"You're jealous." pang-aasar ni Via. "You know that SJ was my ex?"<br/><br/>"Ex?" he's confirming.<br/><br/>"Oh! You must've had heard that he's my boyfriend. Well, I have to clarify. He was my ex. But since he still have so many complications and I really don't want to humiliate him, he keep using my name as his girlfriend. It was just his stupid made up skit." she platonicly explained.<br/><br/>Nagsalubong lang ang kilay ni Matt. The story was confusing but he almost gets it. Madami siyang tanong but he feel that Via isn't lying. Masyado itong transparent to read if she is lying.<br/><br/>"It's a long story. But all you need to know is that, SJ is not a boyfriend and I hate him," ani Via.<br/><br/>Marahas na buntong hininga ang pinakawalan ni Matt. Lalo namang lumapad ang ngiti ni Via. Napailing-iling pa ito at nahimas ang noo. She find it cute that Matt is showing his insecurities and jealousness. After what happened last night, she accepted the fact na meron silang mutual understanding ni Matt. It might not be official but she's very much willing to play along.<br/><br/>"Mr. Aragon," pabulong na tawag ni Via kay Matt. She acts like flirting. Humarap ito sa kaniya and she gave him a flirtatious smile. "Hmmmm. You are tempting me to kiss you again. You see, you seemed to be a sulking baby. And I have this urge to comfort you."<br/><br/>Tumaas ang isang kilay ni Matt and his lips twitched a little. A sarcastic grin spread his face. As if daring her to do what she had said. <br/><br/>"Ahh... So dini-dare mo talaga ako?" She kept on. <br/><br/>Matt pursed his lips and held a deep breath. "I would definitely like to have a taste of that sweet lips again. But, I know my boundaries. Plus," lumingon ito sa paligid. "there's too many actors in here. There will be too much drama. I prefer my romantic life as private as possible."<br/><br/>"Ahhh, too bad!" iiling-iling at tila pasingkit ang matang turan ni Via. "I'm actually a risk taker."<br/><br/>Napanganga si Matt. His jaw dropping. She really is tempting him! Nahilamos niya ang mukha and became uneasy. Inikot niya ang tingin sa paligid, trying to scan kung may nakatingin ba sa kanila. Via was laughing, teasing him really hard. When he thought, no one was actually looking, he tried to reach out to her as fast as he can but before he could do so, narinig niya ang tawag ni Monique kay Via. He buckled off. Via broke into a loud laugh. He clenched his fist and bit his lips. Pigil ang pangigil. <br/><br/>"Can we start a scene already? The diva have just arrived," turan ni Monique na walang malay kung ano ang nagaganap sa kanilang dalawa. <br/><br/>"Yes, we should," sabi ni Via na hindi pa nauubos ang tawa. Matt was still hiding his disappointment. "Let's go with the next scene. What scene are we?" <br/><br/>Mabilis na sinilip ni Monique ang hawak na script. "Am... 19th. The... K-Kiss--" tila nauutal na turan ni Monique, napatingin kay Matt. <br/><br/>This time, nawala ang ngiti ni Via. She looked at Matt with a straight face and muling bumaling kay Monique. She snatched the script na hawak ni Monique. And tried to re-read the scene. Matt was grinning this time, tila ito naman ang nang-iinis. <br/><br/>"Well, let's might as well rehearsed it. So you know, I can learn the feeling," tila mapanuksong turan ni Matt as Via kept scanning the script's pages. Nagsimula itong humakbang patungo sa stage nang biglang humarang ang braso ni Via sa dibdib nito na nagpatigil sa kaniya. Inabot ni Via ang script kay Monique. <br/><br/>" Let's try the scene with SJ," turan ni Via kay Monique sabay lumingon kay Matt. <br/><br/>"I'm the main actor," ani Matt. <br/><br/>"No. You'll only do the opening night. SJ will have to do that the whole week. So, let him rehearse longer," pagdidiin ni Via. <br/><br/>"Agad-agad?" ani Monique. Tila wala sa hulog ang gustong mangyari ni Via.<br/><br/>Malalim na buntong hininga ang pibakawalan ni Via. "10 am na. If we want to finish a lot of things today, let's get going," aniya na nagpatiuna na sa paglalakad sa stage. Napasunod na lang ng tingin si Matt and Monique. Muling nagkatinginan ang nagugulumihanang si Monique at Matt. Matt gave Monique a mischievous smile and shrug his shoulder. Saka sumunod kay Via. <br/></p>