Work Text:
5:28 P.M., Los Angeles (8:28 A.M., Manila)
The anxiety attack came out of nowhere. You were in the dressing room trying to practice your spiel when Direk Lauren entered the room and mentioned that you and the girls are about to perform in 30 minutes, and you suddenly had a hard time breathing.
Colet was the first one to notice, giving you comforting words and re-assurance that you and the girls are going to be fine. It would normally work but for some reason, it had no effect on you.
The other girls soon followed trying their best to not overcrowd you so that you’re still left with some breathing space. But again, it’s not working.
In between you crying and trying to catch your breath, Colet suddenly handed her own phone to you and signaled to put it on your ear.
“Aiah.”
You’re not exaggerating when suddenly, the chaos that you’ve been feeling a while ago, completely went away.
Because even if you didn’t see the name of the person on the other end of the line, you know that it’s her.
Because if there is one voice that you can easily recognize in a room full of crowd, it’s hers.
“J-jho”, you gasped.
“Breathe in with me, okay?”
You nodded even if she couldn’t see you.
“Inhale.”
“Exhale.”
You repeated the breathing exercise with her until you can breathe on your own and you can feel your hear slowing down its pace.
“All good?”, she softly whispered.
“Yeah, thank you Jho”, you softly mumbled.
Colet steered the girls away from you when she saw that you’ve completely calmed down. You tried to meet her gaze, again trying to convey how grateful you are for what she’s done. She just nodded at you and also left the dressing room.
“Nagising ba kita?”
“Hindi naman. Got thirsty so I got up to drink some water, tapos nakita kong tumatawag si Ate Colet so I answered. Naisip ko na baka emergency because she wouldn’t call naman if she can do it over text.”
You nodded but upon remembering that she couldn’t see you, you changed the voice call to a video call and placed Colet’s phone on top of one of the dressers.
You saw Jho taking another drink from her tumbler when she opened her camera.
You couldn’t pass up the opportunity of teasing her so you raised your right eyebrow and said, “Sure ka bang tubig yan, Jhoanna?”
“Huyyy, grabe trust issues mo sa ’kin Aiah ah”, she pouted and showed the contents of her tumbler, “ayan oh, kahit tignan mo pa. Cool-off muna kami ni Coke ngayon.”
You softly laughed at her, “I’m just teasing you, Jho.”
She pouted again. Parang baby naman ‘to.
“Stop pouting na, Jho. Makakainom ka din ulit niyan, don’t worry.”
“Speaking of worry, are you sure you’re okay na?”
“Yes, yes I am.” Nakita na kita eh.
“What’s the trigger this time?”
“Just Direk telling us na we’re about to perform na and I caught a glimpse of the crowd from the dressing room’s monitor. Napa-overthink lang nang malala because I suddenly remembered that this is not our usual crowd and I’m scared to death, Jho. This could either make or break us.”
“Heyy, I know it’s difficult to not overthink. If I am in your shoes right now, I would probably be feeling that way, too. Pero you know, if there’s one group of people that I would be most proud of and that would for sure wow their audience, kayo ‘yun. We’ve been preparing for this for the longest time, Aiah.”
You stared at her in wonder. How can you be this good in giving out assurance, Jho?
“And besides, for as long as you’ve given your 101% as you always do, nothing would ever go wrong. And kung meron man, you just need to remember na suki na tayo ng mga mishaps at hindi na bago sa ‘tin ‘yan. Batak na batak tayo sa adjustments and we always came out on top, ‘di ba? Isa pa, you’re not alone on this, Aiah. The girls are going to be there with you.”
You nodded again and let out a soft smile, “Alam mo, ang swerte ng magiging partner mo in the future. Busog na busog for sure sa assurance.”
“So swerte ka?”
You were stunned for a second and felt the sudden blush in your cheeks. You definitely did not expect that response from her.
“B-baliw!”, you managed to stutter out.
“Oh ba’t namumula ka?”
You were saved from responding when you heard a sudden knock on the door and saw Colet standing on the other side when she pulled it open.
“Aiah, we need to go out na.”
You nodded at Colet and said, “Okay, I’ll be out in a second.”
You reverted your gaze back to the girl occupying the phone screen, “I have to go na, Jho.”
“You and the girls won’t need it but best of luck, Aiah. I’m more than sure you’ll do great!”
You ended the call and ingrained in the deepest part of your mind the wide smile adorning Jho’s face, together with her eyes that was full of pride.
//
6:22 P.M., Los Angeles (9:22 A.M., Manila)
The performance was perfect. You and the girls have executed the dance steps and formation changes flawlessly. Maloi and Staku who covered for Jho’s parts of the songs, absolutely nailed it. You can also hear the crowd loudly cheering for the group after the last beat of the song was played out.
Once the introductions were done, you went ahead with your spiels, “We’re actually an 8-member girl group but one of our members, our leader, Jhoanna is not here with us. She’s still in the Philippines but we missed her so much.”
You then spoke directly to the camera (hoping that she’s watching the performance live), and further added, “Jhoanna, we missed you”.
Mikha continued on with her final spiels and now you and the girls are back in the dressing room.
Still on a high after the performance, you rummage your bag for your phone because you need to send a message to the one person that you wanted to share your happiness with.
That one person who is currently in a different time zone than you.
That one person who is thousands of miles away from you.
But that person already beat you to it.
Jho 💙 6:23 P.M: Ang galing niyoooo!!!
Jho 💙 6:23 P.M: I am beyond proud of you and the girls! 🥺
Jho 💙 6:25 P.M: And I missed you, too.
//
8:42 P.M., Los Angeles
When Jho messaged the group chat about her flight details, you and the girls have decided to welcome her at the airport. They won’t admit it in front of Jho, but you know that they surely missed her. Your fans are right in saying that even if Jho is not around, she’s still the favorite topic of the group.
So here you are standing again in the airport, waiting for Jho to come out of the arrivals area. Jho’s flight have landed thirty minutes ago so she should be on her way out soon.
You couldn’t help contain the excitement that you’re feeling that Staku had to tease you about it, “’di ka naman masyadong excited, Ate Aiah?”
“Ayieee, miss na miss, Ate Aiah?”, Sheena butted in.
You were about to respond when you saw a girl wearing a red Charlotte Folk sweater coming out of the arrivals area from the corner of your eye.
Your feet must have a mind of its own because as soon as you recognize the girl, you run towards her and immediately pulled her into your arms. She stiffened for a split second, obviously surprised that someone has suddenly invaded her personal space. But she must have recognized you, because you can feel her burying her face into the crook of your neck.
For a moment, you forget where you are.
For a moment, you forget who you are. That you are Aiah and other people might recognize and see you.
Because for a moment, every single muscle in your body just screams for her.
For the person you considered your home.
For Jho.
“I missed you”, you mumbled into her hair.
“I missed you, too”, she whispered back and added, “sobra”.
You were nudged back to reality when you felt other pairs of arms enveloping you and Jho in a sudden group hug.
“Ate Jhoooo”, from your view you can see tears streaming quietly down Sheena’s face.
“Jho!!”, Colet, Gwen and Mikha all said at the same time.
“Miss na miss ka namin, Jho!!!”, Maloi exclaimed.
“Jhoanna!!”, Staku expressed.
“Sorry nataglan. I’m here na girls”, Jho removes her face from your neck. You can see a small smile as she meets your gaze, “I’m finally home”.