Chapter Text
Marliese sits cross-legged in her room, paintbrush in hand, lost in the strokes of vibrant colors on her canvas, lost in the melody of Kitchie Nadal's "Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin". She sang along, her brush moving in rhythm with the strumming of her heart.
Oh~ huwag na huwag mong sasabihin
Na hindi mo nadama itong
Pag-ibig kong handang
Ibigay kahit pa -------
The sudden vibration of her phone broke her focus. "nubayan! panira!"
"Oh? ano?" she answers, still half-focused on her painting.
“Marliese! Tara nood! May free gig sa CoCo Restaubar mamaya. Bago raw yung singer, nagbabusking daw sa tiktok!” Sylvie’s excited voice comes through, almost shouting.
Marliese frowned. “Ano ba yan! Ang traffic sa town eh!"
"Gaga! sige na! Libre ko na!"
Marliese hesitates, glancing at her unfinished painting but the word 'libre' she knows to herself she cannot easily resist it, especially if it's from Sylvie... minsan lang to
"Ano oras ba?”
“Ukininam talaga! Basta libre eh!! 6PM mamaya. Ano, g ka ba?”
“O sige, susunod ako,” Marliese replied nonchalantly.
"Ano ba yan! Libre ko na nga! Sumunod ka ha! Pag wala ka, tignan mo lang!” Sylvie warned with mock seriousness.
“Wen! Ayapo!” Marliese laughed before hanging up.
----------
The hours passed, and as Marliese prepared to leave, the chaos of Panagbenga traffic greeted her. She was late.
Sylvie’s voice erupted on her phone, “Ano na, teh? Nasan ka na? Ubos ko na chicken fillet ko dito, wala ka pa rin!”
“Teka naman! Ang traffic kasi!” Marliese exclaimed, juggling her bag and phone.
“Alam mong Panagbenga, di ka lumabas ng maaga!” Sylvie snapped.
“Oo na! Oo na!” Marliese groaned.
“Ukininam! Agawaam!” Sylvie grumbled, hanging up in frustration. (Bwesit ka! Bilisan mo!)
----------
"Manong bayad, salamat" then Marliese hopped off the taxi.
Finally reaching the bar, Marliese was about to enter when someone bumped into her.
“Aray naman!” Marliese yelped, steadying herself.
“Sorry, miss, excuse!” a girl with a guitar slung over her shoulder muttered before rushing past.
Marliese rolled her eyes, "kitang may tao tapos dedere-deretso!" brushing off the encounter, she pushed the door open.
Meanwhile, backstage, Garnett, the owner of CoCo Restaubar, was glaring at the latecomer.
“Nyatan! First day, late?” (ano ba yan! First day, late?)
“Sorry, gagi! Dinaanan ko pa kasi yung pedal ng gitara ko” Corliss, the girl with the guitar, said sheepishly.
“Ay apo! Bilisan mo!” Garnett barked.
“Eto na nga, oh!” Corliss replied, setting up quickly.
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Marliese found Sylvie near the stage.
“Ang tagal mo, teh! Kairita!” Sylvie grumbled.
“Sorry na nga!” Marliese said, sitting beside her.
“Buti na lang di pa nag-i-start!” Sylvie said, pointing at the darkened stage.
As Marliese opened her mouth to retort, a voice interrupted her.
“Mic check, mic check.”
The room quieted, and Marliese’s attention shifted to the stage. A shadowy figure strummed a guitar.
“Sorry, guys! Na-late pero sana makabawi haha!” the girl laughed nervously, and the crowd chuckled along.
“Anyway, bakit ang dilim? Nagtitipid ba?” More laughter erupted.
Marliese turned to Sylvie, unimpressed. “Tagal naman nu’bayan!”
Then the lights came on.
Corliss stood under the spotlight, her guitar gleaming. She fixed the mic and the strap of her guitar on her before speaking again.
"Ako nga po pala Corliss Vergara,” she said, her voice steady now, “and this is my first song.”
And then she sang.
Marliese froze.
Marliese POV:
Her voice was raw and mesmerizing, each note sinking deep into my chest.
Sandal mo sana ang ulo mo sa unan
Katawan mo ay aking kukumutan
Mga problema'y iyong malilimutan
Habang tayo'y magkayakap sa dilim~~
Then she looked up and looked at me...
I couldn’t look away, couldn’t even think of speaking to Sylvie beside me. The room seemed smaller, quieter, like the entire restaubar was caught in her gravity.
tang ina, ang ganda... ang ganda ganda
I didn’t know what it was at that moment—her voice, her energy, or just the way her eyes briefly swept across the crowd—but I knew one thing:
Wag mong pigilin kung nais mapaluha
Pakiramdam mo sana'y gumihawa
Kung gusto mo ay magsigarilyo muna
Habang tayo'y magkayakap sa dilim ~
I didn't know I am holding my breath for so long until the song ended.
I was hooked.
Then I went home, searching her on all the social media platforms.
Weeks after, I started going to her gigs even without Sylvie. My basis was her updates on her social medias: instagram story, facebook my days, tweet updates. I became a follower.
Corliss Vergara, she awakens the gay inside of me.
-----4 Years Later-----
The late afternoon sun filtered through Marliese’s studio, casting golden hues on her canvas. She stood back, brushing her hands on her paint-splattered apron, and admired her latest work. It was a portrait of Corliss, her muse for the past three years. The painting captured Corliss mid-song, eyes closed, her guitar cradled like a lifelong companion.
Marliese smiled softly, her heart swelling with affection. She picked up her phone and snapped a picture of the painting, careful to capture the natural light streaming in.
She opened her X app, navigating to her stan account dedicated to Corliss. With a mix of excitement and nerves, she typed the caption:
Corliss, you are my favorite art. #CorlissVergara #FanArtforCorliss
Satisfied, she hit “Post.”
Moments later, as Marliese cleaned her brushes, her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and froze.
Corliss Vergara had liked her post.
Marliese’s breath hitched. “No way,” she whispered.
Another notification followed, and her jaw dropped. Corliss Vergara reposted your post.
Corliss had added her own caption:
Wow. Ang ganda! Ang galing! Salamat po :)
Marliese stared at her phone in disbelief, her hands trembling. She quickly screenshot the interaction, her heart pounding like a drum.
AAHHHH!! HALA KA??!!! PUKI NG INAAAA WAAAAAAAH MAAA!! MAMAAAA!! GAGJANXJBWJXHQ CORLISS!! BADING AKO SAYO UKININAM! AWHDWJWAAAHH
She then posted the screenshot on her stan account with a caption: Corliss, what are we?
-----Studio-----
Corliss sat cross-legged on the studio couch, her guitar resting on her lap. Papers with lyrics and notes were spread out before her, and a pencil was tucked behind her ear. The quiet hum of the studio was broken only by her soft humming as she strummed idly, deep in thought.
Her phone buzzed on the side table. She picked it up, her curiosity piqued.
The tweet read:
Corliss, what are we?
Corliss smiled, shaking her head as she tapped the like button. A warmth spread through her chest. She barely had time to set her phone down before another notification popped up.
WORLD STOP!!!!!! PUTANG INA NYONG LAHAT! NI-LIKE NA NAMAN NI CORLISS TWEET KO! BEH?? I'M WINNING IN LIFE!!!
Corliss couldn’t help but chuckle, her soft laughter filling the room. Setting the guitar aside, she grabbed a pencil and scribbled on one of the papers in front of her:
Corliss wrote:
Sa mundo ng kulay, ako’y naliligaw,
Ngunit sa mga mata mo, ako’y natatanaw.
Ikaw ang sagot sa bawat tanong,
Sa mga likha mo, ako’y iyong nilililong
She read it over, nodding to herself.
The studio door burst open, and Magnus walked in, her fiery red hair unmistakable. Her girlfriend Ashy followed close behind, carrying a tray of coffee. Magnus spotted the smile lingering on Corliss’s face.
“Ayay! That smile again, ha! Siya ulit, no?” Magnus teased, waggling her eyebrows.
Corliss immediately straightened, erasing her smile. “Rehearse na! Ang tagal niyo!”
Ashy raised her hands in mock surrender. “Ay, sorry naman! You told us to buy you coffee, eh.”
“Piskit! Dinahilan pa ko,” Corliss grumbled, snatching her coffee from Ashy’s hands. She walked over to the mini table to prepare her food, muttering under her breath.
The door opened again, and Salem, her manager, entered. “Ate Corliss, mamaya na yung sa art competition, ha? After rehearsals, go na tayo doon.”
Magnus grinned mischievously. “Naks! Makikita mo na naman siya!”
“Manahimik ka!” Corliss barked, rubbing her temples. “Masakit ulo ko. Bantay ka ron!”
Magnus only laughed and plopped down where Corliss had been sitting. She picked up the paper Corliss had been writing on and scanned it.
“Another song for her, ha? Hanggang parinig na lang ba sa fan mo?” Magnus teased, holding the paper out of Corliss’s reach.
Corliss shot up, snatching the paper back. “Akin na nga ‘yan!”
Ashy, leaning against the wall, said, “Why don’t you talk to her na? I’m sure matutuwa ‘yon!”
Corliss ignored them, returning to the table and sipping her coffee. Quietly, under her breath, she muttered, “Sino ba’ng nagsabing hindi?”
Magnus and Ashy exchanged knowing glances, grinning. They didn’t need to say anything. Corliss might be stubborn, but her actions were already speaking louder than her words.
Corliss get her phone and change her account to her dump, she smiled when she saw the message from stan account of Marliese.
Phone conversation:
asawanicorliss: hoy! kinakabahan ako!
akotosicorliss: dahil ba sa event? ano ka ba! kayang kaya mo yun!
asawanicorliss: eh kasi naman eh, judge si Corliss doon! magpapapansin ako!
akotosicorliss: makapal mukha mo, kaya mo yan! hahaha
asawanicorliss: what if pumunta kana kasi? para naman magkita tayo! jusko! pre-debut palang ni Corliss kilala na kita pero di man lang kita makita! pati mukha mo di ko alam! di ka man lang sumali sa mga selca!
akotosicorliss: malayo ako haha! saka wag na, baka mainlove ka pa!
asawanicorliss: ang kapal ng mukha mo! pero ano ba yan! lagi ka nalang wala sa event! andami mo ng namissed out!
akotosicorliss: eh kasi naman, ang layo eh. i-hi mo nalang ako kay Corliss pag nagkausap na kayo haha!
asawanicorliss: hi raw sabi nya, tumatawa sya dito sa tabi ko! hahaha
akotosicorliss: haha! buang! sige na, bye na! ingat sa event Marliese!
asawanicorliss: thank you CV! byeee!! update kita later! sendan kita picture hahaha! sana sa concert ni Corliss andon ka naman na siguro ano?
akotosicorliss: sige pag nagkaroon ng concert si Corliss, meet tayo.
asawanicorliss: sabi mo yan ah!
Corliss shooked her head while smiling and said,
"I really wish na katabi kita, Marliese" Corliss smiled at her thoughts.