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In the middle of the night, or so we thought, everyone is resting on the second floor. Everyone was lying on their beds with little to no sounds. They are positioned in a way that expresses how tired they were from the nonstop training they did, except… Jhoanna.
Jhoanna, the leader of the group, is still awake, alone on the first floor where they train. It contains a space small for a group to dance freely but too big for one person to entertain fans in a streaming application where they have to meet a certain amount of stickers to finally rest.
As for Jho, she's in front of the house’s television which plays songs while her cellphone—where she is currently streaming—is situated on the table that captures the half of her upper half, the reflection of the kitchen from two big mirrors they use in monitoring their steps while practicing, and the open dark room behind her.
It was a usual night in the house. Most of the people are asleep, someone is streaming, and the music is coming from the speaker of the tv until something unusual happens…
She noticed something weird in the upper corner of her eyes. She looked up, curious, only to see nothing.
Relief crossed her face but out of nowhere... the door behind Jhoanna slammed shut.
The leader who is so used to the silence she experienced since the start of her live let out a scream and looked behind only to scream more when she saw no one behind.
“Ma, ano ‘yon!” She shouted but covered her mouth to suppress the cries she’ll create.
Fear had crept in her system. She was shaking, on the verge of crying out loud but she still kept it low. She didn't want to wake up someone. She knew they are resting.
Well.
She tried.
Someone woke up upstairs and she didn't even know.
It was an unusual night for Mikha. She's sure is tired and most know how much of a heavy sleeper she is to the point that she won't wake up with several calls when she slept during one of her streams but for an unknown reason; she was woken up by a subtle sound of the closing door and the familiar shout of someone she adores silently.
She searched for her phone; her hands reaching where she might have had put it. She grunted out of frustration.
"Where is it?" She mumbled and after a few attempts she had her phone.
She sat down on her bed, her foot reaching the floor, and ran her fingers through her hair before opening her phone to look for the time.
“2:57 AM.” She read and shut her eyes tightly. It's not an unusual night. It's an unusual dawn. It's too early for her to wake up but wasn't it too late to still be awake?
“Don’t tell me na she's not yet done with her live.” she sighed. She's still sleepy. She wants to lie again and let the comfort of her bed receive the heaviness of her yesterday but her body did otherwise.
Her foot found her slippers and carried her weight when she stood up.
She's rumbling, questioning her decisions in life when she walks out of the room.
Her thick brows furrowed when she heard muffled cries downstairs.
Gone was the sleepiness.
A sudden surge of panic enveloped her.
She gripped her phone and found her way down efficiently and carefully to not disturb others.
And there she saw Jhoanna.
Frightened. Her right hand covers her screams as she trembles with fear. Her eyes wide open, watery, and shocked behind her glasses.
Something tugged Mikha's heart from the sight.
“Jho, are you okay? Anong nangyayari?” Mikha asked softly as she walk towards her leader.
Jhoanna would have teased Mikha on how soft she sounded... If she wasn't too scared from the previous scenario but yeah, she can't still function well.
Nonetheless, she would lie if this unusual softness of Mikha didn't bring her comfort.
Could it be caused by Mikha's presence and not by another entity? Or the concern the latter was showing?
“Titingnan mo lang ako?” Jhoanna got back from the trance when she was asked by the usual tone of Mikha. Sarcastic.
Jhoanna sat up straight and put her hand out of her mouth, then cleared her throat.
“Okay lang ako.” she answered. Expecting Mikha to just ignore her after the answer but it was indeed an unusual moment.
Mikha would usually just nod and leave but she didn't. She came closer to the younger one and held her wrist carefully, checking if she was hurt.
“You sure? Walang masakit?” the older asked with concern. Jhoanna nodded, dazed by the sudden proximity.
“You didn't get pinched by the door, right?” Jhoanna answered with a nod once more.
“Then, bakit ka umiiyak?” Mikha frowned when Jhoanna averted her gaze.
"Hindi ako umiiyak! Sumarado pinto,” the younger answered shyly. Embarrassed at the reason on why she was almost crying.
“And?” Mikha asked, expecting more.
“Wala namang hangin, wala ring tao.” the leader added to make it less embarrassing.
“You’re crying kasi nag-close ang pinto?” Mikha sarcastically retorted and that made Jhoanna glare at her.
“Wala ngang tao!” she defended.
“You cried because you think there's a ghost?" The older asked, amused by the reason she was here now. Jhoanna just looked down and didn't bother to answer.
Mikha chuckled at the silence the younger one gave her. She shook her head and released Jhoanna from her hold. She sighed in disbelief and went upstairs.
Jhoanna watched as the older climbed the stairs and once she couldn't see Mikha anymore; she stared on the second floor.
“Well, that’s usual.” she mumbled. It's very Mikha if she left. She would be more shocked if Mikha would stay there with her for five minutes.
She looked at the comments on her live. There were few once who’s still awake but they were in chaos from the unusual interaction of the two.
“Anong JhoMikha? Mga baliw! Kung ano-ano kasi kinukwento niyo kaninang nakakatakot! Nagising tuloy si Mikhs! Ano na nga ulit kakantahin? Gugulo niyo kasi, napasarado niyo pinto!” as usual, Jhoanna found a way to divert the situation.
There's no need to prolong the unusual situation they had. There's no way Mikha would want that.
The older one cleared it for her. She wants Jhoanna to be nothing more than to be her leader and be someone familiar in front of everyone.
She sighed at the memory but smiled bitterly afterwards. This is the life she took. She must live with it.
Jhoanna spent a few minutes talking to the fans, the surging emotions died down the moment it started.
“May nakatayo sa likod mo.” Jhoanna read the comment and that made the leader shiver and snap her head behind, only to find out she's being teased.
“Wag naman ganyan.” she complained while throwing a crumpled tissue on her phone.
“Nananakot na lang kayo eh. Alas tres na oh! Kapag ako umiyak talaga.” she added with a laugh but was shocked by something unusual.
Mikha comes back with a blanket, charger, and a frown on her face.
She took Jhoanna's phone and focused the camera on her.
“Hoy, kayo. Stop scaring her. If she cries, ako mag-end ng live na ‘to tapos I'll hide her from you for weeks. Sige!” the older one threatened their fans and an unsatisfied expression was shown as Mikha read the comments.
“Don’t dare me kaya kong gawin ‘yon, BabaeNiJhoannaSaNuevaEcija.” Mikha squinted and gave back the phone to Jhoanna.
“You have fans with weird display names.” she snickered and went to the long sofa, dropping her phone, charger and blanket.
She pulled the sofa near Jhoanna and laid there like it's the most comfortable bed she will have.
The leader blinked her head, tilted a bit to the right as she looked at the older. Confusion splashed in her face. She muted the live.
“Mikhs, anong ginagawa mo?” Jhoanna can't handle how unusual this is and directly asked the girl.
“Nakahiga?” Mikha stated the obvious, making the other frown and glare. The older one shifted from the sudden change of look and cleared her throat.
“Sorry, kinuha ko lang blanket at charger.” she answered while showing what she took. That didn't answer Jhoanna's question.
“Go on with your live, I’ll play here. Tell me kapag may nanakot sa’yo.” Mikha added as she put the blanket over her feet to her hips.
Mikha opened her phone and smiled at Jhoanna before the sounds of her favorite mobile game resurfaced.
Jhoanna still didn’t get her answer on why the older is behaving so unusual but it brought warmth in her heart. Mikha neither wants her to be alone nor scared. She stayed and cared in front of other people.
Definitely unusual from someone who wants to keep their relationship lowkey.
Jhoanna smiled sheepishly.
They will definitely be in an unusual issue in the media tomorrow or maybe later but who cares?
Jhoanna loves her girlfriend and Mikha loves her as much, if not more.
What unusual could ever hinder their love?