His Exception

Prologue

"Chandler Snow, I'm a big fan of yours!" Kitang-kita ko ang pagngiwi ni Chandler nang magflash ang camera ng fan niya. Bahagya siyang napaurong nang sunud-sunod pang camera flashes ang sumilaw sa kanya.

Uh-oh.

We chose this bar to avoid attention like this, now I don't even think it's safe to be here. Luminga ako sa paligid. Ig was sleeping heavily on the sofa—masyadong mahina sa alak—while Jared was nowhere to be seen. Malamang, nasa dancefloor na naman 'yun kasama ang kung sinong babae. Ibinalik ko ang paningin kay Chandler na ngayon ay pinupuluputan na ng fan niya. His lips were smiling but his posture was so stiff that I knew it was a fake smile. Naghintay pa ko ng ilang minuto para panoorin ang eksena. It looked like the word got around—the famous Chandler Snow is here! I watched silently as the crowd got bigger and bigger.

"I just can't believe that you're here!" ani ng babae. "Can I get your autograph? I think I have your poster here somewhere..."

Naglabas siya ng isang malaking picture ni Chandler. I recognized it from one of our photoshoot a few years ago, bago pa sumikat ang banda namin. Sama-sama kami sa poster na 'yun pero sa picture ng fan, si Chandler lang ang kita sa frame. The rest of the band was totally cropped out. Ouch.

"Here," sabi ni Chandler at iniabot ang pirmadong poster sa babae. Akala ko, tatantanan na niya ang kaibigan ko. It turned out, hindi pa pala siya tapos.

"Uhmmm... Chandler? Can I get your number please?" Halos maibuga ko ang iniinom na beer dahil sa narinig. Nagpalipat-lipat ang mata ko sa babae at kay Chandler na mukhang hindi na alam ang kanyang gagawin. Mas lalo pang napressure si Chandler nang tumango ang isang batalyong kaibigan nito.

"Oo nga! Give us your number!"

"We wanna get the latest update about you!"

"Yes, Chandler, we love you so much!"

Luminga si Chandler sa paligid, mukhang nag-iisip kung paano makakatakas. But it was too late. Nakapaligid na sa kanya ang fans, parang mga gutom na hayop na nagpipigil sunggaban siya.

Nagpatuloy sa pag-urong si Chandler. "I'm sorry but that's personal—"

"Oh come on!" sigaw ng isa sa mga babae na nanghingi ng number niya, "as if namang may girlfriend ka! We all know that there's nothing going on between you and Johanna..."

As if on cue, napatingin sa direksyon ko si Chandler. His blue eyes were so dark and cold that it sent shiver down my spine. Napaiwas ako ng tingin.

"Come on, give us your number!"

"Please Chandler!"

"Binibili naman namin ang album niyo!"

"And we were supporting you guys ever since!"

I realized it was time to make a move. Kailangan ko nang tulungan si Chandler. Nilagok ko ang huling patak ng beer sa'king baso at dumiretso patungo sa kinaroroonan ni Chandler at ng fangirls niya.

"Excuse me," I said as I made my way past the crowd. Agad namang nagbigay-daan ang mga tao nang makilala kung sino ako. Mas lalong lumakas ang bulung-bulungan sa paligid at ramdam ko rin ang matatalim na tingin ng mga babaeng taga-hanga ni Chandler sa'kin.

"It's Johanna Salviejo!"

"So nandito ang buong banda nila?"

"I should call my friends! I can't believe The Cullens are here!"

I ignored all these talks at dire-diretsong lumapit kay Chandler na pinuluputan ng isa sa mga fan, 'yung babaeng nanghingi ng kanyang number. Nakakunot-noo sa'kin ang babae, parang handa akong sakmalin, pero bahagya itong napaurong nang makalapit ako nang tuluyan. I looked at her coldly—a skill I learned over the years from Chandler—and saw her posture wavered. Suddenly, there was a flicker of fear on her face. Mas lalong humigpit ang kapit niya kay Chandler—na parang aagawin ko ito mula sa kanya.

Pero hindi siya nagkamali.

"Excuse me but I think he's mine," I told her coolly bago hinatak ang braso ni Chandler mula sa pagkakapulupot niya rito.

Hindi ko alam kung anong pumasok sa utak ko. Siguro dala lang talaga ito ng kalasingan ko, o 'di naman kaya ng mga emosyong matagal ko nang kinikimkim. I just knew I wasn't thinking clearly.

No, I wasn't thinking at all when I pulled Chandler closer and kissed him for the whole world to see, devastating the fans and making the crowd gasped. I didn't care about the camera flashes or the consequences we would later face. I just kissed him—a thing I had been longing to do for so long.

And that was how it all started.