Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Twist of Fate
-Life is like a book, there will be a beginning and ending, each one has a different genre; different plot and characters. Sometimes the main character of one book can be a side character of another, that's what we call crossovers and that can bring spice or can ruin a book.-
Zane was trying to avoid Henry for the past few days after the bad incident he just experienced last Saturday. He actually considered Jeraldine's request, that's why he keeps on making his schedule busy, for him to keep his distance without anyone realizing about it. But after his absence on their club meeting for the third time, his friends started searching the reason why he is not hanging out with them anymore.
"Dude with all due respect, I think it's all your fault."
Ritmo said, putting the blame on Henry. Considering that no one really knows what truly happened to Zane during that day; since he didn't talked to them about it, because it is very painful for him. No one dared to ask since they can tell on Zane's aura that he didn't want to talk about it, making their unit an awkward place to anybody. How did they adjust to the situation? No they didn't because they can't
"Yeah I think you should find some ways to bring Zane back."
Jayce agreed while trying not to create any harmful misunderstanding to anyone. He doesn't want to blame Henry about it but still, Henry is the last person who is with Zane before he turned into an emo person.
"Bros, why me? I mean I think it's no big deal, plus I had already received my own damages. After that I had a quarrel with Jeraldine and until now I am blocked on her social media? "
Henry answered. Because after that he called Jeraldine to ask her if it is ok for them to have a fixed schedule on their dates; since Henry is busy and still wants to hang out with his friends. Henry thinks that it will be a smooth conversation since he thinks that Jeraldine is very considerate person, but they ended up fighting on the phone.
"It's not our fault that you had a quarrel with both of them."
Ritmo said while shrugging his shoulder.
"Just try to talk to them man. You have nothing to lose now."
Jayce added, trying to convince Henry. After a long discussion, Henry ended up agreeing with the two of them. They started to plan things out and decided that they will execute in on their condo unit. They didn't attend their remaining classes since they want to make time for their preparation; actually they don't need to, since they are just planning to start a conversation with Zane, they are just too lazy to attend their classes that time.
The day will soon end as the sun started to set, and they already forgot about their plan. For the whole afternoon they just played tekken 7 on their living room, not even preparing what to say to Zane. They just started remembering about it when they heard Zane put the key on the door knob, trying to open the locked door of their unit. They are in panic, trying to set the mood of their unit for the conversation to start, but Jayce and Ritmo ended up running to their room (trying to hide) while Henry is holding a toilet paper in the living room. When Zane opened the door, everyone is shocked. It was at that moment that they knew they mess it all up.
Zane looked at Henry with confused face; usually he will ask what is wrong with him, since he can easily tell that something weird is happening in their unit. But after a few seconds he just started to head to his room without saying anything. Henry went on panic, causing him to run to Zane's room door to block his way. Zane's eyebrows started to meet.
"What's your problem Henry?"
Zane asked with a confuse tone, looking at Henry. Henry can see Jayce and Ritmo who are trying to peek through their door. He can see that while Jayce is trying his best to hold the door to make sure that it will not open widely and for them to not fall on the floor, is giving him a "You can do it" gesture. So Henry started a conversation.
"How you doing today Zane?"
Henry said with a cracking voice. Zane's confusion grows bigger, but right now he just wants to enter his room.
"I'm doing fine, can you move for me to enter my room?"
Zane replied trying to move Henry to the side.
"Wait I have something to ask."
Henry said while trying his best to stop Zane.
"What is it?"
Zane replied trying to end the conversation quickly. That question left Henry stunned, because he is not prepared with something. As he rolls his eyes to search for some idea in their unit, Zane started again to move him on the side.
"If you have nothing to say can you please make way?"
Zane said while trying to force him to move.
"Do you want some toilet papers?"
Henry said because of panic. His faced turned red because of embarrassment, he can see Ritmo trying to hold his laugh. There was a huge dead air after he asks Zane a weird question. In the end Ritmo couldn't hold his laugh and Jayce couldn't hold the door any longer, causing them to fall.
"Do you want some toilet paper? Hahaha What the hell is that dude."
Ritmo said while laughing at the floor, not even realizing that they were busted from eavesdropping. Jayce put his palm on his face because of the disappointment. A few moments later, Ritmo realized the whole situation and stopped laughing. The unit was silent because of the awkwardness.
They ended up in the dining table to talk things out. That is when Zane was informed that Henry and Jeraldine had a quarrel, but actually he doesn't care that much.
"Dude I'm in a very bad situation so please can you forgive me? I need my best friend right now."
Henry said while making a puppy eyes.
"It's not like I am mad at you, I am just busy with something."
Zane replied, trying to hide the fact that indeed he is a little bit mad at him.
"REALLY! You're not mad at me?"
Henry shouted with excitement. In the end everybody was relieved because everything will go back to its usual state.
"Why are you happy, you still have your lover's quarrel with Jeraldine right?"
Zane ask.
"Meh, just let her be, I have no plans to say sorry. Bros before hoes – if she cannot accept that, then were done."
Henry replied while crossing his arm like a spoiled brat. After the conversation, Zane started to clean their unit, while Jayce and Ritmo are playing at the living room. Henry decided to do his work on the dining table, just to see his friends, rejoicing about what happen. Zane took 15 minutes to swipe the floor, he was about to stop and take a rest but something shiny caught his eyes.
"Who owns this necklace?"
Zane ask while showing the necklace he found at the floor to everybody. Henry recognizes it as soon as he saw it.
"Ow that's mine; it is supposed to be a gift for Jeraldine. You can throw it away; I think our relationship will end soon."
Henry said, causing Ritmo to laugh at him, trying to tease him because he ended up with a toxic relationship again.
"By the way, the Music Club is trying to hold a concert this Friday night; it will be great if we will go there, since it is a good scoop for our newspaper."
Jayce said while looking at his phone updates. Everyone thinks that it is a good idea except for Zane. He gets tired easily with a big crowd and he hates loud noises. But in the end, because everyone insisted, Zane agreed; since he still wants to wear the outfit that he prepared during the sembreak.
Every student couldn't wait to watch the said concert, because the music club is the most famous club in the university. Henry is quite bitter about it, but he can't do anything, the only well-known thing that their club has is a good looking members. The majority actually doesn't know what is the purpose of their club; the only thing they knew is the information of its members. In short, people are not interested with their club activity but with the people on it, that is the reason why Henry is still struggling in recruiting members for their club.
The dusk has come and people are busy getting ready to attend the concert. Girls and Boys of the campus are trying their best to groom their selves since it is also a chance for them to find their soul mates. The concert itself is like a special event of a dating simulator game, for the majority of the students; Zane on the other hand is already at the venue, since he is known as the most punctual student of the campus and he finished all of his class early. He is sitting in front of the stage and you can see that he is very early since he is currently alone at the venue. But since Henry instructed him to reserve some sit in front, for them to have a good view of the performance, and Zane is the 1st one to arrive there, he don't have a choice but to do it by himself.
The sky turned dark and the stars started to become visible. People are starting to arrive at the venue, making Zane more uncomfortable. Luckily he wears a light brown hoodie that time, giving him a chance to hide his face. Zane was busy looking at the floor, making sure that no one can see him. But a sudden explosion startled him; it was a part of the stage effects. Then he realized that the concert is starting already. While the crowd are hyped up as the lead vocalist enters the event, Zane was trying his best to chat the others.
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"The Handsomeness of Ritmo" Group Chat
Zane: Hey where the hell are you guys?
Henry: Ow shoot I just woke up, why did no one wake me up?!
Ritmo: Hahahaha, I'm on my way already don't worry Zane. Henry just don't take a bath and go.
Jayce: I have an emergency, I will try to catch up guys, I'm sorry.
Ritmo: Booooooooo!
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Zane was quite relieved, assuming that he will not be alone on that concert. At first he was worried since he cannot go out at the venue anymore, since it is very embarrassing for him to face the people behind him.
A few minutes later, Zane is still alone and he is now panicking. He started to feel exhausted since the crowd is very energetic because of the upbeat songs of the band who are currently performing at the stage.
On the other hand, Ritmo was supposed to enter the venue but someone pulled him and punched him in the face.
"Hey dude what's your problem?"
Ritmo ask while he is trying to face the person who just punched him.
"You're asking me? After you hooked up with my girlfriend?"
The person replied, trying to punch Ritmo again. But he failed, Ritmo dodge it and throw a strong left hook as an answer.
"Dude, you have a looooooooooooong way to come before you can beat me."
Ritmo said while standing like a professional boxer. But his pride doesn't last long as he saw and realized that the guy who he just punched is with his gang. Not a single second have past and Ritmo started running, trying to escape a bunch of angry gangster who wants to kill him.
Meanwhile, Jayce is still searching for his sister, who just left because they had a fight. His sister wants to attend the concert but Jayce didn't allowed her, since she is still a senior high student and it is very dangerous for her, at least based on Jayce's perspective. He is now in front of the concert, hoping that he will find his sister there for him to meet with the others. But he saw a bunch of college students bullying a senior high boy.
"You're such a tootsie, and yet you are brave enough to be here?"
Said by the bully to the young boy. Jayce just couldn't stand and ignore it, so he headed there and try to confront the group of bullies. It didn't end up well since someone punched Jayce. It was like a scene in an action movie where one person beat the whole gang. Jayce was field with bruises after the long fight. He catches his breath then check the boy who is afraid sitting at the corner.
"Are you ok?"
Jayce ask with a tender voice trying to calm the boy down. But he failed. As the boy looked at Jayce's face, he was startled and assumed that Jayce is the bad guy because of his bruises. The junior high school boy kicked Jayce on his sensitive part, making him fall on the floor. The boy started to run trying his best to escape the situation, Jayce tried to catch the boy but on his current condition he just couldn't move.
Going back to Zane's struggle. The lead vocal noticed that Zane is having a bad time, because it is very evident that he is being bumped by the person around him. Zane feels that anytime he will fall to the floor because he just couldn't keep his balance, since the people around him are jumping like crazy, feeling absorbed by the beat of the song. The lead vocalist decided to finish the upbeat song and started introducing the next song immediately.
"Ok, let us just change the pace of this event a little bit. This next song will be a love song; I hope you will like it."
Even though it is unplanned and the whole band were stunned for a few seconds, the lead vocal started singing giving his band mates a cue to just go with the flow. It is actually unexpected since the whole band didn't plan to play a slow song during the concert. But because of the lead vocals consideration to Zane they do it anyway, without even disappointing the audience.
The movement of the crowd slowed down, the people just started raising their arms while waving it, and trying to keep up to the slow beat of the song. Zane uses this opportunity to grasp some air; he looked around him because he was actually unaware what happened to the energy of the crowd. After a few moments he looked at the stage, making him noticed that the lead vocalist is staring at him. At first he didn't want to accept the fact that the lead vocalist is staring at him, since it is a concert, and there is a huge chance that the lead vocalist is looking at with someone else, plus the fact that he didn't feel awkward about it. But after the 1st verse of the song, Zane felt that the lead vocalist is singing him a song, it is as if they are the only one who is on the venue. Zane let a sweet smile, appreciating the beautiful song right before the last line of it. He was actually impressed, he thinks that the lead vocalist is quite talented and has a good stage presence, because of what he felt. Zane is so moved because of the song that he didn't noticed Henry.
"I'm sorry I am late."
Henry said while catching his breath. Zane just gave him a nod, to express that it is ok. Even though the concert started like hell for Zane it ended as a good experience for him, and it is because of the lead vocalist.
"Zane you can head to our unit first, I would like to interview the band first."
Henry said with an excitement on his eyes, thinking that it will be a good scoop for their newspaper. In the end Zane agreed because he is so tired. But on his way home, he saw Jayce lying on the floor.
"Dude are you ok?"
Zane asked with a concerned voice. He tries to help Jayce get up since it is visible that he is in so much pain.
"Yes, I'm ok. I just helped the wrong person, that's it. That crazy bastard, I will never forget him."
Jayce replied with an angry voice. This is the first time that Zane saw Jayce full of emotion, and it is because of the boy who Jayce think as an ungrateful bastard. Since Jace is in so much pain, Zane didn't have a choice but to help Jayce go back to their unit, and with their huge body difference, it was very hard in Zane's part. At last they arrived at their unit, Zane drop Jayce on the couch, not remembering Jayce's current state.
"Thanks dude."
Jayce said while being in pain. Zane just nodded and headed to his room. He was about to go to sleep but he feels something weird tonight, maybe because for the first time he enjoyed a concert. It is already late but he just can't fall asleep. He randomly decided to look at the picture he hid on his secret box located at the top of his cabinet. It was a collection of memories of him with Henry, he reminisce the past; all the good and all the bad. The moment he remembered everything makes him smile, but at the same time he felt in pain. Again he is worried, about what will happen to his feelings with Henry. But he can't do anything about it; all he can do is to wait for the ending of his story, without knowing if it will be painful or pleasurable to him. After feeling random emotions, Zane decided to put the box back on the cabinet. But the problem is- he is too small to put it back, yes it is easy for him to get it because all he need is to jump and grab the box on the right time, but putting it back is a bit difficult for him.
"Now I know why I decided to hide it here."
Zane said to himself as he tries to stretch himself just to be a little taller, for him to put the box back. He tried to lift his heels just for the box to reach the top of the cabinet, but a few seconds later he lost his balance and fall. It was all mess in his room, all of the things in the box are now scattered on the floor.
"It's ok I will just clean all of this mess."
Zane said, trying to comfort himself because of the mess he just made. He started to pick up all the pieces like a normal people do. Since he is not sleepy yet, he takes his time to clean his room. But his world stopped just when Jayce opened the door of his room.
"Dude are you ok? I just heard a loud noise and it wakes me up."
Jayce said while entering Zane's room. Zane was stunned; he was in panic because if Jayce will see all of the things in the floor, he will discover Zane's secret. Jayce look at Zane with confusion, not understanding the situation.
"Do you need some help?"
Jayce said while trying to pick a pink scented paper located under his foot. Zane shouted, trying to stop Jayce, but he was too late. Jayce read what is in the paper, and discovered that it was a love letter, from Zane and to Henry.
"Zane, are you in love with Henry?"
Jayce ask.
On the other hand, Henry is trying his best to meet the band. He tried searching at the back stage but they were already gone. He runs outside the venue, hoping that he will see them there, and he got lucky. Henry ran towards them, just before they leave.
"Uhm, excuse me, I'm from the student's publication, if it is okay with you, I would like to ask some few questions."
Henry asked. At first the members of the band were hesitant because they are shy. But in the end, they agreed to be interviewed.
"It's ok you can start now."
The lead vocalist said, giving Henry permission to ask some question.
"Who is the one who initiated to have a concert like this?"
Henry asked.
"Ow it's Vince, our lead vocalist. At first we thought it is just a simple gimmick, but after knowing that he is planning to do it for charity, all of as agreed to it.
The drummer said, pointing out the lead vocalist. Henry looked at him giving a cue to introduce himself.
"I'm Lark Vincent Aguilera, my friends call me Vince. When I entered college I was an introvert, but when I started singing and gain exposure, I've overcome my insecurities and now here I am trying to help others."
Vince said with a smile. Henry is actually star struck because he couldn't believe that Vince was once an introvert like Zane. A few questions and Henry's interview was done. He started to head back to their condo while the band members proceed to go to their destination.
The whole band rented a van, and now on their way to a famous restaurant to celebrate their successful concert. The van was field with laughter as the members are throwing some jokes and random topics to entertain each other.
"Yo Vince, what is your deal a while ago? The slow song is not part of our plan right?"
The drummer asks Vince, feeling curious about his actions.
"Are you trying to impress someone during our concert? You sly fox!"
The lead guitarist shouted to Vince, assuming the situation.
"No you mother fudger! I just saw someone who is struggling at the crowd. He reminds me of my old self, that's why I controlled the crowd."
Vince said with a smile, trying to remember Zane's face. He was actually curious about Zane when he saw him. The moment he saw Zane at the crowd he realized that he wants him to be his friend; or more like to treat him like a little brother.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone