Chapter 9

Dino felt nervous once he was standing on the stage together with Ivan, wherein the former was standing at the right hand side of the latter. Dino was also holding a wireless microphone that was lent by the female host.

"So, what's your name?" Ivan asked while smiling brightly.

[Ah, right! We should be pretending that this is the first time we met!] Dino thought, realizing why Ivan asked his name.

"Dino," Dino replied while holding the microphone close to his mouth.

"Okay, Dino, that's a nice name!" Ivan exclaimed cheerfully.

[He said that my name is nice again, but it makes me feel happy.] Dino thought while recalling the first time when Ivan also mentioned that the former's name was a nice one.

"Thank you," Dino answered shyly while smiling innocently.

"Don't be shy, Dino. It's okay," Ivan declared reassuringly.

"Okay," Dino replied while smiling innocently.

[His smile is really bright and cute. I love it!] Ivan thought while looking at Dino with eyes full of joy and love.

"Alright! So, you know this song entitled 'Forevermore', right?" Ivan inquired.

"Yes!" Dino exclaimed cheerfully.

"Okay, that's great!" Ivan responded with a bright smile. "Here we go! Start!" Ivan announced enthusiastically before the audience cheered loudly.

The instrumental for 'Forevermore' started playing, with most, if not all, of the people from the audience swaying themselves together with it. At that moment, Dino felt nervous yet happy that he not only got the rare chance to meet Ivan yesterday but also that they will be singing a popular Filipino love song together. Dino also noticed that Ivan was looking at him with eyes full of love - Ivan's pupils were dilated and his lips formed a gentle, heavenly smile.

[Ivan...He's looking at me like this.] Dino thought timidly. [I feel so shy about it, but...I'm happy.]

Ivan took and held Dino's left hand as soon as the former began singing the first verse of the song, surprising and making the latter blush in turn. Some people from the audience screamed in romantic excitement upon seeing that Ivan was holding Dino's hand.

[Oh my goodness...Is he really doing this on purpose?] Dino thought with his face reddening due to blushing and his heart beating faster than normal as Ivan continued to sing with all his heart. [I can't believe that he's doing this right in front of many people! But...The people here seem to like it. I guess I'll just let Ivan hold my hand like this for a while.]

It took a while before Dino got used to the feeling of being held by Ivan in front of many people. He also felt happy being able to hold and feel Ivan's warm hand and hear him sing with emotion. Eventually, Ivan got to the chorus, with Dino singing along to it without holding the microphone close to his mouth. Dino could also hear the audience singing along to Ivan in the chorus part.

"Dino, please sing the second verse," Ivan requested while smiling with eyes full of love as soon as they got to the instrumental part that preceded the second verse of the song.

Dino just nodded and smiled at Ivan before beginning to sing the second verse as best as he could in spite of his nervousness. The audience also cheered for Dino upon hearing his nice tenor voice that suited the song quite well.

[He sings quite well.] Ivan thought as he listened and continued to gaze at Dino lovingly. [I like his singing voice too!]

After Dino had finished singing the second verse, Ivan sang together with him, with the contrasting quality of their voices complementing each other's very well. Ivan's voice was lower and deeper compared to Dino's, making the blending of their voices sound awesome. The audience also cheered almost at the same time when Ivan and Dino began singing in unison.

[Looks like the people like our performance.] Ivan and Dino thought simultaneously.

[I'm glad that he picked me to sing together with him.] Dino thought.

[I'm glad that I managed to find him among the audience.] Ivan thought.

At the bridge part of the song, Ivan sang the first half of it with his right arm placed around Dino's shoulders, surprising the latter again. Afterwards, Dino sang the second half of the bridge, with him singing in his falsetto register at the climax part. The audience cheered and clapped when Dino sang in his falsetto register.

Finally, Ivan and Dino sang the final chorus of the song together, with the audience clapping and cheering for them at the end of their performance.

"Thank you, Dino! That was a great performance!" Ivan declared cheerfully while using his microphone.

"Thank you, too!" Dino replied while also using his microphone.

At that moment, Ivan and Dino hugged each other, making some people in the audience scream in delight.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" many people, especially females, in the audience chorused.

"You want us to kiss?" Ivan asked the audience using his microphone.

[What?!] Dino thought in disbelief and astonishment. [Why did he have to ask that question?!]

The audience clapped and cheered loudly in delight, with words such as 'Yes' and 'Kiss' being heard.

[No way...Is this for real?!] Dino thought, feeling amazed with the audience's response. [I...I can't believe it! This has to be a dream!]

"Okay, we'll kiss then," Ivan announced, making many female spectators scream in excitement. "So, let's kiss, shall we, Dino?" Ivan requested, making the audience scream even more.

"Uh...Well…" Dino replied while blushing a lot, feeling unsure of what to answer.

"It's okay, Dino," Ivan declared while smiling reassuringly. "I don't mind."

"O-Okay," Dino responded while trying to fight his shyness.

"Are you sure?" Ivan asked nicely while still smiling brightly.

"Yes!" Dino answered determinedly. "Let's do it!"

"Okay!" Ivan responded cheerfully before proceeding to kiss Dino's lips.

Dino's eyes were closed as he felt Ivan's soft lips pressing against his own lips again, but this time it was right in front of many people. The spectators, especially the females, screamed and clapped in excitement. Many of them also took pictures of the two of them kissing.

[What the heck?!] Eric thought with his eyes wide in astonishment. [Did they really kiss?! They can't really be doing it!]

[It's not like we're doing something bad, after all.] Dino thought while trying to convince himself to continue kissing Ivan as if nothing happened. [Plus, kissing is done by some people around the world to greet each other. I just hope that they won't think that there's any romance going on between Ivan and me! ]

After several seconds, Ivan and Dino stopped kissing each other before they hugged each other tightly, with the audience continuing to cheer for the two of them.

"Thank you so much, Dino!" Ivan declared cheerfully while holding his microphone close to his mouth.

"Thank you too, Sir!" Dino answered.

"It's Ivan," Ivan replied while grinning.

"Yeah, Ivan!" Dino responded awkwardly. "Thank you, Ivan!"

"Alright!" Ivan exclaimed merrily. "You may go back to your seat now!"

Before Dino proceeded to leave, Ivan winked at him, as if the latter wanted to say 'see you again' to the former. Dino just waved and smiled at Ivan innocently before the former proceeded to give his microphone to the female host and get down from the stage to go back to his own seat in the audience.

[Yeah...I'll see you again, Ivan!] Dino thought while grinning as he proceeded to get back to his seat.