While Leon’s head is in the clouds, unaware of his surrounding, he would occasionally mumble out that song of his a few times out loud. He did it in the library when he’s busy doing his homework, he did it during a phone call he has with his mother, and he even hummed it on nights when he stays over at his best friend’s house.

But not in front of her though—no, never in front of her.

He hummed that song of his so often that his best friend, Eli, even remembered the tune to that song. He didn’t quite want to remember it, but Leon’s constant humming made that tune stuck in his brain. He even figured out the notes of that song and played them on the guitar by himself, fingerstyle.

It wasn’t a bad tune. Eli knows how good the songs Leon wrote usually are. It was a soft melody that he made—something that radiates comfort, something he would sing when he talks about someone that he cherished. Quite frankly, Eli loves the melody.

They were hanging out in Eli’s house on a Saturday afternoon when Eli played that song for a couple of minutes. He played Leon’s song; a variation—improvisation—of it, but still using the same base. And, honestly, he was really enjoying playing it. It was a fun melody.

Originally, Leon didn’t even notice that Eli has been playing his song. But, the man kept playing it, and the tune became more and more familiar to his ears. And then, he listened to it with more intent, and when he realizes what his friend has been playing, he became flustered.

His palm suddenly slapped on the carpet, panicking, causing Eli to stop playing the guitar. Leon immediately spoke in a rather loud voice. “Where... where did you hear that?” he asked, a tint of red and heat creeping up his face. The pen he held in his other hand pointed towards the guitar on Eli’s lap.

Eli was surprised. “What? The song?” he asked, casually replaying the tune. Leon nodded in response and Eli raised his brows to the affirmation. He was confused. “It’s... your song, right?”

“I’ve never shown that song in front of you before!” Leon shouted out. “Where did you hear that?” he asked, his fingers nervously fidgeting with a pen.

Eli tilted his head. “Dude... you keep—you keep humming it, did you not realize that?”

Leon paused for a moment, his fingers still messing with the pen—twirling them, throwing them up in the air. But then, as the pen fell back down, he froze and didn’t catch it, letting it bounce on the floor and roll away. “Uh... I—” Leon paused, his shoulder raising as he took a deep breath. “I—huh... guess I didn’t realize that,” he said, followed by a sigh.

Eli replayed the song in the background again while Leon stretched to pick up the pen that he dropped earlier. He was about to continue his scribbling in his notebook, but suddenly, Eli stopped playing with his guitar to ask his friend a question.

“You, Leon,” he called. “Does the song have lyrics?” he asked.

Leon hesitated for a moment. “...It does,” he said, slightly dragging his tongue. “Actually, it’s a love song.”

Eli’s face lit up. “A love song?”

Leon gestured to take the guitar on Eli’s lap, and his friend gladly gave it to him. He held it in his hand, positioning himself to play the instrument. For a second, he glanced at Eli, and then he sighed. He may not be able to play the guitar as well as him, but... never mind, he was just demonstrating this song after all.

Leon took a deep breath, and then he began strumming and singing the song.

♪

I’ve been writing this song for an angel I see

She is someone I know and made my heart skipped a beat

I’ve been singing this song for the only girl I ever see

Someone I’ve always thought to be the true love I seek

♪

And that was the result. Four lines, four verses—that was all he has written in the three months since he started writing it. He bit on his lips, his palm clenching. Damn, he’s not going to finish this song anytime soon now, would he?

As soon as Leon stopped strumming, Eli clapped his hands. Leon was wide-eyed, and his instinct for some reason was telling him to tackle Eli, and so he did—leaving the guitar thrashed on the side—to stop him from clapping.

“Oh, come on, stop doing that! It’s a bad song!” Leon shouted, his hands gripping Eli’s wrist.

Eli pushed Leon away. “No, it’s not,” he confusedly responded.

“It is!” Leon insisted, pulling himself away from Eli. “It’s so... boring, and bad.”

Eli gave him a look of disbelief and chuckles slightly, annoyed. He reached for the guitar that Leon thrashed earlier, and before he pulled back, his fist lightly hits on Leon’s shoulder, causing his friend to groan.

“You know... Leon, if you think that your song is ‘boring and ugly’, what’d you say about letting me borrow it, then?” Eli asked, ending his sentence with a dramatic melody that he played using the guitar.

Leon tilted his head. Eli’s request piqued him, but it also confuses him at the same time. He needed to process his question first, and after a short delay, only then did he start to understand what his best friend had meant.

“You want to use my song, is that it?”

“Uh-huh.”

Leon licked his lips, hesitating. “It’s... unfinished though. I’ve only written as much as that which you’ve heard, is that okay?” he asked.

He shrugged. “Hey, that’s okay, man. I’m not using it for the band anyway. Also, no matter how much you insist, you write good songs, you get me? And if you let me, I’d like to use that song to confess to a girl that I like.”

Friends often think alike. Leon wasn’t surprised to hear that Eli, his best friend and a particularly talented musician, would like to confess to the girl he likes the same way Leon has planned to. And, Eli said it so casually, that even Leon thought it was just a whimsical decision. It became too easy for Leon to brush off what his friend just said to him.

Leon didn’t think much of it at the time. It barely occurred to him that they might’ve liked the same person. To him, Eli and Reynatra have always been more like brothers and sisters rather than lovers. Leon didn’t stop to think for a moment that Eli could’ve been planning to confess to her.

So, blissed with ignorance, he agreed to Eli’s request to borrow that song of his, and Leon came to regret that decision much sooner than he thinks.