Super Junior/f(x)/Fall Out Boy/Cobra Starship {bandfic ; Smile For The Paparazzi}
Title: Smile For The Paparazzi
Fandom: Super Junior/f(x)/Fall Out Boy/Cobra Starship
Pairing: bandfic; Hankyung/Heechul, Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi, Siwon/Sungmin, Kibum/Donghae, Pete/Patrick, Amber/Victoria, others implied
Word count: 3,918
Rating: R
Summary: Eeteuk looks out over the anarchy that his band has brought about. "How much will their silence cost?" he asks.
A/N: This was inspired partly by a conversation with civilized_era, partly by listening to Cobra at work and partly because I've simply wanted to write this for a while. This is for dreamrainydays, as a huge thank you for everything she's done for me ♥ I don't know the characterization of the FOB/Cobra members so I just went with whatever and hoped for the best. I hope you like this, Naomi ♥ ilusfm and I will miss your Hanchul :(
Smile For The Paparazzi
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," says Gabe. "Have you seen that girl?"
Pete doesn't even flick a glance in the vague direction of where Gabe is looking, too involved in his semi-staring contest with some Korean girl-boy. "Hmm," he says, non-committed.
"Have you seen her? Oh my fucking god, she's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. Look at those eyes, fucking hell. I'm drowning in them, I am so fucking serious--"
"She's not even looking at you," says Vicky.
"-- They're huge, fucking mind-boggling. Look at that mouth, holy -- and her hair, I want to touch it so fucking hard, Jesus fucking Christ," and then he's off, barrelling straight down the middle of the crowded room towards whoever the girl is.
There's a long moment and then Vicky sighs, standing up with her hands on her hips. "I'll go do some damage control, shall I?"
"Hmmm," says Pete, thoroughly not paying attention. Some other Korean guy has just come up to the boy-girl and Pete is kind of hoping the boy-girl will be distracted enough for Pete to go to the toilet. Vicky sighs again, mutters something like the only sane one here, and then follows Gabe.
---
Hankyung sets a drink down next to Heechul and gets no response. "Hey, Heechul," he says, and taps him on the shoulder. Heechul doesn't look at him as he bats his hands away. "What are you doing?"
"I'm freaking an American out," says Heechul, with one of the most evil smirks Hankyung has ever seen on his face. "I caught his eye an hour ago and haven't broken contact yet."
Hankyung knows there isn't an answer, but he asks it anyway. "Why?"
"Don't ask stupid questions, Hankyung," says Heechul. "I don't need a reason."
Hankyung looks at the guy that Heechul is competing with. He's got dark hair and is kind of good looking and looks distinctly uncomfortable. "Is this some kind of foreplay?" Hankyung asks.
"Possibly," says Heechul. "I might get lucky tonight."
"Like fuck you will," Hankyung growls into the neck of his beer bottle. "Not with him, at least."
"Lighten up, Kyungie," says Heechul. "You can take his friend for me. Come on, Hankyung. Take one for the team."
"I hate you," says Hankyung, noticing that Heechul has not once looked at him. "It is like a constant burning in the pit of my stomach."
"Fairly certain that's called sexual attraction," says Heechul, and manages to pick his double vodka and coke up, drink it, and set it back down without once looking at it and without spilling it.
---
He's backed the girl into a corner. She is, Vicky has to admit, completely stunning, dressed in a pale blue mini-dress, though she's got the look of a deer caught in the headlamps as Gabe talks at her atninety miles an hour, sentences peppered with "fuck" and "gorgeous" and "your eyes". Quite clearly, she doesn't understand a word. Vicky sighs one more time and hits Gabe on the back of the head.
"You're scaring her," she says.
"Fucking hell," says Gabe, though whether that's about the hit or directed at the girl, Vicky isn't sure.
The girl slumps a little and then notices something over their shoulders. She pushes past Gabe, who looks like he's going to explode from the touch, and shouts "Amber, Amber!" Gabe and Vicky turn to see a -- girl? Boy? Vicky has trouble telling to begin with but when she turns and makes her way over, she has the features of a girl. She's dressed in a pair of grey jeans and a black shirt and seems fairly casual compared to the rest of the Koreans here. "Unni?" she says, and the girl throws herself at the newcomer, reeling off in the weirdest language that Vicky has ever heard. She's heard a lot of Korean tonight and that doesn't sound like very good Korean.
The new girl, presumably Amber, keeps her hands on the girl's shoulders as she turns to Gabe and Vicky. "Can Tori-unni help you?" she asks politely in perfect English. Blinks from the Americans.
"She's pretty," says Gabe dumbly. Vicky rolls her eyes and notices Amber doing the same. Then Amber peers more closely.
"Hey," she says, surprised. "You're that guy from that Fall Out Boy video."
Gabe's eyebrow twitches. "I'm Gabe Saporta," he says. "I'm the lead singer of Cobra Starship."
Amber's forehead creases. "Who?"
Vicky senses that there needs to be a change in subject. "So which band are you in?"
"I'm from f(x)," says Amber.
"Who?" says Gabe snidely and gets a glare.
"Victoria is our leader." The girl perks up at her name and looks at Amber curiously. Amber says something in Korean, but even she has a slight accent, the words slow.
"You're not from Korea?"
"Chinese-American." A motion towards the girl that Gabe was going goo-goo over. "Chinese."
"Victoria?" Vicky grins at the girl, who nods. "I'm Victoria too! Let's talk," and she takes Victoria's arm and drags her off, ignoring the protests. "Believe me," she mutters under her breath. "I'm doing you a favour."
As soon as they're out of earshot, Gabe turns to Amber. "Dude," he begs. "You have to hook me up. Give me her number or something."
Amber looks away from the low cut back of Victoria's dress and narrows her eyes. "No," she says, and walks away.
"Aw, come on!" Gabe yells at her. "Do a guy a favour!"
---
Travis flops down onto a sofa next to one of the guys from that giant Korean band and grins at him. "Hey," he says.
"Hi!" says the boy brightly. "My name is Aiden Lee."
"Awesome," says Travis, whose head is a little fuzzy. "I'm Travis."
"Nice weather," says the boy called Aiden Lee.
Travis tries to think back. Actually, it had been nice weather when he was coming into the after party venue. Kind of crisp and cool. "It is," he agrees.
"You look like Whoopi Goldberg," says Aiden.
"Thanks," says Travis. It's a compliment, he thinks.
The boy grins. It's all pointed teeth and is one of the most beautiful things Travis has ever seen. He's not gay but he wouldn't mind being so for this boy, who smiles like the entire world is a joyous wonderland. "Hey, Eunhyuk!" shouts Aiden, and throws himself from the chair and at another Korean guy who doesn't go falling over because of the other body hitting him at full speed; he is apparently prepared for it because he doesn't even flinch.
"Donghae," he says, and then adds something in Korean. Aiden (Donghae?) says something back and then motions to Travis.
"Travis," he says triumphantly.
"Hello," says Eunhyuk.
"Digga digga dance!" shouts Aiden/Donghae, and then pulls Eunhyuk on the dance floor. Travis watches them for a moment or two and then sprints off to find Gabe, who is sitting at the bar with a series of shots in front of him.
"Gabe!" he shouts. "I've found my soulmate!"
Gabe brightens. "So have I!" he shouts back.
---
"Some kid just told me I looked like Nicholas Cage," says Patrick, face a mask of confusion as he sits down next to Pete.
"Hmmm," says Pete.
"I don't know, these Koreans are weird, man."
"Fucking bitch won't look away," hisses Pete.
"Who?"
"That -- that chickdude over there, by the bar."
Patrick looks over and does a double take. "Woah, is that a boy or a girl?"
"I don't fucking know, all these Koreans look the same to me."
"What the fuck, what the fuck, I don't know whether I'm allowed to be attracted to it."
"I'd bang that like a garden gate," says Pete, then, "fucking fucker, look the fuck away!"
---
Somewhere along the lines, Vicky has picked up the girl called Amber and a boy named Henry to act as translators in her conversation with Victoria, except now it's more that Vicky is just chatting with the two English-speakers about their experiences in music while Victoria clutches Amber's arm. She's just asking them if they've ever tried writing their own music -- and getting the beginnings of that's not how it works in Korea faces -- when she stops dead, completely distracted by the Adonis at the other side of the room.
"Who," she breathes, "is that?"
Henry sighs without even looking. "Probably Siwon."
"Yeah," says Amber with a grin. "It's Siwon."
"Damn it," says Henry.
"Who is he?" says Vicky feverishly. "Do you know him? Can you introduce me?"
"No," says Henry immediately.
"He's in your band," says Amber, poking him in the ribs. Henry glares at her as Vicky beams at him.
"Introduce me," she says.
"But Siwon is -- fine. Freaking hell."
Siwon, as usual, is happy to meet someone new, and is even happier to have someone he can try his English out on. Amber, her arm around the shoulders of a slightly shell-shocked Victoria -- "Culture shock," Amber had said when Vicky had asked her about it -- and Henry stand to the side, watching. Henry's sigh is nothing less than tragic.
"I thought at least here, where I speak the language, I'd not lose another girl to Siwon-hyung," he says, when Amber looks at him curiously. She grins.
"Better luck next time, hey?" She nudges him in the ribs. He grins and glances at her legs. "Remember last time?" she says calmly. "And the way you couldn't walk for three days?"
"Damn it," says Henry again.
---
"Oh, some girl is chatting Siwon up," says Hankyung.
"What, what?" Heechul says, and then looks away from the guy he's been staring at and goes clambering over Hankyung as he gets down from hisbar-stool. "Oh man, I have to find Sungmin. The bloodbath will be epic."
"Oof," says Hankyung.
---
"Fucking bitch!" Pete bursts out. It's the first thing he's said in five minutes and terrifies Patrick out of his mind. He jumps and spills his drink over himself.
"Aw, man," he says, grabbing a napkin from a nearby table and dabbing at his jeans. "What is it now?"
"He looked away!"
"I thought you wanted him to look away."
"I did! But I wanted him to look away because he was admitting defeat, not because he got distracted by something happening on the other side of the room!" He pouts, like he's Paris Hilton or something. Patrick holds back a laugh. "It's like he wasn't even bothered by it."
"My pants are wet," says Patrick miserably. Pete snorts.
"Guys, some kid just told me I looked like Nicholas Cage," says Andy, appearing from nowhere.
"He told me I did!" says Patrick indignantly.
"Neither of you do," says Pete. "Fucking Koreans."
---
Heechul finds Sungmin talking with Luna and Krystal in the corner of the club, glasses of orange juice sitting in front of the girls. He looks around and sees Sulli dancing by herself, and is reminded of just how much of a weird kid she is. "Hi, hyung," says Sungmin.
"Siwon is getting chatted up by a pretty American," Heechul informs him gleefully. The smile fades from Sungmin's face until he's glowering and standing up and stalking off in the direction that Heechul points him in.
"Hey oppa!" shouts Sulli, having noticed him. "Come and dance with me!"
"Not right now," calls Heechul, and then glances coolly at Krystal. "How's your sister?"
"She's fine," says Krystal, who takes after her sister in being utterly not scared of her sunbae one bit.
"Hmm," says Heechul, folding his arms. "Tell her to stay away from Hankyung." Then he walks off to find said man.
---
Gabe's eye catches sight of the brown hair that he's been coveting to Travis for the past hour over lots -- lots lots lots -- of shots, and jumps off his bar stool, full of dutch courage and whiskey. He stumbles, gets up off his knees, then manages to walk over like he's not completely pissed drunk. Victoria is standing in a corner with that girl who was giving him cheek earlier. She's smiling and looks like some kind of goddess. Victoria's the kind of girl that he could write a song about. "You're a hot mess and I'm falling for you," he sings, then says, "Oh baby, were you a problem child?" In his drunk state, it sounds like a pretty good chat up line.
As he nears, the one who he mistook for a guy to begin with smiles back and pushes Victoria's hair back to say something in her ear. Victoria blushes as the girl presses her lips to the corner of her mouth. Then she takes Victoria's hand and pulls her into the bathroom next to them. Gabe stops. Turns. Goes back to Travis. Orders another set of shots. Proceeds to drown his sorrows.
Gets off with a supermodel. Figures it's not all bad.
---
Hankyung has Zhou Mi's collar in one hand and Kyuhyun's in the other, and is shaking them hard. "But ge--" Zhou Mi is squawking, while Kyuhyun just looks like he's about to kick Hankyung in the shins.
"What are you doing with those two?" Heechul asks, hip cocked, one hand on his hip.
"Caught them making out," says Hankyung. "Not here, okay? Not. Here."
"They're just having fun," says Heechul. "When did you turn into Eeteuk?"
"There's a time and a place, Heechul."
"I seem to remember this one time in Malaysia," says Heechul, "when you--"
Hankyung lets go of Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun. "Don't let me catch you again," he says, and glares after them as Zhou Mi drags Kyuhyun off. Then Hankyung turns back to Heechul. "What was that about Malaysia?"
"When you thought it would be a good idea to stick your hands down my pants in the middle of the nightclub."
"Ah, good times," says Hankyung, pulling Heechul towards him by the hips and hooking his fingers in his belt hoops. "You don't really think I'm becoming like Eeteuk, do you?"
"Oh, yeah," says Heechul, hands against Hankyung's chest. "You're a leader now, all leaders become Eeteuk eventually."
"Why can't I be a leader like Yunho?"
"Because I like Yunho."
"You like me!"
"I'd like you a lot more with your hands down my pants."
"Your wish is my command," says Hankyung, and tugs Heechul closer to him to fit their mouths together with the practised ease of knowing someone. He kisses him leisurely, until Heechul pulls away, dancing to a song that is not the one playing overhead.
"Sowoneul malhaebwa," he sings, getting ready to bounce away to cause more trouble, freak another couple of Americans out -- the night is young and a lot of people are drunk. Hankyung smiles, holds him close for just a second longer, thinking that really, Heechul's already granted Hankyung's wish without Hankyung having to say.
"Sex with that guy you were staring at earlier," he says, just to be annoying.
---
"Aha!" says Pete, and turns to Andy. "That proves it. Five dollars, please."
"Eh?" Andy stares at him. "That doesn't prove it was a girl."
"She's making out with some guy!" says Pete.
"You've made out with guys!" says Andy. "That's not proof, it might just be gay."
"It's Korean."
"What the fuck does that prove?"
"It's a girl!"
"It's a guy!"
"You're going to have to get closer and see," says Patrick around the end of his beer bottle. Pete and Andy exchange glances.
---
"Hankyung-hyung's such a hypocrite," says Kyuhyun, watching Hankyung kiss Heechul in clear sight on the dance floor. "At least we were being discreet."
"Yeah," says Zhou Mi, a little dryly. "Pressing me against the DJ stand was really discreet."
"Shut up," says Kyuhyun, pressing him into the cushion of the booth that they've taken over.
---
Someone is trying to get into the bathroom; the door keeps trying to push open against Victoria's back. "Amber," she says, breathless and gasping. "Amber, we should--"
"Be quiet," says Amber, and does something with her hand in between Victoria's legs that renders Victoria incapable of thought, never mind speak. She is quiet. "That guy," Amber says, swirling her tongue around the lobe of Victoria's ear. "The one that was chatting you up."
"Which guy? Please, Amber, I need--"
"The one who cornered you. You remember, right?" A nod from Victoria. "Did you like him?"
The question takes a moment or two to register in Victoria's brain, but once it does, she laughs shakily. "No."
"He was good looking."
"Not compared--" Her breath catches in a moan.
Amber uses her free hand to brush Victoria's hair from her face and kisses her softly on the lips, just a slight amount of pressure. "No girl out there was half as beautiful as you," she whispers.
Victoria laughs again, though she barely has breath to do it. "What have I told you about the flattery?"
Amber's teeth flash in the half-light of the bathroom as she twists her fingers and makes Victoria's legs buckle.
---
Travis has been watching Aiden all night. Aiden is a damn good dancer, knows how to move his body, and he looks pretty flexible. Travis remembers Pete waxing poetical about sexuality and how fluid it was and how he shouldn't box himself in but Travis has never been attracted to a guy before. Aiden is just like that. Travis is going to go dance with him. He's going to go talk to him. He says goodbye to Gabe, who is getting chatted up by the supermodel that he will later have one night of wonderful passion with, and goes to Aiden and taps him on the shoulder.
"Hey Aiden," he shouts over the music. Aiden turns, a voice on his face.
"My name, Donghae," he says.
"Whatever," Travis says.
He and Donghae dance for a little bit until they hear a shout of Korean and Donghae's head snaps around. "Kibum!" he shouts happily, and bounces away, leaving Travis behind and completely unnoticed. He stands there for a long, lonely moment, watches as Donghae throws himself at some guy with defined arms and attacks him with his mouth. Then he goes back to Gabe. He's going to make a sign: The Lonely Losers Corner.
---
Vicky was doing really well right up until some guy called Sungmin appeared and proceeded to completely steal Siwon's attention. Sungmin is giggling like an idiot, talking to Siwon in Korean and clinging to him, all the while shooting Vicky dark glares when Siwon isn't looking. Vicky gets it, but she doesn't really get it. She looks back at Henry -- Amber disappeared with Victoria not too long ago -- who is trying not to laugh. He shrugs and does an airy movement with his hand.
Siwon says, "Drink?" Vicky nods slowly and Siwon hugs Sungmin and then leaves, presumably to get drinks.
"Henry," says Sungmin commandingly. Henry sidles up to him, smiling. He seems very happy about Vicky's failure. Sungmin says something, all the while glaring at her, and then waits for Henry to translate.
"He says that if you make one more move on Siwon, he'll break both your legs and not even care that you're a girl," says Henry, far too brightly for the words that just came out of his mouth. Vicky's own mouth falls open.
"Why?"
"Sungmin-hyung likes Siwon-hyung."
"So? He doesn't have a claim on him."
Henry winces. "Look, there are just a couple of things that are ground rules in this band. One of the more important is that you don't interfere in what Sungmin and Heechul want. Sungmin wants Siwon. Don't get in the way if you like walking."
"How ridiculous," says Vicky, determined to not let it affect her, but when Siwon comes back and immediately falls into a conversation with Sungmin, complete with lots of laughter and touching of shoulders, she ends up joining Gabe and Travis at the bar. She's a long way behind them in drowning her sorrows, but she soon catches up.
---
Pete approaches the girl he'd been having the staring match with when she's sitting at the bar, one leg crossed over the other and a bottle of Korean beer in front of her. She's actually quite pretty; she has nice hair. He's always liked nice hair. Long hair. Patrick has long hair too. He shakes his head; perhaps that last drink was one too many. He sits down next to the girl. "Hey," he says over the music. She turns towards him.
"Yo." Oh. It's a guy. He owes Andy five dollars. In Pete's defense, he makes a very pretty guy.
"You were looking earlier," says Pete. The guy nods, smirking a little. He at least understands English, which is more than most of theAsians in the room. "Why?"
There's a pause while the guy thinks of something to say. "Because funny," he decides on.
"You were staring at me...because it was funny?"
"Yes."
"Why was it funny?"
"You look like--" The guy pulls a face, all buggy-eyed and angry mouthed and twitching eyebrows, then takes a drink. "Funny," he says.
Pete would be offended if this guy wasn't actually really attractive. He looks like he'd snap under Pete's body, looks like he'd wrap slim thighs around his waist and arch into every touch. He looks like he'd be one of the best lays of Pete's life, and he leans in. "You sure you weren't looking because you thought I was handsome?" The man laughs, not in an unkind way but in a simply amused way. "I'm Pete," says Pete.
"Heechul," says the guy. Pete leans in closer and feels Heechul shift.
"So I was thinking, it's kind of loud in here. Do you want to--"
A hand lands on Pete's shoulder. He looks around in the face of the guy Heechul was making out with earlier. He looks kind of pissed, but Pete just sneers at him. So what if Heechul was making out with him? Pete doesn't care. Pete Wentz can have any person he likes and doesn't have to answer to anybody, especially not apparently jealous boyfriends.
The guy growls something at Heechul, who smirks and trills something back. Pete gains a death glare but he doesn't think this guy is scary one bit. He's in a Korean boyband, for fucks sake. How dangerous could he be?
"Kung-fu," says Heechul, and says something that sounds like the other guy's accent, accompanied with karate-esque hand movements. "Hankyung knows kung-fu."
That changes everything. Pete decides that he doesn't really want to sleep with Heechul, who seems like a bit of a spazz, and gets up with dignity and staggers back over to Patrick. "How did it go?" Patrick asks brightly.
"Girl," says Pete, and then peers at Patrick. You know, he's really pretty too.
---
Eeteuk stands on the second floor with the managers, looking out over the club. Hankyung and Heechul are kissing at the bar, Hankyung between Heechul's legs. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi disappeared to their hotel room half an hour ago. Sungmin is sitting in Siwon's lap. Amber and Victoria have just emerged from the bathroom they went into three quarters of an hour ago, Victoria's hair a mess. Kibum and Donghae have just gone into a bathroom. Henry is dancing with Krystal, Sulli and Luna, in such a way that Eeteuk is regretting their manager's decision to allow them to come and questioning how badly Henry needs to get laid. Most of the members of those American bands are at the bar, drinking themselves into oblivion. Eeteuk turns to the manager next to him and voices the question they're all asking.
"How much do you think their silence will cost?"
Fandom: Super Junior/f(x)/Fall Out Boy/Cobra Starship
Pairing: bandfic; Hankyung/Heechul, Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi, Siwon/Sungmin, Kibum/Donghae, Pete/Patrick, Amber/Victoria, others implied
Word count: 3,918
Rating: R
Summary: Eeteuk looks out over the anarchy that his band has brought about. "How much will their silence cost?" he asks.
A/N: This was inspired partly by a conversation with civilized_era, partly by listening to Cobra at work and partly because I've simply wanted to write this for a while. This is for dreamrainydays, as a huge thank you for everything she's done for me ♥ I don't know the characterization of the FOB/Cobra members so I just went with whatever and hoped for the best. I hope you like this, Naomi ♥ ilusfm and I will miss your Hanchul :(
Smile For The Paparazzi
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," says Gabe. "Have you seen that girl?"
Pete doesn't even flick a glance in the vague direction of where Gabe is looking, too involved in his semi-staring contest with some Korean girl-boy. "Hmm," he says, non-committed.
"Have you seen her? Oh my fucking god, she's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen. Look at those eyes, fucking hell. I'm drowning in them, I am so fucking serious--"
"She's not even looking at you," says Vicky.
"-- They're huge, fucking mind-boggling. Look at that mouth, holy -- and her hair, I want to touch it so fucking hard, Jesus fucking Christ," and then he's off, barrelling straight down the middle of the crowded room towards whoever the girl is.
There's a long moment and then Vicky sighs, standing up with her hands on her hips. "I'll go do some damage control, shall I?"
"Hmmm," says Pete, thoroughly not paying attention. Some other Korean guy has just come up to the boy-girl and Pete is kind of hoping the boy-girl will be distracted enough for Pete to go to the toilet. Vicky sighs again, mutters something like the only sane one here, and then follows Gabe.
---
Hankyung sets a drink down next to Heechul and gets no response. "Hey, Heechul," he says, and taps him on the shoulder. Heechul doesn't look at him as he bats his hands away. "What are you doing?"
"I'm freaking an American out," says Heechul, with one of the most evil smirks Hankyung has ever seen on his face. "I caught his eye an hour ago and haven't broken contact yet."
Hankyung knows there isn't an answer, but he asks it anyway. "Why?"
"Don't ask stupid questions, Hankyung," says Heechul. "I don't need a reason."
Hankyung looks at the guy that Heechul is competing with. He's got dark hair and is kind of good looking and looks distinctly uncomfortable. "Is this some kind of foreplay?" Hankyung asks.
"Possibly," says Heechul. "I might get lucky tonight."
"Like fuck you will," Hankyung growls into the neck of his beer bottle. "Not with him, at least."
"Lighten up, Kyungie," says Heechul. "You can take his friend for me. Come on, Hankyung. Take one for the team."
"I hate you," says Hankyung, noticing that Heechul has not once looked at him. "It is like a constant burning in the pit of my stomach."
"Fairly certain that's called sexual attraction," says Heechul, and manages to pick his double vodka and coke up, drink it, and set it back down without once looking at it and without spilling it.
---
He's backed the girl into a corner. She is, Vicky has to admit, completely stunning, dressed in a pale blue mini-dress, though she's got the look of a deer caught in the headlamps as Gabe talks at her atninety miles an hour, sentences peppered with "fuck" and "gorgeous" and "your eyes". Quite clearly, she doesn't understand a word. Vicky sighs one more time and hits Gabe on the back of the head.
"You're scaring her," she says.
"Fucking hell," says Gabe, though whether that's about the hit or directed at the girl, Vicky isn't sure.
The girl slumps a little and then notices something over their shoulders. She pushes past Gabe, who looks like he's going to explode from the touch, and shouts "Amber, Amber!" Gabe and Vicky turn to see a -- girl? Boy? Vicky has trouble telling to begin with but when she turns and makes her way over, she has the features of a girl. She's dressed in a pair of grey jeans and a black shirt and seems fairly casual compared to the rest of the Koreans here. "Unni?" she says, and the girl throws herself at the newcomer, reeling off in the weirdest language that Vicky has ever heard. She's heard a lot of Korean tonight and that doesn't sound like very good Korean.
The new girl, presumably Amber, keeps her hands on the girl's shoulders as she turns to Gabe and Vicky. "Can Tori-unni help you?" she asks politely in perfect English. Blinks from the Americans.
"She's pretty," says Gabe dumbly. Vicky rolls her eyes and notices Amber doing the same. Then Amber peers more closely.
"Hey," she says, surprised. "You're that guy from that Fall Out Boy video."
Gabe's eyebrow twitches. "I'm Gabe Saporta," he says. "I'm the lead singer of Cobra Starship."
Amber's forehead creases. "Who?"
Vicky senses that there needs to be a change in subject. "So which band are you in?"
"I'm from f(x)," says Amber.
"Who?" says Gabe snidely and gets a glare.
"Victoria is our leader." The girl perks up at her name and looks at Amber curiously. Amber says something in Korean, but even she has a slight accent, the words slow.
"You're not from Korea?"
"Chinese-American." A motion towards the girl that Gabe was going goo-goo over. "Chinese."
"Victoria?" Vicky grins at the girl, who nods. "I'm Victoria too! Let's talk," and she takes Victoria's arm and drags her off, ignoring the protests. "Believe me," she mutters under her breath. "I'm doing you a favour."
As soon as they're out of earshot, Gabe turns to Amber. "Dude," he begs. "You have to hook me up. Give me her number or something."
Amber looks away from the low cut back of Victoria's dress and narrows her eyes. "No," she says, and walks away.
"Aw, come on!" Gabe yells at her. "Do a guy a favour!"
---
Travis flops down onto a sofa next to one of the guys from that giant Korean band and grins at him. "Hey," he says.
"Hi!" says the boy brightly. "My name is Aiden Lee."
"Awesome," says Travis, whose head is a little fuzzy. "I'm Travis."
"Nice weather," says the boy called Aiden Lee.
Travis tries to think back. Actually, it had been nice weather when he was coming into the after party venue. Kind of crisp and cool. "It is," he agrees.
"You look like Whoopi Goldberg," says Aiden.
"Thanks," says Travis. It's a compliment, he thinks.
The boy grins. It's all pointed teeth and is one of the most beautiful things Travis has ever seen. He's not gay but he wouldn't mind being so for this boy, who smiles like the entire world is a joyous wonderland. "Hey, Eunhyuk!" shouts Aiden, and throws himself from the chair and at another Korean guy who doesn't go falling over because of the other body hitting him at full speed; he is apparently prepared for it because he doesn't even flinch.
"Donghae," he says, and then adds something in Korean. Aiden (Donghae?) says something back and then motions to Travis.
"Travis," he says triumphantly.
"Hello," says Eunhyuk.
"Digga digga dance!" shouts Aiden/Donghae, and then pulls Eunhyuk on the dance floor. Travis watches them for a moment or two and then sprints off to find Gabe, who is sitting at the bar with a series of shots in front of him.
"Gabe!" he shouts. "I've found my soulmate!"
Gabe brightens. "So have I!" he shouts back.
---
"Some kid just told me I looked like Nicholas Cage," says Patrick, face a mask of confusion as he sits down next to Pete.
"Hmmm," says Pete.
"I don't know, these Koreans are weird, man."
"Fucking bitch won't look away," hisses Pete.
"Who?"
"That -- that chickdude over there, by the bar."
Patrick looks over and does a double take. "Woah, is that a boy or a girl?"
"I don't fucking know, all these Koreans look the same to me."
"What the fuck, what the fuck, I don't know whether I'm allowed to be attracted to it."
"I'd bang that like a garden gate," says Pete, then, "fucking fucker, look the fuck away!"
---
Somewhere along the lines, Vicky has picked up the girl called Amber and a boy named Henry to act as translators in her conversation with Victoria, except now it's more that Vicky is just chatting with the two English-speakers about their experiences in music while Victoria clutches Amber's arm. She's just asking them if they've ever tried writing their own music -- and getting the beginnings of that's not how it works in Korea faces -- when she stops dead, completely distracted by the Adonis at the other side of the room.
"Who," she breathes, "is that?"
Henry sighs without even looking. "Probably Siwon."
"Yeah," says Amber with a grin. "It's Siwon."
"Damn it," says Henry.
"Who is he?" says Vicky feverishly. "Do you know him? Can you introduce me?"
"No," says Henry immediately.
"He's in your band," says Amber, poking him in the ribs. Henry glares at her as Vicky beams at him.
"Introduce me," she says.
"But Siwon is -- fine. Freaking hell."
Siwon, as usual, is happy to meet someone new, and is even happier to have someone he can try his English out on. Amber, her arm around the shoulders of a slightly shell-shocked Victoria -- "Culture shock," Amber had said when Vicky had asked her about it -- and Henry stand to the side, watching. Henry's sigh is nothing less than tragic.
"I thought at least here, where I speak the language, I'd not lose another girl to Siwon-hyung," he says, when Amber looks at him curiously. She grins.
"Better luck next time, hey?" She nudges him in the ribs. He grins and glances at her legs. "Remember last time?" she says calmly. "And the way you couldn't walk for three days?"
"Damn it," says Henry again.
---
"Oh, some girl is chatting Siwon up," says Hankyung.
"What, what?" Heechul says, and then looks away from the guy he's been staring at and goes clambering over Hankyung as he gets down from hisbar-stool. "Oh man, I have to find Sungmin. The bloodbath will be epic."
"Oof," says Hankyung.
---
"Fucking bitch!" Pete bursts out. It's the first thing he's said in five minutes and terrifies Patrick out of his mind. He jumps and spills his drink over himself.
"Aw, man," he says, grabbing a napkin from a nearby table and dabbing at his jeans. "What is it now?"
"He looked away!"
"I thought you wanted him to look away."
"I did! But I wanted him to look away because he was admitting defeat, not because he got distracted by something happening on the other side of the room!" He pouts, like he's Paris Hilton or something. Patrick holds back a laugh. "It's like he wasn't even bothered by it."
"My pants are wet," says Patrick miserably. Pete snorts.
"Guys, some kid just told me I looked like Nicholas Cage," says Andy, appearing from nowhere.
"He told me I did!" says Patrick indignantly.
"Neither of you do," says Pete. "Fucking Koreans."
---
Heechul finds Sungmin talking with Luna and Krystal in the corner of the club, glasses of orange juice sitting in front of the girls. He looks around and sees Sulli dancing by herself, and is reminded of just how much of a weird kid she is. "Hi, hyung," says Sungmin.
"Siwon is getting chatted up by a pretty American," Heechul informs him gleefully. The smile fades from Sungmin's face until he's glowering and standing up and stalking off in the direction that Heechul points him in.
"Hey oppa!" shouts Sulli, having noticed him. "Come and dance with me!"
"Not right now," calls Heechul, and then glances coolly at Krystal. "How's your sister?"
"She's fine," says Krystal, who takes after her sister in being utterly not scared of her sunbae one bit.
"Hmm," says Heechul, folding his arms. "Tell her to stay away from Hankyung." Then he walks off to find said man.
---
Gabe's eye catches sight of the brown hair that he's been coveting to Travis for the past hour over lots -- lots lots lots -- of shots, and jumps off his bar stool, full of dutch courage and whiskey. He stumbles, gets up off his knees, then manages to walk over like he's not completely pissed drunk. Victoria is standing in a corner with that girl who was giving him cheek earlier. She's smiling and looks like some kind of goddess. Victoria's the kind of girl that he could write a song about. "You're a hot mess and I'm falling for you," he sings, then says, "Oh baby, were you a problem child?" In his drunk state, it sounds like a pretty good chat up line.
As he nears, the one who he mistook for a guy to begin with smiles back and pushes Victoria's hair back to say something in her ear. Victoria blushes as the girl presses her lips to the corner of her mouth. Then she takes Victoria's hand and pulls her into the bathroom next to them. Gabe stops. Turns. Goes back to Travis. Orders another set of shots. Proceeds to drown his sorrows.
Gets off with a supermodel. Figures it's not all bad.
---
Hankyung has Zhou Mi's collar in one hand and Kyuhyun's in the other, and is shaking them hard. "But ge--" Zhou Mi is squawking, while Kyuhyun just looks like he's about to kick Hankyung in the shins.
"What are you doing with those two?" Heechul asks, hip cocked, one hand on his hip.
"Caught them making out," says Hankyung. "Not here, okay? Not. Here."
"They're just having fun," says Heechul. "When did you turn into Eeteuk?"
"There's a time and a place, Heechul."
"I seem to remember this one time in Malaysia," says Heechul, "when you--"
Hankyung lets go of Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun. "Don't let me catch you again," he says, and glares after them as Zhou Mi drags Kyuhyun off. Then Hankyung turns back to Heechul. "What was that about Malaysia?"
"When you thought it would be a good idea to stick your hands down my pants in the middle of the nightclub."
"Ah, good times," says Hankyung, pulling Heechul towards him by the hips and hooking his fingers in his belt hoops. "You don't really think I'm becoming like Eeteuk, do you?"
"Oh, yeah," says Heechul, hands against Hankyung's chest. "You're a leader now, all leaders become Eeteuk eventually."
"Why can't I be a leader like Yunho?"
"Because I like Yunho."
"You like me!"
"I'd like you a lot more with your hands down my pants."
"Your wish is my command," says Hankyung, and tugs Heechul closer to him to fit their mouths together with the practised ease of knowing someone. He kisses him leisurely, until Heechul pulls away, dancing to a song that is not the one playing overhead.
"Sowoneul malhaebwa," he sings, getting ready to bounce away to cause more trouble, freak another couple of Americans out -- the night is young and a lot of people are drunk. Hankyung smiles, holds him close for just a second longer, thinking that really, Heechul's already granted Hankyung's wish without Hankyung having to say.
"Sex with that guy you were staring at earlier," he says, just to be annoying.
---
"Aha!" says Pete, and turns to Andy. "That proves it. Five dollars, please."
"Eh?" Andy stares at him. "That doesn't prove it was a girl."
"She's making out with some guy!" says Pete.
"You've made out with guys!" says Andy. "That's not proof, it might just be gay."
"It's Korean."
"What the fuck does that prove?"
"It's a girl!"
"It's a guy!"
"You're going to have to get closer and see," says Patrick around the end of his beer bottle. Pete and Andy exchange glances.
---
"Hankyung-hyung's such a hypocrite," says Kyuhyun, watching Hankyung kiss Heechul in clear sight on the dance floor. "At least we were being discreet."
"Yeah," says Zhou Mi, a little dryly. "Pressing me against the DJ stand was really discreet."
"Shut up," says Kyuhyun, pressing him into the cushion of the booth that they've taken over.
---
Someone is trying to get into the bathroom; the door keeps trying to push open against Victoria's back. "Amber," she says, breathless and gasping. "Amber, we should--"
"Be quiet," says Amber, and does something with her hand in between Victoria's legs that renders Victoria incapable of thought, never mind speak. She is quiet. "That guy," Amber says, swirling her tongue around the lobe of Victoria's ear. "The one that was chatting you up."
"Which guy? Please, Amber, I need--"
"The one who cornered you. You remember, right?" A nod from Victoria. "Did you like him?"
The question takes a moment or two to register in Victoria's brain, but once it does, she laughs shakily. "No."
"He was good looking."
"Not compared--" Her breath catches in a moan.
Amber uses her free hand to brush Victoria's hair from her face and kisses her softly on the lips, just a slight amount of pressure. "No girl out there was half as beautiful as you," she whispers.
Victoria laughs again, though she barely has breath to do it. "What have I told you about the flattery?"
Amber's teeth flash in the half-light of the bathroom as she twists her fingers and makes Victoria's legs buckle.
---
Travis has been watching Aiden all night. Aiden is a damn good dancer, knows how to move his body, and he looks pretty flexible. Travis remembers Pete waxing poetical about sexuality and how fluid it was and how he shouldn't box himself in but Travis has never been attracted to a guy before. Aiden is just like that. Travis is going to go dance with him. He's going to go talk to him. He says goodbye to Gabe, who is getting chatted up by the supermodel that he will later have one night of wonderful passion with, and goes to Aiden and taps him on the shoulder.
"Hey Aiden," he shouts over the music. Aiden turns, a voice on his face.
"My name, Donghae," he says.
"Whatever," Travis says.
He and Donghae dance for a little bit until they hear a shout of Korean and Donghae's head snaps around. "Kibum!" he shouts happily, and bounces away, leaving Travis behind and completely unnoticed. He stands there for a long, lonely moment, watches as Donghae throws himself at some guy with defined arms and attacks him with his mouth. Then he goes back to Gabe. He's going to make a sign: The Lonely Losers Corner.
---
Vicky was doing really well right up until some guy called Sungmin appeared and proceeded to completely steal Siwon's attention. Sungmin is giggling like an idiot, talking to Siwon in Korean and clinging to him, all the while shooting Vicky dark glares when Siwon isn't looking. Vicky gets it, but she doesn't really get it. She looks back at Henry -- Amber disappeared with Victoria not too long ago -- who is trying not to laugh. He shrugs and does an airy movement with his hand.
Siwon says, "Drink?" Vicky nods slowly and Siwon hugs Sungmin and then leaves, presumably to get drinks.
"Henry," says Sungmin commandingly. Henry sidles up to him, smiling. He seems very happy about Vicky's failure. Sungmin says something, all the while glaring at her, and then waits for Henry to translate.
"He says that if you make one more move on Siwon, he'll break both your legs and not even care that you're a girl," says Henry, far too brightly for the words that just came out of his mouth. Vicky's own mouth falls open.
"Why?"
"Sungmin-hyung likes Siwon-hyung."
"So? He doesn't have a claim on him."
Henry winces. "Look, there are just a couple of things that are ground rules in this band. One of the more important is that you don't interfere in what Sungmin and Heechul want. Sungmin wants Siwon. Don't get in the way if you like walking."
"How ridiculous," says Vicky, determined to not let it affect her, but when Siwon comes back and immediately falls into a conversation with Sungmin, complete with lots of laughter and touching of shoulders, she ends up joining Gabe and Travis at the bar. She's a long way behind them in drowning her sorrows, but she soon catches up.
---
Pete approaches the girl he'd been having the staring match with when she's sitting at the bar, one leg crossed over the other and a bottle of Korean beer in front of her. She's actually quite pretty; she has nice hair. He's always liked nice hair. Long hair. Patrick has long hair too. He shakes his head; perhaps that last drink was one too many. He sits down next to the girl. "Hey," he says over the music. She turns towards him.
"Yo." Oh. It's a guy. He owes Andy five dollars. In Pete's defense, he makes a very pretty guy.
"You were looking earlier," says Pete. The guy nods, smirking a little. He at least understands English, which is more than most of theAsians in the room. "Why?"
There's a pause while the guy thinks of something to say. "Because funny," he decides on.
"You were staring at me...because it was funny?"
"Yes."
"Why was it funny?"
"You look like--" The guy pulls a face, all buggy-eyed and angry mouthed and twitching eyebrows, then takes a drink. "Funny," he says.
Pete would be offended if this guy wasn't actually really attractive. He looks like he'd snap under Pete's body, looks like he'd wrap slim thighs around his waist and arch into every touch. He looks like he'd be one of the best lays of Pete's life, and he leans in. "You sure you weren't looking because you thought I was handsome?" The man laughs, not in an unkind way but in a simply amused way. "I'm Pete," says Pete.
"Heechul," says the guy. Pete leans in closer and feels Heechul shift.
"So I was thinking, it's kind of loud in here. Do you want to--"
A hand lands on Pete's shoulder. He looks around in the face of the guy Heechul was making out with earlier. He looks kind of pissed, but Pete just sneers at him. So what if Heechul was making out with him? Pete doesn't care. Pete Wentz can have any person he likes and doesn't have to answer to anybody, especially not apparently jealous boyfriends.
The guy growls something at Heechul, who smirks and trills something back. Pete gains a death glare but he doesn't think this guy is scary one bit. He's in a Korean boyband, for fucks sake. How dangerous could he be?
"Kung-fu," says Heechul, and says something that sounds like the other guy's accent, accompanied with karate-esque hand movements. "Hankyung knows kung-fu."
That changes everything. Pete decides that he doesn't really want to sleep with Heechul, who seems like a bit of a spazz, and gets up with dignity and staggers back over to Patrick. "How did it go?" Patrick asks brightly.
"Girl," says Pete, and then peers at Patrick. You know, he's really pretty too.
---
Eeteuk stands on the second floor with the managers, looking out over the club. Hankyung and Heechul are kissing at the bar, Hankyung between Heechul's legs. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi disappeared to their hotel room half an hour ago. Sungmin is sitting in Siwon's lap. Amber and Victoria have just emerged from the bathroom they went into three quarters of an hour ago, Victoria's hair a mess. Kibum and Donghae have just gone into a bathroom. Henry is dancing with Krystal, Sulli and Luna, in such a way that Eeteuk is regretting their manager's decision to allow them to come and questioning how badly Henry needs to get laid. Most of the members of those American bands are at the bar, drinking themselves into oblivion. Eeteuk turns to the manager next to him and voices the question they're all asking.
"How much do you think their silence will cost?"