Bright Lights - Chapter 4
Title - Bright Lights
Rating - PG for now.
Chapter - 4/? Multichapter
Genre - Romance, Drama, AU, School Life,
Warnings - Fanboying, dancing, dreaming. Not beta'd
Bands - The GazettE, Dir En Grey, Alice Nine, OC's and more..
Pairings - ?/Reita, more to be revealed.
Summary - What does it take to reach the bright and shining stars? The answer is to become one.
Disclaimer - The story is from my dreams of real characters :p
Notes - This is the first story I've posted up, so I really hope that my writing is not too bad >.< Feel free to criticize, comment and tell me what you think so I can improve in writing^^
Author's comment - Update! Also, BETA READER WANTED. More comments below~
Previous chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
~Chapter 4~
The dinner started quietly. Only the adults in the room made cheerful noises as they talked casually about business, and the upcoming grand opening of the new SoundWave branch. Akira wasn’t sure what he should do or where he should look. He stared intently at his glass of room temperature water and would occasionally take a sip. For the first two minutes that the idol boy groups sat at their seats in front of the other teens, Akira found himself trying to look away as much as he can.
The way that the idols brought themselves seemed to ooze with charisma that it was impossible for Akira to make himself look at them. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to look, but plainly because he couldn’t. If he tries to look, he fears that his fan boy nature will just explode in front of the idols and the adults. Now that he’s trying to tame his fanboy self, all there is left is an awkward silence. They should have done something over the summer to prepare him for this. Damn.
‘Try not to be too obvious’ he told himself. Then again, he realized that he probably looked mental at that point. He didn’t like that fact that he was making this encounter more awkward than necessary by looking everywhere in the room except at the people seated right in front of him. Why was their food taking such a long time to arrive?
The others were also quiet in their seats, so he knew that they were having the same awkward feeling he has. At least he wasn’t alone in this. It’s not that he’s a plain snob. He is actually quiet the opposite. How he really wanted to do something, anything that will not make him seem like the snob that he currently looked like. He turned his head to the side and saw Lexy watching at him intensely, but trying to seem as normal as possible as if trying to communicate with him.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
It was only when Kouyou spoke up when they were able to talk like normal human beings. Thank you Kouyou for saving the day. “Hi I’m Kouyou Takashima. These are my friends.”
Kouyou’s introduction gave them the courage to face the shining idols right in front of them.
“I’m Midori.” She smiled cutely.
“Akira.” He said trying to be as cool as possible.
“Hey, I’m Lexy. Nice to meet you guys.” She flashed a nervous, yet genuine smile.
The three idols greeted them back politely.
So far they were doing well.
“We are actually really surprised. My parents never told us that we were having you guys perform at the grand opening. So we had no idea we were gonna meet you guys today.” Kouyou stated frankly.
Kouyou’s mother piped in, “I told your father to make it a surprise.” She turned to the idols with a grin, “They are actually huge pop idol fans.”
The four teens tried really hard not to turn visibly red from Mrs. Takashima’s comment in front of the idols.
“Thank you guys for your support. It really means a lot to us.” Miyavi, the colorful haired one, said charismatically with a bow of his head; he was definitely the leader of their group.
“Is it true that you guys are going to the concert after the grand opening?” The idol with a red streak on his black hair, whose name is Ruki, asked enthusiastically.
“Yeah we are. Midori here won us tickets to the concert.” Kouyou pointed at Midori, and she beamed at the guests. “So we’re guessing you guys are the surprise guest performers for Shadow621?”
The idols laughed. “Yeah but I guess it’s not so surprising anymore.” The one with the colorful hair scratched his head.
“Actually…” Lexy spoke up, feeling a little comfortable with the idols now, “We are staying at the Hotel St. Augustine. There was a huge crowd at the lobby when we went out this afternoon. Was that for you guys?” Akira can also tell that she was trying her best to talk without choking.
Ruki chuckled. “Are we too obvious?”
“I think social media caught on already, with you guys being in the same place as when Shadow621’s concert is happening.” Midori said with a controlled giggle. It seems like this girl was actually really trying this time.
“It’s amazing how news spread so fast. We didn’t expect to see a crowd waiting at the hotel for us.” The prettiest idol of the group, the one named Shinya, spoke up calmly.
Shinya seemed to be the most reserved person in the group, and had an air of elegance surrounding him despite being beside his two more colorful group members.
Their food soon arrived and the teens and teen idols continued their group conversations as well as the adults. It was a pleasant surprise that although the idol group Day One has been very successful since their debut last year, they were still very easy to talk to. That’s exactly what Kouyou, Midori, and Lexy did the entire meal now that the tension was slowly lifted off of their shoulders.
Akira couldn’t seem to jump in the conversation so he just quietly listened intently and observed, occasionally nodding his head and humming in agreement in a few sections of the conversation.
A few things he learned from what he heard:
• They recently had a two-week break from the studio for personal time, a reward they received from wining multiple trophies for their latest promoted single.
• They are back in the studio working on their upcoming album.
• Performing for the grand opening of the latest SoundWave branch will be their first activity since their break.
• Miyavi absolutely adores playing the guitar. (He was overly enthusiastic discussing this with Kouyou who is also a fervent guitar player).
• Miyavi is the oldest of their idol group, 19 years old. Shinya is 18, and the youngest member is Ruki, being only 16, a year younger than Akira and friends.
• Most of their songs were composed by Miyavi, if not by the company. Ruki is trying really hard to write great song that will be approved by the company to be in their new album.
• While Miyavi and Shinya trained together in PSC for three years, Ruki joined the company just six months before Day One debuted.
• Since it has been a little over a year since their debut, they still live together in a smaller dorm, care of the company. With all the presents they get from the fans and sponsors starting to fill up their dorm, they are hoping to move to a large apartment hopefully soon.
Akira realized that most of this information that he gathered could be looked up online by any avid fan. What else does he expect from his friends though? They were fan girls and guys to begin with. No one asked about Shadow621 to not seem uncool and eager, but he can tell what’s going on in everyone’s head. Akira smiled to himself with this realization and how obvious his friends were. He just hoped that that fact didn't scare the idols off or anything.
Still grinning to himself, he took a big bite of a breadstick. He looked up.
The youngest of the idol group was looking at him.
Startled, Akira had already made eye contact, but he didn’t know what to do, so he just stared back.
He noticed the boy’s doe-like eyeliner eyes under the red streaked dark bangs observing him for a moment.
How long has he been watching him, Akira wondered. Still not knowing what to do, Akira started becoming nervous. He quickly chewed the food he had in his mouth and did the first thing that came to mind. He smiled.
Surprise flickered on the youngest idol’s eyes as if the smile caught him off guard, but quickly recovered and flashed Akira his brightest charming smile. It made Akira think that some food must have been stuck on his teeth when he smiled at the boy. He didn't think that through.
“You’ve been awfully quiet.” The youngest idol suddenly said directly at him with the same smile on his face.
It was loud enough for all the others to hear, and now all their attention is on Akira.
“It looked like you were thinking of something funny.” The idol continued.
The idol didn’t mention anything about his teeth, which Akira is guessing was a good thing. He did think of something funny, but no way would he point out to the idols how obvious his friends were at gathering information like at typical fan girl.
Everyone was still looking at him, and his friends weren’t saying anything. He had to say something.
“Hair…?” Akira blurted out.
Kouyou who seated right next to him was just looking at him with a blank expression. Akira knew him well enough though to know that the blank expression meant that he was desperately sending him telepathic messages asking him, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
“What about hair?” Ruki patiently asked, his smile unwavering.
Why people trying to make him talk? Why aren’t his friends saying anything to save him from this awkward position he got himself into? Was what he said really that random that his friends can’t even bother with him? Akira quickly thought of something to give his ‘Hair’ some sense.
“I just noticed you all have really awesome hairstyles.” He slowly said trying to sound as convincing as possible, and continued.
“It’s making me think of trying something different with my hair too, you know? Maybe I could look like an idol too.” He ended coolly with a smirk and his left hand on his hair.
What the fuck was that last bit?! Did he just make himself sound creepy? Akira internally scolded himself.
The idols looked at each other and chuckled. Even the reserved pretty one, Shinya, who rarely smiled the entire time, giggled a long with them.
The teens just laughed along nervously, looking at Akira, wondering what exactly were they supposed to be laughing about.
“Sorry about that.” The youngest one spoke up again now calmed down. “It’s not because of you that we’re laughing. What you said just reminded us of something we’ve been arguing about all morning.”
“You see, once we debuted, the company decides what concepts are suitable for us, including our hairstyles.” Miyavi informed.
“Are you sure we’re allowed to talk about this?” Shinya raised eyebrows at his members.
“Ah it’s fine. It is just hair. Look manager (Isamu) is busy talking with the adults.” The older member patted the other’s shoulder.
“Are you saying that you can’t choose your own hairstyles in PSC?” Akira asked, now curious.
“It’s not that exactly.” Ruki said. “Although it’s true that other people decide what our concept will be, especially since we are still considered rookies, but the hairstylists have the control on what we end up looking like in the end.”
Miyavi hummed. “What he is saying is that, we made good friends with our hairstylist, and ended up convincing them to style our hair the way it is now. Management wasn’t too happy about it.”
“What’s wrong with your hairstyles right now? You still looked amazing when you entered the room.” Akira said, then realizing that he was facing directly at the youngest idol member. There was a slight tinge of red on Ruki’s cheeks as the boy nonchalantly picked up his drinking glass.
“At the moment, we don’t exactly look like a teen idol boy group now, do we?” Shinya stated. “The management scolded our stylist for making us look like ‘colorful gothic
rockers’ instead.”
It was true. If you didn’t already know that the three together was the PSC idol boy band, Day One, judging them by their current style, you’d think that they would be making a different and a much harsher type of music other than pop.
“I think the Rock Star look is great on you guys, no matter what music you make. Like I’m seriously thinking of having my hair done after meeting you guys in person” Akira said honestly.
The three idol members smiled.
“I know right! We look great. I’m sure our management is gonna have to get used to it.” Miyavi stuck his tongue out pointing at their manager.
The rest of the evening went smoothly. The teens talked normally now; the barrier between idol and normal teen disappeared as the conversation went on. They talked about the city, and what places would be nice to visit. Lexy and Midori would sometimes ask questions about trainee and idol life without prodding too much on their personal lives. The reserved one, Shinya, seemed to open up a little bit helping to answer the girls questions.
When dinner ended and the adults were finished the business talk with Day One’s manager, the idols and their managed left earlier, while Mr. and Mrs. Takashima stayed longer to finish their wine with Mr Takada and the other two business associates.
The teens eventually followed; they thanked Kouyou’s parents, and went ahead driven back to the hotel by the Takashima’s driver for their entire stay in the city. They were already too tired from walking all over the gigantic mall to even walk a few blocks to their hotel with shopping bags in hand.
As soon as they returned to their suite, Akira ran and jumped on the couch, burying his face in the pillows, much like how Kouyou did when they checked in earlier that day. He felt drained. The others followed inside the suite, threw their shoes off by the doorway, and dropped on the carpeted floor by Akira. They were all tired. Traveling in the morning then shopping at the Grand Waterfield Mall did take a lot of energy, but it was during dinnertime that took a toll on them. The nervousness and straining their usual fanatic nature during dinner made them even more exhausted.
Akira didn’t know how, but he magically managed to pull himself together in front of idols. They were easy to talk and relate to. He wondered if talking to guys of Shadow621 would be as easy. Akira shook the thought away. Of course it wouldn’t. Day One was a band they were only familiar with, but their love Shadow621 is on a totally different level. He would probably have a heart attack on the spot if his idol were to even look at him. Akira clutched his chest; he was getting all worked up again.
“Kouyou, you’re rich. You could afford to hire idol pop stars to perform at your store. How could you keep this from us.” Midori said tiredly.
“Guys, you all know that I didn’t know about it until we all saw them together. Plus I think it was uncle Takada that hired them. He’s actually well connected in the music industry, so I’m sure he was able to book Day One from asking favors.” Kouyou grumbled.
“You’ve got that well connected uncle. Do you think he can hook us up into idols too?” Akira asked listlessly.
Kouyou sighed, “Dude we aren’t that close to him. He’s not really my uncle. I just call him that. Plus he’s a business man, so he’ll do whatever he can as long as it benefits his business investment.”
“I guess we got lucky then.” Midori got up. “Good job everyone for acting like normal human beings in front of famous people. I’m beat. I’m gonna get ready to sleep.” She gave them all a thumbs-up and walked away to the room she’s sharing with Lexy.
Akira rubbed his slightly bulging stomach. “Well I ended eating too much. Damn nerves got me to eat too much breadsticks.”
“Also the ravioli. I saw you scarfing down one after the other quietly when the rest of us were talking. I see you.” Lexy grabbed the hotel’s amenities booklet from under Akira’s leg on the couch.
“What time does the gym close?” Akira asked. He didn’t want to work out tonight, but Kouyou already started undressing right in front of them (with no regard for Lexy whatsoever, not that she cared), and so Akira was reminded once again that he couldn’t rest until he achieves superstardom with perfect abs.
“Oh awesome! The gym is open 24hours.” Lexy read on, “…and so is the sauna and steam room! I know what I’m doing tonight.” She said happily.
Kouyou got up and walked away to their room with only his boxers on, leaving his clothes on the living area floor.
“Kou, you better clean this up later!” Akira called out to Kouyou who already disappeared into their bedroom, but could be heard grumbling anyway.
*
It’s 11:00PM, Lexy and Akira in their workout clothes went together down to the seventh floor where the Fitness Center was located. They parted ways when Lexy went in the women’s locker area where the sauna and steam rooms were at, and Akira went to the opposite side to the gym.
They gym was actually quiet large with complete work out equipment from weights to cardio machines. There were only two other people in the gym when he entered. One lady who looked like she was in her late twenties, and the other was an older man, both on a treadmill machine. He hopped on an elliptical machine facing out the large gym windows with a view of the night city lights, exercised for half an hour. He pumped himself up by listening to upbeat songs by Shadow621 on his iPod, and some other house dance music; anything as long as it will make him sweat and keep him going.
When he finished, the other two people in the room were already gone. He went in front of the mirrors to stretch, deciding to listen to the music by Day One. Now that he met them, he was listening to the songs a little differently. He could immediately tell which person is singing which parts. Miyavi had a strong voice with a hint of rasp when he belted out, really making him sound like a rock star. Shinya had would appear in the softer parts of the songs with his higher and smoother voice. Ruki had quite unique voice. In this particular song Akira was listening, it showcased the range of voice that he had; his deep voice would boom in the chorus, and in the verses he could reach two octaves above that. His style was quite stylized in a way that really worked for him. From their album, Akira can tell that they were all great singers. Now he is really looking forward to see their performance at the concert on Friday.
Akira remembered back to what he heard earlier; it only took Ruki a few months to train before his debut, while most other idols takes years before they debut. There was definitely something special about Ruki that it was starting to make Akira envy him. If he were to become successful in getting in PSC as a trainee, he had to step us is game. He definitely needs to work on his singing, because what he had right now wasn’t even close to enough. He felt guilty now that he wasn’t able to practice singing today from traveling and going out in the city. No more excuses. He had to become as talented as Ruki or more so to get his idol’s attention.
“Hi Akira.”
Akira startled from his train of thought, found the source of the voice from the person’s reflection on the mirror.
“Ruki!” Akira turned his head back to face the boy. Such a coincidence that he was just thinking about the boy.
“I almost forgot that we were staying in the same hotel. Working out late, I see.” The younger one said smiling.
He was dressed in Nike branded white t-shirt, baggy lime green basketball shorts, and a pair of running shoes. The clothes are definitely from sponsors, Akira assumed. Ruki’s hair was now tied in a ponytail, his bangs now away of his face and the makeup removed. His face is now seen properly; although he was only a year younger than Akira, he had such a baby face that made him look really adorable. Even without the makeup and fancy clothes, the boy still truly brought with him the aura of an idol. Akira realized that he was staring at the younger one maybe a bit too long when he saw Ruki’s cheeks turning red again and looking down at the water bottle in his hand.
“Yeah!” Akira suddenly said a little bit too loud. “Ate too much pasta and breadsticks. Had to burn it off before going to sleep. Hehe...” Akira chuckled nervously. “What about you, aren’t you tired?”
“I actually am. Very. But I got so used to having to work out everyday, it doesn’t feel right NOT doing it. I used to hate it so much that our trainer would have to have to drag me to the gym all the time and force me to run on the treadmill.” Ruki laughed.
He walked to one of the treadmills and placed down his water bottle and towel on the holder.
“How about Shinya & Miyavi?” Akira asked, picking up weights on the rack.
“I know that Shin went to sleep, but I’m not so sure about Miyavi. He wasn’t in our suite when I left. What about the Kouyou and the girls?” The idol asked.
“Kouyou and Midori are dead asleep, and Lexy is at the steam room right now.” Akira said while lifting the weights behind his head, working on his arm muscles.
“Ooh steam room. Sounds nice, I should go try it out before we leave.” Ruki considered.
“So how long are you guys staying here?” The older one asked, now working out a different part of his arms.
“We have to leave the morning after the concert, cuz of we got things scheduled right after.” Ruki said, watching Akira.
“Do you have activities right now before the concert?” Akira asked inquisitively.
“Other than the grand opening, no. We are just gonna be rehearsing at the concert venue with Shadow621.” Ruki simply stated.
There goes Akira’s heart tightening again just at the mention of his favorite boy band, remembering that the concert is in just a few short days. He returned the weights on the rack.
“If do you still wanna get your hair done idol style…” Ruki smirked. “…I can show you the place we usually go to when we’re in town. I can take you in the afternoon after our rehearsal tomorrow.” Ruki sincerely. “…If you want.” The boy added.
Surprised, Akira never expected Ruki of Day One to offer to take him to have his hair done. Just a few moments ago, he was thinking how to become as talented Ruki, and now the boy wants to help him look good. Earlier that evening, he couldn’t even make himself look at the guy’s face. ‘This is great!’ Akira thought. It’s a good opportunity to observe the idol from up close, and take mental notes on how to be the ideal idol from Peace & Smile Company. He could also try to learn how to get that shining aura that he saw that Day One had. He didn’t observe them earlier when he had a chance to during dinnertime, but this tomorrow would be just as good. Plus, having a hair change right before the concert would be nice.
“Yes! That would be great! Thank you.” Akira exclaimed maybe a little too enthusiastically in front of the idol, with a huge smile on his face.
Ruki didn’t seem to mind though, and smiled just widely. “Let me get your number.” He said, taking out his phone.
Akira took his phone out and gave it to the idol. The younger boy entered saved his own number, called his own phone, and saved Akira’s number on it. As soon as they finished, Akira’s phone rang. It was Lexy was done, and it was time for them to head up to the room.
Akira thanked the idol told him that he’d see him tomorrow, and the idol told him that he’d text him. He left gym with a bounce in his step and met up with Lexy at the hallway. She was already dressed to go to sleep in pink pajama shorts and top, her bag of wet clothes on her back. Akira imagined how hilarious the look on Lexy’s face would be if an idol passed by in the hallway with her in those pajamas.
“Aki, the steam room is fabulous, you should see for yourself. I feel rejuvenated like I just worked out without the workout…” Lexy went on about how lovely the fitness center locker rooms were, just like the rest of the hotel. She stopped and her expression changed.
“Did something good happen while I was away?” She asked suspiciously.
“Huh?” Akira responded, barely listening to the girl’s words, still thinking about his recent encounter.
“You’ve got a stupid smile on your face. Something good must’ve happened. You must tell me right now.” Lexy demanded.
Still with the same stupid smile on his face, Akira took his phone out from his pocket and showed the Lexy the new entry on his contact list, pointing out at the name above the digits.
Honestly, he’s quite proud of himself at this moment. “Looks like I’m getting my hair done tomorrow.”
Author's Note: I can't believe I wrote this chapter in less than two days! Just give me time, and solitude and I get work done! I could have had this up earlier, but I only got connection to wifi today. I have the 5th chapter outlined and ready to go! (I actually started it right after finishing this chapter) So proud of myself ToT I'm also especially happy that I found out that people actually read my story :'))
Any readers please let me know what you think of this chapter! Feedback would really be helpful for the creation for the next chapters to come! ^_^
Please bear with my mistakes! :D
Rating - PG for now.
Chapter - 4/? Multichapter
Genre - Romance, Drama, AU, School Life,
Warnings - Fanboying, dancing, dreaming. Not beta'd
Bands - The GazettE, Dir En Grey, Alice Nine, OC's and more..
Pairings - ?/Reita, more to be revealed.
Summary - What does it take to reach the bright and shining stars? The answer is to become one.
Disclaimer - The story is from my dreams of real characters :p
Notes - This is the first story I've posted up, so I really hope that my writing is not too bad >.< Feel free to criticize, comment and tell me what you think so I can improve in writing^^
Author's comment - Update! Also, BETA READER WANTED. More comments below~
Previous chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
~Chapter 4~
The dinner started quietly. Only the adults in the room made cheerful noises as they talked casually about business, and the upcoming grand opening of the new SoundWave branch. Akira wasn’t sure what he should do or where he should look. He stared intently at his glass of room temperature water and would occasionally take a sip. For the first two minutes that the idol boy groups sat at their seats in front of the other teens, Akira found himself trying to look away as much as he can.
The way that the idols brought themselves seemed to ooze with charisma that it was impossible for Akira to make himself look at them. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to look, but plainly because he couldn’t. If he tries to look, he fears that his fan boy nature will just explode in front of the idols and the adults. Now that he’s trying to tame his fanboy self, all there is left is an awkward silence. They should have done something over the summer to prepare him for this. Damn.
‘Try not to be too obvious’ he told himself. Then again, he realized that he probably looked mental at that point. He didn’t like that fact that he was making this encounter more awkward than necessary by looking everywhere in the room except at the people seated right in front of him. Why was their food taking such a long time to arrive?
The others were also quiet in their seats, so he knew that they were having the same awkward feeling he has. At least he wasn’t alone in this. It’s not that he’s a plain snob. He is actually quiet the opposite. How he really wanted to do something, anything that will not make him seem like the snob that he currently looked like. He turned his head to the side and saw Lexy watching at him intensely, but trying to seem as normal as possible as if trying to communicate with him.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
It was only when Kouyou spoke up when they were able to talk like normal human beings. Thank you Kouyou for saving the day. “Hi I’m Kouyou Takashima. These are my friends.”
Kouyou’s introduction gave them the courage to face the shining idols right in front of them.
“I’m Midori.” She smiled cutely.
“Akira.” He said trying to be as cool as possible.
“Hey, I’m Lexy. Nice to meet you guys.” She flashed a nervous, yet genuine smile.
The three idols greeted them back politely.
So far they were doing well.
“We are actually really surprised. My parents never told us that we were having you guys perform at the grand opening. So we had no idea we were gonna meet you guys today.” Kouyou stated frankly.
Kouyou’s mother piped in, “I told your father to make it a surprise.” She turned to the idols with a grin, “They are actually huge pop idol fans.”
The four teens tried really hard not to turn visibly red from Mrs. Takashima’s comment in front of the idols.
“Thank you guys for your support. It really means a lot to us.” Miyavi, the colorful haired one, said charismatically with a bow of his head; he was definitely the leader of their group.
“Is it true that you guys are going to the concert after the grand opening?” The idol with a red streak on his black hair, whose name is Ruki, asked enthusiastically.
“Yeah we are. Midori here won us tickets to the concert.” Kouyou pointed at Midori, and she beamed at the guests. “So we’re guessing you guys are the surprise guest performers for Shadow621?”
The idols laughed. “Yeah but I guess it’s not so surprising anymore.” The one with the colorful hair scratched his head.
“Actually…” Lexy spoke up, feeling a little comfortable with the idols now, “We are staying at the Hotel St. Augustine. There was a huge crowd at the lobby when we went out this afternoon. Was that for you guys?” Akira can also tell that she was trying her best to talk without choking.
Ruki chuckled. “Are we too obvious?”
“I think social media caught on already, with you guys being in the same place as when Shadow621’s concert is happening.” Midori said with a controlled giggle. It seems like this girl was actually really trying this time.
“It’s amazing how news spread so fast. We didn’t expect to see a crowd waiting at the hotel for us.” The prettiest idol of the group, the one named Shinya, spoke up calmly.
Shinya seemed to be the most reserved person in the group, and had an air of elegance surrounding him despite being beside his two more colorful group members.
Their food soon arrived and the teens and teen idols continued their group conversations as well as the adults. It was a pleasant surprise that although the idol group Day One has been very successful since their debut last year, they were still very easy to talk to. That’s exactly what Kouyou, Midori, and Lexy did the entire meal now that the tension was slowly lifted off of their shoulders.
Akira couldn’t seem to jump in the conversation so he just quietly listened intently and observed, occasionally nodding his head and humming in agreement in a few sections of the conversation.
A few things he learned from what he heard:
• They recently had a two-week break from the studio for personal time, a reward they received from wining multiple trophies for their latest promoted single.
• They are back in the studio working on their upcoming album.
• Performing for the grand opening of the latest SoundWave branch will be their first activity since their break.
• Miyavi absolutely adores playing the guitar. (He was overly enthusiastic discussing this with Kouyou who is also a fervent guitar player).
• Miyavi is the oldest of their idol group, 19 years old. Shinya is 18, and the youngest member is Ruki, being only 16, a year younger than Akira and friends.
• Most of their songs were composed by Miyavi, if not by the company. Ruki is trying really hard to write great song that will be approved by the company to be in their new album.
• While Miyavi and Shinya trained together in PSC for three years, Ruki joined the company just six months before Day One debuted.
• Since it has been a little over a year since their debut, they still live together in a smaller dorm, care of the company. With all the presents they get from the fans and sponsors starting to fill up their dorm, they are hoping to move to a large apartment hopefully soon.
Akira realized that most of this information that he gathered could be looked up online by any avid fan. What else does he expect from his friends though? They were fan girls and guys to begin with. No one asked about Shadow621 to not seem uncool and eager, but he can tell what’s going on in everyone’s head. Akira smiled to himself with this realization and how obvious his friends were. He just hoped that that fact didn't scare the idols off or anything.
Still grinning to himself, he took a big bite of a breadstick. He looked up.
The youngest of the idol group was looking at him.
Startled, Akira had already made eye contact, but he didn’t know what to do, so he just stared back.
He noticed the boy’s doe-like eyeliner eyes under the red streaked dark bangs observing him for a moment.
How long has he been watching him, Akira wondered. Still not knowing what to do, Akira started becoming nervous. He quickly chewed the food he had in his mouth and did the first thing that came to mind. He smiled.
Surprise flickered on the youngest idol’s eyes as if the smile caught him off guard, but quickly recovered and flashed Akira his brightest charming smile. It made Akira think that some food must have been stuck on his teeth when he smiled at the boy. He didn't think that through.
“You’ve been awfully quiet.” The youngest idol suddenly said directly at him with the same smile on his face.
It was loud enough for all the others to hear, and now all their attention is on Akira.
“It looked like you were thinking of something funny.” The idol continued.
The idol didn’t mention anything about his teeth, which Akira is guessing was a good thing. He did think of something funny, but no way would he point out to the idols how obvious his friends were at gathering information like at typical fan girl.
Everyone was still looking at him, and his friends weren’t saying anything. He had to say something.
“Hair…?” Akira blurted out.
Kouyou who seated right next to him was just looking at him with a blank expression. Akira knew him well enough though to know that the blank expression meant that he was desperately sending him telepathic messages asking him, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
“What about hair?” Ruki patiently asked, his smile unwavering.
Why people trying to make him talk? Why aren’t his friends saying anything to save him from this awkward position he got himself into? Was what he said really that random that his friends can’t even bother with him? Akira quickly thought of something to give his ‘Hair’ some sense.
“I just noticed you all have really awesome hairstyles.” He slowly said trying to sound as convincing as possible, and continued.
“It’s making me think of trying something different with my hair too, you know? Maybe I could look like an idol too.” He ended coolly with a smirk and his left hand on his hair.
What the fuck was that last bit?! Did he just make himself sound creepy? Akira internally scolded himself.
The idols looked at each other and chuckled. Even the reserved pretty one, Shinya, who rarely smiled the entire time, giggled a long with them.
The teens just laughed along nervously, looking at Akira, wondering what exactly were they supposed to be laughing about.
“Sorry about that.” The youngest one spoke up again now calmed down. “It’s not because of you that we’re laughing. What you said just reminded us of something we’ve been arguing about all morning.”
“You see, once we debuted, the company decides what concepts are suitable for us, including our hairstyles.” Miyavi informed.
“Are you sure we’re allowed to talk about this?” Shinya raised eyebrows at his members.
“Ah it’s fine. It is just hair. Look manager (Isamu) is busy talking with the adults.” The older member patted the other’s shoulder.
“Are you saying that you can’t choose your own hairstyles in PSC?” Akira asked, now curious.
“It’s not that exactly.” Ruki said. “Although it’s true that other people decide what our concept will be, especially since we are still considered rookies, but the hairstylists have the control on what we end up looking like in the end.”
Miyavi hummed. “What he is saying is that, we made good friends with our hairstylist, and ended up convincing them to style our hair the way it is now. Management wasn’t too happy about it.”
“What’s wrong with your hairstyles right now? You still looked amazing when you entered the room.” Akira said, then realizing that he was facing directly at the youngest idol member. There was a slight tinge of red on Ruki’s cheeks as the boy nonchalantly picked up his drinking glass.
“At the moment, we don’t exactly look like a teen idol boy group now, do we?” Shinya stated. “The management scolded our stylist for making us look like ‘colorful gothic
rockers’ instead.”
It was true. If you didn’t already know that the three together was the PSC idol boy band, Day One, judging them by their current style, you’d think that they would be making a different and a much harsher type of music other than pop.
“I think the Rock Star look is great on you guys, no matter what music you make. Like I’m seriously thinking of having my hair done after meeting you guys in person” Akira said honestly.
The three idol members smiled.
“I know right! We look great. I’m sure our management is gonna have to get used to it.” Miyavi stuck his tongue out pointing at their manager.
The rest of the evening went smoothly. The teens talked normally now; the barrier between idol and normal teen disappeared as the conversation went on. They talked about the city, and what places would be nice to visit. Lexy and Midori would sometimes ask questions about trainee and idol life without prodding too much on their personal lives. The reserved one, Shinya, seemed to open up a little bit helping to answer the girls questions.
When dinner ended and the adults were finished the business talk with Day One’s manager, the idols and their managed left earlier, while Mr. and Mrs. Takashima stayed longer to finish their wine with Mr Takada and the other two business associates.
The teens eventually followed; they thanked Kouyou’s parents, and went ahead driven back to the hotel by the Takashima’s driver for their entire stay in the city. They were already too tired from walking all over the gigantic mall to even walk a few blocks to their hotel with shopping bags in hand.
As soon as they returned to their suite, Akira ran and jumped on the couch, burying his face in the pillows, much like how Kouyou did when they checked in earlier that day. He felt drained. The others followed inside the suite, threw their shoes off by the doorway, and dropped on the carpeted floor by Akira. They were all tired. Traveling in the morning then shopping at the Grand Waterfield Mall did take a lot of energy, but it was during dinnertime that took a toll on them. The nervousness and straining their usual fanatic nature during dinner made them even more exhausted.
Akira didn’t know how, but he magically managed to pull himself together in front of idols. They were easy to talk and relate to. He wondered if talking to guys of Shadow621 would be as easy. Akira shook the thought away. Of course it wouldn’t. Day One was a band they were only familiar with, but their love Shadow621 is on a totally different level. He would probably have a heart attack on the spot if his idol were to even look at him. Akira clutched his chest; he was getting all worked up again.
“Kouyou, you’re rich. You could afford to hire idol pop stars to perform at your store. How could you keep this from us.” Midori said tiredly.
“Guys, you all know that I didn’t know about it until we all saw them together. Plus I think it was uncle Takada that hired them. He’s actually well connected in the music industry, so I’m sure he was able to book Day One from asking favors.” Kouyou grumbled.
“You’ve got that well connected uncle. Do you think he can hook us up into idols too?” Akira asked listlessly.
Kouyou sighed, “Dude we aren’t that close to him. He’s not really my uncle. I just call him that. Plus he’s a business man, so he’ll do whatever he can as long as it benefits his business investment.”
“I guess we got lucky then.” Midori got up. “Good job everyone for acting like normal human beings in front of famous people. I’m beat. I’m gonna get ready to sleep.” She gave them all a thumbs-up and walked away to the room she’s sharing with Lexy.
Akira rubbed his slightly bulging stomach. “Well I ended eating too much. Damn nerves got me to eat too much breadsticks.”
“Also the ravioli. I saw you scarfing down one after the other quietly when the rest of us were talking. I see you.” Lexy grabbed the hotel’s amenities booklet from under Akira’s leg on the couch.
“What time does the gym close?” Akira asked. He didn’t want to work out tonight, but Kouyou already started undressing right in front of them (with no regard for Lexy whatsoever, not that she cared), and so Akira was reminded once again that he couldn’t rest until he achieves superstardom with perfect abs.
“Oh awesome! The gym is open 24hours.” Lexy read on, “…and so is the sauna and steam room! I know what I’m doing tonight.” She said happily.
Kouyou got up and walked away to their room with only his boxers on, leaving his clothes on the living area floor.
“Kou, you better clean this up later!” Akira called out to Kouyou who already disappeared into their bedroom, but could be heard grumbling anyway.
*
It’s 11:00PM, Lexy and Akira in their workout clothes went together down to the seventh floor where the Fitness Center was located. They parted ways when Lexy went in the women’s locker area where the sauna and steam rooms were at, and Akira went to the opposite side to the gym.
They gym was actually quiet large with complete work out equipment from weights to cardio machines. There were only two other people in the gym when he entered. One lady who looked like she was in her late twenties, and the other was an older man, both on a treadmill machine. He hopped on an elliptical machine facing out the large gym windows with a view of the night city lights, exercised for half an hour. He pumped himself up by listening to upbeat songs by Shadow621 on his iPod, and some other house dance music; anything as long as it will make him sweat and keep him going.
When he finished, the other two people in the room were already gone. He went in front of the mirrors to stretch, deciding to listen to the music by Day One. Now that he met them, he was listening to the songs a little differently. He could immediately tell which person is singing which parts. Miyavi had a strong voice with a hint of rasp when he belted out, really making him sound like a rock star. Shinya had would appear in the softer parts of the songs with his higher and smoother voice. Ruki had quite unique voice. In this particular song Akira was listening, it showcased the range of voice that he had; his deep voice would boom in the chorus, and in the verses he could reach two octaves above that. His style was quite stylized in a way that really worked for him. From their album, Akira can tell that they were all great singers. Now he is really looking forward to see their performance at the concert on Friday.
Akira remembered back to what he heard earlier; it only took Ruki a few months to train before his debut, while most other idols takes years before they debut. There was definitely something special about Ruki that it was starting to make Akira envy him. If he were to become successful in getting in PSC as a trainee, he had to step us is game. He definitely needs to work on his singing, because what he had right now wasn’t even close to enough. He felt guilty now that he wasn’t able to practice singing today from traveling and going out in the city. No more excuses. He had to become as talented as Ruki or more so to get his idol’s attention.
“Hi Akira.”
Akira startled from his train of thought, found the source of the voice from the person’s reflection on the mirror.
“Ruki!” Akira turned his head back to face the boy. Such a coincidence that he was just thinking about the boy.
“I almost forgot that we were staying in the same hotel. Working out late, I see.” The younger one said smiling.
He was dressed in Nike branded white t-shirt, baggy lime green basketball shorts, and a pair of running shoes. The clothes are definitely from sponsors, Akira assumed. Ruki’s hair was now tied in a ponytail, his bangs now away of his face and the makeup removed. His face is now seen properly; although he was only a year younger than Akira, he had such a baby face that made him look really adorable. Even without the makeup and fancy clothes, the boy still truly brought with him the aura of an idol. Akira realized that he was staring at the younger one maybe a bit too long when he saw Ruki’s cheeks turning red again and looking down at the water bottle in his hand.
“Yeah!” Akira suddenly said a little bit too loud. “Ate too much pasta and breadsticks. Had to burn it off before going to sleep. Hehe...” Akira chuckled nervously. “What about you, aren’t you tired?”
“I actually am. Very. But I got so used to having to work out everyday, it doesn’t feel right NOT doing it. I used to hate it so much that our trainer would have to have to drag me to the gym all the time and force me to run on the treadmill.” Ruki laughed.
He walked to one of the treadmills and placed down his water bottle and towel on the holder.
“How about Shinya & Miyavi?” Akira asked, picking up weights on the rack.
“I know that Shin went to sleep, but I’m not so sure about Miyavi. He wasn’t in our suite when I left. What about the Kouyou and the girls?” The idol asked.
“Kouyou and Midori are dead asleep, and Lexy is at the steam room right now.” Akira said while lifting the weights behind his head, working on his arm muscles.
“Ooh steam room. Sounds nice, I should go try it out before we leave.” Ruki considered.
“So how long are you guys staying here?” The older one asked, now working out a different part of his arms.
“We have to leave the morning after the concert, cuz of we got things scheduled right after.” Ruki said, watching Akira.
“Do you have activities right now before the concert?” Akira asked inquisitively.
“Other than the grand opening, no. We are just gonna be rehearsing at the concert venue with Shadow621.” Ruki simply stated.
There goes Akira’s heart tightening again just at the mention of his favorite boy band, remembering that the concert is in just a few short days. He returned the weights on the rack.
“If do you still wanna get your hair done idol style…” Ruki smirked. “…I can show you the place we usually go to when we’re in town. I can take you in the afternoon after our rehearsal tomorrow.” Ruki sincerely. “…If you want.” The boy added.
Surprised, Akira never expected Ruki of Day One to offer to take him to have his hair done. Just a few moments ago, he was thinking how to become as talented Ruki, and now the boy wants to help him look good. Earlier that evening, he couldn’t even make himself look at the guy’s face. ‘This is great!’ Akira thought. It’s a good opportunity to observe the idol from up close, and take mental notes on how to be the ideal idol from Peace & Smile Company. He could also try to learn how to get that shining aura that he saw that Day One had. He didn’t observe them earlier when he had a chance to during dinnertime, but this tomorrow would be just as good. Plus, having a hair change right before the concert would be nice.
“Yes! That would be great! Thank you.” Akira exclaimed maybe a little too enthusiastically in front of the idol, with a huge smile on his face.
Ruki didn’t seem to mind though, and smiled just widely. “Let me get your number.” He said, taking out his phone.
Akira took his phone out and gave it to the idol. The younger boy entered saved his own number, called his own phone, and saved Akira’s number on it. As soon as they finished, Akira’s phone rang. It was Lexy was done, and it was time for them to head up to the room.
Akira thanked the idol told him that he’d see him tomorrow, and the idol told him that he’d text him. He left gym with a bounce in his step and met up with Lexy at the hallway. She was already dressed to go to sleep in pink pajama shorts and top, her bag of wet clothes on her back. Akira imagined how hilarious the look on Lexy’s face would be if an idol passed by in the hallway with her in those pajamas.
“Aki, the steam room is fabulous, you should see for yourself. I feel rejuvenated like I just worked out without the workout…” Lexy went on about how lovely the fitness center locker rooms were, just like the rest of the hotel. She stopped and her expression changed.
“Did something good happen while I was away?” She asked suspiciously.
“Huh?” Akira responded, barely listening to the girl’s words, still thinking about his recent encounter.
“You’ve got a stupid smile on your face. Something good must’ve happened. You must tell me right now.” Lexy demanded.
Still with the same stupid smile on his face, Akira took his phone out from his pocket and showed the Lexy the new entry on his contact list, pointing out at the name above the digits.
Honestly, he’s quite proud of himself at this moment. “Looks like I’m getting my hair done tomorrow.”
Author's Note: I can't believe I wrote this chapter in less than two days! Just give me time, and solitude and I get work done! I could have had this up earlier, but I only got connection to wifi today. I have the 5th chapter outlined and ready to go! (I actually started it right after finishing this chapter) So proud of myself ToT I'm also especially happy that I found out that people actually read my story :'))
Any readers please let me know what you think of this chapter! Feedback would really be helpful for the creation for the next chapters to come! ^_^
Please bear with my mistakes! :D