Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its affiliates.
A/N: I completely revamped How to Love a Somebody. All grammar mistakes have been fixed, and paragraphs have been chopped up. The original feel of the story has not been changed, so it will seem very familiar, but I do recommend re-reading it from the beginning. All original A/N have been taken off, but the dedications will be the same as before.
Originally Published: 11/22/07
Edited Chapter Published: 08/08/08
How to Love a Somebody
Chapter One: Of Missions and Beautiful Men
To say that he was nervous was to only point out part of the problem. Myde was more than nervous. He was terrified. The terror and nervousness had mixed with another emotion that was their complete opposite; excitement. These three emotions had knotted into a tight ball and were now settling somewhere in the vicinity of his abdomen. Apparently very close to his bladder for he suddenly felt an almost uncontrollable urge to pee.
"Myde, you're up next." Damn. It looked like he wasn't going to get that bathroom break anytime soon.
Myde gulped and his hands clutched at his guitar spastically. How was he going to be able to do this? To stand up in front of all of those people and sing one of his songs? One that he had written completely- both the lyrics and the music to accompany it? His breath shuddered in and out and he felt very close to throwing up. And he still hadn't gotten rid of that urge to pee yet.
'Oh, god. What the hell am I doing? I can't do this. I suck. Oh, god, I should have practiced more. What if I forget what I'm playing half way through the performance? What if I just stand there and gawk at the people out there? Oh, my god, there are a lot of people out there.'
Myde slowly backed away from the curtain partition. He wasn't ready for this. How could anybody be ready for this? A solo act in front of his peers was not what he had ever planned to do, damn it. The song was supposed to have stayed safely ensconced in his notebook where nobody but Myde was able to find it.
Stupid teachers and their meddlesome tendencies. It was their entire fault that he was up here about to have a heart attack from simple stage fright. He hated being up in front of people. People made him uncomfortable. Ok, not usually but this was a special case. A very special case. It wasn't every day that one got a chance, albeit one that wasn't particularly wanted, to perform a song that one had written by oneself.
Myde shook his head. His explanation was too complicated for anyone, let alone him to understand. Myde was a simple person who did not try to understand complexities that he didn't care about. That was not to say that he wasn't intelligent- he just didn't care about working on things that didn't interest him. Trying to explain why he was nervous to himself in complex mannerisms was not one of those particular things that he found interesting.
'Now, you're fighting with yourself, Myde. Great going. You are seriously screwed up. This ordeal has sent you through a bend. Oh, shit. Is that the stage director motioning to me? Shit, it is. That means only one thing. It's, oh god, Showtime.' Myde nodded to the man to show that he understood. He took a deep breath that was meant to fortify him but only served to choke him, and stepped out into the bright white lights that were centered on a stool in the middle of the stage.
'Oh, god. I'm doomed. And I still have to pee. Damn.'
He was irritated. Not that he showed it because that was beneath him and, besides, Nobodies couldn't feel. He only remembered what it was like to feel irritation.
Goddamn Saïx and his stupidity: or his genius in becoming close friends with the Superior. Now he was being sent out on a simple mission- simple didn't begin to cover just how simple this mission was. All he had to do was follow a Somebody around for a little while and record anything of interest about the pertaining Somebody.
This should have fallen to Axel. He was one of the original six and had better, more important matters to take care of then babysitting a Somebody until they became a Nobody. And it wasn't even known if the Somebody would be strong enough to withstand the change.
"I feel for you Zexion, truly." Zexion stopped in mid-thought rant and turned to confront the Nobody that had so blithely drawled to him.
"Axel, I do not have time for your antics. You know as well as I that either you or Saïx should have gotten this assignment. Not me. I am supposed to be researching," Zexion replied huffily.
Axel nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and pushed up off of the pillar that he had been leaning on.
"I don't know what goes through the Superior's mind. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Saïx is extremely unstable right now and you can't fight to save your life- or rather your non-existent life." Axel was perfectly fine with Zexion not being allowed to stay within the castles walls. Even if he had a heart, he would have been okay with it. All the more ammo to torture the man with. But, because of his non-existent heart Axel could only remember the feeling of the pleasure gotten from torturing someone else.
"Zexion; it's a simple mission. You barely have to do anything. Just follow the kid around. Take some notes and pretend to care. Like all of us do." With this Axel pivoted on his heel and moved away. By the end of the hallway he had opened a portal and stepped inside. With a last, jaunty wave to Zexion he disappeared. It really was too bad that he couldn't enjoy the torture his superior was going through. Oh well, such was the fate of a Nobody.
Zexion had absolutely no clue what he was doing. As had been earlier stated, this was not his usual job. He could sneak around perfectly. After all, he wasn't called the Cloaked Schemer for nothing. He just didn't know who he was supposed to follow covertly. He had only a name, no description.
His portal opened at the back of a huge auditorium. He wrinkled his nose immediately, the smells having assaulted his nose unexpectedly. There were some huge disadvantages to having an extremely sensitive nose. The smells that filtered throughout the large room were incredibly varied and giving him a headache. This was exactly what he needed on his first outside job. He returned his attention to his paper, trying to block out the various smells. The Somebody that he needed to follow was Myde Mizu. Now to find this Myde person.
As he studied his paper, trying to find any hint as to whom this Myde was, his nose was again assaulted by a smell. This smell was different though. It did not give him a headache as the others had or even annoy him as the others had. But Zexion did not understand. It wasn't that pleasant a smell. It smelled of brine and seaweed. Salt was also part of the mixture. Like an ocean. Zexion was not terribly fond of the ocean. Bad memories.
He finally looked up and paid attention to what was happening before him. Someone was singing. This man was where the smell was coming from. The man, or rather boy- it was apparent that he was barely legal, was singing tenderly. He was probably pretty good except for his choice of song. Although Zexion could not deny the fact that the song was pretty. He probably would have liked it if he could feel. Once again, Zexion cursed his lack of a heart.
Be everything you need
I love you more with every breath
Truly Madly Deeply do
Zexion listened closely to the words. The man was singing beautifully.
A deeper meaning yeah
I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me
The man turned and Zexion's breath caught. He was just as beautiful as his voice. Dirty blonde locks circled a slightly round face. The face was not technically aesthetically pleasing by itself. The eyes were what caught Zexion's attention. They were a greenish blue. They were so much like the ocean that he smelled of. Zexion wished that he could feel something. Anything for this man whose beauty was magnified by his voice and words.
Then make you want to cry
The tears of joy for all the pleasure and uncertainty
That we're surrounded by the comfort and protection
Of the highest power
Zexion shook his head. This was not how he should be acting. He was a scientist and book lover. He did not swoon just because of a beautiful man singing words of love. He was above this. He had to be. He had a mission to do, one that did not include listening to this mysterious man sing these words that meant nothing to Zexion. He had to find Myde Mizu and watch him.
I want to stand with you on a mountain
He finished his song and, with shaking breath, thanked the audience and walked off the stage. Zexion watched him move off with his breath still caught and then turned his attention to the MC moving back on stage.
"Give another round of applause for Myde Mizu. That was a very stirring performance, Myde. Thank you. Next on our program is…."
After this Zexion stopped listening to the man and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with much needed air. He had found his charge.
And suddenly life was much more complicated.
A/N: I will not ask, nor demand, reviews from you. However, if you do decide to review, do know that they are very much appreciated.
Lifes.Lover