Ore-Sama: This happened. It's a bit plot-filled for something I wrote but hey, plot! Sorry for starting something new while I have another story going, Taffy fans, but I wanted to try something completely different so please accept my sincerest apologies. For any new readers, I warn you- if you decide you want to read my other works, they are worlds away from this in writing style and genre. They are cesspools of references with fluff and/or smut, with minimal to no plot.
Warning: Yaoi, catty Manjyome
Disclaimer: I own the plot, not GX.
Chapter 1- Rising Star
It irked the hell out of him, seeing this kid who had just stumbled into his field with no experience of any kind getting the lead role that he had auditioned for. Oh sure, he was the co-star, but in the end, it was all about the kid.
"Yuki Judai..." Manjyome spat the name under his breath in disgust as he watched the fluffy-haired brunette prance around the set like an excitable small child.
"Nnn? Manjyome, did you say something?" Judai spun around and walked over to Manjyome, much to his displeasure.
"No. Now why don't you go actually practice for once, hmm? Or are you just too good to work for something like the rest of us?" Manjyome growled hatefully.
"Don't worry, Manjyome! I already memorized the script, so it's all cool!" Judai grinned, "But thanks anyway!" And that was another thing that annoyed Manjyome. That kid was always overly friendly, and didn't seem to notice the sheer amount of animosity Manjyome held for him. If it was anyone else, Manjyome would have sworn that they were acting like that to mess with him, but Judai was just that dense. Some of the other members of the cast thought it was sweet and endearing, but all it did for Manjyome was make him sick to his stomach.
"That's nice, but can you actually act it out? They don't want you to go up on that set in two days and recite lines, they want you to act out the script," Manjyome sneered.
"Well... Here, let's go to my green room and I'll show you!" Judai grinned and took Manjyome's hand, which brought up the thing that Manjyome hated most about Judai. After all was said and done, he couldn't bring himself to actually hate the kid, and occasionally, though he'd never admit it, he'd feel his heart fluttering around Judai. Right now was one of those times, and despite wanting to protest loudly at Judai, he found himself obediently following him into the room.
"Hey Manjyome, could you do Claire's lines since she's the one I talk to the most in this episode?" Judai asked Manjyome, whose heart most certainly did not skip a beat at the idea of playing Judai's love interest. He was too professional for that, and it wasn't as if he liked the slacker or anything.
"Fine, whatever," Manjyome groaned.
"Alright, then..." Judai closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he wasn't the annoying slacker anymore, he was Jack, the serious passionate student.
"Claire, I just don't like the way he looks at you..." Judai looked into Manjyome's eyes in a way that showed love and jealousy far beyond his normal emotional range.
"Jack, he's just a friend, nothing more! You worry too much," Manjyome smiled gently, getting into the role.
"I guess so... It's just that I'm afraid of losing you. I love you, Claire," Judai blushed and looked away shyly.
"And I love you Jack. I'm not goin' anywhere..." Manjyome grabbed Judai's chin and forced him to look right into his eyes.
"Claire..." Judai sighed and inched closer to Manjyome. Manjyome's eyes widened as he realized that the slacker was taking practicing this scene this far, and his brain shut down completely.
"Hey, Judai?" Asuka, the actress who played Claire knocked on the door, startling the two out of their trance.
"Yeah, what is it?" Judai asked, quickly recovering from the shock.
"The director wants to see you when you have a minute. That's all," Asuka said, and the two heard her walking away.
"God, I nearly had a heart attack!" Judai laughed, "So, I'll go meet with the director and then I'll be right back!"
"Uh, yeah, right..." Manjyome replied weakly, his system still too shocked to come up with a snarky response. Judai grinned and left, leaving Manjyome with his thoughts, thoughts which most certainly did not include being disappointed that they had been interrupted before Judai could kiss him, and didn't include intense jealousy that Asuka was going to be getting the real thing from Judai in two days. After all, this was the acting world, and it wasn't as though the two liked each other or anything. Wait, why was Manjyome trying to reassure himself that those two didn't like each other? It wasn't as if he cared at all. And his heart was just pounding like that because of the shock of being startled out of nowhere like that. That was his story, and he refused to believe anything else.
"Hey, Mr. Samejima? Asuka said you wanted to see me," Judai approached the director nervously.
"Oh yes, I've noticed that you and Manjyome have been getting along really well lately. That kid really needs a friend, so if you two would look out for each other, that'd be one load off of my back," The man smiled kindly at Judai.
"Uh, yes sir..." Judai trailed off, not expecting such a personal request from the director.
"Well, I do have a show to run and part of running the show is making sure all of my actors are able to work, and to work together," The director explained as if he had heard Judai's thoughts.
"Right... Well, I was just practicing with Manjyome and I promised him I'd be back as soon as I was done talking to you, so..." Judai trailed off, not quite sure how he was supposed to word his question.
"Yes, you may go now," The director laughed and waved Judai away.
"Th-thank you sir!" Judai stuttered and ran back to the practice room, only to find it completely empty. His heart dropped to the floor, and he dropped down with it onto his knees.
"Oi, slacker! What are you doing kneeling over there?" Manjyome's snide voice cut through his thoughts, and Judai turned to look at the pale heartthrob.
"Manjyomeeee~!" Judai cheered and all but jumped his co-star.
"Sl-slacker!? What are you-!?" Manjyome's eyes grew wide and his face heated up.
"I thought you'd ditched me Manjyome! I'm so happy you didn't..." Judai grinned, completely unaware of the effect he was having on the already confused actor.
"Y-yeah, I get it already now get off of me!" Manjyome cried and shoved Judai away, a little bit too forcefully. 'Shit, I didn't mean to be that... Wait, why do I even care? I don't care, dammit!'
"Heheheh! Sorry, Manjyome! I was just really happy..." Judai smiled sweetly, and Manjyome cursed himself for how undeniably cute he found Judai at the moment.
"Yeah, yeah! Anyways, let me show you how a real actor does things..."
"Phew! That was fun, Manjyome!" Judai yawned and stretched out as he stood up.
"Yeah, whatever," Manjyome rolled his eyes and started to walk away, but stopped when he felt a tug on his jacket.
"Hey Manjyome? Could I crash at your place tonight? My place is really empty and it's lonely..." Judai looked up at him with his large, chocolate-colored eyes and Manjyome felt his willpower being sapped away into them.
"Fine, but don't expect anything fancy," Manjyome sighed in defeat.
"Yay!" Judai celebrated by hugging Manjyome once again, sending a surge of heat throughout the dark-haired actor's body.
"Come on. We're taking my car," Manjyome moved towards the door with the brunette attached to his torso.
Fuck everything. This was Manjyome's only thought which echoed through his head as he laid in bed. The tanned actor slept so restlessly that he had not only managed to kick all of the blankets off of himself, but had also unbuttoned most of the front of his top, leaving his chest completely exposed to the chilly midnight air and his nipples were hard from exposure to the cold.
Manjyome gulped as he watched Judai sleep in some sort of creepy fascination, and decided to put a stop to it, as much as the small part of the back of his brain protested against ending it. He stood up and pulled the blankets back over Judai's body, but found himself staring a bit too much at the slacker's round, rosy lips. He finally managed to shake himself out of it and get back into bed, his thoughts replaced by a new one: 'I think... I'm falling for the slacker...' And with that, Manjyome rolled around restlessly for the rest of the night, not managing to get more than an hour or two of sleep.
"Guuuaaaahhh! Manjyome, wake up!" Judai yawned loudly, rousing Manjyome from the minimal slumber he had gotten. He looked at the cheerful, slightly disheveled brunette and wondered how the hell he had thought he was falling for him.
"Nnnn... I'm up already..." Manjyome groaned as he sat up slowly.
"I'll make breakfast, so wake up and get dressed while I'm in the kitchen, okay?" Judai smiled innocently and left the room, completely unaware of the emotional rollercoaster he had Manjyome riding the past few days. While Judai staying over was new, the pattern was always the same- Manjyome woke up hating life, people, and found Judai to be nothing more than an annoying insect until he actually spoke with the boy and started to get flustered over how adorable the slacker was, in both appearance and attitude. He groaned as he realized that this really was a recurring pattern for him, and that he really might- just might have been right the night before about falling for Judai, but decided to push those thoughts to the back of his head as he got dressed and combed out his tall and glorious spikes. So what if he was vain about his hair? It was one of his selling points, so he had to keep it neat for the fans!
"Manjyome, breakfast's almost ready!" Judai's voice interrupted him from his overly defensive thoughts. He really needed to learn to stop being so defensive when nobody was even attacking him.
"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" Manjyome called back and joined Judai at the dining table. He double took for a moment at the sight of the slacker in a girly-looking apron, then simply shook his head and sat down.
"I made pancakes and eggs. Here's yours," Judai smiled cutely and handed Manjyome a plate of delicious smelling breakfast food.
"Ah... Thanks..." Manjyome accepted it quietly and started picking at the food.
"Man, I'm still getting used to having to do a full-on dress rehearsal and everything..." Judai grinned as he devoured his food. "You'll get used to it," Manjyome swallowed and added "Maybe."
"So today I have to do that kissing scene with Asuka, huh...? I never imagined I'd have my first kiss like this, but it's not that big of a deal," Judai wiped his mouth, having already inhaled the plate of food he had made for himself. Manjyome nearly choked on his eggs at that thought, and took a huge gulp of milk.
"You mean you haven't ever...?" Manjyome asked a little bit too enthusiastically.
"Nope. I just never met anyone I was interested in. Well... There is one person right now that I think I like but I don't think it'll work out..." Judai scratched his head and smiled sadly.
"A-are you kidding!? Any girl would be lucky to have you, so go for it!" Manjyome said, defying his heart which had completely stopped.
"That's the problem..." Judai blushed slightly, "I-it's not a girl..."
Manjyome's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, and he felt a new surge of hope running through himself, "Oh god, you must think I'm really weird now, huh...?" Judai looked at him with puppy dog eyes, willing him to accept his interest.
"I have better reasons to hate you, slacker," Manjyome joked.
"Yay! So we're still friends?" Judai said hopefully.
"Uh, yeah, friends..." Manjyome finished his food and set it aside, "Now let's go to work already!"
"Alright! Let's do this! Iku ze!"
"We couldn't get through this entire things without one obscure reference could we?"
"Nope!"
Ore-Sama: So yeah. This is the longest chapter I've ever written. Rejoice! And thank TheSlackerestSlifer for the existence of this, because I emailed her a preview and then my phone crashed and deleted all of what I had so far, but I was able to recover it because of that email. Also, some of the lines are from our roleplays. Okay, 2 of them are.