Soundwaves and Octaves
By Confused Panda Bear
Track 1.
Give me love like never before
'Cause lately I've been craving more
His lyrics were like a string of beautiful thoughts, barely legible on the backs of various, random documents as if the author barely had time to write them down before the words dissolved into the early hours of the morning.
A flyer for a local pizza place.
An old bank statement from almost three years ago.
Paint splattered teardrops on my shirt
Told you I'd let them go
They were good, she admitted reluctantly.
Really good.
Nevertheless, Gou shuffled through the mismatch of papers with a frown on her face; her figure shadowed onto vast meeting room table behind the back light of a PowerPoint presentation she too, had stayed up all night putting together.
She had asked the band to contribute something to their meeting this morning, and though they had kept their word, she had hoped they would have put in a little more effort into their preparation.
"Good morning, Gou-chan~!" marked the punctual arrival of the band members – most notably Hazuki Nagisa who swiftly became occupied with the complimentary tea and pastries laid out for them on the credenza.
Gou bit back a retort, knowing by now that correcting the pronunciation of her name only made it worse.
Despite his sweet, chocolate-box looks, their drummer Nagisa stayed true to his chosen instrument and was always happiest when he was making as much noise as humanly possible.
Following shortly after him was Ryugazaki Rei, the former-classical-cellist turned rock-band-bassist.
Against his parents wishes, Rei had left the concert halls and the pricey, private tuition for a life on the road.
Though the label of 'black sheep' of the family didn't really suit him – he was as straight-laced and as serious as you could get – he still became a fan favourite because of this somewhat 'rebellious' past.
Tachibana Makoto arrived a few minutes after, his first word an apology to Gou for being marginally late for their meeting.
Makoto – with his boy-next-door looks and his voice of an actual angel – was the mother's choice: the handsome, charismatic front man and lead singer of the band.
He was the best kind of leader: confident, but humble and fair. And because of this, Gou relied on him as the group mediator, the voice of reason – especially when it came to dealing their lead guitarist.
A child-prodigy-musician at age nine: their final member was the archetype of sensitive, brooding artist.
Despite his renowned talent, he was a private, standoffish person – which conveniently came across as 'dark' and 'mysterious' to their squealing, teenage fanbase.
Having been hailed a genius his entire life, he was not used to answering to anyone when it came to his music – which, in other words, made him absolutely impossible to work with.
But in spite of Gou initially vocal sentiments, his fellow band members agreed wholeheartedly that without him, there would be no band to begin with – so she resigned to tolerating his attitude as best she could.
She looked up from her notes – only just then registering the aforementioneds non-presence in the room.
With laser focus, her eyes darted towards Makoto and the vacant seat beside him.
He answered her with an apologetic, almost tentative shrug.
She could see her vision turn red, and the boys in the room flinched prematurely at her pending outburst.
"Okay..."
Gou breathed in to sustain herself, before letting loose nonetheless.
"...Where the fuck is Haruka-senpai?!"
With squared shoulders and steam blowing from her ears, Gou stomped through the hallways of the Matsuoka Studios building, muttering death threats and curse words under her breath.
Ignoring the looks of her concerned – and slightly terrified – colleagues, she stumbled into one of the small practice rooms to find her victim slumped onto the keys of a black grand piano.
She almost rolled her eyes.
Nanase Haruka could be so predictable sometimes.
He practically lived in here, surrounded by sheets of score, pencil shavings and cigarette butts in ashtrays.
Today, he was lying with his forearm pillowing his head, whilst his other hand composed a simple tune that, along with the forlorn expression impressed across his face, tugged at her heartstrings in a way that only his music could do.
Momentarily, she stilled and let the notes reverberate upwards from the base of her spine.
"Haruka-senpai–"
The melody came to an abrupt halt mid-bar and the pianist blinked up at her as if he had only just noticed her arrival.
With a heavy sigh, Haruka straightened up and drove a lean set of fingers through his hair: his natural reaction whenever she was around.
Gou took a step towards him defiantly.
"–Didn't you get my calendar invite?" she said, shaking her smartphone in his face.
Haruka regarded the piece of technology with a vacant expression, and Gou wondered why she had wasted her breath even asking.
His phone had probably been switched off for days.
"We had a meeting this morning," she informed him tersely, only to be answered by a jarring chord of protest as the man slumped back down onto the keyboard once more.
Her eyes narrowed at him dangerously.
"You need to turn up to these meetings, Haruka-senpai. The band and I were discussing your new lyrics and tour dates for the summer–"
"–Too much effort," he expounded without much concern, and Gou balled her fist at him.
"Haruka-senpai!"
Exasperated, the girl strode closer towards him, her slim hips coming into his view.
She was talking about something – nagging, more like – but his gaze quickly bore of her moving mouth and travelled south.
His blue eyes narrowed at her in blatant scrutiny, taking in the fall of her crimson hair, the delicate curve of her neck; his gaze passing over her skirt and her knee-high boots and taking unashamed note of every curve he found en route.
It was a look that Nanase Haruka had mastered: one that made her feel as if the world had fallen around him and the object of his interest.
The kind of look that made her melt.
Boldly, he lifted a hand and reaching out to her skirt, fingered the checked material before caressing the smooth skin of her inner thigh.
Her breathing hitched and he smiled, lazily.
"–Did you wear this just to piss me off?" he interrupted, with a rough edge to his voice.
With a flushed face, Gou struggled for an answer.
Haruka was her brothers age, and though only four years older than her, would take it upon himself to treat her like a child whenever suitable for him – despite her obvious authority as his manager.
He would never be shy to tell her that her skirt was too short, that her top was too low cut, but would always be connected to those supermodels and actresses that couldn't seem to wear anything that wasn't cut out, cropped or at least showed a little bit of their underwear.
She bristled at his audacity.
"Don't think that I wear anything for your benefit, Haruka-senpai" she finally managed and spinning her heel, made to leave with the final word.
As she stepped past him, the cover of the piano slammed shut with a noise that bounced against the narrow walls and made her jump five feet out of her skin.
In her surprise, Haruka curved a light hand at the small of her back to still her, hauling her between himself and the instrument.
"You're right," he said, his forehead resting against hers. "You don't need to wear anything at all for me..."
His hands sank beneath her and slid underneath her thighs.
"Haru–!" she managed to yelp, before he lifted her up onto the piano, eyes burning into hers and hips neatly set between her legs in one, swift motion.
He captured her final protest with his lips – hard, urgent and insistent as always – and with the same urgency, pushed her clothes aside like he was too impatient to wait to remove them, his hands working her in such a way that made her defences crumble at his every touch.
She could feel her surrender, that hot wire of sensation pull towards him and reacted in panic.
With hands gripped at his elbows, Gou parted their lips with an audible sigh and they stared at each other, chests heaving for breath already.
"I hate you," she said, the bite in her words having no effect on the handsome grin plastered across his face.
He planted a quick kiss on her lips, and another on the tip of her nose.
"I know."
With one, final glare, Gou wound her arms around his neck and brought their bodies together, revelling in the deep moan of appreciation Haru released against her mouth.
She locked her ankles around his rocking hips and the piano legs shifted back a few inches with their movement.
She sank her teeth into his shoulder, biting back a moan he was drawing from her throat.
Oh, god.
It was a good thing these practice rooms were soundproof.
All I want is the taste that your lips allow
My, my, my, my, oh give me love