Chapter: Prologue
"Do you really think they are done for, Voice?" the tanned reporter said to her co-worker.
The man replied while brushing his black hair back, "Well, we all know how Rosiel is dramatic, but we actually never thought Alexiel would be the one to lose her cool. This situation is clearly out of hand."
Pointing to the large TV screen behind him, he continued, "As you can see here, she is yelling at her brother. Just when would the sweet girl from the top duo ever do such a thing? It's unbelievable! She even threw her pink guitar on the floor."
"It's almost like she is a rock star." the woman laughed.
The tanned man gave a thumbs up. "Hit right on the mark, Noise! The same reporter that got this amazing footage backstage was able to discover the famous twins reason for falling out. Apparently, Alexiel wants to be a rock star! Can you believe it?"
Noise put a hand on her mount to cover her gasp, "No way! She is a pop queen. Isn't she a sweet, gentle girl? Rock just doesn't seem right for her."
Voice scratched the back of his head, "There was that rumor that she was launched on the media like that. A stereotype."
"That wouldn't be the first time, but she would have to be a really good actress to pull that off for two years."
"Yeah, you're right on that! Sadly, it's the end of the pair."
Both said their farewells to the audience and wished the spectators a good night.
Having had enough, the tv was switched off in annoyance by a rather angry ex-pop star. The phone wrung for the twelfth time, but the figure lying almost pathetically on the couch didn't move an inch towards it. Left ignored, the wringing stopped and then a loud beep echoed signalizing the voice box had yet another message.
Finally tired out from the constant noise, the figure reached forward and roughly punched one of the buttons. The phone made a confirming sound and started playing the by now, large amount of messages.
The youthful and energetic voice of a man said, "Hey, Alexiel! This is Setsuna. Pick up the phone please. I know you're...a bit blue but just don't shut the people that care about you out. Anyway, I'm actually calling for a reason this time. You know how I told you about that old friend of mine? Well, I was able to reach him. He's- "
The voice was cut off by another annoying beep and the next message started playing. "Stupid phone! Oh, Hi! So, my friend is a famous writer now can you believe it? If you had met him some years ago you would never believe he is living as a writer now. Yeah...I mean, it seems like bullshit you know. Back in college he was such a-"
Setsuna's voice was cut off again resulting in a tired sigh from Alexiel. Who would be so stupid to make talk by an answering machine. The beep from the phone answered the question. "Hey, it's me. Well, this is becoming really stupid so, here's the short version. I contacted him about your writing problem and made a deal with him. He'll help you write your new hit song! Awesome right? I'll drop by later and explain better. See ya!"
Not the last one. "P.S. Cheer up, girl! Rosiel still loves you...mostly."
Now it was over. A minute or two passed and Alexiel was dead quiet. Was he kidding? No. Alexiel knew Setsuna after having to deal with him for two long years. He was serious about this. Another concerning point was that he didn't tell her the man's name. Just who was this famous writer?
"Got a lawsuit to go with that face?"
Belial chuckled at her own private little joke. The man standing a few feet away from her gave her an disdainful look before going back to typing furiously in his laptop.
He typed unbelievably fast with his long pale fingers and only stopped occasionally to throw back the jet black strands of silky hair and to push back the thick glasses up the bridge of his perfect straight nose.
"I would appreciate it, Belial, if you kept my personal problems a discreet matter."
The red haired woman smiled in glee. Getting this much attention from this man was always a reason to be happy.
If he called you by your given name then he was on a more friendly base with you, but not that intimate. If he acknowledged you so far as to glance in your direction when speaking to you and gave you a long sentence then you quite surely was his friend.
Even though Belial was already used to the cold and detached behavior, that day was proving to be quite rare. The moment Lucifer passed through the cafe's entrance with a frown on face a whole routine had been broken.
She tried asking why he was upset and was only met with a short, 'A friend asked an annoying favor.' His face had gone from scowling to stoic so maybe she could try and ask him again.
"What did your friend ask you?"
Lucifer stopped his work and focused his silver eyes on the woman sitting near him. "He begged me, yes that would be appropriate word, to help this decadent female pop star. Her names Alexiel, I believe. "
Belial's golden orbs almost fell from their sockets. Leave it to a man like this to disregard such a famous musician. It did have an amusing effect that he would not care about silly things like these that everyone else would obsess over.
Belial could only hope to satisfy her curiosity. "How would you help, the currently richest pop singer in the world?"
Lucifer scoffed making Belial raise a thin eyebrow. In a superior tone he said, "Not anymore. Setsuna informed me she needs to write a song fast or she's losing all previous publicity and will soon be a passing fever. As I would expect she has no talent, but Setsuna calls it a temporary depression.
Belial was interested in the subject, she really wouldn't like it spread around, but she did like a CD or two. "Temporary depression? You mean she is depressed because of the break up?"
Lucifer scoffed and replied snidely,"I truly do not care for what reason she has it. I was asked however, to help her write a hit list song."
"That's incredible!"
Belial jumped from her chair getting a few strange looks from other customers. She dismissed them and simply stated. "Maybe helping this woman will help you recover from your block. You must accept this!"
"Even though the idea does not appeal to me, Belial. I did accept it. There was no saying in the matter as I owe Setsuna a favor."
"When will you start?"
Lucifer held his breath in and then slowly let it out before despondently staring at his editor. "Tomorrow."
"So, how many other words can I use to call you an asshole?"
Alexiel carelessly threw a can of soda to Setsuna before setling down on her dark colored sofa. She busily twirled a long lock of curly ebony hair and stared intently in her ex-manager's direction maybe hoping he would dare to answer the rhetorical question.
Not turned off the slightest bit, Setsuna smiled sheepishly. After the first few months working with Alexiel it was inevitable to get used to her sometimes very sharp tongue. He had been doing this for two years now, he had heard a lot worse.
"Come on! Lucifer is a very famous writer. Have you even read one of his books? The guy has got talent!" he said.
"I don't care if every single book he has wrote has sold like water. I don't want help!" Alexiel replied angrily.
"It's not a question of wanting anymore. Rosiel is-"
"Don't even think about it!"
"Fine, but your brother isn't sulking around all day long! He is out there making a name for himself. In a solo career."
"So what? I'm not going to be like him and claim I write all the songs when in reality it's someone else."
"Listen! If you want to write then have it your way but let Lucifer help you out with the lyrics. You're depressed Alexiel! It's not easy to have inspiration like that. Besides, you never wrote vocals before. You always did the melody and arrangements."
Alexiel tried to find any inner voice to fight him but found she couldn't. Setsuna put a hand on her shoulder for comfort and added softly. "I know you have talent but don't try to do everything by yourself. Just for now! After that you can be an independent rock star, all you want! Right now? Let's establish you first."
Sighing in defeat, Alexiel threw her arms up and fell limply in the sofa. "Well, I hope he is good."
Setsuna smiled happily, enthusiastically saying, "Great. We'll meet him tomorrow at two o'clock in the Holloway's Bistro. Get a good night's sleep and look your darn best! Lucifer can be really..."
"Anal retentive?"
"Yeah. How do you know that?"
Alexiel shrugged, "I did some research."
Setsuna laughed merrily and quickly got up from the sofa. "Well. I got to go. Sara will be angry if I'm late for our date."
Alexiel made a humph sound and ignored the man. Setsuna was an old friend, he could let himself out. Only after hearing the click of the door's lock that she got up from her position.
Taking a deep breath, she said exactly what she wanted to say the very day she and Rosiel fought and split up. "Fuck."
More often than not, Alexiel would purposefully remain silent as a means of studying the environment. Previously, the silence would be somewhat softened by a smile. Albeit a fake one, it seemed to serve its purpose quite well. The media simply took it as shyness, a sheer wrong impression, certainly miles away from the actual truth. For all intent and purposes, Alexiel had been stereotyped as girl next door. Of course, it was a huge mistake.
Next Day:
Setsuna fidgeted on the chair once again, he was trying to look relaxed and in control, but was failing miserably. In contrast, Alexiel would simply glance around, seemingly interested by the restaurants atmosphere, her body molded perfectly to the chair given her degree of comfortableness.
To Setsuna, it was unsettling. "How can you be so calm?"
His ex-client shrugged off his question, going back to people studying. They had come early as Alexiel had thoroughly insisted and were sat in the open, their table located more to a corner and therefore stealthily hiding, mainly Alexiel, whom was harassed every once in a while.
They hadn't been assaulted yet as Alexiel had come using a blond wig and large sunglasses. Still, Setsuna wondered what could actually happen if someone recognized the pop star. He was curious to see the woman's real response, not the one he always instructed her to give.
As sensing his thoughts, the woman serenely grinned at him. Not a smile the agent reminded himself. Alexiel did not smile; she gave something more akin to teeth displaying, but it's likeliness to the real deal was so close no one would complain.
The ex-manager ruffled his honey colored locks in agitation, ushering his mind elsewhere. "Where is he?"
Taking no offense in his agitated behavior, Alexiel focused her gaze on some unknown spot ahead before chuckling and murmuring. "He is here."
Setsuna quickly glanced at the same direction confirming his old friend's arrival. He wanted to ask her how did she know, but their companion was already at ear shot range making his question an inappropriate one. "Lucifer! How ya been my man?"
The man in question frowned at the language, his curved eyebrows portraying all of his disgust at being slapped in the arm by Setsuna. Alexiel, perceptive as she was, didn't miss the condescending smile forming on his lips as soon as he caught sight of her. "Well, Mudou, I'll be honest. Could have been better."
His remark was certainly directed to her, Alexiel noted. His eyes were fixed on hers, barely glancing at her ex-manager's direction. She could feel her blood rushing from anger yet she kept her face stoic. If he didn't want to be here then he could simply have said no. It wasn't that hard was it?
Lucifer didn't stop his antics just there. When offered a handshake, he gave a lax pull as if being appalled to touch Alexiel's hand. His face was as placid as a lake, but Alexiel could definitely tell he was patronizing her every second that went past. They both sat as far away from each other as possible, their subtle dislike now prominent.
Meanwhile, Setsuna was biting his nails in utter desperation. His friend couldn't have been any more unpleasant than this. Why, he thought. Was it because of the wig and glasses? The woman sitting next to him always looked mature whenever she could be herself.
He did acknowledge that now she looked like a silly, bubblehead adolescent. The whole package of wig, big glasses and juvenile clothing were quite stupid, true, but Lucifer was being overly biased. It was drastic. And knowing Alexiel, her response would be drastic as well. Always 24/7 with that woman, he wouldn't be surprised if she told the other man to go to hell any minute soon.
Laughing nervously, he tried breaking the ice. He had to. These two were going to compose together for heaven's sake, they couldn't be arguing and neither could they afford to tune each other out. Music couldn't flourish like that.
"So, congrats on your latest success Kira-kun, I'm sure Alex-kun here would love the book if she read it." He thought his smile was disarming enough, but he soon realized his mistake. Instead of making things lighter, he set out the stage for the next jab.
Lucifer chuckled lightly, brushing imaginary dust from his expensive suit. "Really? I don't think such a complex book would appeal to such a young girl's taste."
Alexiel scoffed loudly, loud enough to call attention from some nearby people. So much for the hidden spot, Setsuna cringed miserably. He did cringe even more when Alexiel let out her own attack. "I read it already, just a bunch of gibberish! Also, if the bio is true, I'm older than you."
Lucifer's face contorted in anger. Now, don't actually think he was ever that emotionally demonstrative. It was this one comment. Criticizing his work was, you see, criticizing his very persona. He wouldn't accept it unless it had good foundation. He lowered his voice to almost a whisper, the words laced with anger. "Gibberish? How about those ridiculous tunes you call music? They're beyond gibberish; they're just plain sound pollution!"
Alexiel too, although not having the emotional aptitude of a stone like Lucifer, wasn't above giving the impression of being heartless for her lack of feeling. Telling her work was basically garbage, however, was off limits. The response to such a statement as Lucifer found out was certainly an intense one.
Her whole body shock from the fury. Fury, not anger. When you're angry you can feel your heart beat faster and adrenaline shoot through your system, but being wrathful goes beyond that. When furious, your whole body seems to beat to your heart pulse and you can feel adrenaline almost seeping into your brain. Anger, doesn't do quite as much damage as well.
Alexiel had enough. She had been insulted for no reason, been humiliated by a total, prejudiced, stranger and only after a few weeks of her bad moments no less. Reaching up, she took a hold of the long blond locks adorning her head and yanked the wig out. With all her might, she wildly threw it at Lucifer's face, who didn't make a sound as the product hit him in the middle of his nose. The raven haired beauty wasn't done however, quickly getting up sending both her chair and glasses flying, she would have given Lucifer a straight punch was it not for Setsuna's wise intervention.
Setsuna, the poor guy, yelped in pain as Alexiel hit him instead. As for Lucifer, his face was stoic, but his mind was anything except. Long curly black hair, so shiny it must have been silk. It had to be. Her eyes… just like his! Those lips, now that he looked at them, they seemed like the very fruit Eve tasted without permission. Without those silly glasses he could clearly see her whole face was a piece of art. How in the world had he mistaken her for a girl?
There was no other word for her other than woman, in every sense of the word. Lucifer was dazed and like a fool he completely forgot why he was even angry. Smooth talk her, his brain screamed. If she hates you there is absolutely no way you'll have this treasure in your bed at night.
Clearing his throat to call for their attention or rather call Alexiel's attention as she was strangling a poor, gurgling Setsuna. Lucifer smirked with elegance. "Why, how silly. Now, let's put this childishness behind us."
Alexiel let go of her ex-manager minutes before he took his final breath to give Lucifer an incredulous look. Did he have mood swings? Before she could tell him to go fuck himself a flash of light bothered her vision. Looking at the source, the elder pop twin realized the whole restaurant was focusing on them. Shit, she thought.
A/N: Lol, shit indeed. Let's see how this fic goes, I say.