Just be Friends

Hatsune Miku stood outside of the Vocaloid recording studio at 11:00 A.M. on a sunny Tuesday, excited for another meeting. They had Vocaloid meetings on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. She simply loved them, because the other Vocaloids were really fun and they liked her. She opened the door and proceeded to the room where the Vocaloids recorded. Most of the time, the recording took about an hour. After that, the group would spend time eating, watching TV, playing games…Miku loved it. So much!

Inside the room, only Kagamine Rin and Len were there. They were fourteen-year-old twins. Rin was Miku's closest friend, but Len was close to her as well.

"Hi, Miku!" said a bright Rin.

"Hello, Miku," said a bored Len.

"Hey, guys! Where are the others?" said Miku.

"Gakupo arrived moments before you, but we sent him on a wild goose chase," said Len. "We told him a very, very detailed list of places to search for Luka, because he saw her car here and Luka wanted to have some time her to herself without him annoying her. Luka is…" Right then, Megurine Luka's head popped out from under a table.

"Right here. Did you say Gakupo's gone?" Luka asked hopefully.

"Yes."

"Honestly, Luka, if I had a guy fall in love with me that bad, I'd give him a chance. I envy you, really," murmured Miku thoughtfully.

"…Whatever. Continue your thought, Len."

"As for the others, we have no idea," finished Len.

"I hope they're okay," said Rin worriedly.

The four Vocaloids turned on the TV and waited for a while. They were joined by Kamui Gakupo. When he saw Luka, he flipped his long purple hair at her. "Ah, the beautiful Luka. How could I have been fooled, you must have been evading my advances again! Pity, my dear, I could make you quite happy."

"Cool it, purple," was all Luka said to this.

"Fine then, pink," replied Gakupo. He flashed a smile at her anyway and sat down next to her.

A few minutes later, happy-go-lucky Megpoid Gumi ran in holding a carrot. "So sorry I'm late!" she sang. "I totally overslept and had to grab some breakfast on the way out!"

"It's okay, Gumi," said Len calmly. "You're not the latest. Kaito and Meiko are still yet to arrive."

"Oh. Okay, what are you watching?"

They sat and watched TV for a few more minutes.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open to reveal Sakine Meiko and…Shion Kaito.

Miku turned bright red. Kaito was as attractive as ever. His short blue hair and deep blue eyes were just…gorgeous. But it wasn't meant to be, it seemed. He liked Meiko, even Miku could see that. It was just so unfair! He and Meiko had been best friends for a long time, and they were the very first Vocaloids. Miku came after that, and Kaito was very nice to her. He just didn't like her that way.

"What happened?" grumbled Luka, annoyed.

"Sorry…Meiko and I were hanging out and we lost track of time," said Kaito sheepishly.

"Hmph."

"So, what song are we gonna sing today?" asked Meiko.

Gakupo stood up. "We're going to sing World's End Dancehall."

"Cool. Groups?"

"Let's see…Miku and Luka, Rin and Len, Meiko and Gumi, and Kaito's with me."

"Of course," sighed Len. "I'm with my sister again."

"Sorry, you guys sound excellent together," replied Gakupo with a shrug.

"Fine…"

They recorded the song in an hour and a half. Once they finished, Kaito and Meiko had to leave. Miku was disappointed, but she didn't show it. Gakupo continued to flirt with Luka so much that she got fed up with it and left. Gakupo left as well.

"I guess I'll head out, too," caroled Gumi. She skipped out of the room.

"Well," said Miku to Rin and Len. "Why don't I drive you guys home? I don't have anything else to do today."

"Cool, thanks," replied Rin.

"Yeah, thanks," added Len with an eye roll. He acted like he didn't care, but Miku knew he was a really nice kid under the surface.

After Miku dropped them off, Rin and Len started watching TV. They were only fourteen, but they were able to live alone due to special circumstances with them being Vocaloids. They had efficient security to protect them, which was the deal with all of the Vocaloids. "Ugh, there's nothing on," groaned Len. Disgusted, Rin tossed the TV remote onto the sofa.

"It's so unfair!" cried Rin.

"Chill, Sis, it's just TV…" said a surprised Len.

"No, it's not that. I just wish Kaito would realize how head-over-heels Miku is over him! He and Meiko are great friends, but Meiko is sooo not his type. She's sweet, but she's a total party girl and breaks a bunch of rules. Kaito is easygoing and follows rules. Maybe he bends them, but not like Meiko."

"Wow, Rin, guess what? Not my problem, not yours either," said Len with a huge eye roll.

"Yes, it is, because she's my best friend. I have to help her somehow!" Rin shot back.

"How? A stakeout like last time?" Len clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Perfect! I'll spy on Kaito and Meiko and give the scoop to Miku when things happen!"

"You won't find anything, but I guess I can't stop you…"

That night, after Kaito and Meiko were done hanging out, Kaito dropped Meiko off at her house. "Hey, Meiko, I need to tell you something…" he called as she began to enter her house.

"Sure, what?" replied the brunette.

"I…I like you…" murmured Kaito nervously.

Meiko put a hand to her mouth in shock. "Kaito…!"

"I've liked you for…a while…"

"Kaito…Stop, please…"

"I'm sorry I never told you, but…!"

"Stop…stop, Kaito. Please, just…stop."

Kaito looked hurt. "Meiko, don't…"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Kaito, I love you, but you're my brother. I'm…I'm sorry." Meiko ran inside and locked the door, sobbing softly.

"Meiko!" cried Kaito.

She didn't reply. Kaito left, head hung, tears running down his face. If he wasn't so upset, he might have seen the blond girl watching him leave with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Miku, can I come over tomorrow?" asked Rin over the phone when she got home.

"Sure. It's okay for Len to be home alone?"

"Trust me, he can't wait for some time to himself."

"Fine, then," replied Miku. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at 2:00."

"Cool, thanks!"

The next day, Rin was excited to talk to Miku. Right when she got in Miku's car, she practically screamed. "Miku! I have exciting news!"

"What?" gasped Miku.

"Well, Kaito told Meiko how he felt…"

"Oh. Um, that's great news, I guess. Y'know, for them…"

"Not finished! She totally rejected him! He's brokenhearted!" sang Rin.

"Wait…were you spying on them?"

"Yes."

"Rin!"

"Sorry, I had to see what was going on."

"First of all, Rin, that's totally wrong! You know you're not supposed to spy on people! Second, we're here." After they settled inside, Miku glared at Rin. "So, what's the exciting part about it?"

"Now you have a chance! Kaito needs someone else, and you fit the bill!'

Miku smiled sadly. "But I need to get to know him better. Still, it's a nice thought. I hope things aren't going to get weird at the studio…"

Rin's eyes widened and she groaned. "Aw, things are going to get totally weird at the studio! Great…" She sighed sadly. "I hope Kaito and Meiko will make up soon so they can just be friends. I don't want our Vocaloid life to get awkward…"

Miku's eyes lit up. "Rin…you're a genius!"

"I am?" wondered Rin. "Well, I know I am, but why?"

"You gave me an idea for a song!" cried Miku.

"Really? Cool! All I said was that I hope they can just be friends…"

"Exactly! And…and…that can be the title! 'Just be Friends'!"

Rin smiled proudly. "You're welcome."

"Now…lyrics! Rin, I'll need your help. I need to write a song by tomorrow, because that's the next Vocaloid meeting and the perfect time to show them the song!"

"Wait," mentioned Rin, "how should you answer if they ask questions? About how you know or why you care…"

"Easy," replied Miku. "I'm a Vocaloid, too. We're practically family. But not so practically that I can't like one of them…"

"Careful," warned Rin, "they may start to think you like Kaito, and that you're just jealous of Meiko…"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," replied a confident Miku.

For the next few hours, they worked on writing a great song to get Kaito and Maiko to rebuild their friendship. They eventually finished. After that, they rested and watched TV for a while. As they were relaxing, the phone rang. Rin answered it.

"Hello?" asked Rin.

"Hey, Sis, I made dinner," said an annoyed Len. "You coming home or what?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Rin hung up and turned to Miku. "That was Len. I gotta go home. Could you…?"

"Sure thing!" Miku snatched her car keys from a countertop and the friends headed out the door.

At night, Miku was scared to death. What if Kaito yelled at her? What if he thought she was a stalker? What if…everyone got so upset that she, Miku, had written a song that they kicked her out of Vocaloid? She took deep breaths and said an earnest prayer that it would turn out okay.

The next day, a nervous Miku stood in front of the Vocaloid studio, her hands trembling as she held the leek-decorated folder containing lyrics to her song. If only she had a real leek! She always chewed on leeks when she was nervous. It was an odd habit, but it calmed her down.

She reached for the doorknob, but the door was suddenly thrown open to reveal Kaito! Miku's face turned pinker than the strawberry ice cream Kaito had in his hand.

"There you are, Miku! We were just about to send a search party to look for you!" Kaito laughed. His breezy attitude usually made Miku melt, but she could see his stress under the façade.

"Sorry, Kaito, I got held up..."

"It's cool. You're here now so…hey…" Kaito noticed her folder and snatched it out of her hands. "What do you have here?"

Miku turned even redder. "It's a song I wrote…I wanted to see how you guys like it…"

"That's so cool! You know, we could record it today. See if the producers enjoy it."

Miku smiled widely. Perfect.

"I'm guessing that's a yes? Awesome, I'll let the guys know. How many parts does it have?"

"Just one, a female singer."

Kaito frowned. "Aww, I wanted to sing. Too bad."

Kaito and Miku went into the studio. Suddenly, the ever-bubbly Gumi popped in front of Miku, startling her.

"Aaah! Gumi…" growled Miku.

"I need you for a second," said Gumi calmly. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her into another room. Luka and Rin were already sitting down.

"I told them about the song," said Rin sheepishly. "I'm kind of awful at keeping secrets…"

Luka stood up. "We want to help. And I know you're probably very nervous about singing the song. So, if you want…I'll sing it. Instead of from just you, the song can be from all of the Vocaloids."

Miku felt a weight lift from her heart. "You guys would really do that for me?"

"Of course!" said the others in unison.

"Thank you so much!" Miku hugged each one of them.

"Now, where are those lyrics?" said Luka.

Miku's face paled. "Kai…Kaito took them from me…I need to go get them before…!" She flew out of the room.

Meanwhile…

"Gakupo, look at these lyrics." Kaito was sweating hard.

The purple-haired young man leaned forward and took the folder from Kaito's hands. "Well, well. 'Just be Friends'? Sounds like a pair you've told me about…"

"Shut up!" groaned Kaito. "How could anyone have found out?"

"I know the answer," murmured a blond boy sitting in a corner.

"Well, tell me, Len."

"My sister was spying on you. She needed some info for something. I don't know what, though."

Kaito ran a hand through his bluenette hair. "But how did Miku find out?"

"She and Rin hang out a lot," replied Len.

Gakupo grinned. "Miku must've sent a spy. Then, she wrote this pretty song for you and Meiko so you could, well, 'Just be—'"

"I get it." Kaito muttered, raising a hand to stop him.

Just then, the door opened. Miku walked in and all eyes went to her. "Um," she said nervously, "may I have my lyrics back?"

Kaito took the folder back from Gakupo and handed it to Miku. She timidly accepted it with a quick "Thanks", and hastily walked out of the room.

"You know..." Gakupo said with a mischievous grin. "If I didn't already have my heart set on someone, I'd think she's kind of cute. But I do, so I don't."

Kaito gave him a puzzled look. "What exactly are you saying?"

"Meiko doesn't love you. But Miku might," replied Gakupo simply.

The door opened again to reveal Luka. "Hey, boys. Are you coming or what?"

"Ah, Luka," said Gakupo. He leaned back in his chair with a smile and spread his arms out to her. "I would never miss a chance to be around you, my dear."

Luka blushed. "Shut up," she stammered as she swished around and stomped out.

"Gakupo," murmured Len. "I think you're going to need to get used to rejection."

"Nonsense, she'll come around," replied Gakupo. "Let's go."

When the boys arrived, they noticed Meiko was still absent.

"Where's Meiko?" asked Len.

"She called and said she couldn't come. But we begged her to, because…she's awesome and we love her," replied Gumi carefully.

"So she said she'd come, but only for the recording session," added Rin.

Sure enough, as she said it, Meiko walked through the door. "Let's make this quick," she muttered.

"You got it," said Miku. "Luka?"

Luka stepped into the recording booth.

"Am I even going to sing today?" growled Meiko.

"Um," stuttered Miku nervously. "Well, no, but we wanted you to hear this." She turned to Kaito. "You too…" She turned back to Luka. "Okay! We're ready!"

The recording session started as Luka sang.

Kaito and Meiko blushed as they listened and turned to each other. They nodded, acknowledging their unspoken agreement. Meiko squeezed Kaito's hand. In a friendly way, not romantic. Then she looked at Miku, who was watching them. He's all yours, mouthed Meiko. Miku grinned.

Luka finished singing. She looked around at the smiling group and stepped out. "How was that?" she asked anxiously.

"It was awesome!" cried Miku. "Exactly how I envisioned it! Only better!"

Meiko looked at her curiously. "You wrote this? Good job," she said kindly.

"Yeah," murmured Kaito, looking at Miku in a new light.

"Positively delightful," added Len.

"You showoff," spat Rin at her twin. "And I loved it!" she said to Miku.

"You helped, of course you loved it," pointed out the blue-haired girl.

"Very excellent work, both of you," said Gakupo. Then he turned to Luka with his regular grin. "And a very excellent singer, as well…"

Luka groaned. "If I go on one date with you, will you please shut up?"

"Gladly."

Gumi broke in. "How about we celebrate by ordering pizza and watching a movie marathon?"

"Yeah!" cried the group excitedly.

Miku felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Kaito.

"Could you come with me for a moment?" he asked quietly.

"Um, sure," stammered Miku, "but let me grab something first." She ran to the fridge to see if she could grab a leek. When she checked, there was only one more. Note to self, buy more leeks later, she thought to herself. She snatched it and hurried over to Kaito, who was waiting patiently. The pair went into the room where the boys had been talking minutes before and sat down.

"Okay, tell me," said Kaito, who was sitting across the room. "Why did you write that song?"

"Um, I'm a fellow mocha—Vocaloid…" stuttered Miku. Aargh, why am I so tongue-tied around that cutie?

"So?"

"We're…we're like family…we're sup—posed to help each other…" Miku mentally slapped herself. She kept getting lost in his eyes, twin oceans…She grabbed her leek and chomped on it furiously.

"Yes, I suppose, but…" Kaito didn't know how to phrase it without flat out asking, "Hey Miku, do you like me?" And it sure didn't help how he was just now realizing how cute she was…her blue hair, lighter than his…her pretty, thoughtful eyes…how come he never noticed this…?

Miku watched as Kaito stood up and she stood up also, swallowing her bit of leek and leaving the rest behind.

Kaito watched as Miku began to walk toward him and he walked toward her also.

Miku watched as Kaito's hand moved to her face and felt it slide to the back of her neck…she watched as Kaito leaned down and moved closer…closer…closer…

Their lips touched.

They closed their eyes and didn't notice the faces in the doorway.

They didn't notice as Rin and Len giggled.

They didn't notice as Gumi nearly dropped the phone she was holding to order pizza with to clasp her hands together.

They didn't notice as Meiko smiled contentedly,

They didn't notice as Luka sighed romantically and absentmindedly laid her head on Gakupo's shoulder.

They didn't notice as Gakupo smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

They did notice, however, when Luka jumped back, shrieking, "Eew, Gakupo! Were you hugging me?" Miku and Kaito broke apart, blushing furiously.

"You started it, dear," replied Gakupo, observing his fingernails.

"Why, you—" growled Luka. She ran towards him, intending to strangle him.

Gakupo dodged her and ran. Luka chased him through the building.

"Like cat and mouse," laughed Meiko.

"Or cat and Hatter," added Gumi, referencing one of their songs. The two burst out laughing and left the room holding their sides.

"Hey, Rin, let's mess with the cat and Hatter," said Len with a gleam in his eye.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," replied Rin. She turned towards Kaito and Miku and gave them a double thumbs-up before following her brother out of the room.

"Ahem," said Kaito. Miku turned back to him. "Where were we?"

"I remember," giggled Miku. She threw her arms around Kaito's neck and pressed her lips on his.

Hope you enjoyed! Please review as I would love to hear from you guys!

If you want to know the lyrics to "Just be Friends," you'll need to look them up. Sorry, but I think the site prohibits the use of lyrics in stories, and I am a way-too-careful kind of person.

I will probably write a GakupoxLuka story soon, but first I need to work on some of my other stories.

Thanks! ~XXPay4XtraShippingsXX