The Butterfly Effect

by ChlorophyllKoolaid

A single event can change your entire life, a single moment can push you onto a course you never thought you would end up on. When she saw him on the stage her world opened up; when he saw her standing in front of him, his suddenly became much more narrow. But how do you steer a ship when you don't know where it's going? AU/ZenxMC

The blaring of the speakers shook the ears of every audience member, they knew once they left to go back home they would be yelling to their friends and family members, unable to really hear anything—at least until tomorrow. The guitarist had just finished their final solo of the night, the drums rolling leading everyone into the last chorus. As soon as he began the audience cheered, the singer was not new, he was not a surprise, and yet the audience acted as if it was the first time they had ever heard such a voice. Sweet and melodious, deep and breathtaking, that was how the reviews described him. But this rock band was not his passion, this rock band that fans lost their voice and their hearing for, was his hobby, his side-gig. This man was a musical actor, this band he was a part of was simply a way for him to make money and get his name out as he came up in the acting world. The other band members didn't mind, as explained his voice was amazing, he was good looking, and his fans had followed him and become fans of the band as well, it was a win-win.

But today, this performance, was the butterfly flapping its wings, unknowing what it had set into motion.

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She had come along as a music fan, a hobby singer, her friend had an extra ticket and she loved the energy of a performance. They'd arrived early, securing positions right in front, next to the speakers. Her cerulean eyes widened, taking in the set-up, the drums were silver and black, the words "Last Stop" spray painted across the bass. Her heart rate increased, and her palms sweaty, she could feel herself getting excited. Her friend had gone to get them water bottles, it wasn't her first time at one of their concerts, and she wanted to be prepared.

"I can't believe you didn't listen to any of their music before coming with me." Arisa held out a water bottle in front of Tsuki, somewhat annoyed at her decision. Tsuki grabbed the water bottle, equally annoyed, "I already explained it to you, his voice is so popular that I want my first time hearing it to be live." She took a swig from the bottle, "Besides, I looked at the sheet music and the lyrics, I can probably sing along well enough. At least to the chorus"

Arisa groaned, smoothing back some stray ash-brown hairs that had peaked out behind her ear. "You're seriously the worst." Tsuki grinned at her friend, poking her in the shoulder playfully, "It's not my fault you didn't believe me. I told you when you invited me."

Their playful banter continued until the lights suddenly dimmed, their spots became crowded with others, mostly women attempting to force themselves as close to the stage as possible. The screaming started, high pitched calls of approval, some chanting "Last Stop" over and over again. Shadows moved across the stage in the darkness, the screaming intensified.

The spot lights blared and somehow the cheering got even louder, Arisa was screeching now too, Tsuki smiled at her friend and looked up at the stage, doing her best to cheer with the rest of them. Her eyes landed on him, the singer, right in front, grasping the microphone with both hands. He, like the rest of the band, had their heads down, eyes closed as the spot lights traveled wildly across the stage. The entire band was good looking, dressed in black and silver, chains looping the sides of their pants, but the singer… Something about him was certainly enchanting, perhaps it was the way his white, almost silver hair, glittered in the passing light. Maybe it was the pressure his existence let off, or the commanding of attention his presence held. In any case, as her cheering continued, Tsuki couldn't manage to stop her eyes from going back to him.

Without warning the music started, lights filled up the entire stage and every member of the band was looking up at the audience the guitar's melody came through the speakers and melded into their bodies, the second guitar, bass guitar and drums followed shortly after. Tsuki cheered, one hand in the air, and the other grasping the fabric of her shirt covering her heart. She could feel her blood pumping, waiting for something but she wasn't sure what.

Her eyes widened as the singer opened his mouth, with the first lyric her heart skipped and she found herself unable to scream anymore, she hadn't been able to imagine what his voice would sound like, she hadn't had an image in her head about what this experience would be, she loved music, and her heart had skipped before listening to songs, this wasn't new. But for some reason this was new, for some reason, more than the instruments, his voice was filling her with an emotion she didn't know how to describe, an emotion that she suddenly realized she had needed her entire life. With the coming of the bridge, their eyes met, he sung to her, the women around her squealed with delight and yet all she could do was take in his eyes, red and bright, piercing her gaze.

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Arisa stretched as they walked towards the station, "And when they played Terrify I nearly lost my mind!" She sighed, "It's the first time they've gone on tour, so of course they would go all out. Zen was so good! I was shocked but he's even more good looking in person, usually they edit so much that you can't compare to how good they look in magazines, but honestly, I feel like the magazines don't do him justice." She continued happily.

Tsuki had been unable to form many words since the end of the concert, but luckily for her Arisa had enough for the both of them. She could nod along in agreement for the most part, but she was still processing everything that just happened. It had been at least fifteen minutes since the band left the stage and yet she was still lacking the words to explain. "So, what did you think? How was his voice? Do the reviews do him justice?" Arisa nudged Tsuki, still smiling. Tsuki glanced up at her friend, then into the night sky, she sucked in a breath, "He took my breath away." She said simply.

Once at the station, the girls parted ways returning to their respective homes, the train ride was short, but long enough for Tsuki to go online and purchase the album. By the time she was home she had gotten through two of the songs, feeding into the desire she now felt. As she walked inside, she pulled out her headphones and took off her shoes, "I'm home." She called out. Her father, a tall man with black hair just like hers, peeked his head out from the living room, "Welcome back, how was the concert?" He asked her.

Tsuki looked up at him with a smile, "Enlightening." Her response was simple, her father gave her a confused look which she responded to with a toothy grin, "I want to do something that moves people." She explained, "I want to create something that makes other people want to create something too. Although, I'm not sure what that is yet. I think maybe if I keep listening to their music I'll figure that out." Her father nodded, approving of her new drive.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time. The bath is ready, and there's left overs in the fridge." He explained, retreating to the living room where he was watching the news on TV. Tsuki dropped her belongings in her room before heading for the bath. She let herself sink into the hot water and tried to re-imagine the feeling of the music, even now she felt confused and lost. She knew she didn't want to be a singer, and she didn't play any instrument well enough for that to be her path, but somehow their songs had inspired her. The music meant more to her soul than it did to her brain, she wondered for a brief moment if this was the feeling people referred to when they said "That music saved my life."

She blew bubbles in the water out of frustration, her hair fanned out around her, floating close to the top of the water. 'Ugh!" She groaned, choking herself on bath water causing a coughing fit. "Tsuki are you alright?" She heard her mom call from outside the door. "I'm fine!" She called back to her mother before sighing. She didn't want to bother thinking about these things, she was 16, only a second year high school student, she was hoping she wouldn't have to stress about her future for another year, and yet here she was.

"Mom." Tsuki called, as she took out the leftovers from the fridge to heat up. Her mother was taller than Tsuki was, but shorter than her father with reddish brown hair and the same blue eyes as Tsuki. Her mother looked up from the newspaper she was currently reading at the table, "Yes?" She replied.

"When do I have to decide on my future?" Tsuki asked her, leaning against the counter as her food sat in the microwave. Her mother paused to think for a moment, "I think, around the beginning of your third year they'll have you fill out a sheet similar to the one you did in Jr. High school. But this time it will ask if you plan on getting a job, going to university, or going to a technical school. So you have about a year left, why?" Her mother asked, placing the newspaper onto the table. Tsuki repeated what she had said to her father when she first got home, one of her feet rubbing against the back of her other leg.

Her mother sighed, "Tsuki, every time you come back from a concert you have some kind of epiphany. Give it a few days and you won't be worried about this anymore." Tsuki gave her mother a small glare and puffed out her cheeks, annoyed at the fact that she was not being taken seriously. But she couldn't argue, she honestly couldn't even remember how she felt after the last concert she had gone to, and that was just a couple months ago. "I guess." She took her food and joined her mother at the table.

The older woman smiled, "Don't worry so much, just make use of the opportunities that present themselves, and eventually you'll find what you want to do." With that her annoyance was gone and she couldn't help but smile at her mother. They talked a bit more about the concert, and about the singer who had made such an impression as Tsuki finished her dinner, her face lighting up with each recollection. "His name is Zen?" Her mother questioned, eyebrow raised. "He's Korean, and I think it's a stage name." Tsuki explained, all information she had received from Arisa before the concert.

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As a result of listening to the entire CD for a grand total of four times the night before, Tsuki was in the process of racing to school, it was still up in the air whether or not she would be late, which meant she couldn't stop running until she got onto the train. But it did not mean she didn't stop running until she got onto the train. It was sudden, and it was unexpected, but as she stepped out of the station and dashed through the alley that she only used when she was late, it was the only shortcut to get to school and she hadn't used it since the prior year when a new game had come out and ruined her sleep schedule. But today, her short cut did not help her get to school on time, in fact it did the opposite.

Right before her stop she had checked her phone, she had a total a five minutes to get to school before she would be late, and in general it took 10 minutes to walk to school from the station entrance. This meant that she would have to not only run, but she would have to put all her bodily strength into the run. So there she was, dashing out of the station and through the alley. She had never paid attention to what was in this alley, as she always ran through it. She didn't even realize there were doors back here until she was dodging one as it opened, and she definitely had not seen a person coming out of this door until she had been flung backwards onto the ground, the impact of the pavement against her bottom jolting her into the realization that she was no longer moving.

She had just barely stopped herself from falling totally onto the ground by flinging her school bag off to the side in her reflexes' successful attempt to save her. The wind had been knocked out of her, and she still hadn't fully registered what just happened. She sucked in a deep breath, panting desperately, her lungs exhausted from the physical exertion. "Are you okay?" A voice suddenly said to her, it sounded vaguely familiar, soft and velvety, but she was too busy trying to catch her breath to look up.

Rubbing his chest in response to the impact, the owner of the voice kneeled down with a concerned look across his face and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Miss..?" He peered down into her face, assessing the situation for any damage, his eyes widened slightly at a sudden realization. He had seen this girl before, the shape of her face, and the style of the hair were the same, her eyes were still closed but he was sure it was her. The only girl who wasn't cheering for him last night.

Finally Tsuki had managed to get her breathing back to normal, she brought a hand up to her chest, swallowing and letting out a deep breath. She looked up, shocked first by how close they were—perhaps only a foot apart—and then by the familiarity of the eyes. It was only a moment but for a second their eyes locked, just as they had done during the concert. He glanced away from her, a slight shade of red covering his face, her eyes widened, "Zen." She said breathlessly.

He pulled his hand back, normally he would prepare for an onslaught of emotion, which often happened if he ran into a fan, but he had a feeling this girl would not suddenly profess her undying love for him, that she wouldn't ask for an autograph. "Are you okay?" He said again, his gaze focused on her school bag instead. Shaking herself out of her shock Tsuki nodded, "Probably, the wind was just knocked out of me." Her voice was soft, somewhat unsure, she moved to push herself up but found herself wincing. "Ouch." She said in a whisper, causing the white haired man in from of her to shift his attention once again, "What happened?" He said, concerned.

Tsuki lifted her hands, adjusting her posture to hold herself up, her palm was entirely scratched, and small red lines appeared, sending a stinging sensation up her arm. She checked her other hand, it was not nearly as scratched up as her left hand was but it still stung. "One second." Zen said standing and re-entering the building her had originally come out of. Tsuki sat, dumbstruck, suddenly wondering if she had just hallucinated the entire experience. Was it possible she was still dreaming? She'd had dreams like this before, it wouldn't be that strange. "But it hurts." She said out loud suddenly, "So I'm not dreaming."

Zen returned before long holding a first aid kit. "Let me see." He said, taking her hand in his own and dabbing it with an alcohol wipe, she winced again and tensed up, her hand twitched, attempting to escape the painful treatment. "Sorry, just bear with it a bit." He smiled sheepishly at her, she frowned. After finishing both hands he placed a large Band-Aid on each of her palms. "How's that?"

She glanced down at her hands, up at him, and then back at her hands. "What are you doing here?" She said instead, ignoring his question. His features relaxed, and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "We were practicing and I came out for a smoke." Zen sighed, standing up, "This is probably a good reason for me to quit. I can't go injuring fans now can I?" He winked at her but her brows furrowed into a frown. "You don't know I'm a fan." She corrected him. He chuckled again, offering his hand to help her up, as she reached to take it he spoke, "You knew my name, and I saw you last night." He smiled, causing her to pause before she offered him her wrist to pull her up.

"My friend brought me yesterday. I didn't know about you before then." She began, his face fell slightly, "But, I really enjoyed myself. Your singing really moved me." She said, bringing her hands up and placing them over her heart, her eyes closed, "I could really feel it pulsing through my body." A small smile played across her lips, she didn't see but Zen was smiling too as a blush crept across his face, "Thank you." He said simply, "It means a lot to hear that."

"I guess you could say I'm a fan now." She finally admitted, opening her eyes again with a grin. "What's your name?" He asked her, reaching down to pick up her school bag. Tsuki looked surprised for a moment, "Oh, I'm Asakura, Tsuki. It's nice to meet you." She introduced herself happily before her eyes focused on her school bag, a look of horror appeared on her face, "Oh my god." She said suddenly. Zen quirked his head to the side, with a confused, concerned look on his face. Tsuki shook her head, "No, it's not about you, I, um," She tried to get her bearings and explain quickly, "I go to Nadeshiko High School, I ran into you because I was late and running to school, this is my short cut." The words tumbled out of her mouth.

"Ah" Zen said, finally understanding her sudden change in demeanor. He held out her bag for her to take, "I used to go to High School too." He said simply, an attempt to express understanding. Tsuki nodded, accepting the bag, her hand reluctantly held onto the straps and shifted them onto her shoulder. "I'm probably already late so it might not matter anymore." She shrugged, he tried to read what she meant by that with no avail. "Thank you for the bandage, I guess I should apologize for crashing into you." Her eyes shifted to the side, reluctance playing across them.

He laughed, "You could have broken my ribs that was some attack." Tsuki joined his laugher, her eyes lighting up at his humor, "You know what they say, if you drop a penny from a skyscraper, you can crush someone's skull." The laughter stopped suddenly, followed by an awkward silence. "I mean.." She paused, her face turning red, "I was running as fast as I could so there was probably a lot of force." Tsuki tried to cover it up, bringing up her hand to scratch her cheek lightly. Zen's eyes closed slightly as he smiled at her, "It's alright. You ended up more hurt than I was."

Tsuki smiled and bowed, "Thanks again. It was nice meeting you. I really was moved by your performance—thank you for that as well." Upon returning to standing position she glared at him, "But you really should stop smoking, it's terrible for you." And with that she jogged off down the alleyway, leaving Zen to watch after her chuckling involuntarily at her final words. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and sighed, he had tried quitting in the past with limited success—he could skip it today at least. As he turned to go back into the recording studio he remembered he needed to pick up the first aid kit. He knelt down to grab it and noticed a shimmer from the ground, further inspection found a cell phone that had been left on the ground "That girl." He mumbled to himself.

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"Asakura, you missed homeroom!" Her homeroom teacher shouted, they had crossed paths as he was leaving the class. She held up her hands in front of him, "I had a freak accident." She said, hoping that would be enough for the time being. He sighed, "I'll let it slide, but don't let it happen again." Tsuki inwardly cheered at her success and slipped into the class room to get settled before their first period teacher got to the classroom. "What happened?" Arisa asked questioningly as Tsuki sat down, she had gotten up from her seat to inspect the situation. The raven haired girl paused for a moment to determine how much information she should release. She figured this was not the best place to talk about her celebrity interaction, so she opted for a mostly-true story instead.

"I stayed up late listening to music, and then while I was running to school I crashed into someone, it was a big mess." Tsuki sighed, pulling her books from her bag. Arisa laughed, "So I turned you into a fan? That explains why you didn't answer my text this morning." Tsuki gave her a confused look, "Your text? Hold on." She paused for a moment to pull her phone from her skirt pocket. She stood suddenly, checking her other pocket, then the pockets of her blazer. A look of horror took over her face and she pulled her school bag up on top of her desk and rummaged through it. Her face turned slowly towards Arisa, a mix of terror and sadness, "I don't know where my phone is!" She said suddenly.

Arisa frowned, "You were late this morning, couldn't you have left it at home?" She tried to problem solve for her friend who was clearly freaking out. "No," Tsuki shook her head, "I checked the time when I was on the train. It must have fallen out of my pocket during my mad dash to school." Before the girls could discuss any more, the teacher had entered and called for attention. But Tsuki couldn't focus, she was too worried about her phone, she would have to retrace her steps after school but by then it would probably be long gone.

By lunch, Tsuki had given up on retrieving her phone, most of the scenarios she had concocted in her head ended without any luck. She let out a deep sigh and switched her thoughts to how much money she had and if she could afford to buy a new phone. "I'll probably have to get a part time job." She said begrudgingly as Arisa pushed her chair to the other side of Tsuki's desk and set her lunch down. "It could be worse, at least you have a lock code on it." Arisa tried to comfort her a bit, opening her lunch box. Tsuki ripped the bag holding her sausage bun open and started to eat it angrily, "I guess, but it was an expensive phone."

"So I heard that Last Stop is staying in town for a while since this was the end of the tour. Apparently the rental space is cheaper here, but they're still close enough the production studio." Arisa said smiling, "We should try to find them, I really want to get Zen's autograph." Upon sharing this information, a girl sitting at a different desk chimed in, "Seriously? Zen's staying here somewhere? I totally need to meet him! I don't listen to Last Stop but Zen is so hot I can't take it!" Her friend giggled, nodding in agreement. Arisa looked to Tsuki and rolled her eyes before replying, "Yeah, definitely."

Tsuki chuckled, taking another bite of her sandwich, Arisa winked at her and the other girls went back to their own conversations. "His musicals are pretty good too, not really my thing, but his voice is so good I'll watch them anyway. You'd probably enjoy it, I can let you borrow some DVDs if you want." Tsuki simply nodded in response, she felt weird talking about Zen to Arisa considering she had just actually talked to him that morning. He was sweet, and friendly, and definitely good looking, but she wondered if his fans would still be in love with him if they met him too.

"What is that?" Arisa suddenly questioned, Tsuki's ears perked up as well, there was some kind of commotion at the front gate of the school, which they could see outside the window. Students were gathering, but they couldn't tell what for, the mumble of chattering that floated through the windows was too jumbled to hear clearly. Instead, the seven of them eating in the classroom all leaned to look out the window. "Can anyone hear what they're saying?" One boy asked, the rest shook their heads. "Can anyone see anything?" Tsuki asked, she squinted, she did wear glasses but she often forgot them at home, it was rare that anything in the classroom was far enough that she had trouble seeing it. Everyone shook their heads again, confusion swept through them until the boy who had asked about hearing finally spoke, "I'll go check. I'll be right back." They all approved and sat back down, "Do you think it's something good or something bad?" Another boy asked, leaning back in his chair.

"No idea." One of the girls who had mentioned Zen's hotness replied, "Maybe there's a fight or something." Arisa suggested, turning to Tsuki, "Or! A really intense love confession." Tsuki offered instead, they all "Ooohed" at the potential options. "He's taking too long." Someone said and they all agreed. There was an uncertain amount of silence before they heard footsteps tumbling down the hallway. The boy who had volunteered to check everything out appeared in the doorway, out of breath and using the doorway as support, "Asakura! You've gotta go down there." He managed, excitement in his voice.

"What, why?" Tsuki questioned, she glanced at Arisa, who shrugged but started to stand up anyway. "You just have to get down there." He said, stepping out of the way. Tsuki frowned for a moment before finally getting up with a sigh. She and Arisa left the classroom and headed for the entrance, the boy motioned for the rest of their classmates to come as well and they all made their way downstairs. The crowd had nearly tripled in size since when they had first looked out the window, they all turned to the boy, seeking some type of direction. "Push your way to the front!" He instructed. Tsuki and Arisa exchanged glances, shrugged, and obliged, making their way through the other students.

After what seemed like forever, they made it to the edge of the crowed and pushed their way through, "Hey! You can't cut in front of me like that!" An angry girl shouted as they emerged from the crowed, a student next to her nudged her side, "No that's her. Asakura." The angry girl suddenly went silent, causing Tsuki's eyebrow to raise in confusion. It wasn't until a combination of Arisa smacking her shoulder in a quest for attention and a particular sound that filled her ears, did she realize was what going on.

"No, it was wonderful meeting such a lovely fan. Thank you so much for your support."

The same velvet voice from that morning rang through her, numbing her senses even from Arisa's increasingly painful assault. She was speechless, but Tsuki had stopped breathing. She stood up straight slowly, moving her head to line up with the figure everyone was surrounding. "Zen." She said quietly, just as she had that morning. "What is going on?" Arisa said, her voice trembling with excitement, "I didn't hear about Last Stop doing anything like this." She tried to rationalize. Arisa's voice was loud enough to pull Zen's attention away from his fans. He excused himself and made his way toward the two friends.

"He's coming this way." Arisa's onslaught of slaps began again, as if something suddenly clicked in her mind, her gaze shot towards Tsuki, "Is he here to see you?" But Tsuki was unable to reply, trying on her own to figure out what was happening. "Tsuki." Zen said, hearing her first name come from his lips turned her whole face a deep scarlet. "Ah, that's right, I'm sorry. Asakura." He chuckled, "My fans usually like when I use their first name, but as you said, you're just barely one." Now Arisa was speechless, she couldn't decide if she was supposed to focus on the singer of her favorite band, or her best friend who seemed to know him.

"What are you doing here?" Tsuki questioned him, he chuckled again, "I'm starting to think that's how you say hello." He brought up his hand to hide his smile, the girls in the crowed squealed in delight. Tsuki furrowed her brows, "Hello, what are you doing here?" She repeated, attempting to understand what was going on. His chuckle turned into a full blown laugh, causing even Tsuki to smile a bit, "Would you enjoy it if I told you I wanted to see you?" He asked, more squeals erupted; Arisa herself was covering her mouth in shock.

Tsuki glanced away from his face, her own still a bright shade of pink. "Of course not." He answered his own question and then reached into his pocket. Following the sound of moving fabric Tsuki turned back towards him, as he pulled his hand back out her eyes widened and she couldn't help but grin. One hand on his hip, winking directly at her, Zen held out the phone he had picked up that morning upon their second meeting, "Did you lose this?" A smirk played on his face in a way that sent a single butterfly fluttering in her stomach.

"Where did you?" Tsuki said, grasping the phone from him, her hands shook. "When you assaulted me." The same smirk, before she could pull back with her phone his other hand reached up to hold hers, he looked at her palms, "How are your hands?" She looked up at him, too surprised to yank away, "It doesn't hurt anymore." She said simply, shifting her gaze to the ground. It was weird, having a conversation like this with him, the roar of the crowd had, at some point, become lost to her ears and all she could hear was him. "Thank you for returning this, you didn't have to." She whispered. Zen's smirk curled into a smile, "It seemed like a good opportunity." He said simply, letting go of both the phone, and her hands. He stepped back, slipped his hand into his pocket, "Perhaps we'll meet again someday." He said before turning to exit the crowd, shaking hands and thanking the girls screaming how much they loved him as he pushed through the crowd and into the car that had been waiting for his return.