AN: This is my first Fanfic so hope you enjoy. The Second chapter
Gravitation and its characters are not mine but belong to Maki Murakami. KL Records, Illusionary Escape, and Denzel are mine.
Summary: Shuichi finally reaches his breaking point and leaves the country to start anew. He gets a new name, new band, and changes everything about himself. When he finally returns to Japan with his new friends, will he return to his old life or keep his new one?
Normal
Dream/Flashback
Ch 2: Illusionary Escape
3 and a half years after Shuichi left Japan
A mop of reddish-brown hair is sitting on the couch in a private home strumming his guitar trying to create a new song. His best friend and band mate taps him in the shoulder. The boy looks up to see lime green eyes staring into his own violet ones. He smiles and moves over so the guy could sit down.
"Is there anything you need, Braden? And where is Valentino? Last I saw him he was playing on his drum."
"Well, Valentino went with Leo to the park nearby. Leo wanted to get some fresh air. Leo and Jacob finish making two new songs for us. Jacob went to smoke outside. I'm curious to see what my boyfriend of 3 years is doing. Get up, Alex! I know you already finished five songs. You're just trying to distract yourself again. You need to take care of your health. Remember last time you focused on work so much that you ended up unconscious in the back of our manager's van."
Alex, formerly known as Shuichi Shindo, puts down his guitar and leans into the arms of Braden. He closes his eyes to take a nap. Braden looks at his lovers sleeping face and gently moves a hair from his face. He remembers when they first met and the look of pain shown in Alex's eyes. He vowed to make sure that Alex always smiled. He knew the truth about Alex and his old life and remembers what he told him about when he first arrived.
Flashback 1:
Shuichi finally arrives at his destination. He walks to a small house and knocks to a beat. The door opens to reveal a blonde woman smiling at him. He drops his stuff and cries into her chest. A black haired male walked up behind the lady to shut the door and grab the fallen bag. The lady leads the crying boy to a couch near a fireplace. Shuichi cries himself to sleep.
The next morning Shuichi wakes up to the smell of breakfast. He rubs his eyes and walks to the dining room. He is met with the sight of his two caretakers in a warm embrace. He remembers Yuki and starts to shake again. The two turn to see him and are at his side immediately. They rub his back in a soothing manner till his shaking subsides. They lead him to the table to eat before they start to talk.
After the meal, Shuichi sits and contemplates his next action. The lady smiles and holds his hands. He looks to the man and he finds his absolute resolve to start anew.
"Thank you for taking me in at such a late notice. I just couldn't take my life anymore. I was suffocating!"
The couple nods and asks, "What do you plan to do now?"
"I want a new name and to start a new band. I want to change who I was."
They nod and say, "You should meet our son then. He is around your age and he plays the keyboard. He also wanted to start a band but just hasn't found the right people. You two can start a band together."
Shuichi smile and nods at the proposal. He picked the name Alex Grant and re-colored and styled his hair. He cut his hair to be short and spiky and his hair became reddish brown. He kept his eye color though. The couple does the correct paperwork and calls a few acquaintances to make it seem like Shuichi died and gave Alex a legal history similar to his original life but tweaked a bit. No one would be able to find Shuichi or connect the dots to Alex unless told personally.
Later that night, Alex came back from buying new clothes he met a guy only two inches taller than him and beautiful wavy dark brown hair. The guy was knocking on the door so he decided to talk to him.
"Excuse me, may I ask what you are doing here?"
The guy turns and Alex is enchanted by his lime green eyes.
"I am here to visit my parents. They said they had a surprise for me."
Alex smiles and opens the door himself.
"My name is Alex Grant. I will tell you more about me inside."
"Oh, I am Braden Sanders. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Flashback 2:
Ever since they first met, they became inseparable. Over the following weeks of meeting, they met the rest of their band. They first met Jacob on his smoke break outside a restaurant. Alex started a habit of smoking to relieve stress from his nightmares. So they talked about the brands and music. Jacob was a black haired, brown eyed guy with a deep baritone voice. After a few more incidents of meeting, Alex and Jacob became close friends. When Jacob found out that Alex was starting a band, he asked to join. Braden and Alex were ecstatic to find a new member. They spent weeks playing at local clubs: Alex on vocals and guitar, Braden on keyboard, and Jacob on bass. They named their band 'Illusionary Escape'.
Flashback 3:
A month after the three got together; they were performing at a club called 'Street Beats'. At the end of their performance, two guys walked up to them and started praising their talent. The younger of the two was a brown haired, gray eyed boy with the warmest smile.
"You guys are awesome! I feel so inspired after your performance. My name is Leo Mitchell and I also play the guitar. This guy beside me is my childhood best friend Valentino Rizzo. He plays the drums."
Alex looks at tall man and notices his sparkling blue eyes and his dark brown hair with a few blonde highlights. It seems that Valentino is Italian and Leo is Australian.
"Would you like to join our band then? You two would be a great edition to have. And just seeing the bond you two have reminds me of something I used to have. We can become good friends! So what do you say, Leo? Valentino?"
Theo two look at each other and excitedly accepts. Alex smiles and goes on the stage.
"Dear audience, I am grateful for the fans we have received in the short time of our bands appearance. Now it seems we added two new people. We invite you to a performance next week to showcase the band's new members. Hope to see you all there!"
Flashback 4:
5 months after the five man band was created, an agent walked up to them after a performance.
"My name is Denzel Harris. I represent KL Records and I would like for you to become our next hit band."
The guys could not believe their ears. They were just recruited to be in America's top recording company.
"My name is Alex and I am the lead of this band. We would be honored to be sponsored by just a high caliber company. Braden is the keyboardist, Leo is the lead guitarist, Jacob is on bass, and Valentino is our drummer."
Illusionary Escape became the top band in only 2 months. Their fame rocketed faster than anyone expected, relationships were exposed and accepted, and life became easier and more hectic at the same time. Alex and Braden have been dating since Jacob joined. Jacob and Leo became a couple. Valentino stayed single but he was a straight man though. He had no problems with having gay friends. The band had an unbreakable bond that has currently lasted 2 years. They each know most of each other's secrets. They even accepted the truth about who Alex really was. They understood and were pissed at his old friends. Braden was the most upset but who could blame him. Alex meant a lot to him.
They bought a home and lived together as a band. They had their quarrels but they cared for each other too much to be permanently separated. Each member had a past or event in their life they wish to forget. They all understood pain in their own way.
Alex was woken by his cell phone ringing on the table. He got up but Braden got the phone and handed it to Alex instead of letting him get off the couch.
"Hello, this is Alex speaking."
"Alex, this is your manager Denzel. I wanted to notify you that you will be going on a trip to perform in Japan. KL Records thinks this is a good opportunity to expand your fan base to other parts of the world. Will you and the band do it?"
"I will talk to the others and call you back by tonight or in the morning."
"Ok, I'll talk to you later. Good day to you."
Alex cuddles into Braden's chest trying to relax. After he inhaled Braden scent for a few minutes, he lets go.
"Braden, can you get everyone here? I have news and I want to run it by everyone."
Braden nods and kisses Alex on his forehead before getting up. It seems it is time to face the pains of his past. He is happy to have Illusionary Escape at his side. Every one of the members will be there when he needs them.
AN: This chapter was just to introduce the band and why Shuichi would return to the place he swore to never return to. The next chapter, I will talk about how people in Japan are dealing with his departure and disappearance. Thank you for reading this! Till next timeā¦
