Great, now my brother's new computer is acting up. Bother. Well, now for my boredom to manifest itself as a new chapter.
Thanks to all who reviewed. Special thanks to Kiyoka Kurosawa for informing me of Ren and Kyoko's ages.
Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat or anything else that really exists.
Kyoko and Tora were sitting in the back of Ren's car waiting while Yashiro went into the office to drop of reports. Ren had stepped out of the car to talk one of his fellow actors. Tora was fiddling with her mp3 player and sighed as its battery died. She pulled her headphones off and turned to look at Kyoko. "So, have you and Ren known each other very long?" Kyoko started but shook her head. "No. I've only known him for a few months." Tora raised her eyebrows. "Yet, you come over to his house and offer to cook without really thinking about it." Kyoko blushed and looked at her hands. "Yeah," she said quietly, "I took care of him a while ago when he was sick. He really helps me out with my acting, too." Tora nodded, a little worried that she hadn't heard that he had been sick. But since when has he been real open about what he's been up to anyway, she thought, shrugging her worries off.
"So your relationship is totally business? Nothing else?" Kyoko blushed more and stared at Tora. Why were people suggesting Ren liked her? It was obvious he didn't like her. He disliked her to the point he bullied her. "Of course. What else would it be?" Tora stared at her. Did she really not know that there was any other form of relationship? Or did she just not know that Ren would go out with any girl who asked him just to be polite? Either way, Tora thought smiling, Ren probably is dumb enough to fall head over heals for her. "Oh, nothing," Tora said smiling at her. Just then Ren opened the driver's door and stuck his head in. "Yashiro called down to say he has to stay longer and to go on ahead of him. Mogami-san, do you need to go somewhere else for work or to go home?" "I've got to get back to the Daruma-ya. They'll be waiting up for me." Ren nodded and settled into his seat.
Ren and Tora where sitting in the car in silence after dropping Kyoko off. Ren nervously drummed his fingers on the steering wheel while Tora looked out the window with a bored expression on her face. "Hey, Ren," Tora said not looking at him. Ren looked at her in the rear-view mirror. "Yeah?" "Kyoko-chan seems like a nice girl, doesn't she." "Yeah," Rem responded hesitantly. Tora turned to stare at him in the rear-view mirror. "Do you like her? As more than a co-worker?" Ren blushed and looked away. Tora nodded. That was probably the best answer she was going to get from him. "Good for you. Try not to hurt her. Like I said, she's nice. She doesn't deserve the usual treatment you give girls." Ren blushed so much he missed the turn and had to turn around.
Ren was sitting idlely on the couch as Tora fixed them dinner. He thought about what she had said in the car. Tora was right. Kyoko didn't deserve to be stuck with someone like him, especially after what she had gone through before. He didn't need to push his feelings onto her and then have to fail to meet her expectations. He sighed as Tora came in with the food. She gave him a sideways look as she set it down. Guessing what he was thinking and rolled her eyes. "I said that she didn't need your usual standoffish attitude to dating, not for you to keep from liking her completely." She sighed and muttered, "Hopeless," under her breath. Ren heard and straightened up. "What do you mean hopeless? I never said I was in love with her anyway!" "Oh, really," Tora said sarcastically, "You just let her come cook for you and act as her taxi driver just because you're that nice a guy." She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Don't think I don't know that look you give her sometimes when she's not looking. Even Yashiro-san notices." Ren winced, knowing she was right. Yashiro never let it go either. "Yeah, well what about you? You said you didn't have a boyfriend yet you are always talking to someone on your computer!"
"That's none of your business," Tora said with a sniff, begining to eat her dinner with interest. "Yeah, well how do I know my little sister isn't chatting with some old pedophile?" Tora glared up at him. "Yeah? Well, at least I wouldn't be the old pedophile." Ren glared back at her. "That's crossing the line." "Yeah? So what? You started it." "No, you started it." "No, I didn't. You did," Tora replied standing up and glaring at her brother. "No, I didn't," Ren said standing as well. "Yes, you did." "No, I didn't!" "Yes, you did!" "No, I didn't!" "Yeah, you did!" "Whatever! I don't care," Ren shouted, throwing his hands in the air. Tora glared at him before stomping off to her room. Ren sat down with a sigh. She was just so aggravating sometimes. Even if he did think she was right.
Tora sat down furiously on her bed. It wasn't her fault her brother had accused her friend of being a pedophile. Well, Tora thought guiltily, maybe it was my fault. She sighed and opened up her laptop. She fiddled with the cords on her mp3 player, hooking it up to recharge, as the computer booted up. She hummed 'Closer to Our Graves' as she logged on. Her heart gave a pleasant jump as she saw 'Rockstar' was on. She smiled nervously and waited to see if he would start the conversation. She was telling her brother the truth when she said they weren't dating. They hadn't even told each other their real names. Their relationship was really a flimsy friendship, just waiting for something to break it. She sighed with relief as he opened the conversation.
-
Rockstar: Hey. What's up?
KittehPrincess: Not much. I just had a fight with my brother.
Rockstar: Bummer. Was it bad?
KittehPrincess: Not any worse than usual. So, what's up with you?
Rockstar: I was stuck in trafic all afternoon. Had to sit there for an hour.
KittehPrincess: Damn, that sucks. What are you doing?
Rockstar: Other than talking to you? I'm writing a new song.
KittehPrincess: That's so cool! I'm sort of stuck on my art.
Rockstar: Keep at it. I'm sure you'll work through it.
KittehPrincess: Thanks. What do you do when you're stuck for something for a song?
Rockstar: Hm...That's hard. I'm sure my coolness would never allow for such a problem.
KittehPrincess: Lol. No, seriously. What do you do?
Rockstar: I just get inspiration from what's going on around me. Just go with the flow.
KittehPrincess: Thanks. I'll try that. Normally, I just draw random stuff till something comes to me.
Rockstar: That works too, sometimes. I just write random lines till something clicks.
-
Sho lay on his stomach on his bed for hours. He typed away, revealing more of himself to this stranger who made his heart do odd things. He told her things that no one other than Kyoko had ever known about him. He thought that he should logically be worried that she might do something with the information if she found out who he was. He just couldn't bring himself to worry about it. 'KittehPrincess' was just so easy to talk to. He sighed, resignedly as she said she had to go. He wished he could do more to help her when she had problems with her art and her brother. Being an only child, he had no experience with the brother issue. He didn't ever really think about his inspiration for his songs much either, so he couldn't help her much. Sho felt sad and helpless in a way he hadn't since he had seen Kyoko cry about her mother. There just wasn't much he could do except try to be there for her.
Hopefully, you like it. Personally, I like the normal brother-sister fight. It's funny.
