Chapter 7: New Friends, New Rivals
Perfect. Just perfect, Sonata thought, heading down the busy streets with a grim look on her face. By her side, for once in a long while, were Adagio and Aria. They were back to wearing the same outfits they had worn at Canterlot High, like she already was, and both had those same, pleased, "We're gonna rule the world" smirks plastered on their faces. Sonata tried her best not to show how upset she was, now that her power-hungry fellow sirens were back in her life. Now that they had a shot at regaining their powers, Adagio insisted the trio stick together like old times, except during the tutoring. After Sonata had said her apartment couldn't house two more people, Adagio and Aria had rented two more apartments at the motel Sonata was staying at. They had even gotten into an intense argument with the motel manager because there were already people staying in the motel rooms closest to Sonata's, and no matter what the sirens yelled at him, he refused to have these people relocated. Eventually, Adagio and Aria had no choice but to settle for two other apartments that were on the same floor. The only consolation that Sonata had was that these two rooms were situated far down the hallway, a safe distance from hers. But apart from that, Sonata back to being a member of the Dazzlings. A reluctant one, this time.
The night before had changed everything, and now Adagio and Aria were assistants and apprentices to the other two respective members of Triple Rewind. Sonata couldn't help but feel pity for Allegro and Cleffis: the two boys were nothing but mere tools to Adagio and Aria. Concerto, the boy who was tutoring her, meant a lot more to her than just a tool or a mentor. But sadly, he would never notice since he had his eyes on someone else already, and now Sonata's heart still ached every time she remembered how Concerto talked about Cherry Blossom.
Anyway, the three were on their way to meet up with the three boys outside their hotel. They were all excited, obviously-except for Aria. She did want her powers and her voice back, but she definitely wasn't going to stand spending time with her mentor, Cleffis the playboy. Of all three, Cleffis had to choose her. What in the world was that guy's problem? Hadn't she already made it clear to him that she didn't like him? But regardless, she had no choice, regardless of how much she hated his behavior. After all, he was her only chance in getting her voice back. At this thought, Aria swelled up a little and braced herself mentally for any nonsense he could pull on her later on.
"There you are!" Allegro called, seeing the three girls approaching. "Well, we'd better hurry; Triple Rewind's next concert is in six hours' time! Come on, Adagio!" Adagio nodded, hiding an evil grin as she ran over to Allegro. As the two left, Sonata and Concerto shared a hug, as Cleffis walked over to Aria. "Hey." Cleffis said. "Hey." Aria grunted, avoiding his gaze. "So…maybe we try the nearby KTV lounge?" "….sure." "Okay then let's-""Hold on Cleffis. Can I borrow Aria for a moment?" Concerto interrupted. Cleffis nodded. "Yeah." "Thanks." Concerto quickly led Aria a bit further from Cleffis with a cautious look on his face. Aria crossed her arms skeptically. "What is it, Concerto?" "Well, I just….needed to warn you about Cleffis. He has a very bad habit of, uh…flirting. You'll be working very closely with you for a while, so you'd better not fall for his supposed charm." Aria gave a scoff. "Me? Fall for him? Relax, Concerto. I appreciate you warning me, but I knew that guy was trouble the moment I saw him. There's NO way I'll fall for a guy like that!"
Adagio and Allegro left the hotel and walked down the street. Allegro's heart, for some reason, couldn't slow down. Jeez, what is wrong with you? He scolded himself. Stop! Allegro knew perfectly what was wrong with him; he hated and liked it at the same time. He liked it because this was the first time he felt this way, but he hated it because this wasn't supposed to happen. Goodness, what would Show Biz say?! In contrast, however, while Allegro was gradually walking closer and closer to Adagio with every step, Adagio wasn't walking closer to him at all, instead walking stiffly apart from him, head held high. At last, she thought to herself. We can make this whole world adore us after all! "So, where are we going, Allegro?" She asked him with a fake friendly grin. Allegro sighed with exasperation. "The, uh…Canterlot Shopping Mall. My manager's waiting for me to do a short autograph session." "Hold on…we're not going to have a singing lesson yet?" "No. Sorry, that will have to wait until later…" Adagio's heart welled up with dismay and impatience, but she quickly tried to force it back down. She had to put up with all this pop star stuff: she was, after all, supposed to act temporarily as Allegro's assistant.
When Allegro and Adagio entered the mall, a black haired guy with dark glasses and a snazzy businessman suit rushed over to greet them. "You're here at last, Allegro!" The man said. Allegro nodded, his facial expression unreadable. "Morning, Mr. Biz." Mr. Biz caught sight of Adagio. "Who's this?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously. Adagio, willing to take any kind of challenge, narrowed her eyes back at him. "I'm his new assistant, Mister. I'm supposed to follow him around." She said coldly. Allegro awkwardly stepped between the two. "Ahem, Mr. Biz, this is my new assistant and apprentice, Adagio Dazzle. And Adagio, this is my manager, Mr. Biz." He explained. At this, Mr. Biz leaned backwards, eyeing Adagio. "Okay, you're his assistant, hm? That's fine. But don't get too close to him." He said cheerily. "He already has a-""ALLEGRO!" A high pitched squeal cut off Show Biz's sentence, and a young teenage girl wearing a flashy cocktail dress, heels and large hoop earrings rushed over, enveloping Allegro in a hug. Thousands of fans swarmed over and crowded around them, screaming excitedly. Adagio, taken aback by the sudden chaos, glanced around. Some of the fans were holding signs above their heads which said the word "Alletrine", mostly decorated with hearts or cupid arrows of some sort. Alletrine? What kind of retarded word is that? Thought Adagio, turning back to see the girl still hugging Allegro. Allegro was hugging back, but for some reason, he didn't seem too comfortable. "Hey, Citrine." He mumbled. As the girl finally released Allegro, Adagio walked towards them, crossing her arms. "So, I'm taking it that this girl here is your girlfriend, and that Alletrine is your shipping name?" She asked, unimpressed. "She's not my-"Allegro started to protest, but Citrine quickly cut him off. "Of course he's my boyfriend!" She said, smiling sweetly at Allegro. "And…who are you?" She stared at Adagio, who seemed unfazed by this new supposed threat. "I'm Adagio Dazzle, his new assistant and apprentice. Allegro here is teaching me how to sing." She replied coolly. "Yes." Show Biz agreed with Adagio, hastily tapping Citrine's shoulder. "Don't ruin the impression the public has on you." He hissed into her ear.
As Show Biz whispered to Citrine, Adagio turned to Allegro. "You have a girlfriend?" She asked. Allegro, looking mortified by this question, lowered his tone to answer her. "Only to the public. It's just a stupid publicity stunt to get our group famous." He muttered to her. A publicity stunt? Adagio knew what that was. But before she could answer, Citrine rushed to Allegro's side and linked arms with him happily. "Come on sweetie," She said. "Let's go sign some autographs!" Allegro had no choice but to force out a smile and nod. "Sure." Citrine then turned to Adagio. "And as for you," She said haughtily. "You'd better change your outfit. Spiked boots are so out of fashion." And with that, she and a hapless Allegro strolled off into the crowd of screaming fans. Adagio stared after them, completely and utterly appalled. Regardless of whether she had an evil plan to take over the world or not, one thing was for sure: Adagio Dazzle did not like Citrine Gem.
The KTV lounge that Cleffis and Aria walked into was completely engulfed with flashy lights and music. Teenagers, mostly girls were filling the place. And the minute Cleffis and Aria walked in, there were squeals of excitement all over the place. Aria rolled her eyes as she saw crowds of girls quickly rushing toward them. Here we go…She thought to herself. "Omigosh, it's Cleffis Steel!" One girl shrieked. Cleffis, as Aria had expected, flashed a charming smile at the girls, as they giggled and batted their eyelashes at him. "Hi there." He said. Just one greeting like that made some girls squeal loudly again.
"He looks so cute!"
"I'm your biggest fan!"
Shouts of excitement filled the place. One particular girl who was closest walked over and smiled at Cleffis. "Hi, Cleffis." She said with a grin, taking his hand. Cleffis smiled back at her. "Oh, it's you again." He said, pulling her close to him as she giggled like a lunatic. Just watching them made Aria want to throw up. "I'm thirsty." She coldly muttered to Cleffis, pushing her way out of the crowds and heading for a drink table nearby. "Who's that?" She heard the girl's voice behind her. "Oh…she's my assistant." Came Cleffis' answer. Aria rolled her eyes in annoyance. Did Concerto really expect me to fall for a guy like that? Blech! In his dreams!
However, what Aria didn't know, was that Cleffis's hazel eyes followed her as she shoved her way out of the large swarm of fans. And suddenly, an uneasy feeling was washing over him, clinging to him such that he immediately found himself dropping his fan's hand at his own accord. "Are you okay?" The girl asked him, sensing his sudden change in feeling. "…Yeah, I'm okay." He told her. But despite this, his eyes quickly flitted over to Aria's disappearing form in the crowd a distance away.
Was he feeling…guilty?
