I'm SOOO SORRY! My last update was my new chapter for What You Don't Know. I messed up the upload for this story :( And didn't even realize it until now :(
Chapter 12
The next month passed in a blur, which Riley was glad for. It meant X-egg activity was minimal. It was just a month of getting to know each other better and becoming better friends. Everyone knew, in the back of their minds, that this wasn't forever. So they enjoyed every minute they could together.
Now was not one of those minutes. Riley sighed as she wandered the streets with Teagyn and Avery as silent shadows. The Guardians had business to attend to (some paper filing thing that had Yaya whining and Riley bored out of her mind), and Amu had to baby sit Ami. Which left Riley on her own, which she supposed was fine. Even after a month and a half in Seiyo, she had yet to grow tired of just looking around and taking in her surroundings.
After that talk with Tadase, Riley had felt much better. Depression had not tried to dig its cold claws in her again, for which she was glad. Rima and Nagi's relationship hadn't changed much since they started dating, either, as was to be expected from them. They still fought. Like, a lot. Riley doubted that would ever change. They were still so cute together. Cue fan girl squeal (haven't heard that in a while, huh?). Yeah, all in all the last month had been uneventful.
"Abel-san!" a voice called.
"Oh! Suzuki-san!" Riley replied in shock after turning to see the blonde girl.
"How are you?" Keiko gushed, instantly making Riley anxious. She and Keiko were definitely not best friends. In fact, if Riley had an evil bone in her body she'd say they were enemies, though Riley didn't understand why she and Keiko had taken such an immediate disliking of each other.
"Uh… fine?" Riley hedged.
"Wow, that's good!" she replied, oblivious. "Do you want to hang out? Tadase-kun's busy," Keiko pouted.
"Sure?" Who was this chick?
"Great! Come on!"
Riley hesitantly followed her, confused. "So… where are we going?"
"There's a surprise concert today at the mall. Utau Hoshina-sama is playing! I'm a big fan!"
"Utau-chan?" Riley was instantly in "fan girl" mode. Utau hung out with them a lot because of Kukai (actually, she was around more often than Keiko), but Riley had never gotten the chance to hear her sing in person.
Keiko's eyebrow twitched. "You really are rude," she mumbled before adopting a sweet tone again. "Are you close to Utau-sama? I've seen her around a lot when I've come to see Tadase-kun."
Riley blinked, ignoring her question. "Sama?" She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It was easy for Riley to forget Utau was famous sine they were friends of sorts, but was -sama necessary, even for a celebrity? "Ah… what was your question? Oh yeah. We're kind of friends. Not like she is with the others, but I'm comfortable in saying we're more than casual acquaintances.
"You're so lucky," Keiko gushed. Riley puffed out her cheeks, trying to reign in her frustration. Keiko's mood swings were so annoying. Riley blinked, realizing something.
"Where's Hiroko-chan?"
A cold look cam into Keiko's eyes but left so quickly Riley wondered if she had imagined it. "She's in her egg," she answered cheerfully. "She doesn't like to come out much."
"Oh."
The silence was kind of awkward, and for once in her life Riley had no idea how to fill it. There was just something off about Keiko, something she instinctively didn't like. It was a new feeling for Riley. Keiko hadn't done anything to deserve ill feelings.
After a couple minutes of tense silence between the two, they arrived at the mall. A crowd was growing. Obviously the "secret" had been let out. Then again, it was hard to keep it a surprise when everything was set up for a concert.
"Riley! Keiko-chan!" Amu shouted. Riley saw her running towards them, tugging Ami behind her. When she arrived, she was a little out of breath but Ami had stars in her eyes. "I didn't think I'd see you here! Utau invited me last minute, and when Ami found out it was game over."
"Will Ikuto be here?" Riley asked with mischievous smile. Amu blushed.
"H- how would I know?" she stuttered "A- anyway, how would you like to go backstage with us? I'm sure Utau wouldn't mind.
Now Keiko had stars in her eyes. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose on Utau-sama."
"Why do you respect her so much?" Riley asked, genuinely curious. Keiko always seemed so into herself, but whenever Utau was mentioned she did a 360 and became a much more likeable person.
"Because she's a girl," Keiko answered, as if it were obvious.
"Which means…?" Riley asked, twirling her wrist in the symbol for elaborate.
"She's a girl," Keiko repeated. "I told you how I got Hiroko-chan. It was when I was doubting my dream, but also when I was most sure of it? If that makes sense? Like, I was doubting my ability, but I was most set on achieving my dream. My brother, he was never doubted. But as the daughter, I was always told I couldn't do the things a boy can. Utau-sama, she's achieved so much more than I can ever hope for. Even though she's a girl! That's why I respect her so much."
"You don't really believe that," Riley said.
"What?" Keiko asked incredulously.
"You don't really believe you can't achieve you dream, just because you're a girl. Otherwise, Keiko wouldn't have been born."
Keiko blinked her scarlet eyes. "You're pretty perceptive, I'll give you that. For that, you may use the honorific -chan when speaking to me."
"Thanks," Riley replied wryly.
"Let's go!" Ami shouted, interrupting the Oh so fuzzy moment (NOT).
Amu laughed and tipped her head towards the stage. "C'mon. She'll be starting soon, so we should go."
The backstage was a bustle of activity, people running here and there. In the center of it all was Utau, calm as ever. Her hair was in her patented pigtails and she wore a black dress with pink lace on the hem and sleeve, and white ribbon crisscrossing down the back. She smiled when she saw Amu.
"When do you start?" Amu asked, while Ami stood star struck, little diamond sparkles literally floating around her awestruck face.
"Couple of minutes. Glad you could make it." She looked at her other guests and tilted her head. "You too," she added with a practiced smile. Her gaze locked on Keiko, the same unexplainable emotion Riley often felt in the girl's presence glittering in her eyes. Distrust.
Oblivious, Keiko gushed, "Utau-sama! I'm such a big fan!"
"I've seen you before. You're dating Tadase, aren't you?"
Keiko's eyebrow twitched. She forced a smile back on her face and nodded. "Yeah."
"Huh," Utau said, her gaze unwavering.
"It's show time!" someone called.
"Well, that's my cue," Utau said with a smile. "See you after the concert?"
She ran off, not waiting for an answer. Her retreating back felt like a sign to Riley. Like the good times were over. She just didn't know why, or how she knew.
Reviews~
4re8e8: Oh my goddess, I'm so sorry D: I hadn't realized what you meant, but when I was getting ready for the new update something made me check and I realized what I did.
Because of my major "what-the-heck" moment, you're gonna get two chaps this week…. I'm so sorry :(
