A/N: so here we are, with part two of the last chapter, which means this is still Mihael's pov. It was kind of important to get this out there, so yeah. School's been kicking my ass so I'm sorry for the delayed updates, but I try my best.
Chapter 14: Kind of Confrontation
"What?" Mihael asked dumbly, staring at Naomi. He probably hadn't heard that right. Did she honestly just say she was his-
"I'm your new agent," Naomi repeated, eyebrows furrowing. "Is something wrong?"
Mihael shook his head, refusing to process Naomi's words. "Where's Nate?"
"Look," Naomi said impatiently, looking down at the watch on her hand. "We're getting late for our meeting."
"Nate was the one who scheduled this meeting for us," Mihael said stubbornly, not budging from his spot. "He's supposed to be the one accompanying me for this meeting."
"And I told you," Naomi sighed, "I'm your agent now."
"But-"
"Mihael," Takada's voice cut in from behind, where she still sat on the couch. Mihael had almost forgotten of her presence. Now he turned around, staring at her. Takada gave him a small smile. "You don't want to miss your meeting. How about you argue with her after you've finished your meeting?"
Mihael considered her words. He knew he was acting stupid, but he couldn't exactly help himself. How could he just accept the fact that Nate had, without any warning whatsoever, abandoned him? Mihael looked at Naomi. Okay, maybe he hadn't abandoned Mihael in the professional sense, because he'd made sure there was a replacement for him. But that didn't matter to Mihael. What mattered to Mihael was that Nate had abandoned him, that he'd not even thought twice about how Mihael would feel about this. A part of Mihael felt terribly betrayed, as though Mihael were that easily replaceable in someone's life. You're overreacting, Mihael tried to tell himself. Maybe he's just busy with a lot of work, and he couldn't make it today. He'll be back soon enough.
But that still didn't explain Naomi's words. The way she'd phrased them made them sound like some kind of permanent arrangement. New agent, she'd said. Mihael didn't want a new agent. Maybe months ago, such a turn in events would've been desirable. As it stood now, Mihael only felt a terrible pain in his chest, like someone had stabbed him with a dagger and kept twisting it about sadistically. That someone could've very well been Nate.
"Mihael?" Naomi's voice sounded distant to Mihael.
Nate had abandoned him. He'd abandoned him for as little as Mihael showing up late for one meeting. That's all it had taken for Nate to give up on him. Some part of Mihael knew that if Nate had felt the same way about Mihael as Mihael did about him, he wouldn't have acted the way he had.
Nate had abandoned him.
Mihael closed his eyes, the initial shock and consequent hurt slowly wearing off, leaving in its place a dull aching in his chest and a sudden flare of anger.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. "Mihael," a voice accompanied the hand, soft and concerned. Mihael opened his eyes. Naomi's face was scrunched up in confusion. "Do you feel okay?"
Mihael nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said, and the smallness of his voice surprised even him. "I'm okay."
"We really should get going," Naomi said, withdrawing her hand from Mihael's shoulder. "We don't want to keep them waiting."
"Yeah," Mihael agreed, looking over his shoulder at Takada. "Do you need us to give you a ride?"
Takada stood up from the couch, walking towards them. "Nah, I'll just get a cab." Mihael nodded at her. Takada looked at him a moment longer, smiling sadly. She brought her hand up to cup Mihael's face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. "I'm going to miss you." She said softly. Leaning up, she gently pressed her lips to his. Without really thinking about it, Mihael kissed her back. It was a short kiss, its intent clear to Mihael when Takada pulled away, whispered a quick 'goodbye' and then she was out the door. Mihael stared after her a moment longer, guilt clawing its way over to replace the hurt he felt from a moment ago.
"Er," Naomi began uncomfortably, "we really need to go, Mihael."
"Right," Mihael said, coming back to his senses. "Let's go." He stepped aside to let Naomi pass, following after her a moment later. He paused outside momentarily, staring at Naomi. She raised her eyebrows in question. Mihael quickly shook his head. "I like your jacket."
Naomi looked at him in surprise. "Oh," she said, smiling. "Thank you."
-x-
Robert's manager was, understandably, confused when Naomi showed up with Mihael, introducing herself as his agent. Mihael still wasn't used to her saying that, and each time she did, Mihael felt his stomach twist unpleasantly. It just made the situation that much more real.
"I was told that his agent," the manager pointed at Mihael, "was Nate River."
Mihael could see that Naomi was starting to lose her patience, with the way her eye seemed to have twitched. Mihael couldn't honestly blame her. He'd refused to acknowledge her as his agent, and now this lady was doing the same. None of this was Naomi's fault. She was just trying to do her job.
If it's anyone's fault, it's Nate's, Mihael thought bitterly.
"Yes, he was, but I've now been assigned as Mihael's agent. Can we please get on with the meeting, Miss…?" Naomi trailed off, tilting her head in question.
"Teressa," the woman supplied, frowning slightly. "Look, the only reason Robert had pushed for this meeting was because he personally knew Nate, and this is a favor he's doing for Nate and his client. If you're not Nate, I'm afraid…"
"Nate sent me in his place," Naomi persisted, "I work at the same agency as him. We know each other personally. I'm his superior."
Teressa blinked in confusion, directing her gaze at Mihael. "Mr. Keehl, did you know about this?" She asked.
Mihael, who'd been looking around the office curiously, nearly jumped at the question. He looked at Teressa and for a brief moment considered lying. Ultimately, he decided honesty was the way to go. "No, I did not. But then again, Nate doesn't exactly tell me a lot of things." Yeah, he was definitely being honest.
Teressa nodded and brought her attention back to Naomi. She was about to say something when Naomi cut her off.
"Would it help if I called Nate?" Naomi offered, pulling a phone out of her pocket.
Mihael's eyes widened at that, his heart suddenly racing in anticipation. Was she going to call Nate and ask him to come here? Would Nate actually show up? If he did, how was Mihael supposed to react to that? Would it make sense to confront Nate directly or wait to see if he offered any explanations of his own? Would Nate even acknowledge Mihael's existence? The last thought made Mihael almost laugh bitterly, because there was a high chance that Nate would, in fact, completely ignore Mihael's presence.
Well, Mihael would just have to confront him directly then. He wasn't about to give Nate an easy way out of this.
"Hello, Nate?" Naomi's voice interrupted Mihael's thoughts and Mihael instantly looked at Naomi, who presently had her phone clutched to her ear. He couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, but he waited impatiently to hear Naomi's side of it. "You forgot to inform Robert's manager about your little arrangement." Naomi continued and there was a tinge of indignation in her tone.
Mihael leaned forward slightly, waiting for Naomi to say the words he desperately wanted her to say: You'll have to come here, Nate.
But that wasn't what Naomi said. In fact, the next words out of her mouth weren't even directed at Nate. "Would it be okay if he talks to you?" She asked Teressa, offering her the phone.
Teressa nodded, taking the phone from Naomi. "This is Teressa, Robert's manager." Mihael and Naomi both stared at her expectantly while she nodded along to whatever it was Nate was telling her. Finally, she said, "Alright, that works." And then she handed the phone over to Naomi.
"Well?" Naomi prodded, looking down at her screen.
"I'm sorry for keeping you two waiting," Teressa told them. "Let's begin our meeting."
Naomi smiled and took a seat opposite Teressa's desk, gesturing for Mihael to do the same, but Mihael did not move. He remained standing, his eyebrows creasing together. "What did Nate say?" This was directed at Teressa.
Teressa shrugged nonchalantly, taking her seat. "Just that he's sorry for not informing me of the change in plans, is all."
Mihael blinked in surprise. "And that convinced you?"
Teressa frowned at Mihael. "Why wouldn't it? Look, as a professional in this business, it is my duty to cross verify information." She directed her gaze at Naomi and added, almost conspiratorially, "People lie a lot in this business, as you're aware."
Naomi nodded in understanding. "I get it. I'd have done the same."
Mihael still wasn't convinced. "I thought you'd want Nate to be present, too."
Teressa shook her head, laughing as she did. "He's probably busy with work. I didn't want to trouble him. When it comes to someone like him, a phone confirmation is enough."
"Right," Mihael muttered, finally taking his seat beside Naomi. He looked straight at Teressa, trying to school his features into a neutral expression. Like hell he'd let anyone see his disappointment. Why was he disappointed anyway? Had he honestly expected Nate to show up, when Nate was doing absolutely everything in his power to avoid seeing Mihael? Knowing Nate, he probably wanted to avoid any direct confrontations with Mihael. Fucking coward, Mihael couldn't help but think. Shaking his head, Mihael brought himself out of his thoughts. He smiled at the women. "I'm ready."
-x-
Mihael remained perfectly silent on the walk back to Naomi's car. It wasn't like Naomi minded, busy as she was typing into her phone. Mihael occasionally shot her curious glances, but still said nothing. It wasn't like he had much to say to her anyway. He didn't exactly know her.
The meeting had gone reasonably well, and Naomi had been extremely professional while conversing with Teressa and him. When Mihael asked, what he thought were particularly stupid questions, she didn't mock him, like Nate probably would've. Instead, she explained things to him with utmost patience. Mihael couldn't help but think, in that moment, that he'd have been glad to have her be his agent when he'd just started out. He would have, if he hadn't already grown so fond of Nate. Nate could be a handful at times, and yes, he had been mean to Mihael in the past, but that was basically it. It was all in the past. Mihael had, in the past few months, gotten used to the way Nate talked and behaved. It didn't matter that Naomi was Nate's superior and much more experienced than him. Mihael just wanted Nate.
L himself could've offered to replace Nate and Mihael would still want Nate.
That was the extent to which he'd fallen and it was that realization that finally brought Mihael back to his senses. Since when did he passively wait around for things to sort themselves out? He was someone who always took action, jumped into a problem head first. So what if Nate didn't show up? There was no rule that stated Mihael couldn't go to him, was there? With new found conviction, Mihael paused in his step and turned to look at Naomi, fully prepared to speak, when he noticed she wasn't walking by his side anymore. She'd lingered behind and was presently having a hushed conversation with someone on her phone, back facing Mihael.
Curiosity peaked, Mihael took a few steps towards her, straining to hear. He knew he shouldn't but something told Mihael that he needed to listen to this conversation.
"Yes, the meeting was fine," Naomi was saying, foot tapping on the concrete. She paused a moment, waiting for the other person to finish what they were saying. When she spoke next, she sounded very annoyed. "I'm your superior, I'm not obligated to give you every small detail. I told you the meeting was fine and it's all been worked out."
Mihael felt his heart lurch. There was only one person she had to be talking to. It had to be.
"You're no longer his agent," Naomi snapped and her tone made Mihael take an abrupt step back. "If you were so concerned about his career, you shouldn't have asked me to replace you as his agent." Mihael held his breath. He needed to see how this would play out. There was a long stretch of silence, in which Mihael shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
"I'm sorry," Naomi finally spoke again and Mihael was surprised by the sudden softness in her voice. There was no trace of the anger she'd felt just moments ago. "That was out of line. I'm really sorry. Listen, I need his files from you anyway, so I'll just head over to the office right now. Yes, yes, I'll drop him off before I do that - yes, that's what I meant! I'll fill you in on everything when I get there, okay? I should get going now." With that, Naomi finally hung up. She didn't turn around immediately, however. She spent another long minute just staring down at her phone and Mihael knew he should take this opportunity to go back to where he'd been standing, facing away from her. He didn't want to look like he'd been eavesdropping.
For some reason though, Mihael remained rooted in spot, still processing the conversation. So when Naomi finally did turn around, he remained standing there, blinking up at her awkwardly. "Uh," Naomi began carefully, "What are you doing here?"
"I, uh," Mihael tried, "I wanted to know why we'd stopped walking." He wasn't sure how convincing he sounded.
Naomi studied his face for a moment, searching for any indication that he'd heard her phone conversation. To his credit, Mihael kept his face as neutral as possible. He tried not to betray the way his heart was beating a mile a minute, or the sudden hope he'd felt surging within him when he'd found out that Nate still cared about him and that he had a chance of turning this all around.
"Right," Naomi finally relented, stuffing her phone into her pocket. "Let's go."
"That was Nate, wasn't it?" Mihael blurted out just as Naomi started walking towards her car. She came to an abrupt halt, looking at Mihael in surprise. "He wanted to know how my meeting went, didn't he?"
Instead of snapping at him for eavesdropping like Mihael had expected, Naomi simply sighed in defeat. "You heard everything, huh?"
"Listen," Mihael began urgently, walking over to Naomi. "Let me accompany you to the office. You're going to see him, right? I just need to talk to him. Please!" For good measure, Mihael held on to her arm.
Naomi shook her head, laughing. "I'm not going to say no, Mihael. You can let go."
Mihael dropped his hand, grinning at her. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me," Naomi said, walking once more. "You two clearly have some issues you need to sort out. It's obvious he still wants to be your agent, he just isn't admitting to it. I'm not sure what it is that happened, but if talking to him helps, be my guest."
"I could probably take a guess," Mihael muttered, falling into step beside Naomi. She looked at him with arched brows, silently asking him to elaborate. Mihael looked away. "Nothing."
-x-
It felt like ages since Mihael had last visited LTA.
The lobby was quiet as Naomi walked through it, towards the elevators, Mihael following in tow. Mihael looked around the place, noting that the receptionist seated at the front desk was different than the one he'd encountered all those months ago.
"Where's the other receptionist?" Mihael asked curiously.
Naomi followed his gaze and shrugged. "Maybe she's off work or something."
They came to a halt in front of the elevators, patiently waiting for one of them to arrive. Mihael could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He crossed his fingers, taking deep breaths. There was no point in being nervous now. It was just Nate. He could handle Nate, he'd been handling Nate for months now. Just because he'd now acknowledged his feelings for Nate didn't mean things were suddenly going to be different. Nate was still the asshole Mihael needed to take care of.
When the elevator arrived, Mihael stepped in silently after Naomi, tapping his foot nervously. "You okay?" Naomi asked him, concern etched on to her face. "You look...anxious."
"I'm fine." Mihael assured her, reluctantly stopping the tapping.
No one said anything for the rest of the elevator ride. Naomi only spoke once they were in the hallway and outside Nate's door. Mihael had been about ready to barge in but Naomi had pulled him back, forcing him to stay where he was. "Let me first go in. I don't want him getting mad at me immediately." She said. Mihael knew she had a point.
He waited outside while Naomi went in. He wasn't sure how long he'd been waiting but the next thing he knew, Naomi had opened the door and was gesturing for him to come in. Mihael's heart thudded painfully in his chest. Gulping, he walked in.
And froze in place. It had only been a little over a week since Mihael had last seen or spoken to Nate, but for some strange reason, it felt like it had been much longer. Nate didn't look any different. He had the same hair, although it was slightly messier than it usually was, the same formal attire with the exception of his tie. Mihael unconsciously took a step closer.
Nate was, quite possibly, staring at him with a similar look of surprise. Or shock. Yeah, definitely shock, if the way his jaw dropped slightly was any indication. "Hey," Mihael said, his voice catching just a bit.
Nate glared accusingly at Naomi, ignoring Mihael's greeting. "What's the meaning of this?"
Naomi frowned. "Don't look at me like that."
Nate didn't stop glaring. "I told you to drop him off before you came here!"
"It wasn't her fault," Mihael cut in, staring intently at Nate. "I insisted on coming."
"Of course you did," Nate muttered indignantly, staring down at his feet. "Why did you want to come here?"
"Because I missed the office," Mihael said, rolling his eyes. Nate's head shot up so suddenly Mihael was sure he'd gotten whiplash. "I came here to talk to you, obviously."
Nate looked away. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Oh yes, there is," Mihael took another step forward. "I need answers, Nate."
Nate shook his head, walking around his desk and taking a seat. "I found another client I was interested in, so I decided to transfer my contract with you to Miss Misora instead. That's all there is to it."
Mihael couldn't believe what he was hearing. He felt hot anger course through him. "You didn't have to ditch me like that!"
Nate looked at Mihael blankly. "It's not ditching if I took the time to make sure you weren't without an agent. I made arrangements, as you're well aware," He gestured at Naomi. "She's actually a much better agent than I am, so it's an upgrade, really."
Mihael's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "That's not the point." He grit out.
"What is the point, then?" Nate asked casually, leaning back in his chair.
Mihael couldn't think straight. His fists tightened, nails digging painfully into his palms. He was about ready to snap at Nate but managed to pull himself together at the last moment. He wouldn't lose his cool. This was Nate pretending nothing was wrong. There was no way he wasn't as affected as Mihael. This was all just a facade. It had to be. Besides, causing a scene in front of Naomi, in Nate's professional workplace no less, would probably work against what Mihael was hoping to accomplish. Something told Mihael that Nate would be more open to having an honest conversation with Mihael in private.
So, that thought in mind, Mihael took a step back. "Sorry for barging in," He said, face devoid of any emotion. He thought he saw Nate's eyes widen in surprise at how easily he was giving up, but it could've been his imagination. He addressed Naomi. "I'll wait outside."
Naomi, who'd been a silent spectator right from the moment Mihael had entered, nodded slowly in acknowledgement. "Okay." She said, shooting a curious glance in Nate's direction. Nate didn't meet her gaze.
With one last glance at Nate, Mihael turned around and walked out of Nate's office, shutting the door gently behind him.
"Where are we going again?" Mihael asked from the passenger seat, looking at Naomi curiously.
It had been almost a week since his apparent 'confrontation' with Nate and Mihael was still bitter about the whole encounter. He'd not liked the way Nate had been so dismissive towards him and even if he knew it was most likely just a front, it didn't make him feel any better about the situation. And besides, it wasn't like he'd had much free time to sit and mope over things, considering Naomi had been taking him to various meetings almost every day. They weren't all necessarily meetings for gigs at clubs. One of their meetings happened to be with a relatively well-known magazine for a photoshoot. Mihael hadn't seen the point to it, but Naomi had later explained to him that they were doing a story on the city's local, upcoming stars who had the potential to go national, or even global and that it would be to Mihael's advantage to get featured in it. Mihael had been impressed by her thoughtfulness. Naomi had told him not to expect much, however, and to be prepared for a rejection and that it wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't get this particular gig. Mihael had assured her he'd be fine.
Except, when Naomi later informed him that he didn't get the gig, Mihael had spent the entire day locked up in his room, refusing to even let Matt in, despite the fact that it was his room too.
In retrospect, Mihael could admit, he'd probably overreacted. Now, however, he knew better. He looked at Naomi expectantly, waiting for her to answer.
Naomi shot him a glance. "It's an audition for a T.V show. It's a small role, I think the character's named Cerin. The concept's pretty interesting and it's a supernatural show."
Mihael's eyes widened considerably. "Naomi, I'm not an actor! I'm a musician! I don't want to do T.V!"
"You'd be surprised by how often the two professions tend to overlap," Naomi replied, eyes focused on the road in front of her. "Haven't you heard of actors eventually launching their music albums? The key here is to establish a fanbase, Mihael."
"I'm not an actor," Mihael repeated defiantly, "can't you just book gigs for me at clubs, like Nate used to do? And how did you even get me the audition? Don't you have to send them headshots? Last I checked, I don't have any."
Naomi spared a glance at Mihael then, frowning slightly. "Look, I like Nate. I respect him, and I can see why you would, too. But I'm not Nate, and I do things differently. And I contacted your friend Matt. He said you'd taken a few headshots a couple years ago. I asked him to send those to me."
"Wait, what?" Mihael exclaimed disbelievingly. "I'd taken those as a joke!"
Naomi shrugged. "The producer liked the headshots and you got the audition. You're welcome."
Mihael remained silent, considering. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. She was right about the professions tending to overlap. If anything, this could work to his advantage, establish a fanbase, like Naomi said. It was only then that Mihael recalled what Naomi had said, about her not being Nate. "I never said you were Nate," he mumbled, looking out the window. "You're actually nice."
At this, Naomi let out a soft laugh. "Nate's nice." She said. There was a moment of silence before Naomi spoke once more. "I know it's not particularly my business, but did something happen between you two?"
Mihael's head snapped to Naomi, eyes widening in surprise. "What do you mean?" Were his feelings that fucking obvious? He sure hoped not.
"It's just," Naomi explained, "Nate's not the kind of guy to just give up on a client, especially not one he's put so much work into. Did you do something to upset him?"
"Why do you assume I did something?" Mihael snapped. "You heard him in the office, didn't you? He just got bored of me. That's all."
Naomi looked at him with a strange expression then, one that Mihael tried his best to decipher. However, before he could put any more thought into it, Naomi looked away, eyes focused on the road once more. Mihael got the impression that their short conversation was over and so he looked out the window once more, replaying Naomi's words in his head.
Did Nate really give up on him because of one fuck-up? If that were the case, maybe all Mihael needed to do was apologize. But something told Mihael it wasn't going to be as simple as that. At first glance, it almost felt like Nate was overreacting, but the more Mihael thought about it, the more he realized that he probably wasn't. Nate had taken a stand for Mihael. He'd agreed to take full responsibility should Mihael screw up. He'd put his reputation on the line just for Mihael. What had Halle told Nate? That she was disappointed in him, Nate, and not Mihael, because she'd expected better from Nate. In his frustration, Mihael hadn't thought about how Nate had ended up taking the entire blame for Mihael's screw up and quite possibly messed up his relationship with an important person in the industry.
But to go so far as to dump Mihael entirely and not respond to any of his calls and messages? Yeah, that was still a dick move.
Still, Mihael couldn't help but think that a simple apology was probably not going to fix anything. If he needed to fix the situation, he'd have to go to the source of it and start there.
Which meant that Mihael would have to try and get Halle Lidner to speak with him one more time. Yeah right, he thought bitterly. That was easier said than done.
"We're here," Naomi announced and it was only then that Mihael realized the car had stopped moving. He looked at the building to his side. "I have some other work I need to take care of, so I'll call you later to find out how the audition went, okay?" She then pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it out to Mihael. Mihael looked at her in question. "It's the scene you'll be doing. I know it's short notice, but it's a small scene and I'm sure you'll get some time to rehearse before you go in." Mihael nodded silently, taking the script from her. Naomi then unlocked his door and Mihael slowly opened it, making his way out of the car. Before he could turn around and thank Naomi for dropping him, she'd already driven off.
Briefly, Mihael thought about how Nate would have waited for him to be done with his audition.
She's not Nate, Mihael had to remind himself. He entered the building almost hesitantly, stopping at the receptionist's desk to ask for directions to the audition room. The receptionist had asked for a name, and once convinced that Mihael's name was, in fact, on the list, gave him a visitor's pass. He then gave Mihael directions to the audition room. Mihael thanked him and followed the directions, hand clutching the script tightly.
When Mihael reached the audition room, he was surprised to see a fair number of people sitting in chairs. Some were nervously rehearsing their lines, while others were either busy with their cellphones or were conversing with the person sitting beside them. Mihael took a seat beside a brunette girl. She was one of the people nervously rehearsing her lines. Mihael realized he should probably do the same, and without another glance to her, he began reading through the script, trying to memorize his lines.
Ten minutes passed before Mihael heard the girl beside him speak. "Uh, are you Mihael?"
Mihael almost jumped in his seat. He turned to look at her, completely ready to ask how she knew him when he paused. "Sayu Yagami?" He asked uncertainly.
Sayu laughed. "You don't have to refer to me by my full name."
"Right," Said Mihael. He glanced down at the script in her hand. "I didn't know you acted."
"Right back at you," Sayu said, smiling. She looked down at her script, shrugging. "I've done commercials before. Light thought it'd be a good idea to branch out, I guess."
"Whatever pays the bills, right?" Mihael joked.
Sayu looked at him curiously. "I'm surprised Nate got you an audition for a T.V show, though. It's not like him."
At the mention of Nate's name, Mihael stiffened. Sayu didn't know about his present situation. As far as she was concerned, Nate was still his agent. "Maybe, but he's no longer my agent."
Sayu's eyes widened in surprise, shifting in her chair to face Mihael fully. "What do you mean he's no longer your agent?"
"Exactly that," Mihael answered shortly, refusing to meet Sayu's gaze. "Naomi Misora is my agent now. And she's pretty cool."
"But...how?" Sayu wasn't ready to drop the subject. "I thought Nate liked you!"
Mihael snorted. "He likes me about as much as he likes anyone else."
"No, I meant…" Sayu trailed off. "I just didn't think he'd let you go. He seemed rather fond of you, from what I heard from my brother anyway."
Something occurred to Mihael then. He'd always been curious about Sayu and Nate's past relationship. Nate had claimed she used to be his client as well as his friend, but the story didn't match up to the amount of bitterness he felt towards her. Mihael had tried to coax it out of Nate, but Nate hadn't budged. Maybe Sayu would be more willing to speak. "You used to be Nate's client, right?" He asked.
Sayu nodded easily. "It was years ago, though."
"Why was he so mean to you the day you met us at the restaurant, then?"
Sayu bit her lip, hesitating. "You could ask him," she said carefully. "I'm not sure he'd appreciate me telling it to you."
"I've not spoken to him in weeks," Mihael answered bitterly, "He's been ignoring my texts and calls."
Sayu looked like she wanted to say something in response but just then someone called out to her, telling her to go in next. With an apologetic smile, Sayu got up from her seat and walked in, leaving Mihael behind to ponder over their conversation.
-x-
When Mihael got back home later that day, the first thing he did was call Naomi and inform her about his audition. As far as he was concerned, he'd done okay in his audition. For someone with absolutely no prior acting experience, that is. It still felt odd, having to call her, when his first instinct was to call Nate. It had been two weeks and he'd yet to get over the habit.
The next thing Mihael did was go into his room, secretly glad that Matt wasn't around, which meant that he had the room to himself to do what he had to. He hadn't forgotten about his resolve to make things right with Halle Lidner, despite the fact that Nate still wasn't on speaking terms with him. It didn't matter to Mihael - okay, it did matter - but that wasn't the point. He needed to make sure that the next time he saw Nate, it would be under better circumstances. He glanced at his phone, dialing Halle's number.
At least, he hoped it would be.
The phone rang a few times before Halle answered. "Hello?" She asked. Mihael had forgotten she didn't have his number. The only reason he had her number was because Nate had given it to him, in case of an emergency.
"Halle Lidner? This is Mihael." Mihael answered tentatively.
Halle was silent for a moment. Then, "Mihael Keehl? Why are you calling me? If you're about to ask me for another chance, I'm sorry but I'm not-"
"No, no," Mihael interrupted quickly before she could go off on an angry rant about how unprofessional he was. "That's not why I called you."
Halle sighed audibly. "Why did you call me then?"
Mihael took a deep breath, preparing himself for the apology he was about to make. "I wanted to apologize for what happened. I acted unprofessionally. I now realize I could've just called you beforehand and informed you I'd be late."
"That's…" Halle hesitated. "That's surprisingly professional of you."
"I'm not done," Mihael spoke again. "That's one reason I called. The other reason I called is to tell you not to be mad at Nate."
"I'm not -"
Mihael cut her off. "You can't pin the blame on him! I know he said he'd take responsibility if I ended up screwing up, but it's not fair! Truth is, he's a great agent and you can't let my mistake ruin your impression of him. Think about all the times he's brought you good business! I know you gave me a chance only because of him, and I'm sorry I let you down. I'm sorry I let him down. But that's the thing. This was my fault, not his."
"I'm not denying the fact that he's a good agent, Mihael," Halle said, laughing slightly. Mihael couldn't for the life of him understand what she found so funny. He was being absolutely serious here. "And yes, he may have been one reason why I gave you a chance. But that wasn't the only reason, you know?"
Mihael didn't quite know what to say to that.
"No matter how good an agent Nate is," Halle continued, "His word alone is not enough to convince me of anything. He'd given me your demo before he'd brought you in for a meeting. If I hadn't liked what I'd heard, I'd have immediately told him not to bother bringing you along at all."
"So what you're saying is…" Mihael trailed off, understanding dawning on him. "I sold myself?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Halle agreed. "The only thing Nate did was convince me that you were a reliable man."
"I see."
"I'm not mad at Nate," Halle said suddenly, "I like Nate. I have no reason to be mad at him. The only reason I told him what I did that day was because I was angry, and you can't exactly blame me for that, can you?"
Mihael shook his head, forgetting for a moment that Halle couldn't actually see him. Quickly, he said, "No, I can't." He took a deep breath then. "Would you...would you be willing to give me another chance?"
The silence that followed made Mihael squirm uncomfortably, heart racing in anticipation. If Halle agreed to give him a second chance, Mihael knew there was no way Nate would still be mad at him. If Halle agreed, Mihael thought there was a good chance he could get Nate back. It all came down to Nate in the end.
"I sincerely hope I don't regret this," Halle finally said, breaking the tense silence. "But, yes. I'm willing to give you another chance."
"Yes!" Mihael exclaimed happily, holding on to his phone tightly. "Thank you so much! I promise you won't regret it!"
"You better not mess this up," Halle warned him. "I'll check my schedule and inform Nate of the details."
"No," Mihael said quickly, "Don't tell him about it. I mean, he's not my agent anymore. You can inform Naomi Misora of the details."
"Right, okay," Halle said dismissively. "I have to get back to work." With that, Halle immediately hung up, not waiting for Mihael to respond. Mihael didn't mind, still staring in awe at the phone screen. He'd done it. He'd actually fucking done it. Halle had agreed to give him another chance, and that meant that Nate would have no choice but to forgive Mihael, too.
Quickly opening his messages, Mihael went through the last conversation he'd had with Nate. It had been nearly three weeks ago. The later messages were embarrassingly one sided, with Mihael constantly trying to get Nate to talk to him but to no avail. Mihael knew it was a long shot, that Nate probably wouldn't even respond to his message, but he had to atleast try. He typed out a short message, hoping against hope that maybe this time, Nate would reply. 'I need to talk to you, Nate. Please, please reply.'
An hour passed by and Mihael repeatedly checked his phone, hoping there'd be a response. When there was none, he threw his phone on the bed and a moment later, threw himself on it. He closed his eyes, sighing in disappointment.
"I'm going to make you talk to me, damn it," he murmured with new found purpose, fingers idly tracing the outline of his phone. "I promise I will."
A/N: we're actually really close to the end of this fic now. Just two more chapters to go! I'm excited, holy shit! Also, feedback is greatly appreciated! It motivates me to write.