Len adjusted his collar, nervous. He was waiting right outside Miku's house, his hand poised to knock – but he didn't quite dare to reach out and rap his knuckles against the wood, so his hand just hung there, completely motionless. What if her parents were at home?
Shortly after receiving the tickets from Nero last week, he called Miku and asked if she was free to accompany him to the mini-concert while explaining how he managed to get hold of those tickets in the first place. Miku seemed surprised, but she readily agreed, so here he was, waiting to pick her up from her house so they could drive over to the amphitheatre.
It didn't make any sense why he was being so nervous. She wasn't his girlfriend or anything like that, and it wasn't the first time he had visited her house anyway. If her parents really were the ones who answered the door, he'd just insist that he wasn't dating their daughter and drive away as quickly as possible. Theoretically, nothing would go wrong, and they could just watch the concert and go home afterwards – he was hoping for an uneventful evening. But then there was always the chance that something would wreck all their plans.
Presently, the worst thing which could happen was Miku and Oliver hitting it off backstage after the concert, with the two of them becoming closer and then dating…he narrowed his eyes, feeling aggrieved at the mere possibility. If that happened, then it would really mess up his plans. And he didn't like the thought of Miku smiling and blushing at someone else. Just envisioning it made him uneasy, though he couldn't explain why, not even to himself.
Rin lost her mind when she found out about the concert tickets. He hadn't wanted to let her know, given how much she supported Nero's band – he figured she'd be super pissed that he didn't get her tickets as well. But he had her interests at heart. She was so busy now with her projects that he didn't think she should waste her time on something as frivolous as a mini concert. It was nothing to do with wanting Miku all to himself. Or at least that was what he repeated in his head, over and over again like it was some sort of sacred mantra.
He promised his twin sister that the next time Nero ever invited him to some performance, he would definitely let her know, which appeased her somewhat. He also promised to try and get some exclusive band merchandise on her behalf, and hopefully the signatures of every band member as well – which wasn't difficult, but he did think it would be a little bit embarrassing. He didn't want to come across as a major fan when in reality, he wasn't. But it was the only way he could get Rin to stop throwing heavy objects in his general direction.
Len shook his head slightly, deciding that he had idled long enough on the doorstep and he really needed to knock before he lost his nerve. He rapped sharply on the door, the echoes of the knock slowly fading away, and shuffled his feet on the doorstep, suddenly feeling very nervous. It was strange to be so…uncertain. But then again, he'd never met a girl's parents before – and this wasn't even the first time he'd be seeing them, it was the second. All this was really beginning to make him feel like they were dating. But no, they definitely weren't.
The door opened then, revealing Miku's mother, whose face broke into a wide beam at the sight of him. "Well, if it isn't Kagamine Len!" she exclaimed, looking him up and down. He smiled and greeted her, gaze flitting past the woman to check out the house behind her. He couldn't see Miku anywhere and deduced that she was still getting ready. "Miku should be done and out in a few minutes, so just take a seat first and I'll get you something to drink!" her mother confirmed his suspicions, and so he entered the house, waiting for his…friend.
Was it considered a date? He really didn't know. It kind of was a date, but at the same time, he knew Miku would never refer to it that way. She'd call it an outing, a friendly meeting – anything that didn't have romantic connotations, in other words. Miku's mother came out of the kitchen then, holding on to a glass of water, and he gratefully rose from the couch to accept the drink. The older woman made herself comfortable on the couch beside Len and studied him, her piercing green eyes fixed curiously on him. It made him feel awkward.
"So, what do you think of Miku so far?" she asked, apparently curious about his opinion. Len took a sip of water, hoping to buy time – how was he supposed to answer such a question? It felt like a trap of some sort. He couldn't praise her too much because if he did, the woman would surely think he was attracted to Miku and wanted to be her boyfriend. But if he just pointed out the bad things about her, then the woman might wonder why they were even friends and start suspecting he was up to no good. There really was no way to win here.
"I think she's…friendly," he began cautiously, staring down at his glass. The water surface was calm and smooth, and he could see his own reflection. Blue eyes watched him, careful and hesitant. "And she's a very hard worker. I'm glad we were paired together for the Music Festival since if it was anyone else, they might not have been willing to put in the same kind of effort. Will you be coming to the festival?" he steered the topic away from Miku.
"Oh, most likely!" her mother nodded vigorously. "She seemed so excited about it! She was talking about it all week, saying how it was a joint effort between you two and how you are such a wonderful, incredibly talented pianist. You really must play for us one day, Len," the woman added earnestly, and he smiled, nodding in response. He definitely wouldn't mind. And after all, they were Miku's parents – it would be great if he managed to impress them.
The Music Festival would be held in two weeks' time. He was looking forward to it – their exams would all be over by then. In fact, his were almost over. He had one final paper the day after tomorrow, and he would be finished. He wasn't sure about Miku, but since she was willing to come for the mini-concert, he figured that she didn't have that many exams left either. Their music teacher was working herself up into quite a tizzy over the festival, and her constant excitement left the class in a general state of amusement. Her excitement was a yearly thing, so Len had grown used to it, but Miku initially seemed very confused by their teacher's newfound absentmindedness – not that it was significantly different from her usual self since the woman had never been very focused during lessons in the first place.
"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting!" he heard Miku's voice, a little breathless – he glanced up when she spoke and his eyes widened. He hadn't expected Miku to really dress any differently from how she normally did for this concert, but it seemed like she had put in more effort than usual – she was wearing a grey button-up crop top and a fitted denim skirt over striped leggings. It was the most skin he had ever seen her bare, which was really strange given that it was approaching winter. Wouldn't she feel cold? His eyes were drawn to the exposed skin of her stomach and he swallowed, throat suddenly feeling a little dry.
Why was she dressed this way when she normally just hid in flowy dresses and thick knitted sweaters? He knew she had a good figure – he still remembered the time he came to her house to help her choose an outfit for the charity play – but it was not something which she would typically flaunt. Was it because they were going to watch Nero's band perform? Was she really interested in one of the band members? He recalled the way Oliver asked about her and immediately felt uncomfortable. He hoped that he was just overthinking…
"You look good," he offered, though his mind was still on other things. Miku paused, one hand on the staircase railing, and gave him a small smile. His return smile was slightly strained. "It's the first time I've seen you wearing a crop top. Are you going to bring a jacket? You might catch a chill in this weather," he cautioned. Miku's mother was nodding empathetically at his words, but Miku just rolled her eyes and waved away his concerns.
"This outfit won't look as nice when there's something covering it. And it won't be that cold once we're inside the amphitheatre, I guess?" her voice was a little bit uncertain, but she didn't seem like she wanted to bring a jacket along, so he let the matter rest. "I'll come back straight after the concert," she turned to her mother, kissing the woman on the cheek.
"Oh, take your time!" her mother enthused, giving him a giddy grin. Len fidgeted, hoping that she didn't think he was bringing Miku out on a date or anything like that – because it wasn't a date. Was it? He didn't really know anymore. He only asked Miku out because Nero said the tickets were meant for the both of them, but then…if it was just him and her and no one else, then it could be considered a date too, right? "Just give me a call if you don't intend to come back tonight. And have fun!" she shooed them out.
Len and Miku stood outside the house after her mother shut the door, watching each other nervously, neither one willing to stare the other person in the eye. He picked at his jacket sleeve, slanting his gaze towards his car. "Well…time to go, I guess?" he hedged. Miku just nodded and headed towards his car, and he exhaled in relief, glad that they were moving.
When he told Rin that he had asked Miku to go with him to the concert, adding that Nero himself wanted them both there, his sister looked pretty shocked. Of course, he only told her this after she calmed down, not wanting to make her even angrier than she already was. Rin stayed silent for an entire minute while Len stood there, wondering if it would be all right if he slipped upstairs to his room, but then she finally shook her head and met his gaze, blue eyes hard. He still remembered what she said. "Look after her, and don't break her heart," his sister told him tersely, and he swore that he wouldn't do anything to upset Miku. It wasn't something which had even crossed his mind until his twin brought it up.
Was he falling for her? He frowned, glancing at Miku, who was sitting next to him in the passenger's seat – she had buckled herself in and was now resting her head against the headrest, looking out of the window. He didn't know if his uncertain feelings were due to the challenge he had set himself, or if he was possibly confusing platonic friendship with something more, or if…if he really liked her. It could be anything, but he was too afraid to think much about it. If he really ended up having feelings for her, then what did that mean?
He had never grown romantically attached or interested in anyone before, not counting Rin at least. But even the thought of his sister – even talking to her, or seeing her together with Kaito – hardly incited any reaction nowadays. He didn't know what to do if he ever had a crush on someone. He was good at seduction, at getting girls to do whatever he wanted, but that wasn't something he wanted to do to Miku. Though admittedly, he did want to sleep with her. "Len, you need to start the engine," he blinked at the sound of her voice.
Miku had turned towards him, her green eyes filled with concern. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face. "You've been spacing out for a while," she added when he continued to stare blankly at her. His gaze dipped to her full lips, and he felt the sudden urge to lean over and kiss her. Shaking himself out of his daze, he wordlessly started up the car, pulling out of the driveway. She continued to watch him, but he kept his gaze fixed straight ahead on the road, afraid that he wouldn't be able to control his impulses if he looked at her again. "You're being really quiet today," she observed.
He still didn't look at her. "Really? Just a little tired," he admitted, knuckles tightening a little on the steering wheel. "The Music Festival is coming soon. Are you nervous?" he changed the topic, hoping that talking about something serious would distract him. Miku hummed, taking her time to think over her response, and Len turned down the road, driving in the direction of the amphitheatre. There weren't a lot of cars today, and traffic was smooth.
"I guess so," Miku finally answered, ending her sentence with a little sigh. "I mean, it's not the first time I've been in competitions or anything, but it's the first time I collaborated with someone else on a composition and…well, I'm not afraid of losing myself, but if our piece isn't chosen because of me, it wouldn't be a…nice feeling either," her words were hesitant.
He let his lips tilt up into a small smile. "Oh, don't worry about that. I believe we'll definitely get first place," he told her, and he saw from the corner of his eye that she nodded at him, reassured by the confidence in his voice. "And even if we don't win, so what?" he added. "You and I both enjoyed the process, and that is what matters. I've taken first place at this festival enough times to not care even if I don't win again," he shrugged.
"Yeah. I guess," Miku's voice was quiet. "By the way, I was thinking about your offer to tutor me last week," she added. He blinked, surprised that she suddenly brought this up. "And after contemplating, I think…yeah, I'd really appreciate your help," she admitted, rubbing her hand against her arm. "I have a math paper next week and I want to do well, so…if you have time, would you like to help me?" she asked, and there was a faint blush on her face.
"Um, sure, why not?" he hadn't expected that she would actually take up his offer. "Do you want me to come over to your place or…?" he let his words trail off, waiting for her to make up her mind. They didn't have classes since it was exam period, and he didn't fancy the idea of going all the way to school just to tutor her, especially not when they were neighbours.
She nodded. "Or I can come to your place if you want. Whatever you prefer," she added, and he noticed her wiping her hands on her skirt. "You're the one helping me after all, so the least I could do is to make it convenient for you," she started twirling a lock of her teal hair around her finger, and he guessed that she was feeling extremely nervous. Len wasn't exactly calm himself, but he tried not to let any of that show on his face.
"I can come over, sure. As long as your parents aren't around during that time," he hastily added, not wanting to deal with her parents unnecessarily. It wasn't that they were overly protective of their daughter or anything – quite the contrary, in fact – but he didn't know how to respond whenever they cheerfully asked if he and Miku were dating. And even if he said no, they went on to imply it would happen in the future. It made him uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I'll make sure they aren't around," he wasn't sure if he was mishearing things, but Miku sounded relieved. "Thanks for the help, Len. I hope I didn't trouble you too much," she sounded earnest, which he thought was really cute. He coughed, muttering a quick "no problem". The two of them didn't say anything else for the rest of the journey.
Nero hadn't been exaggerating when he said it was a mini-concert. When Len and Miku finally reached the amphitheatre, they showed their tickets to the ushers and were quickly whisked inside. Len was certain there were fewer than fifty people seated inside the place.
Despite the small crowd, the excitement in the air was palpable. The usher led them down the seats all the way to the front, at the very first row. The two of them sat, waiting for the concert to start – they were fifteen minutes early, so he guessed that Nero and his band were still backstage, getting ready for their show. He was a little curious about which songs they would be playing. Len had heard some of their music before, and he couldn't deny that Nero was a good singer. Their songs managed to incorporate elements of both rock as well as classical music, occasionally having violins and pianos in the background, and while Len didn't think that would be possible for this show, it did make their music very interesting.
From what he knew of the band, all the members were musically gifted and were capable of playing at least three different instruments each, though for the sake of their music most of them stuck to guitars or drums. Rin told him that whenever they brought other instruments into their music, Nero was the one who played the piano, Oliver the violin, Ian the harp, and Ted the flute. None of the band members mentioned who played the other instruments.
All of them had a strong background in classical music, which was the main reason why they brought these instruments, which were all more closely tied to orchestral music than to rock, into their songs. Len wouldn't deny that the end result was usually pretty catchy, though he didn't own any of their albums. "Hmm, I thought there would be more people," he heard Miku whisper to him, and he turned towards her. She was looking around.
"Ted said they really restricted sales because they didn't want too many people. But I didn't think it would be so few either," he murmured back, wondering how much longer it would take before the band came onstage. "Well, they did say it was a pretty impromptu gig, and I guess they're all bored waiting for the Music Festival to take place. We probably can't expect too much from something so unplanned."
"It should still be a good show though, I think," Miku mused. "I went to check out reviews of their other concerts after you asked me to watch this one with you," she explained when he raised an eyebrow, wondering about her claim. "It's not the first time they had these kinds of small-scale performances but even then, they don't get lazy. I trust it'll be the same this time. Oh, and it'd be nice to get some autographs! I know Rin would love them," she smiled.
"We can go backstage after this, so we can probably get the autographs for Rin then," he reminded her, feeling a little strange at the sight of Miku's excitement. She was so nice to his sister. He knew Miku wasn't a huge fan of The Unmasked Racoons, but she was still so enthusiastic about meeting the band afterwards and talking to them, all for Rin's sake. He wondered if she would be as excited about doing him a favour. Did Miku see him as a close friend, the way she did his sister? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
It would be nice to be a close friend, but what if he wanted to be more than a friend? Would being a good friend affect the chances of that happening? Just as he thought about this, the lights in the amphitheatre suddenly dimmed, and a lone figure came out from backstage – a spotlight switched on, shining directly on that person, and Len saw that it was Nero, holding a microphone in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. "Hey!" he grinned, and that single word was enough to elicit a shriek of excitement from the small audience.
Nero raised his hands, trying to calm the audience down. "All right, all right, I'm glad to see everyone too," he laughed, idly twirling his bouquet. The crowd quietened somewhat. "It's amazing that you all managed to attend this mini-concert despite the short notice. We won't make such a last-minute announcement again – but hey, to compensate, we're going to put on a really special gig tonight," his violet eyes twinkled. Len thought that Nero, while he was up onstage, was significantly different from what he was like in real life – but then again, everyone had a public self and a private self. Nero, being a musician, was no exception.
As Nero was talking, Len saw two people walking down the aisle, guided by the ushers, and idly turned his head to look – his eyes widened in surprise as he realised who it was. Kagene Rei and a girl who looked very much like him, except with grey eyes instead of gold. Rei had yet to notice Len and Miku, but when he turned towards the first row and moved down the bench, his gaze met Len's and he paused in surprise, those golden eyes blinking at him.
"Len? Miku?" he asked, sounding a little confused. The girl behind him stopped, tilting her head and studying them. Miku glanced up at the sound of Rei's voice, and surprise flitted across her face as well – she stared back at Rei, clearly not knowing what to say. The raven-haired boy suddenly grinned, seating himself beside Miku. The girl who was accompanying him sat quietly next to him but didn't make any attempt to introduce herself. "I didn't think I'd see you here! What a coincidence," he shook his head, looking amused. "Oh, and this is my cousin, Haine Lin. I think I mentioned her to you before, Miku?" his words were unsure.
"Yeah, you did. I think that time we met at the café and had that chocolate sundae," Miku answered, and Len could see the smile on her face. She looked genuinely pleased to see Rei, and that made him feel…well, uneasy. Plus, judging from what she just said, Miku and Rei had actually met up outside of school before. Did they go on a date? Or did they meet for some other reason? He didn't want to overthink since he figured he'd probably know if Rei and Miku were going out, but that didn't make him feel any better about this possibility.
Lin still didn't say anything despite her cousin introducing her to them. Rei glanced back at her, then shot them a nervous smile. "Sorry, Lin is a little shy about meeting new people. Lin, this is Miku, and that's Len," he waited for his cousin to react. Lin looked over at them and gave them a small smile, but still didn't say a word, and Rei sighed, shaking his head. "Stop pretending to be mute when you aren't…" he muttered. Lin rolled her eyes at him.
"I didn't know you're a fan of The Unmasked Raccoons, Rei," Len broke in, eyeing the dark boy carefully. He didn't like how close Rei was to Miku. As if Oliver on his own wasn't a big enough concern – now it seemed as though Rei might be interested in Miku as well. He had forgotten about that. Recently he hadn't seen the Vice President of the Student Council much, to the extent that he almost forgot about Rei's existence. But seeing him now reminded him of the way he used to look at Miku. Len wasn't sure if Rei was interested in her or not, but he didn't think that Rei only saw Miku as a friend. And having even more competition annoyed him.
"Oh, I'm not really a fan. I'm here because of Lin," Rei shrugged, gesturing at his cousin, who continued to ignore them, her gaze fixed on the stage. Nero was still working up the crowd, now holding the bouquet of roses behind his back. Apparently, he had promised to throw the roses into the crowd, so the girls around them were agitatedly getting ready to catch the bouquet. "My aunt refused to let her attend the concert on her own so she asked if I could go with her. I said okay since I didn't have anything else to do. It's nice running into you two, though!"
Though he directed the words at both of them, Rei was looking at Miku, and a faint smile curved his lips. Len exhaled, trying not to snap at the other boy. He hated how irritated he was getting over something as stupid as a smile, but he couldn't deny how uncomfortable he felt. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd run into anyone else I knew here!" Miku agreed, and he glanced at the stage instead, not wanting to watch them interacting. It was petty, he knew. And that was what frustrated him the most – knowing that his unhappiness made no sense, but not being able to control it anyway. "I haven't seen you lately, Rei…where have you been?"
"Oh. Nothing much, just some student council stuff," Rei explained vaguely, scratching his head. Miku just frowned at him – she knew what an evasion sounded like, and the dark boy definitely wasn't being truthful with her. "How are your exams?" he changed the topic. She was tempted to question him further, but she didn't think he'd answer anyway if he was so determined not to tell her anything, so she went along with the flow. Nero was preparing to toss the bouquet of roses into the crowd now, and she kept an idle eye on the proceedings.
"I've had two so far. I have two more next week, then I'm done," she exhaled. "I'm so glad that this is the last year of high school and we'll be going on to university after that. It'd be nice to be able to focus on the specific courses I want to do instead of math," she grumbled. Rei snickered, but before he could say anything, Nero threw the bouquet. Miku gasped, her hands shooting up reflexively, and she caught the roses – the flowers were a soft, velvety wine red, and she glanced up, meeting Nero's merry gaze. She was sure he winked at her.
"Sorry to all the ladies who didn't get their hands on the flowers! Better luck next time!" he made a little bow amidst all the grumbling and complaining. "And now, we'll move on to the concert proper. Look forward to it!" he shouted, running backstage again. Miku studied the bouquet – it looked luxuriously expensive, and she was honestly surprised that Nero and his bandmates would spend so much on a gimmick like this. Len and Rei both leant in towards her, peering at the roses, and she felt her cheeks warm at their sudden proximity to her.
"Look, there's a note," Rei pointed out. She glanced at where he was indicating and saw that there really was a small piece of paper, folded in half and hidden among the heavy blooms. She picked up the note, unfolding it to see what it said. But the presence of the note made her wonder then if Nero had purposely thrown the bouquet at her – were the note and the roses intended for her from the very beginning? But if so, why did he give them to her?
'Hope you enjoy the show tonight, Miku. See you later backstage?' was what the note said. It was signed with just one initial, the letter 'O', and she immediately guessed that the note was from Oliver. She felt herself blushing at the short message – why did he want to meet her? Was he interested in her? Or maybe he needed a favour. She didn't want to assume right away that he found her attractive, but she couldn't really think of any other reason.
"Sounds like you have an admirer," Len sounded almost sarcastic. She narrowed her eyes, wanting to ask if he had an issue with that, but before she could he leant over and took the note out of her hand. "Must be from Oliver. Why can't he just come down and outright tell you that he wants to see you later? Why go through all this trouble?" he wondered aloud.
"Perhaps he thinks it's romantic," Rei offered, a teasing grin on his face. Miku suddenly felt like she shouldn't be sitting between the two boys. It was beginning to feel overwhelming – and she didn't think she was misinterpreting the hostility she could feel emanating from Len. But she couldn't be sure if that hostility was due to Len simply feeling protective of a good friend, or if it was due to other reasons. Once again, she didn't want to jump to any conclusions.
All the band members came onstage then, and they immediately launched into song once they were all ready and in position. Len and Rei abruptly quietened, and Miku gazed up at the stage, watching the band members as they played and sang. She found herself looking at Oliver more than she did the other members, and more than once the blond singer met her gaze, always with a faint smile on his face. Her grip on the bouquet tightened. He must know then that she had seen his message. She had to admit that she felt mildly flattered.
The four band members were all so popular. It was really weird that one of them took such a sudden interest in her. Many other girls would probably kill to be in her position right now, but Miku didn't really…feel anything about it. It was nice to be noticed by someone like Oliver, yes, but she wasn't attracted to him. If she had to be honest, she knew who she was beginning to develop feelings for, but it wasn't something she wanted to admit yet, so she would wait and see. She hadn't forgotten the promise she made to herself when she first came here.
Miku glanced at Len. He was staring up at the stage, his eyes narrowed. He looked tense. When he came to pick her up from her house, her first thought was that he looked really attractive – he had always been handsome, but there was something about the awkward way he acted around her mother which made him particularly endearing. It was so strange to see Len not being self-assured that she knew she'd remember this for a long time.
Asking him to tutor her was an impulsive decision. She was still hesitant but she also knew she needed all the help she could get. In the end, she figured that her results were still more important than her weird feelings about him, so she was determined to put that aside and just focus on what was essential – but she hadn't decided all that until they were sitting in his car, and she was trying to think of something she could say. She had never found it difficult to talk to Len, but nowadays her tongue refused to cooperate whenever she was in his presence. It was extremely frustrating, and she only had herself to blame.
Len certainly didn't seem to have any problems being around her or talking to her. Why did she have to make her own life so difficult? But the more time she spent with Len, the more she grew aware of how much he had changed since she first met him. She didn't want to have any feelings for him, especially given his amnesia and how much emotional baggage he was carrying around. But if she wasn't careful, she might end up doing something stupid.
Like falling for him. And that was the last thing she could allow to happen. Once she fell for Kagamine Len, she would break the promise she made to herself, and she would probably end up losing a friend too because her feelings would make her incredibly awkward around him. They ought to just stick to the status quo. Simple platonic friendship was the best solution, and she nodded to herself, determined to follow through with her resolution.
Len gave her a curious look, but he didn't say anything. The two of them continued to watch as Nero and his band played song after song, hyping up the audience and generally putting on an excellent show. The music was good, and she let it wash away her worries – she was here to enjoy herself, so for just these two hours, she wouldn't think about anything else.
After the concert was over, Len and Miku were approached by the ushers, who directed them backstage so they could meet the band members. Rei and Lin waved goodbye to them, with Rei making her promise to have lunch with him the next time they met in school.
Len seemed less than enthusiastic about being backstage. "I hope we can get this over and done with quickly," he grumbled. "I have an exam to study for. And I don't know why Nero wants us to meet them all here since we can pretty much bump into the band whenever we want at Arjay's," he continued, clearly annoyed. Miku shushed him, waiting for the four boys to appear – the backstage was dimly lit, and she could see discarded costumes all over the place. The band members had all changed their clothes three times each during the show, and given that this was just a mini-concert…well, their dedication was certainly admirable.
"Hey!" she heard a familiar voice calling out to them, and saw Nero and the other three boys sauntering down the passageway, looking exhausted but very satisfied. "I'm glad to see you two made it. And we've fulfilled our promise to sing something for you, eh?" Nero grinned.
Miku suddenly recalled the deal Nero made with Len, the first time they went inside Arjay's – that he and his band would perform for them in exchange for Len playing a piece on the piano. No wonder he gave them free tickets to this mini-concert, then. "Yeah, thanks for the invite," Len nodded. "We appreciate it, the music was great. But we also need to go now –"
"Hang on," Oliver interrupted, stepping forward so that he was now closer to Miku. Miku blinked, staring up at him – Oliver wasn't extremely tall, but he was still taller than her. Among the four band members, he was the shortest and the friendliest, so lots of girls preferred Oliver, who just seemed to be more approachable than the others. "I know it was really cheesy to give you those roses and all, but I wanted to leave an impression," the singer explaining, grinning. "And I was just wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime?"
Miku didn't know what to say. She didn't mind going out with Oliver, but did she actually want to? Not particularly. She wasn't really interested in dating anyone at the moment since she thought her grades and studies were more important. But at the same time, she wouldn't mind hanging out with him as a friend. "Uh…" she hesitated, not knowing how to continue. She didn't want to reject him because she wasn't good at turning people down, but at the same time, she didn't want him to think she might really be interested in him.
The silence seemed to stretch on forever. Oliver just stood there, waiting expectantly for her response, and the other band members watched them, clearly wondering what was taking her so long to answer. Maybe anyone else would have immediately screamed yes, but Miku wasn't like that. She didn't dare to look at Len's face, but she knew he was standing beside her, waiting for her to speak as well.
To think that Oliver went through the trouble of getting her flowers and meeting her at this concert, all for the sake of asking her out. She felt touched by his effort, but…right now, she just simply wasn't interested. Right as she was about to turn him down, Len suddenly spoke up, drawing all attention to himself. "Sorry, she can't say yes. She already has a boyfriend."
Miku was sure she did not have a boyfriend, but she played along, nodding vigorously. Oliver's face fell as the other three band members let out long sighs of disappointment. She felt bad about rejecting him, but it was for the best. "Who are you dating? Just so I know who I lost to," Oliver asked – though he looked resigned, there was no trace of bitterness in his words. Miku sincerely hoped there would be some other girl who caught his attention soon. He seemed like a pretty decent guy, so he at least deserved to meet someone nice as well.
"Um…" she hesitated. "Len," she finally blurted out, at the same time the blond boy beside her said "Rei". Oliver raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Len cleared his throat, giving Miku a careful look. She gritted her teeth, willing him to play along with her. Then he grinned.
"Oh, so we aren't pretending we aren't dating anymore?" he asked, reaching out to sling his arm around her shoulders. She was pulled towards him, and his warmth and his lean body felt pleasantly nice against her own. She told herself that this was just for the sake of getting her out of this situation, and they were in no way romantically involved – though Len was a very good actor. "Sorry, but I couldn't let you ask my girlfriend out right in front of me, so I had to step in."
Oliver was still frowning. "But that time at Arjay's, you said that the two of you weren't together –" he started, but Ted prodded Oliver's back and the boy abruptly shut his mouth, shooting his fellow band members a glare. "All right, sorry about that, Len. I didn't know you two were dating…" he hesitated, gaze flitting between Len and Miku. "Guess I need to look elsewhere then," he let out an exaggerated sigh, stepping away from them.
"Don't worry, you'll find someone," Len sounded appropriately sympathetic. "Anyway, we really have loads of work to do so we'll make a move first. See you around!" Miku waved as she and Len retreated, hurriedly exiting the amphitheatre and looking for Len's car. She just wanted to go home and lie on her bed and simply relax for a while. This concert had been far more stressful than she anticipated, and right now she wanted to unwind in peace.
They found Len's car and quickly slid in, Len promptly starting up the engine and speeding away from the carpark. It seemed that both of them had the same idea – to get away from the amphitheatre and her awkward situation as quickly as possible. After ten minutes of silence though, Len finally spoke up. "So, I'm your boyfriend now, it seems?" he smirked.
"Shut up, Len," she muttered. He laughed and drove on, and though she turned her face so that he wouldn't be able to see her expression, there was a smile curving her lips as well.