Things changed.
It started when Mimi went to a casting, driven by miss Itsu, and found another girl in the car with her, who, apparently, was also from their company. Mimi knew their company was fairly big and miss Itsu probably managed at least 4 to 5 new talents, though she was a little taken aback.
The girl, Anna, was her senior, being 19 years old and working from when she was 14 in the field. She smiled and offered her hand, her sharp cat like eyes scrutinizing her for a second before turning more friendly, she explained she started out as a model but now fully transitioned into singing, although she still took some modeling jobs here and there.
Mimi could see why, for she also was a little awed at her appearance. Tall and lean, with a real model like body, full juicy lips and cat eyes, she had some freckles on her nose and super long silky black hair. Quite the opposite of Mimi, so much Mimi wondered why the heck they were up for the same casting. But Mimi was never one to feel competitive so she just chatted, trying to get to know her.
Anna was into a rock band, being the lead singer, along with two other boys. They had debuted two years ago but still hadn't had a break out. Still, she was doing well, singing in a lot of places and enjoying her life while also getting her name out there in the modeling world -in which she was certainly more known.
-It's the first time I meet with someone else working in the same agency- Mimi commented at a point.
The black haired girl, sitting in front of her on the passenger seat, smiled slightly at her throughout the rear view mirror -Is that so? I heard you starred in The Teenage Wolves MV though- that being Yamato's band.
-Oh, well, I already knew them from before so I didn't count that- Mimi smiled sheepishly, surprised someone else knew about that piece of info.
-Isn't that lucky- Anna commented, a smile on her full lips -I met them when they signed and since we dab in the same kind of music we spent some time together- she continued.
-I guess you would- Mimi nodded, deciding not to further comment on it since she somehow felt irked at the way the girl emphatized the last line.
Thankfully they arrived at their location and were hurried by miss Itsu to prepare for the casting.
It was the first one Mimi attended but she still felt nervous, feeling attentive eyes on her figure as they made her pose and snapped some picture, her portfolio on the table in front of them, studying and criticizing her in their mind or muttering some comments between them, before just finishing with -Good, we'll keep in touch-.
That was the downside of the job, Mimi sighed before slipping into her usual clothes and waiting for Anna to go after her in the room. Miss Itsu smiled at her, in a encouraging way, before also following after the taller girl.
Mimi sighed, looking at her cellphone, she still had 3 other auditions that day and the thought just made her tired.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
For a while her life proceeded in the same way and Mimi didn't meet Anna until two weeks later, at a gig Yamato's band had in a place who did live music nights events.
Mimi went there with her trusted friends for such occasions, Mina and Keisuke, and messaged Takeru in case he'd be there too. Which, indeed, he was as his self-proclaimed first and most important fan he tried to support his brother as much as he could and went at at least 90% of his performances -also, he truly enjoyed the music, and that was a plus.
They met up in front of the venue, a small crowd going in and out with drinks in their hands, and Mimi jumped in excitement when he saw he was joined by Hikari and Taichi.
The latter shrugged, after Mimi hugged him and his sister, saying he felt like listening to live music that night and teasing Yamato a little.
Making their way inside, Mimi gingerly wonder what was up with Sora and Taichi at that point but refrained from asking as it seemed a touchy subject and that was certainly not the right moment to talk about it. At least the now-seniors seemed a lot more relaxed now, as they had more time on their hands being on a break between school and university.
Mimi discovered Tai was searching for an apartment (really, just a room close to Uni) and had already found a part-time job as express delivery man, since he wanted to 'learn to be a man', in his words.
-I'm impressed- Mimi muttered looking at him like he was another person -You've really grown up Taichi- she patted his shoulder -I'm proud of you-
Taichi puffed out his chest -Hehe, I'm amazing, aren't I?- providing a wake of laughter from everyone.
-Who's gonna protect Kari from all her suitors now?- Mimi joked, fake-sighing, knowing she'd trigger a reaction and indeed Tai scoffed loudly.
-What suitors?- he glared at his little sister -You're not dating until you finish highschool-
-Oh my god, not again- the short haired girl whined, sighing to the ceiling as if asking help from above and proceeding to ignore her brother's questions.
-Ops- Mimi snickered, loving to tease her friends, while Takeru laughed along and elbowed her in a silent 'I know what you did' thing.
They found a free table and sat, chatting comfortably, as much as the loud music allowed. While Taichi went on a rant about his favorite soccer's team with Keisuke and Hikari was showing Mina some of the photos she took for hobby (she just did sceneries though), Mimi poked Takeru's arm to divert his attention on her.
-Hey Takeru..- Mimi started, curiosity getting the best of her -I was wondering, where is Adrienne?- she remembered the blonde, green eyed beauty she met once and how fondly Takeru talked or looked at her.
The boy hummed, as if expecting the question -She went back to France- then he added -For now-
Mimi gasped, remorseful -Oh- I'm sorry, are you okay?-
-We're trying the long distance relationship-thing- he made air quotes -It's hard but we're still making it work-
He smiled at Mimi's awed expression -What?- he asked gently, turning in front of her.
-You're amazing- she shook her head, surprised and impressed at how mature he was, while still being a middle schooler. -You'll do great in highschool-
The younger just laughed heartily, dismissing her praise -I hope so!- then, with a teasing glint in his eyes, he added -Please take care of me, senpai-
A few (non-alcoholic)drink later, it was announced The Teenage Wolves would perform and they all got up and neared the small stage to see and cheer for their friend.
The group was well-known by now so there were a lots of fans in the crowd, although, thankfully, the place only allowed a fixed number of guests for safety reasons.
Taichi kept waving his hands, sometimes saying -That's my friend- to whoever was willing to listen and at a certain point Hikari had to duck and turn away, pretending she didn't know him. The music was loud and people loved the vibes, dancing and headbanding with the group at any given chance.
They performed 4 songs before saying goodbye to the crowd and getting off stage to the back.
Mimi suddenly got nervous. It had been a while since she had come to listen to him singing live, don't get her wrong, she really loved his music and his voice made a whole plethora of sensations swim in her chest and below, but for some reason now she was feeling uncomfortable.
She had to dismiss it though, as Taichi literally dragged her and the others to meet them. They were in the back of the stage, where a small space was reserved for the band playing and chilling, two small couches and a low table filled with drinks was all there was, connected by a corridor to the larger area from where they came from.
There was a small crowd around them, cheering for them and just complimenting them, but they eventually got back to dance and drink (also thanks to a quite menacing bouncer) and left the band alone with only a handful of people around them.
-YO!- Taichi greeted loudly, patting the big guy's shoulder at the door to Hikari's absolute horror and to the others absolute hilarity.
The guys turned around and Yamato snorted at the sight of his friend trying to get chummy with the bouncer, who looked quite annoyed already -They're okay Tetsu- and waved a hand to signal them to sit up with them.
Mimi was walking beside Mina and Keisuke when her gaze zeroed on the figure beside Yamato and she silently gasped, thankfully recollecting herself before anyone noticed.
That was Anna, dressed to impress in a small black leather outfit coupled with smokey eyes and bold red lips.
-Hey man!- Taichi highfived the blonde and then did the same to his other two bandmates Suzaku and Yoshiki -Nice work out there- , beside them, respectively, were an unknown boy and a girl. They quickly greeted each other until the brunette's attention was snatched by the girl sitting beside his friend -And who would you be?- he smiled, easygoing as always.
-I'm Anna, a friend- her lips stretched to reveal white pearly teeth.
-Oh? Since when do you have other friends?- the brunette teased, snickering and earning a shove on the shoulder by his grumpy friend.
-Shut up dickhead- but there was subtle amusement in his tone.
-Hey Mimi- the black-haired beauty greeted, when she looked at the people behind Tai's back.
-Hi Anna- Mimi just answered, trying to be causal.
-Uh, you two know each other?- the other band-member, Suzaku, chirped, but everyone had their eyes on them by now.
-Yes, we've met- Anna purred, a slight smile gracing her lips.
There was a moment of pounding silence until Yoshiki shook his head -Sit down guys, there's enough space for everyone-
They did and chatted aimlessly for a while, drinks in hand and some with cigarettes in their mouths. Yamato, Anna and Yoshiki were on one couch, Suzaku and the other two friends on another, while four of them crashed on another one and Keisuke and Takeru joined Suzaku's as there was still space where he was.
Mimi was crushed beside Taichi and Mina but she didn't mind, she was barely speaking and felt highly uncomfortable from the stares Anna was giving her and especially how she seemed to snuggle closer to Yamato every now and then.
As Taichi was loudly recalling one of his fights with Yamato when they were children, all the attention was on them, so nobody really found her behavior odd. After a while Suzaku and the girl excused themselves, as well as Keisuke, who met saw some of his friends earlier, giving them more space to sit down comfortably.
Mina was also about to excuse herself when she tugged Mimi's hand up, stating -We're going to get a little bit of air, it's too stuffy in here- dragging her friend along to the backdoor placed on the opposite side of them.
Outside, in the dark of the night lit by just a few streetlamps and the club's lights, was a small place with some benches and tables, mostly empty except for some couple making out.
The girls made a stop near one of the empty benches, alongside a railing surrounding the place.
It had been less than a year but Mina really became one of Mimi's close friends, they didn't really talk often about personal stuff because the girl was cool and quite reserved but she cared for her, and, despite being just one year older, she treated Mimi like a little sister.
-Mimi, everything's ok? You seemed.. quiet tonight- Mina worriedly looked at her.
-I'm fine- she smiled tiredly -I'm just feeling a little bit insecure right now, I guess- she leaned on the railing, nervously brushing her feet on the concrete below her feet.
-Come here- Mina tugged her again, this time into her chest, despite being smaller than Mimi even with platform shoes, hugging the living daylight out of her.
-I think I know what this is about. I'm here for you, whether you want to talk about it or not- she continued, a worried frown marring her face.
-Thank you- Mimi muttered, face lowered on her shoulder, reveling in the affection.
They stayed like that for a while, just tightly hugging each others, until the door opened and the guys came out of it and someone whistled.
-Are we interrupting something? Though I wouldn't mind if that were the case- Yoshiki smirked, teasing.
-Idiot- Yamato smacked him behind the head before glancing at Mimi, his blue eyes clouded with something she couldn't explain, he tilted his head in a silent 'Are you ok?' question to which she only nodded, with a small but genuine smile.
Anna seemed to catch that exchange casually clinging to Yamato's arm, proposing to everyone -What do you say we change location?-
-I'm in- Yoshiki approved, jolly, as he flickered his cigarette's ashes, his friend also nodding along.
Taichi shook his head, dragging behind him his half-asleep sister -I'm taking this one home-
-I'm also going home- Mimi apologized, then turning to Mina -Do you want to crash at my place?- sending her a meaningful look, to which the girl promptly nodded.
-Sure, my house is too far anyway.- she muttered under her breath how Keisuke had just abandoned them as they had also come with his car.
They didn't notice the twitch of Yamato's eyebrows and his annoyed huff, which prompted Anna to cling to him even tighter.
-Boo-ohh party poopers, I guess it's just us then- she whined but she couldn't hide a smile from appearing on her lips when she made eye contact with Mimi, who just seemed to recoil for a fraction of a second before turning to look elsewhere.
Takeru intercepted their silent communication and his gaze instantly hardened.
-Yeah, I think the night is over- he zipped up his padded coat, staring at the hand circling his spaced-out brother's arm.
-Aww too bad, I wanted to know Yamato's little brother better- the model quipped.
-Doubt that'll happen, but anyways, enjoy your night- he commented coldly, being hear just by the girl in question, Yamato and Yoshiki.
The other four were a little further behind and weren't paying too much attention to them, with Hikari screaming at Taichi she was too old to be carried around no matter how sleepy she was.
Takeru turned around and joined them, his behavior changing in a snap and now a fond smile was on his face as he looked at the siblings bickering and Mimi laughing at them.
The other guys stood silent for a minute before Yoshiki whistled -That was something. What's up with your brother?-
The blonde just frowned, puzzled at his brother's rude attitude -He's like that lately-
-I thought you were cold but that was a whole 'nother level- he commented amused -He was so sweet before- he recounted, sighing jokingly.
Yamato just snorted -That's because you haven't met him when he's pissed- causing another bound of laughs from his friend.
-So who was the girl with the long wavy hair?- the other boy, Kazuma asked suddenly, looking at the other group afar.
-Ah-ah- Yoshiki shook his finger -Sorry my friend, she's taken- he sent a mischievous look to Yamato, who proceeded to kick his butt and glare at the other boy, but that didn't go unnoticed by Anna.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
So another's chapter in, I'm almost proud of myself lol. This was a single event so I didn't use dividers much and it might look all jumbled up but that's how this website is, sorry. Also, next chapter is halfway done so it won't take much time to finish it. Hope you enjoyed, have a great weekend!