Hey guys!
I didn't want to say anything at the beginning of the last chapter, because of spoilers, but thehighness12 TOTALLY called the whole Rin vs. Len duet thing lol! When I read your review, I just smiled like an idiot and it made me really excited to write that chapter lol.
I love hearing your guesses on what's going to happen next! Might even give me some ideas *wink wink*
Anyway, here's today's chapter. Enjoy! :)
The next day, after nearly nine hours of practice, I swore I would never complain about Luka's rehearsals ever again.
Everything that could have possibly made the day worse had happened. From Everett being present from the start of the day to "look over things," to both of our groups sitting on opposite sides of the stage and yelling insults at each other at the most inappropriate times. Not to mention the fact that Len, for some reason, could not remember his positions, choreography, or anything, for that matter. I felt bad for him at first, figuring that the tension of the room was just getting to him. But as my exhaustion piled up, even I couldn't hide my frustration at his mistakes.
The choreographer was some older woman. She didn't even tell us her name before she began demanding actions from the two of us. The only breaks we were given were filled with pokes and prods from the costume designers. Miku and Gumi followed me around the whole day like bodyguards.
The worst of it all, however, was that I had never, ever performed with anyone that wasn't Miku or Gumi.
Only then did I realize how much I took for granted our synchronization. I had practiced with them so much, knew them so well, that Merge was able to move around on stage as one. We knew each other's strengths, weaknesses. We knew who could hit the high notes best and how to harmonize with each other. Len and I couldn't get within five feet of each other without tripping over each other's feet.
Even though I had been sneaking around with Len for almost two weeks now, when I was marching across the stage with him, I felt like I didn't know him at all.
"No, no, no. You step across at your verse. While Rin is singing, you do not move." The stage was taped off to all hell, marking boundary lines and points where we were to stop and start. The choreographer would scold us every chance she got, but Len definitely got the worst of it.
We didn't even know the song yet. So not only were we marching around the stage aimlessly, we were doing it in complete silence.
"Dude, this sucks," Miku whispered to me the first time they finally allowed me an actual break. I hadn't been outside in hours, but my phone told me it was well after sunset.
"I know," Gumi agreed, even though the two of them had done nothing the entire day except glare across the stage. She handed me a water bottle as she spoke. "And he is really bad. Like, I don't know how he's made it this far."
All three of us looked over towards TR, huddled just like us on the other side of the stage. Len sat down between the other two, rubbing at his temple. The other two looked concerned, leaning down towards him and talking.
Before we could react, Kaito looked up, making direct eye contact with the three of us, glaring. As if he blamed Len's distress on us. But, then again, who else could he blame it on?
I looked away, but the girls didn't.
"I almost feel bad," Gumi said, tearing her eyes away after a moment. "You think he's going to get his shit together?"
"Hopefully not," Miku answered. "It'll be an easy win."
"Time's up!" The choreographer called as she walked up from the seating area once more. "Let's get going again. Only a few more hours!"
I felt my heart drop. With a deep breath, I handed the water bottle back to Gumi.
"Dude," Miku put a hand on my shoulder. "You good?"
I shook my head. "I'll be better when we get back to the hotel."
Gumi furrowed her brow in concern. "Do you feel okay? We could tell them to fuck off and just go back now-"
Despite myself, I let out a laugh. "Luka would literally kill me in my sleep." I turned around.
Only a few more hours.
I had barely walked through the door of the hotel room before I had my phone out, texting Len. It was long after sunset. I had hoped to get just a second alone with him after rehearsal to see what was up, but Miku and Gumi insisted on leaving ASAP so they didn't have to deal with seeing TR anymore. Plus, even though we tried, every time I found myself away from the girls for a second, he was with Kai. When he was alone, Gumi was showing me something on her phone.
It was as if the universe itself didn't want us to say a word to each other. Which, of course, filled me with the desire to do so even more.
"Thank God that's over," Miku groaned as she changed into her pajamas in the middle of the living room.
"Same thing tomorrow!" Gumi told her with fake enthusiasm. "Honestly, I just can't wait to get home. Next time Luka asks for something like this-" She paused, looking around the room. "Wait, where is Luka?"
Miku grabbed her phone, turning it on for the first time since we started practice. "She called me."
What's going on?
I typed and sent my message to Len as they talked.
"What'd she say?" Gumi asked.
Miku raised her phone to her ear, presumably listening to a voicemail. Gumi slid up next to her, pressing her ear to the other side of Miku's phone and listening in.
I raised my eyebrows at them, questioning.
They remained that way for a few seconds before Miku's shoulders slumped. "She wants us to meet her at this restaurant," she said, throwing her phone on the couch. "It's on the roof."
I widened my eyes. "This roof?"
She shrugged. "Apparently."
"Well, I am pretty hungry."
"Should I just go up in my pajamas?" Miku suggested.
Gumi looked offended. "Go change!"
I looked back down at my phone, frowning at Len's lack of response. They should be coming back any second now…
As if on cue, footsteps began stalking down the hallway outside. I had barely closed the door behind me, stepping only a foot or two into the room to text Len, and, as Miku and Gumi disappeared into the bedroom to find something to change into, I turned and opened the door.
I was right. It was TR. Or, at least, most of them. Kaito and Gakupo stood, now staring at me, with their keycard in Kaito's hand. Len was nowhere to be found.
If they sensed my confusion, they did nothing to indicate it. "What?" Kaito asked, accusingly.
I looked between the two of them, up and down the hallway. He was nowhere in sight.
Leaning heavily against the frame, I looked down at the carpet. "Is he…" I trailed off.
Rin, what are you doing? What the fuck, shut up-
"Is he okay?" I asked, looked up at them with the strangest mix of emotions I'd had since this whole thing started. Sure, Len was cool, but I had yet to see either of these two act remotely like decent human beings to anyone except each other. And Teto, but the pessimistic side of me could guess why they took such an interest in her.
Kaito furrowed her brow, exchanging a look with his bandmate. "Why do you care?" He asked me.
Because he's my… friend? It felt odd putting a name to whatever we were, especially because you don't normally sleep with your friends. But, of course, I couldn't say any of this to them. So I just shrugged.
Kaito scoffed, turning his back to me as he slid his keycard into the door.
I frowned, preparing to close the door on them before Gakupo took a step closer to me, leaning down and lowering his voice.
"Something came up," he told me, his expression surprisingly empathetic and gentle. Behind him, Kai pushed the door open, disappearing inside. "He'll be fine."
I nodded slowly. All this time, I had only wanted them to at least treat us like people. And now that one of them was doing it, I didn't know how to feel.
He gave me a forced smile, following Kaito into their room and closing the door behind him.
"Rin, are you gonna change?" Gumi reappeared behind me, pausing once she saw me sticking my head into the hall. "What are you doing?"
I stood tall. "I thought I heard Luka," I lied, completely on impulse. "But it was just the neighbors."
"Oh, okay," she answered. She didn't look completely convinced. "Well, are you gonna change? We're ready-"
"No, it's fine. I'll just go out in this." They were the same t-shirt and leggings I'd worn all throughout practice, but I was too lazy to change. I knew I was going to regret my decision the second we left the room.
"Then let's go," Miku said, fitting an earring into her right ear as she strutted to the front door with me.
I had had no idea that a five-star restaurant was sitting just a few floors above us.
Tables were scattered across the tiled floor, each with a bright electric candle resting in the center. The dining section stretched off to the left of from the host's podium, while a string quartet played to the right. Next to them was the bar, a lightly-colored wooden pergola roofing it off from the elements. Stringed lights were tangled in the complex beams of wood, also stretching towards the dining area with the occasional wooden beam sticking up into the sky. It was beautiful, not even mentioning the spectacular views of the city that completely surrounded it.
Finding Luka wasn't difficult, what with her bright pink hair, sitting near the back of the venue. She waved us over, just in time in fact, as the host wasn't keen on letting us in without a reservation.
"Why didn't we come here before?" Miku asked as we sat down. She looked around, her eyes running over the packed tables.
Luka shrugged. "Busy, I guess. But they're about to close, so hurry up and order."
They fell into conversation about the contest, about how excited they were to go back home, and other happenings on the internet. And as much as I tried to tune in, all I could think about was my phone in my pocket. I couldn't remember the last time it took Len this long to respond to a text.
Something was up. Gakupo had confirmed it. I'd seen him when he was just nervous, too, and it was nothing like how he had acted today. Plus, he hadn't been with his friends when they came back. So… where was he?
"What about Teto?" Gumi asked. "What happens to her now?"
Luka shrugged. "She told me she was heading back to L.A. tomorrow."
Gumi's shoulders slumped. "That sucks. She did so great during her performance."
"Yeah," Miku agreed. "But she seemed pretty cool with it. At least she isn't taking it too hard. Now, did you guys see Kokone's face?" She leaned forward, her hair nearly getting caught in her spaghetti, and grinned mischievously. "She was pissed."
"Miku," Luka told her in a warning tone. "We don't talk down on the competition."
"Psh, I would feel bad for her if she didn't pull that shit in the dressing room," Gumi mumbled.
No one argued with her.
The longer we talked, the more empty the restaurant became. Eventually, no more customers were let in, as we had passed closing time. Miku, having worked as a waitress nearly all through high school, demanded that we hurry up so these poor people could go home.
That is, until she paused shoving her face with food, her eyes catching something in the corner of the balcony.
Gumi was the first to notice her face go pale. "What is it?" She looked off in the same direction.
Miku nearly choked on her food, wiping her face clean and grabbing her phone. She typed furiously with one hand, pointing with the other.
"Dude," I told her. "Talk when you're done chewing, please."
"He's over there," she finally said, her words still mumbled under the food.
"Who-" Luka looked over her shoulder as casually as she could, returning to her front-facing position with a roll of her eyes. "Meeks, we're in the same hotel. We're going to see them around here."
I followed their gazes, eventually seeing exactly what they were talking about. I didn't recognize Len at first, since his back was to me, but it was definitely him. And he was sitting with someone unfamiliar to me.
"Who is he with?" Gumi asked, her eyes flickering in their direction while trying to not be noticed. It was as if she read my mind.
I furrowed my brow. Of the four of us, I was the one in the best position to spy on them. The woman he sat with was older, with long blonde hair and small, sharply-pointed features. She wore a serious expression and she spoke expressively.
When she was finally done chewing her food, Miku finished typing on her phone, turning the screen in our direction.
"It's his mom," she said with an amused laugh, showing us Hina Kagamine's picture from a Google search.