(A/N: Just a disclaimer- should've done it earlier.- I don't own Banana Fish, Instagram, NYU, any songs mentioned, or anything else that I mention. lol)
Ash and Yut-Lung woke up early to go take their exams at NYU. Simon was outside the door waiting for them.
"Good Morning guys. I'll be taking you to NYU today. I also have great news for the both of you." He said.
The guys were shocked to see Simon outside their penthouse. They thought that they were going to take the subway.
"Come on in." Simon said as he opened the doors to his car.
"Fuck! He's too hot! I can't!" Yut-Lung thought.
Ash and Yut robotically got inside Simon's car and were driven to NYU.
"So, the good news is that the both of you got accepted and will be starting in January." Simon said.
"Already? Wow!" Ash said.
"Yeah, and better news is that some members of your gang have also made the same choice as you did, and they're also going to college, Ash." Simon said.
"That's great. I know Alex wants to marry his pregnant girlfriend, so I hope everything works out for him and the guys." Ash said.
They arrive and Simon drops them off.
"Best of luck, guys!" Simon said.
"Thanks, Simon!" Ash and Yut-Lung shouted.
As Ash and Yut-Lung we're walking on campus, some frat boy came up to Yut-Lung and started flirting with him.
"Hey baby! You wanna have a drink tonight?" The frat boy said as he was about to grab Yut-Lung's ass.
Yut-Lung looked disgusted. Ash noticed, slapped the frat boy's hand away and put his arm around Yut.
"I'm sorry, but he's with me, and I would appreciate it if you stopped bothering my boyfriend." Ash said.
"Wait, you're a guy?" He said.
"Yup. So please leave me alone." Yut-Lung said.
"Let's go, Sweetie." Ash said with his arm around Yut-Lung and left.
Yut-Lung blushed.
"Thanks, Ash." Yut-Lung said.
"No problem. I know the feeling. I almost get raped just walking the streets every day." Ash said.
"It sucks, doesn't it?" Yut-Lung said.
"Yup. It's annoying as fuck." Ash said.
"You'd be a great boyfriend." Yut-Lung said.
Ash blushed a little.
"Thanks." Ash said.
He felt kind of bad for Yut-Lung.
"Listen Yue, if you want, for the rest of the day, just stay near me. I can pretend to be your boyfriend if these guys keep hitting on you and treating you like shit." Ash said.
"Ok." Yut-Lung agreed.
Yut-Lung liked the idea of someone protecting him. Sure, Blanca had protected him before, but Blanca was being paid to do it. Ash actually wanted to protect him.
They walked into the exam hall and took the exam for about an hour and a half.
After the exam...
"Piece of cake." Ash said.
Yut-Lung snickered. "It was indeed."
They left the campus and met up with Sing at a cafe.
"Fuck. I'm starving. I'll get food too." Ash said.
"Not a bad idea." Sing echoed.
Yut-Lung was looking at the menu.
"I want something spicy." He muttered in Chinese.
Sing giggled.
"I have to be careful with what I eat, I need to maintain my figure!" Yut-Lung said.
Sing ordered a sandwich with a mocha frappuccino, Ash and Yut-Lung got a salad and water. After they ate, they explored the area. Yut-Lung wanted to take a picture, so he had Sing take pictures of him as he posed.
"Yue, you should be a model." Sing said.
Ash nodded.
"You too, Ash." Sing said.
"You and Eiji keep saying that!" Ash said.
"Ash, take a picture of me and Sing and then you're next." Yut-Lung said.
"Ok." Ash said as he grabbed Yut's phone and took pictures.
"Aaaaash, you're next!" Yut-Lung said.
Ash and Yut posed and Sing took pictures of them.
Yut-Lung also took pictures of Ash and Sing.
"Guys, let's start an Instagram account for ourselves." Yut-Lung said. Ash and Sing were hesitant.
"Come on!" Yut-Lung insisted.
He sent the guys their photos and hounded them to open up an Instagram account.
"Fine." Sing muttered. Ash was still hesitant.
"Come on, Ash! New life!" Yut-Lung said.
"Fine." Ash said.
Yut-Lung and Sing started posting. Sing took a silly selfie and posted it.
"Ash, why aren't you following me yet?" Yut-Lung asked.
"I haven't even started making an account yet." Ash said.
Yut-Lung 'borrowed' Ash's phone. He was picking Ash's best pictures, selfies, etc and made him an account.
"There. And always remember these hashtags that I put! You're gonna become an insta influencer slash model in no time." Yut-Lung said.
The guys headed back home as it got dark. Ash bought a guitar the night before and started watching some guitar videos online and downloaded apps to learn guitar. He made it part of his routine to learn guitar for 30 minutes a day. Sometimes, he would walk to the piano that was already in the penthouse and he would play it.
"God damn, a little rusty, but I still got it." Ash thought as he played.
Eiji texted Ash.
"Good Morning Ash! How was your exam?"
Ash saw his phone notify him that he had a text from Eiji.
"Good Morning Eiji. Well, evening in America. lol. It went well, thanks. It was very easy. hahaha. How's your day going?"
Ash continued to play. He remembered the song very well. It was one of Griffin's favorites. He kept playing as he remembered Griffin playing it on the piano.
*Flashback*
7 year-old Ash was in his room coloring and gets distracted by Griffin's piano playing.
He walks up to Griffin and watches him play.
"Wow... Maybe someday I'll be as good as Griff." He thought.
Griffin notices Ash is watching and scoots on the piano bench to make room for Ash.
"Don't think I forgot, Aslan! Have you been practicing what I've taught you?" Griffin asked.
"Sometimes..." Ash said.
"Let's see! Show me what you've been practicing." Griffin said.
Ash plays a couple of penta scales for Griffin.
"Good. You need to learn a couple more and keep practicing." Griffin said.
"I want to learn to play the song that you've been playing." Ash said.
"Well Aslan, you'll learn it once you can play all the scales and if you keep practicing." Griffin said.
"No, Griff. I want to learn it nowwwwww." Ash said.
"Fine. I'll teach you the introduction. Watch my fingers and look at what keys I play. Start by watching my right hand." Griffin said.
He started to play the introduction to Elton John's Tiny Dancer slowly.
The more Griffin played it, the more Ash would practice it.
*End of flashback*
Ash played it for the third time and this time, he played it really well from memory. Griffin taught him how to play the piano, but he did not teach him how to read music. Ash only knew the names of the keys, how to count, and how to play scales and a few songs.
As Ash started playing Tiny Dancer, he remembered Griffin would sing it, so Ash sang Tiny Dancer while playing it.
Sing and Yut-Lung heard Ash playing the piano and singing and they went to go watch him. Sing started recording video of him.
"But oh how it feels so real,
lying here with no one near,
only you, and you can hear me.
When I say softly, slowly..."
"Oh my god! He is good!" Yut-Lung thought.
"I didn't know that Ash also had talent for singing." Sing thought. He kept recording.
"Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today..." Ash kept singing.
Sing posted the video on his Instagram and captioned it "My hot and talented friend Ash ' ashmflynx' entertaining us tonight. I didn't know he can sing or play the piano." He also sent the video to Eiji and tagged Eiji in the comments. (Yes, Sing has probably found everyone's instagrams and followed them.)
As soon as Ash finished playing, Sing and Yut-Lung clapped and cheered, thus startling Ash.
"Yaaaaaaay!" Sing shouted as he clapped.
"That was amazing!" Yut-Lung said.
"Thanks. you guys think so?" Ash said.
"You should be a singer, Ash. Really." Sing said.
"Well, I do like singing. For a while I didn't like it much because Dino would sometimes make me sing for him or anyone that I would later service. But now that I've done it on my own and for me, I feel better now." Ash said.
"There you go! I guess it's healing you little by little." Sing said.
"My brother Griffin taught me how to play piano before he went to Iraq. Sometimes, he would wear his uniform and he'd play. He loved Elton John. He loved poetry. He would write poetry and I later found out that he also wrote songs. I felt like he was right next to me as I played." Ash said as a tear rolled down his cheek while remembering Griffin.
"Ash, you seem to love music and it reminds you of your brother. Why don't you study it?" Yut-Lung said.
"I've been thinking about it. I would love to. I never really learned how to read music, though. I just play by hearing or by memory." Ash said.
"You should totally study music, then." Sing said.
"I think I will." Ash said.
"I think I might minor in it. I love music as well." Yut-Lung said.
"Can you play anything?" Ash asked.
"Violin and very little piano. My brothers didn't allow me to play or continue learning." Yut-Lung said.
"Do it. Now's your chance, Yue." Sing said.
"Yeah. I'm thinking of studying literature, fashion, and music." Yut-Lung said.
"Well, now it looks like we've got our shit figured out!" Ash said.
"Speaking of shit, it's late guys! We need to go to bed. We're buying Christmas shit tomorrow, even though it's one week away." Sing said.
"Oh, and I also need to let you guys know, Eiji is coming next week. Yue, can Eiji please stay with us?" Ash said.
"Pleeeeaaaassssse." Sing said.
"Would he want to, though? He must probably hate my guts." Yut-Lung said.
"Eiji is very forgiving. And who knows, maybe you'll become friends?" Sing said.
"I don't mind if he stays, I guess. It's cool." Yut-Lung said.
"Awesome!" Sing shouted.
"Thanks, Yue." Ash said.