Summary:

The YamiChar wedding soundtrack continues...and Vanessa finds out an interesting thing about Nozel...

Chapter 3: We Belong Way Down Below

Two weeks later…

Arresting Dark Weave, the Black Bulls and Black Meteorite bands were at a club ("Lioness" run by Mereoleona Vermillion) having their Sunday night gigs. Vanessa made sure that she and her band had four gigs, at minimum, a week. Sunday nights were always at "Lioness," since Mereoleona had been the one to give the three bands consistent gigs since the beginning.

The only downside was that "Lioness" was usually a giant mosh pit and it was definitely far crazier than Vanessa had the energy for lately.

After a set, Vanessa and her bandmates escaped the stage and rushed into the back while Asta and the rest of Black Meteorite ran out to make sure that the crowd weren't without music for too long. Vanessa collapsed in a chair, making sure to be gentle with her guitar.

She felt a cold bottle touch her face and Vanessa glanced up to find Charlotte there. Charlotte often joined the bands backstage, being moral support for Yami. In turn, Yami wore a suit and went to the orchestra when they performed.

"Stay hydrated," said Charlotte.

"Thanks," said Vanessa, gratefully taking the water. She opened it and took a long sip.

"So, what's going on with Secre today," asked Charlotte, hand on her hips. "She seems down." Secre was sitting in the corner, already reading a book and ignoring the chaos of the backstage performers around her. Secre was often quiet and preferred observing people, so it was hard to tell when she was down in the dumps.

Vanessa grimaced. "Lumiére was supposed to come tonight. But he couldn't escape the palace guards in time."

"Ah, I see," said Charlotte, knowingly. "I could perhaps sneak her in to see him." Lumiere Kira Clover Silvamillion was the King of their humble little Clover Kingdom and Secre just so happened to be Lumiere's childhood friend being that Secre came from a noble house, except Secre opted to live her life on her terms and not her parents' and Secre had been banned from anywhere near the Clover Castle. Charlotte, being of the Roselei Noble Family, would be able to get Secre in to visit Lumiere.

"Nah, you know Secre, she's pretty stubborn," said Vanessa, waving off Charlotte's concern.

"Very well," said Charlotte. Grinning, "So, how's it going with Nozel?"

Vanessa took another sip of her water. "Better than I thought. We got the actual wedding ceremony songs planned, and same with the soundtrack pop filler songs. He and I meet up tomorrow morning to start the First Dance."

Nozel Silva was far different than she imagined Charlotte's friend from the orchestra. Certainly, she had met Noelle already, but all siblings are not made the same. Nozel was stiff at first, but he knew music and music always was a good way to get to know someone. They got along well enough, but Vanessa's sense of humor flew over Nozel's head and there were an awful lot of awkward pauses between them. Vanessa was naturally a people person, but Nozel didn't seem very comfortable with people in general.

"Thank you again for doing this for me," said Charlotte.

"I know that you just want to stick your marriage to Yami in your family's faces, so I gotta make the best songs I can," said Vanessa, giggling.

"I am not that petty," said Charlotte, sniffing.

Vanessa burst out laughing. "You are."

Charlotte broke into a smile. "Yeah, maybe."

Vanessa woke up late. Granted, she always woke up late, but today, she was super late, like an hour late. She ran down the street towards the Vermillion Recording House, attempting to fix her hair and text at the same time. Their gig went overtime since everyone got so hype and Vanessa might have had one too many shots.

She rushed into the lobby of the Vermillion Recording House, nearly colliding with Nozel who looked getting ready to leave. "Sorry I'm late!"

Nozel steadied Vanessa before she fell on her ass. "You have a brush stuck in your hair," he stated, blankly.

Vanessa's eyes widened, as she touched her hair and realized that her brush did, in fact, get tangled in her hair. "Shit." She went to untangle the brush from her hair, which was way too frizzy today.

Nozel raised an eyebrow. "You look like you had a hard night. Did you eat breakfast?' He glanced at the clock in the lobby. "Er, lunch?"

"…No," said Vanessa, grimacing.

"Why don't you take a few minutes in the bathroom here and I'll treat you to lunch," said Nozel. His face was blank, but his offer was rather sweet.

Vanessa grinned. "I'm always up for food. Wait just a minute."

With that, she went to the bathroom on the lobby level. She washed her face with some warm water. She managed to untangle the brush and tame her messy hair in a ponytail. Vanessa looked at herself in the mirror. She really needed to go home and clean her face. She didn't get all her makeup off and she definitely still had glitter on her. She sighed, but figured it was as best as it was gonna get.

She headed back out of the bathroom. Nozel had been waiting by the door. She smiled at him. "So, what do you have in mind?"

"Why have I never found this place before," said Vanessa, eating her fourth grilled cheese, tomato and bacon sandwich (cut in triangles, of course). It wasn't just a puny home-made grilled cheese, no. This was the God of Grilled Cheese. It had light and fluffy bread, four very nice fancy cheeses, real thick strips of hickory smoked bacon and fresh tomatoes.

She never expected Nozel to bring her downtown to a little shop that specializes in grilled cheeses.

"Sister Lily doesn't advertise," said Nozel, simply. "She employs only college students and uses the profits to use at the church orphanage in a village. I found this place a couple of years ago."

"Aquaria," asked Vanessa, remembering the name Sister Lily in conjunction with her friend Asta's Sister Lily, who had been the assistant caretaker at Asta and his boyfriend Yuno's home orphanage in Hage.

"Yes," said Nozel. "Sister Lily used to go to school with Charlotte and me, but when she became a lady of cloth, we lost touch. I get good food, see an old friend and help a good cause. It's a win-win."

"Aww, that's kinda sweet," said Vanessa. "Wait until I tell Asta! I can believe he didn't tell me. He knows I love me some grilled cheese." She preferred having a nice beer with her grilled cheese, but the soda was good enough.

"You know my Asta and Yuno too," asked the woman, exiting behind the counter. She was in a nun's habit, and she had a gentle demeanor.

"Yeah, Asta's my buddy and Yuno's his very protective boyfriend, but I guess we're friends too," said Vanessa, fondly. "Vanessa Enoteca. You must be the wonderful, amazing and beautiful Sister Lily."

"Oh, you're Miss Vanessa! Asta tells me all about his friends," said Sister Lily. "Nozel, you should have told me you were stopping by with Miss Vanessa, I would have given you the food for free."

Nozel shook his head. "You're too kind, sometimes, Sister Lily."

Vanessa looked at Nozel and then at Sister Lily, who became chatting amicably with each other, while Vanessa continued to eat the delicious grilled cheese.

Oh.

Oh.

That's rough, buddy, Vanessa thought, sending out good vibes to Nozel. Unlike many of her oblivious friends, she usually knew when someone liked another person. Nozel definitely had some lingering fond feelings for Sister Lily. His eyes had a shine to them when he looked at Sister Lily. Vanessa felt a pang of sadness. Nozel was so awkward that there was no way that he'd ever even think about asking a woman out. They would have been cute together, Vanessa mused.

"Asta and Yuno don't know that I came here to earn money for the Hage orphanage," said Sister Lily, snapping Vanessa out of her thoughts. "They think I'm just working at the church pre-school down the street. Which I also do, but, you know, I didn't want them to worry. They need to live their lives to the fullest and not worry about whether the other kids have new supplies and food. It's hard living in the city when you're not a person of the cloth or well, rich."

Vanessa smiled. "Ah, so it's a secret. Well, my lips are sealed. I definitely worry about Asta, the kid never buys anything from himself and he's impossible to buy gifts for."

"That's just like Asta," said Sister Lily. "Yuno too."

"Sister! We ran out of sharp cheddar again," called the person in the kitchen.

"Excuse me, Miss Vanessa, Nozel. Please continue to enjoy your food," said Sister Lily, hustling off to the kitchen.

After a moment to give Nozel a minute, Vanessa asked, "So, that First Dance song? Should we work out a rough chorus and cord set?"

"That's a good idea…Do you want another grilled cheese?"

"…Yes."

Vanessa unlocked her front door to find Secre curled up on the couch with an oversized book. Tiredly, she kicked her boots off and quickly plopped on the couch. Vanessa cuddled up to Secre immediately. Secre didn't mind the affection, but she never reacted.

"So, how much was this book," asked Vanessa, teasingly.

"How much did you drink last night," Secre retorted, without looking up from her book.

"Touché," said Vanessa, leaning her head against Secre's. "So, what's this one about?"

"It's a book of fairy tales from across the sea," said Secre. "They're appropriately dark. The Prince gave it to me since he couldn't get to the show last night."

"You know, he's the King now," said Vanessa.

"He will always be the Prince to me," said Secre.

Vanessa hummed, tiredly. "Anyway, we got the chorus done for the First Dance. I think Yami and Charlotte are really gonna love it."

"Noelle's brother is surprisingly good at music for being so stoic," said Secre.

"Says the most stoic woman I know," said Vanessa. "Nozel's really awkward, but he's totally a big softie. He loves his family and he's a good friend. Hidden depths, you know."

"People have layers like onions," said Secre.

Vanessa stared at Secre for a minute and burst out laughing. "Geez, Asta's movie nights really got through to you."

"Shrek and Shrek 2 are classics," said Secre, deadpan. "The rest of the franchise can die fiery deaths, however."

Vanessa giggled.

~to be continued

Notes:

As always let me know what you think!

The Pop, Punk, Rock, and Metal Scene:
Bands:
Arresting Dark Weave
Vanessa- Lead vocals, lead guitarist
Charmy- drums
Grey- bass
Secre- keyboards, backup vocalist
Mariella- rhythm guitar

Vanessa's Punk Style:
Inspired by: the Pretenders, the Runaways, Patti Smith, Blondie, Shonen Knife, Paramore, Superchick, the Veronicas, Pat Benatar, The Pretty Reckless, Civet, Halsey and a little bit of Dolly Parton

Vanessa can play the guitar (acoustic, electric, semi-acoustic guitar) and the violin

The Black Bulls
Yami- lead guitarist
Gauche- keyboards, backup vocals
Magna- bass
Luck- drums
Finral- lead vocals

Black Meteorite
Asta- lead vocalist, keyboards
Leopold- lead guitarist, backup vocals
Rill- rhythm guitar
Henry- bass guitar
Mars- drums, backup vocals

The Agrippa Family
Nathan- lead guitar
Jonna- bass guitar
Gordon- lead vocalist
Roxanne- keyboards
Nilenia- triangle

The Eye of the Midnight Sun
Patri- lead guitarist
Rhya- keyboards
Vetto- bass guitar
Rades- drums
Sally- lead vocalist

The Queen Witches
Dominante- keyboards, lead vocalist
Catherine- lead guitarist
Akimo- bass guitar
Dorothy- drums

Heart's Guardians
Lolopechka- lead vocalist
Gadjah- drums
Floga- bass guitar
Potrof- keyboards
Undine- lead guitarist

Dark Triad
Dante- lead guitarist, lead vocalist
Zenon- bass guitar
Vanica- drums, backup vocalist

Rampaging Mother Earth
Rebecca- lead vocalist, lead guitarist
Sol- drums
Borja- bass guitar
Wainsley- keyboards, backup vocalist

Green Mantis
Jack- lead vocalist, lead guitarist
En- drums
Sekke- bass guitar
Nix- keyboards
David- rhythm guitar

Underwater Kingdom
Kahono- singer, keyboards
Kiato-dancer, guitar

Solos:
Mereoleona "Uncrowned Undefeated Lioness"

Fanzell "Slicing Wind Emperor"

Zora Ideale "Super Sorcerer"

Fana "Phoenix Feathers"

The Classical/Baroque/Romantic Scene:
Nozel's Expertise is Late Baroque (Ex. Bach)
Nozel can play the cello, the viola, the harpsichord, and the traditional piano

Julius- conductor
Theresa- a legend
Charlotte- piano, pipe organ, second cello
Puli- trumpet, second timpani
Kaiser- bass drum, first timpani
Xerx- tenor drum, second oboe
Risacca- saxophone, second natural trumpet
Fragil- first flute
Marx- second flute, piccolo
William- tenor trombones, first natural trumpet
Alecdora- first oboe
Klaus- first natural horn, French horn
Letoile- second natural horn, French horn
Yuno- harpsichord, celesta, piano
Nozel- first cello, viola, harpsichord, and piano, composition
Finesse- harp, theorbo
Noelle- double bass, string bass
Nebra- viola
Solid- second violin
Fuegoleon- pipe organ
Mimosa- bassoon
Kirsch- viola da gamba
Langris- first violin