Star Struck

Chapter 2: Always to get there

By Kaen

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Thunder crashed in the night, rolling over the urban hills as a warning of the storm to come. Rain began to fall lightly on the city below, though there were some that paid the storm no heed…

The sounds of typing filled the large apartment, masking whatever silence had been missed by the television's constant blare.  Words and songs, music and cheers, had all faded to a dull roar in the back of the author's mind as he sat in the dark office typing. He fingers danced across the keyboard at a very steady beat, never faltering or pausing in their pattern. After a minute, one hand left the keyboard to reach for the beer that sat to the left of the laptop. Long fingers wrapped around the cylinder and raised it only an inch or two before realizing that it was empty.  Finally, the fingers on the other hand stopped typing and the author stood, pushing his chair back with his legs in doing so.  He crushed the empty can with one hand and tossed it into the waste basket alongside the desk before stretching a little and making his way out of the office.

He walked by the television without so much as a glance to the large screen and headed straight for the kitchen, where he extracted an unopened can of liqueur from the refrigerator. He made a path back to the office, but, this time, did look at the animated box. The images on the screen caused him to halt in his tracks and he stood there, looking down at the television with a beer in hand. Before he even realized it, Yuki Eiri had taken a seat on the couch and was watching the broadcasted concert with way more attention than he'd like to admit. But no one was there to see him, so he figured it was all right. He lit a cigarette and leaned back against the sofa as lightning flashed, illuminating the otherwise dark room for a second, and the thunder roared soon afterward.

Images of Shuichi and the band flashed across the huge screen and then to the cheering crowd, but mostly the camera stayed focused on Shuichi. He was pouring his soul out to that crowd and they apparently received it well, as the crowd was all smiles. The song ended then, the crowd cheered even louder, and there was his baka, smiling and waving. Hiroshi appeared on the screen and said the 'good night' for Shuichi, which Yuki raised a brow at. Shuichi was usually way too obnoxious to let someone do what he considered to be 'his job', and no matter how Yuki would've loved to deny it, he was concerned. He sat forward, propping his elbows on his knees as he watched the television, occasionally bringing the cigarette to his lips. The storm was growing more intense outside, lightning now flashing every couple seconds in bright dangerous streaks, but it went unnoticed by the author.

The crowd kept on cheering even after Hiroshi was done speaking and Shuichi shouted something to his band-mates. Within a couple seconds, they began another painfully fast song that it looked like the vocalist was almost having trouble keeping up with. The camera zoomed in on Tohma's cousin for his solo and Yuki glowered at the television, waiting for it to go back to Shuichi. It finally did and Yuki was almost content when a loud boom of thunder sounder almost directly overhead and the power went out.

He now glowered at anything the cigarette he was holding would illuminate.

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"Just that? Are you sure?" Hiro asks the doctor.

Just minutes ago, Hiro had found himself carrying his best friend off-stage, much to their fans' and managers' distress. He had placed him gently on a couch and just seconds later a medic had arrived. After about a minute of prodding a temperature-taking, he made his diagnosis.

"Well, we can't be completely sure without formal tests, but I'm fairly sure, yes. I'd definitely recommend getting him to the hospital, though," the middle-aged doctor answered, still resting a hand on Shuichi's forehead.

Hiro nodded and then sighed as he looked down to his friend, whom appeared to sleep soundly on the rather cheap sofa. He knew it wasn't a natural sleep, though, for surely the bothersome reporters and shouts from the crowd would have awoken him, despite Shuichi being a heavy sleeper. It worried him, but he knew enough to stay calm (even as Sakano transformed into the human tornado). K shoved through the crowd of reporters and stood before Hiro with keys in hand while looking at Shuichi.

"So, we going or not?" he asked in a manner that obviously meant 'we're going now if you value your life.'

Hiro nodded and lifted Shuichi into his arms again, opting to let K lead the way to the back door of the studio. K held open the door as Hiro carried Shuichi out and gently lowered him into the car and was reaching across him to put his seatbelt on when Shuichi stirred a little.

"Hn…?"  he sounded wearily, blinking open dazed violet eyes.

Hiro's eyes widened.

"Shuichi? Are you all right? How are you feeling?" he asked quickly, noting the feverish stain on Shuichi's cheeks.

The singer groaned and answered quietly after a second, "Like I've been hit bit something large that was moving very quickly." He looked up to Hiro and blinked innocently. "Have I been?"

Hiro laughed and swept a few strands of pink hair away from Shuichi's eyes.

"Well, you did hit the stage, but at least you're feeling well enough to tell me that much," he replies, letting his hand linger on his friend's bow a bit longer than what would be necessary to sweep the locks away. He frowned a little and gave the okay sign to K as the man slid into the car and noticed that Shuichi was conscious. Hiro looked back down to Shuichi, not giving him any time to answer for himself.

"You're still burning up, though. K and I are taking you to the hospital," Hiro told Shuichi, leaving no room for protest. He then turned his face away from Shuichi and was already prepared to ignore his whining about the situation, but surprisingly, it didn't come.  He looked down and felt a pang of sympathy for his friend, who was just looking at the floor of the car silently. He sighed and reached out to touch Shuichi's cheek gently.

"Don't worry about it, ne?" Hiro told Shuichi, forcing a comforting grin.

Shuichi just nodded in response.

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The sound if Eiri's cell phone's shrill ring shattered the silence of the dark apartment. It rang once, twice, three times… and he made no effort to pick it up. Two more rings, and still no response. The phone rang one last time and then stopped.

All was silent again.

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I'm truly very sorry this chapter was so short! I've had the most terrible writer's block, but I know that's no excuse. I will try to make up for length in the next chapter.  Thank you for reading and please review!