A/N- Response to a few confused readers: the Maiko in the story has
absolutely nothing to do with the Maiko in the actual series. It was a
complete accident that they have the same names. This one is mine. I have
no claim whatsoever over the actual series.
"Time's up, Hiro!"
Without further warning, all power in the shabby basement shut off.
"Er.what's going on?" Shuichi asked, blinking in the sudden shift from dark to light.
"It's six o' clock," Hiro said. "I can't play my electric past six."
Shuichi giggled. "So your mom just 'pulls the plug', literally."
Hiro laughed and nodded as the lights flickered back on. Maiko lounged in an old armchair, legs dangling over one arm, Hiro's acoustic resting in her lap. She was gingerly picking out a melody, alternating between chords and jotting down the notes when she hit something she liked. To Shuichi, it looked like an incredibly tedious process, but Maiko looked like she was in heaven.
"What?" she asked, finally looking up.
Shuichi blushed, realizing he'd been staring. "Nothing, you just look so.tranquil."
She grinned crookedly. "And you look so.pink!"
"Shut up," he muttered, and stuck his tongue out at her.
"So Shuichi, you joining my band or what?" Hiro asked, rolling his amp back to the corner of the room.
"Don't you even want to hear me sing?" Shuichi asked a bit nervously. "I mean, you could think I'm not any good."
"Don't be a baka! I trust Maiko's ear. But sure, why not," he added on second thought. He tossed Shuichi a mic and some batteries.
"No boom for right now. You know, the mother thing. But the batteries should last about ten minutes. So, go ahead!" Hiro explained. Shuichi eyed his friend suspiciously but slipped in the batteries.
"Play something," he instructed Maiko. "Play whatever you're working on."
Maiko held out the paper of lyrics, saying, "Sorry if it's messy. Read what you can. Follow this," and began strumming.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. Shuichi's eyes simultaneously scanned the words and counted beats in his mind.
"How dare you tell me/How to live my life?/ You're just as fucked as I am/ Do you remember that morning/I told you what I'd done/You begged me to stop/Told me, warned me/ Escalating into something more."
By the time he'd finished, Hiro's jaw was fairly resting on the floor.
"So, I'm in?" a breathless Shuichi asked.
"Hell YES you're in!" Hiro said, springing towards the smaller boy for a full-flung glomp.
"Is it just us?"
"For now, yep. Me on guitar, you on vocals. I had a drummer, but he.er.had other things to do. Hang on, I'll be right back," he said, jogging up the rickety wooden stairs to the kitchen.
"Hiro's trying to say Phil dropped out cause he sold his drum kit for pot money," Maiko said matter-of-factly.
"Oooh!"
"Can't say I blame him," she said, picking out a tune. D-A-G, D-A-G. "It was some good shit."
"So.uh. would you ever do that?"
"No way!" she protested, putting the guitar aside, "I don't play drums." She grinned at his look.
"No, I mean," he started.
"Haha. I know what you mean. And nope." She shook her dark waves and kicked her black messenger bag over to him.
He stared at it, a bit confusedly. "."
"Under the Taking Back Sunday patch," she instructed. A odd looking symbol had been written under the patches and safety pins: sXe
"Ok.?"
"It means straight-edge."
"Oh," he said, nodding in understanding.
She laughed, such a dark and melodious sound. "It means no drugs, no alcohol, and no casual sex."
"OOOH! I get it." She shoved over in the chair to make room for him. He collapsed next to her, shifting so he faced her. "Why not?"
"Huh?" she asked.
"Why no drugs or anything? I mean, I thought punks lived for that shit."
She shrugged and looked away, but not before Shuichi caught a flash of hurt in her deep eyes.
Suddenly she covered and said mischeviously, "Have you got a girlfriend?"
"N-nani?" Shuichi blushed nearly as bright as his hair.
"Boyfriend?" She was grinning ear to ear now.
"No!"
Kohl-rimmed eyes danced impishly.
"Why.?" Shuichi said, eyeing her.
"No reason."
"Uh huh. Suuuuure."
She beamed and said, "You're falling for Yuki, aren't you?"
"What??? No! He's such a bastard!" But something in his mind jumped at the mention of the stoic junior.
"Good. Don't. Hiro on the other hand."
"Hiro?"
"Don't tell me you thought my boy was straight!"
"No.ah."
"You did!" she giggled.
"Well I thought you and him."
Maiko fell backwards off the chair onto the musty carpet. "Me?? And Hiro??"
Shuichi thought she would burst an organ laughing. He threw a pillow at her indignantly. "It's logical!" he protested. She only laughed harder.
Finally she sat up and wiped her eyes, still chuckling a bit. Shuichi was perched on the arm of the chair, looking rather sullen.
"Shuichi. Dearest. I wouldn't date Hiro if you PAID me. He's, like, my bro!"
Speak of the devil. "Hey, sorry guys. My mom was having a hissy fit."
"It's cool. I gotta go anyway. I probably should have told my mom I was coming. She probably called the fucking cops or something." Maiko leaned down and laced up her boots, then vanished with a wave.
"I so do not get her," Shuichi said with a shake of his head.
"No one does," Hiro laughed.
"No, I mean, she cuts class, starts fights, ditches her parents, and I've never seen her do any work except for Drama and English, but she won't smoke or drink."
"Well, my girl believes in one thing: Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll, only without the sex and drugs," Hiro explained amusingly. "She's a rebel, alright, but she isn't stupid."
"Yea, but it's still weird. At my old school the punks and Goths and stoners all hung together, and did nothing but smoke."
Hiro looked a bit sad for a moment. "She knows the consequences of one stupid mistake."
Shuichi studied Hiro intently, sensing more behind his words than was being said. "Yea, I guess. Well I'd better be going, too. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Hiro nodded and waved.
"Are you hungry?" his mother asked as he headed down the hall to his room.
"No, thanks, mom." He shut his door and collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
He finally had a lead singer. It would be his bad luck, though, that that singer happened to make his stomach twist every time he moved.
Well, what'd you think? Sorry about all the seemingly random stuff about drugs etc. It ties in, I promise! Yuki POV coming next. Erm.I always forget to say something here, but I can't remember.Oh well. Review, por favor!!
"Time's up, Hiro!"
Without further warning, all power in the shabby basement shut off.
"Er.what's going on?" Shuichi asked, blinking in the sudden shift from dark to light.
"It's six o' clock," Hiro said. "I can't play my electric past six."
Shuichi giggled. "So your mom just 'pulls the plug', literally."
Hiro laughed and nodded as the lights flickered back on. Maiko lounged in an old armchair, legs dangling over one arm, Hiro's acoustic resting in her lap. She was gingerly picking out a melody, alternating between chords and jotting down the notes when she hit something she liked. To Shuichi, it looked like an incredibly tedious process, but Maiko looked like she was in heaven.
"What?" she asked, finally looking up.
Shuichi blushed, realizing he'd been staring. "Nothing, you just look so.tranquil."
She grinned crookedly. "And you look so.pink!"
"Shut up," he muttered, and stuck his tongue out at her.
"So Shuichi, you joining my band or what?" Hiro asked, rolling his amp back to the corner of the room.
"Don't you even want to hear me sing?" Shuichi asked a bit nervously. "I mean, you could think I'm not any good."
"Don't be a baka! I trust Maiko's ear. But sure, why not," he added on second thought. He tossed Shuichi a mic and some batteries.
"No boom for right now. You know, the mother thing. But the batteries should last about ten minutes. So, go ahead!" Hiro explained. Shuichi eyed his friend suspiciously but slipped in the batteries.
"Play something," he instructed Maiko. "Play whatever you're working on."
Maiko held out the paper of lyrics, saying, "Sorry if it's messy. Read what you can. Follow this," and began strumming.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. Shuichi's eyes simultaneously scanned the words and counted beats in his mind.
"How dare you tell me/How to live my life?/ You're just as fucked as I am/ Do you remember that morning/I told you what I'd done/You begged me to stop/Told me, warned me/ Escalating into something more."
By the time he'd finished, Hiro's jaw was fairly resting on the floor.
"So, I'm in?" a breathless Shuichi asked.
"Hell YES you're in!" Hiro said, springing towards the smaller boy for a full-flung glomp.
"Is it just us?"
"For now, yep. Me on guitar, you on vocals. I had a drummer, but he.er.had other things to do. Hang on, I'll be right back," he said, jogging up the rickety wooden stairs to the kitchen.
"Hiro's trying to say Phil dropped out cause he sold his drum kit for pot money," Maiko said matter-of-factly.
"Oooh!"
"Can't say I blame him," she said, picking out a tune. D-A-G, D-A-G. "It was some good shit."
"So.uh. would you ever do that?"
"No way!" she protested, putting the guitar aside, "I don't play drums." She grinned at his look.
"No, I mean," he started.
"Haha. I know what you mean. And nope." She shook her dark waves and kicked her black messenger bag over to him.
He stared at it, a bit confusedly. "."
"Under the Taking Back Sunday patch," she instructed. A odd looking symbol had been written under the patches and safety pins: sXe
"Ok.?"
"It means straight-edge."
"Oh," he said, nodding in understanding.
She laughed, such a dark and melodious sound. "It means no drugs, no alcohol, and no casual sex."
"OOOH! I get it." She shoved over in the chair to make room for him. He collapsed next to her, shifting so he faced her. "Why not?"
"Huh?" she asked.
"Why no drugs or anything? I mean, I thought punks lived for that shit."
She shrugged and looked away, but not before Shuichi caught a flash of hurt in her deep eyes.
Suddenly she covered and said mischeviously, "Have you got a girlfriend?"
"N-nani?" Shuichi blushed nearly as bright as his hair.
"Boyfriend?" She was grinning ear to ear now.
"No!"
Kohl-rimmed eyes danced impishly.
"Why.?" Shuichi said, eyeing her.
"No reason."
"Uh huh. Suuuuure."
She beamed and said, "You're falling for Yuki, aren't you?"
"What??? No! He's such a bastard!" But something in his mind jumped at the mention of the stoic junior.
"Good. Don't. Hiro on the other hand."
"Hiro?"
"Don't tell me you thought my boy was straight!"
"No.ah."
"You did!" she giggled.
"Well I thought you and him."
Maiko fell backwards off the chair onto the musty carpet. "Me?? And Hiro??"
Shuichi thought she would burst an organ laughing. He threw a pillow at her indignantly. "It's logical!" he protested. She only laughed harder.
Finally she sat up and wiped her eyes, still chuckling a bit. Shuichi was perched on the arm of the chair, looking rather sullen.
"Shuichi. Dearest. I wouldn't date Hiro if you PAID me. He's, like, my bro!"
Speak of the devil. "Hey, sorry guys. My mom was having a hissy fit."
"It's cool. I gotta go anyway. I probably should have told my mom I was coming. She probably called the fucking cops or something." Maiko leaned down and laced up her boots, then vanished with a wave.
"I so do not get her," Shuichi said with a shake of his head.
"No one does," Hiro laughed.
"No, I mean, she cuts class, starts fights, ditches her parents, and I've never seen her do any work except for Drama and English, but she won't smoke or drink."
"Well, my girl believes in one thing: Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll, only without the sex and drugs," Hiro explained amusingly. "She's a rebel, alright, but she isn't stupid."
"Yea, but it's still weird. At my old school the punks and Goths and stoners all hung together, and did nothing but smoke."
Hiro looked a bit sad for a moment. "She knows the consequences of one stupid mistake."
Shuichi studied Hiro intently, sensing more behind his words than was being said. "Yea, I guess. Well I'd better be going, too. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Hiro nodded and waved.
"Are you hungry?" his mother asked as he headed down the hall to his room.
"No, thanks, mom." He shut his door and collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
He finally had a lead singer. It would be his bad luck, though, that that singer happened to make his stomach twist every time he moved.
Well, what'd you think? Sorry about all the seemingly random stuff about drugs etc. It ties in, I promise! Yuki POV coming next. Erm.I always forget to say something here, but I can't remember.Oh well. Review, por favor!!