Long notes time:
(please note I'm in a bad mood now so if I'm mean then I'm sorry)
Hmm... well, I got it out late. And it's not all THAT long... but this week has been REALLY long and I haven't felt motivated to do anything. I'm starting to lose motivation for this fic as I go along. I keep finding out things that don't quite go along with the time period and then there's the whole CAR thing... the cars are giving me problems. Carriages weren't that common in the 1910s and it was mainly a transition into cars. So, you'll be seeing those a lot more often from now on.
Also, I'm issuing two warnings from now on:
1. This is an AU fic, and I'm lazy, THEREFORE, do not expect any of it to be accurate! Since it is AU and I'm writing it I control the little universe they're in (writing – the only time you get to play "god"). If I'm not historically accurate well tough.
2. There will be a character death. I'm not saying who, but it may surprise you. I'll let you speculate who it'll be. My mind about it is made up – it's key to the plot (I hadn't realized they would die, but as I thought more and more about this then I realized it was important that they did. For some reason.)
Thanks to Ayako, dJeu, Eike, MonKey Doki, Kumagorou, mayorie, chibiukyou, Kagedtiger, kai, jestagal, Melody Mist, and Renee for reviewing!
Chibiukyou – yeah, but the majority seems to like YukiShu. Like RyuTatsu more, people! @_@
jestagal – I know it's a fruit. But did they? I doubt it. If they did they probably didn't care. Besides, tomatoes are in the vegetable section of the supermarket. Also, I know that I'm getting a bit away from the '10s. I'm working on developing the plot and getting all the characters in right now so I'm not focusing on setting as much as I did.
Well... the winner of my survey was A. YukiShu. With RyuTatsu as runner up... I think. So those will be the main focuses of the story. I'll work on the other two choices in the survey also, just 'cause I like them (hey I gotta have some fun writing this).
/End long notes time.
Cast:
Yuki Eiri - Edward Young - 22 - Accomplished Novelist
Shuichi Shindo - Stuart Shubrook - 19 - Aspiring Poet, Song Composer, and Actor/Musician
Seguchi Tohma - Thomas Savage - 32 - Wealthy Publishing Company Owner
Sakano - Kenneth Saunders - 29 - Stuart's Agent
K - Claude K. Winchester - 36 - American Ex-Mafia gunman, works for Thomas as an Agent
Sakuma Ryuichi - Reece Swift - 31 - Accomplished Poet, Song Composer, and Actor/Musician (I found out those were common back then)
Nakano Hiroshi - Hugh Norris - 19 - Aspiring Violinist
Uesugi Tatsuha - Timothy Ulysses - 16 - Schoolboy
Suguru Fujisaki - Frederick Sullivan - 16 - Schoolboy and Aspiring Conductor/Composer
Noriko Ukai - Natalie Udell - 28 - Accomplished Pianist
Ayaka Usami - Anna Udolf - 17 – Schoolgirl
Seguchi Mika – Marianne Savage – Thomas's wife
Taki Aizawa - Terry Anderson - 22 - Popular new Actor/Musician
Ken-chan - Keith Bailey - 23 - Popular new Actor/Musician (usually in performs in plays written/starring Terry)
Ma-kun - Malcolm Clarke - 23 - Popular new Actor/Musician (usually in performs in plays written/starring Terry)
Disclaimer: Blah...
Roses
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Chapter 11
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
He couldn't remember why K had asked him there. In all honestly, he hadn't even paid attention. Most of the time K never said much important, and even if he did all Reece had to do was nod and go along with it and everything would be fine. That always happened with Reece – everyone expected him to nod, smile, and go back to playing. Most of the time he didn't mind all that much, he was never one for making big decisions, but sometimes it made him feel useless.
"Ah, I have to go in here." He and the redhead stopped in front of Thomas's office. Reece smiled and held his stuffed animal tighter.
"Thomas's office? Why are you going in there?"
Stuart leaned back and rose a hand to his forehead, sighing, "I don't really know! Mr. Savage said we had to meet our new manager today..."
"Oh! I wonder who it is." The younger man shrugged and pushed the door in.
"It was nice meeting you Reece!"
"Yeah! You'll have to find me later and tell me what happened!" Reece waved goodbye to him and stood there silently as the door closed. Well, after that there wasn't much to do. He still had no idea where K was. Hadn't he said to meet him here? Or was it in the lobby? The man turned and leaned against the wall. "Well, Teddy, what is it now?" He leaned forward and rose the stuffed rabbit to his ear, "What's that? No! We shouldn't go bug Thomas, he'll be angry at me! No, Teddy, that's silly. Why would he want to paint his office orange? You're so silly sometimes."
"There you are!" A deep, heavily accented voice called out to him from a few feet away. Reece straightened and looked over to see K walking towards him. "I told you to meet me in the lobby."
"You did! I wasn't sure. I came up here with Stuart, he's in Thomas's office."
"So you met him already?" K nudged Reece away from the door and pressed his ear against the thick wood, "You can't hear much. I suppose I'll just have to go by guess-work."
"What are you talking about, K?"
The blonde smiled and gave Reece a thumbs-up, "You'll see!"
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Stuart stood in front of Thomas's desk; "I had a little trouble with the ride over."
"You could have asked me for a ride, Stuart! I bought a car recently – "
"Mr. Saunders driving a car – I don't blame him for wanting to come in a carriage." Thomas motioned for Stuart to sit down next to Hugh. The redhead sighed and turned to look at his friend before settling down. "Now, as you recall, yesterday I told you about your new arrangement." The three nodded, "I suppose that I should talk about some of the technicalities. Of course, this type of arrangement is fairly novel. I doubt that any of you have participated in one such as this." All three shook their heads, "Well – "
He didn't get to finish that statement as his speech was interrupted. The door to his office rattled and fell forward. A tall, longhaired insane looking blonde barged into the room, a pistol raised in his hand, "Freeze!"
Stuart, Hugh, and Mr. Saunders all proceeded to duck and clamber out of their chairs to the floor. Well, Stuart and Hugh did at least. Mr. Saunders just fainted and lay limp in the chair.
"I haven't said that in ages! Feels good."
"M-Mr. Savage, shouldn't you be under the desk?" Stuart glanced up to the publisher, who was now on his feet and smiling to the insane man.
"Should I be?"
"You should."
"Well, then." Thomas kneeled and sat calmly behind the desk, "Is that better?"
"Much better."
Hugh leaned in to whisper to Stuart, "Stuart – " he stole glances at the blonde who was currently cackling and waving the gun, "in case we don't get out of this alive, there's something that I have to tell you. I – "
"Thomas!" The publisher pushed himself up and glanced over the desk.
"Yes?"
"Is this the group?" He nodded and brought his body to a standing position, "Great! I was worried I was early."
"No, perfect timing actually. You never have been late."
"Of course!" The man lowered the gun and slipped into the holster on his belt. He walked over to Thomas's desk and pulled up a wooden chair off to the side. Thomas nodded again and motioned to the huddled men to sit. They obliged – Hugh sighing.
"Now, as I was saying – "
"M-Mr. Savage?" At some point during all this, Mr. Saunders had woken up and was sitting in the now sweat drenched chair, "Who is this?"
"Oh, I almost forgot. This is Mr. Claude K. Winchester or Mr. K, as he prefers to be called. He's the new manager."
Mr. K waved to them, smiling, "Hello!"
"Oh... of course..." Mr. Saunders slid into his chair, fanning his face.
"Uh, Mr. K?" Stuart glanced at the new manager.
"Yes?"
"What if I called you Mr. Winchester?"
"Then I'd kill you."
Stuart paled considerably and nodded, "Mr. K it is then."
"Well, now that that's settled. I'll tell you what exactly this new business deal entitles." Thomas leaned back in his chair, "Mr. Norris, Mr. Shubrook, and Mr. Sullivan – "
"Wait, Mr. Sulli – "
"Don't interrupt me, Mr. Shubrook." Thomas glared at the younger man and resumed the speech, "They will go to performances – generally plays, but as you gain popularity we might try musical performances only – that Mr. K arranges. Mr. Saunders will assist in the technicalities and in the... behind the scenes, as you will."
"Can I interrupt now?" Thomas sighed and gave a short nod, "Alright. Who is Mr. Sullivan?"
"He will be a new addition to your troupe. The three of you will be working on plays together."
"N-now wait a minute!" The redhead stood, knocking his chair back in the process, "I thought it was just me and Hugh! How can you add in someone else without asking us?"
"Stuart. He formed this without asking us."
"So? I think if you do all this, at least just let it be Hugh and me! We don't need someone else!"
"Mr. Shubrook, my decision is final. You will sing and act, Hugh will play lead violin, and Mr. Sullivan will conduct. Now, Mr. K – "
"Hold on!" Thomas sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "First it's a new addition, now he's conducting? That's a bit big for someone we don't even know!"
"I am confident that it will improve both performances. Mr. K – "
"I don't think it will!"
The publisher stood and looked into Stuart's defiant eyes. "I really don't care. Mr. K," Thomas turned to face the gunman, "you may leave now. Could you have Reece come in before you do, though?" he turned to face Mr. Saunders, "You three may go too. I know Mr. Norris and Mr. Shubrook have practice soon, and I'm sure you have other matters to attend to." He eased back down into the chair and turned to face the window.
K nodded to him and walked over to the trio, "I think this will be entertaining." He grabbed Stuart's arm and nodded to Hugh and Mr. Saunders, "Come with me now." Sounds of an angered poet-slash-singer echoed in the office as they left. Thomas sighed and shook his head.
"Oh it will be entertaining."
"You wanted to see me, Thomas?" A high-pitched voice called out behind him. Thomas could envision the brunette standing there, clutching to his security bunny, and tiny pout on his face.
"Ah, Reece." He turned to face him, "Thank you for coming. Please, sit."
Reece plopped down into Stuart's vacated chair and swung his legs, "Teddy and I are happy to see you!"
"It's nice to see you too, Reece."
"Am I in trouble, Thomas?" he lowered his head, the pout growing.
"Oh, no of course not! I just wanted to talk to you about something."
"Is it something grown-up? K's still here if it is! He's better at those kinds of things than I am."
He laughed and shook his head slowly, then stood and walked around his chair to face the window, "I don't need to talk to Mr. K. Did you meet Mr. Shubrook?"
"Hm?"
"Stuart."
"Oh! Yes!" Reece smiled and lifted his head. "Stuart's really nice! Teddy likes him."
"Well he must be a nice person then. Has Mr. K told you that he'll be managing Stuart now?" Reece shook his head, "I didn't think he had. He's a capable man – I wouldn't have assigned that troupe to him if I didn't think so. However," he turned to face the brunette, "I think Stuart might need a little encouragement."
Reece lifted a finger and pointed to his chest. Thomas nodded, "I want you to start working on casting that play of yours. Cast him in one of the supporting roles. You don't mind, do you?"
"No! We'd be glad to help Stuart! Wouldn't we, Teddy?" He smiled and made the rabbit nod its head in agreement, "See?"
"I'm relieved. I knew you would help." The younger man nodded and stood.
"Can I go now?"
"Hm? Oh, of course."
"'Bye Thomas!" Reece gave a short wave to him and ran out of the office.
"Mr. K?" Stuart had followed the blonde man out of the building and onto the street. Hugh had already left to practice – after much arguing with Stuart while trying to get him to come along – and Mr. Saunders was pacing inside the lobby, trying to think of something to protest to Mr. Savage about. Mr. K was walking down the street and looking at some of the cars parked along the sidewalk.
"Oh! That one has a top!" The man smiled and pointed to one of the cars.
"T-that's nice, Mr. K... May I ask you something?"
"I think I want a black one. With a top."
"Yes, well... it's about this whole arrangement. I'm still not sure that I like it. And I thought troupes were usually larger than this one and... I'm signed as a poet! Not to sing, or act. To write. I don't know what is going on in his mind."
"Look!" Mr. K walked over to one of the un-hooded cars and looked in, "The gauge says it goes up to thirty miles! I wonder if that's only on this kind... I really do want one with a top."
"Mr. K!"
He sighed and stepped back from the car, turning to face Stuart, "What do you want, Mr. Shubrook?"
"Have you heard anything I said?"
"Yes, yes. You're angry with Thomas, you want to be a poet, you like to complain, I heard, I heard. I don't care. Thomas knows what he's doing – I think – and if he wants to be insane and do something new then I'm behind him." He turned his back to Stuart and started walking down the street, "You should be too. Get to your practice, Mr. Shubrook, I don't want you following me around."
He sped up into a light jog, leaving Stuart standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He sighed and turned around, looking up at the buildings. The places were a lot bigger here, it being the business section of the city. On the outskirts there were more houses, but in this area it was mainly businesses. Mr. Savage's office building happened to be the largest at eight stories. All the others were four or so. Further downtown the buildings got larger – ranging from five to twelve stories.
Stuart sighed and walked down the street towards Mr. Savage's building. The theatre was closer to the outskirts and about ten blocks from where he was currently. He'd have to run to get there on time. Stuart sped up his pace and began running, dodging the pedestrians on the street. One of these days he'd have to get a bike or something, even if they were more suited for leisure.
He exited the wings with four other people and walked to center stage, took a bow, and went with two of the others to flank the sides of the stage. They waited for the rest of the company to come out and bow before doing another bow with the rest of the cast, then exited the stage. After a few seconds the house lights raised and the director called for the cast to come out.
"It's finally working! The first performance will be this Friday, don't forget! And Mr. Bailey, Clarke, and Anderson – thank you for not screwing up your lines tonight. If the performance is this good this weekend it's sure to be popular!" He waved everyone off and gathered up his things.
Stuart walked over to the orchestra pit and waited for Hugh to finish. "Hugh! You all did really well today."
"Ah, thank you Stuart." His friend smiled haphazardly and gently rested the violin in its case. A loud sound came from the piano as the cover was lowered on the instrument. Natalie stood and stepped around the bench. She smiled and lowered the top over the keys and walked over to Hugh.
"Mr. Norris, you did very well. I look forward to hearing more from you." She rose a delicate hand and gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Nice job too, Mr. Shubrook." The calm woman left the orchestra pit, her followers sending angry glares to the two men. They exchanged glances and chuckled, somewhat nervously, then followed her out.
"She seems nice."
Hugh nodded and hefted his violin case under his arm, "She is. I suppose I'll see you later then, Stuart."
"Oh... right..." He paused for a few seconds before running up to Hugh's retreating form, "Wait! Do you think I could stay over tonight?"
The brunette turned abruptly, hope flashing in his eyes, "What? W-how come?"
Stuart looked down, rubbing the carpeted floor with his foot, "Well... Mr. Young is kind of angry at me and all – "
"Oh, of course." Hugh sighed and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Of course you can stay over. What are friends for, right?" he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Stuart smiled and thanked him as the left the building.
Edward leaned back in his seat, setting his stack of papers down. He had just started on a new story and had the rough draft of the first chapter finished. It seemed like lately the only time he ever got a chance to write was when Stuart was gone all day. And that didn't happen often. Mostly, when Stuart was gone half the day, he could only think about how it was useless to start since the boy would probably burst through the door if he did. He never admitted it, but he hadn't gotten much work done not because the boy distracted him when he was home, but because he distracted him when he was gone.
When was the brat getting home anyway? It had been plenty of time for Thomas to yap his ear off and long enough for his practice to be finished. Maybe they'd gone over... The clock at the end of his hall chimed once, twice, six times before silencing and leaving the house quiet. This was insane; he didn't care that the boy was late. This was a blessing in disguise.
Plus, that knocking was probably him right now. Edward never gave him a key because he'd probably go ecstatic and think that meant he could stay longer. It had already been longer than a week – that should be key enough for him.
Edward sighed and pushed himself away from the desk and stood. He walked out of the room and out into the hall towards the door. The knocking was a little louder now and there was a brash voice on the other side, shouting out to him.
"Edward!" Wait... the brat never called him by his first name. He turned the locks and pulled the door inward. Timothy... figures.
"What do you want?"
"Marianne says I should stay with you now."
"Weren't you fine in the town house?"
Timothy shuffled his feet and pushed himself in past Edward, "About that..." he plopped down into the padded chair near the door, "The place is a mess. And it stinks. And I can't get the water to work, either. The plumbing is clogged."
"Stay with her, then. I don't need two brats to deal with." He closed the door and went to stand in front of his brother.
"I can't! She's sick, and their servants are sick. I'm amazed Thomas doesn't have whatever it is yet."
"You're going home soon, aren't you? The end of this week?" He nodded a few times then lowered his head. Edward sighed and rose a hand to his forehead, "Fine. You can stay until then. But if you say one word about me going back I'm sending you to Marianne's. Maybe a cold will do you some good."
"Thank you, Edward!" Timothy lifted his head and stood, clinging to his brother's waist, "Just as long as you don't kick me I think I'll be fine here."
"'Til the end of the week! Then you're gone." The younger man nodded and pulled away from him. Edward paused, getting a feeling that he had forgotten something, but shrugged it off as his brother ran into the kitchen to raid his cabinets.
"Your tastes have changed! You actually have food now." Edward groaned and retreated into his study, slamming the door behind him. "Nice you see you too!"
~-~
Eh... I dunno.