In for a Crazy Ride
Experiencing Life
What happened was horrifying, and Rachel honestly never wanted to experience it again. Yet, she'd also argue she didn't want ever to chase a limo passenger up a fire escape to stop them from jumping from one rooftop to another just to escape. She wanted to do something, in the then and now, only for Ryo's agent to have her drive.
And drive she did, taking the time to shake off anybody who might be following before deciding to pull into a park where it was quiet and Keith could, if need be, safely run off some steam. That was when she took the time to look at the back seat where Keith and Ryo were sitting.
She'd heard Ryo sit up first while listening to him move in close to his brother before poking and prodding as his agent warned him not to do those things, telling Keith it would be okay until he finally managed to pull both of them up into the seat where Keith simply collapsed into a heap, head in Ryo's lap, breath is still ragged. Rachel frowned. "This isn't good."
"You think?" The agent said. "This is all wrong."
She didn't know if she was wrong in doing it, dialing up Veronica, but she did it as the agent turned, suddenly begging her not to tell her boss she no longer wanted the job. She waved him off. "Veronica?"
"What is it?"
"I need your help."
"I'm at work, and we're having a PR mess because…"
"I've two Ryo in my limo," Rachel said.
"Put me on speaker."
"What are you doing?" the agent said as Rachel pushed the button. "You shouldn't bring in outside help. This could become…"
"I'm not outside helping," Veronica said. "Specifically, I was Keith's counselor while he was at the Garrison, and I know more about the situation than you think. More than Rachel, whose your limo driver."
"And what's your relation?"
"Rachel is my sister, but it's not surprising someone figured out the Keith and Ryo connection and leaked it given Keith attended the garrison here. Unfortunately didn't make friends while he was here, and some aren't fond of him. Which, they're talking about Keith being a double body Rachel."
"Oh god. It was that idiot brother of ours."
"You leaked information to a family member?" the agent hissed, obviously pissed.
"She didn't. Lance figured out that she was driving Keith and not Ryo when the news broke last night as he recognized the red jacket. Can you hand the phone to Ryo, please?"
"I…"
"I'd really like to talk to Keith, but if I'm correct, he's in a calm down mood and is at risk of losing it again?"
The agent sighed, taking the phone from Rachel and handing it back to Ryo, who put it to his ear. "Hi. Understand that I am thoroughly pissed at this brother of yours."
"It's on speaker, dear."
Ryo held the phone away, flinching as he did so.
"And he's going to be in huge trouble with our mother. But more importantly, you're not the only ones dealing with a PR fiasco right now because Lance slipped the tongue online. That, however, isn't my top priority now. Tell Keith that Veronica is on the phone. Shiro always called me by my first name, so that's how he knows me, but if that doesn't work, tell him it's the garrison shrink, and she's worried about him."
"Okay." Ryo gently nudged Keith, who didn't respond. "Keith. It's Veronica." Keith didn't move. "You know…"
"I heard," Keith muttered, still not moving.
"Hi, Keith. I guess I'll start by apologizing for what's going on. Are you feeling a little better?"
"A little."
"And how're things going with your new family?"
"It sucks," Keith said, but he looked up at Ryo. He slowly sat up, looking at the ground. "Ryo's nice, I guess. And grandfather."
"Is something the matter?"
Keith remained silent.
"You know we can't know what's wrong if you don't tell us, right?"
"I know that the Shirogane family didn't want anyone to know about me," Keith said, sitting up and pulling away from Ryo.
Rachel leaned towards the driver's door, remembering how they were talking about how he wasn't sure if his family cared or not.
"And I know they don't want me."
"I want you," Ryo said. "Why don't you get that?"
"Okay. Ryo. You know your brother's autistic, right?"
"Yes. I know that." Ryo said. "And I know that nobody in the family wanted to be his legal guardian, so I became it. Or my agent did."
"There. The problem is right," her sister pointed out as Keith drew away from Ryo, head lowering as he tucked his arms around himself, pulling his legs up to his chest.
"What do you mean?" Ryo said, frowning.
"You write your own songs, right? Shiro told me that."
"Yes. I write my own songs."
"And you know how important it is to choose your words to convey the meaning you want to your audience?"
"Yes."
"Well, with Keith, you've got to choose your words more carefully. Choosing words that have an alternative interpretation means Keith might very well take the alternative interpretation to what you were saying."
Rachel watched Ryo turn to look at Keith, frowning, thinking about what Veronica and what he said. He said, "I didn't become Keith's legal guardian because nobody else did. I wanted to become his protector. And yeah, nobody else was willing to do it. It fucking hurt seeing none of the adults there stepping up to do the right thing. It fucking hurt because it involved someone I cared about, and I couldn't let it go on like that, them arguing while he was in the other room hearing everything they said. It's not what he deserves."
"That's better. Keith?" Veronica called out over the phone. Only, there was no response. "Hey, Keith."
"I heard what Ryo said," Keith muttered.
"Was he clear in how he felt?"
"Yes. And I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Veronica asked.
"For misinterpreting what he said."
"And?"
"It's something I do."
"Yes. It's not something you intend to do, but if those who care about you know you struggle with communication, and that's going both ways, it helps them, and you communicate better."
"Is this how Takashi did it?" the agent asked.
"Do you mean did he come to me for advice regarding Keith?" Veronica asked.
"He did. I know he did," Keith said. "Shiro admitted he wasn't perfect and that he needed help. He said I needed to learn from that, that it was okay to ask for help when I need it."
"Yes. Good. That's progress there, Keith, but it's good to see that your time with the Shirogane family didn't undo our hard work."
"Didn't it, though? Isn't this happening because I decided to bolt and ended up on the roof of a building ready to jump?"
"Woah! Woah!" the agent turned to Rachel. "You didn't say anything about him being suicidal, but you should have…"
"Knowing Keith, he was trying to jump across the gap between roofs, not trying to jump off the roof to kill himself," Ryo said.
"Keith, don't scare people like that," Veronica said, actually laughing.
"Oh. Sorry. Yeah. I was going to jump across the gap. Which technically does still fit the definition of suicidal."
"Keith."
"Sorry."
Ryo sighed, looking out the window. "I think I should cancel the tour. The interview was next, before the concerts for this week, so could you cancel them?"
"Wait! Don't!"
Rachel tilted her head, watching Keith become flustered.
"No. Don't! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I messed up. Don't do that!"
She watched Ryo stare at his twin while his agent let out a sigh. "And this was what I was trying to warn Ryo about, about letting his career take a back seat so he could care for Akira. I didn't notice it at first, but Ryo. Keith cares about hurting you, about causing you problems."
"Which is why you shouldn't take actions that make Keith think he's a burden to you," Veronica said. "But you said an interview is next?"
"Yes," Ryo said.
"Ryo, can you take me off speakerphone so I can tell you my idea? Ideas, I should say, because you are obviously thinking of putting that pop idol career on hold so you can take care of your brother?"
"Ryo likes singing," Keith muttered.
"He's not going to, Keith. Ryo? Let me borrow your ear?"
"Sure."
He lifted the phone, though there was some hesitation, but then he'd accidentally put the phone to his ear while it was in speaker mode. He listened, and at first, Rachel saw no change, but then he started reacting. At first, it seemed he was upset, wanting to object, but then Veronica…"
"Okay. I got it. That makes sense. We'll meet you at the station then. And thank you for forewarning me that line of questioning might come up and your other ideas." Ryo hung up and handed the phone back. "So, change of plans."
"Don't quit," Keith said.
"I'm not," Ryo said, smiling. "I mean change of plans for you, in that we're going to be using the same limo driver now as there's no real point in using different ones to distract the media away from you."
"Because I'm…"
"It's not what you think," Ryo's agent sighed.
"Come back here so I can talk in your ear this time to tell you some stuff."
"You're leaving Keith out," Rachel pointed out.
"It's not because you're in trouble. Speaking of which…"
"I'm sorry!" The agent, who was already out of the front and getting into the back with the two teens. He bowed. "I had your jacket sent to the cleaners because it got dirty yesterday, but also a little torn, so it will be properly mended and properly cleaned when it gets back. It wasn't because you were in trouble, though I do admit I was afraid you'd draw attention to yourself. I'll need to arrange for it to be dropped off at the television studio rather than the dressing room for where we were."
Keith simply stared, but Rachel wasn't sure if he was horrified at the idea of his jacket getting cleaned, mainly when it was apparent the smells of the jacket made him feel more comfortable.
