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Coffee Shops and Cameras
Chapter 2
As the crowd began dispersing, my father and I did our best to recompose ourselves in our seats. I was tired and itching for a cigarette. Nothing new there. Dad had mustered up the courage to speak to whomever passed us, mostly people he had seen in the media. I actually found myself recognising some celebrities from Dad's fashion shrine he had created in his room, it was strange seeing them without random post-it notes with 'Makes the best high-waisted shorts' stabbed into the photos.
Eventually our escort – Isobel – made a reappearance, practically shaking with joy, probably the after affect of a high end runway show.
"Mrs Hitachiin is dying to meet you" She grinned wildly, "Come with me"
"Oh my god Haruhi" Dad gasped, then threw his hands into his long hair, "How do I look? I look awful don't I?"
I rolled my eyes and reached out to tuck back an imaginary fly away hair, then smiled as if I'd just miraculously transformed him. Isobel beamed and led us through the emptying room, I did my best to steer Dad away from the designers who still remained, and he steered me away from the refreshment table. We made a great team. We headed through tall double doors, dodging by men and women wearing wired headsets, holding clipboards, shouting to one another through walkie talkies. Backstage was like endless dark corridors, filled with far more people than the space could accommodate. We squeezed passed, trying to keep pace with Isobel who melted through the crowds with no issue. After a few minutes of walking, she finally stopped and turned to us.
"Mrs Hitachiin will be with you shortly" She smiled, "Help yourself to a drink while you wait"
I blinked and glanced around. We were stood in the doorway of the 'green room'. Inside was plush and white, with two large white velvet couches embellished with large fluffy cushions facing parallel to each other. The huge window practically illuminated the room, lighting up the tall marble bust statues that stood on pedestals in all four corners and on the edge of the large bar.
Ah, a bar. Thank goodness.
I let out a sigh of relief and stepped inside, leaving Dad to excuse Isobel from the hallway. She seemed to be itching to leave, and who was I to stop her? I almost wanted to shout 'TAKE ME WITH YOU' but instead I walked straight to the bar and clocked a bottle of scotch. The good stuff.
"Don't have too much, it looks expensive" Dad said, settling down on the couch.
"I'm sure they can afford more" I murmured. I poured two fingers of whiskey and took a small sip. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. Oh wow. It tasted smokey and spicy, the flavour set my mouth alight. "Want anything?" I offered with a satisfied sigh.
"I'm okay dear" Dad smiled.
"You sure you don't need any dutch courage?" I chuckled. He declined once again. It was funny, for someone that worked in a bar 6 nights a week, he sure hated his liquor. I went back to analysing the room as he twiddled his thumbs in his lap.
From the hallway we could hear crashing around as stage hands moved set pieces away, and the sound of rolling carts accompanied by shouting and talking. I sipped my drink again and stared at the pictures collaged on the walls. Coloured, black and white, sepia, all of various celebrities, models and cover arts for magazines. I assumed this place was a regular venue for the fashion world. I recognised a few covers of CAST magazine framed on the wall. Some of which I'd seen in Dad's room. I scanned them from one side of the room to the other, there must have been over 50 framed photos in here. I paused at one photo in particular. It was one of the two men I'd seen on stage, the twins. The photo must have been a little old, as they looked a little thinner and boyish in the picture, unlike the two muscled men I'd stared at not half an hour earlier. I furrowed my eyebrows, I'd never known twins before, did being identical really mean identical? How could anyone tell them apart? They had the same hair, same build, same faces, same eyes...wait? I looked closer at their eyes. They were the same earthy hazel, but something was a little different about them. I wasn't one who was inclined to believe you could see a person's soul through their eyes, but I had to admit, there was a different twinkle between them. I shrugged and had a little more whiskey.
I need to take a note of this stuff.
About 10 minutes later, we were alerted by a light knocking at the door. Dad's face turned bright red as it opened and Yuzuha Hitachiin herself strolled in smiling brightly. She was dressed from head to toe in royal blue, her pleated skirt was satin and danced side to side as she stepped in the room, her tall heels were strappy and velvety, and her silk blouse hugged her slim body elegantly. I honestly couldn't pull my eyes off her. I took a moment to admire her hair, it was short and choppy, much like mine.
See Dad. You don't need long hair to look stunning.
"Hello ladies!" Yuzuha grinned, opening her arms to pull me into an unexpected hug. I tensed against her as she squeezed me tightly, "Don't you just look like a dream, a beautiful dream"
"Uh, thank you..." I replied hesitantly.
"And Mr Fujioka, welcome. And congratulations for winning the contest! I loved your entry!"
"You read it?" Dad questioned, sounding as if he were about to cry.
Yuzuha smiled and gave him a hug, much like the one she gave me, "And I adore your hair, I may have to steal this look for one of my campaigns"
"You can scalp me right now if you want" Dad laughed.
Yuzuha chuckled brightly and sat down beside Dad. She was so beautiful it made my back teeth hurt, attractive genes must have run in the Hitachiin family. I could only wonder what her husband must have looked like. She and Dad talked shop for a while, swooning over designs and the show. Yuzuha eagerly answered all of Dad's questions, she seemed genuinely flattered and excited to sit down and talk to him. It was nice to see such a big celebrity like her take the time to enjoy a normal Q&A with a crazed fan like my father.
"Haruhi?" Dad spoke up.
I glanced up from the magazine I was reading on the couch opposite them.
"Would you like to have a look around?" Yuzuha offered, she was holding Dad's hands in her lap. He looked as if he'd died and gone to heaven. My heart swelled seeing the smile on his perfectly airbrushed face.
"Sure" I replied. I had to admit, I was curious to see how this whole shebang got thrown together. I wasn't too fussed about the models or the perfect hair and make up. But the sets, the lighting, the drawn designs – I couldn't ignore the fascination I felt. Yuzuha led us out of the room. The corridors had emptied somewhat, so it wasn't so much of a fight for space like it had been before. Yuzuha took us through to behind the stage, where models walked around in their everyday clothes and handlers rolled rails of outfits back and forth as they began cleaning up. Dad's eyes popped out of his skull as he dragged them over every single item of fashionable clothing.
"Have a closer look if you want" Yuzuha grinned.
Dad clapped his hands together and squealed like a teenage girl.
"You can too if you'd like" Yuzuha turned to me.
I shook my head politely, "I'm okay thank you, but your designs are beautiful"
"Thank you so much precious doll" she beamed, "I sense that you're not as interested in fashion as your father is"
I chuckled, "Something like that"
"It's a shame really, you'd make a perfect model. You've got that cool tomboy look. It's very in at the moment"
"Me? A model?" I scoffed, "I doubt I could even tell you the difference between briefs and thongs"
To that, she laughed loudly and rested her hand on my shoulder, "Perhaps a comedian would be a better pathway?"
I smirked and glanced back at Dad. He was riffling through the rails of clothes, mouth open wide in fascination.
"So how do you put something like this together?" I asked.
"A runway show? Oh its easy. I have my trusted contacts, I just watch over them – make sure everything is how I envision it. We get some set backs, cancellations, unwanted drama, but in the end we pull it out of the hat. I always have this sense of complete euphoria after a successful show, it reminds me of when I was young and sold my first design"
"How old were you when you started designing?"
"I started when I was 14, but I didn't make a dime until I was 28. By then I was already pregnant and making maternity clothes"
"Do your sons enjoy modelling your designs?"
The corner of her mouth curved upwards, "My boys are fantastic. They've always been so supportive of their dear old Mom. They're my only male models, that was always their request. They know the designs inside and out, and I think they just love the attention. They were little show off's even when they were little"
I chuckled to myself, "Well they were very impressive"
"That's very kind of you to say so" she replied, "They should be around here somewhere, I'll introduce you"
"Oh, no...you don't have to trouble them just for me"
"I'm pretty sure your father wouldn't refuse such an opportunity" she winked.
After Dad had satisfied his craving for high fashion, Mrs Hitachiin sent someone to find her sons. Dad and her continued to gossip like old girlfriends, whilst I smiled politely and glanced around the room some more. When I looked back up, my eyes focused on two extraordinary men walking into view. Identical apart from one who smiled and one who scowled. Dad's hand shook in mine as we watched the same men approach us. They exchanged quick smiles with their mother before facing us and bowing politely.
"Kaoru, Hikaru, this is Ranka and Haruhi Fujioka. They won our little competition in CAST", Yuzuha explained.
The twin on the right grinned widely, "In that case it's a pleasure" he stepped closer and took mine and my father's hands to plant delicate kisses on the backs of our knuckles. I shivered a little and felt the blush light up my cheeks.
Dad giggled like a little girl, "Thank you...uh..."
"Kaoru" He glowed, "Did you enjoy the show?"
"It was amazing!" Dad beamed.
"Yes...amazing" I cleared my throat. It was then that I noticed the other twin - Hikaru - was standing there completely motionless. Barely changing his expression from melancholic. He must have been tired or something...that or he was pissed off. I hoped it wasn't the latter.
"Hikaru?" Yuzuha nudged him.
The Hitachiin twin continued to stare at me for a long moment. He eyed me up and down like he hated my very existence, he seemed almost offended by my presence.
"Hikaru, aren't you going to greet our guests?" Mrs Hitachiin smiled warmly, clasping her hands together in excitement.
Hikaru made a noise that sounded almost like a growl or a grumble, for a moment it felt as if he hadn't heard her speak. Those dark hazel eyes bore into mine, unflinching, without any feeling in them but pure unadulterated hatred. He was judging me with every ounce of his being. I found my expression slowly mirroring his, as I felt more and more insulted by the way he seemed to perceive me.
Suddenly he replied curtly, "Don't steal anything"
I was taken aback by his comment, as was my father who gasped beside me.
"Hikaru" Mrs Hitachiin snapped, "I'm so sorry about him, he likes to joke"
"Oh" Dad chuckled nervously, "I see"
"Grouch" Kaoru smirked, flicking his brother's shoulder. Hikaru shot him a glare.
"Would you like to see the dressing rooms?" Mrs Hitachiin asked, dragging attention away from the awkward exchange.
"I'd love to! Oh Haruhi isn't that exciting!?" Dad beamed, "I'd love to!"
"I'm going to hang back Dad" I spoke up.
"What? But sweetie! The dressing rooms"
I smiled, "I'll catch up with you, I need a..." I trailed off, making a gesture with my fingers to represent a cigarette.
He nodded in understanding and grimaced, "First thing tomorrow, I'm getting you off those things. They'll stain your teeth and rot your lungs"
I rolled my eyes.
"I tell my son the same thing" Mrs Hitachiin sighed, "But do you listen Hika? Of course not"
"I wish I had one right now to jam through my temple" Hikaru grumbled.
"Such a ray of sunshine" she heaved a sigh, "Anyway, come with me my beauty" she grinned to my Dad and held out her arm for him to link through. Dad practically fainted. She seemed so genuine, I never thought a celebrity like her would be so welcoming, I always expected celebrities to be like...well...Hikaru.
I watched them leave before flashing Hikaru a second glance. He'd already turned back around to continue what he was doing. He didn't look back at me, even though I kinda wanted to ask him where the smoking area was. Kaoru however, flashed me a wink before excusing himself too. I guess it proved it, in every set of twins - there was a good one and an evil one.
I walked to the closest crew member who directed me to a back door. There were a couple of people out there smoking already. I kept my distance and lit up a cigarette, letting the hot bitter smoke invade my mouth. It tasted like shit, but by god I needed it.
"Oh sweet baby Jesus" I groaned with a satisfied smile.
Being surrounded by all these people running around meeting everyone's needs made me think about my own job. I worked in a small cafe down the road from mine and Dad's apartment, we barely had any customers, apart from elderly women and lonely men needing an excuse to go outside and a quick caffeine fix. I never felt as if I'd achieved much after a 10 hour shift with no breaks. I'd just go home, grab a bag of chips and fall asleep in front of the TV, then wake up the next morning and start the sequence all over again. Even though these people around me looked stressed out of their minds, I envied them immensely. I wished I could do something I cared about. I still hadn't heard back about the newest job I'd applied for. And I wasn't really expecting to anytime soon.
When I was a kid, I was very bright. I sunk all my energy into school and grades. And I left with some pretty damn good qualifications. However, those grade seemed to do fuck all when looking for a career. The best job I'd ever gotten was an administrative job in an insurance office. The company shut down in the end and I had to think on my feet. That's how I ended up at The Busy Bean. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought about what I wanted to do with my life. I could barely stand the smell of coffee anymore. I wondered if Yuzuha had worked somewhere shitty before she sold her first design. Although I couldn't really envision her in my tea stained olive green apron and hat...
When I went back inside the building, I had absolutely no idea where to look for Dad and Yuzuha. In the end, I decided to blindly wander around – nosily watching everyone steaming outfits and stacking up design portfolios. My curious eyes got the better of me, and I found myself staring at page after page of fashion drawings Yuzuha had done. She was an incredible artist. I wondered how the ideas came to her, some of the patterns were otherworldly, and the colour combinations were so strange that they just shouldn't have worked – but somehow they did.
"Boo" a low voice hummed in my ear.
I jumped and let out a little yelp. One of the twins was laughing behind me, by the smile on his face – I assumed it was Kaoru. I stared up at the 6ft 5 man, built like a brick wall, and settled on the toothy grin he greeted me with.
"You scared the shit out of me" I gasped.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist" he shrugged, "You look lost"
I copied his shrug, "Thought I'd be nosy whilst I wait for Dad"
"He'll be a while" Kaoru smiled, "Once Mom starts talking she doesn't stop. And she loves your Dad, so I doubt you'll be seeing him again"
"As long as he's fed twice a day she can keep him" I replied.
"Ah" he grinned wildly and pointed a finger at me, "That was funny"
I chuckled a little and folded my arms. The twin - still grinning like an excited little boy – turned away for a second to talk to a woman with a headset. I shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, not sure whether to leave or stand there. Instead, I took a moment to study the man. Unlike before when his hair had been perfectly styled, his burnt red hair was now spiked and messy, as if he'd been dragging his hands through it since the catwalk lights switched off. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt with the words 'You've CAT to be KITTEN me right MEOW' in big white letters down the front. It was a far cry from the formal fitted suit he'd been wearing on the runway.
"So, how did you like the show?" he asked, interrupting my analysis.
I cleared my throat, "Yeah it was...good, I enjoyed it"
"Not much of a fashion fan huh?"
I smirked, "It's that obvious?"
"Kind of. Those shoes are too small for you" He pointed down at the red stilettos I'd borrowed from Dad. They had once been Mom's, but her feet were a good size and a bit smaller than mine.
I chuckled, "I don't wear anything you can't lace up"
"That's probably more sensible, heels fuck up your toes"
"That they do" I smirked, "So what do you do now? When the show ends?" I asked curiously.
He shrugged, "We used to have after parties, but now that we do these things practically once a week, there's really no point. I'll do whatever Hikaru does now..."
"Where did he run off to?"
"Probably getting changed"
"Is he always so..." I trailed off. I wanted to say grumpy...or moody...or just 'so much of a dick.'
"More times than not" Kaoru replied, his smile falling a little, "I wouldn't take it personally, he just gets a little defensive around people he doesn't know"
"At least it makes it easy to tell you apart" I said lightheartedly.
In response to my remark, a curious expression touched his face, he furrowed his eyebrows as if he didn't understand what I'd meant. But quickly, that expression went back to his signature smile, "This sounds rude but...what did you say your name was? Our greeting was so rushed, it slipped my mind"
I chuckled, "Haruhi"
"Well, nice to meet you Haruhi"
"Nice to meet you too"
An hour passed and Dad still hadn't made a reappearance. Kaoru showed me around the set a little more, letting me take a closer look at his Mom's designs and portfolios. He seemed surprised that I was more interested in the drawings than the actual clothing. I loved drawings and designs. If I'd taken anything away from school, it was the art. I still loved to draw, it was a talent Mom always praised me for. Since I could hold a pencil right she had been hanging my pictures on the fridge and sending them to grandparents. Now, Dad had my paintings from art class as a kid in frames in the living room, but since leaving school – my art had taken a step back to mindless doodles on napkins at work.
In the end, I opted for another cigarette whilst Dad was gone. That way he couldn't complain at me.
I will quit tomorrow...I will quit tomorrow...
As I continued to inwardly scold myself, I didn't hear the sound of the side door of the building open, nor did I hear the footsteps that followed. It was only when I glanced to my left – I noticed one of the twins standing a few feet away from me, not even flickering their gaze towards where I stood. His downward turned lips told me exactly which one he was.
"Don't talk to me" Hikaru grumbled, barely looking up from lighting his cigarette.
"I haven't even said anything" I replied.
"You were going to"
"How do you know?"
"Not interested" his tone was just that, completely disinterested.
I looked back ahead of me, eyes wide with disbelief. I took another huff on my cigarette. To my right Hikaru was still struggling to light his. I chuckled.
"Something funny?" He snapped.
"If you were talking to me I'd offer you a lighter" I smirked, "But...since I'm not allowed to, you'll have to forget I even suggested it"
He made the most resentful and hateful face I'd ever seen. I held my lighter out for him to take. He stared at my hand like I'd just offered him a dead carcass. For a moment I could see hesitation, he was considering it, but after a few moments he turned away.
"Fuck it" he mumbled, heading for the door.
"Hey" I called out, making him stop where he stood, "It's not a bomb, just light the damn cigarette"
With his back turned to me he looked up at the sky, groaning heavily. I stared at him with toying amusement as he walked back over and snatched the lighter from my hand. He flicked it once and ignited his cigarette, then threw it back into my palm. He didn't say anything, he just stood a couple of feet away from me, silent.
"You're welcome" I murmured sarcastically.
He didn't reply. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, he didn't so much as notice, it were as if he'd already forgotten I was there. He was wearing a tight fitted white t-shirt and black jeans, his outfit shaped every muscle, curve and dimple on his body. I found myself accidentally admiring the beautiful man, wondering how someone who looked so stunning could be so ugly.
"The show was good" I remarked, trying to fill the awkward silence. He didn't say anything, "Your brother and you work well together"
"Why are you still talking?" He grumbled.
"Just trying to make conversation"
"I prefer to smoke in silence"
"You know there's a reason it's called 'social smoking' - you know, you get to talk about bullshit, pass the time..."
"I'd rather jump off a bridge than talk to you"
I blinked and raised an eyebrow, "Wow..." I sighed, "Why are you so-"
"I spend 99% of my time talking to people I don't care about about things I don't care about. What makes you think that I want to do that on my own time?" He scoffed.
"I'm a waitress" I grumbled, "You think I don't do the same? Do you think the sun shines on my life when Dora wanders in the cafe with her 100 year old poodle and talks to me about the elastic in her socks?"
"Then you get why I'd rather stand in silence"
"Aren't you suppose to be more sociable than this?" I asked.
"I have more important things to focus my energy on Miss Fujioka"
I shook my head in disbelief, "One last question"
He huffed.
"How long is that stick that's wedged up your ass?"
I swear, the second those words left my lips, the air around me turned cold. Hikaru stared at me, eyes wide and dark with rage and shock. The ash of his cigarette burned for too long and fell from the end as he challenged me with his glare. Once again, I found myself in a staring contest. Only this one didn't seem as innocent, or as fun. By the look on his face, I could tell he'd never been spoken to like that before.
I guess he can dish it out, but can't take it back.
After what felt like hours, he threw down his cigarette and stomped out the cinders. He didn't say anything, but his eyes told me plenty.
"It was a pleasure meeting you Mr Hitachiin" I breathed quietly, trying my best not to break eye contact with him. His lips twitched slightly, almost into a grimace, before I sighed and put out my cigarette as he had done. I walked back towards the building, ignoring the burning glare he bore into my back as I left him standing there.
If I never see that man again. It would be too soon.
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Yuli xxx