Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Thank you!
Chapter Four: Rockstar.
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The kid stumbled through the door, short and skinny, a mop of almost fluorescent pink hair topping his head.
At first glance, Hiro thought he was a girl.
But after a few minutes, he was proven wrong, when the surprisingly boyish voice cried out, filling the entire room.
And echoing too.
Must be a singer.
"But I don't know this song!" He wailed desperately, grabbing the large hand of the man who had given him the...sheet music, it looked like. "I don't know how to speak English!"
"That's too bad," the man (Hiro had seen him around, but couldn't remember his name, or what his job was) said gruffly, easily pushing the kid away with one shove.
"Please, let me sing something in Japanese!" He clasped his hands together, begging, on the verge of tears now. "Or, um...I write my own songs!"
"Tonight," the man growled, his sneer growing with every word he spoke, "you sing 'Fever'. Maybe, if your pansy ass doesn't get booed off the stage the second you set foot on it, we'll consider letting you sing your shit poetry."
The tall, rather hairy man stalked off, grumbling.
Leaving the pink-haired kid to collapse on the floor.
Crying.
Hiro couldn't stand tears.
Sighing, he walked over and kneeled down next to the boy, and awkwardly placed his hand on the kid's knee. "Hey, you okay? I know we're not the friendliest bunch here, but..." He chuckled. "We try."
A wet, miserable, and very confused face looked up at him. "I can't speak English," he sobbed.
Guessing that it was probably what he wanted, Hiro took the boy into his arms. He supposed he'd guessed right when the kid latched on, wrapping his arms around him tightly.
"It's okay," Hiro said, rubbing the kid's back, laughing lightly. This kid was weird, but cute. Hiro liked him already. "I'll help you learn the song. It's pretty easy."
Purple eyes flashed up at him, shining with tears and...hope.
"I'll play for you too, add in some really cool riffs," Hiro offered, nodding his head in the direction of his beloved guitar. "Make you sound like the rockstar you are."
The boy's eyes grew wide, and suddenly...he smiled. It was so genuine, so real, it almost knocked Hiro off his feet. He hadn't seen a smile like that in a long time. Especially not around here.
"You really play guitar?" He squealed, his voice now taking on the girly tone that Hiro had imagined. He quickly wiped his tears with the back of his hand. "That's so cool! I've always wanted to play an instrument, but I'm stupid and I have short fingers so..."
"You're not stupid." Hiro bopped him on his pink head. "We need to get to work, if you have any hope of learning that song at all. My bartending shift starts in half an hour."
"You bartend too?" The kid's eyes were practically sparkling with admiration. He jumped up, clutching the damp sheet music he'd used as a makeshift Kleenex.
"Apparently so." Hiro shrugged, laughing. "Being able to twirl beer bottles gets you real far in life, you know. It's currently paying my college bills."
"And college...?" The starry-eyed kid was swaying on the spot. "You're so, like...multitalented!"
Hiro stretched on the ground before standing up as well. "That's what they tell me." He winked. "Really, I just have too much time on my hands."
"Well, I think you're cool," the boy argued. "Oh yeah! And I'm Shuichi."
"Hiroshi. Friends call me Hiro." He ruffled Shuichi's hair. "Welcome to Club Velvet, Shu."
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By the time he could pronounce most of the words to 'Fever', and remember roughly half of them, Shuichi found himself in a hot pink pleather skirt.
With a rhinestone belt.
He was also wearing a lime green top, decorated in swirls of sequins, which Shuichi wished he could call a muscle tee. But he knew it was really a tank top.
He was wearing a tank top.
"I look like a girl." He said it on a completely unintentional sigh. He zipped up his pink go-go boots. With platform bottoms that made him three inches taller, at least.
"But a very cute girl." A guy with long blond hair, who was trying on a white leather jacket, smiled at Shuichi. "You look great."
He felt himself blush. "Thank you," he said, slowly, as he got to his feet. Wobble. "But I don't think I'll be able to walk in these shoes..."
A laugh. "No one can. Just wiggle your butt a little, and no one will notice that you're walking like a chicken."
"I feel like a penguin," Shuichi admitted, laughing. Stagger. He flailed his arms desperately before regaining his balance.
Wobble.
Well, kinda.
The guy just keep laughing at him! It wasn't his fault he didn't know how to wear girls' shoes!
He stuck out his bottom lip.
"You must be new," Blond-san said randomly, fishing around in a drawer.
"Uh...yeah," Shuichi said, sitting back down on the velvet couch. The shoes were already pinching his feet.
He had started unzipping them when Blond-san handed him a tube of glitter.
Blink.
"You gotta sparkle up there, man," he explained simply.
Clunk.
Those shoes even sounded heavy.
"I've never worn makeup before," Shuichi said quietly, smearing glitter on his collarbone.
"You should more often," Blond-san said, his reflecting winking at Shuichi.
Blond-san's hands ran some sparkly goop through Shuichi's hair. Fluff. Tousle. Messy.
"Sexy," Blond-san remarked, stepping back to admire his handiwork.
Shuichi saw his mirror-self blink.
He did look...different. Special. Like he could be something.
Something worth believing in.
Someone worth loving.
Mirror-Shuichi smiled, and his lips glittered.
"Maa." A voice. Harsh. Demanding.
And jealous.
Maybe.
"Get over here."
Shuichi looked around the room, and found the black-haired singer from before. His eyes still looked so cold. Mean.
He tapped his combat-booted foot impatiently.
Shiver.
"Hey." A tap on his shoulder. "Good luck up there. Blow 'em away, okay, Shu-chan?"
"Okay." A whimper. His voice sounded so stupid. Quiet and scared.
The other guy, he looked scared too. His mean eyes, they also looked...sad. Even as they glared at Shuichi.
He never took his eyes off Shuichi, as he snaked his arm around Blond-san's waist. Slowly. Possessively.
Even after they walked away, Shuichi still felt those eyes on him.
Shiver.
xx
"You ready to rock?" Hiro pulled his guitar strap over his head. His eyes sparkled. Excited.
Shuichi did not feel excited at all.
He felt nervous. Anxious. Scared.
And...sparkly.
"No," he answered honestly, looking down at his feet. Bare. Those shoes hurt. He wiggled his toes.
"What?"
The next thing he knew, Hiro was bending over, staring right at Shuichi.
His eyes were so gray. Like a storm cloud.
"You know you can do this, right?" Hiro asked him. His eyes flashed. Lightning.
Shuichi shook his head.
Hiro sighed.
"Well, you can. And don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Got it?"
Shuichi looked up. Nodded. Okay.
Okay.
He could do this.
He could do this.
Right?
He shot one more worried glance at Hiro as the velvet curtains parted.
A burst of light. Like a sunbeam on the hottest summer day. He couldn't see. He couldn't breathe.
The light was shining for him.
It was all for him.
Blink.
Hiro nudged his back gently. A deep, clear voice in his ear. Confident. Excited.
"Get up there, rockstar."
xx
A/N: Ack. I posted late. Forgive me! I try to update every Friday, and if I don't, you can guess that I was either busy or unproductive. Probably both. -laughs-
Um...about this one...I dunno. It was fun? Hiro/Shu is probably my favorite dynamic in the series. They are just awesome. I'm hoping that I write this thing well enough to show the true power of their friendship.
I also love ASK. Don't hurt me!
Uh...I'm too tired to write a proper A/N, so...stay tuned for next chapter, please? Shu's big performance through Yuki's eyes. Should be exciting? To everyone who reviews, thank you with all my soul. I love you more than cheesecake! To everyone else, if you have any feelings at all on this story, love, hate, or somewhere in between, please don't hesitate to tell me. I'd love to hear it!
Thanks for reading, everyone!