Chapter 4
"How's it going here, guys?" asked Gumi, leaning against the doorframe.
Kaito and Gakupo merely glanced at her, then turned back to their songbooks.
"I see, hard at work, no time to talk," Gumi said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I just dropped by to see if you'd been working well, and I see you are. Would you like a snack or something?"
Gakupo looked up at her coolly. "I'd like a refreshing beverage. Lots of ice. Perhaps you could chip some off of your heart? That is, if you can find it."
Gumi laughed sarcastically. Then she turned to Kaito, whose face was hidden behind the book. "Would you like anything?"
He shook his head negatively. "No."
"Okay," she sang, giving a thumbs up. "Then I'm off. Work hard!" She shut the door, and Gakupo lowered his gaze back to the page.
"How exactly does this first part go? I've never heard the song, so I don't know."
Kaito looked at Gakupo out of the corner of his eye. He looked so nonchalant about the whole thing, and was so serious about never having heard it. Didn't he ever listen to the radio? And why did it bother him that Gakupo had never heard it? No, he wasn't bothered...more like...hurt? He was hurt that Gakupo hadn't heard his song? That didn't sound quite right.
"Hello? Did you hear me?"
"Huh?" Kaito jolted out of his thoughts.
Gakupo looked at him strangely. "I asked if you could play your original recording."
"Huh? Oh," Kaito uttered, turning red. "Yeah, I can." He hurriedly pulled out his phone and unlocked it, then went to his recording application. He hesitated before he clicked play.
"What?" Gakupo said, noticing it.
"This is the first recording I took of it," Kaito said. "I didn't have all the music written when I recorded it, so it's mostly acapella."
Gakupo nodded.
"So don't laugh," Kaito added, still stalling.
Gakupo nodded again, looking at him pointedly. Kaito sighed and pressed play.
"Dissonance / A purple butterfly on my right shoulder in a corner of the room where we kissed / I learn how it feels to be broken-hearted / Reverberating piano / Dissonance
"Hurry up and wake me, I'm having a nightmare. / Every beginning / is a trivial thing, isn't it? / If you asked me what was good about it, / I wouldn't know how to answer / Because I'm lost somewhere, deluded by the beautiful night.
"Long eyelashes, crescent moon eyeliner, / on my eyelids, shiny lip gloss
"A purple butterfly on my right shoulder in a corner of the room where we kissed / I learn how it feels to be broken-hearted / Reverberating piano / Dissonance."
Kaito stopped the recording, heart hammering as he watched Gakupo listen to it. He had read along with the song, and looked up when it cut short. "That's uh," Kaito licked his lips nervously, suddenly horribly aware how bad the recording was. Why didn't he go online for the official one?! "That's basically it," he said lamely.
Gakupo nodded. "I got it now."
"Okay," he replied for lack of a more intelligent response. He inwardly cursed himself. Why had he thought that the original would impress Gakupo? It was crap! Crap! His voice had cracked at one point, he missed a note at another, and he could hear every breath he took. Gah! Kaito wanted to leave right then and never come back. He was so embarrassed.
"Are we ready to..." Gakupo trailed off as he looked at Kaito, who was slumped over slightly and looking quite dazed. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
"To practice?" Kaito finished dully.
"Yes."
"All right."
"Are you...?" Gakupo frowned, narrowing his eyes as he studied Kaito. He merely looked back at him. "All right?" Gakupo finished.
"Yes, why?" Kaito said, straightening up.
Gakupo shrugged. "If you're not feeling well, you won't sound well. I didn't want to waste time here with you if you weren't well."
"I see," Kaito muttered. "Well, I can assure you that I'm sick, so let's get to work."
Gakupo nodded and raised the book to eye level. "You're starting."
Kaito cleared his throat and began to sing, making sure that it was much better than the recording he had just played for his duet partner. "A purple butterfly on my right shoulder / In a corner of the room where we kissed / I learn how it feels to be broken-hearted / Reverberating piano..."
Gakupo picked up on his cue: "Dissonance."
Then they sang together, "A purple butterfly on my right shoulder in a corner of the room where we kissed / I learn how it feels to be broken-hearted / Reverberating piano / Dissonance
"Hurry up and wake me, I'm having a nightmare. / Every beginning / is a trivial thing, isn't it? / If you asked me what was good about it, / I wouldn't know how to answer / Because I'm lost somewhere, deluded by the beautiful night."
Kaito cut them off. "You're actually really good at this song, for it being the first time you've heard it."
"It's an easy song," he replied, slowly tearing his eyes from the page to look at him. "Your lyric style is-Are you sure you're well?"
Kaito blinked at him. "Of course. Why do you keep asking?"
"You look horrible."
"Um, thanks?" Kaito said, looking offended.
"No, I mean you look awful," Gakupo said, frowning at him.
Kaito scowled. "You're no spring flower yourself," he retorted.
Gakupo rolled his eyes. "No, I mean you look sick."
"Do I?"
"Yes!"
Kaito narrowed his eyes as if to tell whether the other was lying. But Gakupo looked seriously back at him. With a sigh, he dug his phone out of his pocket and turned the front camera on. He stared at his image. He did indeed look horrible. There were bags under his eyes, his cheeks were tinted, and he looked pale.
"I don't feel bad," Kaito said, looking a bit bewildered.
Gakupo rolled his eyes again. "Where's your manager?"
"On a date. Not that they'll get together, she's way too-"
"Get your things."
"Huh?"
Gakupo glared at him. "Get your things. I'm giving you a ride home so you can rest. We'll try this again when you're well."
"I can drive," Kaito said.
"I'm driving," Gakupo said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Hurry up and get your things, idiot."
Kaito scowled. There really was no arguing with this guy. But he felt a little flattered that he was being taken care of. He stood up, and everything suddenly went black.
A/N: song is Butterfly on My Right Shoulder.
In case you couldn't tell, Kaito fainted at the end. You know how when you stand up too suddenly and go all blind and dizzy for like three seconds? Like that, only full-blown pass out fun time.
Thanks for reading! ^-^