XXx Aya xXX
As soon as I set foot on the set, Renge appears and whisks me off to some massive dressing room that's been set up close to the shoot. It's bad enough that I have to spend all this free time at school, but now I have to be pushed around by a girl three years younger than me.
"Well, your costume is in the dressing room, and hair and make-up is right here," Renge says as she gestures vaguely around the tent-like room. "I've reviewed the dance you picked, and everything seems good. I'm just going to go check on the extras."
And with that, I'm shoved into a surprisingly spacious changing area.
"Try to hurry," I hear her command from the other side of the curtain. "You're on in 15!"
I sigh as I begin to pull of my highlighter yellow muscle shirt and toss it in a corner. I begin to feel my annoyance grow as I step out of my knee high converse and faded ripped black skinny jeans.
'This is so stupid,' begins ringing through my head as I toss my hair over my shoulder. Why did Tamaki approve this?
I turn to see a small tissue wrapped package waiting on the bench. My name tapped to it, and when I pick it up, I sigh as I feel it's heavy. I say a small prayer to whatever god is currently laughing at me before I unwrap it.
My jaw drops and I groan low in my throat before I seriously consider putting my clothes back on and just dancing in that.
I have no words to describe my irritation.
Renge has a whole 'Goth' outfit picked out for me.
I'm in a pale purple, almost burgundy corset top ant has small delicate chains draped across the stomach. It's paired with a some faded and ripped black shorts. I sigh heavily while studying the studded belt and the spiked fishnet thigh-high socks.
Why, why, why?! Tamaki really is an idiot.
"Aya-senpai!" Renge calls from the other side of the curtain. "You're on in 10!"
"Renge!" I yell back, trying to keep irritation from seeping into my voice. "Can I please just stick with what I was already wearing?"
"Absolutely not!" she yells. "Are you trying to ruin this movie?!"
"No," I reply, slightly irritated. "I'm trying to get this done in one take. Trust me Renge, you will get a much better scene if you just let me wear my own clothes. I can't dance well in these."
She's silent for a moment, almost as if she's considering my point. I dare to hope she will, and quickly slip back into my shirt in case she decides to burst in.
"Fine," she finally says. "We'll shoot it once like that. But if it's not perfect, you're changing and doing it as many times as it takes."
I sigh in relief and quickly change back into the clothes I came here in. If I'm going to be forced into helping make this short film I'd rather do it as myself.
As soon as I duck out of the changing area, I'm whisked into a prep chair but some attendants who have visible layers of makeup caked onto their faces.
I try not to cringe as they pick up their brushes and pallets and turn to me. The gleam in their eyes kind of creep my out…ok, they really creep me out.
"Couldn't you have gotten out here sooner?" Renge asks as one of the stylists begin to brush through my hair.
"Sorry," I say through grit teeth as the stylist's brush catches on a few tangles and they proceed to mercilessly yank the bristles through it.
"Ah, it's alright," she sighs. "You know, know that I look at you, that outfit just might actually work. Though we might have to change your character from Goth to more of a Punk tsundere type."
I try to smile as the other stylists wipes all traces of makeup from my face and begins to paint it with foundation that is at least three shades too light for me. I bite the inside of my cheek as the other stylist sections off a large portion of the hair on the left side of my head.
As they begin to make several tiny braids that travel up the side of my head from behind my ear, the other stylist whips out pallet of lipstick wells and flips over to the dark moody colors.
"We'll be shooting this scene with seven cameras, so hopefully it will only take one shot," Renge says as she casually slumps over the top of the makeup counter and twirls a lock of her hair coyly around her index finger. "I hope you're a good a dancer. I got nervous after I gave you your character and I did some asking around. You are in the dance department right?"
"Yes," I assure her through thin wine colored lips.
I close my eyes and attempt to ignore her as she babbles on. The stylists take the opportunity to draw an elaborate eyeliner design on my lids.
"Is she ready yet?" Renge asks impatiently after a while.
I open my eyes in time to see one stylist giving her the thumbs up while the other releases me from the safety cape.
Renge pulls me out of my chair and latches onto my arm. I stagger after her as she drags me out of the makeup tent and around the corner to the dance department portion of the set.
"You ready? Its show time!" she squeals happily before handing me a school bag and shoving me into the line of the cameras.
"Alright, action!" I hear the director guy yell from somewhere in the middle of the chaos.
I sigh before tossing the bag over my shoulder. Well, here goes nothing.
I slip into character and waltz up to the extra that's playing the dance instructor. His face brightens as I approach him, and he rushes over to meet me. He looks overly excited, and almost like he's about to have a spaz attack.
"There you are Atsumi-san!" he exclaims a little too loudly. "This is your big day! Some talent scouts have dropped by and asked to observe the students! They said they'd like to see you dance."
I nod and give him an apathetic look, before continuing on towards the studio. He follows quickly, and is soon tailed by a few extras from the club.
"I thought you'd be more excited," the extra says quietly as we approach the studio.
I see a camera zoom into my face from the corner of my eye and I let my features slip into a slightly pained expression.
"What does it matter?" I ask softly. "Whether they like me or not, it's just another thing that separates me from the other students."
I pull ahead of the extra and reach for the door of the studio. I push the door open and drop my bag by the ballet bars. As I make my way over to the other end of the room to hook up my phone to the sound system I try to avoid tripping over the cables and wires snaking around the dance room.
The door opens up again and a few dozen extras rush in, taking their places around the front of the room. In the center stand a few extras in dark suits and sunglasses. They carry briefcases and take notes of things on their phones.
For a minute I almost forget that this is all an act and I begin to feel nervous. I shake my head vigorously to clear the thoughts from my mind and turn to face my audience, giving them a shallow bow.
"Thank you for coming to see me dance today," I say monotonely.
The extras nod and motion for me to start. Renge grins wildly at me from across the room and picks up my phone from its spot on the podium and presses the play button.
And I dance.
I chose the most moody song Renge offered me. And how best to show pain and suffering? Contemporary. Nakoto-sensei would be proud.
Oh why can I not conquer love?
I allow myself to be the mouthpiece of the artist. I dance like I'm supposed to have a partner. Someone to catch me as I dare some risky choreography. Which makes it worse when I realize that there won't be someone there and land roughly.
Let's be clear I trust no one
And why should I? I begin to move moe stiffly, moe cautiously now that I know a leap of faith will cost me more than a physical injury. But I hold my head up until the end. Don't acknowledge the hurt. It's not like it helps in any way.
But you won't see me fall apart
My breath settles back into its normal pattern as the extras cheer. I count slowly to ten before dropping my ending pose and bowing shallowly to the actors playing the talent scouts.
"Thank you for your time," I say quietly before making my way over to the spot where I dropped my bag earlier.
Renge grins at me from behind the line of cameras, but mimes for me to look away from her and to start acting a little happy. Haruhi is standing at the door to the dance department, holding my bag in one hand and her own in another.
I wipe some sweat from my brow and allow a small smile to cross my lips. I stop in front of her and she sets my bag down and pulls a bottle of water from her own bag.
"Nice job," she says with a smile as she hands the bottle to me. "I think that was a personal best."
"You think?" I ask as I finish off the bottle and set it back on the floor. "It didn't feel any different from any other time I've danced."
"This is why I say you should watch yourself in the mirror every once in a while," she replies as she picks up my bag again. "If you did you'd see the difference."
"Ah! That was brilliant Atsumi-san!" the extra playing the dance instructor shouts as he cuts into our conversation. "There's no way they'll say no to you!"
"May I go now?" I ask him tiredly.
"W-whe-well I-I guess," he stammers at my lack of interest in the opportunity that could (at least in this movie) make or break my career.
"Come on Haru," I sigh before turning away from him and heading for the door.
The actor sputters nonsense as Haruhi follows me. I roll and pop my shoulders as she falls into step beside me. I take my bag from her and sling it over my shoulder, and we begin our next scene.
"We should celebrate," Haruhi says after a moment of silence. "What do you want to do?"
"Why would we celebrate when we don't even have the results of the audition yet?" I ask.
"Well not matter how it turns out, you did get the audition," Haruhi replies as she looks over to me. "Isn't that enough reason to celebrate?"
"Not normally for me," I mutter as I brush a few strands of hair from my face.
We walk a few inches apart, the backs of our hands awkwardly brushing together but never quite touching, or making the attempt to hold the other.
I guess Mitsukuni was right. It is really hard to pretend to be all lovey-dovey with Haruhi. Even my strategy to pretend that she's some dreamboat during the filming isn't quiet working as well as I had hoped. I guess I just get pulled back to the fact that it is in fact Haruhi.
"Well, why don't we fix that?" she asks. "What do you want to do? You can pick anything."
"Why don't we just go see a movie?" I suggest as we continue walking.
"That works," she says with a smile. "I actually checked the screenings before I came here. They're doing a dine-in at the White Rose Theater and showing a bunch of foreign films this week."
"Is there anything being screened there that the critics seem to hate?" I ask as I force myself to look back at her.
"No," she chuckles as she finally grabs my hand in hers. "But they are showing that one movie you really like at seven tonight. What was it called again? Oh right! Romantics Anonymous."
I fidget with my backpack strap as I feel my cheeks heat up. I jerk my face away from her quickly, and with more force than necessary since I feel a twinge of pain in my neck.
"Don't say that out loud!" I scold as I clap my hand over her mouth.
She just laughs and removes my hand as I look at the ground. I have to admit I'm glad this scene is almost over.
"What's wrong?" she asks as she leans around me, trying to look me in the eye. "It's just a movie."
I sigh mentally. This is so out of character for her. And it's awkward on so many levels.
"It's nothing," I mutter as I feel my face flame. "Why would you want to see a movie like that anyways? I don't think you'd like it."
"Do you think that maybe I can be the judge of that?" she asks. "Why are you so against me seeing it?"
I glance back at her, doing my best to look highly embarrassed. It's not hard at all. I almost gave myself away in front of Renge when she told me to use this movie for the script. I've seen this movie only once, and let me tell you, not really my cup of tea.
Just like this scene it's awkward on so many levels. Great, but awkward.
"It's just well…" I trail off, avoiding looking her in the eye until the right moment. "F-fine! But I take none of the blame if you are mentally scarred."
"I doubt it's that bad," Haruhi sighs as she steps in front of me. "Besides, it's a learning experience."
"You don't mind it being subtitled?" I ask.
"If it's your favorite movie then I won't complain," Haruhi says with her trademark 'Natural' smile. "I want to know all about you Aya. And that includes all of your guilty pleasures."
"You can't be serious. Pass me a bag Takashi; I've never felt the urge to vomit so much in my life."
I turn over my shoulder to see Mitsukuni and Takashi standing a few feet away. Mitsukuni leans against one of the trees, a loose and uncaring vibe surrounds him, and even though I know he's just acting, the coldness and arrogance in his eyes chills me to the bone.
"Excuse me?" Haruhi asks as she quickly steps in front of me.
"Don't tell me you actually think you understand Aya the way I do peasant," Mitsukuni spits as he pushes himself off the tree and begins to saunter over to us.
My jaw slackens as he eyes Haruhi viciously. The way he carries himself has changed drastically, and it's almost as if he's become some sort of predatory cat. The shock is so great I nearly miss my next line.
"Don't talk about Haru like that Mitsukuni," I say steadily as I step around Haruhi. "We're all grown up now. I don't need you to look out for me anymore. I can take care of myself."
"I highly doubt it," he scoffs as he shoves his hands in his pockets.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" I spit as I almost lunge at him.
"C'mon, I've known you ever since we were little Aya-chan," he replies coldly. "I doubt I need to remind you about how you came crying to me nearly every day because no one would ever talk to you. How you got on your knees and begged me not to leave your side."
I flinch back at those words. Even though I know I've never done that, guilt shoots through me, making my legs tremble and a cold sweat forms on the back of my neck.
"That was uncalled for," Haruhi says sternly, fixing Mitsukuni with a cold stare.
He shrugs it off, slinking closer to me by the second. My palms become slick with sweat and I can feel my lower lip begin to tremble. I try to hide it by biting down on it, and the taste of artificial candy flavoring from the lipstick floods my mouth.
"She knows what she's done," Mitsukuni whispers as he looks at me with hard eyes. "I'm just making sure she realizes I'm doing nothing more than keeping my promise to her. You should have seen her back then peasant, her eyes all wide and teary, her body shaking. Kind of how she looks now."
Mitsukuni smirks at me and my jaw drops. I feel my control on my body break and I begin to shake uncontrollably. He reaches out a hand to cup my face, but Haruhi snatches me back behind her.
"Don't touch her," she commands harshly as I stumble backwards.
"Tsk tsk," Mitsukuni sighs as he shakes his head in mock disapproval. "Still haven't learned you lesson little peasant? You don't seem to put much value on your life."
"Value on your…" I trail off, glancing quickly between the two of them.
"Aw, looks like he never took the time to tell you. Did he Aya-chan?"
Mitsukuni is still keeping up the thug act, his voice pouring over me like poisoned honey. But his eyes seem soften at the sight of me shaking. Like the real him is suddenly ashamed of what came out of his mouth, even if it was just scripted.
Why does this make me feel so…..weird?
It's like a combination of being flustered and….a warm feeling spreading through my chest.
Wait…This isn't part of the script!
"I won't break up with her just because you can't control your jealousy," Haruhi declares, meeting Mitsukuni's gaze fearlessly.
Mitsukuni snarls at her in an almost guttural, beastly way. And the sound shakes me to the core.
"She needs someone to protect her," he spits at Haruhi. "You're just some weak little commoner who's here on scholarship. You're nowhere near cut out for the job. But I am."
My stomach turns over as I grab onto Haruhi's hand. It still feels completely awkward, but it's better than standing alone and shaking like a leaf.
"H-haru," I stammer as my fingers dig into the material of her blue blazer. "Please, let's just leave."
"Not a chance," Mitsukuni snaps at me. "We're settling this issue right now. I refuse to lose to a weak little brat like him."
The coldness in his voice instills pure fear in my soul, and before I know it, I'm running for my life.
Haruhi does a good job keeping up with me as we stumble across the area of the school Renge roped off for the shoot. At some point the artificial rain kicks in and I'm drenched to the bone.
"Senpai, we should slow down," she whispers to me as we duck and dodge the trees and shrubs around us. "They have to catch us remember?"
Though the reminder terrifies me and sends icy needles of panic into my stomach, we stop to catch our breath at the designated tree.
Haruhi slumps over at the roots, and I quickly follow. I'm not actually tired; my legs are just too shaky to support my body at the moment.
"Here."
Haruhi drapes her blazer over me, like any chivalrous guy would do, and the thought brings a half smile to my lips.
"You know you can't run away forever."
I stifle a shriek as my head whips around. Mitsukuni is standing there right next to Takashi, yet somehow he looks more menacing. Takashi is more like an elongated shadow of his.
"W-what do you want with Haru?" I ask as I pull myself to my feet.
"Just to demonstrate what happens to anyone who crosses me," he says with a cold blooded smirk that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"Don't do it Mitsukuni," Takashi scolds, speaking up for the first time in the movie. "You should have realized by now that whenever you hurt others, you're only just hurting yourself."
"I didn't ask you for any advice," Mitsukuni growls without looking away from me or Haruhi. "You want me to put you over my knee again?"
"What's wrong with you?" I ask in a choked voice. "You used to be so sweet to me, and anyone I liked."
"That's it, though Aya-chan," he says as he steps forward.
My heart leaps into my throat with every step he takes towards me. I'm mesmerized for a moment and don't realize his hand wraps around my wrist. The world spins as I'm twirled from where I'm standing into Takashi's iron grip.
"You like someone other than me," Mitsukuni almost coos as he strokes the side of my cheek. "That's why I seem mean to you. But I'm just protecting what's mine."
He leans in, almost as if he's going to kiss me. I panic and close my eyes and quickly turn my head to the side. I stay like that for a few seconds, waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly there's a whimpering sound. Like a cute, loving, little puppy that's just been kicked.
I open my eyes a crack to see Mitsukuni looking up at me all teary eyed and child-like again.
"Mitsukuni?" I ask softly, suddenly breaking through the clouds of terror and raising a hand to his face.
"I'm sorry Aya-chan!" he yells before he catapults himself into my arms.
I brace myself since Takashi's support is suddenly gone and manage to keep the both of us upright. He hugs me tightly as he cries, and after a few awkward moments, I hug him back, also very awkwardly.
"Uh, it's ok?" I say quietly as I place a hand on his soft honey blond hair.
"I'm sorry I was so mean to you! I didn't mean it!" he insists as he buries his face deeper into my neck. "Please forgive me!"
"CUT! CUT! CUUUUTTT!"
Renge's spaz fit cuts me off before I can say anything to console him.
"What's wrong with you?! You have to stick to the script!" Renge yells furiously.
"But I can't!" Mitsukuni protests as he cries and his grip on me tightens.
"Stop rolling camera man!" Renge commands as she stalks over to the crew.
The lights go back on and the rain stops just then. As Renge goes to rant with the director, I notice Mitsukuni still hasn't let go of me. And Takashi is, surprisingly, gone. And so is Haruhi. It's just us in the clearing with water still dripping from the trees.
"Uh, are you alright?" I finally ask as I let go of him.
"Yeah," he sniffs softly from his place on my neck.
"Come on, nothing's wrong," I say before tentatively ruffling his hair. "It was just acting."
"But you looked terrified Aya-chan," he protests as he lets go of me.
He tried to hide the fact that he seems to be in awe of the fact I'm ruffling his hair. I can't help but smile softly at him.
I walk a few paces away before taking a seat under a tree that isn't soaking wet. He follows suit, taking a seat a few inches away from me.
"It's alright you know," I say, trying to break the silence as I slip Haruhi's blazer off my shoulders. "I'm not hurt, you don't need to be sorry."
"Yes there is," he says as he hugs his knees and stares at a fixed spot on the grass. "You looked so scared Aya-chan. I hated myself thinking I had been the one to make you like that."
"That's really sweet," I say as I lean towards him. "But it's not your fault Renge made you a thug. I think you're fine the way you are."
"Really?" he asks doubtfully, still not moving his eyes from the same patch of grass.
"C'mon," I groan, pulling myself to my feet. "We've gotta finish up the shoot. I don't know about you but I want to get this over with as soon as possible."
He finally looks up and I extend my hand towards him. He takes it without much hesitation, and I pull him to his feet.
"For the record I think you're great the way you are now too Aya-chan," he says with a warm smile. "I don't think you have a specific label that fits you. But it's ok, because that just makes it more fun to get to know you."
"Th-thanks," I stammer.
I feel my face flush, but it's hard to look away from him. He doesn't look away from me either, and for a moment, I'm spellbound. I can't look away from his eyes.
It's the first time I've really taken a good look at them too. A deep and warm brown that has hints of mahogany framed by long pale blonde lashes.
"Well, let's go then."
I finally snap out of it and nod. He grabs my hand and grips it loosely, before leading me back to the set. I relax my hand in his grip and allow myself a small smile.
XXx Author's Notes xXX
…Yay for extra scenes… so yeah.
Lotsa love, Krystal