Bittersweet Melody
Second Arc: Act Nineteen
"What do you think they're doing?"
Hiromi lifted her chin from her open palm to look over at Yumi. The blue-haired female was laying on the living room floor, one leg crossed over the other. Hiromi's eyes then bounced from the blue-haired girl to the lingering guests in Cat's small three-bedroom apartment. The girls had overstayed their welcome and stayed in the tiny home.
But why? She had to wonder to herself, why was she still waiting? Perhaps she wanted to see the end result of Cat and Max's first date. Either way, there wasn't a point in going home; there was less to do there. She had placed herself on the long red couch on the left side of the room; just opposite of the couch that Team Euro sat. The Euro boys talked amongst each other, quite blind to the fact that eight attractive females inhabited the same room.
"Don't you think they're cute together?" Mathilda released a girlish giggle after she spoke.
"I guess," Mariam was first to shrug her shoulders.
"It's kinda hard to see Cat act so girlish." Mao added from her seat on the floor. "For the few years I've known her, she's always been a rough and tumble kind of girl."
Emily pushed up her glasses with her middle finger. "True."
"What are you all still doing here anyway?" Jam looked over at the small group of females with a single brow lifted in question. "The party's over."
"We just wanted to see how'd it all turn out." Mao answered for the group.
"This apartment is getting quite crowded." Ralf spoke alongside the only female member of Team Euro. "I'm sure Cat will tell you all about the date later on."
"Aw," Yumi shot up from her position on the floor to whine at Ralf. "You're no fun!"
"And what makes you so special that you get to stay?" Julia asked, her nose turned up at the purple-haired man.
"We're family!" Giancarlo announced with pride and a slap to his chest.
"I've got a better idea," Jam said as she stood to her two feet. "How about we all leave." She said looking to the group with a stern stare. "I'm sure Cat will be tired when she does get home. So everyone that doesn't already live here can go."
"All of us?" Giancarlo groaned.
"All of us." Ralf answered for the female and pushed himself out of his seat. "Jam's right. We should allow Cat to get her rest when she does get home." He finished by eyeing each teen in the room.
"Fine," Rumi let out a lengthy reply before turning her back to Team Euro.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Hiromi asked.
"That's an easy answer for you," Rumi glanced over to the shorter brunette. "Just go hang out with your boys."
"Hey," Mathilda lifted her finger into the air. "Where did they go to anyway?"
"I don't know," Julia mumbled aloud. "Wherever they went, they left in a hurry."
Jam shot a glare over in Adof's direction. The older blond male caught on to her stare and sat up straight. He began to clear his throat and couch before turning his face in a different direction. Sweat trickled down his temples and he adjusted the sunglasses on his face.
"Well," Rumi continued speaking after the momentary silence, "Wherever they are, I'm sure you can find them, Hiromi."
"I'm sure I can." She answered in a low voice.
"N-no!" Adof jumped to his feet and shook his open palms in the air.
"No, what?" Jam sneered as she leaned toward Adof.
"You shouldn't go looking for them or anything!" More sweat dripped from his forehead. "It's not a good idea!"
"Why not?" Jam stepped toward Adof and stuck out her chest toward him. "What did you do?"
He dropped his head and let out a loud sigh. After a moment or two, he picked up his head and removed his sunglasses from his face. He looked at the girls and began to wipe away the sweat from his face.
"I asked them to follow Max and Miss Greco for me." He finally broke his silence in shame.
"What?" The girls all replied at once.
"I knew it!" Jam lifted her hand to chest-level and snapped her fingers.
"What for?" Rumi added with a sigh and roll of her eyes.
Adof sighed again before answering. "I wanted to make sure that Miss Greco was safe." He was quick to defend himself. "I swear I was just looking out for her safety! Now that's she's lost her memories, she's had a lot of trouble remembering where her home is!"
"Nice excuse." Jam grunted while crossing her arms over her bust.
He insisted on his innocence, "It's true!"
"What about their date?" Jam barked at the older man. "You're going to ruin everything!" She shook her head from side to side. "What if Takao and the others get caught spying?"
Adof paused and his facial expression blanked. "I never thought of that."
Jam unfolded her arms and allowed her right hand to slap her own cheek. She then let out a loud groan before letting her open palm slide down her cheek. Great did the manager just make her mad? Ugh, that was the last thing Hiromi wanted to see…
"Agh!" Jam released the weight from her feet and flopped back down on the couch beneath her.
"Jam," Ralf looked down at the tired female. "There isn't anything we can do about it now." He reassured her with his kind voice. "We just wait until Cat comes home to comfort her."
"Who cares?!"
Finally fed up with all the chatter and gossip, Johnny snapped. The boy sat in his seat, legs and arms crossed and a smug look on his face. He pouted and his eyebrows hung low on his face. It was obvious he was not pleased.
Jam sat up in his seat to get a better look at Johnny's childish expression. It appeared almost as if the grumpy look amused her. The older female didn't think it was cute, did she?!
"All right, all right." She replied, trying her best not to laugh up a storm of girlish giggles. "Ralf, Giancarlo, Oliver and Johnny, let's head back to the apartment." Jam commanded with her iron fist. "Rumi, Yumi," She turned her attention to the pair of female trouble-makers, "You two go home."
"Aw," Yumi whimpered.
She then shifted toward the group of female bladers. "The rest of you stay away from Cat, Max, Takao and the others."
The girls looked to one another before responding, "Yes ma'am."
XoXoX
Now was not the time for snacks. As much as Takao hated to turn up the idea of a fresh bag of popcorn he had to remember, he was on a mission! His feet sprinted through the theater lobby, the sounds of his friend's footsteps not far behind. He looked down to his white ticket and read the title of the flick he had picked. A horror movie, just the thing Cat would want to see. He looked at the time on the ticket, it read: 4:15. Takao's eyes then darted from the ticket to the digital clock hanging on the movie house wall. 4:26. He was late! He turned to look over his shoulder to see his friends trailing behind.
"Come on!" He shouted while beckoning his arm forward.
"What's with the rush?" Rei called back.
"We're late!" He said with urgency.
"Takao," Rei began, finally catching up with the blue-haired boy. "It's better that we're late. That way we can enter in a dark theater, they won't see us then."
"Oh," He began to laugh and moved his arm behind his head. "That's true."
"Hey!" Daichi stopped mid-step to gawk at the selection of candy and treats. "I'm hungry, I want something to eat."
Catching up to Takao, Rei and Daichi, Kyoujyu panted. He was fumbling around with his wallet; now light after the amount of money he spent getting everyone a ticket.
"I spent all the money on the tickets," Kyoujyu said with a sigh. "Sorry Daichi."
"We're not here for fun anyway, Daichi." Takao replied in anger.
"Hey," Rei lifted his hand to pause the two boys from arguing. "Where did Kai go?" He asked as his eyes scanned the area.
The group of boys fell silent. They all began to look around the large theater lobby for the oldest member of their team. Takao knew Kai was at the box office with them and he was certain he was there when they entered the theater so where had he run off to?
Loud female screams and shrieks snapped the boys out of their thoughts. They looked north to see the horror showing was in the door just ahead of them. The movie had just started and surely, the movie's first scare had already taken place. There was no more time to waste.
"We'll find him later," He said. "Let's get into that theater."
The three boys gripped their fists and nodded to agree. "All right!"
XoXoX
They entered the dark room with silent steps. Takao led the group of boys into the dark 'tunnel' that was the theater. Nearly standing and walking on his tiptoes, he crept deeper into the theater. The sound of actor's dialogue entered their ears just as he turned the final corner into the room. To his right lay the many movie seats. Rows and rows of people had gathered together to watch the film that was now playing. It was packed. He flinched, how were they ever going to get their seats now? It was dark and it was crowded.
Just then a blinding white light flashed throughout the theater and light the walls. Damn, the last thing he needed was a bright scene to play. Takao crouched down behind the wall and peered over the side to get a better view of the crowd. He had to find Max and Cat before they found him. His eyes darted back and forth until they finally landed on a very familiar couple. The two sat, dead center, in the theater. Not only did they go off on a date, but they got perfect seats! He balled up his right fist and snarled under his breath.
"Takao?"
He flinched to the call of his name. He turned his head over his shoulder to see Kyoujyu whispering to him. Daichi and Rei stood behind Kyoujyu with rather impatient looks on their faces. He lifted his index finger to his lips and hushed the three boys before turning back to look out at the audience.
The room fell back into darkness just as quickly as it had lit up. Good, it was just what he needed. Takao looked to the higher seats in the theater. It must have been his lucky day; there were three empty seats at the very last row. He swung his arm forward, calling his friends forward.
"There are three seats up there," The champ whispered. "We have one chance to get up there."
"Three seats?" Daichi replied in a harsh hush. "But there are," He paused to take a quick headcount. "Four of us."
"SHH!"
The four boys flinched; someone from the neighboring seats had hushed them. Takao once again threw his solo index finger to his lips. He then held up three fingers, gesturing a countdown. On the count of three, they would make their desperate sprint to the top of the stairs and take their seats. He inhaled a final breath of air before beginning his silent count down. His ring finger ducked down into his palm and the other three boys prepared for their run. His middle finger fell in silence, leaving just one finger and one second left to go. As his index finger lowered, Takao and his friends broke into a sprint. The lights dimmed for a gruesome death scene and allowed for a near perfect escape.
XoXoX
Max twitched, what was all that noise? He looked to his left, beyond Cat, to see a huddled bunch of teens making their way to the top of the stairs. He narrowed his eyes at the group and noticed one member trailing behind. The smallest member scuttled through the darkness, bumping his foot into almost every stair. At one point, the small teen let out a yip and reached down to grab his foot. Wait, that yip sounded familiar.
"Daichi?" Max mumbled to himself.
Taking notice of his distracted behavior, Cat looked over to the blonde with a brow cocked. "Max?" She tilted her head to the side as she called out to her date.
Her words bounced off his eardrum but fell on deaf ears. He focus was glued on the top row. That hat, those glasses, that rattail and that redhead, it had to be his friends. He narrowed his glare at the boys, trying his best to clear his vision. Surely, his eyes were lying to him, it couldn't be Takao and the others…could it? What would they be doing here?
"Max?"
He twitched. He jerked his head back down into his neck and looked to his left. Cat sat beside him with wide eyes. He let out a small chuckle and shrugged his shoulders before answering to her call.
"Oh, I thought I saw someone I knew."
"Ah." Cat nodded before returning her eyes to the screen before her.
XoXoX
In the row above, Takao fought his way to his seat. He hopped down into his chair; knees tucked under his behind and looked down at the couple in the rows below. Rei took the seat beside Takao and took a moment to enjoy the 'silence'. Meanwhile Kyoujyu and Daichi battled with one another for the last empty seat. The two smaller boys pushed and tugged, trying their best to fit both of their behinds in the same seat. Hushes filled the area around the four boys and caught the attention of the blonde below.
"He's looking at us!" Takao said in a harsh whisper.
Rei, Kyoujyu and Daichi froze and let their eyes fall down to the many rows below them. It was there that they saw a pair of ice blue eyes stared back up at them. Takao let out a grunt before ducking his head. Rei, Kyoujyu and Daichi followed soon after, trying their best to conceal their faces.
A few minutes passed before Takao watched Max turn his head back around to face the movie screen. Ah, he was no longer looking. The champ let out a sigh of relief before allowing his body to straighten out. He once again looked down at the row in which Cat and Max sat. He narrowed his eyes to focus on the cup-holder. Had they put it up so they could cuddle? Or where they holding hands? He had to know.
No doubt, catching on to his odd behavior, Rei leaned forward and to get a better look at him face. Instead of turning in his teammate's direction, he allowed his eyes to widen and pouted his lip. He had to see if the couple was getting close!
"What are you doing?" Rei whispered to Takao.
"I can't tell if they're holding hands…"
Rei closed his eyes and sighed. He then proceeded to lay back in his seat, no doubt tired from his day of running about.
The movie theater fell silent, apart from the dialogue from the ongoing flick, and Takao had seemed to calm down. Although his eyes were not glued to the movie, they were stuck on the couple seating below him. What would they do? Cuddle, hold hands or worse of all: kiss? He couldn't be sure; all he knew was that he had to watch them.
"Hey!"
Rei's eyes snapped open to the sound of a familiar voice. Takao's ear vibrated and he turned his nose in the Chinese boy's direction. They both leaned forward in their seats and searched for the source of the noise. The voice, it was Kai's! Where had he been? Rei looked up and down, left and right with no sign of the older boy.
"Hey!"
This time Kai's voice had become strained and angry. Both boys looked down to the very bottom of the stairs to see Kai's figure standing in the dark. The older male had his arms crossed over his chest and a badass look on his face. It was obvious he was in a bad mood. They had to get his attention…somehow.
Rei cleared his throat out loud. He then pushed himself to his feet and began to wave his arms in the air. Kai's eyes shifted from row to row, looking for his gang of idiots, a failed effort. Rei proceeded to throw himself into a coughing fit, his volume growing louder with every cough.
Daichi lifted himself out of his seat; one foot on the chair, one hovering above the ground and waved his arms wildly in the air. He then shouted,
"OVER HERE KA-"
Kyoujyu's hands shot up into the air and wrapped around Daichi's mouth. Half the audience around the group began to make verbal complaints while the other half continued to hush them. Kyoujyu pulled the redhead back down into the chair, his hands still wrapped around his lips. The two boys then began to fumble and tumble around in their seat.
Rei watched as Kai finally appeared at the top of the stairs. He now had his arms linked to his hips but retained the pout. He walked over to the sad group of boys and shook his head in shame. The lone wolf then began to watch as the two smaller boys battled for the single seat.
"Kai," Rei whispered to the taller boy, "Where have you been?"
"What does it matter?" Kai spoke without so much of a whisper.
"SHH!"
Kai's eyebrow twitched. He jerked his head right and left to see who had hushed him. Someone dared to silence him? Takao felt a chuckle crawl up his throat! The look on his face was too rich! But the darkness consumed his vision and put his search to an abrupt end. It was then he looked back at Daichi and Kyoujyu only to see them still struggling amongst one another for the seat. He rolled his eyes at the sight of it, and sighed aloud.
"You can sit with me," Rei offered his share of his seat with a smile.
Kai replied with a grunt. "I'd rather stand."
XoXoX
"Hoot, hoooooooot."
Kai rolled his eyes and proceeded to sigh through his nose. Not only was he wasting his time going to this stupid movie, but he couldn't even watch it with all the noise Takao was producing. He had been at it for the past five minutes and it had become old fast. How much longer was he going to make those annoying sounds?
Kai's eyes bounced over into in Takao's direction. The blue-haired boy was couched over in his seat, his hands cupped to his lips to echo the sound coming from his mouth. Hoots and other strange birdcalls filled the crowded theater and caused Kai further embarrassment. Why did he even agree to this in the first place?
"Hooooooot."
Kyoujyu bent over his seat to get a better view of Takao. Kyoujyu sighed as a red blush of embarrassment dusted over his cheeks. "Takao," He whispered to his friend in the softest voice possible. "Is this really necessary?"
He pulled his hands away from his face just long enough to reply, "I want to distract them as much as I can."
"What for?" Rei asked.
Takao grunted and hesitated before answering. He slouched down further in his chair and groaned something Rei couldn't make out. The black-haired male sighed and shook his head from side to side.
"You don't want them to have any alone time," Kai finally answered for Takao. "You don't want them to find themselves holding hands." He sneered before shooting a smirk in Takao's direction.
"That's not it at all!" He shouted.
"SHHHH!"
The boys flinched. Again with the hushing? It was obvious now that the audience around them was growing tired of his constant noise making. With all the hooting and shouting, the crowd around them had found their 'games' very old. It was about time someone shut them up for good!
Just before any audience members could confront Takao, the room fell silent. Kai shifted his head to face the screen in front of him. The large screen flickered before it became white. All the noise from the movie ended abruptly and the room was filled with a strange buzzing. After a few nearly silent moments the seated crowd began complain. Some audience members threw their arms into the air and began to shake their fists at the screen. The movie was cut short. He could only assume it was due to technical difficulties. What great timing for the idiot third-time champ.
"What luck." Kai snorted.
"Well, there goes the rest of the movie," Rei groaned as he turned to Takao.
"Are you happy now, Takao?" Daichi barked, a fierce glare on his face. "Your bad luck ruined the movie!"
"ME?!" Takao shoved his index finger into his chest.
The redhead curled up his nose and growled, "Yes you!"
"Look, they're leaving!"
Takao perked to the sound of Kyoujyu's voice. His eyes bounced from Kyoujyu to the rows below. It was there he saw Cat and Max. The couple had released themselves from their seats and was migrating to the exit. Now where were they headed? Takao was first to leap from his seat, his feet hitting the hard floor with a loud thud. He then began to run down the long stairway. He wouldn't let them get away, not that easily.
"I guess we follow him," Rei replied as he stood up from his chair.
"What other choice do we have?" Kyoujyu asked with a sad shake of his head.
Kai unfolded his arms from his chest and grunted, "Let's hurry before he finds himself more trouble."
Act End.