Author's note: Well, I've decided to write Break and Reim's story, so I took the liberty of weaving it into this story so that it makes sense. Since this is mostly AU, I had to make a few adjustments as to the reason for Break's condition, but I made it as close to what really happened as possible. CatXtopia: Alice will be paired up with someone rest assured. Thank you for your support. Manami Nightray: I hope I don't disappoint. You'll have to wait a while for the Battle of the Bands to start, but I will make sure to do my best in writing it. Deko-gasu: I don't mind hearing your comments. Say what you'd like to say. I'll tell jellybean-hearts that you like her idea. I simply wrote it. (07/11/13: She says thanks.) Alice's response to Oz's faith in her is the part I came up with.
As usual, I just own Mirella (nothing else), the song Primadonna is by Marina and the Diamonds, the song Blackout is by Breathe Carolina, and reviews would be much appreciated!
Note: When people are performing, the parts in the parenthesis are being sung by the other members. Also, even though it seems like each band is performing one song, they really are performing more, but I don't really want to fill the chapter with only songs.
Chapter 15: Familiar Faces
Oz's POV
From that day on, I was unusually serious as I diligently practiced for the upcoming gig while unfailingly attending my piano lessons. If Alice was being sincere about all this, then I couldn't be half-hearted about the way I treat her confession. Of course, there is also Echo to consider as well, so there was a lot riding on my attitude. Needless to say, the other band members were pretty surprised by my sudden change in work ethic which kind of irked me a little bit.
Two days before the show, Reim announced that popular magazine writers will be present at our performance, so we'll need to be prepared for it. They intend to give their initial review on the bands competing in the Battle of the Bands meaning that this show is going to be a big deal. No one was worried about the concert turning out badly, but I was slightly uneasy for a different reason. I knew that he never paid any mind to my affairs, yet there was always the possibility that my actions will come to his attention at some point. Now that Edge of the Abyss is becoming more and more popular and even Ada has joined the music scene, it was only a matter of time.
And then, within a blink of an eye, the day of the concert had arrived.
Mirella was happily gushing over how amazing we looked in the clothes she made (her friend, Moira, was apparently delivering clothes to Bloody B-Rabbit) while Reim made sure that everything was set and ready for the performance at noon. Meanwhile, I was alternating between focusing on Bloody B-Rabbit and a still restrained Gil that, from time to time, smiled and a waved at me when Vincent wasn't paying attention (which was rare). Due to the loss of two bodyguards, Gil and Vincent had to take on extra work in their place, so they were around a whole lot more. However, Vincent was true to his word as he went to the trouble of volunteering to act as my bodyguard as well as Leo's to keep Gil from taking the job. Honestly, I thought that he was starting to go too far.
Patience, Oz. This will all be done and over with soon.
Repeating that mantra, I followed the other band members backstage to wait for Bloody B-Rabbit to finish performing.
"Now introducing our opening act, please welcome... Bloody B-Rabbit!" the MC practically exclaimed with overflowing enthusiasm.
There was some cheering, most likely from the people who watched their debut, as the girls stepped onto the stage with their trademark bloodstained bunny ears. With her usual queen-like smile, Sharon did her usual addition to the introduction before allowing Alice to start off the song.
Alice
"Primadonna girl, yeah
All I ever wanted was the world
I can't help that I need it all
The primadonna life, the rise and fall."
Sharon
"You say that I'm kinda difficult
But it's always someone else's fault
Got you wrapped around my finger, babe
You can count on me to misbehave."
Ada
"Primadonna girl,
Would you do anything for me?
Buy a big diamond ring for me?
Would you get down on your knees for me?
Pop that pretty question right now, baby."
Echo
"Beauty queen on a silver screen
Living life like I'm in a dream
I know I've got a big ego
I really don't know why it's such a big deal, though."
Alice
"(Ooh) And I'm sad to the core, core, core."
Sharon
"(Yeah) Every day is a chore, chore, chore."
Ada
"(Wow) When you give, I want more, more, more."
Echo
"I wanna be adored."
From what I could observe from the small screen showing what was going on onstage, they were really putting their all into this since they had a goal corresponding with the Battle of the Bands (from what I assume). Elliot was careful not to focus on any particular girl while Leo insisted that he wasn't going to chastise him for watching the all-girl band perform. On the opposite side of the room, Break was calmly eating as he watched our rivals triggering a strange atmosphere between him and a stern looking Reim. Based on these reactions, I came to the conclusion that something was going to happen. I did not know when or where, but I had a feeling that it will happen soon.
"Thank you for that amazing performance. And now for our main act, please welcome Edge of the Abyss!"
As we headed towards the stage, I noticed Break catch the eye of someone familiar to him causing his body to stiffen visibly. Trying to remain professional, he avoided letting his emotions show on his face until we were finished with the concert. Following his gaze, Reim reflected the same fake neutral expression Break wore, but did not move until the music started to play.
Cut up and I can't feel my hands
No need to chase
Can you relate?
Can you keep up the pace like you're dying for this?
And when you say "I'm not okay"
I left my phone in the cab
Now you can't get mad
I'm only getting started
I won't blackout
This time I've got nothing to waste
Let's go a little harder
I'm on fire
I won't blackout
I'm on my way
I'm only getting started
Although I was absorbed in the music, I could still spot Reim making his way through the crowd to approach a particularly rowdy group of men for some unknown reason. As songs passed, the group became more and more disgruntled until they reached the point that they were about to attempt to punch him in the face. Due to this occurrence, the crowd slowly began to turn and face the people causing trouble resulting in an abruptly cancelled concert accompanied by a furious Break. Unfortunately for them, literally punching Break's best friend only made things go from bad to worse.
For me, this was the first time I've ever seen Break go on a rampage that needed more than one person and the sound of Reim's voice to rein him back under control. Well actually, this the first time I've ever seen Break go on a rampage. In addition to that, for a split second anyway, I was able to see the scar on his eye that Break kept hidden all this time without our notice. I didn't know what the story behind it was, but the words the two parties were shouting gave me a good idea of what it could be.
"You sure don't die easily! You're like a cockroach!"
"Looks like it didn't take you long to turn away from your mistress!"
"Xerxes stop! I'm fine! Remember who you are!"
Cameras flashed rapidly and the magazine writers incessantly kept questioning us as Reim, Elliot, Leo, Gil, and I pulled Break away from the crowd and towards the back door of the building we were in. Vincent, still strong when it comes to his dislike of Break, used minimal effort as he helped out too.
From the direction of the backstage area, Sharon came running to Break's aid followed by Alice and Ada. Understanding where this was going to lead, Reim requested for everyone, other than Sharon, Break, and himself, to wait outside for a while until Break is completely calm again. I was quite concerned about Echo's absence, so I took this opportunity to ask Sharon to point me in the direction of where she last saw her (headed out another back entrance with someone she knew) before taking off. Could it be that Zwei is here as well? During the possible climax of our career, it seems that things may start tumbling down.
"I had no idea that you've decided to join a band. Why didn't you just join mine?" Zwei's sickeningly sweet voice wondered as she pinned her sister to the wall.
"No... I..."
"No? Why not? Did you have any other plans?"
"I won't let you overshadow me any more."
"Brave words. We'll see about that."
What I did after that was not an action I had planned. I guess you can say that I was acting unconsciously. It wasn't anything I'd regret, but I wasn't even sure where their conversation was headed. Like a knight saving a princess, I rushed in to come to Echo's defense as I pulled Zwei away from her to give her an opening to escape. Echo was definitely surprised to say the least while Zwei simply giggled and murmured something under her breath before leaving us alone.
"Thank you, Oz-sama."
"You're welcome. Shall we head back?"
Shyly, she blushed lightly as she nodded without meeting my eyes. We both knew that it wouldn't be the best idea to dive back into the crowd together, so she used her ability to blend into the background to her advantage while I cut through the sea of people normally with hopes that the hype over Break's brief moment of rage had subsided. Much to my annoyance, it wasn't and I ended up attacked by a barrage of questions that I didn't have the answer to. In short, I went through hell.
By the time we arrived back where everyone was supposed to be waiting, only Reim was left. According to him, Break was taken home by Sharon and the others headed back to Pandora to ask Glen and Uncle Jack to convince the magazine writers to leave the incident out of the magazines. Because of this information, Echo informed me that she needed to catch up to them, without explaining why, leaving Reim and I alone in the area.
"Is Break okay?"
"Xerxes is fine. He was having a bit of a nightmare. The story is long if you don't mind."
He sighed audibly prior to sitting on a bench nearby, folding his hands one over the other, placing his chin on his hands, and beginning to speak. As he promised, it was a long story.
Before Break became the man that he is today, he was a bodyguard that went by the name "Kevin Regnard". Kevin was a bodyguard serving the Sinclair family, a family with a long history, while Reim was a servant to Rufus Barma, a rather eccentric noble that is also an excellent informant. This I knew due to the fact that my father was a noble himself, so the history of the four dukedoms was traditionally passed down to me despite my father's obvious loathing towards my presence.
Anyway, they were acquaintances that knew each other due to the fact that they often crossed paths whenever Kevin was taking a stroll and Reim was running errands. At that time, things were peaceful and calm until one unfortunate day came along to destroy that serenity.
On an ordinary day like any other, the Sinclair family mansion was suddenly targeted by a group of arsonists that were attempting to wipe out the Sinclair family. This was the only day that Reim did not run into Kevin, so naturally, he was concerned even though there was a possibility that it may have been a coincidence. Kevin made a promise to protect his mistress, the young daughter of the Sinclair family, but was unable to because his left eye was slashed by a sword while trying protect her. By the time Reim had rushed in to pull him out and call the fire department, the little girl he was trying to save had been crushed by a burning pillar like her parents were and he was out cold.
"Those men were the arsonists," Reim clarified scornfully.
After Kevin had recovered from his injury, he found out that the family that employed him had been killed causing him to desperately try to find the culprit to no avail. Apparently, they fled to who knows where and Kevin wasn't able to clearly see their faces through all the smoke. He was the only living witness of the event left, so he was taken to the police box the moment he was discharged from the hospital.
Fortunately, the chief police officer, Elliot's father, believed his alibi with some urging from his son who was receiving occasional fencing lessons from Kevin at the time. Once he was cleared of all suspicion, Reim tried to make him feel better by helping him start a new life starting with introducing Kevin to Shelly Rainsworth, his future employer.
Upon being employed by her, she suggested that he change his name to Xerxes Break and allowed him to plot his revenge if that is what he wanted. However, instead of doing so, he ended up living a peaceful life once again. He was even able to see Reim again due to the alliance between the Rainsworth and Barma families allowing them to become good friends and being at Sharon's side helped him pretend that the little girl he couldn't protect was still alive. It was pure misfortune that his need for revenge has resurfaced.
"But you were able to stop him..." I cut in.
"I'm the reason why this escalated to this point," he shot back.
"You two are in a relationship, aren't you?"
"Don't mention it to anyone. Especially not Sharon-sama. Xerxes needs to be the one to break it to her. Up until now, he still treats her like a child, that idiot. It's no wonder she's doing this."
There was no way to say anything more other than words of agreement.
All we could do now...is wait.
I'm done! This is still kinda short, but I really did try to write a lot. Sorry for rushing the beginning though. I was too eager to get to Break's story. I'm also sorry that I didn't delve deeper into Break and Reim's relationship. I have to keep some things private after all. Anyway, you have jellybean-hearts to thank for this coming out much earlier than I planned and I hope to see you guys in the next chapter!