Track 07
Hikari lied on her stomach and tapped her pencil on the side of her cheek. There was just something about this song she was working on that was driving her crazy. If she couldn't finish it by the time they made it to Kamiko's house for holiday, there was no guarantee that she would have the motivation to finish it at all. Her plan was to work on it the whole time they were there, but who could say she would get the chance to? Knowing Kamiko, she had all sorts of things planned for them this week…
She sighed and rolled over on her back. Just a few days before, she was able to easily help Crow with a song he was working on for his band, so why was this one so much harder?
The door to her room flew open and her best friend, bandmate, and roommate, Kamiko walked in yapping on the phone about her plans for their week off. She ended the call and cheered a little excited squeal. "Hikari! Guess what! You'll never believe who is going to be at the mansion this week!"
Hikari grumbled and rolled over to face her. "I don't know, Kamiko, who...?" she asked, showing a sarcastic enthusiasm.
"Remember the designer that made the dress I really liked on the cover of my favorite magazine?" she asked. She didn't even give Hikari the chance to respond before she continued. "She's going to be spending the week with my parents and even promised them they would make a dress just for me! No one will ever have anything like it!"
The snow leopard rolled her eyes. Figures... Of course Kamiko was going back home to being her old spoiled self. She was not at all looking forward to this week. Maybe she could hang out with Sebastian for a few days. He was the only person in that whole house that didn't annoy her.
"Oh! And by the way, I told Mama that she could stay in your room. You can always just sleep in my-"
"Wait, what? You're dragging me back there so you can meet with some frilly designer, and I can't even have my own bed? Are you kidding me?" Hikari asked, sitting up quickly. How could she possibly get anything done if she couldn't lock herself up in her room?
"But... Mama and Daddy are having some work done on the mansion and it's impossible to get to the guest bedrooms right now. This is really important, Hiki! Don't be selfish! I planned to have her make you something, too. It will be fun!"
Hikari growled. This girl was really stressing her out. "Excuse me? I'm being selfish? All you seem to care about right now is some stupid dress and I am the one being selfish? I don't need some lame clothes for you to make it up to me, Kamiko." She stood up and started shoving things into her bag.
Kamiko froze, not expecting Hikari's sudden outburst. Even if she wasn't into the same things, she usually at least supported her excitement. Why did she seem so tense lately? "Uhh... Hikari? What are you doing?"
"I'm getting out of here. I will take a vacation on my own. I'm not going back to that place when I'm supposed to be relaxing." She threw her bag over her shoulder and put her shoes on.
"You're doing what? But where will you go?" Since Hikari didn't exactly have family outside of Kamiko and her parents, there wasn't really anywhere for her to stay.
"Don't know... Don't care, really. I'll figure something out." She grabbed her phone and turned it off, then shoved it in her pocket. Maybe if she shut herself off from communication, she might even be able to focus on her music.
Hikari stormed out of BRR and headed toward the nearest bus stop. With her headphones in, she blocked out everything from the outside world. As she stopped at the bus stop, one particular Myumon recognized her.
"Yo, Hikari!" Crow yelled, not realizing at first that she probably couldn't hear him. He gently tapped her shoulder. She jumped and clenched her fist like she was going to hit someone. He flinched and held his arms over his face. "Hey! Not the face!"
The snow leopard sighed and shoved her headphones in her backpack. "What do you want, Crow? I'm not in the mood."
Why was she always so grouchy? "I just thought I'd see what you were doing here. Kamiko told me you two were going home together," he asked.
"Well it's obvious that we aren't, isn't it? I'm going to find somewhere that I can be alone. I need to get this new song finished before I go insane..." she responded after a growl. Why was he so nosy?
He hated seeing her so angry. Not so long ago, she had helped him with a song for his band. When she was working on music, she didn't seem so bad. They laughed and carried on in the process of finishing the song. It was like the two were able to connect through music. Maybe he could help her finish the song. "Well... if you don't have anywhere else to go, you're more than welcome to come back to my parents' farm with me. It's pretty quiet and peaceful there, so you will be able to relax and work on your song."
She sighed. That actually didn't sound too bad. She did have fun hanging out with him recently. "Fine... I'll go, but if Kamiko asks, I… went hiking in the mountains or something. If she knew where I was, she'd want to come too and she's been a little distracting lately." She hated saying such things about her best friend, but it was true. All she ever wanted to talk about was the crush she assumed Hikari had on Rom... Usually, they were able to do anything together, but with how stressed Hikari had been since they moved to BRR, she had recently been losing her temper with her.
The girls had started a band together, covering the songs of a band they respected, highly, to make their dreams come true. Doing so got them exactly where they wanted, and that was being signed to a record label. Not just any label, though, but the same as the very band they were covering. Ever since they day they got signed, Hikari spent most of the nights she wasn't working at the cafe on new music for them to play. She had so many great ideas, but to get the exact sound she wanted there was just something missing... but what?
She continued writing, trying her hardest to come up with a song that worked for a single guitar and drums, but it never seemed to satisfy her. No matter where she was or what she was doing, it was always on her mind and seemed to bother her. Being Hikari, however, she kept these worries inside. She wasn't normally the kind of person to speak her mind.
She adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder and turned to look at him, a bit of a smile sneaking its way onto her face. Without trying, he was able to calm her down. Maybe this little vacation could be good for her.
Crow flashed her a little smile in return. That was better. "Great! The ride there is a little long, but you can tell me about this song you are working on, and maybe I can help!"
Hikari averted her eyes when he smiled back at her, confused. Why did it give her butterflies? She didn't get nervous about anything. She cleared her throat just as the bus pulled up to the stop. "Uhh, if you really want to. It's not that great... That's why I need to focus."
She got on the bus and walked back to the very last seat, wanting to be as far away from others as she could. Crow followed behind and sat in the seat on the opposite side of the aisle, rather than taking the one right next to her. He knew how quickly her attitude could change and he didn't want to risk making her mad.
Hikari reached into her bag and grabbed a small notebook. Inside, she had some notes scribbled down. She sat quietly for the first thirty minutes of their trip, reading over the notes and silently humming to herself, erasing a few notes and rewriting them. Crow sat staring straight forward. As usual, he was a bit antsy to get home, and would normally be tapping his heel impatiently as he waited for the bus to make it to his hometown, but instead, he relaxed into his seat and listened carefully. Was this the song she was having trouble with?
The snow leopard sighed, humming the tune, again. As she did, she closed her eyes and tapped a beat on her notebook with her pencil. It all fit together in her mind, but it didn't exactly feel completed.
Crow closed his eyes as well and tried to hear the tune she was humming. It sounded really nice coming from her. She growled a little and started erasing something, furiously, mumbling to herself that something wasn't going to work.
"What's up?" Crow asked her, opening his eyes to look in her direction. "I thought it sounded pretty nice."
Hikari froze, her cheeks heating up a little. She was trying to be quiet... She wasn't used to having anyone listen while she wrote music. She slammed the notebook shut, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." She dropped the book into her backpack and crossed her arms, then turned her head to stare out the window.
He watched her for a moment, feeling a little guilty for speaking up. "Man, I'm shocked that you wouldn't want advice from someone as amazing as I am!" he teased, hoping to get her to open up to him just a little.
Hikari turned to glare at him, figuring he was just being his usual cocky self. When she saw him, he smiled, chuckling a little. She raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure how to react to this. She wanted to yell at him for being nosy again, but couldn't find the right words.
"Come on, I'm only kidding. I don't mean to embarrass you, but it sounded really good. If there is a problem with it, I want to help." He held out his hand, motioning for her to show him the notebook. She looked down at his hand, then back up to his smiling face. Why was he doing that? Was he always this smiley? He never seemed to act like this at BRR. Something told her, however, that she just couldn't be mad at that face...
She reached in the bag and handed him the notebook, avoiding eye contact with him as she did. He took the book in his hand and flipped to the page she was working on. There were a lot of scribbles and thoughts on the side, some being a little too negative toward herself, which made him frown. He didn't want to poke at her and ask questions, but had another plan in mind.
In the seat next to him was his guitar case. He opened it up and pulled out Red Tomahawk and gave it a quick strum. He propped the notebook up on his bags and glanced over to Hikari. "Play me that beat again, okay?"
Hikari blinked, just a little taken back. "Uh... o-okay," she said, gulping. She grabbed a second pencil and began tapping a beat on the seat in front of her. Luckily, there was no one sitting there. Crow bopped his head to the beat and read over the notes on the page for a moment, waiting for just the right moment. When the timing felt right, he started playing her song on his guitar. It didn't sound quite the same, considering it wasn't plugged into an amp, but it still gave her something to listen to.
Once they finished the song, she just sat and stared at him for a moment. "See," he said to her. "It sounds awesome! I don't see anything that needs changed. What exactly is the problem?"
Just a little speechless, she stared down at the floor, taking a moment to think. "I'm not sure, exactly. It just feels like something is missing. I know there is something I need to be adding, but nothing sounds right."
"I'm sure you will get it! We have all week, you know. I'll make sure that you have a quiet place to work and that no one will bother you. My family will be pretty understanding, trust me," he said, handing the notebook back to her. "Just relax. This is supposed to be a vacation, after all. And if you still haven't finished by the time we get back, you should totally talk to Aion. He writes all of the music that gets to be graced by my amazing, passionate lyrics!"
She couldn't help but smile again. "You're so full of yourself sometimes..." It was kind of cute, she thought. Why did she think so, though?
"Damn right I am! Can you blame me?" he teased, looking over to her with eyes that sent chills through her whole body. She went to grab the notebook from him, but dropped it out of nerves. It fell open to a page in the back, which had a song that looked like it was completely finished. "What's that one?"
She was quick to grab it and slam it shut again. "It's nothing, don't worry about it!" she shouted, her face getting bright red. She had never shown that song to anyone. Even though it was probably the only song she had ever written that she felt satisfied with, she was embarrassed to show it off.
"Alright," he said, turning to face forward again. He placed his hands behind his head and sat in silence again. After a few moments, he spoke up again, deciding to change the subject. "So what made you decide not to go with Kamiko back to your hometown?"
She closed her eyes and growled. "Why are you so nosy?" She balled her hands up into fists in her lap and stared out the window.
He glanced at her, feeling a small wave of concern wash over him at her change of attitude. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me. I was just curious. You two do everything together and I wanted to make sure everything was okay."
She sighed and faced forward, resting her head back against her seat. "Even though I grew up there... it just isn't home to me. We were going back to have some time at home, but after everything she told me she was going to be doing while we were there, I could tell I was going to feel more stressed than I have been at BRR. So that's why I decided to find somewhere to go on my own." She sighed and turned her head to look at him. For some reason, she noticed that no matter what they were doing or talking about, she just couldn't feel stressed around him.
He looked down and nodded. "I see... but why didn't you just go home to your own family? I'm sure they really miss you." He didn't blame them. There was just something about her that he couldn't stop thinking about lately.
She laughed a little, which shocked him. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting. "You're wrong about that... There's a reason I've lived with Kamiko for so long." He tilted his head in confusion. What did she mean? "I'm going to tell you this, but you have to keep it between us, okay?"
He nodded, a little concerned by the way she was talking. "Of course."
She sighed, patting the seat next to her. He grabbed his bags and moved to sit closer to her. "When I was born, my parents abandoned me. They left me behind at an orphanage because I..." she trailed off, not so sure she wanted to share too much information with him. "I just wasn't what they expected."
She played with her hands in her lap and stared down at them. "While there, I learned all about music from one of the older kids. We were really close, but when he got adopted, I had no one to talk to, so I kept away from all the other kids, and tried teaching myself how to play the drums. Since I wasn't old enough to take music classes, it was the easiest thing to teach myself without having my own instrument. I was able to make a pretend drum set out of all kinds of things." She chuckled to herself as she remembered one particular drum set she made. "Once, I made a whole set out of cardboard boxes, and for whatever reason, I was really proud of them!"
"However, I was constantly picked on by some kids that were much older than I was... and one day they took them from me and busted up those boxes." He listened to her carefully, feeling really sorry for her. If he had known, he would have never asked. He made sure to let her know he was listening. She continued. "I did teach them not to mess with me again, though. After that, I started sneaking off to the local music school to sit outside and listen to the classes, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, because Kamiko was running late for class and thought I was a student, so she dragged me in there with her." She chuckled a little, turning her head away from him to hide the fact that she had tears in her eyes. "It was a big mess... But after school, she took me for ice cream and asked me about myself. Next thing I know, her parents adopted me into their family."
"I do respect them, and I definitely love Kamiko, but I don't really know what it's like to have a real family who loves and misses you."
He slowly reached over and placed his hand on hers. "I'm really sorry, Hikari. I had no idea. I couldn't imagine what that could possibly feel like." She turned quickly to look at him, shocked by the fact that he was touching her. "But don't worry. All of us at BRR are there for you, no matter what. And trust me, the moment you step foot on my parents' farm, they will take you in as if you were family. That's just how they are." He gave her a genuine smile, which practically made her heart melt.
No one had ever truly listened to her like that. There weren't very many people she had told this to, but the ones she had usually acted like they understood her feelings. And none of them ever tried to comfort her. They always sat awkwardly until they could think of a reason to talk about something else. Her cheeks grew red. "Uhh...Thank you, Crow. I didn't mean to sound like I was asking for support. I've done fine this long on my own..."
"It's okay," he said while giving her hand a squeeze. "You don't have to be alone anymore." He stared into her bright green eyes for a few moments, his heart beating just a little faster. Ever since she helped him work on his song a few weeks before he had developed a small crush on her. Now here they were, completely alone.
She gazed up at him, a million thoughts going through her mind. He was being way too sweet to her. It was unreal. No one ever treated her this way. Like... ever. Suddenly, she noticed that he was slowly leaning closer to her. She gulped and quickly turned her head. "Ah... haha. So your parents' have a farm, huh? You probably bring all the ladies there, don't you?" she asked, changing the subject, nervously.
He stopped and opened his eyes. Blushing super hard, he rubbed the back of his head. "Well not really, no. I've actually never brought anyone with me."
That was close... Growing up, she and Kamiko went to an all girls school, so she didn't exactly have much experience with guys in these sorts of situations. She did feel a bit disappointed that she had stopped him. She didn't think of him that way... "Oh... Well why's that?" she asked.
"Pfft... Ha! There's enough cattle on the farm, already! Could you imagine the crowds if all of Shingancrimsonz were there?" he responded, his usual cocky attitude returning.
Hikari couldn't help but chuckle at his answer. "Uh huh... Because that would totally happen." She nudged him with her elbow and relaxed into her seat. They still had a while to go, so she might as well get some rest. It might help her think a little clearer when she had the chance to work on her music again.