DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN AIKATSU NOR THE SONGS USED
Shouta's POV
I rolled over on my bed. Squinting my eyes open I read the illuminated numbers on my alarm clock. 6:05 Am. After a month's worth of training with Momo it seems that my body adjusted to waking up around this time. I sat up, stretching out my arms. A yawn escaped my mouth as I moved to the edge of my bed.
I looked around the shared room I was going to live in for the rest of the year. My side of the room was quite plain. On the desk was a portrait of my family with a few notebooks and pens nearby. One of the books being my song book. My brown acoustic guitar at the foot of my bed closest to the door. The only other thing to note was my uniform that hung off the closet door. On the other side of the room was my, already gone, roommate's busier lifestyle. The wall next to his bed had a cork board with many pinnings attached. Little snippets of magazine print outs and drawings of clothing designs pinned out. Next to them were handwritten notes telling what he thought of them. Then was the paper calendar that had many dates to keep in mind. Even the desk filled with fan letters and gifts had its own form of organization. Yet he still had enough space for his own portrait of his family standing in front of the Eiffel tower and a small handstand mirror.
'Céasire-san has a much more livery life than I.' I gave a sigh looking at his calendar. Yesterday's date had multiple circles around the words DEBUT DAY. Yesterday, Momo and I went to Ceasire's idol debut concert. The problem was that Ceasire was still new to the idol business that the two of us had a few unwelcoming points to say.
I went on a light jog before class seeing a few other students already doing the same. After taking a lap or two and quick breakfast, I went back to my room to change out of my tracksuit and into my uniform. Catching myself in Ceasire's desk mirror I saw that I still had bedhead despite the tine passed. I threw on my bag over my shoulder, shrugging at my hair. I opened the door to find Céasire directly in front of me. I held my scream back, placing my hand on my chest. He maneuvered around me stepping into our room.
"Sorry about that Dobu-kun. I just forgot my agenda." He pulled out the drawer to his desk taking out his agenda to put in his bag. "Heading to class? I'll come too."
Céasire walked ahead of me while I locked the door making me speedily walk to catch up to him. We didn't speak much as we walked but more towards the many other students that waved him a good morning. I racked my brain trying to find a way to start a conversation.
"So um where did you go this morning? You were already gone by the time I woke up."
"Called Rika-chan about a mishap in re-scheduling events that ended up overlapping. Thought I shouldn't wake you so I took it to breakfast. Wouldn't want you bags to have bags again. That was an awful sight." I remembered back to when he kept talking the first day we were together. "Speaking of awful sights."
He pivoted on his heel to stand in front of me. Digging though his bag his brought out a small comb. He pushed and combed my hair in different directions then took a step back. He nodded, placed his comb back in his bag and turned on the front camera of his Aikatsu phone. Handing it over to me I found that he had fixed my hair to it's normal state. "If you wanted to change your appearance to disheveled late boy then loosen up your uniform. But like I said before, a small animal fits you better."
"Oh thanks. As expected of a model. Things must be busy for you after yesterday's show." Céasire's posture seem to tighten as I handed back his phone. He started to pick up in speed, eyes closing in on his classroom doors. I mentally slapped myself into realization that I shouldn't have said that.
"Wait Céasire-san I was-" I stopped talking when he roughly opened and closed the door behind him. I grudgingly dragged my body over to my classroom with a sigh. I looked up for a second seeing Momo and her new roommate looking my way. I felt embarrassed that they caught me in such a manner that I straighten myself out.
"Morning Shouta-kun. I take it that Snapshot is not responding to your advances in friendship?" I shook my head having a good understanding of their relationship. "Oh right you guys haven't formally met. Shouta-kun this is Watanabe Fumiko. Fumiko this is Higawari Shouta-kun."
We both bowed at the same time. "It's nice to meet you Shouta. I know we're in the same class and all but this is the first time we've actually talked isn't it? It's even weirder since you and Momo seem to be super close. The main topic everyone's been buzzing on is your auditions. I hope that know we can get along just as well."
"Um- yeah. I-I hope so too, Watanabe-san." Fumiko puffed up her cheeks crossing her arms over her chest.
"Wow you guys really are alike. So formal. It's fine if you just call me Fumiko." I gave an awkward laugh not really knowing how to respond.
"Then Fumiko-san?" She shook her head disapprovingly. I coward a bit at her our conversation not making her happy like I wanted. Momo raised her hand grabbing our attentions off each other.
"How about we go inside? Dad won't be pleased if we end up blocking the entrance for too long." Fumiko nodded willingly heading into class first. I gave her thanks silently for getting me out of that before it became a mess. I followed Momo in taking our seats. I plopped myself into the chair.
"Great now both of our roommates hate me." Momo calmly took out her school supplies onto the table not batting an eye at my usual depressing blurb.
"They do not hate you. Fumiko is just more assertive and Snapshot is conscious about his work. He has been in the modelling field for his entire life. Idol work is still new and our comments weren't exactly a confidence booster." Somehow her words didn't soothe me in any way. I sighed thinking how Céasire completely ignored me a few moments ago.
"You should have seen the way he was acting this morning when I tried to talk to him. I never had someone scowl so hard at me. He ignored me every time I tried to start a conversation and didn't even look my way. I'm really trying but it isn't working. Céasire-san and I are at a dead end. Meanwhile you and Fumiko-san are on first name basis and walking to class together." She covered her mouth to hold back a small laugh.
"Are you really at the end of your stick?" She moved to hold her head up with her knuckle. "You're not the type to give up so easily. If that was the case you, the shyest person I've ever met, wouldn't be sitting in that seat right now. It's only been one day. I remind you how much your body hurt at the beginning of our training."
My body felt weak just thinking about the amount of heat packs I was drowning under. We made eye contact giving a nostalgic look. Momo was the first one to reach out to me. "We didn't get off on the right foot, did we? I kept running away from you that you had to go through all the work."
"Right. Sure becoming their friends is a good idea but it doesn't have to be our first step. One thing you need to learn from him is confidence. I think you could learn that on your own as well." Mr. Suzukawa walked into the class, bringing the chatter down. Everyone gave him their full attention with the daily role call. I thought about Momo's words finding the resolve in me. Taking a pencil I scribbled a message onto her notebook. Without drawing much attention she read the note and wrote one back.
'I look forward to both of our outcomes.' I blushed at Momo's words thinking that she was encouraging me in her formal, unique way.
"Watanabe-san, if you can face the front please." Mr. Suzukawa said. Not wanting to be his next call out I tried my best to focus on the lesson. My mind still managed to create a working progress on how to win Céasire over.
Immediately after classes were over, I walked quickly towards the other classroom. A few students casted me some glances making me nervous. According to Momo and Fumiko, our auditions were really attention drawing. Since I stuck to Momo for the most part, I never noticed how much people paid attention to me. I avoided eye contact as much as I could, waiting for Céasire to come out.
"You!" I flinched at the commanding female voice. Similar to Momo's in attitude yet completely opposite in tone. Where Momo was still in her teenage higher pitched, this one was more adult like by the sounds of it. I looked up from everyone's feet towards Rika making her way over to me with her heels clicking. "What are you doing here?"
"Um well I was just um I wanted to ask-talk-speak with Céasire-san about yesterday." I leaned backwards as her face came closer to mine.
"You have no right to be here. You're a nuisance to Hayate-kun's progress. As his manager I forbid you from doing any unnecessary social contact." I stumbled with forming my words. I couldn't argue with her logic as she knew what was best for Céasire.
"Rika-chan? Dobu-kun?" Céasire popped out of the door. That's when I noticed that everyone had their eyes drawn on our conversation. "Everything okay out here? I heard some yelling."
Rika straighten out her business suit, looking like she didn't just verbally insult me. "Everything is fine, Hayate-kun. It's about your meeting with City Lights' top designer. I was able to reschedule it for today. Unfortunately we have to leave in the next seven minutes if we want to be punctual."
"Oh sure." He turned his head back into the classroom towards another group of boys. "Hey guys, go to dance practice without me. Something came up."
The boys understandingly told him to run to his business while they packed up their stuff. "What about you Dobu-kun? What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry." I bowed a full 90 degrees keeping my arms firmly by my side. Céasire and Rika remained quiet. "I was rude to you yesterday. Both of you. Speaking from personal experience it can be scary when some random person points out your mistakes. I'm sorry." I heard a sigh.
"Raise your head. You're drawing attention." I raised my head slowly. I avoided Rika's glare to focus on Ceasire only. "Dobu-kun, you're still new to the entertainment business, right?"
"O-only a month of Momo-san's teachings, i-if that's what you're asking." He nodded very slowly then smiled innocently.
"Then make it up to me." I blinked. "In our industry sorry is a very lazy way to get out of your mistakes. To make up for your actions you have to do something big. Something that shows you really mean your apology. Actions speak louder than words, they say." I blinked again. I didn't understand what he was implying. Even Rika was having trouble processing the statement. "Rika-chan is up to her neck in working out everything. So why don't you work as her assistant for- hmm... a week?"
"What? Hayate-kun!" Céasire pulled Rika close. They argued in their little huddle making me awkwardly stand as witness. Rika seemed troubled at his situation, mumbling about her not needing me. Then was Céasire would tried to persuade her with puppy eyes and some other things I couldn't hear properly. He grabbed Rika's hands pleading with cherries on top. She sighed, dropping her head. They released each other, Céasire smiled happily with a reluctant Rika.
"Alright then. Higawari Shouta for this week, starting now you are going to be mine slash Hayate-kun's assistant. This way you can learn more of the Idol's industry and make it up to the two of us." She came closer poking me in the chest. "I'm only doing this because it's Hayate-kun's wish. Not for you."
"T-though I appreciate the opportunity, I don't think I can handle that level of responsibility. I mean I don't want to hinder anything. I wouldn't want to get in your way either." Céasire crossed his arms over his chest, pouting a little.
"Then I'm not going to talk to you." I was dumbfounded. One second he was this cool, French gentleman that man everyone swoon. The next, he was cute like a child. Now that I think about it Céasire was like this during his concert when Momo said that he acted on his own planning. It was like he just wanted to enjoy his time. Someone that is driven by their passion to continue forward. I held his hands shaking them.
"I'll do it!" In a way Céasire really was similar to me.
"Wow Dobu-kun! You're really fired up. I'm counting on you then." He smiled his princely way. I released his hands waving them around.
"Ah well I was just-um - inspired by your persistence. So I'm going to -do- try my best." He laughed at me giving a light slap on the back.
"Okay I'll go through this again." Rika started. This was the fifth time she explained it to me in an attempt to drill it into my mind. "You will not speak to anyone. You will not do anything distracting. You are here as a guest for Hayate-kun so you better not embarrass him in anyway. Are we clear?"
I nodded in fear of her. She pulled up into the parking lot of a building. There were photographers and squealing fangirls lined up in rows near the entrance. I awkwardly held my bag tightly as Rika went around the car to open the door for him. Céasire gave me a thumbs up before stepping out. I sat there for a little while watching the way he walked. It was natural for him to be surrounded by people that it didn't faze him what to do. He even knew where each fan's camera was pointing towards to give a perfect shot of him.
Rika slammed the door without letting me step out. That snapped me out of my trance to come out. I caught up to Rika walking a short distance behind Céasire. He gave a final wink when the building doors closed behind us. I stood in awe of the amount of workers running around. Some carrying papers to one place to another while others were just rushing about. The secretary at the desk finished her phone call as she noticed us. We walked over giving her a bit of time to fix the mess spread out on her table.
"I apologize about the mess. Things have been in a sporadic all day. We've been able to fix you in though so that's a bit of a relief. I'll escort you up now if you don't mind." She picked up a binder gesturing for us to follow her. She led us towards large glass doors on the top floor. The room was spacious but poorly lit. Black curtains with tiny dots of light poking out covered the windows resembling stars shine through. The only other source of light was from the ceiling light that was dimmed. The secretary moved over to push open the curtains as we took a seat on by the long table to the right near the head. The order being Céasire, Rika lastly me.
"I guess we're early?" Céasire asked while taking out his Aikatsu phone. Rika nodded at him sneaking a glance at her watch.
"About five more minutes." She replied. The secretary bowed to us before taking her leave.
"Ah yeah I should probably explain it to you Dobu-kun. City Lights' top designer is pretty laid back but he gets submerged by his work often that he blocks out everything around him. The only thing that brings him back is when his alarm rings telling him that his next appointment is starting. We're going to have to wait a little since he's usually late."
We sat quietly doing our own things. Rika was flipping through papers stopping to read them every once in a while. Céasire was scrolling through his Kirakiratter feed giving a laugh at a video or two. I, on the other hand, sat here doing nothing. The tension seemed to only be on me as the other two were use to this. Me, I had no idea what I could and couldn't do. Rika made it very clear that I had to watch my movements. I considered going on my newly made Kirakiratter or plugging in some headphones but the ideas made me nervous since the top designer may see me as rude. So I sat there for what seemed like hours but was actually five minutes of nervous conteplating.
A man rushed to the door, straightening his clothes before walking in. The man seemed out of breath. "Sorry, I was trying to work on the arrangement for each model. Then I was trying to match the stage to the theme. I got caught up. Hopefully I'm not messing with anyone's time."
"Please don't mind too much. Knowing Rika-chan, she considers every possible situation." She nodded in agreence. "See no problem whatsoever."
The man released his breath in relief. That's when it hit me that he was the top designer of City Lights. In a hurried manner I bowed to him. His interest was peaked at me that he approached me with wandering eyes. He circled around me nodding along.
"You must be Higawari Shouta-san. How can I help you today?" I shot back up. He pulled himself a chair at the head of the table. Relaxing back into the chair he skimmed through the binder that the secretary left on the table.
"Um I'm- was actually-" I was cut off when Rika raised her hand in front of me.
"Please don't mind him. He's only here to observe." Mr. Top designer looked between the two of us then to Céasire. He shrugged his shoulders in response making me wonder if Rika and I had something on our faces. It seemed that people kept giving us weird glances today.
"Alright?" Top designer said dragging the word out. There was a knock on the door. The secretary lady was back with a few people gathered around her. After receiving confirmation from the Top Designer, she allowed the following people to take a seat into the room. Céasire poked my shoulder telling me to sit down. I pulled my chair closer taking my chair in closer to sit on. Each person took a seat settling in quite fast. The top designer stood up clearing his throat first.
"Now that everyone's here, shall we get started? As you all know we are here to discuss our soon to be, first fashion show. So why don't we go around to introduce ourselves?" Céasire and Rika stood up, me following their lead. He bowed first.
"Céasire Hayate, male muse of City Lights. I've had my fair share of fashions shows but this will be the first one that I would be assisting in planning. Hopefully I can live up to the expectations that you guys have for me." He bowed once more holding his hands in front of him. Rika bowed after he finished.
"And I'm his manager Rika. We are eager to work with all of you. Please treat us well." She then jutted her head at me. I took her signal and bowed.
"I'm H-higawari Shouta, first year Starlight student. I'm here to help Céasire-san for the week." I kept my introduction short to keep myself from rambling on for too long. This meeting was filled with business suited people that I couldn't bother them too much. I pulled my chair back taking my seat again.
"Wow, Kiriya-san is really upping the stakes this year. They do say that the best way to learn is from your peers." I knew that name to be Headmaster Aoi. He even alluded to Momo's idea of putting us together to make us better idols making me further understand Momo's theory even better. Céasire raised his hand before speaking.
"Well you got that wrong. Dobu-kun is actually my roommate and my trusty little helper for the week. Headmistress Aoi didn't put him up to this. It was our decision for him to come along with me as a mean of compensating for his mistakes."
"Compensating for his mistakes?" The same businessman spoke up again slightly looking around the room for confirmation.
"Nothing too big. Dobu-kun seems to be a bit blunter than I expected. The same goes for his best friend. He felt bad about over speaking that he wanted to make it up to me. We made a deal and so here he is." I read deeper into his words understanding that he didn't say anything specific. He didn't mention Momo's name knowing that he was in no position to mention her name without permission. He didn't even say what I said to hurt his feelings nor anything about our deal. And it was enough for the rest of the room. They accepted his words missing any need to question from further. Even though he was a rookie like me, he had the honour of sitting next to the top designer and had the room in his full control.
Though that could be said about the other people in the room as well. They went around introducing their names, titles and jobs. From venue owners to apprentice designers everyone played an important role in planning out the event. I felt out of place not being able to input any information. I tried to listen to there comments but everything was coming so fast that I couldn't keep up. It was different than school material. In school I could study everything before and after the lessons. This was more teamwork based, open box typed meeting where basically anything could happen. I didn't have anything to add even if I could say it.
I stumbled with the stack of papers that was somewhat supported by my chin on top. I struggled in putting down the stack on the table releasing my breath once they were safe. My hands carefully slipped out from the bottom trying not to crumple the sheets. I gave a small push forward to stack moving it to the center. That being finalized I took out my Aikatsu phone checking off another thing on my list. So far all I've been doing these past three days is running errands for Rika. That ranged from me running around the building to fetch something or carrying items while following her like a dog. I'm pretty sure that once this week is over my arms would fall off from exhaustion.
It barely got to talk to Céasire or Momo. Momo was spending almost every waking moment preparing Fumiko for her auditions. Even in class we would only have a few moments before and after to discuss. So the only person I've been speaking to was Rika. Or I guess not really talking but listening to her order me around. Meanwhile, the only times I saw Céasire was when I past him in the middle of a photo shoot and at the beginning and end of the day. Even then we didn't get a chance to talk much. He was either too focused on the task or extremely tired at night to maintain a decent conversation. I really doubt that this is what Momo expected when she suggested that I to learn more about the business. It wasn't what I thought at least.
I brought my Aikatsu phone back up looking at the next item on my list. 'Organize the sheets that you just brought in. There should be a stamp on the corner that's different for each category. If there is no stamp then put it in a separate pile for no stamps. Then in each category put them in order of date, oldest on top, it should be the first or second line of the document. Finally leave it on the table for me.' I sighed, scanning the empty dressing room. Céasire was currently in a fitting, last I heard, and Rika was probably by his side. As muse he had an important role in not just modelling but in handing all of the important decisions. He also had to be the last model of the night meaning that he had to leave the final impression for everyone. So for the first ever City Lights fashion show, he had a lot of pressure riding on him.
I shifted through the papers one by one following her instructions. I didn't read any of the wording only sorted them differently. A knock surprised me enough to throw the sheets I had in my hand into the air. I guess I was loud enough to alarm the person outside as they opened the door. They peek through the door first before rushing in to help me pick up the scattered papers. I hurriedly collected one side of the room while the person the other side.
"Sorry I didn't know that you would be surprised by that." I looked up picking everything up to the face of the top designer. I jumped back clutching the papers in my hand tightly.
"T-top designer-san!" I bowed in respect but since I was already on the floor, I probably resembled a samurai begging for forgiveness. He shook his hands in front of me.
"Please don't worry about stuff like that. I'm not too strict over it. I already know that you're a fine kid so I know that you don't mean anything bad." I raised my head quickly dropping it again. I moved a little slower when cleaning up.
"Um i-if I can, may I ask something?"
"You already did." I blushed laughing a little. "I'm joking. What's up?"
"Um it seems that you know a bit about me. E-even in the first meeting you knew my name when I didn't even get the chance to introduce myself. Did you- perhaps- see my audition?" He handed the sheets he collected to me. I brought it up to the table with mine so that I couldn't mess it up more.
"Well yes I did but I learned more from Hayate-san. He thinks very highly of you." I finally made eye contact with him. "You didn't know?"
"He did mention it when we first met and when he met my friend as well. I didn't think much of it though. I thought it was just what he said to make people feel better." Céasire did seem like the type of person that liked to see people happy.
"That's not really the case. Hayate-san even requested last minute tickets for you and Suzukawa-san to his debut stage. Those tickets were almost impossible to reserve with the little warning he gave us. I guess both Rika and I really gave it to him after seeing the passion on his face." His face exclaimed in thought. "Can I bring you somewhere?"
"Uh I don't know. I have to finish organizing the work Rika-san left me. I still have a few more things on the list as well." He suddenly grabbed my hand, pulling me up.
"I'll take care of Rika-san." He dragged me through the door without my consent. I took one last glance at the table I left in a mess worrying at what Rika would say if she saw it. Especially if she knew that I was distracting the top designer from his work to accompany me.
He took me to the nearby photo shoot ducking behind the giant backdrops. He held one finger to his lips telling me to watch quietly. He used the same finger to point to the flashes of camera in the center of the room. I followed his direction seeing that it was Céasire standing there. In total there were five camera surrounding him. My eyes widen seeing the look in his eyes. When I passed him these past few days I could only glance at him before running off to do something else. Staring at him now I saw that he truly was a model. A slight tilt of the head was all he needed to change the whole mood.
From where we were stood I could see the computers that received the pictures. Each camera would go off at the same time to get different angles yet he would change his attention every few seconds to look at another one. This made him get shot of his backside with him still looking to the back. It made me think of a bad boy warning an enemy to not move as they made a dramatic exit. He would then look forward again to run his hand through his hair slowly giving off a sexy look. Even by changing where his placed his hand made the image go from sexy to intrigue with the side view. I thought that being aware of fan cameras was impressive but to do this. To control your body in such a way that every aspect was portrayed as beauty was incredible.
With the director's end call he finally relaxed. Instantly he was swarmed with a makeup team, a business person and Rika. The two explained something to him while the makeup artists did light touch ups to his face. He didn't move his face much but I noticed that his eyes would follow the two talking, moving his mouth with minimal effort to communicate with them. What was most notably was him being a bit shorter than Rika. At first I was confused when I noticed that he was lowering himself to help the makeup artist see his face on an even closer. His debut stage couldn't hold a candle to what he could actually do in is natural environment.
"Hayate-san has been in the modeling business for a while now that knows how to act properly. Yet it could be a tiring work." I knew that when I saw him after each day. His eyes would droop even when trying to keep a conversation with me or Rika. Yet despite the lack of sleep he was still attending school and working to his limit. The top designer walked out of the room making me follow behind. In the quiet hallway he leaned against a wall.
"Then he started to improve even more. Working past his limit the past few weeks in preparation of his debut and even this fashion show. We were originally supposed to do it over the next month or two. Hayate-kun was the one to suggest moving forward while the attention from his debut was still on him."
"Why would he do that? Isn't he tired?"
"That's where you come in. I asked him exactly why he suddenly made such rash decision for himself. He said that he saw these two auditions for Starlight academy that really broke what he thought of the entertainment. A pair of friends entered the audition with barely any training under their belt and from the start of their auditions they already had people interested in them. The Star couple's daughter refusing to go by that title and a complete sheep newbie, unknowingly were in complete sync. Their performances blew everyone away on how opposite that they were. One so technically on point that she put the others to shame and the other so moved by the stage that he threw away everything to show off his own colours. These are his exact words."
His words hit me like a wall. It made me fully realize why his was trying so hard. Those tickets that he reserved for us was to make him stand out in our eyes like we did his. He worked himself to this exhaustion because we were, in his perspective, better than him. We were supposed to be on the same level yet in his eyes we had already suppressed him. When we told him what he did wrong in his performance it was almost like we were mocking him from a higher standing. Now as his assistant I haven't given him any pointers since I wasn't the type of person that he imaged me to be.
"Top designer-san, do you- would it be possible to put a stage in too the fashion show?" I asked meekly. I have no idea how I can help Céasire with a fashion show. But if it's a performance I had more of a chance.
"We did consider adding one in but Hayate-san was the one to reject it. The day after his debut actually. He said that we needed to focus more on the brand itself and not on showcasing him. We eventually agreed in that favour." I bit my lip. I really did want to help but I was helpless in this cause. The fashion show was in three days and Céasire hadn't even had time to practice a song and dance within the time frame. His popularity would probably shoot up if he did a performance though. I had to think of something that can persuade him to go forward with my idea.
That night I tried to think of a way to bring up the subject. It was the same as the other nights where he was tired out of his mind or chatting with Rika on last minute details. Now he had even less time as the fashion show was less than two days away. I sat in his dressing room again reorganizing the sheets from yesterday. She was not happy that I was dragged away from my work and nearly doubled the load since I couldn't finish the first half on time. The top designer did vouch for me like he said but it didn't disregard the fact that I left my work unattended. So I had to redo some of it with the addition of extra piled up of top.
My stomach growled in vote for a small snack break. Around this time I would have been having dinner with Momo in the cafeteria. That's when it hit me. Only with two days Momo would be able to give more pointers than I could. She was dealing with Fumiko's auditions at the moment so I could probably only get a few things to note. That was better than nothing though. I checked that I was alone, taking out my Aikatsu phone. She was the only one on the contact list that was not listed as family that made it easy to find.
I listened as it rang a little when she picked up. "Ah Momo-san. Am I interrupting anything?"
"No you're fine Shouta-kun. I was just talking to dad regarding my situation with Fumiko. Is everything okay?" I felt a bit of relief hearing that I wasn't bothering her. With her personality though I could tell if I really was bothering her though.
"I um have a favour to ask you? I-if you have time that is. I know that you're busy yourself too. I wouldn't want to impose."
"A favour? That's a rare request from you." She questioned.
"It's not for me. It's for Céasire-san. See he seems to have put us up on a pedestal. So much that he is working super hard to do better and improve. He's running a fashion show that's going to happen in two days. I really want to help him stand out so I suggested a performance. Yet with the little time that he has left I'm worried that he might not be able to do that well since the only training he's done the past few days was in class. I was hoping- now I'm not forcing you but- do you -maybe- want to help coach -or at least give a few tips for Céasire-san?" I inwardly jumped when the door to the dressing room opened.
"Higawari Shouta!" I rudely ended the phone call with Momo, hiding my phone on my lap despite knowing that she probably already saw it.
"I wasn't doing anything!" I openly admitted guilty.
"It's fine if you want to go on your phone just not when you have so much to do. Do you realize that this show means a lot to not only the people involved in the planning but to the fans waiting themselves? These papers, although mundane, are necessary for you to complete." I dropped my head a little as she passed me a small tray of food. "You should eat properly as well."
I ate a few bites of the food as she inspected the progress I made. My phone beeped on my lap, shocking me a little. She spared me a glance letting me know that I could check it if I wanted to. The notification bar let me know that Momo had sent me a message.
'I'm already busy with preparing Fumiko that I don't think I have time to assess Snapshot. He and she are challenging different fields that I don't think that putting them together right now can help either of them. If it's a performance lesson that he needs then you want to speak to Snapshot's homeroom teacher. He's way beyond my skills and knowledge if you want to give him a shot. He's always available to help students out. Just get Rika-san to ask him beforehand since he is pretty popular.'
'Céasire-san's homeroom teacher? Now that I think about it, I never got to a chance to meet the other staff besides my teachers and Headmistress Aoi.' I shyly raised my hand to draw her attention to me.
"Rika-san? Do you think it's possible for you to schedule a practice lesson for Céasire-san tonight with his homeroom teacher?"
Her face scrunched up a little. "A lesson? Why? He's already busy enough as it is."
"Well- this can serve as a break. He's been stuck doing the same thing for a while now- having some time to dance and sing can be a stress reliever. Céasire-san is also an idol now. I think he should practice- train a bit more in things he's not- familiar with. Maybe just for today?" She tilted her head nodding along to my story. After giving enough time to consider, she took out her phone to make a call.
"Good morning! Or should I say, good night, dudes!" I took a step back at the man in the green tracksuit yelling at our faces in what resembled English. He jumped back as well giving a mini twirl. Céasire, standing beside, laughed as he placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Rika had set up a meeting with Céasire's homeroom teacher who was more energetic than I expected. Despite it being close to midnight the man exploded with energy. This must have been what Momo felt when meeting Fumiko. I think she and Mr. Johnny Bepp would get along.
"Alright! I hear that you wanted to take a break from modelling in order to calm you down. Even though this is a breather for you, it will not be any easier than any day in class. It may even be harder since it's an extra lesson. Are you ready for that?"
"Yes!" We both said at the same time. I originally wasn't planning to participate on his independent study. Mr. Bepp had saw me, however, and said that even though I was 'Cool-kawa's' student, it didn't mean that I should get deprived time to improve. That and me not being able to say no led me here.
"Great! I love that attitude. Let's start with self- production. Where do you guys find yourselves lacking in?"
"I want to improve in my singing skills." He started off for the both us.
"I have some trouble with raising my confidence?" Mr. Bepp rubbed his chin taking in everything.
"The way I see things, I'm not needed here. The both of you can work to improve each other. First is Céasire-dude who wants to improve musically. Yet standing beside him is a self-composer and guitarist, who received lessons from Peach-honey prior to their acceptance. Following him is Higawari-dude who lacks in self-belief. Who better to teach him than someone who's been in front of a camera for more than half of his life? I propose that Céasire-dude would choose a song that he wants to fix, Higawari-dude will listen and give his advice. In turn, Higawari-dude will work on his relationship skills to not stutter nor advert his eyes. Got it?"
We both exchanged glances. We didn't say anything when Mr. Bepp suddenly left the room waving us off. The room was tense with just the two of us alone. There wasn't the noise of rushing employees coming past us or traffic like in the drives we did. We only had ourselves here.
"So- um - Is there any song that you w-want to try? I can't guarantee that I can help-but I'll try my best." I said already forgetting what Mr. Bepp said about not stuttering and avoiding eye contact.
"Rika-chan told me that you were the one to think of this. Didn't know you had it in you Dobu-kun." He smiled as he took a seat on the floor.
"I sort of had a talk with top designer-san during one of your shoots. He told me what you said about me and Momo-san."
"Ah that..." He leaned backwards onto to his hands. I sat down watching him. Staring up to the ceiling he reminded me of Momo speaking about her parents. The look that you gave when the thing you wanted most was out of reach. Resembling her made me think about how each of us portrayed each other. It wasn't just Céasire that put us on pedestals. Momo viewed her parents on the top of the idol world that she even forgot that Takahashi was Starlight Queen. Even myself. I referred to Momo in a time of need and admired Céasire for the way he worked. We all had images placed onto us where we were more amazing than we were actually were.
We had faults too. Momo can't display nor understand her emotions that well, that her relationship is strained between people like her former classmates. Current classmates too, actually. Céasire realizes that he is still rookie despite having years more experience than everyone else. Myself, there was a list of things I can jot down that I wanted to fix about myself. I haven't had a chance to interact with Fumiko so I can't say anything for sure. She must have her own insecurities though. Somehow knowing that I was not the only worried about what people thought was soothing.
"Hayate-san?" I took a leap. He stopped starring at the ceiling to meet my eyes. "For this fashion show you're going to show people who you are. If they were unimpressed by your debut stage then this is where you'll show who you really are. By doing something you love."
His eyes widen, relaxing to lie on the floor. He spread his arms out letting me hear him laugh out. "You can bet on that."
I felt the tension from my shoulders disappear. Somehow the thought of practicing to improve our faults slipped our minds. We really didn't need to any more. He should focused solely on his fashion show not adding to his plate. When the time comes that he really does need to put on a performance, that's when I'll be the one to help him. This week I'll just be his errand boy.
Hayate stretched his arms above his head finally entering the car. I handed him his recently refilled water bottle. He took it gratefully, drinking a few chugs. Rika entered the car last taking the driver's seat. "Good news, we finished everything. No hitches, nothing. You did a great job for your first hosted fashion show. I only heard positive things regarding your skill. They look forward to your future endeavors." She praised him.
"I wasn't alone. It was the work of everyone together. That includes you two as well." He nudged me playfully still smiling at Rika through the mirror. It was a satisfying feeling knowing that he acknowledged all of everyone's hard work. The drive back to Starlight was enjoyable with the stress of the fashion show behind us after so long. Rika dropped us off, promising to give Hayate a bit of a break before anything big were to come up.
"Since I have a break, do you want to hang out? Not as idols, just to be clear."
"What do you mean, not as idols?" He shook his head, tsking at me.
"As friends, of course. Come on, I know a nearby arcade." Momo was still working on last minute details for Fumiko changed audition that I spent the rest of the week with Hayate. He was surprisingly good company for me. Most of the time he was the one to take me places. It was fun. I never got to hang out in such an upbeat environment that it was an interesting to go out with my new friend. We went out for the most part yet still did our duty as an idol to train properly.
When the sun started to set we decided to eat in the cafeteria to end of our day. We got in line at the same time noticing Momo and Fumiko enter, noticing us they came to join the line.
"Hey, how was the audition today?" I asked feeling a bit more comfortable with people. Hopefully this was nothing too touchy of a subject for me to start out on.
"I didn't win but there's always next time. Especially with my new best friend. Isn't that right Momo?" She threw her arm around Momo's shoulder which she quickly removed in order to grab a tray. I grabbed one for myself following the flow of the line moving up.
"I expect nothing less from Momo-chan. She is the one to mold Dobu-kun into the boy he is right now." Hayate, being the gentleman that he was, took two trays giving one to Fumiko. "I'm Céasire Hayate by the way. It's always nice to meet another pretty face."
I sweat dropped watching him put on his French charm unknowingly. "I'm Watanabe Fumiko. Nice to meet you Hayate."
I marveled at how well the two of them hit it off. There wasn't any pressure on their conversation that it seemed like they were friends for a long time. When we were at the table together it was surprising to see how we got along. With each of us having our own stories and experiences, it was an interesting thing to hear everyone's different lifestyles.
"So Shouta-kun, how was working with Snapshot?" Momo asked. We did discuss the basics of how the fashion show went but I never fully gave her any specific details. Hayate and I chuckled at the thought of the exhausting week we had.
"It was tiring. Hayate-san is a workaholic and secretly a fan-boy of ours." Hayate covered my mouth from saying any more. Everyone giggled at the sexy model displaying shyness.
*You'll notice that this chapter doesn't have song, for obvious reasons, but it you know a Japanese song that would suit my characters you can leave it in the reviews or PM me and I can consider adding it in.
Thank you to every follow, favorite, reviewer and reader.
Trivia: Higawari Shouta was named after two things. His first name, Shouta, is after the singer / utaite Shounen T who sung Hey from chapter 1. He was also made to resemble what the icon for Shounen was meant to look like.
His last name, Higawari resembles Card Captor Sakura's Hiiragizawa Eriol, who was a well manner, mischievous boy. The main point that I wanted from him for Shouta was that he had a presence that many people didn't see but he was actually very important. He had a lot of hidden talents as well.
JazzyWCitty and Aipom4: You guys probably don't realize how much one sentence reviews really make me happy. Thanks for waiting for so long.
Erin (Guest): Dentistry is a hard road to go down so do your best. You seem to have a plan for yourself which is way better than I did. Even now I'm procrastinating my Chemistry homework. Oops.