Thinking of You - Chapter One
Daiki Arioka sighed as he laid down in bed that night, the soft blankets welcoming him to greatly desired comfort. If he guessed right, the next couple JUMP rehearsals were going to be in one word, awkward. And he knew it.
“Why me?” Daiki wondered aloud. Not in a complaining, self-pitying manner, but one of simple questioning. He thought back to when he had informed the SEVEN members of his new, upcoming challenge. Ryutaro had burst out laughing, leading to Daiki promptly smacking him upside the head. Keito had looked indifferent, but still smiled slightly, out of support for his fellow friend. Yuto had grinned words of ecstatic encouragement, and Ryosuke had gladly given him tips on how to make the fan girls scream at the right moments with just the right amount of sexiness.
Chinen, however, was the only one who had not seemed pleased with the news.
Daiki could see the little boy pale as he had broken the news, and he could still hear Chinen’s soft little voice echoing in his head as he had stuttered, “D-Daiki?” Beyond that, the boy had refused to comment any further.
Daiki smiled wryly to himself. “I guess Chinen is the only one who realizes how wrong this feels… it’s not like I have a problem with acting sexy, it’s just that… I don’t really feel like it’s my image, how I want to show myself to our fans… But I guess everyone has to grow up eventually. Even Chii and me.” Pursing his lips pensively, Daiki ran his fingers through his frazzled hair.
“Why me?”
***
During practice the next day, Daiki was relived to hear he could keep his shirt on.
“You don’t actually have to strip every time we practice, just make the motion so you get the feel of the flow. This way, during the actual performance, you’ll be more comfortable with the whole situation and the seemingly innate moves will just take over from there.” Ryosuke laughed lightly.
Daiki, on the other hand, only felt the pressure build at the mention of the actual performance.
“We’re all so excited for you, Daiki!” Yuto exclaimed as he ran up to greet his two friends in the SEVEN dressing room. “You’re getting a sexy SOLO! We hardly ever get solos these days!”
Keito smiled, approaching them. “Yeah, and the best part is, we’ll still be on stage with you, just backdancing, so we’ll learn the choreography with you, and you have nothing to be nervous about. It’ll be just like any other JUMP performance, just with you singing all the lines.”
“That’s really great,” Daiki agreed, content with his friends’ support.
“Come on guys, break time’s over! Let’s get back to practice!” Kota called.
As the SEVEN members and Daiki got up to head back, Daiki suddenly felt a slight tugging on his sleeve, stopping him from leaving as the others all headed out the door.
“Oh hey, Chinen,” Daiki smiled as he turned back to see who had snagged his sleeve.
“Daiki, can I ask you a serious question?” Chinen asked quietly.
“Sure, what’s up?” Daiki was beginning to suspect that something was wrong.
“This whole ‘new image’ thing for you… It’s not going to change you, right?” Chinen lifted his gaze up at Daiki, hope glistening from what appeared to be watery eyes.
“I don’t want you to change,” Chinen whispered quietly.
Frozen, Daiki could only stare back into his friend’s unwavering gaze, as Chinen’s words pierced his heart like daggers.
Receiving no reply, Chinen buried his face into Daiki’s shoulder as he murmured, “I like Daiki the way he is now… I don’t want him to change.”
Daiki paused, then closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “It’s okay, Chinen.” Daiki put his arms around his friend’s quivering body and hugged him gently. “You shouldn’t be so worried about me, silly. I won’t change, I promise. And you have to promise me that you won’t change, either. I’m not used to seeing you like this, Chinen. You’re usually like my cute little brother of a friend who makes me laugh and smile and want to spoil you with everything I have. I don’t want to see you all sad like this. Especially not because of me. Got it?” Daiki smiled, pulling away so he could see Chinen’s face, now red and blotchy with tears.
Chinen managed to nod and smile back. “I’m sorry, Daiki. I just… I was just scared, I guess. Scared of losing you,” Chinen laughed sheepishly. “But I realize now I had nothing to worry about. I trust you, Daiki.”
“That’s a relief,” Daiki grinned. “I understand how you feel, though. This is really a big change for me, appearance-wise, but I promise I’ll still be forever be the same old Daiki on the inside.”
“Good,” Chinen nodded.
“Daiki? Chinen? Where are you guys? We’re all waiting for you!” came Kota’s call.
“We better go,” Chinen urged.
“Yup. So are you sure you’re feeling better now, Chinen?” Daiki wanted to make certain.
Chinen nodded earnestly, making Daiki smile at his friend’s naïve adorableness.
“Come on, let’s go, then.” Daiki patted Chinen on the head before leading the way back to join the others.
Once the two of them made it back, Daiki immediately noticed Kei giving him a troubled look that said, “That took you a while. We were all worried about you for a second there.”
Daiki smiled sheepishly, but nodded hesitantly toward Chinen, which told Kei, “Sorry, I was comforting Chinen. He was feeling kind of down.”
Kei cocked his head concernedly and furrowed his brows, as if to say, “Chinen? Is he alright? What happened?”
Daiki shook his head, “Nothing, it wasn’t a big deal. He’s alright now.”
Kei nodded, “That’s good.”
Daiki nodded back in agreement, ending their exchange.
As practice went on, Daiki thought about what he had said to Chinen.
I won’t change, really. There’s nothing different about me, I’m just putting on a different attitude is all. It’s just like a mask. Once I put it on, I can just as easily take it off, no problem.
Daiki’s mind reran the encounters he had just had with both Chinen and Kei, and he began to lose focus in his dancing; his performance began to falter slightly. Not in an obvious manner, but still, Kei noticed.
Practice dragged along, and Kei bit his lip worriedly as he watched the Daiki in front of him beginning to lose the passion in his movements, the concentration in his eyes.
Soon, Kei found himself struggling to fight back the urge to desperately cry out, Are you sure it wasn’t that big of a deal?
“Why me?” Daiki wondered aloud. Not in a complaining, self-pitying manner, but one of simple questioning. He thought back to when he had informed the SEVEN members of his new, upcoming challenge. Ryutaro had burst out laughing, leading to Daiki promptly smacking him upside the head. Keito had looked indifferent, but still smiled slightly, out of support for his fellow friend. Yuto had grinned words of ecstatic encouragement, and Ryosuke had gladly given him tips on how to make the fan girls scream at the right moments with just the right amount of sexiness.
Chinen, however, was the only one who had not seemed pleased with the news.
Daiki could see the little boy pale as he had broken the news, and he could still hear Chinen’s soft little voice echoing in his head as he had stuttered, “D-Daiki?” Beyond that, the boy had refused to comment any further.
Daiki smiled wryly to himself. “I guess Chinen is the only one who realizes how wrong this feels… it’s not like I have a problem with acting sexy, it’s just that… I don’t really feel like it’s my image, how I want to show myself to our fans… But I guess everyone has to grow up eventually. Even Chii and me.” Pursing his lips pensively, Daiki ran his fingers through his frazzled hair.
“Why me?”
***
During practice the next day, Daiki was relived to hear he could keep his shirt on.
“You don’t actually have to strip every time we practice, just make the motion so you get the feel of the flow. This way, during the actual performance, you’ll be more comfortable with the whole situation and the seemingly innate moves will just take over from there.” Ryosuke laughed lightly.
Daiki, on the other hand, only felt the pressure build at the mention of the actual performance.
“We’re all so excited for you, Daiki!” Yuto exclaimed as he ran up to greet his two friends in the SEVEN dressing room. “You’re getting a sexy SOLO! We hardly ever get solos these days!”
Keito smiled, approaching them. “Yeah, and the best part is, we’ll still be on stage with you, just backdancing, so we’ll learn the choreography with you, and you have nothing to be nervous about. It’ll be just like any other JUMP performance, just with you singing all the lines.”
“That’s really great,” Daiki agreed, content with his friends’ support.
“Come on guys, break time’s over! Let’s get back to practice!” Kota called.
As the SEVEN members and Daiki got up to head back, Daiki suddenly felt a slight tugging on his sleeve, stopping him from leaving as the others all headed out the door.
“Oh hey, Chinen,” Daiki smiled as he turned back to see who had snagged his sleeve.
“Daiki, can I ask you a serious question?” Chinen asked quietly.
“Sure, what’s up?” Daiki was beginning to suspect that something was wrong.
“This whole ‘new image’ thing for you… It’s not going to change you, right?” Chinen lifted his gaze up at Daiki, hope glistening from what appeared to be watery eyes.
“I don’t want you to change,” Chinen whispered quietly.
Frozen, Daiki could only stare back into his friend’s unwavering gaze, as Chinen’s words pierced his heart like daggers.
Receiving no reply, Chinen buried his face into Daiki’s shoulder as he murmured, “I like Daiki the way he is now… I don’t want him to change.”
Daiki paused, then closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “It’s okay, Chinen.” Daiki put his arms around his friend’s quivering body and hugged him gently. “You shouldn’t be so worried about me, silly. I won’t change, I promise. And you have to promise me that you won’t change, either. I’m not used to seeing you like this, Chinen. You’re usually like my cute little brother of a friend who makes me laugh and smile and want to spoil you with everything I have. I don’t want to see you all sad like this. Especially not because of me. Got it?” Daiki smiled, pulling away so he could see Chinen’s face, now red and blotchy with tears.
Chinen managed to nod and smile back. “I’m sorry, Daiki. I just… I was just scared, I guess. Scared of losing you,” Chinen laughed sheepishly. “But I realize now I had nothing to worry about. I trust you, Daiki.”
“That’s a relief,” Daiki grinned. “I understand how you feel, though. This is really a big change for me, appearance-wise, but I promise I’ll still be forever be the same old Daiki on the inside.”
“Good,” Chinen nodded.
“Daiki? Chinen? Where are you guys? We’re all waiting for you!” came Kota’s call.
“We better go,” Chinen urged.
“Yup. So are you sure you’re feeling better now, Chinen?” Daiki wanted to make certain.
Chinen nodded earnestly, making Daiki smile at his friend’s naïve adorableness.
“Come on, let’s go, then.” Daiki patted Chinen on the head before leading the way back to join the others.
Once the two of them made it back, Daiki immediately noticed Kei giving him a troubled look that said, “That took you a while. We were all worried about you for a second there.”
Daiki smiled sheepishly, but nodded hesitantly toward Chinen, which told Kei, “Sorry, I was comforting Chinen. He was feeling kind of down.”
Kei cocked his head concernedly and furrowed his brows, as if to say, “Chinen? Is he alright? What happened?”
Daiki shook his head, “Nothing, it wasn’t a big deal. He’s alright now.”
Kei nodded, “That’s good.”
Daiki nodded back in agreement, ending their exchange.
As practice went on, Daiki thought about what he had said to Chinen.
I won’t change, really. There’s nothing different about me, I’m just putting on a different attitude is all. It’s just like a mask. Once I put it on, I can just as easily take it off, no problem.
Daiki’s mind reran the encounters he had just had with both Chinen and Kei, and he began to lose focus in his dancing; his performance began to falter slightly. Not in an obvious manner, but still, Kei noticed.
Practice dragged along, and Kei bit his lip worriedly as he watched the Daiki in front of him beginning to lose the passion in his movements, the concentration in his eyes.
Soon, Kei found himself struggling to fight back the urge to desperately cry out, Are you sure it wasn’t that big of a deal?