[Arashi Fanfic] Love, Courage and Cherry Pie: Chapter 5
And suddenly, it's almost Christmas... jkjk.
I know I said Friday, but that's less than 2 hours away. I needed a distraction.
"Yuuki, are you ready?" Hisako asked.
No response.
"Yuuki? Yuuki!" Hisako half-shouted. "What's up with you?"
"Oh, nothing." The shout brought Yuuki back to reality. "Sorry. You were saying?"
"We have to go. It's Super Live tonight."
"Right. Of course." Yuuki took a deep breath, and checked her bag. "I'm ready now, let's go. Okaasan, ittekimasu!"
"Itterasshai!" Hisako's mum shouted from the kitchen. "You girls have fun tonight! Ki wo tsukette ne!"
"Hai! Ittekimasu!" Hisako shouted back.
"Yuuki, what's up with you?" Hisako asked Yuuki, once they were outside the house. "You've been spacing out a lot lately. Did something happen?"
Did something happen? The question echoed in Yuuki's ears. Of course something happened! The Yamapi asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes. That's what happened.
"I…" Yuuki started, unsure of how to continue. "Actually, it's nothing."
"You're still hung up on parents not being here?"
"N- Yeah. Must be that. But I have you now." Yuuki smiled. "You're all that I need, Hisako-chan…" She said in a sickly sweet voice, her arm around Hisako's shoulders.
"Get off me, Yuuki. Geez… how am I supposed to find a boyfriend with you around all the time? I so shouldn't have asked you to come and stay over. Should've just left you, especially now that you went and got yourself a boyfriend." Hisako said in mock disgust.
Hisako knew that Yuuki got herself a boyfriend recently, but was oblivious to his identity. She continued, "From this moment on, I don't know you anymore, Yuuki. We're complete strangers." And untangled herself from Yuuki's limbs.
"Aww…Hisako-chan…" Yuuki whinged, with puppy eyes. "Don't leave me, please…"
Don't leave me, please. Or I might just really drown in my sea of thoughts.
Since all the Arashi members weren't in Japan, Yuuki decided to attend the shows with nothing but a hand-made uchiwa which simply said, in bright fluro colours, Tomo-kun. She was sure that it'll a certain idol smile and wink in her direction, and that was enough for Yuuki. The memory of the last month came pouring back to her, as she clutched the straps of her bag. The emoticon-filled messages, photos of Tomohisa pulling various kinds of faces, and the late night calls which always jolted Yuuki's heart. Every time Yuuki picked up one of those calls, her voice was always one of surprise and happiness, yet her heart felt a small pang of disappointment. She wasn't sure if her chirpiness masked her disappointment and sense of guilt-she was, after all, Tomo-kun's girlfriend now. Why should she be disappointed with the identity of the caller?
Music Station Super Live happened to be the last big event, before the Countdown concert. It also meant that, after this show, Tomo-kun had a couple of days free in between, which allowed him to spend Christmas Eve with Yuuki, then Christmas and Boxing Day in Chiba with his family, before concert rehearsals resumed on the 27th. Yuuki somehow talked Tomohisa out of one of their dates so that he had some time to rest. She knew how busy he had been, and didn’t want him to fall ill during the concert tour.
As Hisako and Yuuki made their way inside, both were surprised to see the number of people there. Though it was nothing compared with the Kokuritsu, nonetheless, it was still much larger than many of the other sound stages Yuuki had visited in the past. Their seats were on the first floor, first row, and faced the centre stage, with only a railing between them and the hanamichi. No doubt Tomo-kun chose the seats for a reason.
Despite the rules, MS SuperLive was quite an informal affair. There was a lot of interaction between the performers and the audience and it was surprising to see the many performers who chose to run along the hanamichi, like EXILE, L'arc en Ciel, and SOPHIA-the bands deliberately came out during the commercial breaks, walked along the hanamichi, and stopped in front of the two girls. Yuuki felt that Tomo-kun probably had something to do with this unexpected fan service.
NEWS was one of the last performers, and sang Taiyou no Namida, the theme to the Kurosagi movie, then ran along the hanamichi as they sang Summer Time. Tomohisa stopped two or three times and shook hands with the eager NEWS fangirls before he stopped in front of Yuuki. He grabbed her hand, pressed something into her palm, gave her a wink and a smile before walking on. It took almost all of Yuuki's self control to wait until the next commercial break before looking at the item in her palm. It was a note on a small slip of paper.
Wait in your seats after the show ends. Same goes for your friend.
Tomo.
"Yuuki? What's up?" Hisako asked.
"Oh, nothing. Tomo-kun just wants us to stay put after the show finishes." Yuuki replied with a smile. I wonder what he has planned…
"Eeh? What for?"
"No idea." Another backstage tour? Dinner with the guys? As much as she enjoyed Tomo-kun's company, being social with complete strangers was not Yuuki's forte, especially with celebrities she did not know. A part of her wanted desperately to leave, then and there. Yet her mind told her to stay; after all, she was Tomo-kun's girlfriend, even though the knowledge was exclusive . Or so she hoped.
Yuuki was so occupied with her thoughts, she was still in a daze when the show finished, and a staff member approached. Sure enough, in his hand were two backstage passes. The girls gathered their things and followed the man, who spoke frantically into his microphone as he led the two girls through a discreet door, and into a long corridor.
Voices echoed through the grey walls, and Hisako gripped Yuuki's arm in nervous anticipation. Yuuki own hands were sweating profusely, nerves attacked as her mind listed all the possible scenarios which could follow. Yet, somehow, she was somewhat immersed in a pool of disappointment: Arashi's absence nagged her mind. She tried to push the thought away, and refocus on the other artists, but her mind refused to cooperate.
"Yuuki-chan." A male voice said. Yuuki turned her head, and somehow expected to see Aiba there. Only it wasn't him, of course.
"Tomo-kun! Otsukare!" Yuuki greeted him, her disappointment quickly replaced with a warm smile. "This is Hisako, my friend. Hisako, Tomohisa. You might know him as Yamapi."
Hisako's eyes were as round as saucers. It took a minute before she finally got it-that her friend Yuuki was Yamapi's girlfriend. Greetings were hastily exchanged, and small talk followed. The back stage was abuzz, with celebrities of the Japanese music industry everywhere. Hisako's eyes were drawn to Akira from Exile, and it wasn't long before the two were engaged in animated conversation. Tomohisa took this chance and introduced Yuuki to the five remaining NEWS members, who proceeded to tease their leader in various ways. If I watched Kurosagi or Dragon Zakura before HanaDan, I might just have become a NEWS fangirl instead…
"Ne, how about we go out for a drink?" Tegoshi suggested. "There's this great place nearby, I'm sure it's still open."
"Ii yo ii yo!" The other four members chirped.
Tomohisa looked at Yuuki. "Do you wanna go?"
"It's kinda getting late, Hisako and I really should head back." She replied. "Don't worry about us, go and have fun tonight. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"I'll go get my car keys-"
"It's ok. We'll get a cab. I'll call you when we're home." She kissed his cheek lightly, much to the delight of his members. "It was nice meeting you all." Yuuki turned to the NEWS guys and smiled.
"See you tomorrow." Tomohisa wrapped one arm around Yuuki's waist, and kissed her hair before he let her go. He'll sure get a hell of a teasing after this, Yuuki thought.
==================================================
It was Christmas eve morning, and a package had arrived for Yuuki. It was a large, cream box, tied with an exquisite ribbon, with a note attached.
Yuuki,
I hope you like this. There'll be a car for you at 5:30. I'll see you tonight.
Tomo.
She took the box to her room, and opened the package carefully. Inside laid an elegant yet simple cocktail dress, shoes, and a clutch bag. Yuuki felt as though she was living some drama scene-it was romantic, yet unrealistic.
"Ohayou-" Hisako greeted her friend sleepily, her eyes widened in shock when she saw the box and its contents. "Nani sore?"
"Ohayou, Hisako." Yuuki replied. "Tomo-kun sent me this. I'm guessing it's for tonight."
"Wow. It's beautiful." Hisako kneeled down beside Yuuki. "And looks expensive too." She pointed at the label.
Yuuki said nothing. Her hands remained in her lap as she stared at the dress. Her eyes overflowed with expression, and brimmed with tears
"Yuuki? What's wrong?" Hisako nudged her friend.
"Nothing. I guess I'm just a bit surprised, that's all. " Yuuki smiled as she responded. "I've never received something…so extravagant."
"That boyfriend of yours must love you heaps. Ne, are all Johnnys like this? Coz I'd like to date one too, if they are all this nice." Hisako joked.
The morning delivery meant that Yuuki spent most of the day preparing for her date with Tomohisa. The rest of the morning involved Hisako making Yuuki try on the dress and shoes, then trying various hairstyles to match the clothes, until Hisako's mother called them to lunch. After that, it was just a matter of getting ready before the car arrived. That was no easy feat: Yuuki needed every minute. With Hisako's help, she managed to be ready, a minute before a black Mercedes (S320, if you must know) pulled up outside the house.
Tomohisa looked at his watch for the nth time that evening. He knew that the car picked her up at 5:30, and that it was a good half hour drive to the restaurant; he was, nonetheless, still nervous. He was anything but cool-in fact, the complete opposite of his suave fiction counterparts. Definitely no Kurosagi moment, he thought as he checked his watch, yet again. Tomohisa started pacing the private dining room, hoping that the movement would prevent impatience overtaking his head.
"Sorry, I hope you haven't been waiting long." A female voice interrupted his thoughts. Immediately, Tomohisa turned, only to find the manager at the door of the room. "How are you this evening, Mr Yamashita?"
"Yes, quite well." Tomohisa groaned inwardly. He checked his watch yet again.
"If I could just take a moment to confirm the menu…"
Tomohisa barely heard a word she said. He nodded every now and then, feigning interest, but was secretly wondering where Yuuki was. How come they're still not here yet? Did they have an accident or-
He didn't get to finish that thought; for Yuuki stepped into the room.
"Konbanwa, Tomo-kun."
What he saw took his breath away. The dress fitted her perfectly, and showed off curves he did not know she had. It was classy, not too revealing; the deep purple emphasised the creamy whiteness of her skin. Her hair was in a loose chignon, with a few stray curls framing her face. She wore very little makeup-a little eyeliner and mascara setting off her eyes, a touch of blush, and just a sweep of lip gloss. She's beautiful.
"Sorry. There was a bit of a traffic jam on the roads. Did you wait long?"
"Hm? Oh, not at all." Only an eternity. "You look great tonight."
"Thanks. And thank you for the dress. You really shouldn't have." Yuuki said, and handed him a small package. "Merry Christmas, Tomo-kun. Just a little something for you."
"Really? Thank you. And the pleasure is all mine. Shall we take our seats?" Tomohisa said, as he accepted the gift, then pulled out the chair for Yuuki.
"Thank you, kind sir." Yuuki replied playfully, her eyes following Tomohisa as he made his way into his seat.
A waiter came in, with a bottle of Dom Perignon in his hands, and proceeded to fill the champagne flutes with the bubbly liquid.
"Kanpai," the pair said, the clink of the glasses marked the beginnings of an elegant evening.
"Wow," Yuuki said, after the final course was taken away. "That was one sensational meal."
"Well, this place is supposedly good. The chef won three stars in some guide." Tomohisa commented, feigning ignorance.
Yuuki giggled. "I'm sure he'd be ecstatic to hear that. To be called 'supposedly good' by one of the most popular pretty boy idols in Japan must be a great compliment."
"I only save it for the best." He replied coyly.
Suddenly, the lights were dimmed, and what Yuuki could only assume to be dessert was carried in. A single candle burned brightly, casting an orb of gold around itself.
"Merry Christmas, Yuuki."
"Merry Christmas, Tomo-kun."
With that, they blew out the candle, as they made their Christmas wishes.
I hope this night will never end, one wished; I wish I could have peace in my heart again, wanted the other.
Outside, as carols filled the air, white snowflakes began to fall, one by one, and blessed all.