ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛᴇᴇɴ

୨⎯ Who Knows You Better? ⎯୧

"What the hell are you doing back here?" Hajime yells at me as soon as I enter the private studio. I properly close the door behind me and see that he is fuming in rage. "I want to play one last time before I quit this band." I answer with a grin.

"You can't. You already quit, didn't you?" Hajime points out, quickly rejecting my idea. "If you wanna play music with us, you have to go through auditions again."

Our vocalist then laughs loudly as he enters the scene. He pats Hajime on the back and looks at me, saying, "That's not true! Rindou, you can always join us anytime you feel like playing. So you're willing to be our drummer one last time, I heard?"

"Yeah. I just thought it's to send my gratitude." I say, playing it cool in front of them as I am not the type of guy to be all confrontational. It's awkward for me, or maybe I am just an awkward person.

The vocalist dude puts his fist up as he says, "Welcome back to the team, Rindou. Let's make this one a blast!" I accept his warm welcome and collide my fist with his while Hajime preps his bass on the side, staying quiet by himself though a bit grumpy.

I can pretty much catch up with them with just a few days left for practice before the live show. Well, I wouldn't be doing this if I am unable to do such things. Sabotaging myself isn't really what I do. Impulsive? A bit, yeah, but without a plan? Doesn't sound like me at all.

Music is really enchanting that sometimes you can't even think right, however, your hands are dancing in the rhythm. I love music and most importantly, I love playing it. It keeps me distracted from all the problems right in front of me.

"Oh, you're playing again?" Hajime's friend comes inside with bottles of water occupying both of his hands. The band takes a quick break and I see Hajime rushing to him. "Can you believe it? He's back and actually serious about playing this time. This is clearly not him. I think he is possessed!"

His friend just laughs it off and replies, "But isn't that great for the band? You don't have to worry about hunting for drummers that could take his spot." Hajime simply sighs before receiving the water bottle from his hand.

Hajime's friend then approaches me. "Hey, Rindou, right?"

"Seishu...?"

"Yeah, yeah." He chuckles. "How long have you known Koko?"

I freeze on the spot knowing damn well I suck at remembering things in full detail. This is the worst. Why are you asking me this question at this hour? "Uh...well. I met him when I got into this rock band thanks to my brother's help."

"Oh, cool! So you're already used to his behavior?" Seishu asks. A sense of relief hits me as I thought to myself, Ah, he's just here, talking to me, to make sure I don't get offended or whatever.

I nod at him and reply, "It's not a big deal."

"You know, you seem like a chill person. I just remembered something way back in high school and the way I acted towards you. I just wanna say it's all behind us now." Seishu says.

Uhm. Seishu is Y/n's...friend back in high school. Noted. Of course I didn't forget...

I brush it off immediately, speaking in a friendly tone, "Oh, yeah sure. It's no problem, really. I could barely even remember it. I can agree that I was a shitty person back then."

"Aren't we all when we were younger?" He laughs. "It's just great to see some familiar faces. Well, good luck on the show." Seishu says and hands me a cold bottle of water which I thought was for himself but was actually for me. Are we actual friends now?

Today's the day Seishu told me to come to the open house to watch his friend's performance. With me is Izana who got intrigued when I told him where I will be heading to. He joined last minute.

Now that we are here inside, music comes surprising us. It is jammed packed in the open house. Fortunately, Seishu is waiting for us by the drinks section.

"Hey, Y/n." Seishu greets in his usual manner. "Is he one of your friends?"

Izana introduces himself, saying, "The name's Kurokawa Izana. I have worked with Y/n in the past, so I guess you can say I'm her friend."

I chime in with a forced grin as I shift my holding stare to Izana, "You make it sound complicated. Just say we are friends, that's it."

"I heard a lot of great stuff about you, Inui Seishu. Y/n talks a lot about other people when she is intoxicated." Izana says, grinning all the way while I pinch him by his elbow.

Clearing my throat, I say, "No, I don't. Anyways, when will your friend perform? It's a first for me to join in these events, so I am thrilled to be here. Thanks for the invite, Seishu."

Seishu answers as he glances at his phone, "Koko and the others will be performing right about now. We should hurry up and go in front. Hope you two will enjoy."

"Y/n, you can go ahead. I'll just buy you a drink." Izana says to which I simply nod and quickly catch up with Seishu pushing through the crowd. There I stand with my head angled upward, smiling, while Seishu is next to me.

In about a minute of waiting, the curtain finally reveals the performance of a certain rock band, the band where he coincidentally plays in. These particular lines suddenly replay in my head, "I don't think it's coincidental. I think we are destined to meet..." "It is coincidental. Don't overthink it."

As they are performing, I cannot stop myself from staring deeply at him. The way he plays the drums. They way he expresses his passion. The way he becomes so intimate as he feels every note of the song to his bones. I never thought I would ever cry at anyone's performance on a live show but here I am, shedding tears.

Then, Rindou and I finally meet eye to eye. I can see his shock the moment he lands his eyes toward mine's. We gaze at each other for a good second before he cuts the rope when a band member calls his name, abruptly moving further away from the stage and leaving completely.

"I know, right? Their performance is just breathtaking." Izana says and then hands me the drink he bought. "Here's yours by the way. Do you also need a handkerchief?"

Without wasting a second, I quickly wipe off my tears using my hand while responding to him, "N-No need! Thanks for the drink. You know, I kinda want to buy more of these. Can you accompany me?"

"Sure. Seishu just went to talk to his band friend. He said he will catch up with us later." Izana replies, placing his warm palm and gently patting my back as we now head towards the drinks section.

I laugh it off, saying, "I'm fine, Izana. It's just like what you said! The performance was so great that it moved me a bit."

Izana just plays along and right before we know it, we have already reached the room full of drinks, purely alcohol while some are juice and water. I take a seat, finishing the cup in one chug as I await for Izana's return. If Mari was here, she would have told me to take it nice and slow and that this isn't a contest.

It is not the right choice to come here with Izana. He doesn't know when to say no. Maybe this is entertaining for him, to see me getting so drunk because like what he mentioned, I do spill a lot about myself-and others-when I'm drunk as fuck.

I keep ordering alcohol while Izana quietly sits in front of me, neatly drinking his own set of drinks. It has definitely been 10 minutes and Seishu is still not here. Where is he? Is it that long to talk to someone? I might pass out from drinking too much...

"Hey, I'm back." Seishu says, bringing with him the drummer and bassist of the rock band that just performed live. Izana looks at them with a friendly smile while I am too drunk to even notice since I have my head down on the table with my hand holding onto the cup.

"Is your friend okay there?" Hajime questions with an utterly disturbed expression. Izana chuckles and says, "She'll be fine. I am just letting her take her time."

"What...?"

Poor Hajime does not get the hint that I am just a foolish woman who is shattered to the core because I cannot get over a person I liked back in high school, and now alcohol is the only way for me to cope as an adult since I am bad at expressing my emotions which is quite ironic for an actress.

"I think we should get Y/n home."

Oh, he's speaking now. Cool.

"It's just that you are her boyfriend, right? You should take her home already." Rindou says in a firm tone. Izana looks at him with open eyes and replies, "I'm sorry. I just enjoy spending time with Y/n that I can't help but to just watch her like this, peacefully."

Seishu chimes in, "I'll just check something. Come with me, Koko." before leaving in a hurry, footsteps thumping on the floor loud and fast. Did he read the room or something actually came up that it became more urgent than what is happening right now?

I raise my head and speak to Izana, quite a bit tipsy but the words are there. "Are you fighting with him? You shouldn't do that. We don't want to cause any trouble here. This open house doesn't belong to any of us."

"Aren't you worried about Y/n? She is totally drunk! Just look at her!" Rindou exclaims as he points at me. To Izana, this is just a show to heat things up. If only he became an actor and not just a model, he would have won an award.

"Your point is? As long as Y/n is safe and within my reach, she won't be harmed." Izana answers, his presence only grows stronger the more he gets provoked. Rindou is confused by this. Knowing he has feelings for me but has to act as if he doesn't is just... indescribable.

Rindou argues, "That's not how this works...! You should know better how to take care of your girlfriend. Do you even care for her health?! The last time she was drunk, it was not even close to this, but she got a massive headache for hours! Where were you at that time, huh?"

Izana stands up and confronts him face to face, saying, "If this is your way of winning over my girlfriend, then you've got a long way ahead of you. If I knew my girlfriend isn't comfortable with any of this, I would take her home right away. Yes, if I know my girlfriend."

His face, different from an angel, projects to the helpless Haitani as they stare each other down. Izana then assists me getting up, his arm supporting my back as we exit the open house.

Once we reach the car, he whispers to my ear, "That wasn't the direction I am heading to. I was going to stay as the innocent, kind boyfriend."

I chuckle combined with being completely drunk, nonsense follows through, "Uh-oh. Guess you messed up, Izana. What are we gonna do now?"

"I think he sees me as an abusive person who is taking advantage of you." He answers in a joking manner.

I ask in a teasing tone, "Aww, are we gonna break up now?"

"The decision is in your hands. Let's get you home for now." Izana replies with a calm grin on his face before starting the engine. I, on the other hand, fall asleep fast on the passenger seat. I want to forget this ever happened.

♥ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴇᴅ...