It's Our Time to Shine
Do I Drink? Do I Date?
I was still looking around in the hotel suite, trying to find the bathroom, but failed at every attempt.
My patience was starting to run out when I suddenly heard a sweet, gentle voice behind me.
“Hey… The bathroom’s over there, next to the burgundy wooden door.”
“Oh, thank you, Jepha. It’s kinda confusing with all these doors”, I said blushing before entering the correct door to the bathroom.
I was amazed. Even this room itself was huge.
If I wasn’t mistaking, it was almost twice as big as my own room back home.
The bathroom’s floor was mad out of beautiful crème colored tiles all the way up to the walls and ending in an amazing pattern.
I started to take off my clothes and put on some fresh ones before washing my face and putting on some new make-up.
By that, I looked somewhat less ghost-like as I headed out of the bathroom and met the other guys.
“You ready?”, Jepha asked me.
“Yeah!”, I answered, before we all put on our shoes and headed out of the suite.
“Oh, did you by the way remember to bring your ID?”
“Sure, always”, I smiled, perfectly aware that the Japanese were strict when it came to accessing bars, no matter how old you looked.
“You look nice”, Bert said in a low voice, smiling at me as we entered the elevator.
“Nah, not really. It’s just regular clothes.”
“I think you look great anyway.”
“Thank you”, I smiled, looking at him with blushing cheeks before we entered the lobby.
“Jeph – lead the way. I have no idea where we’re goin´ from here. It’s been too long since I last was here.”
“Yeah, me neither”, Quinn said, agreeing with Bert as we headed outside the hotel.
“Okay…”, Jepha began, looking in each direction while scratching his head. “Rock Rock’s that way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Then let’s go”, Dan encouraged before we all started waling down the crowded street towards Rock Rock Bar.
There were people everywhere, making every single street crowded, and the traffic was even worse.
To sum it up, it was pretty much chaos all over the place.
“Here, take my hand so you won’t get lost”. Bert said with a smile, reaching his hand out for me to grab.
And before I knew it, I took his hand and we all made our way through the crowd, bumping into pedestrians while saying small ‘sorry’s’ as we got closer and closer to the bar.
“There it is, guys! I can’t believe I managed to find it from the hotel”, Jepha exclaimed, eagerly walking towards the bar with no intentions of waiting for either one of us.
“Fuck, he’s stoked about seein´ that bar again”, Bert grinned, looking at Quinn and Dan.
“Yeah. No wonder he’s been going on and on about it. Let’s go inside too”, Quinn said. “I really need a drink right now.”
“Yeah, totally – me too. I just gotta have a smoke first. You guys go inside, I’ll just wait here”, Bert said before lighting a cigarette and putting it to his mouth.
“By yourself? I can stay here with you meanwhile if you want to? I mean, until you’re done?”, I suggested.
“Could you? That’d be nice, babe. Hey, guys – just go inside. Me n’ Lina’ll catch up with you later.”
“Oh, okay”, Quinn responded before he and Dan disappeared into the bar which now was spitting out rocking tunes from a random song I could’ve sworn I’d heard before.
“So…”, Bert began, inhaling his cigarette. “Ever been to a bar before?”
“Of course I have!”, I laughed, but regretting it later seeing as my exclamation might’ve sounded too cocky.
“Why do you ask?”, I then said, trying to sugar-coat it with a smile in order to make my first comment sound like a joke.
I succeeded.
“No reason”, he giggled. “You just don’t strike me as being that girl who goes to bars.”
“Oh, really?”, I smiled while cocking my right eyebrow.
“Yeah, really.”
“And I thought you knew me, Bert McCracken.”
“Oh, trust me – I do”, he answered with a suspicious and tempting smile.
”Come on in, come on in. Very nice bar, good prices, tasteful drinks. Come in!”, a Japanese guy with an awful accent said.
He couldn’t have been more than 25 years old.
“Yeah, yeah – don’t hold your breath. Just gonna finish my smoke first”, Bert replied, talking in a low voice while rolling his eyes with a smile at me.
“Hellooo”, the Japanese guy then said, looking at me with a ridiculous yet funny look on his face.
“Hi.”
“What is yuh name?”
“Lina”, I answered, giving him a small smile while trying to hide the fact that my irritation towards him was starting to show.
“Ah! Nice name, very nice name. My name be Daigo. You be here on vacation, yes?”
“Yeah, I am. Or, well, you could call it that”, I said, looking over at Bert with a confused look, not knowing exactly what to answer.
“We’re on tour”, Bert suddenly added. “So we’re here in Osaka because of that.”
“Oh, you play in band?”, Daigo asked with an excited voice. He was becoming more and more annoying by every second.
“Yeah, I do.”
Bert wasn’t even looking at Daigo as he was inhaling his cigarette and blowing the smoked over his head.
“Do you too play in band?”
“No, I don’t”, I answered Daigo while sighing and rolling my eyes discreet.
“Are you tourist, then?”
“No, I’m on tour with him and the rest of the band.”
“Ohh, I see! She be your girlfriend?!”, Daigo then asked Bert with great enthusiasm in his voice.
“Okay, that’s enough. I’m tired and this is just bullshit. Come on, Lina – let’s go inside”, Bert suddenly said, dropping his cigarette on the ground before taking my hand and walking towards the entrance to Rock Rock Bar.
‘Thank God’, I said to myself.
I couldn’t last a minute longer while listening to Daigo and answering to his ridiculous questions.
Apparently, neither could Bert.
“Hello, young lady – can I see your ID, please?”, the bouncer standing next to the entrance asked with a firm voice.
“Yeah, sure”, I replied, letting go of Bert’s hand to find my passport which was the only ID had. “Here.”
“Let me see. A passport, eh?”
“Yeah. I thought it was the best ID to bring.”
“Well, you were right. The passport is valid all around the world”, he smiled, before handing me back my passport.
As Bert and I headed into the bar, we were met with a loud and pulsing sound of music that became louder and louder for each step we took.
“Where are the other guys? Can you see them?”, Bert asked, leaning into my ear to be sure that I heard what he was saying.
When he brushed his fingers through my hair in order to get it away from my ear, his warm breath blew at the back of my neck, making me shiver.
“No, not yet. Let’s check the bar over there”, I responded with a trembling voice.
The smell of his hair and neck as I leaned into his ear to answer was so sweet and soothing.
I sighed at the scent of it, wishing at that point that I could be able to smell that scent for the rest of my life.
I was overwhelmed and I felt like a fool for feeling like this…
My patience was starting to run out when I suddenly heard a sweet, gentle voice behind me.
“Hey… The bathroom’s over there, next to the burgundy wooden door.”
“Oh, thank you, Jepha. It’s kinda confusing with all these doors”, I said blushing before entering the correct door to the bathroom.
I was amazed. Even this room itself was huge.
If I wasn’t mistaking, it was almost twice as big as my own room back home.
The bathroom’s floor was mad out of beautiful crème colored tiles all the way up to the walls and ending in an amazing pattern.
I started to take off my clothes and put on some fresh ones before washing my face and putting on some new make-up.
By that, I looked somewhat less ghost-like as I headed out of the bathroom and met the other guys.
“You ready?”, Jepha asked me.
“Yeah!”, I answered, before we all put on our shoes and headed out of the suite.
“Oh, did you by the way remember to bring your ID?”
“Sure, always”, I smiled, perfectly aware that the Japanese were strict when it came to accessing bars, no matter how old you looked.
“You look nice”, Bert said in a low voice, smiling at me as we entered the elevator.
“Nah, not really. It’s just regular clothes.”
“I think you look great anyway.”
“Thank you”, I smiled, looking at him with blushing cheeks before we entered the lobby.
“Jeph – lead the way. I have no idea where we’re goin´ from here. It’s been too long since I last was here.”
“Yeah, me neither”, Quinn said, agreeing with Bert as we headed outside the hotel.
“Okay…”, Jepha began, looking in each direction while scratching his head. “Rock Rock’s that way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Then let’s go”, Dan encouraged before we all started waling down the crowded street towards Rock Rock Bar.
There were people everywhere, making every single street crowded, and the traffic was even worse.
To sum it up, it was pretty much chaos all over the place.
“Here, take my hand so you won’t get lost”. Bert said with a smile, reaching his hand out for me to grab.
And before I knew it, I took his hand and we all made our way through the crowd, bumping into pedestrians while saying small ‘sorry’s’ as we got closer and closer to the bar.
“There it is, guys! I can’t believe I managed to find it from the hotel”, Jepha exclaimed, eagerly walking towards the bar with no intentions of waiting for either one of us.
“Fuck, he’s stoked about seein´ that bar again”, Bert grinned, looking at Quinn and Dan.
“Yeah. No wonder he’s been going on and on about it. Let’s go inside too”, Quinn said. “I really need a drink right now.”
“Yeah, totally – me too. I just gotta have a smoke first. You guys go inside, I’ll just wait here”, Bert said before lighting a cigarette and putting it to his mouth.
“By yourself? I can stay here with you meanwhile if you want to? I mean, until you’re done?”, I suggested.
“Could you? That’d be nice, babe. Hey, guys – just go inside. Me n’ Lina’ll catch up with you later.”
“Oh, okay”, Quinn responded before he and Dan disappeared into the bar which now was spitting out rocking tunes from a random song I could’ve sworn I’d heard before.
“So…”, Bert began, inhaling his cigarette. “Ever been to a bar before?”
“Of course I have!”, I laughed, but regretting it later seeing as my exclamation might’ve sounded too cocky.
“Why do you ask?”, I then said, trying to sugar-coat it with a smile in order to make my first comment sound like a joke.
I succeeded.
“No reason”, he giggled. “You just don’t strike me as being that girl who goes to bars.”
“Oh, really?”, I smiled while cocking my right eyebrow.
“Yeah, really.”
“And I thought you knew me, Bert McCracken.”
“Oh, trust me – I do”, he answered with a suspicious and tempting smile.
”Come on in, come on in. Very nice bar, good prices, tasteful drinks. Come in!”, a Japanese guy with an awful accent said.
He couldn’t have been more than 25 years old.
“Yeah, yeah – don’t hold your breath. Just gonna finish my smoke first”, Bert replied, talking in a low voice while rolling his eyes with a smile at me.
“Hellooo”, the Japanese guy then said, looking at me with a ridiculous yet funny look on his face.
“Hi.”
“What is yuh name?”
“Lina”, I answered, giving him a small smile while trying to hide the fact that my irritation towards him was starting to show.
“Ah! Nice name, very nice name. My name be Daigo. You be here on vacation, yes?”
“Yeah, I am. Or, well, you could call it that”, I said, looking over at Bert with a confused look, not knowing exactly what to answer.
“We’re on tour”, Bert suddenly added. “So we’re here in Osaka because of that.”
“Oh, you play in band?”, Daigo asked with an excited voice. He was becoming more and more annoying by every second.
“Yeah, I do.”
Bert wasn’t even looking at Daigo as he was inhaling his cigarette and blowing the smoked over his head.
“Do you too play in band?”
“No, I don’t”, I answered Daigo while sighing and rolling my eyes discreet.
“Are you tourist, then?”
“No, I’m on tour with him and the rest of the band.”
“Ohh, I see! She be your girlfriend?!”, Daigo then asked Bert with great enthusiasm in his voice.
“Okay, that’s enough. I’m tired and this is just bullshit. Come on, Lina – let’s go inside”, Bert suddenly said, dropping his cigarette on the ground before taking my hand and walking towards the entrance to Rock Rock Bar.
‘Thank God’, I said to myself.
I couldn’t last a minute longer while listening to Daigo and answering to his ridiculous questions.
Apparently, neither could Bert.
“Hello, young lady – can I see your ID, please?”, the bouncer standing next to the entrance asked with a firm voice.
“Yeah, sure”, I replied, letting go of Bert’s hand to find my passport which was the only ID had. “Here.”
“Let me see. A passport, eh?”
“Yeah. I thought it was the best ID to bring.”
“Well, you were right. The passport is valid all around the world”, he smiled, before handing me back my passport.
As Bert and I headed into the bar, we were met with a loud and pulsing sound of music that became louder and louder for each step we took.
“Where are the other guys? Can you see them?”, Bert asked, leaning into my ear to be sure that I heard what he was saying.
When he brushed his fingers through my hair in order to get it away from my ear, his warm breath blew at the back of my neck, making me shiver.
“No, not yet. Let’s check the bar over there”, I responded with a trembling voice.
The smell of his hair and neck as I leaned into his ear to answer was so sweet and soothing.
I sighed at the scent of it, wishing at that point that I could be able to smell that scent for the rest of my life.
I was overwhelmed and I felt like a fool for feeling like this…
♠ ♠ ♠
i am so tired. o_ofuck school, right? (:
thank god all of my final mid-terms are done.
i actually got some good grades too!
on two essays, i got a 5 out of a 6 and a 5/6 out of a 6.
i'm pleased with those 'cause holding up under pressure isn't my best side.
as for now, i'm so stoked that the guys have stepped it up when it comes to their tour.
don't ya think? :'DDD
i miss them so much and i want to see them so bad again.
i just hope they'll come to all of you guys and play for you. (:
'cause you all deserve it. <3
xo,
lina.