Wasted Nights

The hour and a half the group spent packing up the bus seemed to fly by.

Remi had rejoined the others not long after her text from Hannah, having had enough of her thoughts, and volunteered to help pack things that were still in need of packing. Ryota was more than happy to have her help him fold his oversized shirts and his countless pairs of shorts, much to the rest of the band’s chagrin. Remi didn’t mind that Ryota was basically using her to get out of doing work himself, enjoying the busy work he was providing for her. She spent her time in the last hour seated on the floor of the back room, surrounded by a mountain of clothing that needed folding while Ryota sat on the couch nearby, slowly folding other articles of his clothing, and conversing with Tomoya in Japanese once again.

Taka was busy gathering things from his bunk and the various cabinets that were in the bunk area but mindful of Remi the entire time. He noticed that she seemed a little off compared to earlier when they were packing the kitchen together, wondering what could have happened to cause such a change in her. He knew that he was probably reading too much into it, especially since he wasn’t familiar with her normal state of being, but there was a specific emotion hidden behind her dark eyes that made him feel concerned. He didn’t like seeing her look so melancholy. Taka wanted her to smile and more importantly, he wanted to be the one that was the source of her smile. Despite the hardships she was facing, Taka wanted Remi to know that she wasn’t alone, not as long as she was with him.

Hiro returned a while later, informing the group that their sound check was due to happen in the next fifteen minutes or so. Remi, of course, understood none of the exchange between the men since she didn’t speak the language, but stood when the rest of the band seemed to start heading toward the front door of the bus. Taka hung back, waiting for Remi to emerge from the back with Ryota, so that they could walk together. When Remi finally emerged from the back area, she met Taka’s questioning gaze with a small smile, though it didn’t fully reach her eyes.

Before Taka could manage to ask her yet again how she was holding up, Remi spoke up, asking, “So, what exactly happens during sound check? It’s not like a rehearsal, is it? You’re not going to play through the whole set right now, are you?”

Taka laughed at the questions, shaking his head, “No, we’re not playing the whole set. Basically, we’re just going to double check our equipment to make sure it’s working to how we want it to for tonight.”

“Ah, ok,” Remi stated, gently slipping her hands into her back pockets. “What’s the plan after sound check?”

“Well, Hiro is going to arrange to get our stuff to the hotel for tonight while we’re doing sound check. I guess we’re pretty free after this sound check is over so we’ll probably just try to relax a bit in the backstage room until it’s time to do the Meet and Greet stuff for fans with VIP,” Taka explained.

“Ah, well that sounds interesting,” Remi said, a little distracted about the information regarding VIP tickets. She was trying to remember whether or not Marcus had bought the VIP tickets or not for the show. If he had, it would mean that she would see him a lot sooner than she was hoping. “What exactly happens with VIP?” she forced herself to ask to distract herself from thoughts of seeing Marcus.

“Well, it’s early entry to the venue for the show and then they get to meet us and we’ll sign stuff or take pictures. Typical Meet and Greet,” he shrugged, frowning a bit as he noticed Remi’s concerned expression. “Are you alright? You look worried.”

“Oh, I’ll be ok,” Remi said half-heartedly, flashing a waning smile. “I just need to snap myself out of this mood. I’m no fun to be around right now.”

Taka smiled, amused by her statement as he caught her attention, “Well, I think you’re fun.”

Remi felt herself blush a bit at that statement, a real smile creeping onto her warmed face as she forced her gaze away from Taka. Though Remi was still struggling with her lingering feelings for Marcus, she was finding it difficult to discount the attraction she felt to the charming lead singer at her side. Since their meeting this morning, Taka had gone out of his way to make sure that she not only felt like she was one of the group but that she also felt completely comfortable around them. She felt a little bad about forcing everyone else to accommodate her needs, knowing that her presence in the group forced them to speak English around her so that she would understand, but she was also grateful for being allowed to hang out with them. The more time she spent in with Taka, the more she seemed to forget about the fact that she was still suffering the effects of a broken heart.

The pair had made it into the backstage area of the venue, watching as the rest of his band disappeared into a room at the end of the corridor. Hiro was standing outside the door, obviously waiting for Taka as he started to say something to Taka in Japanese. Remi paused, realizing that it was time for the band to work. She didn’t want to be a distraction to them so she decided to give them some space so they could focus on work. Taka noticed that Remi was now behind him in the corridor, making him stare at her in confusion while she stood there.

“I think I’m going to go out and wander around,” Remi said softly, gesturing towards the main part of the venue with her thumb pointing behind her. “I haven’t really seen this place without a sea of people so I want to check it out.”

“Are you sure?” Taka asked skeptically, reluctant for her to leave his side.

Remi nodded, “Yeah, it’s ok. I’ll be watching from out there. I’ll meet up with you guys once you finish sound check.”

“Ok,” Taka said, his voice laced with slight disappointment.

Remi slowly turned around and started heading in the opposite direction. Glancing over her shoulder once more, she noticed that Taka was also reluctantly moving toward the room where his band was, responding to something that Hiro had said to him. With a heavy sigh, Remi forced her gaze forward and started walking in the direction to lead her out into the main part of the venue. She knew it was silly but now that she was on her own, she felt slightly hollow knowing that her thoughts could take a turn at any moment back into the unpleasant.

Remi found herself wandering the empty venue, thinking it looked much bigger than she remembered now that it was devoid of the crowd of people. Workers for the venue were wandering around, getting the bars stocked or hooking up the amps on the stage so they were in communication with the sound booth at the far back of the floor. Remi felt a little bad that she was just wandering around while everyone else was so hard at work but she knew that there was nothing she could do to offer her assistance. She was neither technical nor did she think it would be a good idea to cause more distraction to the guys while they needed to focus on the show that night. Instead, Remi opted for looking around the venue with her headphones on, listening to a random playlist of music on her phone.

She made her way throughout the venue, nodding her head along to the music, until she reached the main floor. She took note of the different locations of bars and bathrooms as well as where the merch booths were set up. Overlooking the vast concrete surface, Remi decided that as there wasn’t a lot of people around, it was the perfect moment to enjoy the space before it was filled with the crowd for tonight’s concert. Wandering to the middle of the room, Remi stood there, looking at the stage and remembered the times she had been in the same spot but unable to see clearly due to the swarms of bodies around her. She couldn’t help but smile as she looked around at the space, wanting nothing more than to stretch her legs a bit.

“Le Disko” by Shiny Toy Guns started to play through her headphones, making Remi smile at the nostalgic song from her high school days playing loudly. It had been a long time since Remi had heard this song, unable to stop her head from nodding along to the infectious beat. Reaching up, Remi pulled her wavy hair down form the ponytail she’d been wearing since the coffee fiasco, shaking her hair out rhythmically to the music flowing from her headphones. It wasn’t long before Remi had shut her eyes and felt her whole body moving in time to the music, laughing at herself for giving into the familiar rhythm of the song. Keeping her eyes shut, Remi continued to dance around the empty floor of the music venue, uncaring of the attention she was drawing to herself through her erratic movements. Remi was oblivious to her surroundings, completely swept up in the upbeat song and the sense of freedom she felt.

Unbeknownst to Remi, she had garnered a captive audience.

All the members of One OK Rock had made their way to the stage to start their sound check, only to pause in their actions when they noticed Remi jumping around and swinging her long purple-streaked hair from side to side. They were particularly amused at the fact that the American woman hadn’t seemed to notice what a spectacle she had become to the rest of the room as her eyes were shut and sound was blocked from the headphones she wore. Taka was particularly mesmerized by the way she moved, swaying her hips with her arms thrown up into the air and swinging her head back and forth so her hair bounced from side to side. He noticed the way that she smiled as she continued to dance, unaware that she had gained an interested audience. Taka found her to be particularly beautiful in this moment, completely enthralled by the way she moved.

“I need to get this on camera,” Ryota said, pulling out his cell phone to capture the silly movements of the girl below them.

“Why would you need to get a video of her dancing?” Tomoya asked seriously, confused by the bassist’s desire to film Remi.

Ryota carefully shrugged his shoulders, trying not to disturb the camera in his hands, “Just so I can laugh later. It’s even funnier since we can’t hear the music she’s listening to.”

Taka remained quiet as the rest of the group debated on why Ryota felt the need to record Remi’s dancing on his phone. He was so focused on her movement around the empty space that he didn’t even notice when Toru appeared alongside him, carefully watching him with studious eyes. Taka wore a goofy smile on his face, finding himself quietly laughing at Remi’s overzealous bouncing and interesting arm movements. Looking at her now, Taka knew that she was feeling better than before and that made him happy. He didn’t want her dwelling in her negative emotions for longer than necessary so if dancing around made her forget things momentarily, he welcomed the sight.

If needed, Taka was ready to join her in her dancing just as long as it kept the beautiful smile on her face.

“I still don’t understand why you decided to invite her to spend the day with us,” Toru said, breaking into Taka’s thoughts and forcing his attention to the blond guitarist.

“Oh, come on Toru! I like Remi-chan. She’s been really helpful with packing up the bus,” Ryota said, flinging his bass around so that it was behind him.

“I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with her. She’s a nice person. I just don’t know what you were thinking Mori-kun,” Toru said. “I don’t understand your motivations here.”

“I don’t know how to explain it really,” Taka said after a moment, his eyes still locked on Remi’s dancing. “When I saw her this morning, there was just something about her that made me want to get to know her. I couldn’t just leave her as she was there. She needed someone else and I wanted to be the person that was there for her. I know we’re leaving tomorrow but I’d rather just focus on the moments I have here now instead of worrying about tomorrow.”

“You’re really interested in her, aren’t you?” Tomoya asked, his tone much more serious than it had been all day.

“I am,” Taka said with a nod of affirmation. “I’d like to get to know her better. I feel really comfortable around her, which is weird since we’ve only known each other for less than four hours. Remi just makes me feel calm.”

“Really?” Ryota asked with amusement, eyeing the way she was spinning around in circles.

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad that she’s managed to bring you back to your old self again,” Tomoya said. “We were worried that you were just going to be a wreck today with having to go back home tomorrow.”

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Taka said honestly, realizing that his thoughts had been focused on the woman in his actual presence rather than the one that had walked out on their life together four months ago.

Taka kept his eyes on Remi, noticing that she had stopped dancing with her back to the group. She stood with her arms raised and crossed over one another, resting atop her head so that she could most likely her catch her breath. Looking closely at her left shoulder, Taka could see a colorful piece of art peeking out from the borrowed shirt she wore. He couldn’t see enough of it to make out what the tattoo was exactly but his eyes lingered on her shoulder, tracing the lines that were visible to him. It wasn’t long before his eyes wandered further down her body, noticing that part of her black lacy bra was visible due to the large shirt she had borrowed. He found himself starting to blush the longer his gaze lingered, wondering what she would look like without the oversized shirt on. He knew that it was a little creepy for him to continue staring at her, especially if she were to catch him in the act, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. From the moment she collided into him, his thoughts had been consumed with only her. The meaning behind his interest in her was the mystery that kept him so engaged.

With her chest heaving a bit from her physical activity, Remi took a moment to collect her thoughts as the song shifted a Death Cab For Cutie song. The slow, melancholic melody seemed to bring her back to her own reality as she realized that she had just been dancing around in the middle of the venue while others had been working hard in preparation for tonight’s show. She could feel the blush of embarrassment on her cheeks, causing her face to warm at the thought of people potentially having seen her horrible dancing. She hadn’t meant to lose herself so freely but when that catchy song from her younger years came on through her headphones, all Remi could do was move along to the infectious rhythm and forget about everything else around her.

Remi felt as if she was being watched so she slowly turned her body towards the stage, her eyes widening in shock once she realized that the entire band was standing near the front edge of the stage, looking at her with smiles on their faces. Slowly, her arms dropped down, her right hand reaching up to yank the headphones from her ears. Once she could no longer hear the music blocking out the sounds of the outside world, Remi could clearly hear Ryota and Tomoya cheering and clapping with enthusiasm. She knew at that moment that they had seen her dancing around like a fool and wanted to disappear from sight. She should’ve known that dancing in the middle of the venue would draw attention but somehow, she didn’t think that they would be witness to her moment alone with the music.

“Those are some impressive moves,” Toru said with a teasing smirk, casually leaning against the amp near his area of the stage.

Remi awkwardly laughed, feeling the embarrassment intensify with Toru’s playful tone, “I didn’t realize I got so carried away.”

“You are a great dancer,” Tomoya smiled, holding a thumbs up of approval with his free hand.

“Um, thanks,” Remi said, self-consciously tucking some of her hair behind her left ear. Remi shifted her gaze to Taka, who had been watching her carefully since she turned around and discovered the band on stage. She felt even more self-conscious looking at him now, wondering what he was thinking with his unreadable expression. Clearing her throat a bit in slight discomfort, she asked, “is it time for sound check now?”

“Hmm?” Taka asked, looking a little surprised by the question directed at him as he was forced back from his lustful thoughts. He snapped himself out of his daze and refocused his attention to Remi’s questioning eyes, clearing his throat in a shallow attempt to rid himself of his improper thoughts. “Oh, uh, yeah. It’s time for sound check,” he fumblingly answered with a smile.

“Feel free to dance if you hear anything you like,” Ryota joked, pulling his bass around so that it was in front of his body again.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Remi replied with a playful roll of her brown eyes.

As the band went back to busying themselves on stage, Remi pulled her phone out of her back pocket to the music that she had been listening to previously off and wrap the headphones around the device so that they wouldn’t get lost. Remi took a seat on the floor, looking up at the stage as the band started messing around with their respective instruments. It felt weird for her to being sitting cross-legged on the ground, watching them as they started communicating with the sound guys at the back of the venue and to the sides of the stage in a mixture of Japanese and English but she enjoyed watching them messing around with their instruments. Tomoya had started to tap out a familiar drumbeat, making Remi nod her head to the rhythm. It wasn’t too much longer before Ryota started plucking notes on his bass guitar. They would start and stop intermittently, telling the sound guys whether they needed more in their monitors or indicating when something didn't sound exactly right.

Of the group, Taka was the one that was definitely more vocal about them not sounding right, confirming how it should sound with his band before making requests for changes from the sound booth guys. Watching him during the sound check, Remi could see just how passionate he was about performing. It didn’t seem to matter that the group was only rehearsing. Taka wanted to make sure it sounded the way he wanted before they would move on to the next aspect of sound check. Remi really admired his drive, feeling slightly envious of the fact that he was so in love with his profession.

Remi noticed that their sound check moved rather swiftly, each section getting the opportunity to check their equipment and the playback. Once each one of them finished checking over their instruments, they started looking over the set list for the night, discussing the order of songs. Remi didn’t really know what they were saying as most of their own conversation took place in their mother tongue but she really enjoyed listening to them speak. Even though she wasn’t sure of what they were saying, she could appreciate how animated and passionate they were about whatever the subject they would discuss.

Sound check was over in about fifteen minutes, forcing Remi up from her spot on the ground as she approached the stage. For some reason, Remi thought that this whole process would take longer than fifteen minutes but she had a feeling that since this was the last night of touring, they would have worked out all the kinks by now. She walked around the side of the stage, climbing up to join the guys on stage. Once she was up there, she looked out over the empty venue floor, amazed at how vast it looked from her spot near the front of the stage. She couldn’t imagine standing there with the room filled with people.

Toru was sitting on an amp off to the side, strumming a familiar riff on his guitar whilst nodding along. By the time Remi placed the song, Tomoya had started drumming along to Toru’s guitar, making Remi’s eyes widen a bit when she realized what they had started to play. Once the first verse rolled around, Taka had started singing the familiar words, switching between English and Japanese, while Ryota started playing the familiar bass line. Remi couldn’t fight the smile on her face as the band had started to play “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer,” which was a song that definitely wasn’t on their setlist that night. Remi knew that Toru had started to play this song because she mentioned it as one of her favorites of theirs earlier in the day, nodding along to the familiar rhythm.

Remi quickly dug through her bag and pulled out her phone, using the opportunity to film with the band while she was on stage with them as this was a once in a lifetime type of moment. Mouthing along to the song, she took her time and focused on each of the guys as they played the song in a more relaxed manner than how she imagined it would be played if they were in front of a real audience. Ryota and Tomoya both made silly faces into the camera while she got up close to them, enjoying the fact that Remi was so into the song. Toru had kept a calm, cool expression on his face as he remained seated on the amp, nodding his head along to the song.

By the time the second chorus came around, Remi had started filming Taka, who immediately snatched her phone out of her hand and turned the camera onto her whilst he continued singing. Remi was a little embarrassed to be on camera, trying to block her face with her hands, but heard Tomoya’s encouraging cheers behind his drum kit, forcing her to nod along to the song. Taka had turned the camera onto himself as he sang, making the video even sillier by filming himself at obscure angles or extremely close up. Remi couldn’t help but laugh at his antics, reaching out to try and get her phone back.

When she was close enough, Taka stopped singing momentarily and abruptly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him and resuming the song while continuing to film the both of them with her phone. Remi was shocked to nearly be pulled into a headlock by Taka but oddly, felt at ease when he kept singing. Rather than fight him to pull herself away, Remi wrapped her arm back around Taka’s waist as she bounced in time to the music beside him for the last chorus. Taka couldn’t help but grin widely as she started singing along with him, enjoying the fact that she didn’t mind that he had basically pulled her close to him.

Remi started cheering enthusiastically as Tomoya finished off the song with embellished drumming. Ryota bowed, laughing at Remi’s fervor while Toru also let a smile slip onto his usually stoic face. Taka turned off the recording function on her phone and handed it back to her, enjoying the fact that she was laughing now after their impromptu performance. He was a little surprised that Toru was the one that had started playing “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer” to begin with since he wasn’t as accepting of Remi’s presence in their group but Taka knew that Toru was trying to make her feel welcome, even if he was a little slower to warm up to her than the other members.

When he tried, Toru was actually a very thoughtful man.

“That was awesome!” Remi said, tucking her phone into her back pocket.

“Now you’ll be three for three tonight,” Toru said, placing his guitar with the others near his amp.

“You know Japanese!” Tomoya exclaimed, pointing at her with his drumstick as he stood from behind his kit.

“I know the words to your songs and a few words here and there but do I actually know what I’m singing? Not really,” Remi laughed, shaking her head.

“Well, it’s impressive you know the Japanese lyrics well enough to sing along,” Ryota said as he took as swig of water.

“Thank you,” she said shyly, biting her lower lip. “My singing is nowhere near as good as Taka’s but I tried to keep up, even if I may have butchered it a bit.”

“I like your voice,” Taka said quietly, his statement earning suggestive cheers from his bandmates.

Remi blushed at the statement, her shy eyes meeting his briefly before she forced herself to look anywhere else, “Thanks Taka.”

“Ok, sound check done! Let’s find Hiro and find out the rest of today’s schedule,” Tomoya said, trying to break the teasing atmosphere a bit.

The guys started heading back to the backstage waiting room they had been in, leaving Remi and Taka out on the stage together. Taka held his hand out, gesturing the direction they were meant to go, as he fell into step with Remi. The pair walked in comfortable silence back to the backstage area, each of them seeming to take deliberately slower steps to draw out their time alone together. Remi had to fight the urge she felt to reach down and join their hands together, not sure of how he would feel about holding her hand so quickly. Since their earlier encounter on the bus, Remi couldn’t stop thinking about touching Taka. She wasn’t sure why she felt such a need to be close to him but she did know that she enjoyed the feeling.

“So, that was your first time seeing us perform,” Taka said, breaking the silence as he spoke softly.

“If that’s what you guys sound like just goofing around then I’m excited to see you on stage tonight,” Remi beamed.

“I hope it lives up to your expectations,” he said.

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” she told him. “I’ve been looking forward to this concert for weeks and I’m glad that I’m still able to go, thanks to you.”

“I’m just happy you took me up on my offer to stay.”

“I know I was resistant at first but I’m glad I stayed too. You guys have been so nice to me despite being busy and I really appreciate it.”

“After what I did to you this morning, I think you deserve something nice.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Remi said softly, letting out a small sigh. “I wasn’t paying attention when I should have been.”

“Neither was I,” Taka told her. “But I’m glad that we ran into each other. I like spending time with you.”

“Me too,” Remi smiled, meeting his eyes.

Taka and Remi walked into the room, seeing the rest of the band spread out in different areas of the room. Ryota was laying on one of the couches with his phone, texting while Tomoya sat on the floor in front of him, watching a random movie that happened to be on the television. Toru was seated in a folding chair near the edge of Ryota’s couch, also watching the movie. There was a smaller couch on the other side of Toru where the pair sat, deciding to join the band. Taka sat closest to his bandmates while Remi sat beside him, trying to give him enough space so that she wasn’t crowding the singer. What she really wanted was to sit closer to him but she shook her head at the thought, trying to push away the irrational desire to touch him. She didn’t need to make him feel uncomfortable by crossing any personal boundaries he had.

“Hiro is going to pick up dinner once he’s finished at the hotel,” Toru told the pair as they settled in.

“What’s he getting?” Taka asked curiously.

“He said he found a decent Japanese restaurant nearby,” Toru replied, looking up from his phone.

“Yosh! I want ramen!” Tomoya cheered happily, throwing his hands into the air.

“We know,” Ryota laughed, shaking his head. “You said you wanted it earlier.”

“And now my wish came true!” Tomoya smiled, turning his attention back to the movie.

“What would you like Remi?” Toru asked, looking at the woman sitting beside Taka.

“Oh, that’s ok. I don’t need a meal,” Remi said, not wanting them to go through the trouble.

“Of course, you do,” Taka said encouragingly. “It’s not a big deal. We want you to eat with us.”

“You need your strength for more dancing!” Ryota teased, glancing up from his phone.

Remi laughed at that statement, shaking her head a bit, “Alright. Just so I have my strength for dancing.”

“What would you like?” Toru asked again.

“Oh, um, I’m not really picky,” she said, unable to think of a meal. “What would you recommend?” she asked, looking at the men in the room.

“Ramen,” Tomoya said absent-mindedly.

“Of course, you would say that,” Toru said flatly, rolling his eyes at the drummer’s response. “Well, Taka usually gets curry and you know that Tomoya’s all about ramen. It really depends on what you like. Here. Hiro sent me the menu for the restaurant. Look it over and take your pick,” he said, leaning over to hand her the phone.

Remi took his phone, looking over the menu on the screen. She was a little overwhelmed by all the different choices at this particular restaurant since she typically ordered sushi when she went out for Japanese food. After careful consideration, she finally settled on something called gyudon, which was just beef over rice. She wasn’t completely confident that she would be able to pronounce the name of the dish correctly so she glanced up at Taka, noticing he was already looking at her.

“I don’t want to say this wrong,” Remi said sheepishly, leaning a little closer to the singer so he could see the menu item she selected.

“Gyu-don,” Taka told her, making sure he spoke slowly so she heard the pronunciation.

“Gyudon,” Remi repeated, smiling once she saw Taka nodding in approval of her pronunciation. She leaned closer to Taka so she could hand Toru his phone back, repeating her order with more confidence, “I would like gyudon please.”

Toru smiled softly at the American, nodding as he took the phone back from her, “Hai. I’ll let Hiro know.”

Once the meal orders were placed, the room seemed to settle back into a comfortable silence. Glancing at the time on her phone, she was surprised to see that it was already nearly four in the afternoon, making her wonder how the time seemed to fly by so quickly. It felt like only an hour ago that she had initially run into Taka. As she felt herself sinking into the couch, she couldn’t help allow her thoughts to drift back to the rough conversation with her now ex-boyfriend, making her frown a bit as she remembered the words he used to end things. She knew that it wasn’t long before she would see him again and she was really dreading it. She had managed to keep her thoughts relatively distracted away from drifting back to Marcus too often but knowing that there was a possibility of seeing him again after he had hurt her made Remi feel uneasy.

Shaking her head slightly at the negative thoughts creeping in, Remi turned her attention to the movie on the television screen. The rest of the band was watching a TV edited version of The Dark Knight Rises, making Remi wonder if they were fans of Batman or whether they were just trying to distract themselves with whatever was on. Tomoya and Toru would make small conversation with one another in Japanese while Ryota seemed glued to his phone. As Remi could not contribute to the conversation due to her lack of knowledge in the language, she opted for focusing on the movie. Remi could feel herself slowly drifting into a sleep, causing her to jerk herself awake when she felt her head rolling downward. Given today’s non-stop action and the emotional turmoil from this morning, Remi couldn’t fight the beckoning of sleep, feeling herself finally relax as the room faded away in the blackness.

She figured a little nap wouldn't bother anyone.

Taka glanced beside him to ask Remi a question but noticed that she was slumped forward a bit, completely asleep. He was slightly concerned about her posture, knowing that it couldn’t be comfortable for her to remain hunched over like that but felt unsure of what exactly he should do to remedy the problem. What he really wanted was to lean her against him so that she was comfortable but he wasn’t sure how she would react to waking up in that position. His other option was to lay her so that her head was resting on the other side of the couch, laying away from him but he didn’t like that option at all since she would be further away from him than she already was.

Deciding to be bold, Taka carefully guided the sleeping woman towards him so that her head was leaning against his left shoulder. He placed his arm on the back of the couch so that she was comfortable, enjoying the feeling of her body against his once again. Taka completely froze when he felt her shifting against him, unsure if the sudden movement had woken her or not. He watched carefully as she moved closer to him, draping her arm across his body so that her hand was resting on his chest. Her face had nuzzled closer into the crook of his neck, her shallow breaths dancing across his collarbone and causing goosebumps to rise on his skin at the sensation. Taka watched her as she continued to sleep, her face completely peaceful as she used him as her own personal pillow. Taka’s only interest at the moment was that she feel comfortable while she slept but as his eyes shifted to her partially parted lips, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss her in this moment.

“She’s sleeping?”

Taka shook his head from his startling thoughts, forcing his eyes to the blond guitarist beside him who was glancing at the pair on the couch with amusement. Toru noticed the movement on the couch as Taka pulled the slumbering woman closer to him, chuckling to himself when Taka froze in place as she shifted to make herself more comfortable against him. If this were a normal situation, Toru would have found the couple to be adorable but with their limited timeline in the States, Toru was concerned about Taka diving into something too fast and getting hurt.

"It's been a hectic day for her," Taka replied, his eyes falling back to her face. "She must have needed the rest."

"Good thing we have some downtime before the VIP stuff starts," Ryota said from his spot on the other couch, finally having put his phone away and sitting up properly so that Tomoya could sit beside him.

“You sure look comfortable there Mori-kun,” Tomoya said with a suggestive tone, playfully winking in his direction.

“Shut up,” Taka awkwardly laughed.

“Good thing she doesn’t have a boyfriend or you’d be in trouble right now,” Tomoya joked.

Taka frowned a bit at the last statement, deciding to explain her situation to the band so they understood, “Her boyfriend broke up with her this morning before we accidently ran into each other.”

“Really?” Ryota asked in shock. “Wow, that’s really awful.”

“I don’t know a lot of details but they were supposed to go to the show together tonight but he ended things, which is why she was going to go back home to San Diego. She’s been worried about running into him later tonight,” Taka explained quietly, absent-mindedly brushing his fingertips across her upper arm.

“He’s coming tonight? Really?” Tomoya asked with surprise. “Well now I know why she didn’t want to talk about her relationship at lunch earlier. This explains a lot. I feel bad for bringing it up.”

“When we ran into each other, she just broke down into tears and blurted it out to me. I just wanted to make her feel better so I invited her to the show. I didn’t want her to cry anymore,” Taka said.

“You’re a good person Mori-kun,” Ryota said thoughtfully. “She’s lucky that you were there to offer her some help, even if it was just a new shirt and a ticket to our show.”

“You two seem really close for two people who only met this morning,” Toru said, looking at the pair with curious eyes.

“It’s like I said before, I can’t explain what it is about her but she makes me feel calm. We just seem to enjoy each other’s presence, even if we’re not talking. I haven’t had that in a really long time,” Taka said with a sigh, pausing in lightly drawing shapes on her arm with his fingertips. “I just like having her around me.”

“Even if it’s just until the end of the show?” Toru asked inquisitively.

Taka nodded though he wasn’t necessarily happy with the thought of the two of them going their separate ways so soon, “I’m focused on spending time with her while I can, even if it’s only for a few more hours. Like I said, I can’t really explain it but I really just like being around her.”

“I’m just glad that she’s taken your mind off of Yukari. I was worried that you might feel pressured going back to Japan and seeing her again,” Toru admitted honestly.

“Yeah. You seem like your old self again,” Ryota smiled. “It’s good to see.”

The group discussion seemed to cease with each of the band members turning their attention back to the movie on the television screen. Taka had a difficult time concentrating on the final Batman film when Remi was cuddled against him. Every now and then, she would shift against him, reminding him of just how close they actually were to one another. Taka didn’t realize how difficult it would be to be this close to her, especially when she continued to bury herself closer into his body. By this point, his arm had fallen down behind her so that his hand was along the side of her waist while she was now lightly gripping the front of his shirt. Taka had shifted his position a bit so that she was resting more comfortably against him, enjoying the warmth she generated along the left side of his body. He knew that she was in no space to be entertaining such thoughts of him, especially right after her break up this morning, but he wondered whether Remi also felt the same spark that he felt being around her. He would see her staring at him from time to time and he noticed the way that she blushed earlier when he helped her off the counter on the bus, enjoying the pink tinge to her cheeks.

Despite their limited time together, Taka planned to make the most of each moment while he could, damning the consequences.

Twenty minutes had passed since the conversation with the band had died down when the door opened, catching everyone’s attention. Hiro walked through the door carrying multiple bags of food that he left at the empty table. Following behind him was Julen, their photographer for the tour. The larger bearded man carried his equipment bag as well as a few bags of food that Hiro couldn't handle.

“I’ve brought food!” the bearded man announced loudly as he walked through the doorway with food bags raised in the air only to be startled by all four members of the band immediately scolding and shushing him. Julen was a little surprised at this harsh reaction until he realized that there was an unconscious woman curled against Taka on the couch, making him a little confused by the sight. “Who’s passed out on Taka?” he asked.

“That’s Remi. She’s still sleeping so keep it down,” Toru explained as he stood from his spot to help Hiro unpack the food items.

“Ah, she’s the one that you were talking about earlier, right? The one Taka brought back from the coffee shop?” Julen asked curiously, setting the bags of food down. “Why is she napping on you?” he asked the singer, examining the way he was gently stroking her arm.

“I wanted her to be comfortable,” Taka explained sheepishly, not meeting the photographer’s curious gaze.

“I see,” Julen replied, nodding slowly at the statement. “So, time to eat!”

“Ramen!” Tomoya quietly cheered, throwing his hands in the air.

Taka was debating on whether he should wake the slumbering woman currently resting against him. Though he knew that the both of them should eat while the food was still warm, Taka was reluctant to disturb her because then, there would be distance between them once again. She just seemed so peaceful in her sleep compared to pained expressions she’d try to mask throughout the day. He didn’t want to be the one that disrupted her peaceful state. Taka wanted to remain as still as possible, enjoying this small moment with Remi at his side. It had been a long time since Taka had felt a warm body next to him so he was enjoying the reminder of what it felt like to hold someone. Rather than spoil the moment with dinner, Taka just continued lightly stroking her arm with his fingertips as he watched her slumber, wishing he had the ability to prolong this moment they shared.

Remi desperately fought the urge to wake up, nuzzling her face into the warm, squishy pillow that she was currently leaned against. She felt warm and protected where she was, her mind free of thoughts of her ex-boyfriend and the end of their relationship. Sighing quietly to herself, Remi felt the consciousness breaking through her relaxed state meaning that sleep was no longer an option for her to escape her thoughts. As she teetered on the edge of her sleepiness, Remi suddenly started to realize that she was not currently lying on the couch with a pillow but rather, resting against someone. It was also at that moment that she realized that she wasn’t just leaning against another person but rather, she was desperately clinging to their torso as if that person was her own personal teddy bear.

This thought made her eyes fly open as she scrambled away from the person she had been using as her own personal pillow. The sudden movement startled Taka, forcing him to sit up straight as Remi took a minute to get her bearings. Remi's widened eyes quickly searched the room as she had momentarily forgot where she had fallen asleep. Once she remembered that she was backstage with One OK Rock and that she hadn’t had some kind of elaborate dream, she realized she had been using Taka as her personal pillow this whole time, causing her cheeks to flush pink in embarrassment. She hadn’t remembered falling asleep on Taka but waking up next to him wasn’t completely horrible either. If it wasn’t for the embarrassment of the situation, Remi might have enjoyed it more.

“Oh my God Taka, I’m so sorry!” Remi said quickly, averting her gaze from him. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you like that.”

Taka laughed quietly, shaking his head, “No, it’s ok. You needed rest.”

“I guess I did,” she laughed, trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness she felt. “Was I out for long?”

“It was only about twenty or thirty minutes,” Tomoya said from his spot on the couch, holding his Styrofoam container of noodles.

“At least it wasn’t hours. That’s something,” she smiled.

“Are you hungry? Hiro brought us our dinner,” Ryota said from the table where the food was laid out.

“Oh, that sounds good,” she said, stretching her arms overhead to try and wake herself up fully. “Thank you again for getting me food.”

“No problem,” Hiro said as he took a seat on the couch near Tomoya.

Remi stood from the couch, noticing that Taka was also standing from their shared seat. The pair walked towards the table where the food was, Remi looking at the different containers with rice, dumplings, noodles, and other such items. She found her container and picked it up along with a bottle of water that had been set out near the far side of the table before making her way back to the couch. She noticed a larger American man with a dark beard and black beanie sitting on the couch where she and Taka had been sitting previously, unsure of who the stranger was. She figured that he was part of the crew for the tour but since she was only familiar with their tour manager, she wondered who he could’ve been.

The man noticed Remi slow before reaching the couch, finally able to get a good look at her now that she wasn’t buried against Taka’s side. He thought she was cute but somehow, she didn’t seem like Taka’s usual type, wondering what it was about her that interested him. He was aware of the circumstances in which they met so he knew that Taka was just being a nice guy to her by inviting her to the show tonight but he couldn’t figure out what it was about her specifically that made the lead singer so clingy and physically affectionate to the stranger. The last thing he expected was to walk into the room and see the two of them cuddling on the couch.

He smiled at her, holding his free hand out to her, “Hey, I’m Julen. You must be Remi.”

“Um, yeah, that’s me. Nice to meet you,” she replied, gently shaking his hand. “Do you mind if I join you?” she asked, pointing to the spot beside him.

“Not at all. There’s plenty of room!” he said, scooting over so that she had space to sit in the middle. “So, I heard you ran into Taka this morning and that’s why you’ve been roped into the last day madness.”

“I wasn’t really roped in. I voluntarily joined this party,” Remi smiled. “For some reason, Taka thought it was a good idea to invite the girl who nearly knocked him over back to his bus to hang out for the day.”

“You didn’t nearly knock me over” Taka said as he took a seat beside Remi on the couch. “I had to stop you from falling over.”

“Sounds like the beginning of a rom-com,” Julen commented with a small grin.

“It was memorable at least,” Remi said with a shrug, the thought also having crossed her mind earlier in the day.

The conversation seemed to pick up a bit as the group ate their dinner. Remi learned that Julen was their photographer for the tour, taking all the pictures of them on stage each night during the shows. She was fascinated that he made his living going from tour to tour with different bands, taking pictures of their shows. The idea of being on tour seemed exciting to Remi, mainly due to the fact that she didn’t get a lot of opportunities to travel. Despite the close living quarters that came with being on tour, she thought she might be able to forgo her personal space if it gave her the opportunity to be places other than the West Coast. She knew the tradeoff would be worth it in the end if she had such an opportunity present itself.

Dinner seemed to wrap up pretty quickly with the band getting themselves ready to meet the VIP ticket holders. Hiro seemed to be giving out instructions the guys in Japanese, telling them everything that they needed to know in order to help ease the process of the Meet and Greet with the VIP ticket holders. From time to time, Taka would look beside him to check on his American guest, noticing that she was just silently observing the room with curious eyes despite the language barrier. There were a few instances where he would catch her looking at him, offering her a friendly smile. He had to admit that the moments that he caught her looking at him made him feel really good. Being the front man of a band, Taka was used to having a lot of attention focused on him all the time but with Remi, there was something reassuring about her interest in him. He was enjoying the fact that she seemed as fascinated with him as he was with her.

Before long, Remi was following the band as they made their way back out to the main floor of the venue, happily chatting with one another about what they would do once they returned to Japan. Of course, Remi understood very little of their conversation but she was perfectly happy to listen to them speak their language, enjoying the animation in their voices as they conversed with one another. Remi was trying to distract yourself from the VIP event. She still had no idea whether Marcus would be at the venue taking part and thought scared her a bit. She still had no idea what she would do if she saw him again and she really didn't want to think about it. She wanted to put the morning behind her and forget about her feelings. She didn't want to be reminded of the heartache she had been escaping all day.

While the band started to set up near the table for the meet and greet, Remi took the opportunity to sneak away to use the bathroom. She figured she could use some alone time since she had been attached to the hip to the rest of the group practically all day. She knew that they had to focus on the work and she did not want to be a distraction especially since she seemed to take so much of Taka's time. Despite her conflicting emotions, Remi knew that she was really drawn to Taka. She would find yourself staring at him and trying to fight off the feeling of wanting to be physically near him at all times. She didn't understand how she had become so clingy to somebody especially since they had only just met that morning but Remi wanted to focus on their time together because it was so limited.

She knew that after this evening, there was zero chance of seeing him again.

When Remi re-emerged from the bathroom, she found the doors that open to the venue and the meet-and-greet had begun. She watched from the side as the eager fans would enter the venue and head straight towards the table where the band was sitting, smiling and making polite conversation. Despite all the members being proficient enough in English, Remi noticed that most speaking fell to Taka as he seemed to have a better grasp of language. She thought it was weird since she had been talking to them all day but then realized that she had forced that situation with her presence. She started to worry that she had made them feel a little uncomfortable since they wouldn’t be able to communicate as easily with her.

Snapping herself out of these thoughts, Remi found herself slowly making her way towards the table, pulling the lanyard out from under her shirt so security would allow her to freely wander around. She went towards the bar closest to the restrooms, asking for a bottle of water. Once Remi had her beverage, she turned to head back towards the band only to find herself surrounded by a small group of fans in One OK Rock shirts. It was a group of two teenage girls and a boy, none of them looking older than eighteen. One girl had short black hair while the other girl was slightly taller with long, light brown hair that was pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head. The boy looked like he was the oldest of the group with a tall, lanky build and a mop of black hair that swept into his eyes. Remi was a little surprised by the sudden appearance of such a group but quickly collected herself.

“I’m sorry. I nearly ran into you all,” she said to the group, putting the cap back on her watcr.

“Oh, that’s ok!” the girl with the short bob said brightly. “We weren’t really paying attention to where we were going.”

“You mean because you were so distracted by Toru, right?” the older girl with the longer light brown hair said teasingly.

“Shut up Erin!” the other girl said defensively, lightly pushing her.

Remi chuckled a bit at the comment, “So, you guys excited for the show?”

“Some more than others,” the guy said, pushing his dark fringe out of his eyes. “I’m here because these two really like this band and as the older brother, I’m responsible for looking out for them.”

“Well that’s awesome. I wish I had a cool older brother that took me to concerts when I was your age,” Remi said.

“Luckily, I actually like this band so it’s a win-win situation,” the boy said with a small smile. “I’m Spencer by the way and this is my little sister Nicki and her friend Erin,” he said as he pointed each one out.

“Nice to meet you guys. I’m Remi,” she smiled with a small wave to the teens. “So, did you already meet the band?”

Erin shook her head, “Not yet. Nicki needed a moment to calm down.”

“I take it that you’re a big fan then?” Remi laughed, looking to the younger girl who seemed to be eyeing Toru before Remi directed the question to her.

“Oh, I love them so much,” she gushed, her eyes sparkling as she continued to speak, “I’ve been wanting to see them forever and now that I’m here, less than ten feet away from them, it’s too much! They’re my idols and I don’t think I can live with myself if I meet them and embarrass myself in front of them.”

Remi nodded in understanding, “I get it. It’s hard meeting your heroes but they’re really nice guys. I’m sure you’ll be ok if you go over and say hello.”

“I don’t know,” Nicki said unsurely, looking towards the table longingly. She seemed a little surprised when she glanced at the table, looking back to Remi with wide eyes, “Oh my God. Taka was looking over here! I met his eyes and he smiled at me!”

Remi turned her head towards the table, seeing Taka watching her group with interest. She couldn’t help but smile as she locked eyes with him, realizing that he had been watching her conversation with the young fans. He offered a small wave to her, which she returned shyly. She knew that her face was burning at the thought of Taka watching her but she didn’t want to make the assumption. He could have just been checking on her since he would feel responsible for her as the person who had invited her along. Remi didn’t want to get her hopes up with the thought of any more meaning behind his seeking her out.

“Taka waved over here!” Nicki gushed, looking as if she were about to combust.

“He waved at her,” Spencer said flatly, pointing at Remi.

“Do you know them?” Erin asked curiously.

Remi rucked some of her hair behind her ear, nodding a bit as she answered, “Um, yeah. I know them a bit.”

“Oh my God, you’re part of the tour, aren’t you?!” Nicki asked, eyeing the All Access Pass around Remi’s neck.

“Not part of the tour,” Remi replied, shaking her head. “I’m just an acquaintance of the group.”

“So, you do know them?!” Nicki asked, her voice unbearable high pitched from her excitement. “Oh my God! That’s so cool. What are they like? I bet they’re really fun to hang out with.”

“Well, you should find out!” Remi said with a sly smirk as she looked over towards the band. “Would you like to meet them?”

Erin’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, looking to her friend with excitement. Spencer looked amused by his younger sister, who just seemed to freeze at Remi’s mentioning of meeting the band. Remi couldn’t help but laugh a bit as well, wondering exactly what conflicting emotions and thoughts were going through the young girl’s mind. Deciding to take action, Remi turned towards the table and started to make her way over, pausing to look back to the group of teenagers and beckon them to follow her with a wave of her hand. Spencer gently guided his sister along so that the three of them were following Remi to the table where the guys were sitting. Remi knew that a young fan like Nicki needed to capitalize on this moment to meet her heroes, especially since she may not get the opportunity again.

“Remi-chan!” Ryota cheered as she approached the table. “We wondered where you went.”
“I thought I should give you some space so you could work,” she replied.

“Who are your friends?” Taka asked, peeking around her to see the group of teenagers that were trying to hide behind the American girl.

“Oh, well,” Remi began, shifting to the side so the group was more visible to the band, “this is Spencer, Erin, and Nicki. They’re fans of you guys that wanted to say hello,” Remi said encouragingly as she pointed out each teenager.
“Nice to meet you guys,” Taka smiled, offering a friendly wave.

“Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,” Nicki said, slightly bowing as she spoke to the band. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I actually spoke Japanese to you! Wow, oh my God… I don’t know what to do now,” Nicki said quickly, voicing her thoughts with wide eyes.

Toru flashed a smile to the young fan while he spoke, his voice a bit huskier than usual, “You speak Japanese well.”

Remi noticed the way that Nicki had immediately started blushing when Toru spoke to her, making her smile a little at the reaction. Remi thought it was adorable that Nicki was having such a difficult time being so close to the band. Remi knew it must be intimidating but she wanted to encourage the group so they got the most out of their VIP experience. She glanced over to Toru, who had a sly look in his eye like he knew exactly what kind of effect he was having on the poor fan. Shaking her head at his reaction, Remi turned her attention back to the young fans as they continued to talk about the new album and how excited they were for the show that was happening in a few hours.

“Did you guys want a picture?” Ryota asked the young fans with a smile.

“Really?” Nicki squeaked, her eyes rapidly looking between Remi and the band at the suggestion.

“I’ll take it for you guys,” Remi offered, holding out her hands.

“Here, use my phone. I don’t think Nicki can move right now,” Spencer said, unlocking his iPhone and handing it over to the older woman.

Remi stepped back a bit as the group moved into position near the table. Remi started directing the teens, urging them closer to the guys as she framed the picture. Spencer stood near Ryota and Tomoya while Erin stood more in the middle between Taka and Ryota. Nicki was on the other side of Taka, looking as if she were going to faint because Toru had decided to sling a casual arm around the young fan’s shoulders. Remi couldn’t help but stifle her laughter at Toru’s sly gaze in her direction, shaking her head at the guitarist. Once she felt confident that everyone was ready for a picture, she counted out loud to three, snapping a few pictures to make sure they were in focus. Once that was done, she told them to hold on a second so she could zoom in a bit so the picture filled the entire screen, snapping a few more at the new zoomed in view.

“I think I got it,” Remi smiled, cautiously looking through the gallery at the photos she took, careful not to scroll too far back into Spencer’s pictures.

“Awesome! Thank you so much,” Erin beamed, reluctantly stepping away from the guys.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled, handing the phone back to Spencer.

Remi watched as Hiro approached, saying something to the band in Japanese while pointing at the watch on his wrist. Remi had a feeling that Hiro was informing them that the Meet and Greet was winding down now as security for the venue seemed to be moving towards the main entrance. Remi looked over at the teens, noticing that they were wrapped up in their own excited conversation about meeting the band. She found herself smiling at the group, glad that she was able to encourage them over. She knew that if she hadn’t intervened and walked them over, they would have regretted a missed opportunity.

“Looks like it’s nearly time for the doors to open,” Toru said, catching the attention of the chatty teens still standing nearby.

“Well, it was really nice to meet you! I can’t wait to see you on stage!” Nicki gushed, smiling brightly. “Thanks for introducing us Remi!”

“You’re welcome. I’ll look for you guys when the show starts,” she smiled in reply.

The groups said their goodbyes with Hiro leading the band around the edge of the venue so they could head backstage once again. Remi was surprised when she felt a hand placed gently on the small of her back, looking beside her to see that Taka was guiding her along with a neutral expression on his face. She felt herself smiling, her heart speeding up at the simple gesture from the front man. She really appreciated how Taka was able to provide her with reassurance through the smallest gestures. It was things like this that made her think that maybe meeting him this morning wasn’t just an accident. Maybe this was the universe’s way of making up for throwing her into such disarray. At least during her difficult time, she had someone who understood and was there for her, even if it wasn’t always through words.