Before the date
Like Glass
All the happiness from the day before had dispersed like a dream after waking up. Hyesung had just gotten off the phone with Miri's lawyer. They called to talk about the necklace. They called it negotiations, as if he had kidnapped the necklace and was holding it hostage.
They said agreed they wouldn't press charges if Hyesung just returned the necklace and apologize to Miri. More then likely Miri had demanded more but the lawyer probably advised her to be reasonable. After all he had never even gotten a speeding ticket before.
Though the dial tone became progressively more annoying, Hyesung could do little but stare, aghast, at his cell phone. This can't be happening, he thought. It can't. How can she do this? For everything else Miri had done, Hyesung hadn't quite believed she'd go this far. That was, of course, until his recent chitchat with Miri's lawyer.
Finally Hyesung calmed himself enough to hang the cell phone up. He dropped it on the coffee table and flopped down on the couch. What would he do now? He had no money for a lawyer, no way to defend himself. And was any of this even legal? He didn't quite think so. Threatening someone, accusing them of theft with no proof, talking about bringing in the police... Maybe I should ask Eric's father.
Eric wouldn't like that, not one bit. Hyesung had met Eric's father a couple times when he was younger, but he hadn't seen him in years; not since he and Eric had their falling out. Eric's father, a top-tier lawyer, didn't exactly approve of his son's dual mechanic/musician career. These days they barely spoke.
Only if I must, Hyesung decided. Things with Eric were going so well; he didn't want to jeopardize it.
The end of the couch dipped, the springs creaked. Hyesung lifted his head and groaned when he saw Junjin perching on the arm of the couch. Dongwan, Andy and Minwoo stood behind him, gazing down expectantly at Hyesung. He sighed, sat up, tried to smile at them. Dongwan's dark eyes, as fathomless as ever, sent a shiver down his spine.
"Sorry guys, I don't really have time for this," Hyesung said, making his smile apologetic.
"True," Junjin agreed. "You need to get ready."
"Ready?"
"Um, yeah. Hello, Suggie? Your date."
Hyesung's eyes widened. "Oh !"
He scrambled up off the couch, coming within a hairsbreadth of banging his knee on the coffee table. Yikes, he thought, as he dodged the proverbial bullet. Wouldn't be able to walk without pain if I did that! Hyesung had no idea what he was going to wear.
Hyesung burst through the door into his bedroom, his brothers on his heels. Junjin, Andy and Dongwan laughed, catching him by the elbows as if it were a dance. They swung him in a circle; he might have been annoyed, but he found it difficult to resist the pull of their joy and enthusiasm. Carefully Hyesung pried himself from their grip and went to his closet. He had a lot of new clothes to choose from, but... What'll make the impression I want to make?
"I guess we can't do the leather suit thing again," Junjin said with a pout. "Guess we should've thought ahead. Leather is really good concert wear."
"No, not tonight," Minwoo said, his voice soft, whispery. "Sunggie needs something different tonight, something..."
"Innocent," Andy finished with a grin.
Minwoo made a moue. "That wasn't exactly where—"
"Ooo, yeah!" Dongwan agreed. He threw an arm around Minwoo's shoulders. "It's okay, bro, your ideas are good but I think Andy has it right this time."
Dongwan, Junjin and Andy converged on the closet, an overly eager whirlwind. They jostled Hyesung to the side and began rummaging through the clothes. Hyesung leaned on the nearest wall, watching them in amusement.
"That's not innocent, it's ing boring. Why is this even still in here?" Junjin tossed a high-necked shirt out of the closet.
"How about this one?" Andy suggested.
"Which? Lemme see!" Dongwan asked
Hyesung fell back to a safe distance. As he moved, he caught the look on Minwoo's face. There it was again, that dark something surging in his brother's eyes. His tongue flicked out like a viper's, wetting his lusciously full lips. He looks like a snake, Hyesung thought uneasily. Like a snake waiting to swallow down an unsuspecting mouse...
Minwoo noticed him watching. The Faerie's expression changed, shifted, becoming more pleasant. He turned and walked towards Hyesung, who backed up instinctively. A sad smile spread across Minwoo's face, convincing, almost genuine, but something about it still felt off. As slippery as the serpent he sometimes resembled, Minwoo wound an arm around Hyesung's waist, pulled him close.
"They're a nuisance sometimes," he said, gesturing at his brothers with his chin, "but I love them dearly."
For once he truly sounded sincere. "I like them," Hyesung agreed. "Junjin's particular brand of...exuberance aside
"They can't help it. They're not fully Unseelie Court."
Hyesung fought to keep his surprise off his face. He didn't want to give Minwoo any ammunition or a reason to stop talking. He knew little of Faerie, and what research he'd tried to do left him confused, bloated and convoluted by years of stories and fiction as it was. The Unseelie Court—the Dark Court to some—was supposed to be full of the cruelest, most vicious Faerie, but Hyesung had no idea if that was true. He had no idea what to think about any of it.
"Oh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Minwoo smiled. "Their father was Summer Court. I don't know why, it's hardly mother's usual inclination, but there you have it. They were all born together.I think it's called triplets here."
.
Summer Court. Hyesung wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but the information was valuable nonetheless.
"Got it!" Junjin crowed, turning away from the closet holding up a cream colored slacks and sky blue three quarter length sleeve dress shirt with a black collar . "All right, come on Suggie. Let's get you done up."
Andy had fished a flat iron from somewhere at the bottom of the closet. He held it up, pushing the handle so it clacked ominously.
Hyesung sighed while Minwoo laughed. "More like done in."
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[Eric's Pov]
"So that's him, huh?"
Eric looked up from tuning his guitar. Their lead singer Eugene peered around the edge of the stage, eyeing the crowd. She was a strange one, their fearless leader. Her punk-short black hair spiked at the front, but she was largely clear of tattoos and piercings, though she was the kind of girl you'd think would have many.
"Him who?" Eric asked, as casually as possible.
"Nice try, lover boy." Eugene turned to him and planted her hands on her hips. For some reason she'd worn a fluffy pink tutu with her white camisole, black vest, and chunky combat boots. Not that this was unusual, per se. He just couldn't help wondering what drove her to make such choices. "You said he'd be here. That's him, right? The one in the blue shirt?"
Eric sighed. He set his guitar aside and rose. Eugene watched him, her brown eyes eerily similar to Hyesung's; that warm rich brown he'd once thought no one else in the world must have.
He peeked out from behind the stage, Eugene leaning against him and sticking her head out curiously. In the midst of the crowd, standing out like a dove among crows, Hyesung stood. Hyesung fidgeted nervously with is black tie, eyeing the people around him uncertainly. He wore a sky blue shirt of some airy, silken material, with a cream colored slacks and the black tie he was crinkling. His hair had been straightened and made to frame his face.
Eric in a breath. Wow, he thought, a foolish grin threatening to break on his face. Hyesung looked completely out of place and utterly impossible to miss. That glow he'd noticed the other day at Ven's was back.
"Not too shabby," Eugene commented, elbowing him in the ribs. "Come on, we got a show to put on."
Eric grabbed his guitar, then followed Eugene as she strutted out onto the stage. Wyatt (bass), Rhys (drums), and Nolan (keyboard or acoustic guitar, depending) trailed behind him. The crowd let out a roar; They played often at The Hole and their audience knew them well.
Hyesung waved when he saw him. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he waved back. Girls turned to each other in the crowd, trying to figure out who'd won his attention. Eric grinned as Hyesung acting as if he didn't know. The female fans were unlikely to be happy if they knew Eric—long known for being a bachelor—had become unavailable. Though he, unlike Rhys, never slept with groupies, some of them kept hope alive.
Eugene welcomed the crowd, basking in their cheers. Then the show was on. They had their own line up of songs, but they played a lot of covers too. And with Eugene as their singer, why not? She had a rich, husky voice; she'd never win American Idol, but she could belt out rock songs at the top of her lungs or croon ballads sweetly enough for their fans.
The crowd went wild. If our band was a cult, Eugene was the gal handing out the Kool-Aid.
While they played, Eric kept his eyes on Hyesung. He started out shy, barely even swaying to the music. But Eugene did her thing—cradling her mic like it was her lover, dominating the stage with her presence—and the crowd around Hyesung surged, moving to the music. Slowly but surely, caught up in the tide, Hyesung began to dance too. And then Eric really couldn't take his eyes off him.
Somehow, despite being mesmerized by the movement of Hyesung's hips, he managed not to make mistakes. He wanted to be down there with him, to hold his hips while he swayed, but well, he couldn't have everything.
During a break in their set, while Eugene got a drink of water, Eric decided to approach their leader. The guys gathered around her too, just in case she made any spontaneous changes to their lineup; she did that fairly often. Ugh, Eric thought, didn't want to bring this up around them. But he refused to back down.
"Hey Eugene," he began, trying to sound nonchalant. "Can I get a request?"
"Ooo, want a song for your boyfriend?" Rhys taunted. He pushed his hair—as wild as his drumming—out of his eyes.
Eric ignored him. "How about it?"
"Anything for you, love." Eugene tossed aside her empty water bottle. "What you want?"
He ignored the guys' smirks as he told her, then went back to his place. Eugene took up her spot at the mic stand; they'd been on for more than an hour but she showed little sign of wear.
"All right, got a special request now," Eugene said, to the cheers of the audience. "For you in the crowd there. You, the slim guy with the cute face."
Eric groaned. In the crowd, Hyesung folded his arms over his chest and turned bright red. People turned to look at him, some curious, some jealous, some both.
"Don't be ashamed, love. Your adorable. I wanna bite you." Eugene clacked her teeth together. Then she tossed her head back and laughed. Hyesung, responding to Eugene's effervescence, and laughed too.
"All right, boys!" Eugene said. As the music started up, she leaned into the microphone and sang, "Settle down with me, Cover me up, Cuddle me in"
Hyesung broke into a grin. His embarrassment apparently forgotten, he began to sway to the song. Eric watched him, not caring who noticed. Hyesung followed the melody, mussing his perfect hair. As Eric soaked in the vision of Hyesung, he leaned forward to join the band in the chorus.
"Kiss me like you wanna be loved, You wanna be loved, You wanna be loved..."
The next few songs were a blur, as Eric struggled to maintain his focus. He wanted so badly to be down there with Hyesung, to catch his hand and run until they were far away from here. Somewhere like his apartment, where they could be alone, where he could slide his hands down his slacks... Whoa, okay, don't go there, he thought, swallowing hard. Not onstage, in front of all these people.
As the set neared the end—but the encore had yet to begin—Eric's impatience built. He glanced at his watch; they were going to be late.
While he worried, the song finished and Eugene stepped away from her microphone. She sauntered over to him, her eyes flashing, a knowing smile curving her lips. Nolan came over as well, his acoustic guitar strung across his back. Eric felt a prickle of hope as Eugene pushed his microphone away.
"Go on, lover boy," she said, grinning. "We'll do the encore unplugged. Get your guy and go."
He didn't hesitate. Eric slid his guitar strap off and handed it off the Eugene. Then he leapt off the stage, eliciting gasps and laughter from the crowd. They reached out for him, trying to grab hold of him, but the only one he reached for in return was Hyesung. He let him take his wrist, let Eric pull him through the rush of people. And when he looked back, as they raced through the door, he was laughing.
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Momo here again, I really hope you like this chapter. If your wondering about the song that Eric requested it was Ed Sheeran " Kiss Me". As Always please comment and subscribe! Side note: The end is near. I plan about 4 more chapters and a epilogue. :3
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