A(ndrei)sexual & Other Tales - Chapter Two: in which fate brings them together

Warning: 18+ readers only; this blog is dark and full of terrors!

(mild language)

Late Winter

NANA

   I'll always believe destiny is what brought me to the Kikuchi's; Mrs Kikuchi had been in a pregnancy class with my mother, and both had gone into labour on the same day, at the same time - 29th of April, 1990, at four a.m. Ichiro was born quickly, after only forty-five minutes, and was crying and healthy. I was born ten and a half hours later, with severe complications. I never got to meet my mother.

   The Kikuchi's became close with my dad, and as babies, Ichiro and I had even played together. His family helped raised me for the first two years of my life, as my dad struggled as a single parent. Soon after my second birthday, my dad met someone new - a woman from Yorkshire, travelling across Japan after finishing university - and fell madly in love with her. It didn't take long before they were planning their future together, and after they had married, we moved to England. By the time I was four, our family had grown, and little Sebastian was born. He had his mother's eyes and our father's height; "little" Seb grew and grew. By the time he was thirteen, he was five foot eleven - already five inches taller than me - and had earned the nickname Panda after he learned how to use a kohl pencil to make his already big puppy eyes even more prominent. The next five years were spent trying to convince everyone we met that I was the older brother.

   Fast forward to 2012: Panda gets into university in London to pursue his dream of being a dancer-cum-actor and, after sickening of the Dales' country lifestyle, I decide to follow. Camden seemed like the best place for us, but while Panda was doing something with his life, and tending the bar at DancingQueens every Friday night, I became quite stuck. I ended up getting a job at a reasonably sound little alternative pub called Black Cat and responded to quite a few flatmate vacancies. I only heard back from one. It was the shittest little place; a studio with a separate kitchen and bathroom, definitely not big enough for two people. But I needed somewhere to stay that wasn't the floor of Panda's university dorm, and it's not like I had an awful lot of stuff. Dora - who at that point went by Theo - seemed like a perfect asshole, but we fast became friends after discovering we liked the same music and food. He didn't mind me playing the guitar or coming in late after work. After a few months, he started coming to the bar after he'd finish his shift at the hotel down the street, and slowly our little group formed; Fox, Panda, Dora and me. Dora hadn't long left school and seemed to have no friends, so I felt it was my job to guide him in the adult world, even if I was only four years older than him.

   It wasn't until his brother came to visit him for the summer that year that I found out who they were. I tell you, it was the weirdest phone conversation I've ever had with my dad. He told me all about how Ichiro and I had played together before we'd moved. He was kind of shocked that we'd somehow crossed paths again and in London of all places.  

   But I'm convinced it was fate.

   On meeting Ichiro for the first time - since we were babies, that is - I felt an immediate attraction to him. He was so different from his brother; taller and darker, and more like a man. Of course, they shared similarities, like the thick eyebrows and almost hateful natural gaze, only Ichiro knew how to smile. As for their personalities, they couldn't have clashed more than they did.

   The tension between them was awful, and Dora would often leave him with me, which I didn't mind. And by the time Ichiro was due to go back to Japan, I was attached.

   We kept in touch, grew closer. Honestly, I didn't even realise I was falling for Ichiro. Not until now.  

   "God, only a few more days of being Ichiro-free then it's back to misery," Dora says while he dusts the top of the spirit bottles. "I still can't fucking believe it. I thought I was shot of him. Surely there are places in Japan that need paralegals..."

   "Wait, this has been a happy you all this time?" I wipe the bar down needlessly for the hundredth time. It's quiet, even for a Wednesday. "You probably won't even see him that much."

   "Haha, that's funny." Dora looks anything but amused. "You know what he's like, everyone will love him. That twat."

    I try not to blush, knowing I was one of those people.

   "I, for one, am quite excited to meet this boy!" Panda exclaims, floating over to the bar. He's wearing one of his more casual get-ups; dark blue skinnies tucked into his tremendous Goth boots and a baggy Marilyn Manson t-shirt. I'm so used to seeing him in his leather and leopard print that it's a bit unnerving to see him dressed more like your average patron. "I wanna know who can piss you off so badly." He smiles at Dora.

   Dora only growls and starts to pour Panda and his friends' drinks. I look across the room at them; three guys about Panda and Dora's age huddled in the corner booth.

   I've seen them in here before. Panda's "band" friends; two of them look ideally suited for an indie band, with their distressed jeans and oversized hoodies and sneakers, both attractive and fresh-faced.  

 And then there's the scary one.

   I've never actually seen him up close. He's always in the corner and hides his ghostly face whenever I go past the table. His skinny jeans are as black as his long messy hair, the denim adorned with chains and patches of leather, and his sweater is deliberately torn and unhemmed. He makes me think of something that's crawled out of a well with a grudge to avenge.

   "Panda, how do you even know those guys?"

   "Maki is on the same drama course as me."

   I look back at them, trying to figure out which of the indie guys is Maki.

   "He's the one with all the hair."

   "Sadako?" I ask with a smirk.

   "He's not that scary looking," Panda says with wide eyes, nudging me across the bar. "Believe me, he's full of surprises. And he's pretty cute."

   Panda grabs the tray from Dora and saunters back to his table. 

  "When is it Ichi arrives?" I ask nonchalantly, trying not to stare at Sadako in the corner, curious to see the face he's hiding.

   "Tuesday." Never have I heard someone say a day of the week with such disdain. "He's arriving late, so he's gotta crash at ours. He doesn't get his keys until Wednesday."

   I desperately struggle to hide my happiness. "Why don't you stay at Panda's?" I suggest as I try remaining as casual as possible. "Or Andrei's? Isn't he moving to his benefactor's big house in Chelsea tomorrow?"

   "Yeah... Maybe I'll ask him when he gets here."

   I look at my watch. "Dude, it's eight. Shouldn't he be here by now? It's his birthday... And if he leaves it much later, he won't be able to get back into his dorm."

 I watch Dora on his phone. "He's barely spoken to me in days. He's probably just... Busy."

   As Dora says the last word, I see the slightest indication of emotion - that isn't annoyance - in his expression.  

 It's no secret that the two of them have become close over the months since Fox introduced them. It seems Andrei took an immediate shine to him, which admittedly was fun to watch to start with, with the disgruntled reactions whenever Dora was forced into any kind of affection, but now it makes me worry. There are things Dora doesn't know about him.

MAKI

   Why does he keep looking over here?  God, stop, it's making me nervous...

   Panda sets the tray down on the table, and I grab one of the beers. He narrows his eyes at me with a sly smirk.

   "My brother doesn't bite, you know," he says in a kind voice.

   "What? Why would I think that?"

   "Because you keep staring at him like he's terrifying," Tamaki says, nudging me with his foot under the table. "You're making us look...weird."

   Panda laughs. "Nana has barely even noticed."

   "What?!" Barely noticed? Oh god...

   I put my face in my hands. "I wasn't staring," I lie. Of course, I was staring... He's gorgeous.

   Amber focuses solely on his beer, not even paying attention to the juvenile conversation, unquestionably still broken up about Sen, his ex-boyfriend, my ex-best friend, and our ex-guitarist.

   Panda gives me one of those quizzical looks of his - arched brows raised and eyes rolling - before sitting down. "Anyway... The reason I asked you all here is that I think I have a solution to your missing guitarist problem."

   Amber looks pained, still glaring at his beer.

   "You see, my brother - the handsome boy that Maki here is terrified of --" 

   I glare at him before he continues.

   "He can play the guitar!"

   My stomach churns as Tamaki's face lights up. "Oh?"

   I put my hand on the centre of the table, and say in an uncertain voice: "We don't need a lead guitarist... I'm fine doing it." I'm not even convincing myself, here.

   Even Amber looks up to roll his eyes at me in disbelief. "Are you kidding?"

   We all know how useless I am at playing the guitar while singing. The last show we did, I had to use the loop pedal for the whole thing, and it was the most stressful night of my life. Multitasking well is definitely not a skill I possess.

   Tamaki looks at me briefly before looking back at Panda, as if I'd said nothing. "Is he good?"

   "The best! And I'm not just biased."

   "Don't I get a say in this?" I say, desperately.  

   "Maki, we need another guitarist." Tamaki sounds desperate. "I love you and everything, and I think you're great but you're really not up to doing rhythm and lead and singing."

   I sigh heavily, glancing over to Nana again and cowering a little in my seat.

   But why does it need to be him?

   "You'll have to get over your fear of him, if he agrees," Tamaki says, half-jokingly. "Why don't you go up and ask him?"

   My eyes widen, my heart somersaulting as I laugh nervously.  Nope nope nope...

   They all stare at me, wholly unsmiling.

   "You're serious?" I say, choking a little. "No."

   "Just... You're good at acting," Panda says soothingly. "Pretend the bar is a stage."

   I exhale loudly and close my eyes. "But it's not," I say calmly.

   "Maki, we've turned down like three gigs here because of you. You owe us." Amber's voice is dark, which frightens me a little. "Now, get into goddamn character, drag your ass over to that counter, and ask the lovely bartender to be our freaking guitarist!"

   We all stare at him, wide-eyed, all a little taken aback. That's the most he's said in days.

   "Fine," I say sharply. "But only because...you're kind of scary when you're mad."

   I can hear Panda's giggle as I walk over.

NANA

   When I turn away from Dora, Sadako is suddenly at the bar, and I just about shit myself.

   "Christ!" I exclaim, clutching my chest dramatically, trying to make light of it. He just looks at me wide-eyed, saying nothing; a pure white face surrounded by all that black hair... I notice his oddly pale eyes, which seems really bizarre with his Asian features, but at the same time entirely lovely.

   When he still doesn't say anything, nervous words slip from my lips. "Alright there, Sadako?"

   I immediately regret it as his face falls. "Never mind," he mutters, moving away from the counter.

   "No, wait, I'm sorry," I reply. I step closer. "Sorry, that was rude."

   He looks at me shyly, meeting my eyes and sweeping his hair to the side a little with a quick hand movement.

   "It's Maki, right?"

   He nods. I'm wondering how someone so socially awkward can be the frontman of a rock band and be studying theatre at university.

   "What can I get for you?" I coo. He's obviously more scared of me than I am of him.

   "Actually, I - we - wanted to ask if you'd be... If you would like... Um..." He stutters quietly. I glance over to the table, and Panda has his head in his hands.

 Maki takes a deep breath. "We're looking for a new lead guitarist. Panda says you play?"

   "Oh," I say, feeling a smile form on my lips. "Um..." I find myself a bit speechless. "You've caught me off guard."

   Maki smiles charmingly and looks away. "Sorry."

   "Can I think about it? Maybe pop over for a jam sometime?" The thought of playing the guitar with people actually excites me a bit. I feel lousy for calling him Sadako now, especially to his face.

   "Yeah, okay," he says nodding, looking a little more at ease now but still stressed out. "I hope you'll consider it... I'm terrible."

   I let out a surprised laugh as he hands me his phone to dial my number. I can feel him watching me as I scrawl the numbers, almost touching his nerves. 

   Maki takes his phone back cautiously, thanking me quietly and walks back to his table. I lift my hand, wanting to ask him to stay at the bar for a bit but he's rushed away so quickly.  He wasn't at all scary.