LOVE IN THE FAST LANE=================
Chapter 16 – History
Previously…
“R-Ray?” Haruna gasped excitedly.
“Majide?!” Takamina exclaimed.Ray smirked as she got the reaction that she expected since she stepped out of her car.
“Ranked Number 1 for ten consecutive weeks in Music 10. Our very own – Very Charismatic Diva Ray!” Keiji exclaimed as he introduced the singer in an exalted manner.
Ray rolled her eyes, brushing off Keiji’s introduction and walked towards Mariko. “Ohishashiburi, Mariko-san.” She greeted Mariko, then turned to Sayaka who was just behind the General Manager. “You too, Sayaka-kun. It’s been a while.” Greeting with her patented smile.
The greetings created murmurs of astonishment from the group. “Ne Yuko, how did Ray know Mariko-chan and Sayaka-chan?” Haruna asked in wonder, tugging Yuko’s sleeve.
Yuko huffed who seemed not affected with Ray’s display of charisma. “Ray-san, Mariko onee-chan and Sayaka-chan graduated in the same year. The three of them, including me and Acchan studied in the same high school.” She answered off-handedly.
“Sugoi! It must be great to know a singer like her since high school, right Acchan?” Takamina smiled, gently placing her hand on Atsuko’s shoulder. Atsuko absent-mindedly nodded in response. Takamina did not push the subject further, thinking that it is something of a delicate matter for the other girl.
Mariko shook Ray’s hand, “Ohisashiburi desu, Ray-san. Yes, it has been a while.” Sayaka walked beside Mariko and nodded at the singer, “Nice seeing you again Ray-chan.” Sayaka said with a curt smile.
Glancing sideways, Ray saw Yuko and Atsuko and walked towards them. “Yuko-san, fancy seeing you here too. You’ve grown a bit since I last saw you in our graduation.” Ray smirked.
Yuko frowned at Ray’s greeting. “And you, Ray-
SAN, hasn’t changed a bit. You’re still the same Ray-I-know-I’m-a-diva since high school.” Yuko retorted. Ray ignored Yuko’s remark and looked at Atsuko, who was ignoring her while clinging on Takamina’s arm.
“Ara, is this little Maeda? You’re now taller than your sister beside you. I hope that you’ve developed your talent just as how tall you’ve become now.” Ray said cryptically.
Seeing that Atsuko did not reply and Yuko might blow a gasket in a few seconds, Mariko decided to intervene. “Ah, Ray-san! I want you to meet the drivers of the AKB48 team – Takahashi Minami, Kojima Haruna, and Minegishi Minami.” Mariko said, pointing at the cousins as she introduced them one by one. “One of them will be working with you in your new music video.” She continued in a hurried tone to break off the tension between Ray and her sisters.
Seriously, this is beginning to feel like we’re back in high school!“Eh?!?!” the three cousins exclaimed.
Keiji laughed at their reaction. “You’ve all heard Mariko-san correctly! As we’ve discussed in our meeting, one of the drivers will be involved in the MV. We’ll be choosing some members from the Flag Girls and the Pit Crew as well,” he announced. Everyone clapped with excitement for the possible opportunity to be included in the video.
Haruna shyly stepped forward towards Ray, followed by her cousins. “It’s nice to meet you Ray-san. Ano… I’ve always been a fan since your debut. Is it okay if we shake hands with you?” she asked. The cousins hastingly wiped their hands on their pants. Haruna slowly stretched her hand to Ray.
Ray scrutinized the three cousins from the sneakers that they are wearing up to the worn out overalls that they wear in the garage. She raised an eyebrow and turned her back at Haruna, slapping the offered hand.
“Don’t touch me.” Ray simply stated.
“What?” Haruna asked her cousins who just shrugged their shoulders. She made a quick scan of herself, noting that there’s nothing wrong with what they are currently wearing. After all, it is their everyday work clothes and the Flag Girls didn’t mind it much.
“Weren’t you listening? I said – Don’t.Touch.Me.” Ray said, stressing every word.
Everyone stared at the diva in bewilderment, Sayaka simply shook her head and looked at Mariko. “Looks like some things never change.” Sayaka whispered to Mariko who nodded in agreement.
“Seriously Sarukawa-shachou, one of them will be in my MV? A songbird like me can’t be in the same video with some… grease monkeys like them.” Ray complained to Keiji as she daintily sat on a nearby couch in the studio’s lounge room. Haruna lowered her head with a clear dejected look on her face.
“No way…” Haruna said sadly.
Yuko’s ears flared red at what Ray said. “OI! The one that you’re calling a grease monkey is my NyanNyan!!! Why I’d oughta kic-
hmmphf! Mmphfphh!!! HMMMPH!!!!” Mariko was able to clamp Yuko’s mouth shut with her hand as Sayaka and Atsuko grabbed Yuko’s flailing arms before she could get her hands on the diva.
I’ve had enough of her attitude! Takamina thought, disappointed that a famous person just single-handedly rejected a fan, much worse, her cousin Haruna!
“Oi, you ugly woman!” Takamina taunted at Ray, who got her attention. “There’s nothing wrong with the clothes that we wear and what we do for a living. I don’t care if you’re the most popular singer or whatever. A woman with an ugly character like yours is someone who should not be idolized by people.” Takamina continued, glaring at Ray.
“Takamina, calm down. You shouldn’t say those things to Ray-san. She’s still our guest!” Miichan reminded.
“I don’t care!” Takamina shot back. She grabbed Ray’s hand, forcing her to stand up. Ray’s cheeks flushed pink while staring at Takamina’s determined eyes. “Listen here, if you don’t fix that attitude of yours, you’re going to be lonely for the rest of your life.”
Everyone gawked at what Takamina said. Sayaka went behind Takamina and slapped her with a large harisen on the back of her head. “Ray-san, Sarukawa-shachou, I apologize for my crew member’s misbehavior.” Sayaka bowed, forcing Takamina to bow as well by grabbing Takamina’s head.
Seeing that everyone’s attention is towards her, Ray’s lips quivered from embarrassment and stormed out of the studio.
“Ray... Chotto matte!” Keiji shouted at Ray’s retreating form. “What a weird temper… Anyway, I’m also sorry about Ray’s behavior. We’ll be back tomorrow for further details of the music video.” Keiji bowed to the AKB team and followed the diva.
“Wow… that went well… by the way, where did the Chief get the harisen from?” Miichan mumbled, making everyone look at her.
*****
After the meeting with Ray, the whole team decided to spend the afternoon in their favorite café.
“Wow Takamina, you sure handled Ray in a manly manner a while ago. You gave her a taste of her own medicine.” Miichan commented, waving her spoon at her cousin.
“Oi.” Takamina reacted. “I was just telling the truth. And besides, it’s pretty much obvious how she just embarrassed Haruna by calling us grease monkeys.” She reasoned out.
“By the way Mariko-chan, Sayaka-chan… Yuko said that you know Ray since you were in high school. Is she such a brat back then?” Haruna asked.
Sayaka huffed at the question as she took a bite of her strawberry tart. “Mariko-chan and I were Ray’s classmates. She was a member of the glee club and she sings most of the solos and arias during school festivals. Ray displayed a promising talent at such a young age that she was called
The Diva by the entire school. I think it did get into her head that most of the time, she doesn’t let anyone forget that fact.” She informed everyone.
“Ne Yuko, how come you’re greeting with Ray seemed… I don’t know, hostile?” Haruna asked Yuko who is sitting beside her.
“You can say that. She used to bully every member of the club, especially Acchan.” Yuko pointed her youngest sister across the table.
Takamina looked at Atsuko seated beside her, poking at her berry parfait. “Did she really bully you?” she asked. Everyone blinked as they waited for Atsuko to reply.
“Yeah, she did…” Atsuko whispered, eating a spoonful of her treat.
Yappari, I know she wouldn’t answer that question directly, Yuko thought. “When Atsuko entered high school, she also became a member of the glee club. Our advisor took note of Acchan’s singing and instantly knew that Acchan will be the next soloist once Ray-san graduates. Ray-san didn’t take it lightly and began taunting Acchan that she will never compare to her singing abilities. During Mariko onee-chan’s senior year, Acchan was supposed to sing the solo for the school festival but she backed out because of Ray-san.” Yuko answered for her sister.
“I didn’t know that… what happened?” Mariko asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Sensei chose Acchan because everyone knows that the seniors are busy before graduation. Ray-san however, managed to bully Acchan that she won’t perform that well on stage. Acchan became nervous and eventually backed out. Ray-san managed to pull an innocent face, saying that she will bear Acchan’s
supposed responsibility." Yuko said in an irritated tone, gesturing a quotation mark with her index and middle fingers.
"That really sounded like the Ray we used to know. She knows how to psywar anyone to her advantage." Sayaka said.
Mariko gently placed her hand on top of Atsuko's, "Gomen ne Acchan if I wasn't able to defend you from Ray's bullying before..." she apologized sadly.
Atsuko smiled, "It's okay onee-chan, I won't let it happen again."
"Now that that's been cleared, there's something that Takamina should do." Sayaka said. Takamina looked curiously at Sayaka then pointed at herself.
"You're talking about me? What do you mean Sayaka-chan?" Takamina asked.
"You should apologize to Ray." Sayaka simply said, polishing the rest of her tart.
"What?! I thought everyone agreed that Ray-san deserved what Takamina said to her?" Yuko complained.
My little sister doesn’t seem to forgive and forget that easily... At least she did it for Acchan... Mariko sighed. "Technically she argued with a client, and it'll bad for our team's image if Ray tells the media on us." she reasoned.
Atsuko scooted her chair closer to Takamina, “I think you should really apologize to Ray-san. Just think about the team, if not, do it for me.” She whispered, smiling at the racer.
Takamina blushed then sighed, “All right, I will apologize to Ray-san when she gets back to the headquarters. I will do it for Acchan and for the team, but it doesn’t mean that I have to like it.” Takamina announced to the group.
Tomochin, who is seated beside Takamina, stared at the racer which Takamina noticed. “Why are you staring at me Tomochin?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tomochin shrugged then went back to eating her fruit tiramisu tart, “Nothing. It’s just that I noticed before Ray stormed out of the studio, she was blushing… or maybe it’s just my imagination.” She said off-handedly.
“That’s impossible. The only reason why she would blush is because of embarrassment.” Yuko interjected.
Tomochin again shrugged her shoulders, “Maybe… or it might be something else.” She said cryptically. Everyone furrowed their eyebrows and shrugged their shoulders as well.
*****
The next day…Takamina went ahead and opened the garage door as Haruna and Miichan parked their car in the parking lot. She quickly went to their locker room and started changing in their usual work clothes. As soon as she finished changing, she scanned the Pit Crew’s bulletin board where all the daily tasks were posted for each member.
“I think I’m gonna have a headache from all the things that I have to do today…” Takamina sighed, resting her forehead on the bulletin board. Suddenly, a loud clicking of heels echoed in the empty garage that stopped a few meters behind her.
“Busy day?” the other person whispered, her voice echoing inside the garage.
Takamina turned around, expecting that it was one of her cousins or a member of the team. “R-Ray… san… Why are you here?” Takamina mumbled, not expecting for Ray to answer.
They stared at each other for a moment and then Takamina suddenly became conscious and remembered that she have to apologize to the idol. “Erm… I’m really sorry how things went yesterday when we met.” Takamina said sincerely, deeply bowing in front of Ray.
*****
As Haruna and Miichan was about to walk out of the parking lot, they noticed an unfamiliar Lexus car parked beside their car.
“I wonder who arrived this early…” Haruna wondered.
“I’m not sure… most of the members in our team doesn’t have their own personal car… anyway, I’m sure Takamina has already opened the garage so we might check if we have a visitor.” Miichan answered.
As they were about to enter the garage, Haruna and Miichan noticed Takamina and Ray standing at the middle of the garage.
“Erm… I’m really sorry how things went yesterday when we met.” Takamina said sincerely, deeply bowing in front of Ray.
“Good thing that Takamina kept her promise that she would apologize to Ray-san. Let’s eavesdrop for a bit and give them some privacy.” Miichan said, yanking Haruna back outside the garage door.
“I wonder how Ray-san would react this time.” Haruna whispered.
*****
Takamina stood up straight after she bowed at the idol, scratching the back of her head. “I have no hard feelings, and I was just casually saying what came to mind… no… I mean that… Um…” Takamina stammered.
She’s cute when she stammers, Ray thought. Seeing that Takamina is still on a roll in mumbling her apology, Ray walked in front of her and closed the gap between them by kissing Takamina’s lips.
*****
Haruna and Miichan gasped at what they saw.
“Kiss?!” Haruna whispered.
“Uso?!” Miichan exclaimed.
*****
Takamina froze at what Ray did and slightly pushed the older woman from her and jerked backwards, stumbling on a toolbox lying behind her on the floor. “Wha-?! What are you doing?” she exclaimed. “You’re Japan’s number 1 Diva! If someone saw what you did, it’ll be scandalous and it will ruin your career!”
“It’s fine because I belong to Nami now.” Ray smiled.
“Nami?!” Takamina raised an eyebrow.
“Yup, that’s the nickname that I decided to call you.” Ray said in a matter of fact tone.
Takamina rolled her eyes, like she just heard a loud feedback from what Ray said. “I feel dizzy right now…” she groaned, trying to digest what’s going at this time of the day.
*****
Haruna and Miichan almost stumbled from what they heard.
“What the hell?! How did things get like this?” Miichan asked in bewilderment as she and Haruna kept on eavesdropping.
*****
Ray shyly looked on the floor and smiled, “I’m really happy about those things that you said yesterday.” She whispered, remembering the harsh but honest words that Takamina said yesterday. “I’m very famous in the music industry that no one dares to lecture me even if I’m being selfish or ill-tempered…”
That’s not something to be proud of… Takamina thought.
“…but now I understand!” Ray continued, grabbing Takamina’s hand. “You said those words to me because you care for me. It’s your confession of true love!”
Takamina quickly let go of her hand, “You’ve got it all wrong! I was just telling the tru-
mmph!” Takamina wasn’t able to finish when Ray suddenly kissed her again.
*****
“What the?!” Haruna bellowed, clamping her mouth with her hand because of her sudden outburst.
“Kiss… Part 2!” Miichan mumbled, making a ‘V’ sign.
“What do you mean ‘Part 2’ Miichan?” Mariko asked, who was standing beside the two cousins.
Haruna and Miichan turned in surprise when they heard Mariko’s voice. The General Manager just arrived together with her sisters who were looking curiously at them.
“Ano… well… we have a visitor… and she’s with Takamina right now.” Miichan stammered, pointing inside the garage.
“Since we’re here, let’s meet the visitor as well.” Yuko said, almost entering the garage when Haruna stopped her. Yuko looked at Haruna curiously as if asking what’s wrong.
“I think it’s a bad idea because our visitor is speaking privately with Takamina.” Haruna reasoned out as she blocked the entrance.
Atsuko raised an eyebrow at what she heard. “Who’s the visitor that you’re talking about Haruna?”
Mariko, Yuko and Atsuko stared expectantly at Haruna and Miichan, waiting for an answer. “It’s Ray-san…” Haruna answered.
Atsuko’s eyes widened in surprise and immediately stormed inside the garage, making her older sisters, Haruna and Miichan follow suit.
*****
Takamina pushed Ray again, “Mou! Will you stop doing that?!” she groaned. She turned her head towards the garage entrance when she heard footsteps coming in the garage. Takamina’s eyes widened in surprise as she suddenly realized that Atsuko saw Ray’s kiss.
Oh crap… Takamina thought.
Atsuko’s eyebrow twitched as she saw Ray kiss Takamina.
MY Takamina! She inwardly growled. With a determined look on her face, she walked towards them and stopped in front of Takamina. She took out a handkerchief from one of her skirt pockets then gently wiped Takamina’s lips.
“You should be careful Takamina. You might get something contagious.” Atsuko said, clearly talking about Ray as she continued to wipe off the lipstick on Takamina’s lips. Ray simply raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.
Takamina blushed at the attention that Atsuko’s giving her. “A-Arigatou…”
Sensing a storm brewing between Atsuko and Ray, Mariko – as always, decided to join in the conversation, “Ano, Ray-san… we’ll have our meeting in a couple of minutes. I suggest that we wait for Sarukawa-shochou in my office.” Mariko suggested as she tried to coax the diva out of the garage.
Ray huffed, strutted and stopped beside Atsuko and stared at the younger girl.
I am not the little girl that you used to bully Ray-san! Atsuko thought as she glared at the diva without hesitation.
Ray smirked at the determined look on Atsuko’s face.
Ma~~ is that a challenge look that you’re sporting Maeda? You are so on! I will get my Nami’s love without you even knowing it. Ray thought, shooting Atsuko a withering glare as she stormed out from the garage with Mariko following behind.
To be continued...
Finally, I was able to update my fic! Gomen ne minna if it took me so long
Yes, (if some of you are wondering 'why is this scene seemed familiar...') I incorporated the scenes from mendol into this chapter
*short disclaimer: Mendol Ikemen Idol is not mine... but this fanfic is mine
lol
I hope everyone will like this new installment! I would love to read your comments about this new chapter. Thanks for being patient everyone!
Topic: Love in the Fast Lane (multipairing) 24/11/2012 [Will be revamped/continued] (Read 159891 times)