Caesii and Yu

Caesii stood on stage and watched Luminor recording her performance of Cinema Bizarre's "Escape To The Stars". When the set came to its end, she went back to the DJ table, and put on a slow song for everyone to dance to. When it had started, Luminor came over to her, and shook her hand.

"That was pretty..." he began, stepping behind the table with her. "Fantastic? Perfect? Amazing? I don't think these words describe it."

"Wow! Thanks!" Caesii said, moving over to make room for him, and then arranging the next song on her computer.

"Sorry, but I have to get going. Look, is it all right for me to email the video I took of your performance to Strify? I have a feeling he's really going to like this."

"Sure! Hey, you have my email address. You have my phone number. Just..pass them on to him if he really likes it!"

"Of course. So, I'll send it to him tonight. I'll get back to you, or else just let him do it. That was amazing and I really hope you have fun. By the way, have a good prom night!" He gave Caesii a hug, and stepped off the podium. She sighed, then realized it was still throughout the gym, waiting for her next song. She quickly moved back to her lap top and clicked on a rap song. Everyone began to dance again, and she laughed, still feeling the adrenaline rush of performing.

*~*~*

By graduation, Caesii stood with her mother, taking pictures. She had recieved several emails from Strify, and they corresponded back and forth regularly. They had finally agreed that Caesii would fly out the day after she officially graduated from high school, and would go into the studio with the members of Cinema Bizarre, to record her vocals, as well as to do a couple duets with Strify himself. She was supposed to stay the summer, then fly back. Her mother didn't approve of this completely, but with her only daughter being eighteen, she could no longer control her actions. By this time, Caesii had four tattoosand not sure how many piercings. She was not happy about these and bugged her daughter about it constantly. Driving to the airport, She continued her latest rant, but got teary when she got as far as she could go with Caesii. Waving goodbye, she watched until she could no longer see Caesii. 'Be safe, hunnie.' was her parting thought, as she turned and walked away.

*~*~*

Caesii got off the plane and walked out the airport with her bags to see Luminor in a limo with the windows slightly down. He smiled as she walked up to the car, saying, "Why, are you waiting for me?" he laughed at this and opened the door for her.

"Of course I'm waiting for you. Who else?" they laughed, and spoke as if they had been friends for years all the way to the studio, which was about an hour from the airport on good days [ie, those with little or no traffic], but sadly this was a bad day, and it took nearly three to reach the other guys. Luminor had helped get her bags in the trunk, and when they climbed out finally, he offered his hand to help her out. Caesii could not stop thinking about how lucky she was, and excited to be meeting a band that she looked up to so much. Luminor lead the way, and brought her to the room outside the mic room, where Strify, Shin, Kiro, and Romeo were sitting. Yu was recording a guitar solo inside. They all immediately stood, rushing her within a few seconds of their walking in the door. Caesii wasn't paying attention at all until Luminor tapped her shoulder gently, which finally brought her back to the present moment; she had been enraptured by listening to Yu's guitar. She loved it, and it was so hard for her to drag her attention from him.

Strify extended his hand first, saying, "Wow, it's so great to finally be able to meet you!" as soon as her hand came into contact with his, he pulled her in for a tight hug. She at first resisted, then relaxed and hugged him back.

"It's so great to meet you guys too!! Oh my god! Really, I can't stop smiling!" And, it was true: she couldn't.

"My turn!" Kiro said, as he quickly came between them, extending his hand also. "Hi! I'm--"

"Oh, I know who you are!" she interrupted. "Kiro! You're the bassist! I so love your hair and make up!!" they laughed together, him noticing that her make up was just as his was in one of the episodes of CBTV when they were originally on tour in the US.

"Next!" Romeo said, pushing his way up to me. "Do you know me?" she nodded vigorously, messing her hair up slightly and bringing everyone to roaring laughter yet again.

"Of course! With how you play keyboard and piano, anyone who doesn't know you - any of you, actually - are idiots and obviously ignorant!" She shook his hand, then Shin came up.

"Drums. Percussion. Obsession." he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder flirtatiously.

"I know. I love. You inspired." she answered, smiling at him and leaning in to him slightly, so Luminor could take a decent picture of them. He was apparently obsessed with taking pictures, and had taken many so far. "Eeeep!!" she squealed, when Yu finally came out of the studio, bumping into her as she turned around. When they tried to pull apart, they both cried out in pain: their hair was wound into each other's facial piercings! "Come on," he said, pulling her with him to go to the bathroom.

"Ow! Shit! Would you PLEASE stop walking so fast?!" Caesii begged, struggling to keep up with his six-foot-tall steps.

"Uuuu...Sorry." Yu slowed his steps to make it easier for her. They walked into the bathroom together, struggling to get through the door as one. When they finally did, laughter came from both of them at seeing how they were tangled together. Her hair was around his ear, lip, and eyebrow piercings, and his was the same with hers. Yu tried to gently pull them apart, but it just didn't work; she cried out in pain whenever he touched his hair. Finally, Caesii gently pushed his hands away, and reached up to try herself. It had the same effect, however: he cried out when she touched her hair. Finally, Strify came in, laughing at how they looked all tangled together. He giggled at their helplessness and embarassment.

"You two are hoplessly matched perfectly." he said as he gently and masterfully untangled the two. "Do you know how funny that was? And how much of idiots you are?" Strify burst out laughing yet again, and Yu and Caesii, standing on either side of him, both back-handed his shoulders at the same time. "OWWW!!!!!!" Strify cried, rubbing his shoulders. The look of hurt he shot the two of them made Yu and Caesii laugh now. So, Strify hit them both back on their own shoulders. The slapping match continued, up until Shin, Romeo, Kiro, and Luminor were all standing outside the bathroom, watching the show. Strify noticed first, and stopped Yu and Caesii's violence in mid-swing.

"Hi!" Caesii said, too loud and too enthusiastically. "Like to join us?" For some reason, even though she said this sarcastically, jokingly, and quite obviously so, the other four ran into the tiny bathroom, which measured probably about five feet by five feet, Caesii thought. Yu noticed Caesii looking really uncomfortable and panicked, so he swiftly made a decision and swept her into his arms, carrying her out of the bathroom, and into the main room she had come into originally. When he was about to set her down, he leaned his head and mouth down, and she had been looking up at the same time. This time, their lip rings got caught. Somehow, in the less than one second their lips had touched one hundred percent accidentally, his single left side lip piercing got tangled up in her spider bites on her left. They both yelled for help; He sat on the couch with Caesii on his lap [it was the most comfortable position they could manage in thier current situation], as they waited for Strify and Shin and Romeo and Kiro and Luminor to find them.

"What the fuck did you two get yourselves into this time?!" Shin yelled as soon as the five-some stopped laughing.

"He was about to put me down and was looking down and I was looking up and this happened. Would YOU JUST HELP US GET UNTANGLED?! OH MY GOD JUST FUCKING HELP!!!" Caesii cried out fro pain when she moved her mouth too much. They all approached Yu and Caesii sitting on the couch, trying one at a time to free them. When they had all finally failed at freeing the blushing pair, Strify called out to someone, whose name Caesii didn't catch. Whoever it was, he walked into the room, asking what we needed. When he saw Yu and Caesii, he had to allow his own laughing fit to subside before he could breathe or even listen to what they needed. Strify asked him to get some wire cutters or something so that they could cut the rings connecting us. When he came back in, he had apparently invited someone else to enjoy the show also. Caesii grew so angry and impatient, she ended up throwing a pillow at him.

"Okay, okay...hold on. I'm coming!!" he said, walking to them and placing his hands between their mouths. "Try to hold still, all right?" he asked. The two of them nodded once, but had to stop when it caused too much pain. Swiftly, he cut the ring of Yu, but when they tried to pull away, another cry escaped their mouths, causing them to push back together. It turned out that the helper Strify had employed to separate them had to cut both their lip rings completely.

'Fuck...' Caesii thought, 'Well, at least I'll have an interesting story when I get home and I do believe I remembered to bring some spare rings..." she walked out to the limo, going through her suitcases. She was actually quite calm; that is, until she couldn't seem to find the spares. Her movements became frantic. "SHIT!!!" she cried out.

"You need to get a couple spare rings too?" a voice came from behind her, speaking tensely. She turned to see Yu.

"Uhh...yeah, actually."

"Want to come to HT with me?" he asked, walking slowly toward her.

"Sure. Ya want to..." she began, gesturing blankly to the limo.

"Nah; we can take the rental." he lead her to a 2005 Sunburst Orange, Nissan 350 Z convertable. They both walked around to the passenger side at first. Caesii stopped in confusion, "Would you drive? I'm still not comfortable on your roads." It was the first time she had seen him smile, and she vowed to herself that she would see that smile as much as she could while she was with him.

"Sure. No problem." Caesii took the keys from his outstretched hand, and walked around the front to the driver's side. She stepped slowly and purposefully, feeling his eyes on her body.

'She's so beautiful...' he thought, sitting in the car. Caesii had an auricle piercing on each ear, as well as a lobe [and the double], pinna, scaffold, and weaving; she had the labret, snake and spider bites, a madonna [which he shared]; 3 eyebrow rings, one on her right, two on the left; one nostril piercing, and her tattoos were amazing. She had a twin of his own wings in the center of his back; a magnolia with the names, birthdates, and death dates of her family members; peace in chinese on one shoulder, 'Where are you, Daddy? -- Don't come looking. written on her lower back, just under the wings in Old English font; fire bird on her left forearm [he had 'The way of the firebird' written on the same arm], both were written in Chinese; thirteen in Roman Numerals on her right forearm [yet another shared between them]; and finally the cartoon character Gir from Invader Zim on her other shoulder. Little did he know that she had more he was yet to learn about.

'God..I can feel his frigging eyes!!!' she thought, '....Wonder what he's thinking about...'. Caesii slid into the driver's side door, casually sliding the keys in and starting the car. She shut the door behind her, then turned on the radio. After finding a suitable station, she finally put the car in gear and drove away. They didn't really speak much; both were rocking out in their minds to the music booming from the speakers. He gave her occasional directions to HT, and she pulled into the parking lot eventually. They walked in quickly, keeping their heads ducked. While they were looking at the rings, some fans recognized them and they had to shut down the store! Then, the sales clerks were forced to sneak them out the back with the cover of not two, not three, but FIVE burly security guards, who walked them to the rental. Caesii had also grabbed a skirt while they were inside and she slung it into the floorboards, where Yu's feet were resting. She started the car quickly and pulled out, trying to get out and on their way back to the studio before the paparazzi could. Luckily, they succeeded, and Caesii laughed out loud in triumph.

"Hell yes!!" she cried, still giggling. "That was a rush..."

"It's only a rush when and if you don't have to deal with it each and every time you go any where and try to do anything normal." he commented cynically beside her. Caesii couldn't help but touch his hand. He just sounded so depressed and vulnerable. When their hands came in contact, they shocked each other. After the initial shock, they began to laugh yet again. "Well, that was interesting. Hope that doesn't happen every time we touch!"

"Heh...as far as you know, that could just be the sparks between us." Caesii answered, then blushed; she hadn't meant to say that out loud. Yu smiled at her blush, touched her cheek with one finger, and said, "Maybe." After this little exchange, neither could really say too much on the way back. The only words spoken were Yu's directions back to the studio.

"Here we are!" she said as she pulled into the small parking lot. She tossed the keys to Yu, coming around the car and they walked together into the intimidating building. They stopped in to let everyone know they were back, and apparently they were ordering lunch before the work began on Caesii's vocals. They shared what they would like and went into the bathroom together to put in their new rings. Caesii finished first, and turned her back to Yu. "Close your eyes?" she requested. He didn't know why, but he did as she asked. He opened his eyes for a quick peek, and realized she was changing out of the Tripp pants she had worn into the studio and on her plane, and into the skirt she had just bought. Yu closed his eyes immediately. When she said it was okay, he re-opened them, glancing at her. She had chosen a skirt that complemented her body perfectly. Caesii's legs looked long, slender, curvacious; somehow, all at the same time, he noted.

Finally, they all decided to not work on her vocals that day, instead allowing Strify to do his part of the duets and backing tracks, as well as Shin doing his thing.

*~*~*

It turned out that everyone was staying in the same hotel as Caesii. She wondered idly if this was done on purpose. She walked to her room, Yu helping carry her bags. At the door, she opened it quickly, and before she could say a word, he was walking past her and placing her heavy bag on the bed. She strode in, then stopped to gaze at the palatial room Luminor had gotten for her. It had a mini-bar, microwave, refrigerator; pretty much any and everything she could want or need to use while she was there. He noted the look on her face, smiling as she stared, open-mouthed around her.

"It's pretty awesome, huh?" Yu asked, smiling at the look on her face.

"Uh...duh!!" she answered, laughing. "Holy shit! I think the entire band could sleep here, and we'd all still be comfortable!" she stated as she saw the size of the bed.

"I don't think you should say that in front of the guys when we see them later. They would probably think you were offering, then drag us up here, and we would spend the night disproving your...imaginative theory." Yu laughed, and stepped toward the door. "So..."

"So..." she said, looking at him with an amused look on her face.

"Do you need anything before I leave?"

"Yes, I do actually." Caesii said, but then again, she knew she would have made up anything to get him to stay longer. "I need your number, in case either of us need to get a hold of the other. Like, about...maybe...dinner...tonight?"

"Sure, that sounds reasonable." They quickly exchanged numbers, pulling out their phones at much the same time. "So, I need to take a nap, but as soon as I wake up, I'll text you? Then, we can discuss dinner?" he asked, resuming his strides to the door.

"Cool. Talk to you soon...actually, a nap sounds pretty damned good right now!" she laughed, then said goodbye to him, when he decided to give her a hug. She shut the door gently and almost silently after him, then slumped against the door and sighed contentedly.

Yu walked out, as soon as the door was shut though, he moved to the wall next to the door, and leaned against it. He sighed quietly and slumped down against the wall, ending up in a sitting position. After sitting there for a few moments, he got up and walked down the hall to his own room, knowing he would sleep in the clothes he was wearing so he could smell Caesii as he slept.

Caesii stood from leaning against the door, and walked reluctantly over to her bed. She knew she needed to unpack and get at least slightly settled in, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be distracted the whole time. Finally, she just decided to counteract the distraction by digging through her purse and grabbing her iPod. She lay it on the bed, and slid off her hoodie; finally identifying the amazing scent that had been invading her nostrils since earlier in the day. She glanced at what she had just laid over the back othe closest chair, remembering the hoodie was not actually hers. Yu had given it to her when she shivered while they were eating lunch; he had taken it off, draping it around her shoulders. He then slung an arm over the back of the couch, his forearm in conact with her body. She finally came back down to reality, and realized she had it pressed into her face, taking deep breaths. Caesii took one last smell, then set it back down so she could unpack her things and get settled in. At first, she struggled with what she was supposed to do with it. She didn't want to wake him, when for all she knew, he could be just then falling asleep. So, Caesii decided to wear it to dinner and offer it back to him then.

She needed to distract herself from the intoxicating scent seemingly filling the room quickly, with the scent of Yu. In order to reach her goal, she picked her iPod up from the bed and plugged her earphones in. Almost immediately, she found a problem with the set up, and paused her music to change for the fourth time that day, this one from her new skirt to a tight pair of black sequined jeans, which she knew from experience complimented her body perfectly. Caesii slid her phone into her back pocket, and the iPod into the other. This way, she could easily tell if/when her phone was ringing.

*~*~*

A sudden vibration traveling the length of her legs made her jump at the unexpected sensation. She swiftly checked the caller ID, surprised when it was not Yu's phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, you!" came Yu's voice from the other end.

"Uh...hi...why aren't you...?"

"My phone died, and Strify came and woke me up, so I decided to call you from his phone since you didn't have his number already. So, you hungry?"

"Starving, actually. So, are you guys in the restaurant?"

"No, actually, we're--" three knocks on Caesii's door made her interrupt Yu mid-sentence.

"Hold on, kay? Someone's at my door."

"Caesii." his tone made her stop her trek to the door. "It's us. We're outside your room, and while I was talking, Strify wanted to surprise you, so he knocked."

"Ah...okay..hold on and I'll be right out, okay?"

"Sure." Caesii walked around the room, gathering her purse, slipping the hoodie on, and putting her iPod and phone in the pockets, at the same time making sure she had her wallet on her. She came to the door apparently quicker than they realized. She swung it open, and Strify was leaning against it. He nearly fell, but caught himself on the doorjamb at the last second. Yu laughed at all this, and Caesii smiled because so far, she was keeping her promise to her self. "Ready?" she began a long-strided walk to the elevators, with Yu and Strify hanging behind. "So where are the others?" she asked as the doors opened.