Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Angel HNH
Check it out [video attachment]
finished!
Finding my headphones NOW
hold
Sage
You remembered to put the key under the mat, right?
Yeah yeah
Jas
I’ve booked you for a photo shoot before your Paris show at the Angelic Pretty location. Arrive on location at 5 am for hair and makeup. You’ll spend the day on set then walk an afternoon show. You’ll have another in Rome with Armani.
Armani?? Really…
It's good money
I hate you :]
Be on location at the Armani studio at 6 am for hair and makeup.
I am setting you on fire with my mind
You get a new suit out of it
fire!
you are on fire!
Luka
oh wow
Good morning to you too. I'm on the train to Leeds
Thats cool @_@ i'm a little speechless… I'm about to run off the energy I have before starting work… What did you say at the end of that video?
'talk to you later' :) and here I am! Did you like my playing?
Yes
I can only jerk off to your photos and videos so much reno. so im running an extra mile today. thanks for that.
(?? ? ??) o-oh
Angel HNH
Angel! holy!! This is too good. The drum line is so fun. Are u performing this on tour or saving it?
Saving it, we need some more practice before adding it to the set
understand, I am working on a new song but its a secret
( ?? ? ???
So mysterious… see u tonight, tell Seb to text me back
Reno looked over to where Sebastian had dozed off against the train’s window. The ride to Leeds was short, and it was unusual for Sebastian to knock out in public like this.
Reno kicked him in the shin.
“The hell?” Sebastian popped awake, his eyes wide as he searched around him. “Reno, what the fuck?”
“Why’s Angel telling me to tell you to text them?” Reno could feel the smirk growing on his face. “Something you’re not telling the class?”
Sebastian blinked a few times, still waking up. “I was up late texting them. Let me sleep.”
“Seb.” Reno nudged him where he’d kicked and Sebastian winced. “You used to tell me everything.”
“Then I found out how fucking annoying you are.” Sebastian settled his head against the window, looking like he’d doze back off. “We’ve just been chatting.”
“Text them back. They finished the song.”
“Oh?” Sebastian perked up and pulled out his phone. Reno tossed his headphones over and Sebastian put them on. Reno peeked at Sebastian’s phone and found an impressive number of notifications from Angel before he tilted the screen away and said, “Bugger off.”
Reno scoffed. “Fine.” Instead, he turned his attention out the window. The view was pretty dull, but they’d be in the city again soon.
大輔
Hey, just checking in on you. Some girls at work were talking about you earlier
Daisuke! Hi! Everything is good.
I'm not very surprised, what was it about this time? How's the symphony? Hope the girls pay attention to you and not me most of the time ;]
Haha, funny. I'll tell Xiang and the kids you say hello
Work is great, consistent. We're working with a theatre for the upcoming fall season which is different. Nice to get a break from classical for a moment.
The girls were saying you have a stalker?
Wrong. I do not have a current stalker haha. Well, not one that I know of, anyway.
Weird, why would they say this then?
I've been seeing someone, rumor mill is going around. Too many eyes on me all the time.
I'm so glad I do not have your life.
Wait, this would be the first since…
Yup. Haven't been involved with anyone for about ten years now.
Sounds lonely. I'm glad you are talking to someone again. It's about time.
Give me a year, I'll be married too
You're insane.
I’ve gotta get to sleep. Xiang says hi and she misses you. Let us know next time your group comes around Shanghai. We will make you dinner and you can tell my children I used to be pretty cool too. They don’t believe me.
Of course, you were always the cool one
:,) Goodnight
Sebastian was fully awake now, his fingers flying over his phone to text Angel back, and Reno pulled his headphones off of Sebastian’s head.
“Song is amazing,” Reno said.
“A marvel,” Sebastian replied, not taking his eyes off his phone. “I don’t know how they do it. I would have never thought of that bass line.”
“And you think of plenty they would never dream up.” Reno put the headphones around his neck and relaxed back into his seat. “But really, what’s going on there? With you two.”
Sebastian paused his texting and then clicked his phone off, staring up and into the middle distance. “I think I’m gonna stay with them for a while after tour.”
Reno raised an eyebrow. “How long?”
“Just a few weeks. Write some music. See Sweden for longer than a day or two. Get into the Scandes, hike some. Camp.”
“Who are you?” Reno teased. “Camping.”
“I used to go with my family before I moved. I know I should take our time off to go back to see mom and my sisters, but the flight to Montevideo is so long. I just don’t have the energy to do it after this tour.”
“And hiking a mountain is less energy.” Reno nodded, still teasing.
“See, annoying. This is why I don’t tell you things anymore.”
“You love me so much.”
Sebastian sighed, relenting. “I really do. If you weren’t horrible and annoying, my life would be far worse off.”
“What an odd compliment. Thank you.”
“You are an odd creature,” Sebastian said before clicking his phone back on. “I will be sure to work while in Sweden.”
“I have no doubts you will. Just be sure to have fun too, it is your only break this year.” Reno watched as Leeds appeared in view.
He pulled out his phone to snap a few photos of the more interesting buildings they passed on the way to the station.
“I might go hang out in Nice with Amelia, depends on if I can bribe Luka to fly to England or not.”
“Don’t let Amelia hear she's lower on your priority scale than your new boyfriend.”
Reno sent the photos to Luka, who either hadn’t returned from his run or had forgotten to text before clocking into work.
“She will live, she understands matters of the heart.”
“Then why is she dating an aromantic man?” Sebastian laughed and Arnaud picked that moment to turn around from the row in front of them. He peeked his head around the side of the chair to glare at them.
“Amelia knows I care for her in my own way. Don’t be close-minded, not all of us are classic romantics like you two.
” He turned to Jaewon like he’d support Arnaud’s claim but he only turned the page of his book, ignoring them all.
Arnaud made a frustrated noise. “Amelia has her lovers in Nice. It works for us.”
“Works for me too,” Reno said, making a filthy gesture at Arnaud who scoffed and settled back into his chair.
“You two gonna stop fooling around now that there’s another person involved?”
“Already did as soon as Luka responded to me,” Reno said, “I just love giving mon capitaine1 grief.” He plucked at a stray thread on his pants before giving up and asking, “Honestly, how do I even approach that one? I’m asking Luka to trust me a lot here, like, yes I am happy to be monogamous with you but on tour I will still be sharing a room and a bed with my best friend that I’ve regularly fucked for the last five years.
No, don’t worry, it’s not romantic in the slightest but we are codependent and can’t sleep well or function without each other?
We can live without the fucking, but we won’t sacrifice each other for anyone. ”
“Saint Valentine, help this poor soul,” Sebastian prayed. “Así no se puede2, you are a disaster."
“See, it’s insane. All of us function on such a weird level with each other; it’s hard to imagine dating someone who isn’t also in the industry and understands that the closeness we have to our mates is not a threat to the relationship but rather a feature.
God, it's like I’m asking Luka to date the entire group. He’ll hate this.”
Sebastian put his hand to his chin, his thick brows furrowing as Reno watched him think. He did this often enough for Reno to know that his answer would be a good one and worth waiting for.
“First off," Sebastian said after a while, “he already knows that dating you will not be normal. It already hasn’t been normal, but he still flew to New York to have, in your words, ‘crazy hotel sex’—which I have trouble telling how it would be any different than sex with you on a normal day—proving that this man might either be as insane as you, or just really into you. Wait no, that makes him insane either way.”
Reno made an offended noise and Sebastian held his hand up before Reno could protest.
“Secondly, every relationship is formed differently and has different boundaries. How do you know he isn’t ok with you still sharing a bed with Arnaud? How do you know he wouldn’t be okay with you two still fucking, too? Have you asked?”
“No. We haven’t had a lot of time to talk since I got here.”
“Okay, you’re making a lot of big assumptions about someone you’re still getting to know. You two can make your own rules; you don’t have to be conventional about things. You’re not a conventional person, so why would you try to be now?”
Reno crossed his arms over his chest. “You think he really knows what he’s getting into?”
“Sure," Sebastian said, “I don’t see why not. He can’t be totally oblivious to what your life is like; the insane schedule, your crazy fan base, all the works. And yet, he’s still talking to you.”
“I don’t think he thinks I’m serious.”
“Make him understand then.”
The train pulled into the station and Reno didn’t have time to think about how he would make Luka understand anything before Kandi was herding them along with Cane and the rest of the staff.
The venue was a short car ride from the station, and the whole time, Reno sat silently watching as Kandi fussed over every detail for the evening.
Lost in thought, he still hadn’t said a word to anyone by the time he got into the chair in the cramped greenroom space for hair and makeup.
“What are you feeling tonight?”