One Take Only (A Skip Beat! Fanfic)

Chapter 23: Three Months Later

Wish I could say we weren't meant to be,

Those days when we were side by side,

Hand in hand, your lips slid-

-ing 'cross my cheek, a fond memory

That makes me happier than sad,

Content to have just what we had...

Those little lies we tell to sound healthy.

But those aren't the memories we made.

Instead, every time I saw your eyes

Lingering as I said, "goodbye," I

Ignored the warmth I felt in your gaze.

Convinced myself I needed her,

That she was safer, better, worth

the love I know you starved for every day.

And now

I'm alone,

Got no one to call my own,

You pass by without a look

The love you gave, I never took

Can't blame you for moving on,

Can't blame anyone,

but me,

alone.

"Um, excuse me?"

Here and there, we would share a passing glance—

The music was cut off with the snick of a radio dial.

"Yes, miss?" The driver asked dutifully.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm just a little nervous, and I was hoping we could keep the radio off? Just so I could think?"

"Of course, miss," came the impassive reply. When she didn't seem to want anything else, he returned his attention to the road.

She hoped it didn't bother him too much. He was an older man with hints of gray at his temples and a strong Tokyo accent; somehow he didn't strike her as a Fuwa Sho fan.

But damn, was that song everywhere! She hardly ever listened to the radio, and made a point of avoiding his songs in particular, but that hadn't stopped her from hearing it three times this week alone. And the verse that was playing next she both knew by heart and hated with a passion. She wasn't sure she could stand to hear it again.

Hearing him singing his latest hit song—"Top of the charts! The most moving song he's ever performed! Surpassed all his previous tracks by a mile," they trotted out the same tired phrases every time—was not something she enjoyed doing on the best of days. And today was certainly not the best of days.

She sat in the back of a long, sleek, black limo, courtesy of LME. She was wearing a nice but modest dress borrowed from the wardrobe department. Jelly had even been roped into doing her makeup, though she snorted at the fact that her hard work might be undone by the studio's artists.

In a way, what she'd told the driver wasn't entirely a lie. She would be nervous...if she weren't so damn irritated.

"You're a hot topic right now," Sawara-san had said yesterday, handing her a stack of messages. "Three more requests for phone interviews, and you've been invited back to Nipponet Scoop. Kimagure Rock would like to have you, too—they put in an internal request and everything, guess they'd have to get someone else to fill in for you—and last but not least," he grinned, fluffing his mustache proudly, "Entertainment Today!"