Oh My God, They Were Roommates

10 | Oh, Pretty Woman

Sora Ikeda never twerked a day in his life before Bandaids. Honest to God, hand on the bible, in front of the court, Sora Ikeda could safely say that he barely knew how to dance before Bandaids happened. And it certainly wasn't like he had an ass suitable for a strip club. It was all flat back there before Bandaids, and then the training started.

But before training, and before Sora could even dance, he did his research and found himself on the doorstep of Bandaids at the ripe young age of seventeen. He was barely over that seventeen-year-old threshold, but he was so goddamn done with the Ikeda life.

If he wanted his own life and his own college degree, he needed to make cash for it, first and foremost.

The first person Sora ever met at the club was Parley—Bandaids's best and brightest bodyguard. Sora would soon learn that when Parley was on duty, there was bound to be some form of shenanigans from newcomers underestimating her prowess. The dark side of Sora loved to stand and watch Parley bodyslam guys who made her dancers uncomfortable. The look of abject horror on the clients' faces... Priceless.

"This ain't the school yard, kid. Buzz off," Parley said from the doorway before Sora could even approach the hostess.

"You don't even know how old I am," Sora snapped. "Just because I'm Asian doesn't mean—"

Parley pointed to her own face, leaning in to go nose-to-nose with him. Sora leant back, startled, as Parley said, "Yeah, and how old do I look, pipsqueak? A day old?"

Sora, being the dumb bastard he was, rolled his eyes and reached for his fake ID. Milluki was a goddamn genius when it came to fake IDs, but in other areas—most areas, actually—he was an idiot. So, Parley took one, two, three looks at Sora's ID before handing it back, unconvinced, and gestured for him to get inside.

The second person Sora ever met at Bandaids was the host: Axel Atkins, otherwise known as the bane of Sora's existence and the blessing to his wallet. That godforsaken idiot knew the kinks of every rotten bastard in the Bay area and by God, he knew who was willing to pay.

"Aw, what a sweet little thing," Axel purred, a hand on his cocked him and the other on the banister overlooking the warehouse.

Sora's eyes were everywhere but Axel until that moment because holy shit, this place was the real deal.

Amidst the spiraling blue and pink lights, Sora cleared his throat and his vision of one of the dancers nearest the entrance. That initial walkway only then opened up after a narrow foyer with blacked-out windows to avoid onlookers from peering in.

Sora put his hands in his pockets to avoid touching anything. The action had that cheeky host grinning. "I, um, I'm here to talk to your boss," Sora said.

"Oh? And on what grounds."

"The grounds that say I'm looking for a job."

"Oh, hun, we don't hire," Axel said, and Sora rose an eyebrow at him. "We audition. If you want a stage, you gotta earn it."

"Fine, whatever. I'd like to schedule an audition."

And then, Axel was walking Sora up to the bar where he met his third Phantom member: David. David was at the bar that night and was there to greet Sora when Axel pulled him up, clasped a hand onto his shoulder, and said, "Have you seen our dear sweet boss around by any chance?"

"I think he's in his office," David said. He pointed to Sora and asked, "Who's this kid?"

"I'm not a kid," Sora snapped.