Love Nikki: Chapter One

~ 8 ~

   Bobo lets out yet another exaggerated and drawn out sigh. "Are you going to be doing that all night?" I huff.
   She shrugs. "I won't have to if Mela," she sneers the name, "would just show up."
   "We don't even know if she's actually showing up," I point out. She shrugs again. It's only been about half an hour since the man left, but Bobo, being dramatic as always, acts as though it's been years. Lunar, on the other hand, sits quietly and calmly watches the door.
   The band is still playing, the crowd still going crazy. Somehow, they never run out of songs to play. Bobo mentioned this to us earlier. "Ok," I had said.
   "Don't you find that fascinating? That they never repeat a song?" she had asked. I shook my head. Something tells me it isn't abnormal for bands to have many songs in their arsenal. At least, not where I'm from, wherever that is. Ever since, she has been tapping her foot and bouncing her head to their music. She brings them up again now.
   "I should ask someone what they call themselves," she says. "Or maybe I can talk to the lead singer." She pauses. "She's... pretty."
   I look over. She has short blue hair and wears glasses. She also has a leather jacket on, which, I must admit, I admire. "Yeah, she's good at styling. Her jacket is pretty cool." I look at Bobo, and realize her face is flushed. "Wait-"
   "Yeah, yeah." She rolls her eyes. "Not what I meant."
   I look back at the singer. "You should totally talk to her, then. She seems like she'd be cool. Fun."
   Bobo slaps me. "I was only joking when I said that earlier! Me? Talk to her? No way," she sputters. "I didn't even think to put on anything nice today, because I didn't think we would going to bars with pretty people."
   "Oh, come on, Bobo. You're a really nice person, not to mention how much you know about styling. You've always got something to say. How could she not like you?"
   "Not like me?" Her eyes widen in panic. "I never said anything about her not liking me! I'm so stupid, of course she won't like me. Have you even met me, Nikki? I'll be a disaster if all I do is try to say hello." She sighs and puts her head in her hands. "Emphasis on try."
   Lunar laughs. Bobo looks up to glare at her. "You won't be a disaster, Bobo," she chuckles. "Besides, I find disasters charming. Maybe your singer is the same."
   "She's not my singer." Bobo grumbles.
   The band ends their song, then jumps right into the next. "Wow, they just keep going, don't they?" I muse.
   Bobo jumps to her feet. "I love this song!"
   "Ah, so you do know this band?"
   "Well, maybe I just didn't recognize them, Nikki. Come on, let's dance!"
   She grabs my hand and tugs, the way a toddler might try to drag around their mother. I laugh. "Ok, ok, I'm coming." Bobo brings me to the edge of the crowd and starts to spin and punch her arms in the air, a wild exhilaration lighting up her face. I slip into a rhythmic sway, glancing over at the bouncers to check on Momo. He's in the middle of what must be a very relaxing belly rub, judging by the look on his face. I hope he's not too much of a distraction for the bouncers. I'd hate to see them fired because of Momo.
   Bobo gasps and grabs my hands, clasping them in hers. "This is the part where we dance with a partner," she says. She raises our arms then dips them on beat, one after the other. "Now we do this." She starts to tap and kick her feet in a very careful pattern. Tap, left, right, kick, left, right, kick, kick...
   I try to keep up, but my feet keep getting tangled up. Bobo laughs and goes faster. "Hey, that's not fair!" I, too, fall into a fit of giggles. We dance until the song ends, Bobo's movements, despite wild and fast, mesmerizing and smooth. Mine are janky, to say the least.
   When the final note plays, Bobo throws her arms in the air, freeing my hands from her killer grip. We bumble over to where Lunar sat watching, gasping for air and snickering together. "That was quite the show," she comments.
   "I'm glad you noticed," Bobo says smugly. I toss a glance over my shoulder when I notice no music is playing. The band has paused their performance, having drinks of water and talking. "Has she come yet?" Lunar shakes her head.
   "It shouldn't be much longer," I say.
   "I hope so," Bobo groans. "I'm really looking forward to-"
   "I will deal with her, Bobo," Lunar interrupts.
   Bobo looks to me, asking with wide eyes for back up. I shrug, finding myself agreeing with Lunar. She sighs. "Fine. I'll just glare at her, then." She crosses her arms and huffs, falling into the chair beside Lunar.
   "There they are." We turn in unison to see who spoke. The lead singer is behind me, a curious smile on her face. "I saw you two dancing. It was pretty cool, I gotta admit."
   My face heats up. "Were we that obvious?" The singer opens her mouth, but I shake my head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. Your songs are amazing."
   "Thanks. Some of them are covers, but most are our own." She holds out a hand. "I'm Kaja, by the way."
   I take her hand and shake it. Her grip is surprisingly strong. "I'm Nikki, and these are my friends," I turn to gesture to the girls in their chairs, "Bobo and Lunar." Lunar has an amused smile on her face, and she nods at Kaja. Bobo is leaning back in her chair, and every time she looks at the singer, she quickly looks away.
   "Nice to meet you all. You dance professionally?"
   "Wh- Professionally? Uh, no," Bobo stutters. "Someone posted a tutorial on Reed Thought a few years back."
   Kaja nods. "Well, you did pretty well. It's not everyday someone entertains me at my gigs." She laughs. "Most people are too afraid to dance like that. It's kinda dope that you don't care."
   Bobo smiles. "Really?"
   "Hell yeah! There's nothing I respect more than confidence. Well, except for a damn good stylist, that is. But hey," she shrugs, "everyone in Miraland respects a damn good stylist."
   She adjusts her jacket, which I can't help but admire. I'm about to ask her about it when Bobo blurts out, "Nikki's a stylist! She's only been styling for a short while, but she's good!"
   "A stylist, huh?"
   "I'm still practicing," I butt in. "I'm not that good, but I like it. I like learning and getting better at it." I shoot Bobo a side glare, but she's too busy admiring Kaja's hair to notice.
   "Say, why don't we have a competition?" I should have seen that coming. "We can do the boyish style, seeing as I didn't bring anything with me tonight."
   "Uh," I look at Lunar. What if Mela comes soon? She seems to know what I'm thinking, and nods. "Sure." I nudge my case from under the chair and pick it up. "Where's the nearest changing station?"
   "Just through that door," Kaja says, pointing to a door a few feet to our left.
   "Thanks," I reply.
   "Oh, and no stakes. This competition can be purely for educational and practicing purposes."
   After closing the door behind me, leaving Kaja with a very talkative Bobo, I open my suitcase. I start with a white shirt with short sleeves and a simple black tie around the neck. For bottoms, I select a pair of black suit pants. Two black boots for my feet follow. I pull out a nice black wig. It's got the just below shoulder length hair held back loosely by a white bow. I put it on, and after a minute of trying to figure out why it looked so awkward, realized the ponytail was meant to be thrown onto the chest over the shoulder. For the finishing touches, I put on a black wrist watch, and a pair of black shades.
   I head out to join the others, my Giftys hot on my feet. Bobo and Kaja are deep in conversation, Kaja brushing her hair from her face every now and again. Lunar watches them, entertained. If Bobo is aware of the way she's leaning towards Kaja, she doesn't show it.
   Lunar sees me first. "Very nice," she says.
   I smile. "Thanks! I've got some ideas for improvements, if I can find any shops with the items I'm looking for. But that can wait."
   She studies me with a soft smile. "That, Nikki, is exactly what a stylist does."
   "What?"
   "They recognize their flaws, and they learn to overcome them. They strive to improve." She nods at me. "Exactly what you just did. You saw area for improvement in your styling, and you took note of that. It can take a training stylist years to be able to do what you just did."
I try to think of a response, but nothing comes to mind. When Nanari had said I was the one, is this what she had meant? I'm more developed than other beginners? This makes me wonder something I hadn't considered before. Why me? Why not choose a gifted stylist like Lunar? I'm new to Miraland, and styling. Wouldn't I be the unconventional choice?
Before I can think of more questions to puzzle myself further with, Kaja notices my presence. "Hey, Nikki! Ready to battle?"
"Of course," I respond. That's when I see Kaja's Giftys, all sitting on the floor and chirping at each other. Kaja comes to stand beside me, and my Giftys run to join hers. "Good luck," I say cheerfully.
"And you."
Once the Giftys are sure we're ready to begin, they start scoring. Every so often, similar to how Lunar had tossed flowers in the air before, Kaja pulls out a purple cat mask. I'm not sure where she pulls it from, or where it goes, because it disappears after hovering in between us for a few seconds.
The Giftys finish judging, and huddle to add up their scores. My Gifty with a red sign steps forward, and Kaja's Gifty with a yellow sign stands beside mine. They raise their score boards.
   "Hah! I told you Nikki was a talented stylist!" Bobo holds out her hand for a high five. "I knew you could do it, Nikki!" I smile and give her the high five.
   "Good one, Nikki. That was close," Kaja said. She's right. I was only ahead by 500 points. "I might need to take a tip or two from you."
   "Thanks for the competition, Kaja," I say. "That was good practice."
   "Yeah. I got to go, we're playing again in a few and I need some water." She waves as she walks off.
   "Bye, Kaja!" Bobo calls after her. Then, directed to Lunar and I, "Maybe someday I'll get to see her again."
   "And tell her she's pretty?" I ask, removing my wig and shades. I put them back in the suitcase.
   Bobo rolls her eyes. "You're unbelievable."
   "What? Why?"
Before Bobo can start an argument with me, Lunar sucks in a sharp breath, sitting up. "Look who finally showed up."
   Bobo and I turn to where Lunar's looking, at the entrance of the bar. A tall woman has come in. She has bone straight blonde hair, cut evenly at her shoulders. A lock of it at the front has been dyed pink. Her tanned skin make her silver eyes pop, which glare around the room in cold contempt. She wears black denim short-shorts, with little tears and fray throughout. Her dark crop top has thin straps and dull studs around the top. She wears black fingerless globes, and black fishnets with black heels. Her toes stick out the end. She wears a black choker, and a chunky silver bracelet on her left arm. Black tattoos decorate her arm and side. I realize I'm over analyzing her outfit, and try to focus on the situation at hand. But with such a well composed outfit, it's obvious she's brilliant stylist.
Lunar stands and begins to march towards her. Bobo and I quickly rush behind her. One of the ten styles Bobo told me about breifly before comes to mind when I look at Mela. "Sexy style?" I whisper.
Bobo nods. "Mature, too, and cool. Lively, probably gorgeous." I recite the information in my head. There's always a learning opportunity in every moment.
   Lunar approaches Mela, purple eyes stormy. "Mela," she shouts over the noise of Kaja's band and the crowd. The woman turns, a steely expression on her face. "You took my design. You should give it back."
   "I don't know what you're talking about," she sneered.
   "Don't lie. You're a conniving thief, there isn't a person in this room who doesn't already know that." Lunar raises her chin. "The Iron Rose has it's reputation."
   Rage darkens Mela's figure. "Did you just call me a thief? Why, you little-"
   "Just hand over the design!" Bobo growls. Lunar shakes her head at Bobo, but she doesn't notice. "It doesn't belong to you. No one so cruel could create such a beautiful design."
   Mela turns her harsh glare to Bobo. "Don't you dare berate me, girl. I could defeat any of you any day, don't make yourselves look so miserable."
   Bobo clenches her hands into fists. I put my hand on her shoulder and step forward, not wanting the situation to spiral any further out of control. "Let's calm down a bit." I turn to Mela. "I'm sorry for some of the highly unnecessary comments my friends have made, but I'm sure you understand why. You took Lunar's design, something she worked very hard on, when it doesn't belong to you." I hold out my hand. "We want it back."
   Mela laughed. "If the design meant so much to her, she would have held on to it better. It's not my fault she made it easy picking. Besides," she leaned in, towering over me, "what makes you think I will give it back?"
   I don't reply yet. Mela steps back, wearing a smug grin. "That's what I th-"
   "You're Iron Rose. Which means you're a stylist with quite a bit of prestige."
   Mela sighs, a bored look on her face. "And?"
   Lunar realizes what I'm getting at. She nods, her earlier comment coming to my mind. That, Nikki, is exactly what a stylist does. Exactly what you just did. "Well, it would be rather embarrassing for you to turn down a styling competition with a nobody like me."
   "And who is that, exactly?"
   "Nikki." She looks me up and down. "It's pretty simple. I win, you give back Lunar's design."
   "And if I win, you never interfere with Iron Rose business ever again," Mela says.
   "So it's a deal, then."
   "It's a deal. And, for the fun of it, I'll give you twenty-four hours to prepare." She stalks out of the bar, calling over her shoulder, "It's too bad you're going through all this effort for nothing."
   It isn't until she's through the door that I've realized what I've gotten myself into.

A/N: I've got some new books in my arsenal, all Love Nikki related. If you're interested in more Love Nikki content, feel free to check them out. I might use Carpiem plays Love Nikki for updates on the progress of this book. Thanks for your patience as I (very) slowly get around to updates. Remember to vote and comment if you enjoyed the chapter!