AAA finished their Gold Symphony concert successfully. When their service bus came, they, along with the staff members, rode the vehicle. Chiaki was the last one to take a seat, since she was also the last one to get inside. Misako reserved a seat beside her for her friend. Shuta and Nissy were sitting across them, while Shinjiro, Naoya and Hidaka sat at the back, just one row behind them.
"All right, let's go!" The head staff shouted. The bus started to roll on the road as Chiaki was walking towards her seat. When Nissy noticed Chiaki coming, he suddenly jumped to the empty seat beside Misako.
"Ah Misako-chan, I can't sleep. He said, tilting his head towards Misako's shoulder. The girl blushed.
"Hey, Nissy, that's Chiaki's seat!" She shouted to the guy who's pretending to have already fallen asleep. She continuously shook his body. "Hey, Chiaki's already here!"
"It's alright Misako-chan. I can sit beside Shu-chan." Chiaki said while smiling. "Is it alright?" She asked Shuta.
"Eh? Sure." Shuta was surprised but he smiled at Chiaki. He tried to peek on her side to have a view of Nissy. He saw his friend grinning at him silently. "Nishijima, you..." He said in his thoughts, throwing a death glare at his friend. Chiaki's face suddenly appeared.
"Ah!" Shuta blushed.
"What's wrong, Shu-chan? Are you okay?" She asked.
"Ah yes, Chiaki! Don't mind me. Hahaha." Shuta laughed. "Great, this will be a long awkward trip for me." He thought sarcastically. He watched silently his seatmate who's bringing out something from the bag on her lap.
"Here, it's for you." Chiaki said, holding something wrapped inside a small brown bag.
"Eh? What's this?" Shuta asked as he received in his hands the bag. He took out its content. "Ah! Chiaki, where did you buy this?" He asked excitedly, smiling like a child who received an ice cream treat. He was holding a huge bun of melon bread, his favorite.
"My parents gave it to me earlier when I met them before the concert." She said. "I forgot to give it to you earlier." She added.
"Eh? So technically, this is yours." He said, with his smile changing into a frown. He put back the item inside the brown bag. "Here." He said, handing the bag to Chiaki.
"Ah, no, it's really for you, Shu-chan." She paused. "I asked my parents before that when they got the chance to buy this rare bread, they buy two for me, because I really intend to give the other one to you...Um... Because I know that you like it." She added. A light blush formed on her cheeks as she smiled.
"Really? Then I will no longer hesitate to take it." Shuta said with a happy expression again. His cheeks started to blush and his heartbeat went faster. "She's very thoughtful." He thought. A smile was formed on his lips. "Thank you, Chiaki."
"Hm." Chiaki nodded her head. "Let's eat!" The two of them then started eating their breads. "Ah! It's delicious!" She exclaimed after having her first bite.
"Eh? You haven't tried it before?" The boy asked surprisingly.
"Y-yes. I didn't expect it to taste this good." Chiaki answered shyly.
"Then, why did you ask your parents to buy it?" He asked. "Unless you just really want to have it bought for me." He thought to himself. "No. I shouldn't assume things..." He started to blush again.
"Ah... Hahaha." She said, thinking for an answer. "Ah... I also really don't know why... Hahaha." She covered her face in embarrassment.
"Hahaha. You're silly." He said, brushing the top of her head with his hand.
"Ah, don't ruin my hair, Shu-chan." She said, noticing that her pony-tailed hair really got messy. She frowned, pouting her lips. "Look at what you did."
"Hahahaha! My bad." He chuckled as he continued eating his food.
"Hey, what are you eating?" Hidaka said, as he peeked above Chiaki's chair.
"Ah Dacchan, it's melon bread. You want some?" Chiaki offered Hidaka to bite on her food. Shuta watched them as the rapper happily accepted and bit on the girl's food. He frowned then looked away.
"What the hell-?! Why am I suddenly feeling irritable?" He thought.
"Oi, Shuta! Aren't you letting me have a bite on yours, too?" Hidaka exclaimed.
"Eh? Why would I? Chiaki gave this to me, Hidaka. I won't share!" He blurted out with a loud voice. "What the-!" He was surprised with his words. Then he noticed the staff members sitting near their seats and his co-members beside and behind them looking at him. The atmosphere became quiet. Shuta's face became red.
"Ah! What am I gonna do?!" He saw the teasing smiles of everyone aside from Misako and Chiaki.
"Wooooohhh...!" Nissy suddenly broke the silence. Everyone laughed then returned to the things they've been doing before looking at Shuta.
"Hahahaha! Oi Shuta, you're really funny!" Hidaka said, returning to his seat. Shuta already knew what his friend meant by that remark.
"Shut up!" He shouted without looking at his friend at the backseat. He couldn't look at Chiaki because of embarrassment. "Ah! I just made the situation awkward. I can't even look at her. How can I make a conversation with her now?" He cried in his thoughts. He then suddenly heard Chiaki's giggles.
"Eh?" He said.
"Hahaha, Shu-chan, you're so cute." Chiaki said between her laughter. The boy's face turned red.
"Oi! What are you saying all of a sudden?!" He asked, confused.
"Because you seemed to really like your melon bread that you won't even share it to anyone! Just like a spoiled brat! Hahahaha!" She continued laughing nonstop.
"Oi, stop it!" He exclaimed. "You're really silly. I didn't want to share not because it's melon bread, but because it's from you. Silly."
"Hahaha. Sorry, ne?" She said as she stopped laughing.
"Hahaha, forget it." He said. "At least she broke the awkwardness I'm feeling." He smiled. "Ah, I really got tired from the concert."
"Yeah, me, too." She agreed. "By the way, I was wondering for a while now, what was the question of the last fan earlier? Misako and I missed it because we were at the backstage that time."
"Huh?!" Shuta's heart started to beat faster. "Ah... No... Eh? Ah! Nothing! The question was for me, but I already forgot what it was about! Hahahaha!" He lied behind his laughter.
"You already forgot?" Chiaki asked, confused. "I didn't know that you have short-term memory." She joked.
"Y-yeah, maybe I have..." He said seriously, not buying her joke because he's not really paying attention to it. "Come on, think of a new topic! This is getting awkward again-"
"Ah!" Chiaki screamed. Her body fell on her seatmate as the bus made a sharp turn. Shuta shut his eyes tightly as a reflex to the incident. His body hit the side and window of the bus.
"Ouch!" He thought.
"It hurts!" Nissy cried. He fell on the aisle with his butt hitting the floor hard.
"Nissy, are you okay?" Misako asked worriedly. She helped Nissy get back to his seat.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" The driver shouted.
"Is everyone alright?" The head staff asked. Luckily, no one was hurt badly. Some who were sleeping didn't really feel the impact of the bus's turn.
Shuta felt a hand pressing on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Chiaki trying to remove her weight from him. But she stopped midway when she noticed Shuta looking at her.
"Ah... I'm s-sorry... Shu-chan..." She said. Their faces turned red and they looked away from each other's gazes.
"Are you alright?" Shuta asked.
"Y-yes." Chiaki answered as she sat properly on her seat. "I'm sorry, I always fall on you, ne?" She giggled.
"Ah. Hahaha. It's nothing. I don't mind it." He expressed. "I wonder if you can also fall with me in a different way? Hahaha! I'm thinking stupid things." He chuckled. He then heard a yawn from her.
"You should sleep. We still have a long way to travel." He said, looking outside the window to check where they were at that moment.
"How about you? Aren't you going to rest?" She asked.
"I'm not yet sleepy." He said. He then looked around. "Almost everyone's asleep already. You should, too."
"Hm. Okay." Chiaki obeyed. She then tried to move something on the side of her chair. Shuta noticed she's having trouble.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Ah, I want to recline my chair so I can sleep better, but this knob doesn't want to move." She said, pointing at the knob on her side, which is near the aisle.
"May I see?" He said as he lifted his body, moving his torso above Chiaki and he stretched his one arm to reach the knob. He held the top part of his chair with his other hand for balance. "Ah, it's too tight." He said, biting the lower part of his lips as he focused on what he is doing. Chiaki blushed, feeling awkward with their position.
"Um Shu-chan, do you want me to stand first, so you can turn the knob more easily?" She asked.
"No, it's okay, I think it's starting to move already." Shuta said with a smile as he looked at Chiaki for a split second, then he continued on what he's doing. The girl just watched him quietly. Her eyes strolled from his serious eyes, to his pointed nose, to the dimple on his cheek, to his lips, to his neck, and to his flexed arm muscles. She stared there for a couple of seconds unconsciously. Then she strolled her sight back from his arm, neck, lips, cheek, and nose. When she looked at his eyes, hers widened in shock to find it looking back at her.
"Chiaki, what are you staring at?" Shuta asked, blushing, acting like it's nothing for him.
"No, I'm sorry, it's not like that." Chiaki blushed, too. She tried to look away but her eyes looked back at Shuta's.
"Her eyes are really pretty." He thought. He didn't notice that now he turned to be the one staring at her for a while.
"Um... Shu-chan?" Chiaki asked. "Have you turned the knob?"
"Ah, yes! Yes!" He blushed as he positioned himself back to his seat. "Try to push your chair backward." He said. "I didn't even notice that I was staring at her." He thought while watching Chiaki fix her chair successfully.
"Yey! Thank you." She said.
"Okay, finally you can sleep now." He said, brushing his hand on her hair again.
"Ah! You messed up my hair again!" She exclaimed with a soft voice, trying not to wake up those who are sleeping around them. The two of them laughed together. Chiaki then pulled a jacket from her bag and used it as her blanket. "Good night, Shu-chan. Try to rest, too." She then closed her eyes.
"Sleep tight." He whispered. He stared at her face for a while, admiring how peaceful she looks when sleeping. He then looked at the scenery outside through the window. The incident on how he had a slip of tongue earlier flashed back in his mind.
"Hay... sooner or later she will eventually know my feelings for her. It's impossible that everyone will not talk about it, especially the fans. They might be posting it already on social networking sites. What if she reads or hears something about it? What if she confirms it with me? Will I finally confess my feelings for her? Or will I lie? Ah! I don't know what to do anymore. But what if it actually happens? What will I do?" His questions kept on echoing in his thoughts.
He watched the tiny drops of rain falling from the sky, thinking the sky is crying with him to give comfort to his troubled mind. He turned his head to look at his sleeping friend beside him. He watched her for a moment.
"Why are you so lovable, Chiaki? You never tried so hard to make yourself look attractive yet you always catch my attention. You are clumsy and dumb at times, but you are very humble and honest with yourself, which I really admire. You do not meet all the qualities I look for in a girl, yet you hypnotized my heart to accept everything about you. Ah... I can't stop thinking about you. If you only know how I truly feel about you, and what I am thinking every time we're together at rehearsals and trainings. I always wish we get to sing parts of our group's songs together, and to be paired up for some dance steps." He paused, remembering their mini acting part of Autumn Orange during the concert, in which he hugged Chiaki. He smiled at himself.
"I'm very lucky that we were paired for that scene." He continued his thoughts, still smiling as he bit his lower lip and felt his heart fluttered. He let out a light chuckle. "What am I thinking. This is so funny. If Nishijima and Hidaka can hear everything that I'm thinking right now, they would probably laugh at and make fun of me again." He thought. He looked back again at the scenery outside. Shuta couldn't stop himself from thinking about Chiaki. After some time, his eyes started to feel heavy. He slowly closed them and finally fell into sleep.
-----
"Everyone, wake up! We're finally at the drop off area near the Avex Building. Please check your things before going down. Rest well! Thank you very much for your hard work!" The head staff exclaimed. His voice woke up most of the people inside the bus. Some of them slowly opened their eyes from their sleep. Some stretched their arms and legs. Some woke up those who were still sleeping.
"Ah! Finally, we're here!" Hidaka shouted. He stood up from his seat. Shinjiro also stood up, got his bag, and started walking to alight the bus.
"See you all next rehearsal!" The youngest member said as he waved his goodbye before finally exiting the bus. Misako's voice can be heard to be waking up Nissy.
"Let's go, everyone!" Naoya shouted, following Shinjiro outside. Chiaki woke up from the leader's yell.
"Ah... I didn't notice that we're already here." She said, rubbing her eyes.
"Of course you didn't! You were sleeping! Hahahaha!" Hidaka teased her. "Wake up that puppy beside you!" He added. Chiaki looked at Shuta who seemed to be still in deep sleep.
"Look! Shu-chan's so cute in his sleep!" She giggled. She then caressed his hair, blushing.
"Chii-chan, what are you doing to Shuta? Why don't you wake him up already?" Nissy, who just woke up, asked.
"I know. But he's really cute when he sleeps!" She exclaimed. "Maybe I should take a photo of him first before I wake him up." She then reached for her cellphone from her bag. She took a picture of Shuta.
"Hahaha. Chiaki, Shuta will really get mad at you!" Hidaka said.
"Why don't you set it as your phone's wallpaper? Like he is your boyfriend. Hahaha." Nissy teased.
"Nissy, what are you saying? Why have you even thought about that?" Misako said.
"Why not? Chiaki and Shuta seemed to like each other anyway. Hahaha! Ne, Hidaka?" Nissy said.
"Ah yes! Hahaha!" Hidaka agreed.
"Hahaha you guys are silly." Chiaki said. "My boyfriend will get jealous if I change my wallpaper with Shuta's sleeping face."
"Your boyfriend?!" Nissy and Hidaka exclaimed surprisingly.
"Why?" Chiaki asked, confused. "...Ah right! I only told Misako-chan about it. I finally agreed to date the guy who was courting me since our Triple Seven tour two years ago." Chiaki explained. "I can introduce him to you. He will fetch me here. Hm... I think he's already waiting for me outside." She looked at the window and saw her boyfriend, waving at her. "Ah there he is!" She waved back at him and picked up her bag.
"Wait here, I'll ask him to come up here." She said, running towards the bus door.
"W-wait, Chii-chan!" Hidaka shouted.
"Eh? Why, Dacchan?" She asked.
"Um... I think it's better if we meet him some other time. Everyone's tired already." He lied. Nissy nodded his head, agreeing to his friend's suggestion.
"Oh, is that so?" Chiaki said. "Okay! Nissy please wake up Shu-chan for me then. I have to go now. Bye bye!" She said as she went out of the bus. Misako followed her.
"We have to go now, too." Misako told the two guys as she alighted the bus. Nissy and Hidaka were silent for a while.
"Oi Nissy, are you going to tell Shuta about it?" Hidaka asked.
"I... I don't know." Nissy answered. "But I am pretty sure that if we don't, Chiaki will, soon."
"You're right." Hidaka sighed. "Anyway, let's wake him up." He added. The two lads then started shaking their sleeping friend's body, who's still in deep sleep.
"Shuta, wake up!" They said as they continued on shaking Shuta's body.
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To be continued...
Hello! How did you find this part? For those who have not yet watched GS concert, I'm sorry for including a spoiler Shuchia moment. v^_^' Still, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Feel free to give your comments and suggestions. Thank you very much! Please look forward for the next part!
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