~Teto's POV~
I remembered the last time I was at the Vocaloid mansion like it was yesterday... well, it was only a little over a week ago. But still. I didn't think I would ever forget about the day I was born.
I walked into the lobby with Charlotte, clutching her hand. All my nervousness faded away when I saw Rin, Len, Meiko, and Kaito waiting there for me! "Teto!" Rin screamed and jumped up, crushing me in a hug. "Ohmigosh, I missed you soooooooooooo much!"
I laughed. "Hi, Rin."
"And you can talk now!" She squealed some more. "I loved your song, by the way, it was so good!"
"Rin, don't hog her all to yourself!" Meiko appeared behind Rin, chuckling. "Hi, honey," she hugged me too.
After hugging both Kaito and Len and chatting for a bit, Charlotte said, "Teto, it's almost time for your meeting with Miku, so we better be heading up."
"Oh, yeah, she'll be mad if you're late. The Ice Queen is pretty impatient." Kaito snickered.
"Stop!" Meiko shushed him. "What if she heard that? You'd be in really big trouble."
Suddenly, I was nervous again.
"Oh, don't worry," Len said to me. "She's really nice as long as you obey her every word."
Charlotte raised an eyebrow. I guess she hadn't figured out what Miku was really like.
We rode an elevator to the top floor, where Miku was waiting in front of the door to a little room. When she saw us, she gave Charlotte a sweet smile. "Hello, Miss Charlotte! Thank you for bringing Teto over on such short notice!"
Charlotte smiled back. "Of course," she turned to me. "Teto, I'll be waiting down in the lobby for you. Just come down when you're finished."
I nodded, too nervous to speak. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her!" Miku slipped her hand into mine. As soon as Charlotte turned to go back in the elevator, Miku's innocent smile turned to a nasty grin. I could just barely hear her mutter, "really good care."
She tugged on my hand and started walking towards the door. I refused to budge. "W-What are you going to do to me?"
She looked up at me innocently. "Oh, finally using your big girl voice, I see. I just want to talk, is that so wrong? To talk to my little friend Teto?" She opened the door and I could see that it was pitch black inside.
"I am not your 'little friend'," I said, trying to yank my hand away, which only resulted in a tighter grip from Miku. I let out a small whine, which surprised both of us.
"Oh, that hurts, does it?" She leaned forward till her face was an inch away from mine. "Keep acting like this and it's only gonna get worse."
I hated to let the fear control me, to give Miku exactly what she wanted, but she was too powerful. I just couldn't refuse her anymore. Besides, if she did do something to me, I could always scream for help or something. I reluctantly let her pull me into the room. She turned on the dim lights, and I saw that all that was in here was a table and chairs. It was just a meeting room. "Sit down," Miku commanded, so I did.
"Don't you realize you're a joke?" She paced around the table, hardly making eye contact with me. "You were never supposed to sing. That's not how things should be."
"B-But that is how things turned out."
She turned around and glared at me. "Don't you dare sass me! If you're thinking we can work out a compromise and be best friends and eat gummy bears in a flower field while riding a unicorn under a rainbow, then you're wrong, sister!"
"I never said that." What she wanted was to rile me up, to get me angry. I wouldn't give her that satisfaction. I would stay as calm as possible.
"Oh, you think you're soooooo smart, just because you got a voice!" Miku huffed. "News flash, you will never be as popular as me, so I suggest you stop trying."
"I don't want to be more popular than you. I just want to sing."
"You're lying! Everyone wants to be me! You should be grateful I even took time to talk to you, you liar!"
"I am grateful that I'm fortunate enough to know how you really act."
Miku knocked a chair over. "That's the final straw! You're really in for it now!" She stomped over to me, probably ready to beat me up.
"Wait!" I said, guarding my face with my hands. "If you hurt me, it may leave a mark, and then everyone will know what you did and your reputation will be ruined."
I could tell she thought this over, but she didn't ease up. "You just want to commit the crime without getting punished for it."
"No, not really. I'm not worried about getting hurt. I'm just looking out for your reputation, since we're friends and all." And I tried to give her a genuine-looking grin. I realized that I meant what I said, I really wasn't worried about getting hurt. For all I knew, she was all bark and no bite. What could she really do to me?
"I hate to admit it, but you're right." Miku crossed her arms. "But next time you decide to get cocky with me, you will regret it. Do I make myself clear?"
I nodded.
"Good." She walked over to the other side of the table and sat down. "As I was saying before I was ever so rudely interrupted, you're not supposed to sing. I mean, you aren't even good at it! That UTAU voice is disgusting! And hardly anybody even listened to your song! My songs have gotten millions of views!"
Threatening to physically hurt me was one thing. Insulting my singing, now that stung. Don't cry, don't cry, please don't cry, don't let her see you cry, I thought to myself. Don't give in. Don't give her what she wants. Don't cry. Don't cry.
"You should just quit before you fail miserably," she said, faking a sad face. "I'm only suggesting it because I care about you."
No, you don't! You're the liar here!
"Heh," she scoffed. "So that's what gets you to shut up. I think I've made my point. Let's go. Oh, and you better not tell anyone about how I threatened you, or all those threats won't just be threats."
Once the elevator neared the lobby, Miku tried to grab my hand, but I pulled away. "Hold my hand, you idiot," she hissed, so I sighed and took her hand. I knew making her upset right now would only make things worse. Today was just a rollercoaster of emotions, I went from listening out of fear to defying her to listening again, but this time it was because I was simply tired of putting up a fight.
I found Charlotte sitting on a couch next to a Vocaloid producer, looking very comfortable, but she jumped up as soon as she saw us. "Teto! I didn't know you would be done so soon."
Kaito chuckled. "She reminds me of you when we first started dating, Mei~"
Meiko blushed and hid her face behind her hands, muttering something that made Kaito laugh.
The Vocaloid producer sitting next to Charlotte jumped up too. "W-We aren't dating!" He glanced at Charlotte. "Not yet, anyway."
Charlotte gasped. "Don, are you asking me out?"
"If I was, would you say yes?" Don asked.
"Maybe I would."
"Great. I'll pick you up at eight."
Charlotte had the widest grin I had ever seen. "Let's go, Teto."
"Aww, how cute!" Miku cooed before leaning over and whispering to me. "Don't tell anyone." Then she let go of my hand and waved goodbye.
"So, how was your meeting?" Charlotte asked in the car.
What was I supposed to say? Miku is a crazy psychopath who threatened to beat me up and she insulted my music on top of that? "It was good," I lied, not wanting to ruin Charlotte's good mood. "She just wanted to congratulate me on my song in person."
"What a sweet girl! I can't believe the other Vocaloids don't like her."
"Yeah, it's crazy." Crazy how good of an actor she is. "So, who's that guy you were talking to?"
I could see her blush. "Oh, Don? He's just a guy I went to college with. We both ended up in Synthesizer Design, and it was good to see him again. That's all."
"And you're going on a date."
"Yeah, I guess we are," she smiled at the road. "We really are."
I thought back to all those things I said to Miku. I'm not worried about getting hurt. I'm just looking out for your reputation. While I wasn't worried about getting hurt, I also did care about what happened to Miku. Just a few hours ago, she had posted a new song, and Momo and Uta were dancing around my room like little kids. They were so happy. And just now, I had saved Miku's reputation. I had saved my friend's happiness. If Miku was what made them happy, then I would do whatever she wanted. I would listen to her if it meant she stayed happy and therefore made my friends happy. They helped me get a voice, so I owe them a favor. And if that favor is being Miku's puppet, then I'll do it.