Chapter 1
I thought it was the happiest time of my young life.
I thought it would last forever.
I really thought that.
Now I know it better.
Now I know how stupid that thought was.
Silly me.
I should have known then, that my childish me was already starting to cause life changing troubles.
"Ohayou, everybody!" Tegoshi said with his big shining smile as he stepped into the NEWS dressing-room.
"Ohayou~" it came back three times. Of course Kei-chan was already there. He sat between Massu and Shige on the grey Sofa and was trying to get Shige’s attention, who seemed pretty interested in a music-magazine. Massu was eating happily his Bento, which was actually supposed for lunch. And it was 9am.
"Ryo-chan and Pi not here?" Tegoshi asked as he threw his bag on the floor and squeezed himself somewhere between Shige and the end of the sofa.
“"Do you expect Yamashita-kun to be here in time?" Shige asked, which made Kei-chan pouting. "Nande~?" he moaned. "Why are you reacting to Tegoshi, but totally ignoring me?" Kei-chan waited for a response, but got disappointed after Shige continued flipping his magazine as if he didn’t heard a thing.
Tegoshi laughed. "Maybe you should stop being so instructive." he suggested and got a not so friendly gaze from Kei-chan.
"Maybe" Shige began. "Maybe you should stop sounding so superior."
"Again?!" Kei-chan was shocked. Then he started to poke Shige’s cheeks. "Talk to me!" he demanded. "I've already apologized for yesterday! Hey, talk to me~!" Tegoshi watched that scene with amusement for quite a while, and Massu was all busy with his bento. Just when Shige gave up, throwing away his magazine and shouting: "Holy crap! Okay, I am talking! But take your finger out of my mouth!" Ryo and Yamapi came into the dressing room.
"Ohayou~" both said taking off their sunglasses. Massu was chewing down a big onigri and Shige was grumbling with bright-smiling Koyama, so Tegoshi was the only one who turned around and greeted back. "Ohayou!" He said with his big puppy-eyes. Ryo-chan grinned at him and Pi just nodded with a friendly, heartbreaking smile. Both gazed at Tegoshi, who today wore a black Jeans and a white, at the top unbuttoned Shirt with a red, flimsy tie. Of course Tegoshi noted their stares and tried to deflect them. "Sweets?" he asked pointing at the lollipops in Ryo-chan’s hand. "I thought you don’t like them."
"The theme for our photo-shooting today. One of these ladies out there gave them to me hoping I would appreciate it." Ryo said and threw them to Tegoshi.
Yamapi laughed. "He just said 'Arigatou', smiling awkwardly and then turned around without glancing at her again. Poor little girl had a face like this." He made a grimace looking as he would start to cry. "You’re so rude, Ryo-chan." And pat his best friend on the back.
"She was completely not my type." Was Ryo-chan’s answer. Then he looked at his Band members. "Why aren’t you dressed?" He wanted to know from everyone.
"Don’t tell me you spent time again just staring holes into the air." Yamapi teased as he placed his bag next to the sofa and stroked through Tegoshi’s light brown, soft hair.
"But you just came in a second ago!" Shige said, after he had stopped arguing with Koyama.
"That has nothing to do with it, baka." Ryo-chan responded and went to the dresser, where he took the clothes meant for him.
"Don’t be so mean again." Pi scolded him and went to take his clothes as well. "Massu, put away your food. We shall be ready in ten minutes." Unwillingly Massu closed his bentobox and stood up.
All six guys put on their shooting outfits and checked their hair, though Tegoshi had to do it three times, because Yamapi and Ryo-chan had pretty much fun ruining it every time Tegoshi just had it done. Finally Manager-san rescued him, as he told the group to come out. Both Ryo-chan and Yamapi pouted, but Tegoshi smiled in relieve. He looked like a broom now, but without his bandmates in his hair he felt much better. In a row NEWS went to the big bright studio, where the set was already built up. It was decorated with a lot of hyper dimensional candies and sweets. Immediately Massu ran to a big choco-cake twice the size of him. "I am in my wonderland~" He mumbled and rubbed his cheeks at the big plastic cherry at the bottom of the cake, while everybody else in NEWS just said "sugoi~" in an admiring voice. After greeting the staff-san and the lady, who gave Ryo-chan the sweets before, going crazy over him, the shooting began and everybody posed like hell. Manager-san had to tell Yamapi three times to try a smile, before he gave up, Ryo-chan grinned his brightest smile into the camera, Massu was head over heels for the set around him, Kei-chan tried to open his eyes as much as he could, before Ryo-chan could tease him again, Shige was so serious that everyone bursted out into laughter and Tegoshi made everyone go wild over his babyface. Like a cute little child he got everybody’s attention when it was his turn for solo-shoots.
"Kawaii, deshou?" Ryo-chan said quietly to Pi who stood next to him.
"Can’t help me, but I really want to hug him, when he looks like this." Was Pi’s respond and looked at Tegoshi’s jolly, smiling face.
"Not when I can hug him first." Ryo-chan grinned at his best friend, before he went to Tegoshi and laid his arms around the small shoulders. "Time for couple-photo’s" he said and both Tegoshi and him were smiling like dorks. Immediately the Koya-Shige-Couple paired up and Ryo-chan looked like he wouldn’t leave Tegoshi alone for a while, so Yamapi sighed and turned around to gaze at Massu, who was still fascinated by the big cakes and cookies that surrounded him. While posing with Massu Pi threw a look at his best friend and Tegoshi every now and then. They looked good together, he had to admit. Tegoshi with his innocent, beautiful face and big eyes, and Ryo-chan, who was smiling non-stop. He seemed high, because he got Tegoshi as partner first, and Pi clenched his teeth because of this fact. Of course he knew Ryo-chan would use every opportunity he could get to be near to Tegoshi. But Yamapi had his own strategy. He wouldn’t attack Tegoshi with all his might, he would approximate him slowly, doing this and that for him, doing him a favour and being so sweet to him, that Ryo would be looking so low-grade compared to him
Yamapi and Ryo-chan were best friends. Till it got to Tegoshi.
