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Post by Hawk on Nov 2, 2010 14:06:30 GMT -6
[[OHMIGAWDSOEXCITED. Okay, so, to be fair to the rest of you (all, you know, three of you) this is an AU version of a group of mine and Ri's charries. Just a heads-up in case you read this and are confused!]]
Picking a guitar to play was like picking the clothes you wore. At least, that's how Pheia often treated it, he thought as he leaned into the compartment under their bus and popped open the lid of his instrument case. His hand brushed over the headstock of a Gibson first, and even as it did he mentally dismissed it as an option - too new, not worn in enough. He might not get the sound he wanted from it, would have to work to get what he wanted.
Or maybe it was more like choosing what friend to spend the day with, he mused as his hand travelled over a Taylor - too predictable - and a Fender, because electric just seemed grating today. Or tonight, as it were, seeing as it was just a little past one in the morning. It was dark in the case, impossible to see past the first couple guitars in the front, but he didn't have to see any of them to know which was which.
Hands traveled over other guitars, basses, even a banjo that he'd received as a half-joking gift, but it wasn't until his hand reached one particular guitar, buried way in the back of the stand-up case, that it came to rest. Fingers wrapped around the neck and pulled it carefully out, having to twist it every which way just to get it out from under the bus without serious damage. The compartment door gave him a bit of trouble, making him kick it the rest of the way shut and earning him a barely discernible chuckle. A quick and only half-sincere glare in Laeli's direction had the bassist raising a hand in apology and continuing on his way into the hotel. Even as he went, the chuckles continued, causing Phe to raise his own hand and good-naturedly flip the older man off. Just because he was close with his band mates didn't mean they couldn't tick him off. In fact, it probably made it worse, since they knew just how to.
But, they also were some of the only people who could read him to a certain extent, and leave him his space. Lae hadn't even waited for him, probably knowing Phe wasn't ready to go in yet. The after-party had been rough tonight. Definitely fun as well, as they always were after a good show. But fun in the music world also included expensive liquors and tipsy fans and fun that could only be fully joined in on if you were tipsy yourself. Made it a little hard to cope if you were an alcoholic trying to keep a year-long sober streak going.
Popping the door open to the bus, he slipped up the stairs and back into the living space. Absurdly narrow bunk beds covered both walls of the bus, one of which was his, but he bypassed them in favor of the last one at the back of the bus, just slightly larger than the rest. Generally it was Nikua's, a decision made after his inability to stay still while he slept landed him painfully on the floor one too many times. But, nobody was too picky about whose was whose in most everything, so he figured it wouldn't be a big deal to borrow it. Lifting himself onto it, he crossed his legs and then carefully slipped the cloth case off the guitar he'd pulled out, setting it to the side. A few test chords and tweaks on the tuners, and it was ready to play.
Phe played a few chords absently, eyes slipping closed as he let the guitar envelop his attention. The band may be his friends, and Drae his family, but his instruments were his lifeline, how he emoted when he was otherwise incapable now that alcohol had been removed from the picture. The stress of all the people that had crowded in on him, the pressure of doing what he knew he should when all he wanted was to do otherwise, the loneliness of being in a crowd where everyone knew of you but nobody really knew you, all combined with familiar feelings that hit him only in the latest hours of the night, memories of a childhood long since passed - those were the things that had made him pull out this guitar tonight, out of all the others. They were what guided his fingers along the strings.
Without any real intention, notes of a song began to wind themselves out to the acoustic. A minor, A minor 7, D2... Those were chords that strummed themselves, the start to a song that Phe'd known almost as long as he'd known how to play the guitar. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was a song he'd never simply heard. It was a song he felt, every note of it. Fingers glided along the frets effortlessly as he continued to an F chord before returning to the pained hum of A minor once again.
This... This was how a guitar was supposed to be written for, he thought as his fingers continued to play against the strings. The notes were in-tune in the just-so way that could only be reached when you knew an instrument like the back of your own hand. And the particular guitar he was playing on might as well be, given that it was one of the first acoustics he'd ever gotten. An old folk, he'd found the Alvarez Regent in a corner of a pawn shop in his hometown, missing half of its strings and covered in scratches and dust. He'd immediately spent every dollar he had to get it, still at a steal for what it was actually worth. Much as he would never say it aloud, the beginner guitar was just like an old friend.
Not wanting to deviate from his guitar's wind around the main melody, he began to hum quietly, picking up the singing part in a voice as careful as the harmony of his guitar strings. "I don't know why nobody told you how to unfold your love~ I don't know how someone controlled you~ They bought and sold you~" Already feeling the tension of the night leaving his tightened muscles, he let himself indulge in the song, new chords winding their way in with old ones as he played against his own heartbreaking vocals, something that could only be attained by someone who had a heart that was partially broken. He was so wrapped up in the song that it was his world, just the bed, and the guitar and himself, and the notes winding between them.
So wrapped up in his playing, in fact, that he hadn't even noticed the hiss and clack of the door to the bus as it had slid open.
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Post by ElliBleu on Nov 6, 2010 20:16:39 GMT -6
It had taken all of about six minutes for Adrael to realize that, despite two hours of climbing on all the equipment and people on stage, Niku was most definitely not out of energy. And until the hyperactive, overly-affectionate singer was completely and thoroughly spent, he was wont to relentlessly pick on his favorite little Technicolor ragdoll-slash-bandmate. So much touching and clinging and ruffling and sometimes Addie couldn’t take the relentless ‘affections’, though he could stand about six to eight hugs and I-love-you-guys now. Better or worse, exposure therapy seemed to be working, since he wasn’t hiding on the top shelf of a broom closet shivering at the very thought of another casual, friendly touch.
And, albeit slowly, he was getting better, he really was. But old habits, particularly bad habits, died hard. Habits learned and ingrained through an austere childhood, where keeping to himself had been wise and almost necessary. These new habits of socialization seemed even more difficult to learn.
Still, tonight it seemed a bit too much to shoulder, ashamed as he was to admit it. He owed much to this handful of people and still couldn’t keep from slinking away guilty in the middle of the night. Solace was one of the best stress-relievers he’d yet to find, and after helping drag some luggage and an increasingly legless Niku up the elevator to their hotel rooms Addie had quietly slipped away down the back stairs. Twisting the knob to open the doorlatch and toeing it open to avoid any superfluous noise, Addie took a cautious glance out into the dimly lit rear parking lot to ensure it was empty before stepping outside. His hairstyle of choice made it a bit difficult to remain incognito and- though they weren’t big enough that he found himself mobbed in the streets on a regular basis- staying at a nearby hotel the same night as one of their larger venues almost promised a cornering from some simpering, giggling females.
A few slow minutes offered nothing beyond the familiar thrum of tires on the not-so-distant highway, leaving Addie feeling confident enough to shoulder the door open and step outside. With a minute sigh he sank onto the curb, heels of his sneakers scraping the asphalt as he stretched his legs out. One palm on the sidewalk, the other occupied itself with restlessly tapping out a quick rhythm against his leg. His phone buzzed a couple times, probably texts inquiring about his absence. That, or something he didn’t want to be receiving anyway. It could wait.
The fingers against the concrete started drumming in complement to his others after another few minutes, a quicker tattoo. But not quite enough of a distraction to keep him from slipping a hand into the pocket of his jeans and bringing a cigarette to his lips, teeth toying with the end. Giving up on the impromptu beat in favor of skimming fingers over his pockets, Adrael frowned and rose to his feet to hook a finger into each back pocket in search for his lighter. No such luck. He spared a glance to the door behind him, but he didn’t have a room cardkey on him to reopen it form outside. Not that he was ready to give up on his solo sojourn quite yet anyways.
Back to the bus, then. There was always a lighter or matches around somewhere there, and he could retreat to his bunk for an hour or so before calling someone to come down and open a door for him.
He looped around the hotel at a quick walk, head down until he had a hand around the manual handle for the bus door. It groaned in complaint like it always did, stubbornly grating the first few inches before easily folding open. Two steps up and Addie paused, reeling back like he’d hit a wall when he registered the music. Not alone, should have noticed the lights being on. And the door was too noisy to just back out and pretend nobody was here. A hand lifted to tangle sheepishly in his hair, climbing the remaining steps up and into sight. “S-sorry, Phe…”
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Post by Hawk on Nov 11, 2010 1:02:56 GMT -6
Fingers that had been moving without a thought found themselves caught up in strings as a yet-undiscovered chord wailed its way out of Phe's guitar. Definitely not a part of the scheduled programming. Then again, being startled could be a bitch like that, he thought as he tried to get his breathing back to a reasonable speed.
After a second or two of stewing, he raised his head as he strummed a more harmonic chord, some sort of apology to the Regent for the horrible sound he'd just forced out of it. Death to whoever had caused it was, in his opinion, the least he could do. Or at least extreme uncomfortableness. He'd already worked murder into his gaze, ready pin whatever reporter or over-familiar fan had broken in on his private session. Especially if it was a reporter. The last thing he needed was some busybody with a recorder throwing up a sound bite of his personal playing that would go viral within days.
But, his scowl evaporated at the sight of cotton-candy-bright hair. Tense muscles loosened as the ghost of a grin - covering for a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance - rose on his face. Nobody he'd ever seen, fan and professional alike, had ever been able to recreate that look. And nobody could recognize the original better than him. Lowering the Alvarez to a more casual level, he plucked a few strings as he nodded in greeting. "Oh, hey. Come to join in on the pity party?"
It was only a half-joke, but not one he expected a response to. The cigarette hanging loose from the Adrael's lips was explanation enough. Letting the guitar hang free by its strap, he rolled onto his side enough to dig a lighter out of his pocket. "Don't know how you can manage to forget your lighter so often," he mumbled, unable to stop himself. Finally working it into his hand, he gave a warning swing before tossing it at the other man.
Before he could help it, a smirk cracked his face. "Though, I guess the 'boyfriend' can be pretty stressful, huh?" he added in a louder tone, the words laced through with teasing as he raised the guitar back up. "Needed to escape in a hurry, before you got caught up in his fits of 'affection'?"
It was no secret that their front man made a habit out of showering the drummer in attention, much to his chagrin, and most everyone else's amusement. And, much as he refrained in front of everyone else for his friend's sake, Phe could use some amusement at the moment, even if it was slightly at the other's expense. After all, the man had interrupted him.
Knowing he was asking for it, but relying on the Regent as a safety buffer for impending flying projectiles, he continued on in increasingly teasing tones that others wouldn't even think him capable of. "You and Nikua really should just make it official already."
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Post by ElliBleu on Nov 15, 2010 23:25:43 GMT -6
Phe was Addie’s oldest, probably first, friend, but that didn’t keep the younger male from blushingly running his hand through his hair at inadvertently interrupting. They got little enough alone time between rehearsals, shows, and all the travelling without having bandmates stumbling in when someone did bother to try and steal some privacy. Both had spent much time alone in their lives, were probably more accustomed to solitude than company and so fully appreciated any isolation they could steal. It felt like trespassing, stepping uninvited into Phe’s seclusion. And Addie had been moments away from stuttering out another ashamed apology and turning to flee before Phe had spoken, the muted forgiveness and acceptance of company setting Addie’s tense shoulders easing into a more comfortable angle.
He caught the lighter as it fell in an easy arc, sliding his thumb slowly up one of the smooth sides. Phe’s smirk would have served as warning had Addie been looking beyond the flame at the tip of his cigarette, and the following comment had him flinching in surprise as the lighter clattered to the floor. Wide blue eyes blinked incredulously at his friend, hoping- though certainly not expecting- a hasty retraction of statement. None came, only another quick little jab. Friendly it may have been, but Addie felt his cheeks heating up as a signature blush bloomed across his face.
After a few lengthy seconds Addie managed to splutter out a reply, bending to reclaim the lighter and . “We’re not a c-couple, he abuses me! I swear if that winds up on some tabloid I’m going to blame you and hang myself with your guitar strap.” In a petulant fit of exaggerated annoyance Addie threw the lighter at Phe’s chest, following quickly behind with a few long steps to flick a painted fingernail into the other male’s forehead. “And you better keep that over-affectionate psychopath away from my funeral or I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.”
Frowning- pouting, really- Addie perched himself lightly on the edge of the bed, pulling a slow draw from the cigarette. It was difficult to feign irritation, especially for someone as easily susceptible to guilt as Adrael. And it wasn’t as though he had so many friends he was willing to- even teasingly- be purposefully mean to the few he had. Particularly Phe, who was usually the first to jump to his defense.
With a sigh, Addie fished another cigarette from his pocket, offering it to the other in apology. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, I would’ve tried for some matches from the hotel if I’d know I was going to be intruding.” He leaned back onto an elbow, peering over at Phe from under colorful bangs and looking entirely serious. “Y’know, we could just have you sing and then we could get rid of Niku altogether.”
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Post by Hawk on Nov 17, 2010 1:13:01 GMT -6
A half-amused huff worked its way around the cigarette he'd just wordlessly accepted and slipped between his lips. "Right," he said, working as much sarcasm into the single syllable as he possibly could. "Because I have such a shining personality. And my personal skills are top-notch," he continued to drawl in dual amused and self-depreciating tones as he fished around on the blankets for where the lighter had landed after bouncing - rather harmlessly - against his chest.
After a few seconds of patting around him with no success, he sighed. Of course he couldn't find it. Story of his life. Rolling the cigarette to the corner of his mouth, he let his hands return to the guitar, playing a few odd chords. No, he couldn't replace Niku, he thought to himself as he continued to search for the right song to play. No more than Adrael himself could. As annoying as the man could be, he was more than just the voice of their group. He brought a...a lightness. He balanced them all out, kept them on an even keel. Sure, Lae and Kir always seemed fine too, but they kept mostly to themselves. Nikua, much as he chose a variety of bothersome methods to do it at times, bound them all together. Even Pheia, emotionally stunted as he was, could tell that much.
His fingers settled before his mind did, sliding right into the middle of the intro to Jeff Buckley's rendition of 'Hallelujah'. Right mood, quiet and chock full of minor chords. But popular enough to not be too revealing. Even if it was one of those songs that made his heart hurt to hear it, every time. But Adrael couldn't see heartache, so no harm, no foul. "No, I think you'll have to deal with him for a good, long..." He'd started sincerely, but here he paused, shooting Ad a lighter look and another smirk, "long time, Drae.
"And hey, maybe you'll learn to love him," he said with no shortage of sniggers, making it glaringly obvious he was kidding this time. "Or at least learn to not want to shove him off the stage and into the crowd of ravenous fangirls at every given opportunity," he amended, pausing for a moment to move the unlit cigarette from his mouth to the couple loose fingers of his strumming hand, and then deftly slipping out of the former song and into a rather slow and winding rendition of the 007 theme to underscore his plotting. "Or conveniently forget him at the first rest stop. Or, say, 'accidentally' leave him behind at the hotel tomorrow morning, as a more apt example. Not that I'm suggesting we do any of those," he finished, smirk saying otherwise.
"Wouldn't want to cause any trouble in, uh, 'paradise'," he added, once again unable to help himself. Then, going on the defensive, he took a moment to rub a couple fingers against the forehead that his friend had so mercilessly attacked. Not that the flick had really hurt. It was more to work the guilt angle, save himself from a fraction of the impending pain he was inviting by continuing to tease the man. Which Ad would unfortunately probably already know was his purpose. Damn hitch with being best friends and all.
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Post by ElliBleu on Dec 4, 2010 22:01:22 GMT -6
[FEAR MY LIBERAL USE OF ITALICS. And touchy!Addie. It’s weird. Really weird.]
Addie continued his slow drawl of the cigarette, slowly winding himself down to lay flat on the bed with his free arm curled beneath his head. Something cold and flat met his spine through the thin material of his shirt, pausing momentarily just before his shoulders hit the mattress to consider returning the lighter- again- to its owner. Or he could let Phe keep patting about Niku’s bed for a few minutes. He tilted his head to give Phe an amused grin at the potent sarcasm, the expression quickly reversing when his tone, however innocently, took that all-too-familiar downward curve. They were both really far too good at self-criticism, and though Adrael would never defend himself, he was quick to reach out again and prod Phe in the back with a small sound of disagreement.
“Fff. You just need a little polishing and you’ll be plenty shiny. As for your personal skills…” the younger male shrugged, the gesture a bit lost in the spongy mattress. Trust Niku to sleep on utter fluff. Another grin threatened so Addie settled his hand again to the cigarette after poking Phe’s shoulder blade once more, hoping to hide the expression at least until his voice would give it away. “Well, I like you, and I hate everyone.” And he almost laughed, the sound restricted to a small hum in his throat that anyone in their merry little band would have recognized easily enough. “Kir doesn’t wanna murder you in horribly creative ways, either, so that almost makes you Mister Universe.”
This was what unraveled Addie after the tension of a show and afterparty. And a show-and-afterparty revved Niku. It was easier to breathe with people he knew were beyond judging him too severely. People he knew would forgive him when he inevitably pouted and whined and cursed and acted like an intolerable little bitch. He fell quiet again when Phe resumed his playing, nursing the cigarette in respectful silence. After another minute Pheia spoke again, twisting to give Adrael a small smirk that should have been warning to remove smoldering objects from one’s face.
As it was, Addie choked on his cigarette at the insinuation, however glib, that he might someday develop feelings for Niku. He propped himself up onto an elbow again, coughing and blushing and pinching the tip of his cigarette to put it out before turning wide eyes at his friend. Lacking appropriate counter-ammunition- and still mentally blanching a bit at the very idea- he settled for raising an eyebrow in disbelief. Before falling melodramatically back onto the bed he kicked his friends nearest leg in childish retribution, mindful of the guitar but unwilling to let the barb go unpunished. Mulitcolored bangs fluttered momentarily when Addie puffed out a sigh. “Paradise, right.” He lent the latter word the same affliction Phe had granted it earlier, frowning a bit when the other rubbed at his offended forehead. That was cheap, Phe was trying to make him feel like he was being the bad guy here. Jerk.
His eyes rolled towards the ceiling again, arching his back up and slipping a hand beneath to retrieve the lighter. Shifting it gracefully in his fingers to the proper position he easily flipped it open and struck the flint, holding up the little flame towards his friend’s unlit cigarette as he sprawled on the bed. Cerulean eyes were innocently wide. “Besides, Phe,” he managed to keep his expression and tone utterly candid this time, not even needing to make a subtle shift to hide behind a hand or his hair. “You know I only have eyes for you.”
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Post by Hawk on Dec 6, 2010 0:11:49 GMT -6
A comment like that coming from Addie, of all people, made Phe falter for a minute, cigarette half-fumbling its way out of his fingers before he managed to get a hold on it once again. Burned himself a bit in the process too, but hell if he was going to admit that. The blush threatening to rise on his cheeks was embarrassing enough. Just because he knew it was a joke didn't mean he was entirely immune to teasing. Much as he preferred everyone think he was.
After taking in the couple breaths necessary to get the cigarette lit, he took a moment to lift the guitar off his shoulder and set it down and off the bed. A convenient way to hide said embarrassment. Smoke was supposedly bad for the instrument, after all. Grabbing back his lighter and slipping it back into his pocket, he finally spoke. "So you're going all Niku on me now, huh?"
A few slow pulls of smoke had him leveling out once again, though. And with a level head came thoughts of retaliation. Bringing his gaze back up to meet Drae's, he tilted his head in mock-thoughtfulness as he repositioned himself at the end of the bed. "Well, then I guess my next line would be, what...?" Leaning back against the wall and re-crossing his legs, he let out a slow stream of smoke as he murmured, with as much seriousness as he could muster for the occasion, "Oh Adrael, you sexy dreamboat of a man, take me now."
Taking another long pull from the cigarette to cover the laugh threatening to work its way out of his throat, he managed to restrain it into just the smallest of grins as he amended, "Or I guess it'd be more 'dream-life-raft of a man', given, you know..." Raising his hands, he leveled them one over the other, palms in, and then brought them slowly closer together in an obvious 'you're friggin small' gesture.
Belatedly noticing the ash about to fall off the tip of his cigarette, he abandoned his gesturing in favor of quickly sitting back up and sidling to the edge of the bed. Leaving ash all over beds didn't exactly make for great band relations. Making a fast grab for the ashtray carefully stashed away near the head of his own bunk - an item he'd obtained via the five-finger discount at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant a few years back - he tapped his cig against it a couple times, then brought it back along with him as he sat back down on the bed. A few seconds of thoughtful silence had him adding, chuckle already threatening to overtake his words, "And, what with your...'experience' and all, it'd probably have to be more, 'Be taken now,' huh?"
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Post by ElliBleu on Dec 7, 2010 20:39:07 GMT -6
[Kind of a weak post, srry, nee-san.]
All the bravado Addie had worked up splintered at Phe’s immaculate comeback, his wide-eyed stare inching from playful, innocent sincerity to mortified embarrassment. The shock turned to a sulky pout at the attack on his petite stature, turning his face away and half into the blankets in an effort to hide his blush. He was really quite ready for everyone- bandmates, fans, reporters, everyone- to give up on pointing it out. Addie was short. He was skinny- probably unhealthily so. Little, tiny, shrimpy, pick your adjective, he’d heard it before. Repeatedly.
He felt Phe moving on the bed, trying to fight back the blush in the momentary silence as his friend flicked his cigarette into an ashtray. Later he might laugh at this whole… altercation. It was great, really, he had actually been having fun. In a healthy way. But he’d dug himself in a bit too deep, and couldn’t quite figure out a way to haul himself back up out of this crater of awkward. Sex jokes. About sex with Phe. With Phe.
Kicking his legs to swing himself up into sitting, Addie fixed Phe a less-than-threatening glare through his messy bangs. ”Dreamboat, are you serious?” Crossing his arms to hug himself only made Addie look smaller, hunching his shoulders and retreating further behind his hair while he considered a reply. He had opened his mouth to say something- even just a lame shut up, anything really- when Phe added one last comment.
An entirely necessary, thoroughly mortifying comment. Even from his best friend. Especially from his best friend?
So he froze, being the most obvious choice of reaction, and felt his cheeks burn. All the way up to the tips of his ears. Several long seconds passed with Addie doing nothing but staring stupidly at an obviously smug Phe, spluttering incoherently when he had to remember to breathe. Getting his feet beneath him, Addie jumped across to the head of the bed, curled his fingers into one of Niku’s pillows and swung it at Phe’s back. “Sh-shut up! W-what would you know about m-my ’experience’?!” A rather unhelpful little voice in his head felt the need to chime in with a ‘or lack thereof’, but Adrael chose to drown it out by swinging the pillow again into Phe. “You’re n-not taking me anywhere, jerk.”
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Post by Hawk on Dec 8, 2010 1:04:41 GMT -6
The sputtering silence was what finally made Phe let loose the few silent laughs he'd been holding in. Nothing like a well-crafted revenge. The pillow slamming into his back only punctuated the laughter, and he raised his arms to defend himself even as the chuckles continued to stream out of him. "H-hey, hey...!" They were of little help as the pillow smacked into him again. Adrael may've been small, but he had one hell of a good swing when you got him worked up.
Reaching out, he got a hand of his own on the pillow and proceeded to give it a good tug, trying to wrestle it out of the other's grip. "Either give up the weapon, or I'm grabbing one of my own and taking you down. And you know I can." At least, he figured he could. He'd pretty much never come to all-out blows with his best friend, but the number of times in high school where he'd thrown a punch so Drae didn't have to made him think he'd come out on top if they did. Keeping his grip tight, he lifted a leg up onto the bed so he could turn to face Adrael more directly. "Pretty sure you started it anyway. Asshole."
Unable to wipe the smug grin off his face - and lacking any interest in doing so anyway - he took a moment to take one more long drag from the cigarette still dangling in his free hand, then stubbed it out into the ashtray. As he slipped both onto the nearest flat surface, he couldn't resist adding, "Oh, and by the way, you should know I'm resisting the urge to reply with any number of embarrassing comebacks. Just for you." He gave it a few more seconds before adding on a casual, "You know, since you're such a prude."
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Post by ElliBleu on Jan 28, 2011 14:23:56 GMT -6
The threatening tug on his weapon of choice only made Addie growl quietly as he let Phe pull it away, half-glaring at the bedsheets and trying to will his blush into vanishing. He’d never been much for confrontation of any sort, anyways. Least of all with one of the few people he loved, admittedly or not. With a small exasperated huff Addie again flung himself back to lie on the bed, twisting away from his friend onto his side and pulling his knees up to his chest. Not pouting. “You’re the asshole, asshole.” A few silent moments later and Adrael’s cheeks had stopped burning enough for him to uncurl and flick the hair from his eyes, settling more comfortably into the bed and idly watching Phe.
“Just for me, I’m so sure. Because you’d just love to keep flirting with me otherwise, but you’re so chivalrous that just for my sake you’re holding back. I’m so convinced, thanks, Phe.” He smiled, almost laughing, moving enough to again shove Phe with a foot before his expression could be noticed and taken advantage of. Addie really didn’t want to hear those alleged comebacks, swagger aside, and didn’t need Phe to take that grin as encouragement. He was usually kinder than Niku in the teasing, but better not to take any chances with the way tonight was apparently shaping up. Knowing Phe as long as he had made them both rather keen at hitting the other in just the right way to elicit a reaction. Positive or negative.
Restlessly he sat up again, threading his fingers into his hair and making a lame attempt to fix the multicolored tresses back into some semblance of order. “Jeez, Phe, I have to be a prude, look at who we hang around with." He paused in his hair ministrations, one hand automatically falling to pull his little purple phone from his pocket when it started buzzing again. The screen cheerfully displayed in bright bold letters that he had 6 messages and two missed calls, complete with two voicemails. He only needed to read one of the texts- something oh-so-professionally vague and unobtrusive from Kirin- slipping the phone back into his pocket and glancing out the window towards the hotel. With a blink he turned back to Phe, sliding his hand backwards through his hair and effectively undoing any of the fixing he’d been attempting. “Here, out, or up to the room? Or d’you want to be left back to your solo-party I crashed?”
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Post by Hawk on May 23, 2011 16:18:09 GMT -6
[[Yeah, so. About that weird. Addie isn't the only one bandverse!weird, apparently. >w>;]]
Phe tried, really did, to restrain the laughter that ended up bubbling up out of him nonetheless at Adrael's seemingly naive question. Probably actually meant in an innocuous way too, considering the person who posed it. Regardless, it took him at least a handful of seconds to rein in his amusement.
"You did that intentionally, right? Please tell me you did that intentionally." Except the priceless part was that Pheia already knew he didn't. Really, it amazed Phe that even though they grew up together, Adrael still managed to stay so damn innocent in some ways. Amazed him, and amused him to no end sometimes.
If it were anyone else, maybe Belial or Laeli, he might've cracked a joke about the possible exhibitionist opportunities presented by the 'out' option, or perhaps that 'parties' were always better as duets than solos. As it was, he was tempted to anyway. Wondered whether Addie would be embarrassed into silence, or if he would lash out good-naturedly to get him to shut-up, or maybe even toss a joke back. Maybe some mixture. Years of friendship, and it was still so hard to tell sometimes.
But, they'd both developed a good, strong ability to read each other's moods through the years upon years, and he just knew - without even being able to say how - that if he pushed the sexual part of the innuendo just a little more right now, there was at least a fifty percent chance he'd end up pushing Drae off the ledge that they both spent most of their time balancing carefully on. That ledge between 'okay' and 'not-okay'. And the answer to Phe's curiosity wasn't worth losing this, this closest-they-came-to-peace that for some reason existed between them in this moment.
So instead of pushing the point, he kicked his foot out lightly in a belated return volley to Adrael's foot that had come into contact with his leg twice in as many minutes. "'Chivalrous', huh? Don't think I missed that. Nice word there, Princess." His teasing tone had lightened, lacking the intensity it'd had while throwing around his other jabs. Hearing the word directed at himself, even sarcastically, was undeniably weird. Chivalry wasn't equated to people who sat in tour buses in the early morning hours of the morning, sneaking hits off cigarettes while tossing barbs of innuendo back and forth. It also wasn't a word that you generally expected a rock star to use.
"Remind me to send the next knight in shining armor I see trotting by in your general direction. I'll tell him you're the one hiding under the blankets of one of the bunks, sneaking romance novels to add words like 'chivalrous' to your vocabulary before swooning yourself to sleep. Like a girl." As if in pantomime of his words, he let out an exaggerated sigh and then let himself fall back to lay on the bed, even going so far as to raise a hand to his forehead in a decidedly feminine manner.
As he peeked between the fingers of his overdramatic gesture to grin over at Adrael, in some corner of his mind it registered that his unrestrained behavior tonight was just plain odd, even for him. He must be punchy from lack of sleep, he thought. Or maybe too much caffeine. Regardless, he could feel himself flushing just the slightest bit as the realization of his hormonal-teenager-like behavior hit him. He redirected his gaze to the ceiling and let out a quiet groan. "God help me. I think I'm turning into Niku. This bed must be contagious."
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Post by ElliBleu on Jun 30, 2011 22:46:02 GMT -6
As he was oh-so-prone to do, Adrael blushed, shoving himself off the bed and moving half a dozen steps away before turning around with every intention of glaring at his friend. The expression faded before he’d even completed the turn, replaced by something halfway between pleading and hopeful as he crossed his arms over his ribs. “You can’t say that around Niku. Please. He’ll never stop calling me Princess and I’ll be finding sleezy Harlequins on my bed and peas under my mattress for the rest of my life.”
He blinked blue eyes at Phe a few times, tightening his fingers against his sides before stepping forward purposefully, a smile starting across his face. The small space to the bed was re-crossed quickly, the petite drummer unwinding his arms and grabbing onto Phe’s legs. Sneakers squeaked on the floor when Addie braced himself to pull, not enough to topple Phe off the bed but succeeding at least in lurching him forward abruptly. “If the bed’s gonna make you call me Princess soon you’ll be telling me how adorable I am and trying to dress me before the night’s out.” Smiling openly now, Addie successfully tossed his bangs out of his face for all of a few seconds, tugging at Phe again.
It was nice to smile, to forget about the stresses- everything from the insignificant minutiae of the everyday to the unending, unspoken scars- for a while. Both hands circled around one of Phe’s ankles, Addie giving another impatient tug. “Off the bed, we’ll find something to do somewhere else.” Having some sort of direction- even only something as vague as somewhere- had the smaller male climbing towards cheerful. One last insistent pull at Phe’s foot and Addie again stepped away, setting a foot carefully onto the bunk below his to give him enough reach to pull a hoodie from his bunk. Down and back up across the aisle had him fishing one of Phe’s out from his bed, throwing it to his friend when he had feet on the floor once more.
“I’m deciding for you, so c’mon. Probably for the best, since with our combined luck Niku will be walking in any moment. And promptly begin spamming every available outlet with how he had both of us in his bed. At the same time.”
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Post by Hawk on May 26, 2012 0:01:42 GMT -6
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The first pull at his ankles was pretty weak, but a second and third had him teetering precariously on the edge of the bed. He made a not-so-serious attempt at swatting the hands that were trying to disconnect his foot from the rest of his body as he said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm upping and at-'em-ing..."
A moment of consideration, and he felt compelled to add, "And, you know, I dress you half the time anyway. Hell, I'm pretty sure I've helped you out in supposed 'fashion emergencies' where you can't choose between chartreuse and maroon than I have in actual emergencies. Which is saying something, considering-"
A hoodie to the face stifled further commentary. What were friends for, if not to pretend to ignore you and then hit you with stuff, Phe thought to himself as a smirk tugged on the corner of his lips. Some things never changed. He slipped his hands into the arms of the hoodie, then made a vague, dismissive gesture at Drae's words.
"I'd like to see him try. I'm pretty sure Band Manager Extraordinaire has some auto-block on just about everything Niku releases into the world that isn't directly related to the music." And he really did, too. Phe'd seen Niku trying to post pictures of the band before, only to search for them later and come up with absolutely nothing. "He's, like, a secret internet gatekeeper or something. Fucking creepy, but convenient as hell."
Dismissing talk of Niku with a shake of his head, he stood up and stretched out. Picked up his guitar and threw it up onto his bed, because - much as he knew nobody would do anything to it on purpose - hell if he trusted Niku not to do some kamikaze dive or something onto his bed that would leave his guitar in many, many pieces. Then he turned back to Adrael.
"So, designated decider. Where to?"
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Post by ElliBleu on Jul 4, 2012 19:39:25 GMT -6
Soon as Phe committed to moving Addie ducked into his own sweatshirt, lifting the hood up over his hair and zipping it halfway. A brief pocket-check confirmed his phone, wallet, and cigarettes and he set off the tight hallway towards the door, walking backwards to make sure his friend was indeed going to follow. “Dunno, somewhere quiet,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and lifting a hand to try and hide more of his hair under the hood.
He shouldered the door open and jumped to the curb, taking a few steps to one side to give Phe room to exit. As he waited for his friend, Addie pulled the phone from his pocket and shot off a reply to Kir, a vague just-so-you-know that he and Phe’d be gone. It was best not to drop off the radar on Kir’s watch. Their manager didn’t expect to know where they were at all times, but if you were going to disappear or not be around come morning, it was a hell of a lot safer to let the deceptively calm blonde know.
He was tucking the phone away when Phe joined him outside, and Addie flashed him a brief smile at the prospect of just being gone for a bit. Looking up and down the street didn’t reveal too many options, just a bit too far from downtown to be bustling this late at night. A couple bars, a convenience store, a laundromat.
He was almost ready to brand the expedition a failure when Addie made a small noise in his throat, knowing Phe’d recognize it as a question, and lifted a hand to point across the street and down several blocks. Peeking out from behind a darkened real estate office was a neon sign flashing a bright yellow and orange ‘24 Carrot Diner’ that, pun seemingly intended, was open 24-hours.
“Hungry? I’ll buy,” he said, again setting off backwards to watch Phe, trying to keep from grinning too wide. “Since I know you’re one of those poor musician types.”
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Post by Hawk on Feb 18, 2013 19:25:44 GMT -6
"Careful, we were poor musician types once. And I have the phantom hunger pangs and scarring memories of cockroaches the size of my hand to prove it." There were many things that Phe missed about their formerly lukewarm musical career - like their relative anonymity, and the lack of exhausting concert tours that went on until the end of time. But he also relished other benefits, like the ability to afford a place to live that wasn't the size of a cardboard box, sterile white, and infested with bugs. Just the thought of that particular nightmare of a rental made him shudder as he added, "God, I do not miss those days."
Belatedly realizing he was being left in the dust as the other retreated, Phe took a couple quick jog-steps to catch up. Smirking, he said as he went, "Besides, better to be a poor musician type than a showy musician type. You know, with raccoon eyes and florescent hair." As an added emphasis to the last couple words, Phe reached over as he passed and grabbed the edge of Drae's hood, then tugged hard, pulling it down to cover not just the man's hair, but also the majority of his face. It'd always amused Phe how much work Adrael went through to get his hair just so, only to have to go through even more work to cover it up whenever they went anywhere. Not that Phe was itching for him to change it, since it'd become of what defined Drae, along with his offbeat humor and predilection for late nights and little-to-no company, and any one of the five thousand other things that Phe associated with his best friend. But that didn't mean he didn't reserve the right to still tease him about it.
However, the repetitive nature of the teasing didn't in any way protect him from potential backlash, so he followed the tug with a few quick jogs to place a fair number of feet between them. Not that it would necessarily save him, but it would mean the drummer would have a few extra seconds to second-guess whether retaliation was worth it.
When no revenge was immediately forthcoming, Phe pulled the his box of Reds from his pocket and tapped a couple cigs out of the box. No walk outside was complete without a smoke, in his opinion. And besides, nothing said I-apologize-but-not-really like the gift of a cigarette you probably owed someone for one they'd given you in the past anyway. Grinning at the thought, he slipped the two between his lips, he exchanged the box with his lighter, and raised the lit flame to sit right below and between the pair. A couple simultaneous puffs and they were both lit. Holding his own firmly in place with his teeth, he took the other in a loose grip between a couple fingers and held it over his shoulder in silent offering.
Pausing to let Drae catch up, he took his first actual look at their destination from his vantage point just a couple blocks away. Painful puns aside, the neon lights that were working their way towards burnt out, solid glass storefront, and plastic-and-metal furniture visible through said glass marked it as one of two potential options. Either it would be a great dive of a place that serves deliciously unhealthy food at a usually-impossible-to-find price, or it would be one of those places where you walk away feeling you've contracted a disease just by glancing at any food in the building. After taking a long, thoughtful drag from his own cigarette, he lifted it from his lips with his free hand and said over his shoulder,"Full disclosure: If we come down with some sort of debilitating case of food poisoning, I'm definitely putting the blame on you when Kir comes calling."
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