9 1.8

Stepping up into the stage, Angelo cleared his throat Nd the attention all spun to him. Then to the girl next to him, and then back to Angelo.

"Hello everyone," he said. "Today, you're in for a little treat. This is Lulu Kerrin, a violinist. She and I, today, are going to have a little battle. We will be playing the violin-" here he held up the sleek, wooden instrument in his hand "-and playing the song 'Forget Your Envies and Face the Lotus River' by Jin Huai."

A collective murmur spread throughout the room. The song 'Forget Your Envies and Face the Lotus River' was a masterpiece by the famous violin composer: Jin Huai. Personally, Angelo had never even heard of this man, and it turned out he had a solid reason. 'Jin Huai' only existed in this world, as did the various songs he composed. Forget Your Envies and Face the Lotus River was seen as Jin Huai's masterpiece, and acknowledged as the hardest violin solo.

However, Angelo wasn't worried. He hadn't been considered a genius in his past life for nothing. After a quick look through the music, a quick rehearsal in disguise of tuning his instrument, and he was fairly confident he could pull it off. Lulu had put him in charge of turning the pages, (a cheap move on her part), and Angelo was certain she was one of those bitches Kori kept telling him stories about. He smiled at his thought as he readied the stand and nodded towards Lulu.

The cafe was silent, a few people began recording the show and everyone held their breaths. The song began.

Immediately, Lulu set off at an amazing pace, startling Angelo momentarily.

Oh... it looks like she does have some skill under that confidence, he thought amusedly.

But then Angelo was playing and Lulu's eyes widened, before narrowing and playing at an even fiercer pace. The notes dived and leaped, twisted and screamed and writhed as the two players coaxed sounds from the heavens.

To the audience though, there was a clear difference between the two sounds. Oh, the skill was nearly on par with each other, oh that was true. But skill alone would get you nowhere on the journey through music.

Lulu's music, though good, was too perfect. There was a sense of stiffness and harshness behind the playing; as if she were dragging out the notes from its hiding place. The notes she played soared and dipped, but it was mechanical, as if it was expected of the music to be perfect, to be amazing on a single try. It was cold and mechanical, sending a chill down your spine as a key wound you up to dance. Cold, but perfect. Perfect, but cold. Simply existing, unable to make a difference. The music failed to let the audience see. To let them peek into another world as the music went round and round, but arrived nowhere.

Angelo's music though, it SCREAMED. It screamed of pain and envy and longing, of broken promises and sitting in a too-big silence as everyone departed. It mourned and wailed, the notes being coaxed out by curiosity rather than him intentionally bringing them out. As he played, the audience could practically see the river full of lotus flowers as it frosted over. Could see a smiling face vanish into smoke. The music spoke of a silent scream, of quiet tears and a whispered, but broken, promise. Apologies too late. Forgiveness a mere dream. Weaving a story and a portal, making them stare and listen intently.

Both songs were beautiful, but the difference between them as clear as day and night. And this, Lulu could tell as well. She felt frustration building up in her chest, threatening to spill over into her music as she struggled to control it. She hissed quietly as she missed a note and hurried to catch up with Angelo. The end of the page was nearly coming up and-

Angelo continued playing. Lulu's eyes widened in panic as she hurriedly flipped to the next page and began to play again. Angelo didn't seem to have noticed, hell, he even had his eyes closed! Hadn't he said he was an average violinist?! So what the hell was going on?! This was what the man considered 'average'? Did that mean, to him she, Lulu Jenkins was merely average!?

But if this was what he considered average, then...

A chill shot down Lulu's spine, making her stumble over a note, which she quickly covered up. She swallowed nervously, glancing at the wintery angel. If this was what Angelo di Inverno considered average, then what was 'exceptional' to him?

The song ended, and Angelo lowered his instrument. His fingers bled slightly; the red seeping down the violin and dripping onto the floor. The Female Lead's hands were hardly any better. Angelo smiled, his eyes curving a little, yet somehow remaining cold. It looked like the Female Lead was a little bit better than he'd expected. To earn the title as 'average' in Angelo's books was quite the achievement indeed.

-[the stars incline us, they do not bind us]-

In the end, they ended up hiring the Female Lead. She would take the remaining five days of the week, in accordance to her wishes. Angelo didn't mind. He unmuted Kori, who went on yelling.

{"How could you do that to me, Host?! You're so mean! I hate you, Host!"} it wailed.

{"Aha, I'm sorry. I had to concentrate. Come on, don't be mad, I'll let you play on the PlayStation, yeah?"} Angelo coaxed.

{"...fine. Wait, Host! Male Lead coming up behind you!"}

A hand landed on Angelo's shoulder and he stiffened, whirling around. His eyes widened. This... wasn't this guy from the shop?! He was the Male Lead!?

{"Ah shit. Kori-chan, the Male Lead wouldn't happen to be interested in the Female Lead yet, right? They're just acquaintances, right?!"}

{[*BEEP* System 22 has been called in for repairs. Approximate time remaining till repairs have been fixed ....1 Week: 3 Days: 19 Hours: 53 Minutes: 14 Seconds]}

{"Fucking hell!" (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻}

Outwardly though, Angelo smiled. "Ah! You're Mr. 'Just-an-employee'! Fancy seeing you here! Did you need something from me?"

The Male Lead hummed, looking Angelo over. And then he slipped his hand into his suit and withdrew a card. He held it out towards Angelo, who blinked. The Male Lead, who Angelo had MET ONLY TWO DAYS BEFORE, sighed and grabbed Angelo's hand. He started to place the card into Angelo's hand, only to stop and frown.

"Uh, hey, man, what are you doing? Hey? Is anyone in that head of yours?" Angelo asked, his voice joking, but inwardly screaming. Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill- what the fuck is going on.

"You're injured."

"Uh... yeah... it happens sometimes. String instruments can cut you and mess your fingers up a little. It's been a while since I played the violin so- woah! Hey!"

Angelo's arm jerked as a warm, wet tongue licked the tips of his fingers. "That's unneeded!" he squeaked loudly. "Really! That's- hey!"

Angelo gave a yelp as the fucking Male Lead nibbled gently at the wounds, making the cuts bleed again. Finally, Angelo had the bright idea of closing his hand into a fist, stopping the CEO from licking any further.

Blaze Jeneses frowned, and then licked a strip across Angelo's wrist.

"I think that's enough!" Angelo yelled, using his free hand to push the other away and cradling the harassed hand to his chest.

Blaze looked at him, then slipped the card still in his into Angelo's fucking pants pocket, before walking away as if nothing had happened.

Angelo's face burned red, and he whipped out the card and after a moment of hesitation, stuffed it into his jacket and got onto his motorbike. God. Something was wrong with that guy.