As Time Goes By

Disclaimer: I am a poor, struggling college student and cannot afford a lawsuit on my hands. All credit goes to the creator of Gravitation: Maki Murakai for the original characters of the show. All OC's not related to Gravitation are copyrighted to myself seeing as how they are, in fact, my own creation. Any similarities to other characters/people, real life or fictional, is completely coincidental. Also, the lyrics used in this chapter are credited to OneRepublic. I used the song "Everybody Loves Me" specifically for this chapter as a song that Shuichi "wrote," but that is not the case. But the lyrics are something I see Shuichi writing. However, when I write the lyrics for his actual song that he does in Japanese, those will be my own original lyrics that I have him writing. XD Anyway, enjoy!

(Note: Dialogue key:)

-In English or languages familiar to both speakers.

-Character thoughts/recalling of memories

- xSudden switch of languagex

Chapter 9

Everybody Loves Me

"Uh…Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"…how many times has Christian been opening and closing his cell?" asked Russell as he closed the cap on his bottle of water.

"I'd say about ten—no, now eleven times."

Christian stood from his stool, guitar slung casually against his hip as he ran a hand through his blonde and red streaked hair. Biting his lower lip in thought, he opened and shut his cell once more before whirling on his heels and pressing the palms of his hands against his forehead. Why was this so complicated? It was just one phone call!

"Chris."

Falter's lead guitarist turned to face James as he entered through the studio door. James propped his bass against the wall by the booth's door. A gentle smirk played on his lips as he watched Christian; shaking his head as he quirked a brow at him. "Just call her, dammit," James said, placing a gentle smack on Chris's shoulder. "It won't kill you if she says no or yes."

Christian frowned, brows furrowing as he shoved his phone into his pocket. "Let's get back to practice."

Benny pointed his drumstick toward the ceiling. "News flash, genius. Ken isn't exactly present in case you missed that little detail."

The guitarist ignored the drummer and began to strum some chords on his guitar anyway. "That doesn't mean we still can't practice. So get your asses in gear!"

Suddenly the door to the studio burst open and in came a practically breathless Ken Davis. His blonde and black hair clung to his forehead as the sweat was viewable even from the members of the group on stage. Once he'd caught his breath, he saluted to the guys and they all greeted him accordingly. Russell tossed their lead singer a bottle of water and Kenneth gratefully twisted the cap off and drained half the bottle in four long gulps.

After he'd gotten his second wind did he finally look up at the group with apologies encompassing his amethyst eyes. "Man guys, I am so sorry for running late!"

James shook his head back and forth, laughing lightly as he ran his fingers through his bangs. "It's all right, Ken," he reassured, smirking as he strapped his bass to him and plucked around on the thick strings. "Besides, Chris has been fighting with the decision of whether to call Maya or not."

Kenneth looked at the crimson-streaked blonde and quipped his brow curiously at the lead guitarist. "Call her? For what, Chris?"

Christian angrily popped a cigarette into his mouth and flicked open his lighter. "It's nothing, Ken," he said, eyes closed but brows furrowed in annoyance. "Let's drop it, hm?"

Russell groaned in exasperation. "For fuck's sake, Chris, just pick up the freakin' phone and call her already! Then maybe, just maybe, we can get on with practice." He received curious glances from everyone – all but Christian – and he gently squeezed the bridge of his nose to alleviate a slowly forming headache pressure from building.

"Why don't you invite her out to our gig tomorrow?" inquired Benny as he twirled one of his drumsticks in his hand.

"Yeah, that's a great idea Benny!" chimed in Ken as he turned to look at Christian whose jade eyes were slowly forming into an expression that clearly was questioning all of their sanities. "I mean, I was going to invite her to come out anyway, but I decided not to in case I royally fucked up on stage." The others laughed while Chris let his frown form into a soft smirk. "C'mon, Chris. You're a good guy and I know that you and Maya would get along great! She needs a nice guy like you in her life after all the shit she's been through."

The guitarist let the smoke billow out of his mouth as some of his bangs fell to cover one of his eyes. "Are you sure you're all right with it, Ken?"

"Tch," scoffed Ken, winking at the male. "Come on, Chris. You know how much I love Maya. Would I really tell you to take her out if I wasn't okay with it?" He finished off the remainder of his water and lit a smoke soon after, taking a well-needed drag. "I may like you, but I'm not a fuckin' tool, man."

Christian scoffed back while pulling out his cell phone from his back pocket. "All right then," he said, scrolling through the phone and dialing for Maya's mobile. A few short rings and she finally answered on the other end. "Hey Maya, it's Christian…what's up with you? … Nothing? Well that sounds boring. … not much going on here, we're taking a break from rehearsal right now." He listened to her on the other end and laughed as he looked at Kenneth. "No, he got here on time. Thanks for tossin' his ass out the house to make it out here." Ken stuck his tongue out at the guitarist and proceeded to make his way toward Russell and James to go over some sheet music he'd been playing around on. Benny signaled that he was going to the restroom and began 'drumming' the tips of his sticks on against his shoulders. "Say, Maya? What're you doing tomorrow? The guys and I are having our first gig tomorrow night as a new group and I was wondering if you'd like to come out and support us? Maybe I could take you out afterwards and hang out? … You would? That's great. Well, Ken knows where the place is at so I guess you can catch a ride with him. … All right then, sounds like a plan. … See ya."

As he closed the phone, Christian stared at the object in his hand – not really seeing it. A grin began to form on his face slowly and he was soon lost in his own thoughts. After what felt like only two or three minutes, Chris noticed that the room was strangely quieter than it had been while he was on the phone. Looking around, he saw the three males looking at him with wide eyes which, after he'd made eye contact, transformed into gazes of mischief. Soon a chorus of "Ooo's" left their lips and the guitarist promptly flipped them off.

"Hardy fucking har, guys," he said, jade eyes narrowing as Benny came back from the restroom. "Let's get on with practice lest we all look like a bunch of dumbasses on stage tomorrow."

---

Yuki bit back the urge to swear violently, restraining himself from tossing his laptop out the window of his apartment. It had been three days since he'd slept with Shuichi that night and aside from attending practices that were held at the studio, he'd not been in contact with his lover before then. Time and time again he'd tried to contact Shuichi through text messages or phone calls, but the younger male was doing his damndest to keep his distance from him. The novelist couldn't help but wonder if he'd been played the fool by the former simple-minded Shuichi Shindou.

It aggravated him to no end.

"Damn that Shuichi." Lighting a cigarette in an attempt to calm his nerves, Yuki had barely registered that his cell phone was going off. Without bothering to look at the caller ID, he answered the phone angrily as smoke billowed from his mouth and nostrils. "Eiri Yuki speaking."

"xHello Eiri-san.x"

"Tohma?" he asked, taking another drag and flicking the ash into the tray nearby. "What is it now, Tohma?" Pausing, he closed his amber eyes for a moment. "And if this is about telling me to come back to Japan, forget it. I'm not coming back without Shuichi."

Tohma sighed on the other end of the line. "You truly are relentless about this issue with Shindou-san, aren't you?" There was some noise in the background, like the shuffling of feet, before Yuki heard a door close quietly. "Eiri-san, you do know that just because you slept with Shindou-san after all these years doesn't mean things have resolved themselves? Has his behavior toward you changed at all?"

"…" Yuki's blonde brows furrowed in annoyance.

Another sigh soon followed. "As I suspected."

"Shut it, Tohma," muttered Yuki as he smothered the cherry of his smoke into the base of the ashtray. "I'll be seeing Shuichi tonight at Falter's performance for his debut. Have no doubt, Shuichi will be coming back with me to Japan or so help me."

"I don't see why you're trying to reassure me of his return to Japan. K, Fujisaki and Hiro are the ones who are having to force their careers to a momentary halt because of Shindou-san's absence, not me." The novelist felt his brow twitch at the indifference laced through Tohma's words. "I implore you, Eiri-san…let Shindou-san be. If not for his sake, do it for yours."

Not bothering with bidding the male farewell, Yuki shut his cell closed and tossed it carelessly on his desk. Staring at his computer, he noticed that the screen saver was active and soon a slideshow commenced. Slowly pictures of Shuichi began to appear across the screen – some with Yuki in the shot. But most of them were all of Shuichi either on stage performing, sleeping, eating ice cream, or even caught on camera in a drunken stupor with the other members of Bad Luck. Leaning forward, Yuki let his fingers gently caress the screen just as a close-up of Shuichi popped up. The child-like gleam in his amethyst eyes seemed like such a distant memory that Yuki couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever see those eyes ever again.

---

"Maya! Maya over here!"

Maya looked through the throng of people that had come to see Falter perform downtown. Her raven hair was pulled back into a low ponytail off to the side, her bangs free and falling about her cheeks. Hazel eyes attempted to see where the voice as calling from, but because of all the noise and activity around her, she had a hard time discerning not only where the voice was coming from, but who was calling out for her in the first place.

"Where are you?" she called out, pushing her way through a group of scantily clad fan girls while her eyes continued to move in every direction to find the person summoning her.

"Over here! Look over their heads."

Maya stood on her tip toes, her Chucks scraping along the concrete as she strained her neck to see some movement that stood out from the crowd. Pulling her white bolero jacket closer toward her body as a chill wind pushed against her, she noted that there was a hand waving frantically at her. Seeing the jet mop of hair just above a group of people, she sighed in relief to know that it was Benny trying to get her attention. The others must have talked the drummer into going out into the midst of that madness to go meet her. Smiling and shaking her head, Maya pushed her way carefully through the audience and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Benny grinning playfully at her.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she pulled at the hem of her burgundy baby rocker-t before shoving her hands into the pockets of her dark blue jeans. "This crowd is wild!" she said in mid-laughter.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Benny said, scratching at the side of his nose before dabbing at his forehead with his black cotton wristband. He wore a simple black and white t-shirt with HIM's heartagram across the front, a pin-striped vest worn over the shirt. Faded gray jeans ripped at one of the knees adorned his lower half and while one of the pant legs were rolled up to the knee, the other lay like it was supposed to be worn – black and white checkered sliders decorating Benny's feet. "I told Ken to tell you to come while we were getting set up so you could avoid this nightmare, but he insisted that you would be bored during set-up and wanted to surprise you as well."

Maya laughed, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Well, I doubt I would have been bored, but I definitely am glad that the surprise wasn't spoiled for me. How long before you guys are on?"

Reaching for his hand as he offered it for her, Benny lead her toward the side of the stage where it was less noisy and a bit more private. "Give it another thirty minutes, give or take."

"Well, don't you need to go so you can prepare?"

"Yeah, probably. I was just sent out here to make sure you made it all right." Benny paused, his ebony hair falling over one of his pale blue eyes. "Anyway, I should be heading back. You're going to be fine out here on your own right?"

She nodded, hazel eyes sparkling with excitement. "Of course! You guys have a great show and I'll be cheering for you all the way!"

Smiling, Benny bid his farewell to Maya and took off toward where she assumed the others were getting their last minute bits of practice in. Turning as a few of the fans of Falter began to grill her on what her relation was with the group, how she knew them, so on and so forth, Maya felt an invisible sweat drop form over her head after finally being "freed" when the girls deemed that she had no sort of intimate relationship with Falter's drummer. She was able to escape, grateful for the reprieve, and she looked at the stage – feeling the smile tug at her lips once more as she anticipated the boys' performance.

"I see you decided to come out for the show, Miss Kinsburrow," came the rich, baritone voice from behind her.

Whirling her head around, her hazel eyes looked up only to be stared down at by the piercing amber orbs that belonged to Eiri Yuki. His blonde bangs brushed up against his forehead gently as another soft breeze passed through the air. He wore a rich, plumb dress shirt – the buttons undone just below the collar bone – and a black tie pulled loose. An equally jet blazer was worn over the shirt, serving as an accent for the color's boldness. The shirt was tucked into a pair of simple black slacks, a black leather belt with a silver buckle shining in the light while black dress shoes polished to perfection adorned his feet. From head to toe, Eiri Yuki was quite the sight to behold and the gentle whisperings and slightly muffled squeals of girls nearby was proof of that alone.

Maya felt her smile fall as it was instantly replaced with a frown. "And why wouldn't I come out, Mr. Yuki?" she replied, eyes narrowing slightly. "Shuichi is my closest and dearest friend. It would be an insult not to come." Turning away from him, she let her hands rest at her side but felt her thumb playing with the silver fidget ring on her right hand. Biting her lower lip, Maya silently prayed that Eiri Yuki would leave her alone for the rest of the evening – that he would either go away or watch the concert from behind her in companionable silence.

She heard him moving around behind her and, from the sound of it, fiddling with a pack of cigarettes. A few seconds later, Maya heard the soft click of the lighter, as well as the fizzle of the smoke's end, before the next words out of Yuki's mouth nearly caused her to fall over. "One way or another, Shuichi is returning to Japan with me." Slowly Maya craned her neck around to glare up at the older man. "So I suggest you do yourself a favor and start letting go of him. Slowly."

"Not a chance," she said through gritted teeth. "I'll let him go when you start showing that you're a lover both worthy and capable of giving him the happiness he deserves. Until then, you can go fuck yourself."

Suddenly the crowd erupted into cheers as the sound of an electric guitar reached them. Maya turned around and saw Christian on stage, cigarette in his mouth and hair pulled back to reveal those awe inspiring jade green eyes of his. He wore a dark red throw over shirt with sleeves that stopped just passed the elbow – black flames soaring up from the hem of the shirt up to his chest. Under this, Falter's lead guitarist wore a simple black shirt with the few buttons undone that lined it on the front below the collar bone. A silver dragon pendant hung from his neck and the shirt stopped just at the edge of where his faded gray jeans began. As he continued to play his solo and smoked his cigarette, Chris propped his foot up on one of the speakers that were on the edge of the stage and if one looked closely, they would see that the black and white Chucks on his feet had Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon's cover printed on them.

The stage lights soon pointed toward Benny as he went crazy on his drums in accompaniment to Christian's playing and after a few moments of glory for the two of them, the bass could be heard and the light shined down on James Kidder. His hair was worn loose save for the pea green bandana on his head that was folded to resemble a headband, his bangs no longer a hindrance from him showing off those stormy gray pools that were his eyes. Clad in a golden brown zip up hoodie, a white t-shirt with a single red stripe going across the mid-section, James let a black and silver studded belt rest loose along his hips just on the outside of his timber green cargo pants – a pair of brown and white DC shoes peeking out just below the hem of his bottoms. White bandaging was wrapped around both of his forearms and he swayed his head back and forth just as the second guitar blared across the crowd out of nowhere.

Russell rocked his head to each intense chord that rang out from his instrument – his mouse brown hair free – and again the crowd went wild. His attire for the evening was a simple dusty blue blazer over an equally plain white dress shirt. However, only two of the buttons were done while the rest of the shirt hung loose and free, revealing a good portion of Russell's skin to the crowd. Maya had been told that out of the entire group, Russell was the one more up for giving the crowd their dose of fan service without coming off as too flashy. He showed just enough skin to where the girls could see his toned abs and the rest was left up to the imagination. His black jeans hugged his hips generously, a silver wallet chain clipped on one of the belt loops as the rest of it draped over his hip toward the back and on his feet were a pair of blue and white tennis shoes. Winking his dark brown eyes at a group of girls huddled near the stage, one of them began screaming until she collapsed on the ground. Maya simply rolled her eyes and waved.

As if the crowd didn't already know that this was the introduction bit that announced Falter's presence on stage without actually speaking, Maya and the rest of the audience waited with bated breath as the vocalist of the group's presence was still a mystery. And just when the crowd couldn't take the suspense anymore, a baritone-tenor voice cut through the sky that caused the entire crowd of males and females alike to gasp in shock. The voice sang no words just yet, but continued to just ad-lib here and there to the music as it ripped through the night.

A few seconds later, Kenneth stepped into the spotlight – microphone in hand and the crowd lost their minds. Dressed in a faded navy Henley-t, Ken left the placket of buttons undone to reveal a tangerine colored long-sleeved shirt underneath with the edge of the sleeves reaching just to the center of his hand. His jeans were loose and pale blue with deep front pockets where the seams reached just to the middle of his thighs, a pair of dark blue and white Pumas gracing his feet. Kenneth opted for no jewelry save for his silver hoop in his left ear and a large silver ring on his right index finger.

Once the intro concluded, the crowd cheered and whistled and the boys waved to them – smiles plastered on their faces. Kenneth walked across the stage, shaking hands with people near the stage before standing straight and looking at all the faces he could until his amethyst eyes fell on Maya. "How're you doing tonight, downtown San Diego!" The crowd cheered as Ken spoke and his smile broadened. "That's what I wanted to hear! Well, as you guys know, we are Falter, and while I'm sure you all know the faces here, I would like to introduce us to those who aren't familiar with our group." He paused as the crowd cheered once more and Kenneth chuckled. "Then again, you guys don't know me at all, do ya? But we'll get to that later. First up, on lead guitar is Chris Palmer. Definitely a gentleman with a heart of gold!" And on cue, Christian waved and smiled to everyone in the crowd, his green eyes falling on Maya and he winked at her.

"Next is Benny Rhodes on drums! The laid back one in the group, he's single ladies so be sure to bombard him with fan mail after the show." Benny rolled his sticks on the drum and splashed the cymbal before clapping his sticks together. "Our band leader, bassist James Kidder, is the link that keeps us all together. Without him, we'd be royally fucked. After all, we definitely aren't responsible enough to take care of all the business transactions like studio time, rental space, as well as that crazy ass electricity bill we rack up at the end of the month!" James thumbed a few notes on his bass as the audience laughed and cheered, a string of "I love you Kidder" echoing amongst the crowd. "And on rhythm guitar is Russell 'The Ladies' Man' Williams!" Kenneth leaned forward, cupping his hand over the mike like he were whispering even though Russell could hear everything. "And when I mean that he's a lady's man, I really mean he's a lady killer. He'll break your heart, girls, so just watch yourselves."

Maya laughed as Russell gave Ken the "bird" and the singer merely blew a kiss at the guitarist. "And well, I'm the new face around here. Kenneth Davis, Falter's new vocalist, but you guys can call me Ken. Even though it's been a rough road getting to this point, I hope you guys like what I have to offer." The crowd went nuts, screaming and whistling at him and he winked, causing another throng of girls to scream and squeal in delight. Maya glanced over her shoulder and saw the disapproving expression etched onto Yuki's face and she couldn't help but inwardly praise Ken's ability to dish out his own flavor of fan service. Surely even he knew that Eiri Yuki was in the crowd now, didn't he? "I just have one question for you guys. Does everybody love me yet?" More screaming ensued and Kenneth pumped his fist into the sky, yelling his own approval to the positive reaction of the crowd. "This song that we're getting ready to perform for you all is my own personal declaration to those who have always stepped all over me, taken advantage of me, or felt like I was worthless in their eyes. It's my message to them, and to the world, that I am no longer the person I used to be. And guess what?" The crowd screamed back 'what' on cue and Kenneth laughed hard. "I don't give a fuck! Hell yeah! Go Benny, go!"

Benny started on the drums and soon after came Christian, Russell, and James with strong acoustic accompaniment. While the whole speech was going on, Chris and Russell had been switching out their electrics for their acoustic guitars that could still be hooked up to the amplifiers. Benny's bass drum hits were heavy in Maya's chest and she couldn't help but bob her own head back and forth to the rhythm of the beat. She caught Christian's eye and he smiled at her and too caught up in the moment, Maya blew a kiss at him – mouthing a "thanks" and "good luck" – before Shuichi's voice filled the air with the lyrics of his song. The lyrics were goofy and didn't make sense to a degree, but his voice was well-balanced and easy on the ears – a well balanced range that gave him power and highlighted his strengths. It wasn't until Shuichi arrived at the bridge of the song did Maya know instantly that her best friend had written the song as a slap in the face to his former lover, Eiri Yuki.

"Don't need my health

Got my name and got my wealth

I stare at the sun

Just for kicks all by myself

I lose track of time

So I might be past my prime

But I'm feeling oh so good

YEAH!

Oh my

Feels just like I don't try

Looks so good I might die

All I know is: Everybody loves me!

Get down

Swaying to my own sound

Flashes in my face now

All I know is: Everybody loves me!"

---

Author's Note: Yes, I know. T_T The long awaited chapter is finally up and I apologize for not having gotten this up sooner. I don't know if this is a progression chapter, but I kinda feel like it is mostly because it's taking the drama off of Shuichi and Yuki for just a moment. And it's introducing a possible relationship starting between Maya and Christian. And –laughs- I finally gave the rest of my damn characters last names! I'm such a horrible writer. Anyway, I've been on a OneRepublic kick the past couple of days and I thought this song would be a great way to close the chapter. Shuichi isn't going to make things easy for Yuki. But then again, I don't think you, my readers, would love my story as much if it were that easy, would you? Please let me know what you think and look forward to the next installment of As Time Goes By! I promise it won't be two years by the time I update again. See ya!