Chapter Text
Lights blaring, music blasting, fans cheering. It was hot and sweaty from all the movement and the sheer number of people in the crowd. Just breathe and keep going. That's what he told himself. Just breathe.
Soon they neared the encore, the fans cheering even louder than they had been before. It was riveting, it was nerve-wracking, it was exhausting. Megumi hadn't wanted to be in the group, but as always, Gojo was persistent that Megumi had to "put himself out there", and what better way to do that than to give him dancing and singing lessons and throw him on a stage in front of millions of people. How lovely. During the last song, Megumi had his attention toward a particular silhouette in the crowd. They were taller than most of the other fans, most likely a dude based on that and their build. They didn't have very many male fans, being a boy band and all, they were for the ladies. (At least that's what Gojo had always told him.)
Megumi had kept his attention on the particular fan, trying to figure out what logical reason he'd have to be here. He refused to believe that a stocky dude like that showed up out of his own free will. It wasn't possible. Megumi got lost in his train of thought, almost missing his cue to change formations. The new placement had Inumaki downstage right, Megumi slightly upstage of him on a centered platform, then Yuuta next to Megumi, and Panda mirroring Inumaki downstage left. At the moment Inumaki and Panda had handheld mics, Inumaki beatboxing and Panda rapping over him. It was the easy part for Megumi and Yuuta; they just had to stand and look pretty for the time being until they switched out which gave Megumi a moment to catch his breath. He panted and watched as Panda and Inumaki got way too into it (this part being their favorite to perform), crouching to interact with their fans. Megumi heard Yuuta snort beside him when Inumaki almost lost his balance and fell into the crowd, but he had thankfully regained balance just in time. He looked back at Yuuta and Megumi and stuck out his tongue, having heard Yuuta's snort through the head mic strapped to his head.
With their break time over, Megumi and Yuuta moved forward to take Inumaki and Panda's places, the hand mics being passed in the process. Yuuta smiled at Megumi encouragingly, which did nothing to ease Megumi's mind. Yuuta began his solo, soulfully singing into the mic with a passion Megumi would probably never possess. Megumi started his choreography, going through the motions in his head before trying to execute them as accurately as possible. He knew his facials needed a lot of work, but in the moment, he was tired and ready to go home, so he gave no effort to fix his resting bitch face. It worked out for him that fans seemed to love his cool and uncaring act, even though it was definitely not an act and he truly did not want to be a part of any of this. Fucking Gojo. Yuuta finished his solo and threw his hand out toward Megumi to direct the fans attention away from himself. Megumi would rather do anything else than his solo, but when he looked toward the wings he saw Gojo give him the biggest smile ever with two thumbs up. Fucking Gojo. Megumi took a deep breath and looked back toward the crowd, scanning until his eyes landed upon the silhouette from earlier. Now that he was closer to the crowd, he could make out the guy more clearly. Megumi decided to dedicate his solo to probably the only other person that did not want to be there, sympathizing with the guy probably dragged here by a girlfriend or sister.
Megumi began his solo. He wasn't the prettiest singer and not a very good rapper, so his solo was closer to being a rock ballad. It was a little rough but not bad, per se, just not exactly made for the popish genre they originally marketed as. Fans seemed to love it though. Dark and brooding rock was apparently the "in" now. Megumi carried on boredly, not bothering to even look like he was enjoying himself. His eyes drew back to guy. The lights highlighted him for a moment, revealing his pale pink hair and deep brown eyes. Megumi was slightly surprised. He thought the dude would be a blond. Megumi was performing on autopilot at this point, finding more interest in the pink-haired guy than in his own singing or dancing. The guy must have noticed Megumi's staring because he smiled awkwardly and gave a slight wave that Megumi almost missed because of the lights shining all over his face. Megumi's face twitched into a slight smile just for a moment, but the crowd had all seen it. They all went wild, being the first fans to ever witness anything other than a scowl from the perpetually angry vocalist. Megumi inwardly sighed, knowing he'd be interrogated the moment he got off stage. He looked back at the dude trying to send his thoughts to the guy, "this is your fault!!" he'd hope to convey, but when they made eye contact once more, the dude had an awed expression on his face. Megumi quickly looked away trying to hide the slight warmth he could feel in his face. Thank God he was already hot and sweaty, it shouldn't be noticeable.
Megumi finished his solo and the four performers met up in the middle to complete the song, all singing together in unison before breaking into a 4-part harmony. They hit poses as the music came to a close. All huffing and puffing from exertion. The crowd cheered and screamed out at the performers, the fans at the barricade reaching out for a chance to make contact with them. Yuuta and Panda reached out from the stage to give high-fives, while Inumaki jumped down into the space between to take selfies with the groups in the front, signature peace sign in every picture. Megumi just waved from his spot on the stage, not being very big on fan interactions. Then Megumi noticed a stir in the crowd, someone breaking their way to the front while throwing out apologies in every direction. Suddenly there was a paper shoved toward Megumi, and before he could react, security pushed the person back into the crowd causing them to drop the paper in the process. It was the pink haired guy with a sheepish expression. Curious about the contents of the paper, Megumi hopped off the stage to grab the paper. He nonchalantly leaned on to the stage as he opened the note.
"Srry 4 messing u up bro!! didn't mean to distract u!!!" It was barely legible, obviously being written very quickly, though Megumi wouldn't doubt that the guy’s handwriting wasn't the best to begin with. He breathed out a silent laugh, his shoulders rising and falling in one quick movement. He looked back at the guy who was now scratching the back of his neck while apologizing to security. Megumi rolled his eyes and hopped back onto the stage, giving a slight bow before exiting toward the wings. The others followed soon after.
Gojo was sitting cross legged with a mischievous grin on his face as Megumi made his way toward him. Megumi tried to ignore him and grab one of the water bottles sitting at the table next to Gojo, but when he reached for one Gojo grabbed it first and pulled it away from Megumi.
"Ah-ah-ahh! What was that out there Megumiii?" Gojo asked, annoyingly drawing out his name. So, they were getting right to it. Great. Wonderful. Megumi was going to strangle this bastard.
"What was what?" Megumi played dumb, hoping, praying, that Gojo would just drop it and leave Megumi to go sulk.
"Don't be like that Megumi, you smiled on stage. You never do that." That was the moment the rest of the band entered.
"Yeah, honestly I was surprised! You always act all cold on stage, it was odd." Yuuta added while Inumaki nodded his head vigorously.
"See? I'm not the only one who’s seeing this." Gojo flipped his hands dramatically, "What was that about?" He finished. Megumi wanted to punch him so bad.
"It was nothing. Just fanservice or something." Megumi grumbled, knowing they could all see through his lame excuse. He waved them off and started making his way out, intending on going back to the hotel, but Gojo grabbed his shoulder and twirled him back to face the group. Megumi dramatically rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"Was it that pink-haired boy?" Gojo questioned with a knowing smirk. Fuck. Stupid fucking Gojo and his stupid fucking observation skills. Megumi just looked away knowing they wouldn't believe any denial he tried to throw out.
"Oh my god really?" Panda gasped and brought his hand to his mouth. Megumi threw Gojo's hand off his shoulder and left without speaking another word. They were going to make fun of him so hard.
When he gets outside, he calls for Ijichi to drive him to his hotel. He sits in the back and silently watches buildings pass before he spots a now familiar head of pink hair. Ijichi stops at the light which gives time for Megumi to watch the pink haired guy. There was no way he would notice, with the windows being so tinted. Walking next to the pink haired guy is a slightly shorter girl with a brownish-orangish bob cut, she seems to be yelling at the guy, though Megumi couldn't really hear anything. She points an accusatory finger at him, and he puts his hand up in surrender. He says something that makes the girl sigh, way too dramatically, and the guy laughs at her performance. His smile is blinding, Megumi thinks. He really wished he could've heard that laugh, he was sure it would've sounded like wind chimes.
God. This was so stupid. The guy obviously had a girlfriend and it's totally weird to be paying this much attention to a fan. He's partially disappointed but mainly relived when the light finally changes and Ijichi drives off. Megumi thinks about the guy all the way until he's in bed, practically asleep. He hopes he gets to see him again.