Passionfruit

7.

The next few days were spent in the recording studio, unpacking the new apartment, and planning our release party. Finally, the songs were recorded, and Miku, Gumi and I were rewarded with a few weeks off from recording. Finally.

Despite the horribly underwhelming conclusion to Vegas Boy's - Len's - story, the days were surprisingly peaceful. I found myself smiling more as we fell back into the pattern of daily life, spending more time with my girls, and sitting on the patio of my new apartment. I hadn't known what to expect with him, and not knowing whether I would ever see him again was what really killed me, I think. But the meeting with TR had answered all of the questions I had.

It seemed an appropriate end. Unsatisfying, sure, but appropriate. And final.

I didn't think about him at all, obviously.

Luka had also revealed to us a catalog of events she wished us to attend, simply for the recognition and networking opportunities. Fashion shows, sporting events, dinners, and brunches. It was a long list, but a huge majority of them were parties. Birthday parties, dinner parties, bachelorette parties (as if we knew anyone well enough to get invited to those), the sort of raging parties you see in high school romance movies, the sort of insane parties you see in college romance movies, etc. The number of parties that famous people attended was insane.

"Just pick a few," Luka had told us over the phone, the three of us huddling on the couch one night, boxes still surrounding us. There were at least fifty events on the list she sent us, all within the next month. And we had our own album release party to plan. Things were about to get ridiculous. "Just pick a few and let me know which ones. I'll see if I can get you in."

So, we did.

The fashion show was alright. Gumi was absolutely mesmerized the entire time, insisting to Miku and I afterward that we needed to find a way backstage to talk to the designer. Both of us were pretty sure that's what security was for, positive that something like that just wouldn't happen. But by God, Gumi is good at talking to people. And that's how we met the Aoki Lapis, who told us, in her properly high pitched voice, that she would love to design some outfits for us whenever we needed them.

Miku and I were stunned. Luka, on the other hand, was ecstatic when we called her.

Some famous producer was throwing a party at one of the nearby clubs. It was a crazy night, or at least, it would have been, if I had left our table at all. The low-light kept me fairly invisible in the corner, while Miku and Gumi went out dancing. The music was alright, but I just wasn't ready for something like that yet. Plus, I was positive I saw Kai's blue hair at some point in the night, meaning that Len could not be far off. A few minutes later, I was pretty sure I saw him leading some girl towards the dance floor. That was enough to scare me into the corner.

Gumi and Miku weren't too happy about that one. Of course, I couldn't tell them why.

Even with Len and I very specifically defining that we weren't going to have anything to do with each other, I still couldn't fathom telling them that he was the Vegas Boy. God, the shit I would get for it. The teasing would be rough, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was genuine anger as well. I hadn't known it was him, of course, but... still.

I hated lying to them. It killed me inside to talk about it. So, instead, I avoided it like the plague.

We had a photoshoot for the album cover a few days after. That was the most fun since it was just the three of us, Luka, and Io, as well as some camera crew. We spent the entire day messing around with clothes and makeup until the camera crew eventually got too fed up to continue. They settled on one of the pictures taken early that morning, which looked perfectly fine to me, but Luka seemed a bit agitated at our childish behavior.