My new Neighbor's an Idol!?

A Star is Born 4

"I'm pretty sure she's not here right now." Rinse continued on her line of questioning to find why he would say that name. "I hope you don't plan on leaving before we get started."

"Sorry, I meant Chiana." He tried to save himself from this blunder. "I need to see her before her handshake event."

"Oh really?" She squinted her eyes at him in suspicion. "What's been going on with you lately?" Recently, leading up to this event, Rinse had noted him spending more time with the sisters than anyone else. "Don't tell me you're two-timing them."

"Not sure what part of me makes you think I'd ever do that." He tried to make his escape, but she grabbed his collar and led the boy to stand with his back against the wall to her. "Don't make me get physical." Ishi had been holding back since this was a big night for her, but if this kept back then he was going to be left with little choice.

"You know, I think you've been forgetting a certain someone here." She ran her finger down his chest to get the hint across. Compared to the others, she should've had the full advantage, but it appeared to be slipping before her very eyes. The girl knew that if she didn't say something now, then it was going to be too late to say anything later.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm kind of ignoring you here, but this is impor-" He was cut off as her lips covered his mouth. Rinse had made her move as she kissed the boy one more time. This time, it was much more intimate compared to her little peck during the festival. She sent her feelings to him on this gesture as he was stunned into silence. "..." Ishi was at a loss for words after her actions. This meet-and-greet just turned much more involving than he was expecting.

"I love you, Ishi." She whispered as her body pressed against his on the wall. The pair had hidden themselves from any potential bystanders, which allowed them to remain undisturbed. "I want you to be my boyfriend."

"But... But what about you being an idol?" While he wouldn't call himself an expert on the matter, they didn't seemed to be allowed relationships. This was a part of why he wasn't a fan of the industry, since that was a major restriction to place on people.

"The producer does allow us from his agency to date." Though pretty much all of the idols continued to stay single anyway despite the really lax rule from Teruhisa. They were all aware of what that might mean for their careers if that news ever came out. "And to be honest... I want to keep us a secret." It wasn't just for the sake of her career, but she saw the looks on everyone's faces when Ishi revealed the pair were neighbors. Their class would certainly really hate to hear that news.

"A secret?" He thought about Chinae, the only girl where he kept a real secret with. Where did that lead him? Someone who won't be honest with the ones she closest with? Someone who had people who cared enough about them to try and get them to be open about who they really were. "I'm sorry..." There was only one answer that Ishi knew was right. "I can't accept you."

"You can't?" The words slowly sunk into her head as Rinse's eyes began to tear up. "You... Don't love me back?" Obviously, this wasn't the answer she desired from him at all.

"I'm really sorry." It pained Ishi to have to do this to her. She was one of his closest friends after this girl moved in next door. Despite wanting to be honest, which he was with her right now, hurting her feelings was one of the last things he wanted to do to her. Especially now of times when she was to be meeting with dozens, no hundreds of people who loved her.

"I understand." She stepped back from him, allowing the boy to leave. "It was worth a shot anyway." The girl wiped the tears streaming down her face as she prepared to return to the public eye.

"I really don't want you to have to go out like that." He could tell that it would be difficult to hide a broken heart, no matter how hard one tried. She was certainly the type to be able to protect herself on stage, but another things he didn't want to do was ruin this event.

"It's fine." She put on a smile and turned away from him. "You better go look for Chiana... And try to make sure to never make her cry." With that, Rinse left him to allow the boy to return to the path he had taken. However the delay had now lead to one major inconvenience for Ishi.

That being she had already began her handshake event, which meant he had to do the one thing he despised the most for her sake.

Stand in line only to have 15 seconds to speak with her.

On one hand, she wasn't the most popular of idols. So thankfully it wasn't as long as some of the others filled with people salivating for the opportunity to spend just a little bit of time with their favorite stars. Unfortunately, there was a reason why she had one of these events. This left Ishi standing for the next 15 or 20 minutes just to have a conversation with her.

On the not-so-bright side, he was also joined with some familiar faces.

"Wow, I'm looking forward to being able to shake Chiana's hand." Ishi was joined by both Koto and Otoya, who had already gotten taken care of their primary reason of being here of seeing Rinse. A little silly since they already see her pretty much everyday considering her living situation.

"It was fun seeing Rinse. I'm sure she's glad we supported her anyway." Said Otoya. Ishi felt a little bad hearing that name again, considering how he left her. It was also strange for him to think about these two boys who were so enamored with the girl, while he was the one that got confessed to. Yet another mark to put on the list of things he got, that literally anyone else would enjoy but him.

However, right now he needed to stay focused. There was a plan on his mind, but it was a risky one. Something that was much more bold than anything he had ever considered doing in his life. It might seem uncharacteristic of him to do, but this was a girl that desperately needed one big push. Hopefully her boss wasn't going to hate what he was about to do.

Finally, the trio had reached the front of the line. For a second, Chiana reacted a bit upon seeing his face, but quickly returned to composure. She shook hands with the other two boys first. Koto and Otoya were much more enthusiastic about being able to meet her here. It was an experience that stood out more than with Rinse, since they didn't get to see the sister of Chinae often. Then it was Ishi's turn.

"It's nice to see you again." She spoke in her usual cheerful tone as they shook hands. "I hope you've been able to meet with some of our other wonderful idols."

"I haven't, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of you."

"My, I didn't realize that you had a crush on another idol." Otoya teased him as they waited for him to finish up.

"..." Ishi ignored it as he continued to work his way towards his plan. "In fact, don't you think everyone else should see the true you?"
"Hmm?" She tensed up as he spoke. Now wasn't the time for her to hear that someone would expose her secret. "Wh-what do you mean? I'm always shining for everyone here."

"Hey, what's the hold up here?" Some people behind him were upset about the boy taking more than the allocated time.

"Is that Ishi? Of course he's always here to ruin things." It appeared that some of their other classmates were here to see her as well. Not a surprise, since she most likely had a positive impression on them from the time she hung out with them.

"You shine so much that your sister, Chinae Kamagata, can't?" He countered her statement. This revelation brought about some shocked gasped from the crowd as they thought about who that girl was. Of course, people knew she was a rather bitter and cold person. So to have a sister like this was surprising. At this point, he certainly gathered a lot of attention from the crowd, and more importantly, security. A man came up to them and grabbed him by the arm to escort him out of the building.

"Wait." Chiana commanded the officer to pause for a moment. There was something she needed to ask Ishi before he was to leave. "My sister... Chinae, or Chiana?"

"What?" He was confused with the lack of words in her question.

"Who do you care more about?" She clarified. "Do you... Like me? Or my sister?" This wasn't a matter of who he preferred. Chiana in this moment had asked him in front of everyone a question to pick one or the other.

"That's easy." He had never been more certain in answering a question before in his life. "Chinae."