It Starts With U [SonAdow]

(2)

"I told you that you should not expose yourself to anyone?! What are we gonna do now?!" A much older guy yelled as he walked around in circles around the room, he seemed to be scolding Mau. But Mau just sighed as he stopped the guy walking, "Alright I'm sorry. But this was the only place I could hide in! Besides, it has already happened. Let's just compromise with him--"

"And what if he doesn't want to?! He could expose you right now and you won't be able to go here anymore!" The older guy exclaimed, he seemed to be panicking as time went by.

While the two 'argued', the woman who they refer to as Mau's makeup artist just scrolled on her phone, completely unbothered by them. I didn't really know what to do in this situation, after all, what do you do when your idol is 'arguing' with someone in front of you?

....

"Um... I don't want to cause any trouble. I can just pretend that I didn't know anything--" Before I could finish talking, the old guy then pointed at me as he glared at me, "How can we be sure you're not gonna expose Mau's whereabouts? We don't even know you that well yet, so there's no reason for us to trust you at all." I then shook my head as I hurriedly said, "N-No! I won't tell anyone I promise!" This continued on and on until we then heard the makeup artist say, "I'm pretty sure this black hedgehog won't tell anyone, cause he's actually a big fan of Mau."

.....

"....."

"Oh wow, I'm very thankful for your support," Mau said as he bowed to me. I panicked, "Please don't do that!" AHHH, why did that woman look through my bag?! THIS IS SO EMBARASSING! Just then the older guy clapped his hands together and said, "How about you be his companion in school? You're just gonna act like he's not a famous idol and more like.... a childhood friend who just moved back here in Cranesbill. Are you up for it?!" The guy seemed to be excited about his idea, but I wasn't. I quickly shook my head, "N-No! I can't be Mau's friend! I'm too normal and undeserving--" But the older guy then insisted, "Look here... what's your name?"

....

"Shadow."

"Right! Shadow!" He then put his arm around me and pointed to Mau, "That guy right there really wants to go to this university, even though me and the CEO were against it in the first place. Since you are a big fan of Mau, being his friend in college is quite a win-win for you."

"But I can't be tasked with something that important--!"

"But YOU are the Student Council president, I'm sure you have already proved yourself to be quite responsible." He continued.

"But--!"

"Look here, kiddo. You are the only person I can trust to be by Mau's side, we can't have anyone else knowing his real identity. It'll only create more problems. Either you be his friend or Mau won't be able to go here anymore" But Mau then frowned, "Hey Jean, that's not fair for him." But the guy just removed his hand from my shoulder and crossed his arms, "I'm sorry, but this is just reality. You can't be in here when someone already knows your real identity as an idol, that's just too risky."  

Mau looked at me but he just stayed quiet, he seems to be thinking about something. I then thought about it, I don't really know the exact reason why Mau chosed to go to this university when there are other schools who can cater to celebrities like him. But I'm sure he has a good reason, and it looked like he really wants to stay here. I then sighed, even if my hands are pretty full already, I guess helping out my idol isn't that much of a hard task. After all, this is Mau that we're talking about! I'll just keep an eye on him and stay by his side at all times, that's all.

"All right, I'll do it." I said, which instantly made Mau smile and hugged me out of happiness. I went red and freaked out when he did so, since this experience of your favorite idol hugging you could be only felt in dreams rather than in reality. "Great! If you want to get paid for this job, you can just ask me. No need to be shy, haha." The old guy chuckled as he put his arm around my shoulders again. I then looked at him, I just realized that I don't even know who he is. "Um, can I ask you something?" I asked the old guy. He then responded in a cheerful tone, "Hm, what is it?" I then laughed nervously as I avoided eye contact, "How are you affiliated with Mau exactly?"

....

"I thought you have figured it out by now?" He asked.

"....No, sorry."

....

"I'm Mau's manager."

"...Oh, haha."

After finally agreeing to certain conditions, Mau's appearance was then altered by the makeup artist with the help of his manager. First, Mau's beautiful blue color was turned to grey. Second, his manager made him wear thick glasses to hide his prominent features. And lastly, he was dressed plainly as compared to the usual flashy and stylish outfits Mau would always wear. When they were finished and I finally got a clear look at his new appearance, I was shocked at how good the makeup artist and the manager were at transforming Mau into someone else. His idol appearance was masked with a nerdy and plain persona that no one, even me, would actually think that this was Mau, a member of the famous boy group, Daydream.

"So, how long have you been a fan of Daydream?" Mau asked me while he fixed his clothes. Since I was still shy, I struggled to think of what to answer for a moment.

...

"Since you five won the survival show." I muttered. He then turned to me in amazement as he exclaimed excitedly, "Really??! Wow! So you have been supporting us right from the start! That's so cool!"

...

Oh my gosh, he's so cute.

I think I could die right now. I felt my cheeks turn bright red as I looked away from him, "Hahaha, it's just that you all are so talented." I kept on tugging my collar, trying to calm myself down from excitement. The manager then approached Mau and gave him a black bag and paper, "This is your class schedule that I got from the Principal, and these are your things. I have already bought all of the things you need for each class, and the school and PE uniform." Mau then happily put on his bag and looked at the schedule for a moment before he looked at me and asked, "Hey Shadow, what's your schedule? Do we have the same classes?" I then hurriedly grabbed my phone from my pocket and showed him mine, we later found out that the two of us had the same schedule. When Mau asked the manager, he only said that it's much better for Mau to be where I am at all times.

Mau didn't seem to be bothered by it, instead, he just kept on excitedly checking the time to see if it was almost time for class. Mau's manager then approached me, "Oh, and by the way Shadow, please don't call him his stage name when you two are out in public. Just call him by his real name, it won't be a problem since a fake name was given out to the public months ago." It felt like this was just a dream, last night I was just listening to their songs on Utube, not dreaming that the day I could finally meet Mau and become his 'friend' would be today! And now, I can even call him by his real name. The heavens are spoiling me so much....

I then heard the makeup artist laugh, "Jean, this student is too cute. Just look how excited he is to be able to have permission to use Mau's real name." Both she and the manager laughed, and I felt more embarrassed than I had felt earlier. Mau then chuckled as he gestured for me to shake his hand as he said, "Since we're gonna have to be together for a while, you can call me Sonic. My real name is Sonic Maurice Hedgehog. It's nice to meet you Shadow." When he showed his cute and perfect smile, it felt like the whole world could end for me now. After we said our goodbyes and thank you's to Mau's manager and makeup artist, me and Mau then went to our first class. Of course, even if my idol was walking beside me happily, I still didn't forget about the projects I would have to do tonight. It seemed like I was just hit with another reality check, and I had forgotten how college is hell for a short moment.

"So who's that guy? Is he new? I have never seen him at orientation before..." Tails said, looking up from his architecture plates to glance at Mau lining up to buy lunch. "He is, he just enrolled late." I replied. But Lilia, who was busy earlier then looked up from her notes and asked, "Are you sure? He seems a bit weird."

"Huh? How?" I asked her. Lilia was good in sniffing out secrets, and so that's why I could feel my heart beat fast as he observed Mau for a good ten seconds. "Now that you've mentioned it, he does look out of place." Tails added.

I felt a sweat drop from my forehead when he said that, have we been found out?