Elegant Artist (Fuuto x OC)

Dream Job

I had gotten through the plane ride and the car ride, happy to finally get to take off my shoes and lie down in a soft bed. I tried getting some sleep, only to be interrupted by the one and only.

"Hey, Mai, you wanna go to a nearby restaurant for dinner? The food there is really good," Jackson says, not caring to knock on my hotel room door, waltzing right in.

"How'd you even get in here?"

"My manager gave me the key"

"Uh huh. Why?"

He shrugs lightheartedly. "I dunno, but c'mon, it'll be fun"

I sigh, going along with it. "Fine, but I have to be back early, I want to freshen up before my meeting later"

"Great!"

He grabs my hand as soon as I stand up and yanks me out of my room. It was a short walk to the restaurant, only a block away, and the food smelled pretty good just from walking inside the building.

"What kind of food is it?" I ask.

"Italian," he answers excitedly.

I remove my hand from his when a waiter comes over and shows us to our table. He takes our order and while we waited for the food we talked. Mainly Jackson. Actually it was only Jackson who talked, I sat there hoping the food would come quickly or that he'd pick up the hint and shut up.

"Jackson, can I get an autograph?" A teenage girl asks, holding out a pen and slip of paper to Jackson.

Jackson flashes his brilliantly white smile. "Sure thing, anything for a fan"

I sit there awkwardly as a couple more fans come up to him, asking him for autographs or pictures. Nobody seemed to care that I was there, not that I hated not being recognized but I was surprised there were no crazy fans getting up in our business asking if we were a couple or something. The waiter quickly came out with our food after that ruckus.

"Is that all?" The waiter asks after we finished our food.

"Yes, thank you," I answer in an almost perfect American accent.

"I didn't know you could sound like an American," Jackson says, stunned by my accent.

"Well, I help Fuuto out a lot with his roles, some are for American movies, and I just picked it up while learning the language," I explain to him while standing up and placing a bill on the table.

He picks it up and hands it back to me. "It's my treat"

I take it from his hand, not wanting to argue, putting it back in my wallet. My phone rings, the studio's name appearing on the caller ID. I excuse myself and walk outside, answering the call.

"Yes, we'd like for you to come in ASAP, if that's possible with you"

"Of course, I'll be there shortly"

Jackson meets me outside and we head back to the hotel. I went up to my room, changing into something a little more presentable, and rush out the door towards the studio. When I get inside the giant, marvellous... expensive building I was met with a secretary sitting at the front desk.

"Who do you have an appointment with?" She asks with a Brooklyn accent.

"I'm Mai?" I say, hoping my name was enough to get me in. I never realized until now that I didn't properly know any names of those who offered me the job.

"Alright, top floor," she tells me, going back to work on her computer.

I find the elevators, riding them up to the top floor. The doors open into a beautiful room with two long couches and a wall made of windows. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a grand piano sitting right underneath. A woman was sitting on the couch in casual clothes with her short blonde and blue hair curled.

"Come, sit," she says plainly.

I sit on the couch across from her and she looks up at me, examining me. I sit up straighter, thinking she was judging the way I walked and sat.

"No need to be so proper. You can call me Claire," she tilts her head. "You're perfect star material. Beautiful, kind, you look to be energetic too. I've heard you could write songs and sing, but I want to hear you sing yourself"

She stands up, motioning for me to follow her. She stops in front of the piano, sitting in the bench provided. She passes a sheet of music to me.

"Sing this"

She starts playing a magical melody on the piano, her fingers flying effortlessly across the keys. I start singing the words that were written on the page, quietly but loud enough for her to hear. She stops when we reach the chorus.

"You do have a beautiful voice but you need to sing with more confidence"

"I'm sorry, I'm just more comfortable with my own songs-"

"Then sing one, acapella"

I inhale and exhale then start singing. I was singing the first song I wrote about Fuuto, the one where I was confused about my feelings but knew there was something there. Something small, but something.

"You wrote that?" She asks when I finish singing. I nod. "Your voice is amazing, the song doesn't suit you though"

"It wasn't exactly meant for me to sing, it was for another artist"

"That's why"

She stands up and sits back down on the couch. I sit opposite her once again, waiting for her to say anything. She sat for minute, completely silent, then spoke with great enthusiasm.

"You are going to be the next best thing"

"What?"

"Your stage name will be Ms.Mai, your character will be dark and mysterious"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know how Jackson is all happy and joyful? You're going to be sorta the opposite. You'll wear shades, with only small accents of colour, your songs are mainly going to be sad, slow, but you need some upbeat ones to keep the audience listening"

I nod slowly, processing the information.

"I want you to be my new artist"