Be With Me

Chapter 4

              'Thud!' 

               Akira yawned, turning over to the side of her bed to look at the newly broken alarm clock that laid on the floor. "Serves you right for interrupting my beauty sleep" She mumbled, cuddling closer to the blankets and turning over to face the wall. 

              'BEEP BEEP BEEP'

              "UGHHHHH" Akira moaned, getting up and turning off the alarm on her phone. "Curse past me for knowing that I would do that" She groaned, rubbing her eyes before starting her morning routine.

            Akira made her way down the stairs and into the dining room, still groggy from her lack of sleep. "Oh, good morning Akira," Ukyo said, surprised by her presence at the early hour. "Good morning" Akira muttered, collapsing into the closest chair at the table. "I'm sorry, I didn't fix you any breakfast, you normally aren't awake this early" Ukyo apologized going ahead and fixing the tired girl a plate of eggs. 

            "No thank you, I normally just grab a smoothie on my way to work," Akira said, sitting up in her seat, rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up. "Ah, ok," Ukyo said, instead, taking the eggs for himself. 

            A pair of footsteps were heard going down the stairs before entering the dining room. 

            "Good morning Ukyo, Akira?" Ema said, greeting the two, confused by her best friend's presence. "Akira, what are you doing up this early?" Ema asked, grabbing some breakfast from Ukyo in the process. "Yeah, It's normally just Ema, Ukyo, Fuuto and I awake this early," Yuuske said, lounging in the chair across from her. 

          Akira just groaned in response, her head finding it's resting place on the table in front of her. "Akira? Are you ok?" Ema asked, standing up from her chair and approaching her. "Yeah," Akira said, sitting up and rubbing her head, "Today's just the start of what I like to call the 'Summer Rush'" She said, seemingly tired just my mentioning the phrase. "But it's not even summer yet?" Yuuske questioned, confused by her statement. "Yeah, but now is when all of the idols start preparing for their summer comebacks, so I get a lot of business outside of my normal groups," She said, sighing just at the thought of all of the work she had.

         "Isn't that a good thing though?" Ema asked smiling. "Yes and no. Yes, I get more business, but I also have to get up earlier and I spend a lot more of my time working. I do love what I do, but I also love sleep" Akira said, smiling back at her best friend.

        Just then, a surprised and confused Fuuto descended from the stairs. "Good morning Akira?" He said, questioning the girl's presence that morning

         Ever since his encounter with her a few weeks ago, when she had broken down in front of him, he had been more gentle with her. He was able to see through her strong exterior and see into her fragile interior. He still messed with her and flirted with her, but he was now more considerate of her opinion and her feelings.  That night, she had helped him see more into himself and accept his feelings, and that was something he wouldn't forget.

         "Work" Akira responded, already knowing what Fuuto was going to ask. "Ah" is all that he responded with, already understanding how busy this season is for this industry.

          Akira stood up with a groan, stretching before pushing in her chair. "I should probably get going, I have to meet with some managers to finish up some paperwork!" She said, each word dripping with false enthusiasm. "Make it out alive!" Ema shouted, laughing slightly at the look on Akira's face when she said this. "I'm not going to promise you anything," Akira said, laughing slightly herself.