The Melody of the Heart (Otoya x OC x Reiji)

Measure 20

Otoya paced in his room, reflecting on the precious thing he lost.  When he noticed his salty tears, he rubbed them away roughly, leaving red marks on his cheeks.

He cursed himself.  He didn't want to hurt Yui, but he did anyway.

Yet, deep inside his heart he knew how the girl truly felt.  And he told himself that all hope was not lost.  He prayed to whoever would listen that she wouldn't become angry at him since she already 'chose,' but he wasn't ready to give up.

He couldn't give up just like this.

********

All three members of the team were exhausted the next morning as they slipped into their desks. But of course, the loud camp director must have had a blissful sleep the night before as he greeted the class.

"Welcome to your last week here, composers and idols!  That also means that you only have one more challenge in front of you."  The director's smile suggested mischief.  "Being that it is your final week, you will have to perform an encore song, or in other terms, a finale song!"

"We rented an auditorium with a stage, fancy lighting, and one-hundred, thousand seats.  You will be pleased to know that they have already been filled."

"It's a sold-out concert!" He cheered as well as the majority of the musicians.  "Compose your greatest songs yet, and each team will create one song.  Each team has an hour the day before the concert to work with lighting engineers and sound technicians in order to organize the greatest performances seen in this camp!"

"As for the song itself, it can be anything.  It just has to be original.  And if your team feels inclined to do so after the composers' performed, the composers may be a part of the performance as well."

"Now, get to work aspiring composers and idols! I look forward to the concert!"

A whirlwind of ideas began to spin in Yui's mind.  However, they were constantly clouded as whenever she was out of class, Reiji was beside her.  He smiled at her, carried her many composition books, and kept her happy.  And she always knew that when it came down to this sort of thing, he would treat her well.

Yet, she was distracted by the gloomy aura surrounding Otoya, which wasn't only noticed by Yui.  He didn't seem to sparkle and shine like the stunning idol he was, and his vibrant hair hung in tousled tufts above his unusually dull eyes.

And that was the same distraction that caused her to struggle to come up with a perfect finale song for the two.  They didn't have much time either, so she felt obliged to finish the song within two days.

Day one: completely unproductive and unsuccessful.

But day two began strangely, at least from Yui's perspective.  Reiji was waiting outside her door to take her to the school where the camp was held.  He greeted her with a bright smile and told her she was cute, despite her tiresome effort to get ready.

Then, he had a shocking interest in how her composing process was going.  Normally, he just let her write and was confident the outcome would be good, but now, he wanted to know practically every detail.

Yet, she found it nice that he cared.

After her classes that day, she retreated back to her hotel room and began to mess with sounds on her keyboard.  And finally, she had the entire song composed. All it needed were lyrics and a track.

Day two: somewhat successful.

However, she didn't feel 'right' about the song come the next morning.  Normally, after she created a song she would feel a sense of accomplishment and excitement, but her stomach still churned with insecurity.

By the end of the first class, it troubled her so much that she decided to skip the rest of her classes and go to the music room where she played the song over and over again, adding and deleting portions.

"Yui...?" The girl turned abruptly, startled to hear Otoya's voice.  She had seen him, but hadn't talked to him directly since choosing Reiji.

"You shouldn't be skipping classes, Otoya." She advised, averting her silver gaze.

He chuckled.  "I should be saying the same to you." Although he smiled, it was a sad smile.

"I'm busy." The girl muttered.

"And I just don't want to be in class right now."

"You're going to distract me."

"From what?" Otoya asked, suddenly intrigued by what she was doing.  He approached her side, looking over the sheets of music that she worked on.  "Is this the song?"

Yui nodded.

"It must be amazing if you've spent so long working on it." He shuffled through the pages.

But she took the sheets away from him.  "It's not." She muttered in a defeated manner.  "I'm having trouble..."

"You're having trouble composing?!" He asked in a shocked, yet sarcastic tone.

She frowned. "Shut up."

"Let me see if I can help." He snatched the papers from her grasp and started humming the melody line.

She tried to reach for them, but couldn't manage to take them back. "Otoya! Stop, it's really awful..." She whined.

Otoya kept her at bay with a single hand as he continued examining the song.  "Even though you think it's awful, it's still better than I'm sure everyone else's will be."

"But it's not good enough for me!" Yui protested.

"The melody is solid and catchy. I think it just may be missing a bit of fluff." He commented as though he weren't listening the whining girl.

"Don't ignore me!"

"Maybe add some harmonies or rounds.  The bridge would sound really cool with some rounds..."

Instead of arguing, Yui resorted to pouting silently.  Though, the fiery-haired boy wore a cheeky smile when he saw her childish reaction.  He ruffled her dark hair playfully.

"Stop pouting... After all, you should be the happiest person alive now that you've chosen Reiji." He commented with a smile, but the girl could hear the hint of pain in his voice that he failed to hide.  "But don't worry, I understand how you really feel, so I'll wait for as long as it takes."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" She questioned defensively.

Otoya chuckled as he opened the door of the music room to take his leave.  "You'll know soon enough."

Day three: composition completed.

Day four: more silence from Otoya; more happiness from Reiji; relatively productive, but primarily consumed with joking about lyrics.

Day five: alas, the track and lyrics were completed successfully.