The crowd was good-naturedly rowdy, and half of the people were drunk.  It was Friday night at the Asteroid Belt, and CYS was setting up their instruments on the small stage in their "home" club.  Shermie chewed on a piece of gum to calm her nerves.  It had been quite some time since they had had so large an audience.  Yashiro had let out a leak that they would be playing "Kashmir", and instead of turning people off as the girl had thought it would, it seemed to have brought in more people.  She hoped they got what they were hoping for from the performance.

    She watched Chris out of the corner of her eye as he meticulously set up the hardware rack for his drum set.  He was calming down a little in her presence, finally.  Soon she'd be able to make the final move--or manipulate him into making it himself.  She smiled to herself.  He surprised her sometimes...

    Her vision blurred as she felt a sudden spell of dizziness.  Shaking her head a little, she looked up and happened to catch the eyes of a man standing in the audience.  He was tall and powerfully built, although he didn't look as heavy as Yashiro.  His hair was a rather shocking red color, and his clothes screamed "punk" to the aspiring fashion designer in her.  He wore a white dress shirt that was almost absurdly long, and a black waistjacket, both opened at the throat; close-fitting, but not tight, brown trousers; black dress shoes; and a long leather belt or strap between his legs, buckled at his knees.  All in all, he was a singular figure, and also pretty good-looking, in a vaguely sinister way.  Shermie had to turn to her keyboard to keep from staring, but she saw his teeth flash in a grin as she looked away.

    Yashiro came back out on stage after having to replace a snapped string on his guitar, and the crowd grew quieter.  Before addressing the audience, the man played the opening riff of "Enter Sandman", causing some laughter.  Grinning, Yashiro grabbed the microphone stand.  "Helloooooo!"

    The crowd yelled "Helloooo!" right back, and a girl's voice called, "We love you, Yashiro!"

    The man laughed.  "And I love you too--every last one of you girls," he said, waving an arm expansively.  There were several giggles of appreciation.  "How are we tonight?  Are we ready to rock?"  The reply was an affirmative roar.  "All right then!  Let's go!"  He pushed the mike away and Chris tapped off the beat for their first song of the set, "Liar."
 
 

    The show's going great, Shermie thought as they took a short break after their fourth song.  The crowd was hyped!  She wondered if they were really playing that well tonight, or if something else had everyone so enthusiastic, but she couldn't think of anything that would have had that effect.  Playing for such an audience was electrifying, and the three of them played fantastically, even improvising in a few spots, driving the crowd up another notch.

    "It's like a high, isn't it?"

    Shermie jumped.  Chris had silently come up next to her, and stood there smiling in his gentle way.

    "Yes, it really is, isn't it?" she agreed to his statement.  "It's been a while since it's been like this."

    "Yeah...I wonder why it's been slacking off, though.  It took one song to bring in all these people...why weren't they here before?"

    The girl frowned.  She hadn't thought about it that way, but he had a point.  "I wonder...do you think some of these people will come back for the next show?"

    "I hope so.  It's awesome to play for a crowd like this."

    "Yes!  Well, let's see what we can do to get them hooked," Shermie said with a grin.

    "Right!"  The boy put his hand on her shoulder briefly, then went back to his drums.

    He's gained a lot of confidence with me, she thought, a smile touching her lips.  Great.

    Yashiro came back up with a bottle of water, setting it on his amp and picking up his guitar again.  "You guys need more time?"  Shermie answered "no" as Chris shook his head.  "Okay then.  Let's go!"  He played a dissonant chord to get the crowd's attention.  Once they had quieted down, he took the mike again.

    "Okay, everybody.  The next song is a new one by Chris."  There was a loud cheer, composed heavily of girls' voices.  "Calm down, girls.  The song's called 'Shy', and it goes like this."  Chris tapped off a beat, and they started playing, Shermie's voice taking up the melody.  As they had discussed before, Chris joined in on the choruses to create a harmony, which the audience loved.  The song was well-received, and the applause at the end was more than gratifying.

    "And Chris was worried whether you'd like it or not!" Yashiro told the audience, bringing another wave of cheering.  Chris acknowledged it with a few impromptu bars on the drums.  Yashiro grinned and waited till the boy finished.  "Now, here's what you've been waiting for!"

    Chris waited for the audience to grow quiet in expectation, then tapped off the beat for "Kashmir".  When Yashiro and Shermie picked up the trademark riff, the crowd went wild.  Shermie's smooth, clear voice wasn't much like Jimmy Page's, but she sang the song well.  It was a long song, twice as long as their normal pieces, but no one in the audience made a move to leave.  The band had the entire club captivated by this point, and they knew it; that feeling of elation brought on the "high" Chris had mentioned before, and they played even more intensely.   After the last notes died away, there was a moment of silence, and then the sound of chairs moving as the every person in the place stood to add to the thunderous roar of applause.

    Yashiro let out a low whistle that only his bandmates could hear.  "What say we cut out now?  There's no way we can top this for the rest of the night."

    "You're right, but they're going to ask for one more song before we leave," Shermie pointed out.  "What do you want to play?"  They all took a moment to wave.  "How about 'Fascination'?" she suggested.  Her eyes met Chris', and she smiled.

    "Yeah, that's always popular," Yashiro agreed.  "Chris?"

    "Oh, uh, that's fine.  Now?"

    "Hold on."  Yashiro took the mike.  "Thanks, everybody!" he called over the still rumbling crowd, waving and making as if to take off his guitar.  There were cries of disappointment and calls for an encore.  "What's that?" the man said, acting as if he hadn't heard.  The clamor grew louder.  "Okay then!  One more!"  There was more cheering.  "Let's go!"  He waved at Chris, who gave the beat, and then the band launched into the song, amidst cries of recognition and applause.

    Shermie sang this song alone.  Chris had written the original version of it, but she had helped him rearrange the lyrics a little to make one of their most popular songs.  She had to look at the audience as she sang, but she was singing for Chris, and by some odd little sense of intuition, she knew that he was aware of that.

            "I don't want it to, but my love grows deeper and deeper.
            I can't resist this fascination.
            I'll give in some day, and my eyes will tell you
            My affection has changed and now I love you.

            Sometimes you're clumsy.
            Does that mean you're still a little boy?
            I can't go back to treating you that way and just forget how I love you now.
            My feelings go back and forth, I can't stop falling in love with you."

    The crowd, while not enthralled like before, was still enjoying the song.  There were a few cries for more songs after the band had finished playing, but everyone knew that the set was done.  The cheers and applause were loud and long-lasting, only fading away when Yashiro started unplugging his amp and pedal.

    After the stage was cleared, the three performers took a long break in the performers' lounge backstage.  Chris had thrown himself into the right corner of the battered loveseat, and Yashiro slouched in the armchair.  When Shermie came back from washing her face, she sat on the left side of the loveseat, kicked her feet up over the arm, and leaned back against Chris, without a word.  The boy paled slightly, then blushed.

    "It was a good show, eh, kids?" Yashiro said in a pleased tone.  "Yamakita will want to kiss us, after drawing this crowd."  Yamakita was the owner of the Asteroid Belt.

    "I don't think his wife would be too crazy about that," Shermie laughed.

    "Well, okay, maybe not.  But damn!  We haven't done this well in months!  We'll have to save "Kashmir" as a finale from now on."

    "Yeah, playing that in the middle of the show was a mistake," Chris agreed, trying to figure out where to put his arm with Shermie leaning against him.

    "And hey, Chris, they liked your new one too," the man pointed out.  He remembered something, and laughed.  "You know, you have a little fan following of your own of girls?"

    Chris rolled his eyes.  "I know...it's embarrassing."  He looked up at Yashiro.  "You've got the same problem."

    "But it brings in crowds, doesn't it?"  They all laughed.

    "I feel left out, you both get more silly mail than I do," Shermie complained, grinning.

    "That's because the letters we get are silly.  The ones you get are serious," Yashiro pointed out, smirking.  "Just imagine how many proposals and propositions you'd get if we actually recorded an album and went commercial."

    "Ugh.  Chris, save me!" the girl said in mock-fear, turning and clinging to him.

    "Er..." Chris froze, not knowing what she expected him to do.

    Shermie looked at him for a short moment.  Now would be a perfect time...she felt unexpectedly nervous.  "Chris..."

    "Hmm...?"

    Out of the corner of her eye, Shermie saw Yashiro cover his grin with his hand. I'll get him later for that, she thought.  "Chris...maybe you can save me from all that...?"  She smiled at him.

    "Wh...what?"  The boy stared at her, his eyes searching her face.

    "You heard me..."  She wrapped one arm around his shoulders, and looked back at him with her head tilted slightly to one side, waiting for an answer.

    Chris looked at Yashiro for help, his expression something akin to panic, but the older man just raised his eyebrows and shrugged helplessly.  "Er...I..."

    Shermie gave him an exasperated look.  "You are the utter end, Chris.  Fine, I'll come right out and say it."  She paused, gathering her nerve.  Why am I suddenly so shy about this?  Maybe because I've never had to be the forward one.  Guys always asked me.  "Will you go out with me?"

    The look Chris gave her was almost indescribable; it was a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and longing, and he just gazed at her that way, unable to say a word.  Finally, he nodded slightly, his eyes still searching.

    Yashiro chuckled quietly.  "Congratulations, or something," he said, grinning.

    "We're not engaged," Shermie said tartly before hugging Chris, kissing him lightly.  He hesitantly slid his arms around her waist and held her close.  The two of them turned and looked as Yashiro with identical, shy little smiles.

    "Ugh!  Too cute!"  The man fake-gagged, then laughed.  "You guys want to go flaunt this out on the floor?  You can listen for the sound of hearts breaking!"

    They all laughed, as Shermie stood and pulled Chris up with her.  "Actually, that's not a bad idea," she said with a smirk.  "Maybe that will stop all of that stupid mail!"

    "We can hope, right?" Chris said softly, smiling.  He took Shermie's hand in his, not intending to let go.
 
 

    Iori sat at the bar, wondering if the band was ever going to come back out.  The bartender had told him that they always came out after a show, so where were they?

    After a while, he finally saw the door to the backstage area open, and the taller guy--Nanakase--stepped out, followed by the girl and the short kid.  He couldn't tell at first, but as they came closer, he saw that the girl and the kid were holding hands!

    What the hell is that?  I thought Kisaragi said she was single!  Iori had come here in the first place on the recommendation of an acquantaince--he didn't have many "friends"--both for the music and to see "the hot singer chick".  Both had been better than he had expected, but that girl...Shermie...she was enough to make a man's knees weak.  He had made eye contact with her for a moment before the show, and had been looking forward to the chance to speak to her after the show, but now...

    He heard other grumbles of complaint and disbelief, so apparently, this was a new thing.  Why did it have to be tonight? he thought, vexed. And what the hell does she see in that kid?  For god's sake, he's not even legal yet!

    As it so often did, his initial irritation turned to anger.  That damn boy!  I would settle him good--except it's poor sport to pick on kids.  He smirked a little to himself.  Whatever.  She's just a woman.  It's not that important.  He finished his drink and stood, turning to leave.

    "Oh!  Excuse me!"  A girl hopped to one side, barely avoiding running into him.  He started at the sound of her voice, and turned to look at her.  It was Shermie, and she was alone at the moment.

    Iori smiled.  "Quite all right, I should have been looking.  Great show tonight."

    "Thanks!"  She looked at him a little curiously.  "You're not a regular, here, are you?  I mean, I've never seen you around..."

    "No, this is my first time here.  I'll have to come again sometime, it was worth it."

    Iori engaged the girl with some light banter for a while, trying to assess her personality.  She was pretty easygoing and a bit of a flirt, although it was obvious in her manner that she wasn't serious about it.  After about fifteen minutes, something across the room caught her eye, and she excused herself with a promise to talk again some time.

    I wonder if she really means that.  She seems pretty sincere, but she may just be trying to be polite.  He watched her make her way across the floor, then scowled when he saw that she had been going to Chris.  They spoke briefly, then walked out the side door together.

    Damn it!  He felt like breaking something.  She's wasted on that damn kid.  He stood up again, more carefully this time, then made his way to the front door.

    This isn't played out yet, he thought as he walked out into the early spring chill.