Heartbreak and Comfort

[write_my_dreams]

Title: Heartbreak and Comfort
Author: write_my_dreams
Pairing: Mentioned Hyde x OC
Genre: AU, some angst, some humor
Warning/Disclaimer: Nothing to warn about. Yue and Daiki are mine.
Rating: PG
Chapter(s): 1/1
Summary: Hyde goes to a karaoke to meet his girlfriend. As he's waiting for her he gets a phone call and finds out that she's been cheating on him. Crushed, Hyde looks for comfort in alcohol and ends up making a new friend.
Author's Comment: I had so much fun with Pride I had to write more! This part is mentioned in Pride, but I wanted to write the whole thing out. Heartbreak and Comfort is the first in the series and I have the next few parts mostly finished. They just need to be edited. I'll try to get another part out soonish.

Famous, the karaoke bar Hyde often visited with his girlfriend Yue, was crowded tonight. The bar and tables were full, there was a long line for the center stage, and an even longer one for the karaoke rooms. Getting a seat anywhere would take a while, something Hyde had been worried about since it was Saturday night. Yue had insisted they come though despite his worries about the lines. Stubborn…

Hyde made a face and checked his phone for messages. Nothing. He sent Yue a text saying he’d arrived and was waiting for a seat then leaned back against the wall. She’d probably gotten a new client or two since she hadn’t answered his message when he left work. That was understandable though. She was a hairdresser and he was a bike messenger so both of them ran the risk of being late for dates. Their services could be required just as they were about to leave, something that had happened several times before. Hyde was just relieved he’d gotten out on time tonight. He’d been half an hour late to their last date. Yue hadn’t been happy, but knew it wasn’t Hyde’s fault. It wasn’t like he could refuse a job to go on a date with his girlfriend.

The redhead glanced at his phone a few minutes later. Still nothing. Yue must have gotten another client then. It could take her a while to answer, depending on what this one wanted done. He’d probably be in line for some time anyway so that didn’t matter… it was just preferable to have company while waiting in line.

Hyde kept his phone in hand so he could tell when he’d gotten a new message. There was nothing for five, ten, twenty minutes. He was starting to worry now. It’d been a little over forty-five minutes since he left work. Yue should have had time to answer his message between clients so where was she? Hyde bit his lip as he toyed with the end of his ponytail. If he hadn’t heard from Yue in ten minutes he’d call her. The redhead watched the clock. Ten minutes later there was still no response – time to call. He was about to punch in her number when the phone rang. There she was! He answered the phone, “Hey, Yue. Where are you?”

“I’m with Daiki. Do you remember him?”

Hyde frowned. Why was his girlfriend with another man when they were supposed to be on a date? He had a bad feeling about this. “I do.” They’d been at a party with a large group of Yue’s friends. One girl had brought her cousin, Daiki, with her. The man was everything Hyde wasn’t: tall, muscular, and athletic. Yue hadn’t seemed to care about him at the party so why was she with him now? “What are you doing there? You’re supposed to be at Freedom with me.”

Yue took a deep breath. “I’m dating Daiki.”

Hyde felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. “What?” he croaked. Yue… was cheating on him? Even though she told him how much she loved him yesterday? He felt like he was going to be sick. He left his place in line and walked out of the building. The others didn’t need to hear him being humiliated and betrayed. “For how long?”

“A month. I’m sorry, Hyde. I really like you… but I like Daiki more. I didn’t want to keep lying to you though and decided I had to come clean tonight. I’m so sorry, Hyde. You’re sweet…” she trailed off.

The redhead flinched. He could easily finish that sentence. “But I’m not a tall, muscular, professional baseball player like Daiki,” he said bitterly. How could he have been so stupid not to notice that Yue had been going behind his back for a month? The signs had been there – she’d become more protective of her phone, was often late to meet him, or couldn’t come at all because she was ‘busy with work’. And she’d been wearing expensive earrings last week. Probably a gift from the other lover. People always said that love is blind. Maybe he’d seen the signs and just refused to process them as anything abnormal.

“I’m sorry,” Yue whispered again.

“You should be,” Hyde snapped, pacing restlessly up and down the sidewalk. He felt physically ill that she would do this to him. He was about to hang up on her when she spoke again.

“I know,” Yue said sadly. “I don’t deserve or expect your forgiveness, but I truly am sorry. I know I should have come clean to you earlier. I was just… selfish. I wanted to keep b-both of you.” Her voice sounded choked which had always been an obvious indicator that she was crying. Good! She should be crying after what she’d done.

Hyde raked his hair back. “Smart,” he said coldly. “Because you won’t get it. Ever. And you should have just broken up with me instead of making me feel like a worthless fool.” He felt like he’d been stabbed as he heard a man’s voice in the background telling Yue that everything would be okay. The redhead clenched his fingers into a fist. How dare that fucking bastard do this? He gritted his teeth and continued, “I don’t want your stuff in my home so I’ll leave in a box behind the front desk. Get it tomorrow.” Ruining her belongs or throwing them into the garbage would be wonderful and what she deserved, but Hyde didn’t want her to do the same to his things. So he’d leave them at the desk then do his best to forget that Kanashiro Yue had ever happened to him.

“Okay,” Yue said sadly. “I… I’ll bring your things tomorrow.”

“Fine.”

“Goodb-” Hyde didn’t let her finish. He hung up and stuffed the phone into his pocket, taking several deep breaths. All he wanted to do was cry, scream, get drunk… maybe at the same time. He was already at Freedom so there was no point in going somewhere else to get a drink. He’d seen people leaving while he’d been on the phone with Yue so there was probably an open seat now. Hyde walked back inside. It was still crowded but there wasn’t a line for seats anymore. He started circling the tables, looking for an open one. The emptiest table he could find already had one person sitting there. Having long hair himself Hyde knew better than to assume the other was a girl. Especially when he saw the muscular arms under the tight shirt. No girl had muscles like that. This man had silky black hair down to the middle of his back, about the same length as Hyde’s. That hair also covered half his face and he looked very serious as he watched the stage. The girls singing now were butchering their song. Listening to them was painful. The man obviously felt the same way since he looked pissed… that and the muscles made him look intimidating. Hyde was too miserable to care that the other looked like he could beat him up if he annoyed him so walked up to him.

“Can I sit with you?” Hyde asked quietly. “Everywhere else is full.”

The other man looked surprised at being addressed, but nodded. “Of course.”

“Thanks.” Hyde sat down and looked at his hands. So much for a happy evening with his girlfriend. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, and he blinked several times to keep them at bay. He refused to humiliate himself by breaking down in front of a complete stranger. Crying would have to wait until he was home.

“I don’t mean to pry, but are you all right?” the other man asked. He looked concerned as he studied the redhead. Wow… he must look as miserable as he felt. Part of him didn’t want to answer the question, but another wanted to talk about what had happened.

Hyde shook his head. “No.” He was anything but all right. “I was supposed to meet my girlfriend here.” It was hard to believe how quickly things had changed in the last hour. He’d come here expecting to meet Yue, sing, have a drink and been met with betrayal and heartbreak instead. What a horrible night.

“But…?”

“She called and said she’d been cheating on me. For a month. With a fucking baseball player.” Hyde buried his face in his hands. “I had no idea. I’m so stupid for not noticing.” He looked up as he heard something slide towards him – a full beer.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” The taller man gave Hyde a slight smile as he looked confused. “Take this; you need it more than I do. I haven’t drunk out of it yet.”

The redhead smiled faintly. “Thanks.” He took a sip of the beer. It was strong… good. That was exactly what he needed. He took another sip of the beer then introduced himself. “I’m Hyde.”

“Asagi.”

“Nice to meet you,” Hyde said quietly.

Asagi brushed his long hair over his shoulder. “Pity it wasn’t under better circumstances.”

The redhead managed a weak laugh. “If only.” This was one of the worst scenarios to ever meet someone. He sighed and took another drink of the beer. What hurt the most about Yue’s cheating was how insignificant it made him feel. He hadn’t been good enough for her so she’d gone to another man. It made him feel worthless, that he wasn’t good enough for any woman. Was his long hair a turnoff? Or was he too short? Daiki had been tall with short hair and worked out daily. He looked like a ‘proper’ man where Hyde was thin and barely reached Daiki’s shoulder. Either way, it fucking hurt to be betrayed like this.

 “How long were you together?” Asagi asked.

Hyde sighed. “Next month would’ve been a year.” They’d already made reservations at their favorite restaurant… he would have to cancel that. At least he hadn’t bought a gift yet.

Asagi frowned. “I’m sorry.” He stopped a waiter and ordered a beer for himself then turned to Hyde. “This probably won’t sound comforting, but things do happen for a reason. And you deserve better than a girl who cheats on you with an athlete.”

The redhead smiled a little. It was sweet that Asagi, a complete stranger, was trying to comfort him. “Thank you,” he said quietly. The other man was right though. Hyde obviously wasn’t meant to be with Yue so perhaps there was someone else he’d fall for. Someone better. Someone who didn’t care that he was short and had long hair. Someone who would never, ever cheat on him. Hyde wasn’t ready to find that person though. He needed to nurse his broken heart and avoid relationships for a while.

“You’re welcome.”

Hyde decided to change the subject. He could feel tears threatening to fall and knew he’d start crying if they continued to discuss his depressing life. Just thinking about it made him want to start crying so he asked Asagi a question. “Do you like to sing?” Talking about music would ward off the tears.

Asagi nodded. “I do. I was supposed to meet a friend here, but he couldn’t come tonight. I was already on my way here though so I figured I’d have a drink and sing.”

“Sounds like my logic.” Hyde sipped his beer as he picked up the song book. He frowned as he flipped through it. Overrated love songs, crappy pop songs… wasn’t there anything with substance in here?

“You should sing then.”

Hyde nodded. “I will once I decide what to sing.” Nothing was calling to him though. He looked up as Asagi brushed his hair over his shoulder. His sleeve fell to show a black wristband with the logo for a popular vampire movie on it. “Was it good?” Hyde asked, pointing at the wristband. The movie had just come out last week.

Asagi blinked then realized what he was pointing at. “It was. I liked it so much I’m seeing it again tomorrow.”

The redhead smiled slightly. “That’s good. I haven’t had a chance to see it yet… I think I will tomorrow though.” Unless he was too depressed. He’d probably make Sakura see it with him though. Sakura wasn’t that fond of vampire movies since he’d seen too many with Hyde, but he’d come anyway to spend time with his best friend.

“Maybe we’ll run into each other again,” Asagi chuckled. “So you like vampire movies?”

“I love them!” Hyde said. “My best friend complains whenever I insist he see a movie with me since I’ve dragged him to so many vampire ones.” He started naming off a few movies to see if Asagi had seen them. By the time they’d finished their drinks they were still talking about vampire movies. Discussing something besides his failed relationship made Hyde feel a little better. At least he wasn’t on the verge of tears anymore. They ordered more drinks and talked about music next to see what they had in common. Besides some bands Hyde found out that they both enjoyed singing and composing songs.

“I can play guitar, saxophone, harmonica, and a little bit of piano too. I’m awful at the piano though.” Hyde made a face. “My mother tried to have me learn when I was a kid. I didn’t want to sit and practice though.” He didn’t have the patience to do so when he could be out doing something else. His father had encouraged him to go out and play with the other boys in the neighborhood. He’d always been worried that Hyde would turn out too girly. He’d half succeeded. Hyde had long hair, took pride in his appearance, and didn’t mind wearing a dress for a costume or if he wanted to seduce a male lover. He’d also learned martial arts in school and knew how to fight off any creep that tried to harass him. Or he could just curse them out until they realized that bothering him further wasn’t worth it and backed off.

Asagi looked amused. “Most kids are like that though. I mostly just sing… I have a friend who plays guitar and sometimes we write songs together.”

 “Probably.” Hyde nodded. “I do the same thing. Sometimes I like to write songs by myself, but having another person with you can really help make the song better.” He took another sip of his beer. He’d like to see Asagi’s compositions someday. He’d have to get the other man’s phone number before he left. “Will you sing for me?” Hyde handed the song book to him. They’d both come here to have a drink and sing. They’d done the first part so might as well do the second.

Asagi blinked as he took the book. “I don’t know what to sing,” he admitted. “Will you go first so I can look? I want to hear your voice too.”

Hyde smiled sheepishly. “I don’t know what to sing either.”

“Let’s just sing the first duet we find then.”

The redhead nodded. “All right.” Asagi scanned the songs then showed him the book once he’d found a duet. It was one he’d heard on the radio before. The song was simple enough, but did have high notes which could be complicated. Hyde was perfectly capable of singing them since he had a good vocal range. He didn’t know about Asagi though. “How are your high notes?”

“I sing them well. What about you?”

“Same.” Hyde toyed with his ponytail. “I guess I’ll be the girl. You can be the girl if we sing a duet again.”

Asagi laughed. “All right.” He selected the song then moved his chair closer to Hyde’s so they could share the mic and song book. Asagi’s part began first and he quickly joined in with the song. The redhead listened to him, impressed by his voice. He was definitely a good singer. Hyde was so caught up in Asagi’s voice that he almost missed the start to his part. The redhead quickly caught his mistake and began to sing along. Their voices sounded good together, which made him feel a little better about this horrible evening. At least he’d met someone nice.

After the song Asagi lowered the mic. “You have a beautiful voice.”

“Thank you,” Hyde smiled. “You do too. Do you want to sing another?”

“Sure.”

They sang another song then decided to sing by themselves. Each man wanted to show the other what he was capable of doing. Asagi went first. Not having to worry about chiming in allowed Hyde to appreciate the other’s voice, and gave Asagi the same opportunity when it was the redhead’s turn to sing. Halfway through the song Asagi’s phone began buzzing. He ignored it until the song had ended then looked at the phone and sighed.

“I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to go to work.”

Hyde frowned. Already? He wanted to spend more time with Asagi. He’d helped him forget his misery. But he’d never keep Asagi, or anyone, from a job so he wouldn’t protest. “All right.” He took his phone out of his pocket. “Can I get your number? I’d like to see you again.”

Asagi nodded and gave Hyde his own phone. They exchanged phone numbers then the dark-haired man got up, pocketing his phone. “I’ll text you after work, okay? If you decide to get drunk be careful about it. Have a friend around and don’t put yourself in danger.”

Hyde smiled a little. “I’ll be careful,” he promised. He no longer felt like going home and drowning his sorrows with too much alcohol. Coming here had helped. What Yue had done still felt like a knife in his heart, but she wasn’t worth hurting himself over. Hyde would go home, shower, then curl up on the couch with some chocolate and beer and watch TV.

“Good.” Asagi took his wallet out of his pocket and laid some money on the table. Hyde frowned slightly. The other man had only had two drinks so it wouldn’t cost this much. Asagi noticed him looking at the money and smiled. “I’ll treat you.”

“You don’t have to,” Hyde protested. He was perfectly capable of paying for his own drinks.

Asagi waved him off. “I want to. Take care and feel better if you can.” He pulled his jacket on then left the karaoke bar. Once he was gone, Hyde turned back to his drink.

At least something good had come out of this horrible night.

Comments

[eadwine63.livejournal.com]

I'm so excited that you wrote this and I'm eager to see more too. heheee. remember how happy I was when I read Pride? Oh dear, I don't even know why exactly. it just had this ... x factor? xD
maybe it's the "focus" on tattoos. xD

[write_my_dreams]

I'm glad to hear that :) I was just wondering if I should bother posting this series to LJ or not. You were! Hm... maybe. I like this series so much because it's something new. Something different and interesting. Plus it's good to write action-oriented scenes again!
Could be XD if that's the case you'll love the main character in a ghost story I'll be writing at some point. My tough lady has a few tattoos.