The first meeting

[whrrenah]

The commotion at school was insane. Worse than insane! Wren had no idea what was going on at first but the crowd of people who gathered in the cafeteria, screaming someone's name warned her that she did not want to be there. As she walked by, she slowed down, looking in the same direction as everyone else, spotting the set up stage and a single man under a light, strumming a guitar and crooning. Oh. That's what all the commotion was about.

"And now, for our grand finale, the one person who can answer all of Mr Wik's trivia questions will win a band tee with his signature on it!"

Wren rolled her eyes, mentally going "and the crowd goes wild!" in her head while the crowd actually went wild. Along with a couple of her friends. "Wren! Wren, don't you know who that is?"

Turning to the girl who went by Tweet, she responded in a flat tone. "Another boy hell bent on stealing the hearts of thousands so he can pay the bills?"

"Oh my god, Wren! It's WiK! Don't be a spoil sport! He's soooooo cute! You have to look at him! Tell me he's not cute!"

"He's perfectly fine--for being a feelings moocher."

Tweet shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? He used to go to school here."

Wren turned her eyes to her friend. "And? Everyone goes to school in some fashion. There's nothing special about that. But you want to know what is special? Letting all these people believe that they have a chance with him. Hell, even encourages it because that's how he makes money. Sell the belief that you can be with him, and everyone is climbing hand over fist to buy the next new album. Or his Merch, or whatever guitar he says is good. He's an actor and he's playing to the crowd. So if you want to enjoy the fantasy, enjoy it. But don't buy into it, okay? You're smarter than that."

She went on to class, not even taking a second look.


*****

Having been convinced to go out to karaoke (as Tweet sadly, didn't win the shirt), Wren chose the blue halter-top maxi. It was hot out with no sign of relief yet in nighttime Bangkok. Cute and lightweight, she decided to pull her hair up off her neck and frame her face with a few ringlets. Ready for a night on the town, she joined her friends in one of the bar booths, filled with drink and food, they all took turns on the mic, making a bit of a game out of it. When it was Wren's turn, she decided to go with the Disney-themed songs and started her rendition of "Kiss the girl."

It just so happened that she caught sight of said pompous boy in the hall, strolling around the rooms. And there was some eye contact. Deciding to play it up since her friends hadn't noticed yet, she decided to sing to him and tease him as well. "My oh my! Look like the boy too shy
Ain't gonna kiss the girl."

Comments

[meanmugging]

He turned the corner before looking to her. " No, and I am only saying that because you are going to need a new apartment." he said. " Unless you don't mind paparazzi making you late for everything ever for the next year or so. If asshole could find out where you live you can be certain they have too."

He was quiet a moment still having not loosened up much but he answered " That one is a cherry red classic Spyder 124, slim white wall tires with white leather interior." he could have stopped there but went on. " I also have a gray Pulse SUV they're pretty popular there so it blends in well."

[whrrenah]

"A new apartment?" She... hadn't thought of that. But he was right, she supposed. It was a little complicated getting to school lately. But the problem was that was the best apartment she could afford and still go to school. If she went for another apartment, that would mean getting a job. "I wonder if I can hold it off for another three months." She was supposed to graduate this year, after all.

Upon listening to the two vehicles, she shook her head. "Pulses aren't imported in the US. We have the dinky 500s and then what my father has managed to scrounge up with vintage cars and the new sports cars they sent out. But the spyder sounds like a dream."

[meanmugging]

He turned the car and parked it in a small parking lot where a small hot pot restaurant was. " Look..." he rested his hand on the steering wheel. " Since this is a little my fault that this is happening to you, I'll be your land lord. I have an apartment in the city, just two bus stops away from the college. You can pay me what you can. No one knows it's mine and it has security so you don't have to worry at night." he brought his hand up rubbing the back of his neck.

" Good thing I don't drive it in the US." he said looking to her with a little smirk. " I really like it, even the 500's can be nice around the town cars. Low key."

[whrrenah]

Her eyes kept widening as he offered a place to live. "That's too much to ask," she said, not really knowing what to say. "WiK, that is beyond generous. And I don't want to take advantage of that." She knew full well that if anyone else had been offered a place to live with a sliding scale rent, they'd take it in a heartbeat--as well as cozying up to the celebrity for some extra perks. But she didn't outright say no, either.

"I can see the appeal. Where your day to day is nothing but spotlights and screaming fans, something quiet and hiding in plain sight would be a luxury." She couldn't fault him for wanting that, either. People took anonymity for granted all too often. And then a thought struck her.

"However... if I do take the apartment... I'd still be buying the hot pot, then, right?" Who could fault her for that logic?

[meanmugging]

" I didn't offer because you asked." he said plainly. " It's Bangkok, I am sure you have been here long enough to know that places to live here that aren't a hostile are hard enough to come by. None the less the choice is still yours." he looked to her " I am not WiK right now, I am just Kim. So, you can call me that."


" It's a nice break away from it all for a while." He liked the stage lights and the fans, they gave him energy that was better than any drug known to man. He also liked his quiet though, valued privacy and having a life that wasn't part of the newest issue of whatever magazine had paid the highest price for the story.

He sighed dramatically, " Oh, I guess you could afford it if you were taking the apartment. It is already furnished and all."

[whrrenah]

You'll have to forgive her with her mind reeling a bit about this revelation. From near assault to mugging prevention to a new place to live? And possibly a new friend? She shivered for a moment as she felt a breeze brush by her even though there was no unusual air on in the car. "Wren. My name's Wren." She opened her door, ready to exit when she heard his sigh. Smirking, she looked over her shoulder at him.

"Then I guess I'm buying!" She grabbed her cross-over purse out of her bag so she could pay. She was already trying to figure out what she could sell, and give the current landlord her notice (no, she wasn't planning to stay there the full thirty days, either. Once out of the car, she gave a little bounce, extremely pleased that this was turning out okay. When Kim exited the vehicle, she stood demurely, bowing her head with a nose touching wai. "Thank you. Not for the apartment--well, yes, for that but more importantly, gratitude for taking a chance. I hope we can be friends." That might backfire considering he would be her landlord, but she could hope.

[meanmugging]

" Wren, like the bird. No wonder you were singing like one." he said almost absently, not even aware that could have been taken as a flirt. Kim here can be a little thick with women.

As she gave her answer to the apartment he gave a little chuckle which came as a puff of air from his nose and smirked. He looked after her as she got out of the car before getting out himself. " it's okay." he said looking across the car at her. It would be nice if he could actually have friends and things like that, but....as his brother said he still wore his name. " Trust me, Wren, you don't want to be my friend." he said turning and heading for the door.

[whrrenah]

"Almost like a bird. I think nightingales are prettier then little wrens." Unless he gave clear signals that he was flirting with a purpose, she wasn't going to think too heavily into his words. "With the reaction I got that one night, maybe less a bird and more a siren?"

She walked by his side, not expecting an arm or anything that would indicate that this was more than just an outing for food. "I think I should be the judge of that, shouldn't I? But you're partly right. I don't know enough about you to determine if I want to be your friend or not. And vice versa."

She was going to figure this man out. He was a mystery and Wren had a feeling that most people didn't want to take the time to know who Kim really was. Upon entering the little food place, she had a warm smile on her face, taking a deep breath to breathe in the aroma of the food. "Never been here before. How spicy is it?"

[meanmugging]

" Hn, I said a bird I didn't say it was pretty." he was teasing which was clear by the little half grin on his face.

He was polite enough to hold the door open for her allowing her to go inside first. WiK was a flirty person, his whole thing was to flirt with the audience with out going over board. And that is what he did singing and making eye contact just enough. Kim however, was awkward, didn't really know how to flirt for real. Not that he really did with people anyway.

People were captivated by the persona he had built, they didn't give a crap about Kim. It was WiK they loved.

He looked to her for a moment when she spoke about not knowing enough about one another. " You're right, but you should know I am nothing like my stage persona. I am not that free with my actions and with other people."

He looked up at the menu " It depends on what you put in it. It's customizable if your weak American tongue can't handle heat." he said teasing her again.

[whrrenah]

She looked back at him with a baleful expression, then an eye narrow. She meant pretty singer and for a moment she wondered if she had gotten the working mixed up but then decided he was just being difficult. That difficulty rewarded him with an eyeroll and smirk before heading into the shop.

That was the thing with Wren. She knew everyone had masks and personas out there depending on the people one was dealing with. She cared little for the public faces that provided fan service. Learning about the person underneath all that facade was her goal.

"Good. So you don't normally walk up and steal a kiss from anyone you see. That's good to know." She didn't rise to the bait of the spice and requested the hottest, spiciest hot pot she could see on the menu.

The clerk eyed her and spoke in rough English. "That might be too much for you. Pick less hot."

Wren paused, slid her gaze over to Kim and continued in fluent Thai. "Is it going to be too hot for you?" Because if not, she wanted it. And since she was paying, the guy better give her what she wanted.

[meanmugging]

She had it right, he was just being a brat. Which as she would come to learn as time goes by Kim does very well. he did grin a bit bigger because really she looked so cute giving him a grumpy face like that.

He chuckled. " No, I don't but I felt like you were poking my pride a bit. And well... WiK is a prideful creature. Plus, you were cute singing in that nice dress you had on." and he left it at that.

He looked to her like he grw an extra head. " I am Thai, no such thing as too hot. We are given Ghost peppers as babies you know." he said with the clear indication that any heat she could take, he could too. At this rate they would both be farting fire balls later.

[whrrenah]

Oh, cute and a nice dress? She blinked at him briefly, not really knowing what to say as she felt her face heat up. And as her face heated up, she dropped her head so that her hair fell in front of her face to hide it. "Well, thank you. You looked quite spiffy yourself." Spiffy didn't translate well, so that was English. And her words were quiet, meant for Kim only.

"Ghost peppers as a baby?" With that, she rolled her eyes. "Amateurs." But to the cook, she gave him a steady gaze. "Yes, that's exactly what we want. If I didn't want it, I wouldn't have said so. How much and when will it be ready?"

Once she had her answer and could pay, they were seated together in a booth. "Guarantee my father's cooking would put this hot pot to shame. He makes the best chili in the US."

[meanmugging]

Kim lofted an eye brow and gave her a look at the word spiffy, which he wasn't entirely sure the definition of it but assumed it was a positive thing. She was turning red in the face, was she feeling sick maybe?

Just as quickly as it came she was back on the horse about the spicy food. Maybe she wasn't sick, it was probably just the excitement of the day. He leaned over saying to the chef in clear Thai " She has a strong tongue."

" Ha. i guess you will be the judge." he said as he sat in the booth. his dad never cooked for them, always had the kitchen staff do it. For a moment he had to wonder what that was like to have a normal family life.

[whrrenah]

Wren knew how to carry a conversation and held no reservations on talking about home, what spices they used (hell spices. She didn't reiterate they were from actual HELL, though.) Home town, what was the same and what was different here. How she missed snow. It was providing a piece of normalcy-- not that she would ever consider her life 'normal.' Who went to school around the world to pick up languages, anyway?

When the hot pot finally arrived, the majority of her shyness around his compliment about her dress was gone. Now it was time to dig in. One the first bite of spicy food, her eyes lit up and she had to place her hand before her mouth as she chewed. It wasn't until after she swallowed that she spoke. "Oh, this is close. Not quite it but close."

This actually had turned out okay. There was food involved, she was slowly bringing Kim up to par with a normal conversation (and that was a bit of a challenge since most of the people she spoke to in school were so vapid there was never any substance. Her upcoming graduation ceremonies (Linguistics, Kim. Multiple languages) but her plans for the future were up in the air. After graduating, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do.

[meanmugging]

Kim was content to let her talk and to just listen, he wasn't much of a talker anyway. It was okay to him as well, there wasn't much he could add that wouldn't just complicate things further. His life wasn't something one talked about very openly.

" The French Alps were nice in the snow, but far too cold for me." it was something, and yeah shocker that the Thai man doesn't like cold.

Once the hot pot arrived Kim had no issues with the spice at all, not even flinching. Another shocker, the Thai guy can eat spice like no ones business.

" Do you plan to stay here after you graduate?" Yes he was impressed with her majors and had added that he was a music major which should ne no shocker at all considering.

[whrrenah]

Wren stopped in mid speech at his mention of the Alps "You've been where it's cold? And you still have all your fingers and toes?" She could be a brat, too! "Never been to France. Is it as romantic as everyone else gushes that it is?"

The food was good! Her only initial surprise as to how close it was to Dad's chili but that was it. She dug in as smoothly as Kim did. "I don't know, honestly. Nothing has come out and grabbed me to say I should lay down roots here. And it's easy to fall in love with this place if you can ignore the mosquitos trying to abduct you. I feel a little like a dandilion, seeds ready to go and all that's needed is a puff of wind for them to blow away. But what about you? Career's successful, you could go to one of your other places, like the one with the fancy red car." See, she knew how to talk about his life without doing so. "Go enjoy there, tour, not be so caught up in what your blood does." Wren gestured slightly with her hand on the last bit. She still didn't know what was up with his family other than there were tensions and it seemed like Kim was the son of some hotel tycoon? One of the brothers might be acting the spokesperson for that?

[meanmugging]

He nodded his head. " Been all over actually. For one reason or another. can't say I am a fan of the cold at all." he shook his head. Nope not one bit of this subtropic man liked the cold at all. he gave a soft huff through his nose.

" Anywhere has the ability to cast a spell on you if you are making the right memories there. For France, anyone not French they more or less like your money and that is about it. It was hard to find the romantic allure for me. Paris has some lovely lights at night, I can see where people would say that it is a very romantic place." he said before taking a larger bite than needed of the noodles and meat.

" I don't often do much related to my family or the things they do. I have my reasons. I tour as much as I can right now. I haven't found that place to root myself to just yet. Maybe my seeds are waiting for that puff of wind too." whatever she thought. It was for sure better than the reality of what it was. Fucking bloodline.

[whrrenah]

Everyone had their own journeys. He was closed lipped about his family and she didn't bother pressing. If this was how his brother treated him and made assumptions, Kim really had his own reasons. "So what's the farthest place you've been in? Touring."

[meanmugging]

" New York City I think." he pondered for a moment " I was to Denmark and some place in Canada too on tour."

Kim always had his reasons for doing the things he did. His father and Kinn were insufferable ass pipes was the main reason he stayed away. He couldn't live how he wanted under the house holds thumb.

" What about you? Where is the furthest you've been?"

[whrrenah]

Wren had to think about that for a minute. "Depends on which direction you want to come from, I guess. Home town is in Ohio, USA. I think coming from the west, Thailand would be the farthest. Coming from the east, Japan." She couldn't say different dimensions. "But hey, Canada.... Probably Van Couver since the west coast is closer. Or Montreal if you were on the New York side. I've been told the land's pretty up there but I'm not enough of a Disney princess to combat the moose."

Despite it being very surface, the conversation was light and enjoyable. She wondered if Kim had the chance to talk about things without it being work related. Or family related. "So music major. Were you a whizz at math, too? What's your favorite part about music? And I'm not talking about the fans and tours and all that extra stuff. I want to know what drew you to notes on paper and all of that."

[meanmugging]

" It was pretty in Canada, and I didn't see one moose along the way." he said with a smile to her. " I was so tired on that trip I am surprised I didn't just pass out right on the stage." Something he was very guilty of was getting himself so buried in work that he didn't have time to worry about anything else. Most wrote it off as Kim being a work-a-holic, but that was only partly correct.

It was a nice conversation, and no, he seldom ever just had a regular old run of the mill conversation. It was always work or family business. He lofted a brow and looked to her. " Just because I am Asian doesn't mean I am a walking calculator you know." he said teasing her a little " Yes. I was really good at math, I didn't have much trouble with any of my subjects."

He thought about her question about what drew him to music, it was hard to place it into words. Words that made sense at least.

" When I am writing a song, and when I am singing and playing whatever instrument is in my hands... that is really the only time that I feel like I am who I am supposed to be." and that was actually the first time he said that to anyone, but it was honest.

" What about you? What drives you?" he was relaxing just a little as the conversation continued. Even long after he had finished eating what he was going to of the hot pot he seemed in no rush to leave.

[whrrenah]

Another order of tea was needed once the meal was done, conversation not finished yet. "Hey now, you being Asian has nothing to do with my math question. Music and music theory is so tied into math that they can almost be the same creature, you know." But as she continued to listen to what he was saying, Wren nodded solemnly in agreement.

"For me, it's trying to ...figure out the story. Decipher," she added in English. "Language is a song, yes, but there's a story behind it, too. And all too often, people don't know or refuse to acknowledge how important it is. I want to bridge that gap and in telling others' stories, I'm telling mine, too."

She paused a moment, thinking about her next words. "And it's more than telling a story with words, too. Everyone says more than they want to without meaning to. And learning that language is just as important as the spoken word, or the singing ones, too. It's all connected. Songs that hit you so strongly that you have emotions about them are vibrating with what you feel, or what your soul's been telling you and you just couldn't hear it before the music hits.

"And if your music helps you know who you are, that's a good thing. A very good thing. For so many out there looking for a proper connection, you finding your connection to the world and the energy that drives is a precious thing. Life it more than a job, paying bills, taxes and dying. Too many don't find that until it's too late."

[meanmugging]

He listened to her speak sitting back in the booth. He could see what she was saying but as he did a lot of the time, when the nail was too close to being hit on the head he disengaged a little. For someone who wrote beautiful love ballads and sang as if every word was just for you, forming true connections with others was something he avoided like the plague.

" You're quite interesting, Wren." he said once she was finished talking. Pouring more tea into his cup and taking a sip. " But next time we're getting coffee instead of tea." he liked tea fine enough but coffee was his favorite.

[whrrenah]

Being a decent reader of things unspoken, she wondered what caused him to pull back. There had been progress, however brief and she decided to keep it that way and take his lead on what he said. "Yes! Coffee!" But then she looked at him, playing the part of the skeptic. "So... you're saying you want to do this again? After almost freezing me out and claiming that you're a huge stick in the mud?

"And," she continued as if she never caught him saying he was willing to have an outing once more, "are we talking diner coffee, sugified beyond all comprehension to the point where there isn't any caffeine coffee, or evening dessert espresso coffee?"

[meanmugging]

" We don't have to." he said shrugging as if it's no big deal. " Espresso doubles with the darkest roast they can make and nothing else." he said as if it were a silly question to even ask.

He shrugged again, " But, it's a moot point." he said picking up his jacket and sliding out of the booth. " Come on, we need to get you a bag with some clothes and shit like that so I can show you the apartment." standing up to put his jacket on. A strange guy wearing a jacket even though it was so warm out.