Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Music to My Ears ❯ Take a Trip (Past & Present) ( Chapter 2 )

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author’s Notes: To the readers, if you have seen grammatical errors please let me know. Feedbacks and constructive criticisms are especially welcome. The author also wants to clear something about the ‘Mystique Band’ as to avoid misunderstanding. Their real identity is only known by their love-interests (Kira; Shinn; Yzak; Dearka; & Cag’s ex-fiancé, Rey) and families aside from the members themselves. And lastly, some parts of Chapter 1 have been edited so please check it out.Thank you…

Chapter 2: Take a Trip (Past and Present)

Three days before the said meeting, Cagalli and Lacus decided to go to Plants earlier without informing the Golden Records’ management. This is not only to avoid the media and their over frantic fans but also to have some ample time to explore and enjoy their stay as regular foreigners.

Even if they’re going there as normal individuals, they still decided to wear some disguise. And they tried to keep it as simple as possible. Or so, that’s what they think…

Lacus wore a white Korean style casual shirt with a brown small vest and cream-colored short shorts. Her natural pink hair has been replaced by black hair with curls at the ends (wig). As for her shoes, she decided to wear white stilettos.

If Lacus portrayed the casual yet stylish look, a look that’s really far from the Glamour Goddess we know, Cagalli on the other hand chose her famous Cool Chic look. The only differences are her hair color and that she’s not actually wearing a mask this time.

Cagalli wore a purple fashionable cotton long blouse and a black raffled mini skirt with black designer tights. Her golden hair is replaced by long straight brown locks (wig). As for her shoes, she slips in black high-heeled pumps with matching black shades to complete the look.

That’s what you call, traveling in style.

At the Shuttle Station…

The other three members of the band accompanied them to the station. In contrast with Lacus’ and Cagalli’s attire, they chose to wear something more casual (or so they think…) as to lessen the amount of attention they’ll surely be receiving.

Stellar wore a lace collar long-sleeved dress in dark coffee color with matching ocher-colored ankle boots. Her blonde hair is turned into long crimson locks (wig) reaching up to her waist with a white bow-headband. Looking adorably innocent is really her thing.

Shiho on the other hand, chose to wear a jersey backless dress overlapping a striped cotton tee. Her black hair is turned into a curly blonde one (wig) that is tied at the back. She’s also wearing a newsboy hat with a bow. And as for her shoes, peep-toe flats would be perfect.

Mir portraying her sporty/casual look decided to wear a white cotton tee that has two cool pockets at each side with a thin inside shirt. She wears this together with black short shorts. Her short hair is turned into a pixie-like magenta-colored hair (wig). And to complete the look, she chose to wear a swirl print slip-on sneaker.

What a great way of leaving an impression to the people around…

“Mir, Stell, Shiho goodbye. We’ll surely miss you…” Cagalli and Lacus said with tears threatening to fall.

“Stop being so melodramatic… Don’t worry. We’ll go after you when the meeting and plans are settled.” Shiho assured them.

“She’s right, so cheer up, dear! Take care, both of you! And we’ll miss you too” Mir said sporting a smile.

“Oh, don’t cry on us, or else your make-up would be ruined-” Stellar was cut off.

“Hey, we’re not wearing any make-up at all!” Cagalli and Lacus said defensively.

“Ok, sorry guys, what I’m trying to say is we don’t actually want to make a scene here, right?” Stellar added with a knowing look adorning her pretty face.

“Fine… I guess you have a point.” Cagalli admitted.

“I don’t want to break this to you but… I think, we better go or else we might miss our ride…” Lacus reminded them.

The two kiss their friends’ cheeks and bid goodbye before hoping on the shuttle.

Inside the Shuttle…

Despite their plan to ‘fit in’, with the way they look, they would surely attract attention. Two head turners would certainly make a great fuss in a busy shuttle.

The two ladies settled themselves in their seats trying to ignore the stares thrown their way. But with the looks of it, one of them is obviously unsuccessful in doing so. What she doesn't understand is why these people are looking at them as if they are sundaes on a hot summer day. They would surely have melted right on the spot if that’s the case.

Well, it’s not that they’re naïve; they’re just quite oblivious of the impact brought about by their mere presence. And looking at their attires right now, from their judgment, it’s just simple outfits, really! So why bother about something so plain?

The people aboard the shuttle are also not to be blamed. Is it now a crime to gawk at others even though this said people are actually the ones giving them the reason why they do such? And who on earth with a right mind would pay no heed to two dazzling creatures who look like runway models? It’s not an everyday thing to actually see such beauty in a close proximity, right?

As minutes tick by slowly, Cagalli is growing more and more impatient not because of the long trip (In this fic, the travel time between Orb and Plants is 24 hrs. or 1 day.) but actually due to the annoying stares around.

Lacus, upon noticing her troubled look, decided to initiate a conversation, “Cags, are you ok?”

Cagalli, not really in the mood to talk, dismissed Lacus’ question with a slight nod.

“Ok, I understand… If ever you’re growing bored or something just let me know.” Lacus said with a sad smile.

(Cagalli’s POV)

Sometimes, I really envy Lacus for her long patience and how great she handles this kind of situations. In some occasion, I feel as if I’m incompetent compared to her. And at times, I don’t know myself anymore, doing things just to prove to myself that I’m better than her is just plain stupid. But at some point, I realized I should be grateful that I’ve got to know her. She’s like the sister I never had, always so caring and thoughtful.

I know, dismissing her like that when in fact, she’s just trying to comfort me, somewhat hurt her feelings. So I decided to make up for it… I faced Lacus who’s seating beside me and apologize for my actions.

“Lacus, I’m so sorry for treating you like that, I didn’t mean it. The stares are just eating me up, that I can no longer stand it. Include the fact that I’m feeling quite jealous of you. How well you handle every situation, how talented you are, how perfect you are in every possible way… It’s like, all along I wanted to be you… I really can’t help it-”

I would have gone on and on if only Lacus didn’t cut me off.

“It’s ok Cags, I understand. You really surprise me with your outburst! But I really appreciated everything you’ve said and thank you. All I can say is have more faith in yourself, you’re perfect the way you are, trust me!” Lacus said with a serene look on her visage.

“And don’t mind them. It’s better for us to rest and conserve our energy for tomorrow’s activities. You’ll never know, maybe in wink of an eye (pertaining to sleep) we'll actually be there in no time,” she added with a grin.

So we chat for awhile, talking about our past experiences, our bandmates and our plans for the future, and so on and so forth… But she made sure not to bring up anything about love. We were so absorbed with our talk that we haven’t paid attention to both the time and the decreasing stares around us. Thank God!

Realizing that it’s already twelve midnight, we’re probably half-way to our destination by now, we decided to retire for the night and hope for the best tomorrow.

Minutes pass by, I found myself looking outside the shuttle. It seems like sleep is avoiding me because for some reason I just don’t feel heavy-eyed at all.

Looking around, I noticed that everyone is actually sleeping, some cuddled to their companion beside them, and others rest comfortably as if he/she is simply sitting with eyes closed. Even Lacus is already asleep, probably dreaming about something nice that made her smile so sweetly like that. I can’t help but smile in the process.

With nothing else to do, I reminisce about the past, particularly how I met my bandmates, my dearest friends.

Mir is my first friend in Orb, I met her when I was twelve. I’m actually a new student at that time, and no one seems to like me, probably because of how I look during my first day. I think they thought that I’m a witch with my all black look, and I confirmed that when I heard them calling me, ‘Witch Girl’. After that, everyone avoids me except for her. She actually approached me and squealed, “Cool!!! Can you be my friend?” What an odd girl! But I like her. Surprising as it is, I really treasured that moment. From then on, we became friends.

Next is Stellar, I met her in my junior year. It’s not actually a very good start for the two of us. She’s a new student acting all cute and innocent, but I’m not really convinced that I tried to confront her about it. Surprisingly, she dropped the act and argued with me. In the end, we both grew tired and arrive to a conclusion...

“This is stupid!”

“Yeah, I think so too.

But I must admit I had fun!”

“Me too… Can we be friends?”

“Sure!”

And that’s how Stell and I became friends, a hilarious way of making friends.

We met Shiho and Lacus during our senior year, both of them are from a different class that we don’t really know them. We became friends because of a group project in our Music class. Apparently, Ms. Murrue assigned me together with Shiho and Lacus to perform a piece, she allowed me to choose two other members so I chose Mir and Stellar.

At first, I really don’t know if this would work. Considering the fact that these two are actually opposites: Shiho, a strong willed girl with fiery attitude, just like me while Lacus, a soft-spoken girl with the sweetest smile and caring attitude, but thank goodness, it went well, no clash, no argument, no petty fights had happened. It’s as if, despite combining the odd attitudes we have; we fit perfectly well with each other. It’s just simply magnificent!

From then on, we became friends and hang out together even after the presentation.

We learned that each of us knows how to sing and play an instrument. With that, we decided to form a group, practice together, and join competitions. That’s how the ‘Mystique Beauties’ had been born.

“Hmm, it’s really nice to reminisce the past.” I said while yawning.

“Looks like sleep had finally found me. I certainly need to rest for tonight. Tomorrow would really be an interesting day.” Cagalli finished before fully succumbing to sleep.