The Next Beat

Johnny Higurashi sat inside the throbbing club, leaning up against the bar as music blasted and people danced. Instead he was waiting around for Taylor to show up. He had his phone out, checking the AFW feed to see what was going on. Taylor had said that she wanted to meet him at the club after she was finished with her work at AFW. He knew she wasn't in a match so he figured she was just working out.

But as he checked the Feed, he was shocked to see that Taylor had a promo with Akashi. "Shocking News! Taylor Parker Calls it Quits!" Johnny read the line over and over again. He really couldn't believe it! But now he wanted to get hold of her right now! Still, she said that she would be here. He had to act cool.

He leaned back against the bar as some girls passed by him. Ever since he had started dating Taylor, he had gotten a lot more looks from the ladies. He smiled at the thought as he waved to a girl that waved to him but shook his head when she called out for a dance. How did Mamouru do this? He'd be out there dancing with five girls at once!

Taylor and Akashi stopped at Taylor's apartment so she could change and fix herself up a little bit before going to see Johnny. They stopped for some food, Taylor didn't feel like drinking, at least not yet, and then they hopped the train to Kyoto.

She wore a clingy, silvery gray dress with thin straps at the top and a neckline that didn't let her rockstar pushup bra go to waste. It hugged the curves of her waist and her hips and ended in a fluttery hem that was boldly short. Her strong thighs were almost completely bare, and a pair of black boots came all the way up to her knees and zipped up the sides. She had put on her black choker necklace and her silver bracelet with the KAZE pendant, touched up her makeup, freshened her spicy perfume.

She alternated between being exceedingly chatty and totally silent during the train ride. She couldn't relax. She wanted to, but... she wasn't done for the day yet. She was still terrified that she'd just thrown her whole life away, but the jury was still out on that.

The club was just like she remembered it when she first met the Higurashi twins a year and a half ago. Thudding, throbbing music that she could feel in her chest. A swarm of young, trendy, provocatively dressed Japanese people grinding on the dance floor and throwing back mixed drinks. She breezed past the stares she got with Akashi in tow somewhere behind her and didn't stop until she reached the bar.

"Hey look! It's Joey Ramone's asian second cousin!" She called to Johnny to get his attention. They were the first words she'd ever said to him, when she was testing the waters. She was testing them again tonight.

Without breaking stride, Taylor collided with Johnny the moment he stood up and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug that made her heart ache. She never wanted to let go.

"Hey." She said quietly.

Akashi was eager to get out of the AFW complex and get onto some business with Taylor, even if that business was fun! She wasn't expecting them to head to Kyoto, but she didn't mind. A nice train ride with Taylor would be just what they needed. Though, Akashi still had a lot to get off her chest. She had a lot of things she needed to tell Taylor. A lot more had happened while they were fighting but Akashi wasn't going to ruin a pleasant conversation and some enjoyable time with her sister on this day. It seemed as if they had the rest of their lives to get into that sort of stuff. She peacefully engaged Taylor when it was time and silently reflected when it wasn't as the bullet train zoomed to Kyoto.

When they got to the club, Akashi looked around. The music throbbed to her core and she immediately felt ridiculous. She was surrounded by teeny-boppers and club goers wearing the latest modern trends while her style of clothing hadn't been been fashionable since Meiji was the emperor. Still, she got a lot of looks and not just because of how anachronistic she looked. Even with outdated clothes, she still looked beautiful and elegant. The cleavage helped too. But as Taylor plowed towards the bar, Akashi smiled and hung back, slowly clacking behind her from a safe distance.

Johnny let out a yawn as he took a sip from his drink. He tried his best not to get too into the drinks until Taylor showed up. He had decided to dance with a few groups every once in a while. However, the jitters got to him and he ended up running out of the club and sprinting the whole way back tot he Tension facility to watch Taylor's big announcement. He couldn't stand to just read a feed of it. He was shocked when he listened to it. He really couldn't believe it and his phone had been blowing up with questions like he knew. After dealing with all that, he ran all the way back to the club and cooled off. Now he had to play the anxious waiting game and the seconds passed like hours. He had even considered calling up Mamouru, but decided against it. He was considering sending Taylor a text to see where she was at when suddenly he heard a familiar voice. His eyes widened and he looked up with a goofy grin on his face, only to see a blue haired blur coming at him.

As Taylor crashed into him, Johnny pulled her up with his strong arms and squeezed her tightly, letting the bar support them as he lifted her off her feet and looked into her eye with a bright grin.

"Yo." He said, setting her down gently but keeping their bodies mashed together in an embrace. He pushed his head against hers so their lips barely touched and their breath mingled. "You rock my world too, babe...." His eyes stared into hers and he pushed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply and passionately.

When he pulled away, before she could say anything, he pulled her away from the bar and out tot he dance floor. It was time to show the girls he turned down exactly who why he was having none of them.

"Johnny-kun!" Akashi called out as the couple passed the sumo. "I got next dance!" She said with a wide grin.

"You'll have ta pry her away from me!"

Akashi laughed. 'Who said I meant Taylor-chan!?" She said and stuck out her tongue as Johnny just laughed.

Taylor kissed Johnny back like they were the only people in the club, like she hadn't seen him in months. She closed her eyes and was lost in the moment, until Johnny pulled back. When she opened her eyes, she gave him a dreamy grin, as if drunk.

She skipped her way to the dance floor and struck a pose in front of Johnny, one arm folded above her head, her hips out at a jaunty angle. She slid two fingers on her other hand up the side of her thigh, dragging the hem of her dress up to her hip until it just revealed the black string of her underwear. With a grin and sultry eyes, she started to dance. Her confidence, her dress, her body, her shining blue eyes and punk blue hair, her brash, sultry, flirty attitude, and her athletic, joyful abandon drew the attention of club-goers all around her. A space began to clear around the pair as they got into it.

For song after song she completely forgot about the outside world. She was aware of the people around them, but they might as well have been alone. She fuzzy and free and delicately blissful. She poured everything in her out into her sexy, playful, sweet and intimate dancing. She didn't know if she'd ever felt closer to Johnny.

"I'm moving to Kyoto." She said, as if it wasn't up for discussion. It wasn't. She kept dancing, but kept her eyes on him while she waited for his reaction.

Johnny was pulled into Taylor as the two began to dance. His moves, while not nearly as sultry as hers, were still respectable. He could dance when he had to, especially when it was with, and up against, Taylor. He let the music and her motions dictate their pace as he felt the slightly claustrophobic feel of the crowd lax and loosen as they were given a berth wide enough to be gawked at. He didn't care. They were staring at the pair because the two were the hottest thing going and they both knew it.

As they danced, Taylor said something that was very important, almost casually. Johnny's eyes widened and he almost faltered in his dancing movements for a moment. His heart shot against his chest and he could feel a rush against him, he pressed her hard against his body and gave her a quick kiss. "great!" He said. "I can finally kick Mamouru out!" He said with a grin. "Who would have thought it would have been me doing that... Always figured it would be the other way around." Johnny grinned like it was impossible for him to do anything but. "Maybe the two of you can just switch places, haha! It's time he moved out from under his brother's wing and learned to fly! Ahahaha!"

Johnny hugged Taylor tightly, delighted that he could have a poke at his brother. They were bros, but he was tired of living under his playboy brother's shadow when it came to girls and he had definitely made it into the light as he looked over Taylor.

"I love you, babe."

Taylor burst out laughing at the thought of it. "Yeah! Mamouru can just live with Cassie! Oh, what a let down that would be for her. She's got it baaaaad for you." Taylor said with a sly grin. "But who knows, maybe once she gets old enough her standards will slide enough that she'll toss Mamouru one out of pity."

She hugged him back. "I love you too." She said with a sweet, almost shy smile.

She went back to dancing, in place, more understated. A conversational pace. "So, um..." She began. She wasn't sure how to say it. "So, like, um..." One more try. "Johnny." She said, and looked into his eyes. She stopped again, and looked almost like a deer in headlights. She was obviously getting nervous.

Johnny was perplexed by Taylor's words. Obviously Cassie didn't like Johnny, that was just silly. And even if she DID like guys, how could she possibly ever sink low enough to like MAMOURU! Taylor must have been a little too high on life!Still, Johnny played it off and laughed along with her, hugging her close as they danced enough to not get kicked off the floor, the crowd slowly filtering in around them.

His heart beat rapidly against hers as he let his hands settle against the top of her ass, a nice resting place. As she suddenly looked sheepish, Johnny tried to beckon her to speak with an inviting look. When she didn't, Johnny tried something else. "I guess that means you'll be sleepin here tonight and junk?' He said with a grin.

Taylor bit Johnny playfully on the nose. "Rawr." She said quietly.

But she wasn't finished. "Johnny, I want you to know that, like, um... It's like Akashi, she's my sister and she always will be and I love her and everything is so much better now because of her. Right? But... You too. You really... When we met you just seemed like another hot guy in a club, but I had no idea that we'd... like you get me and stuff, and like, I don't know how to tell you how much different my life is now because of you. I've never had anyone look at me like you do... I've never felt like I do about anyone but you. Like, just sex would get sooooo boring with just any guy, if it's just physical and stuff, but with you, like... We have a lot of sex, right? But it's not just a physical thing, and it's not even complicated and I love how simple things are with you and... I just... Johnny, I'm so, so in love with you, and I don't ever want you to leave. Even if I wig out again and try to screw everything up, I want you to always be there, here, and I want to always be here for you and with you and I'm sorry I don't even know what I'm saying anymore maybe I should just... shut up."

She closed her mouth and smiled at him, and then wrapped him up in another hug, pressing her cheek against his shoulder.

Johnny giggled when Taylor bit his nose. She really was a lot of things. Hot, sexy and even adorable. It made Johnny's heart melt but he was not prepared for the stream of consciousness that suddenly began to exude from Taylor. He stood, holding her and gently swaying with her as she let it all out. His mouth open and grinning like an idiot while his wide eyes took it all in.

When it was finally over, it felt like a tornado had just blown past him and suddenly everything was calm again. He felt her cheek press into his shoulder and held her tightly and silently for a long moment. "Taylor-chan..." He said. "You changed my life too. And you've been the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I feel like I could conquer the whole world with you at my side and I never want to leave yours. These past few months have probably been the worst I've had to live through, just not knowing what was coming next and I never want that to happen again. I just wanna be with you, babe. I love you more than anythin."

Johnny let out a deep breath as he felt Taylor against him. His hand went up and down her back reassuringly. "Everythin's gonna be great now, babe." He said with a deep relief in his tone. He felt lighter than air. "Everything else will just sort itself out, right?" He said turning his head to kiss her cheek lightly.

"Yeah." Taylor said, still clinging to Johnny as if she wasn't ever going to let go. If it was up to her, she might not. She felt giddy and serene at the same time.

"Should we get married?" She asked out of nowhere. She barely thought anything of saying the words. There was nothing she'd be afraid to say to Johnny, and so what she felt just came out without hesitation and without warning. After a pause she peered up at him. "Maybe?"