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Several days went by, and he heard nothing from Krispin. However, one morning as he flipped through the threads that his boss forwarded to him everyday, he found a short message from Laran. "Hey, Jin! Remember that cool group I was playing for you? Crustacean, with that sickening cover. They're playing at the Fringe on Friday if you wanna come. Figured you'd be interested. I'll hold your seat in the dj booth, 'kay? Seeya!"

He disregarded the rest of his threads and sat back to think. Crustacean. Another chance to see Krispin, and not in cyberform this time. Did he dare? He was aware that this strange boy was having an effect on him.. the sultry voice that crept into his mind when he wasn't expecting it, the mismatched eyes that faded from his dreams as he awoke in the mornings. He hated it already. He didn't want anyone close anymore. As soon as they had you in their clutches, they tore you to pieces, and he didn't want his beautiful image of Krispin ruined that way.

But then there was that grinding music that sparked his soul, that glistening laughter, that gleaming green eye that peered between silver locks of hair. And the one image that stayed in his mind; the wild, hopeful expression on Krispin's face as he talked of flying off the bridge.

He supposed his decision had been made for him as soon as he read the thread, really.

The Fringe was crowded and dark when he arrived on Friday, but Laran had saved him the other seat in the dj booth, as promised. He liked sitting up there; you were just above the masses of people, and yet completely removed from them. You could almost reach out and touch them, yet none of them even bothered to notice or care that you were there. He relaxed into his seat and lit up a cigarette, watching Laran switch discs.

"Hey Jin, you made it just in time. Couple more tracks from me and they'll be on." Laran bummed a cigarette off him and got comfortable.

"Yeah, I'm good like that." He waited quietly through several songs, not in the mood to talk, and Laran was silent too. He appreciated that. Laran was good at sensing his moods, and reacting accordingly. He wondered yet again why Laran was his friend.

The discordant squeal of protesting guitar strings brought him back to the present, and he sat forward. Sure enough, Laran had faded out the music and Crustacean were leaping onto the stage, instruments in hand. Without bothering to introduce themselves they began to play, and Jintesh took the time to stare at Krispin. He was wearing the same outfit as he'd worn both other times Jin had seen him, and his hair all but obscured his face. His bass guitar was slim and lean, and he hugged it low on his waist, pounding out the notes as his whole body swayed in time to the sound.

The music wove its spell around him, and Jintesh found himself torn between the desire to close his eyes and give in totally to the music, and the desire to watch Krispin's every move. He ended up compromising and alternating between the two; closing his eyes for a few minutes, then staring at Krispin for a few minutes. Once into the set, Krispin was a wildman onstage. Never mind the intensity of the singer -- it was Krispin who stole the show, leaping wildly all over the stage, crashing into the other members of the group, flinging his hair about like some sort of weapon, his expression manically gleeful. Jin couldn't help but smile, and he saw that the other members of Crustacean were grinning at Krispin as well. So he was always like this, then? It suited him, Jin supposed.

As the set went on, Jintesh began to notice how Krispin bumped up against the singer more than any of the others, and how between songs Krispin's arm was often draped casually over the singer's shoulders, almost possessive in a way. It sent twitches of jealousy through him that he did his best to suppress. So Krispin was taken. He should've figured that out. How could someone as fascinating as Krispin not have a partner already? And besides, Krispin only liked him for boredom relief, right?

As the set finally ended, and the music faded away, those mismatched eyes seemed to catch his for a second as they looked out over the crowd of people, and he hastily looked away. Laran always said the musicians could never see their fans because of the bright lights shining on them. He hoped it was right.

"That was some show, eh?" Laran turned to him from the disc he'd faded in over the last echoes of the live music.

"Uh, yeah. Pretty cool." Jin reached for his cigarettes. "Listen, I.. gotta go." He slid out of his seat, then remembered. "Thanks for inviting me, Laran."

Laran grabbed his sleeve as he moved to leave. "You okay, Jin?"

He nodded and even managed a smile and a wave as he pulled out of the grip and hurried outside to the street. Laran would know better than to chase him. If he needed Laran, he could always thread him. And he preferred to keep his woes to himself. There's was no point bringing everyone around him down as well.

"I was wondering if you'd turn up, Tesh." That amused voice rang out, and Jin jumped. He turned to see Krispin peering around the corner of the building at him.

"Shit. Stop that." He managed a glare; it was easier to be in a foul mood when it came to Krispin. It covered anything else he was feeling, and maybe it would drive the boy away eventually. But Krispin only laughed.

"I can't help it if you're nervous. Listen, come around here and talk to me while we pack up." Krispin disappeared around the corner. Jintesh considered turning and running the other way, but his feet were already betraying him.

He paused as he turned the corner to find a large van being packed up by the members of the band. His gaze rested on the singer a moment longer than the others. He wondered what the guy's name was, and what Krispin saw in him, and then he forced his mind down another track.

"You like the music, Tesh?" Krispin was next to him again, too close, and he jerked back a step.

"... yeah. You play a mean bass," he admitted.

"I know." Krispin grinned smugly. "It's a fucking awesome piece of equipment. Doesn't come close to those old wooden things they used to make, but I like it all the same." Jintesh blinked. Krispin actually knew about the old wooden bass guitars? He opened his mouth to ask about it, then snapped it shut again. No. He didn't want to get involved, did he?

"Whatcha think of Taisho's singing? He's got one hell of a unique voice." Krispin sounded proud now, his gaze on the singer. Jintesh felt that twitch of jealousy again.

"He's pretty good," he agreed. "I gotta go, Krispin. I.." He trailed off as Krispin turned surprised eyes -- or rather, one surprised eye, as the other was hidden by hair -- on him.

"Already? But you just got here! You're such a party pooper, Tesh." Krispin was laughing at him. He saw the singer, Taisho, watching them from the far side of the van. Feeling completely out of place, he turned to walk away.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. "You don't like me much, do you, Tesh?" Krispin's sweet voice was whispering almost in his ear, and he bit his tongue to stop his first response.

"It's not that," he managed to say, finally.

"What is it, then?" Krispin actually sounded serious for a change.

"I.." What could he say? He barely knew the guy. He couldn't just come out and admit this.. whatever-it-was he was feeling. He dared to turn around slowly, his eyes meeting Krispin's pale grey one. But he still couldn't find any decent words. Krispin grinned suddenly.

"You're cute, Tesh." And before Jin could even decide to figure out what he thought of that, he suddenly found Krispin's lips pressed against his. It was a short, delicate touch, barely enough to be called a kiss, but it was enough to make him crave more. And want to run away at the same time. He stared at Krispin, wide-eyed.. he certainly had no idea what to say now.

He took a step backwards. Krispin was watching him, the hint of a smile playing at the edge of his lips. Jin glanced away from him, towards the van, and saw that Taisho was watching him too.

It was too much. He turned and ran. He didn't want to deal with this. He didn't want to try and figure out what the hell he was feeling, not to mention what the hell Krispin was feeling, or thinking, or expecting from him. But Krispin's voice followed him as he ran away.

"Don't worry, Tesh, I'll find you!" And a giggle echoed in his ears all the way home.

Jintesh was shivering when he got home, but he blamed it on the cold of winter creeping in. Both the cold and the late night kicked in, making him sleepy, and he did nothing more than shrug out of his coat and boots before collapsing into bed and wrapping a warm cover around himself. Sleep was a better idea than thinking about Krispin. Maybe Krispin would leave him alone, now that he'd had some fun with him. Krispin could go back to playing with Taisho or something; Jintesh was boring company compared to that, surely. But oh, the taste of those gentle lips...

The blaring tones of his data-thread snapped him out of sleep early the next morning. He sat up abruptly, making a mental note to change it to something less caustic. But he received direct threads so rarely that he always forgot to change it.. until the next time it woke him so rudely. He wondered why his boss was calling him this early. He still had another day until his next deadline, right?

He reached across and flicked the answer switch as he climbed out of bed, heading for the kitchen. "Yeah, Hayato?"

"Hey, hey! Surprise, Tesh!" Krispin's voice buzzed out of the speaker and Jintesh stumbled and almost fell as he spun around. He dropped to his knees in front of his data-thread and stared at the slightly distorted image of Krispin.

"Well, you certainly look surprised. Did I wake you?" Krispin was grinning. Jin gaped for a moment and then realised how stupid he must look.

"Yeah," he managed to reply, rubbing his face in the hope it would wake him up. He ran his hands back through his hair. He probably looked like complete shit. Krispin had really made the effort to figure out what his thread was? He didn't know what to think. Especially after last night.

"Ahh. I don't sleep much. I forget everyone else does. So.. now that I've bothered to thread you, are you going to listen?" Krispin beamed at him. Jintesh had all but forgotten about saying that. And he hadn't expected Krispin to actually take him up on it, either.

"Well, sure, I guess. But -"

"No buts!" Krispin interrupted cheerfully. "Whatcha got planned for today? Unless it's vitally important, I'm breaking it."

"Uhh.. I'm supposed to finish the next part of my game." Jin's protest was only half-hearted. He wanted to see Krispin, even if he didn't want to. These contradictions were driving him nuts.

"Not good enough! I've seen you spin. You can get it done in no time. Today, we're going to have some fun, got it? Where do you live? I'll come get you." Krispin's determination to see him was exhilarating in a way, and he found himself giving his address.

"Right! Be there in an hour. That'll give you time to wake up." Krispin winked at him and then cut the thread, and he sat back on his heels. And wondered why. What did Krispin see in him? Why was Krispin so determined to be his friend, or whatever the hell it was he was doing? Didn't someone so exuberant and full of energy have more exciting things to do with his time? And more exciting friends to do them with? It thrilled him. And it scared the hell out of him. He craved Krispin, and he was terrified of it.

He sighed, and got to his feet again, heading for the bathroom this time. If he was going to spend the day with Krispin, he might as well look decent. And a long hot shower would be just what he needed.

Jintesh stood staring in the mirror, running a hand through his short hair every now and again. He'd washed, he'd shaved, he'd put a little gel in his hair to get the spikes happening, he'd even rimmed his eyes with the black kohl he liked so much. He was ready for this, sure. He could have some fun today, right? And he'd just try not to think about that kiss last night. If Krispin was going to act like it hadn't happened, then so was he.

He looked himself up and down again. He didn't own much in the way of clothes. Several pairs of black jeans, all of them torn. Several different black t-shirts adorned with various group names, most of them slowly falling to pieces. One pair of black boots. And his ankle length black leather coat, his only claim to vanity.

He'd once owned plenty of clothes, most of them vain and outrageous, but that was a long time ago. When he'd been with her, together they'd made each other freakishly beautiful and gone out to scare the masses and have fun doing so. But when she'd scorned him and left him, he'd been a little insane for a long time, and he'd destroyed all his clothes. Everything except his coat, and that had survived only because it was something he'd owned before she came along.

Now he almost wished he'd not destroyed absolutely everything. But then, if Krispin was going to like him, it wouldn't be for his clothes.

A light rapping on the front door startled him, and he checked himself once more in the mirror. He could do this.

"Tesh!" Krispin beamed at him as he opened the door, and then bounded into his apartment. "You ready to go? I'm ready!"

"Yeah, I just gotta grab my coat." Jintesh managed a smile for Krispin, ignoring his heart which had decided to beat uncomfortably loudly now that Krispin was actually here. He crossed the room and picked his coat up off the bed.

"Heeey! Nice bass!" Krispin's voice rang out behind him, it's tone appreciative. Jin turned in time to see Krispin picking up his old bass guitar almost reverently. "Can I..?"

"Sure." He shrugged. He hadn't played his bass in a long time. It used to soothe him. But his games did that now.

"Man, this thing is dusty. You should give it a decent workout more often." Krispin slung the strap over his shoulder and went about tuning the bass. Then he grinned, and pounded out a fast riff, fingers deftly plucking at the heavy strings. Jintesh pulled his coat on, watching the happy expression on Krispin's face. The boy really did love his music.

"I'm impressed, Tesh. This baby's almost as nice as mine." Krispin put the bass back in its place, and Jintesh couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I'm kind of fond of it. Haven't played in awhile."

"We should jam sometime." Krispin moved across the room to where Jin was watching him, and reached out to grab his hand. "Alright, let's go!" Startled, Jintesh let himself be dragged across the room, but after a moment he let go of Krispin's hand and shoved both his hands in his pockets. That simple touch alone was enough to make him sweat. Could he really do this?

"Where are we going, Krispin?"

"Wait and see."