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Chapter Text

Emily walked along the empty streets of Tokyo. It was the early morning and she loved to hike. It was like a meditation exercise to her: walking made her feel calm, one with her surroundings. And she needed that these days.

Ever since Linkin Park released their new album From Zero, Emily's world had changed. She'd always had fans, sure. But not like this. Not on this international, grand scale, performing in arenas and festivals with 80.000 people a night. So, walking around a city alone wasn't something she did a lot anymore. Japan was different, though. People left her alone most of the time, or were very chill about it. She felt safe, even here in the big city.

The sky was pink and blue and a few sparrows flew overhead. She checked her phone. Almost 15.000 steps already, and it wasn't even 7 am yet! Not that she had a good sense of time while touring. It could be any time. She just knew she had slept a couple of hours and felt energized enough to start walking. She turned a corner and squinted right into the intense morning light. That's why she didn't see the girl with the sun-colored hair approach her, and was startled when she heard "hi, hey, are you Emily?" in an American accent.

"Hi, yeah, good morning!" Emily replied, still not knowing who the voice belonged to. But her eyes adapted to the brightness and her mouth fell open a bit. The girl in front of her was a short blonde, wearing black jeans and a Florence and the Machine t-shirt. Her plateau sneakers seemed comically large for her but then again, they suited her perfectly.

"Hayley Williams?" Emily just said her whole name. Because she had never met her in real life before. It made the smaller woman giggle. It was a wonderful sound. Bubbly, echoing the youthful rock star Emily remembered listening to all those years ago. It made her smile as well. "What are the fucking odds?" She wondered out loud.

Hayley's eyes were a striking green. They widened as she lifted her brows. "I know! Look at us, two early birds."

"Are you touring too?"

"No, just visiting friends. But I am totally going to your concert, tonight! Aaa I am so excited, and not just because my favorite band of all time is touring again, but also because they have a kick-ass new front woman who I admire very much!" She winked at Emily, who blushed and bobbed from foot to foot, hands buried in the pockets of her vest, not quite knowing what to do.

"You're coming to our concert? I, that's so cool? I always wanted to go to your concerts!"

Hayley was practically jumping up and down in excitement. "I will send you concert tickets to whatever show you want to go to!"

"This is so fun!" Emily was too aware of her less than cool outfit: just some old yoga pants and a woolen vest. She wished she was wearing her leather jacket or something. But Hayley didn't seem to mind at all.

"It totally is, right! Listen, we HAVE to take a selfie."

"Oh, of course!" Emily felt even more self conscious but she understood the assignment, gave Hayley a goofy smile as the shorter woman took a couple of pictures with her phone.

"Wow, you're so photogenic! Uhh, could I have your number? So I can send you the pictures too," Hayley asked.

"Sure, I'll type it in for you," Emily offered, taking Hayley's phone. Their hands grazed, and Hayley's were very warm, and soft. Emily stole a look at her new friend, and smiled. "You're so cute, oh my god," she commented as she typed in her name and phone number. She handed the phone back to Hayley.

"You think I'm cute?" Hayley did an old timesey curtsey, and giggled that wonderful laugh again.

"Yeah, too cute! I'm in dangerous territory here," Emily joked. "Where are you headed anyway? Can I walk you there?"

"Just back to my hotel, I was just on my morning walk," Hayley responded, taking Emily's arm and they set off.

"I can't believe this is real life," Emily said incredulously.

"Hey, stranger things have happened!"

~

"What are you smiling about?" Mike inquired. They were at the Saitama Super Arena doing sound checks. Mike always mirrored Emily's smile, which felt nice and reassuring. He had become like kind of an older brother to her, and she loved him very much.

"You will never guess who I walked into this morning. Like, you don't understand how much you will never guess this."

"Who?"

"Hayley fucking Williams!"

"What?" Mike's face brightened. It wasn't disbelief, but rather boyish excitement. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm so forreal right now! And guess what? Guess what, Mike! She's coming to the show!" Emily grabbed Mike and shook him.

"Oh shit! Now I'm nervous!" Mike joked. Emily showed him the selfies and he did a silent scream face. "That's the best picture ever."

"I'm one lucky bastard," Emily joked and she playfully pushed Mike's shoulder. "I'm going into pre-show vocal rest now, though."

Joe and Dave just walked onto the stage. "So you better not trick me into laughing again!" She directed that to them.

"What do you mean?"

"What does she mean?" Dave and Joe acted all innocently.

"Em's new girlfriend is coming to the show tonight!" Mike teased. But he knew not to tell the rest of the guys who it was until after the show, or they would never shut up about it and she would get zero vocal rest.

During the concert, it was surreal to know that Hayley Williams of Paramore was watching her perform. Emily rocked it, but inside she was freaking out a bit, and thinking about whether they would hang out the next day. The band had a couple of rest days after this night, in fact.

And it wasn't until long after the concert, that Emily got a call.

"Hey, early bird," she answered with a slight after-concert husk.

"EMILY! THAT WAS THE BEST CONCERT EVER!" Emily held the phone a bit further from her ear, laughing.

"You think so? Hmm, I think I might be speaking to a fan."

"Listen, I'd tell you to shut up but you're speaking the truth! Oh, Emily, you are in a league of your own, did you know that?"

"Hayley, can we hang out tomorrow?"

"YES! I mean, yes, of course! Let's do it! Let's gooo!"

"Alright, see you then,"

"Yeah, see you then!"

"You're cute."

"I am, haha!"

"Bye."

Mike stared at her.

"It's a date!" Emily exclaimed and hugged him.

"Dude, you ARE so lucky!" Mike grinned and ruffled Emily's already ruffled hair. "Better go shower, stinky!"

"Hey! You sweat a lot too, you know!"

"I know," Mike winked. Emily shook her head and rolled her eyes fondly.

Chapter Text

Emily collapsed onto her hotel bed. Mentally, though, she was sitting pretty on cloud nine. The afterbuzz of the concert rung in her ears, her body still filled with adrenaline from the show. She smiled, eyes closed, thinking about the color of Hayley's hair.

Her room was spacious but simple, with slippers by the door and a plastered wall view. Emily always refused any exuberant extras or luxuries on tour. That wasn't her style. At home, she lived in a modest home and still drove her trusty Prius she'd had for over a decade now. She'd just brushed her teeth in her pyjamas consisting of a counterfeit Linkin Park t-shirt she'd bought to tease the guys (it was from the infamous 'Spike Minoda' era), and greyish, old pyjama pants she's had since she was a teen.

She looked at the texts she and Hayley had been exchanging. Hayley's were long with lots of smileys and hearts, while Emily's mostly consisted of witty oneliners. She'd throw in a wink or a heart or two, but her general policy of flirt-texting was that you gotta keep 'em guessing.

As her body was slowly calming down, her mind started to slip into that state right before you fall asleep. You're still somewhat conscious, yet you think of things you haven't necessarily chosen to think about. She saw a shadowy ceiling, one she'd look at while chatting late at night with the other kids in her work camp. All of them desperately wishing for a parent to love them, or at least to be there, but instead having to take care of each other. She'd comforted a lot of those kids when they'd cry, yet she felt the same as they did. Emily tried not to think about those times. But it was hard, when the memories willed themselves back up and she had nobody to talk to. She turned to her side and tried to recite all the lyrics to 'Hate to see your heart break' in her mind. Not a moment later, she was gone.

The moment she woke up, though, Emily went into panic mode. She was about to see miss Williams in just a few hours! After checking her phone to see if Hayley hadn't canceled (only tons of memes from Dave, like always), she jumped out of bed. She shaved her legs ~ something she only did before a date ~ and washed her unruly hair. Now, she was trying on different outfits, but nothing felt quite right. Should she go colorful? Monochrome? Funny print? Even colors? Band shirt?! She usually just threw something on and rolled with it. But Hayley was so stylish... How would Emily even compare? Mike would probably give her the right advice. Of course, Emily did have people to talk to. Her guys were great. Dave, Colin, Joe, Alex, definitely Brad, even when he wasn't actively touring with them. And Mike most of all. He got her on a level she didn't even get herself.

She opened the door, just to see Shinoda standing there with his goofy smile.

"I swear I was just about to knock."

"Our psychic bond is growing!" Emily joked. "I was just about to run up to your room."

Mike gave her a side hug and walked into the room. He was wearing baggy jeans and a pink and orange jersey. It reminded Emily of Hayley's hair...

"Mike! I need you - and I mean this in the gayest way possible - to take your shirt of."

He squinted his eyes and tilted his head. Emily was just as bad as Joe. Both of them spoke in jest 99 percent of the time, so he assumed everything they ever said was a joke.

"No, I'm serious! I've been trying on stuff for the last twenty minutes and nothing works. But that shirt, Mike. It's perfect! Can I borrow it, please?"

"Listen, Em, if you want to see me shirtless, you can just ask, you know?" They both laughed as he took the shirt off to reveal another, black shirt underneath. Mike was even more modest than Emily. She threw the pink and orange jersey over her head and looked in the hotel room mirror.

"It's perfect."

"Yeah. You look great," Mike said while in turn stealing one of Emily's sweaters. "I'm sure Hayley will think so too," he added with a wink. "In fact, that's why I came here. Me, Colin and Dave are going rock climbing, and Joe and Alex are out sight seeing. Just wanted to make sure you knew where everyone was today."

"Mike, I'm so nervous," she admitted, bobbing on her feet again.

"Are we talking secret concert or France?"

"Definitely secret concert levels," she admitted.

Mike looked concerned but gave her a grin. "Hey, you're going to do great, okay? You did fantastic then, you've got this in the bag too."

"You're the best," she replied, squeezing his shoulders and darting out, leaving him looking after her, shaking his head and smiling.

~

"Damnit, did I brush my teeth enough?" Emily thought while chewing on a couple of breath mints. She sat in the back of a cab, driving her the short distance to Hayley's hotel. The city, so tranquil and serene in the mornings, was now bustling with life. Street vendors did good business, and people stood in line for ice cream vending machines. Emily wondered how it was to live here.

"Hey, early bird," she said. Hayley was looking in the wrong direction so she hadn't seen Emily getting out of the car and walking up to her.

"Emily!!!" She hurled herself forward in an attack hug worthy of a Linkin Park mosh pit. "Ueno Park is right around the corner from here, Em!" Her voice sounded a bit higher than yesterday, probably from the excitement of the day.

"Okay, let's go," Emily replied, wanting to take Hayley's hand but not daring to just yet.

As they walked, Emily relaxed a little.

"I love your jersey," Hayley gushed. Emily made a mental note to buy Mike a beer later.

"Thanks, you look beautiful, of course," she stumbled to compliment the gorgeous Hayley, who wore a checked skirt and white t-shirt with her large boots. She'd done something with her makeup, Emily didn't know what, but it worked. She looked otherworldly.

Hayley smiled. "We'd make a cute couple," she joked, causing Emily to turn red. She nervous-burped and made an agreeing u-huh noise.

The weather was overcast but the temperature was pleasant.

"I heard that in spring, all these trees are filled with cherry blossom," Hayley said dreamily and tentatively hooked her arm into Emily's.

"That's a good reason to come back here some time," Emily replied. Hayley squeezed her arm. She hesitated. "Hayley?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I make a confession?"

"Sure, what's up?" Hayley's hair looked extra vibrant today. It made Emily tremble. They paused their hike and stood underneath a large, old cherry tree.

"I used to listen to your music so much, you know, back in the day. And, I, well, it's so funny because I had my first kiss with a girl while listening to Miracle."

"Shut up!"

"I'm forreal, I swear."

Hayley's looked at Emily's face inquisitively. "That's quite the song to kiss to," she said. "I'm so happy my music could inspire you, back then."

"Yeah, my life hasn't always been like this, you know." Emily swallowed back a lump in her throat. "But listening to songs like that, it made me feel understood. Seen. Like, I didn't understand what I was feeling before, you know? You gave it a voice. And eventually, it just made sense. And I knew I had to get out of there."

"Oh, Em..." Hayley looked up at her, a light blush on her cheeks. And as it so happened, a gust of wind blew a strand of sun colored hair in her face. Emily gently took it and tucked it behind Hayley's ear.

"I can't get over how cute you are," she whispered, and swallowed. Hayley looked at her with her big, green eyes, her lips slightly parted and the blush turning brighter. Softly, Emily pressed her lips gently against Hayley's cheek, right next to her mouth. Hayley let out a small gasp, which made the corners of Emily's mouth curl up.

"I'm... I have yet to have my first kiss with a girl," she whimpered.

"Well, then this is your chance," Emily replied, gently lifting up Hayley's chin with her hand.