Chapter Text
With how successful the band had been since the culture festival performance, it only made sense that they would need to practice harder than ever before. The band’s jam sessions had been going later and later into the day as a result. Bocchi took well to the more rigorous practice. In her years playing guitar solo, practice was all she did most days. She of course spent lots of time teaching Kita different intricacies of the guitar to help her grow, but she was most able to jam out alongside Nijika. They were both good at what they did, and the melodies flowed smoothly when the two played.
And then, a whole beast unto herself, was Ryo. Ever aloof, Hitori still felt that there was a distance between the two of them that she was struggling to overcome. Any attempt at asking her to practice together ultimately fell flat, as Bocchi simply didn’t know how to interrupt Ryo’s private practice. She took multiple approaches: Attempts to catch her attention right as she arrived at Starry would usually somehow end with Bocchi taking a trip to buy her something from the vending machine, and the few times she was able to manage a short “R-Ryo, hey Ryo…” while Ryo was mid-practice wouldn’t ever get her far. What kind of band has a bassist and lead guitarist with bad chemistry?!
One day, after a few failed grasps into the abyss of Ryo’s attention, Hitori had resigned herself to practicing in the closet. This was of course due to the fact that closets had the best acoustics, and not for the fact that she had spent a vast portion of her life practicing inside them at this point. Bocchi lost herself in the music, and minutes soon turned into hours. It wasn’t until the automatic lights outside switched off that she realized something was up. Emerging from her closet rehearsal much as the cicadas emerge into the spring, Bocchi was horrified to round the corner and realize she was the last one in Starry. How had they forgotten her? The lights came back on when they detected her motion, but the place was a total ghost town! It wasn’t difficult to envision a tumbleweed rolling across the stage. Sure enough, Bocchi began to perceive herself much in the same way as the lone riders of the Wild West. She roamed around the abandoned club, strumming out her woeful tune.
Bocchi sunk deeper into her imagination, playing her ballad with more vigor. She could almost hear a bass guitar join in accompaniment to the song she played. A bass guitar. She was startled from her immersion as she realized she was not in fact alone. Ryo was sitting on the edge of the stage, and presumably had been there for who knows how long while Bocchi had gotten lost in the music.
“Why’d you stop?” Ryo asked curtly.
“I-I didn’t realize anyone was here to hear it!” Bocchi squeaked. “And where did you come from anyway, I thought everyone had gone home?”
Ryo plucked at her bass as if thoughtful. “...I fell asleep under the counter. The others must have forgotten I was here.”
Bocchi sighed. Such antics were not unexpected from Ryo. After a few more moments thought, Hitori realized that the both of them being forgotten here could be a blessing in disguise! When else would an opportunity to practice be presented on such a silver platter? And so, with a degree of trepidation common for Bocchi, she spoke up.
“W-well, since we’re both here, do you want to practice?”
Ryo stared for a moment. Hitori began to freak out internally. Had she done something wrong? Yes, it must have been stupid to ask Ryo to stay and practice when they were already here quite late. She began to panic, imagining all the ways that Ryo might shoot her down for her ignorance. Yes, she would surely have to repent for such a sin as asking for any more of her hardworking bandmate’s time. Yes, she-
“Sure, we can work on our harmony.”
Ryo’s answer was brief and sharp enough to rouse Bocchi from her downward spiral.
“O-O-oh, I’m glad you agreed! N-not that you had any reason not to, b-but, a-ah-”
Ryo seemed to ignore Bocchi’s floundering and simply resumed playing her bass. Hitori, after a few deep breaths and attempts at self affirmation, took the lead. Despite how little the two had played with just each other, their sounds were able to blend together quite well. The bass and lead seemed to weave a musical tapestry all on their own. Bocchi quickly lost herself in the music, and Ryo seemed to play just as easily as she breathed. Bocchi had always admired how Ryo seemed to effortlessly excel at her craft. That was the way a bassist should be, she thought. A quiet, mysterious, and effortlessly cool savant.
After an exceedingly long jam session, the two girls began to wind down and pack up their instruments. The time had gotten away from them, and the wall’s analog clock now read 11 PM. Bocchi would have to rush to catch one of the last trains home.
“It was good to play with you one on one,” Ryo said, “You’ve gotten much better at playing with others.”
Bocchi beamed at the praise, feeling it was quite meaningful from someone like Ryo who was usually more expressionless.
“A-ah, thank y-you, I’ve only really done well thanks to all of you supporting me…”
“Well of course,” Ryo said as she slung her bass over her shoulder, “we grow together, that’s the best way.”
With her sage advice imparted, she walked to the front door and promptly slammed into it. She shook the handle, seeming confused.
“Ah. It’s locked.”
Hitori’s heart sank at that statement. Locked?! How could the door be locked while they were still both in here?! She went to the door and tried it as Ryo moved out of the way. Sure enough, the door wouldn’t budge.
“I-I-It really is! What are we going to do?!” Bocchi exclaimed.
“I don’t know. We’ll probably starve here,” Ryo teased. “You would let me eat you if it came to it, right Bocchi?”
…
“Bocchi?”
Ryo looked over to see that Bocchi was lying against the door, looking despondent. Even if they were able to find a spare key and unlock it, she would surely miss her train home. What should she even do in this situation? Obviously, she would need to let her parents know about the emergency. After that, they might need to contact the fire department to break them out. How would they find the money to replace Starry’s door? Seika would eat them alive if they damaged the building. On top of that, Bocchi began to wonder how embarrassed Nijika and Kita would be about forgetting her and Ryo in the first place. She could practically hear them now.
“You big idiot,” they seemed to say, “look how you ruined everything.”
Bocchi was once again stirred from the pit of her negative thoughts by Ryo. This time, Ryo was standing over her and playfully slapping her cheek.
“Bocchi. Bocchi, did you hit your head? You’re mumbling about the fire department.”
Bocchi blushed, embarrassed that the fantasy had crossed into reality. She quickly stood up and shook her head to ground herself.
“W-well I’m alright, but what are we going to do?”
Ryo blinked as if the question was absurd.
“Well we’ll simply have to stay the night. I already texted my parents while you were melting.”
“Stay the night at Starry? But won’t Seika be upset if we do?” Bocchi asked.
Ryo shook her head before continuing. “Why would she be? And besides, me and Nijika have stayed the night here together a few times before. It’s like a sleepover.”
A sleepover. Bocchi had never had a proper sleepover before, so the concept was unfamiliar. Trusting Ryo’s judgement, she pulled out her phone and texted her parents that she was staying the night at Starry with Ryo. Her parents responded instantly, giving their affirmation and telling her to call them if she needed anything. With that bit covered, she looked back up at Ryo. The girl was digging around in the storage under the stage. Bocchi watched in amusement before Ryo popped out, clutching two sleeping bags. She turned and placed one in front of Bocchi.
“Here, this is Nijika’s, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you using it,” Ryo said, “She bought these for us when the band was just getting started. She assumed that we’d be working so hard, we would have to stay the night often. I guess her planning was worthwhile.”
Bocchi nodded, picking up the yellow sleeping bag and rolling it out onto the floor. Despite how stressed she had been at the start of this situation, it was turning out alright. On top of that, it was helping to break the ice that she still felt between her and Ryo. She watched as Ryo rolled out her sleeping bag as well. Bocchi settled into her sleeping bag as Ryo did the same, the two girls sitting in comfortable silence. The only sound that could be heard was the slight hum of the air conditioner. She turned to look at the other girl, who was simply staring up at the ceiling.
“I-I really enjoyed practicing with you today,” Bocchi stammered.
“Thanks,” Ryo began, “It’s always nice to play with you. Like I said earlier, I think you’ve gotten much better since our first performance together. I guess we should practice more often instead of just meeting to discuss lyrics and things like that.”
Bocchi felt an unexpected sense of butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the thought of getting to spend more time together like this. The feeling was unfamiliar, and she was struggling to process why exactly she felt the anticipation and nervousness she was feeling.
“I-I’d like t-that,” Bocchi said, “Practicing more together, I m-mean.”
After a few more moments, the silence in the room was broken by a ripping noise. Bocchi looked over, startled, to see Ryo with an annoyed look on her face.
“The bag tore when I rolled over…” Ryo said. She stood up and dropped the bag, revealing that there was indeed a slight tear along the edge of the bag. She looked over to Bocchi, with a contemplative look.
“I’ll get cold now,” she mused.
“W-well,” Bocchi started, “You could sleep on the couch in the other room-”
“-No, it gets cold in there too,” Ryo asserted. She stepped closer, standing over Bocchi and looking down at her. A thought was clearly brewing in her head, and it made Hitori nervous. She then nodded, as if having made a decision.
“Let me get into the sleeping bag with you,” Ryo said, as if it was the only reasonable option. Bocchi felt her face flush with embarrassment at the thought of sleeping right next to Ryo like that, and so she quickly responded.
“W-w-what, no way! There’s not nearly enough room, i-it wouldn’t be comfortable for you, it-”
“-Do you want me to freeze to death?”
Ryo asked the overdramatic question with so much seriousness that it was hard to argue with. And so, Bocchi scooted over to make just enough room for Ryo to slide into the sleeping bag as well. They were packed like sardines, but it was surprising that the bag was large enough to allow this in the first place. Perhaps Nijika had bought a double size? Whatever the case, this was the closest that Bocchi had ever slept to someone. The feeling of Ryo’s body heat and the sound of her quiet breathing were soothing, but they caused more flustered feelings to well up within her. She struggled to get comfortable, fidgeting and shifting in the enclosed space. Eventually, she was able to find the position that felt the most comfortable. She was lying pressed against Ryo’s back with her arms resting at her sides. The proximity that had initially felt claustrophobic and embarrassing was now serving to lull her to sleep. Her last thought as she drifted off was that Ryo’s hair smelled faintly of berries. She could get used to smelling it so close.