Star-crossed double-cross 18

Chapter 18 – Nippon

“Five minutes, Miss Cabello,” called out a woman, popping her head around the corner of the open-air changing room.

Lucian shook his head, watching as his newly dyed hair hardly moved in the mirror in front of him. Now bright blonde with pink highlights, it had been styled for maximum volume, held in position with multiple pins and clips. Below, his glossy pink lips glistened, their colour matching his dramatically applied eye shadow.

“Now, don’t be nervous,” Mariana announced as she threaded a long dangly pink gem earing through one of the holes in Lucian’s left ear. “You remember what to say, right?”

“Konnichiwa, Tokyo. I’m super happy to be here,” Lucian sang out in a high feminine voice as he felt his restrictive multi-coloured pleather mini-dress squash his fake breasts and crush his ribcage.

“Very good,” Mariana replied, moving on to the other ear. “Just remember to smile. You only have to perform two songs, and then we can leave.”

Lucian nodded and forced his inflated lips into a half-smile. Placing all his weight on his left leg, he balanced his right foot on the tip of its tall stiletto heel and thought back to how he’d arrived in this situation.

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Two weeks earlier

“Oh, don’t look so glum,” Said Bianca, rolling her eyes. “Most people dream of being a famous singer. You get to travel the world and live out that dream.”

“Yeah, except most people aren’t blackmailed into doing it,” replied Lucian, unzipping a leather skirt from around his waist. “Where are we even going?”

“Well, as you know. The plan is to get back at Melena by messing up her relationship with Zane. So, I’ve talked to the record company, and after hinting at the possibilities for some good publicity, they have arranged for Bianca to join Zane out on tour for a few select dates in Japan.”

“Japan! This is crazy, Bianca,” Lucian responded as he continued to get undressed. “I’ve never even left the states. I know nothing about Japan. What do you expect me to do while out there?”

“Easy. You'll be me. You'll perform in a few concerts, attend some press interviews, and take part in a few staged events,” Bianca replied as she took from Lucian the skirt, he had just removed.

Spinning his half-naked body around to face her, Lucian’s jaw dropped. “I can’t take your place on stage for a whole show. I’ll mess up, “he stated in utter shock.

“Unlikely,” Bianca replied while tutting. “My whole life is one big list of instructions. Just do as you are told, and you’ll be great.”

“What about the other times? I don’t know how to be you in social situations,” moaned Lucian as he started rolling a pair of pantyhose down his legs. “Isn’t it too risky? Someone’s definitely going to realise that I’m not you!”

“Doubt it,” Bianca retorted, shimmying the skirt up her legs. “All the interview questions will be vetted beforehand with your answers scripted. And When you are with Zane or Melena, just act like you did last time. They seemed to buy it.”

Sat there in just his frilly underwear set, Lucian pouted. “Please, Bianca! Don’t make me do this,” he begged, looking deep into his doppelganger’s eyes.”

“Hey,” shouted Bianca, causing Lucian to jump. “Stop that puppy dog shit. You brought this on yourself remember. You’re doing this! if you don’t, I’ll go to the newspapers and tell them your whole story. I can see the headline now. ‘Bianca’s boy double.’ ‘Superstar's sissy stand in.’ Don’t think I won’t do it. I’ll tell everyone it was the record company’s doing. That'll teach them for refusing that new contract I'm owed.”

Closing his tired eyes, Lucian sighed loudly. He still didn’t know how Bianca had found out his secret, but, either way, it didn't really matter. She had him over a barrel, and now he had no choice but to bend to her every will. “Yes, I know. You’ve told me like five thousand times already. I just don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

“We'll have less of that sass, thank you. But, duh, come on girl. We're getting back at Melena by messing up her relationship with Zane. You can't expect me to go near that bastard after how he treated me!” Bianca replied, flicking her hair. “And seeing as nearly every activity organised on the trip involves Bianca spending time with either Zane or Melena. Oh, by the way, who will also be in Japan touring. You’ll have to be the one to do it!”

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“Konnichiwa, Tokyo. I’m super happy to be here,” Lucian sang out in a high feminine voice as the crowd of people out to see Bianca Cabello cheered wildly.

(See Image 18.1)

Lucian shivered as he looked out into the screaming mass of excited people, his thin fur jacket and pantyhose doing nothing to fend off the chilly early evening wind. Dazed and frightened, the crossdressed boy now found himself in one of Tokyo’s busiest districts. Standing on a temporary stage, he was about to impersonate one of the most famous people on the planet and do it in front of a crowd of people while performing an intricate dance routine in six-inch heels.

Hearing music erupt from the speakers above him, Lucian forced himself to smile as he thought about the ludicrous scenario he was now at the centre of. All those people! Thousands, possibly millions, given the size of the city, all inconvenienced by the closing of the road. And why? So people could listen to a few generic, cheesy pop songs being sung, or in this case, lip-synced. It was pure craziness!

“Showtime,” Lucian thought as he felt his restricted body start moving atop his impractical footwear. Jetlagged, he was eager to get the event over with. Even if he knew it was just the start, of what would undoubtedly be, a long and exhausting, weeklong adventure in the land of the rising sun.