Mikey Ross || Lost?!

Akihbara is bustling with afternoon traffic — the mecca of anime figurines thrumming with the nerdom that makes his blood sing. He’s been so hyped all day that he almost forgets to pull his mask back up after polishing off his magikarp taiyaki.

Almost.

After all, Ben would never let him live it down if he caused another stampede in a foreign country for outing himself. Long gone were the days when he was just a wayward kid from nowhere, Ohio. Now, his face was on the large billboard over Akihabara station as he pitched the pair of cat ear headphones he wore in awkward but charming Japanese.

Mikey Ross was a world-famous rockstar now–

And that came with some drawbacks.

But it also came with some serious perks.

Like — the funds to go absolutely wild on as many figurines and pieces of merch as he wanted.

Which is exactly what he did today.

Because today was a rare day off on tour — in fact, Mikey had bought Ben a Pompurin figurine that he’d claim he had no use for but secretly cherish, solely because he’d finessed them four precious days off in a row in one of Mikey’s favorite cities, Tokyo.

He loved any time they spent in Japan, but Tokyo held a special place in his heart. It was here the boys had filmed their first big-budget music video for the song Lost in Translation (Let's fast forward to the sad parts) and where Mikey had first blacked out and woken up in an alley in Shibuya.

But Most of all, Mikey loved all the anime merch he could buy. Things that a poor kid living paycheck to paycheck in rural Ohio could never dream of. Granted, he might have gone a little bit overboard today. The tall guitarist navigates through the crowd outside of AmiAmi, careful to keep his baseball cap, a Jigglypuff-themed one, a gift from his little sister, pulled down, and his matching mask pulled up to conceal his telltale freckles. Ben would absolutely murder him if he caused a scandal — again.

He’d almost not let Mikey go out on his own — but Zack was busy with doing gear checks, Davey had gone off to a temple, Vic was too busy with his new girlfriend, and Kellin was jetlagged and had told Mikey to fuck off when he tried to wake him. Which meant Mikey was on his own.

It’d be fine!

After all, he’s been to Tokyo a bunch of times! What could go wrong? As he crosses the bridge, he pulls out his phone from the pocket of his denim jacket, planning to look up the directions to the Creepy Vending Machines only... His screen flashes that he’s at only 5% battery, then BLACK.

“Wait–” he panics, tapping the screen as if that would do anything. “Damn! I knew I shouldn’t have played Pokémon Go all day!” An exasperated sigh escapes his lips as he shoves the device back in his pocket. “Ben’s gonna kill me...” He mutters to himself, leaning against the bridge.

He barely notices as rain clouds begin to roll in overhead — the Spring weather in Tokyo is taking a typical turn for the worse. Commuters began to undo their umbrellas, always prepared for the sudden storms. But not Mikey, He’s oblivious. Just as he leaned against the ledge of the bridge, wondering how he was going to get back to the hotel, thick raindrops began to fall from the sky.

One

Two

Three

And then — dozens.

Suddenly, a torrential sheet of rain slammed into the pavement — and Mikey himself. He should have brought an umbrella like Davey had warned him to. “SHIT!” He yelps, quickly leaping up and grabbing his purchases. “I can’t let the boxes get wet! Vic will kill me if I ruin his new Zelda statuette.” After all, Mikey was replacing the one he accidentally broke by trying to learn the choreography to Gnarly on the bus last month.

He’s a blur of blonde hair and shopping bags as he sprints blindly through Akihabara, accidentally running from the station. He needs shelter—fast. Rounding a corner, Mikey spots his savior: a phone booth. Rare in the modern world, but one Mikey is infinitely grateful for.

The space is tight—Mikey tosses in his purchases before wedging into the small glass booth. “Phew,” he sighs, leaning back against the glass. Rain drips down his face as he catches his breath. He tugs his mask down, its fabric wet and clinging to his mouth, making it hard to breathe.

Mikey wonders just how long it will take for the storm to let up.

If only he had anyone’s phone numbers actually memorized...

Kellin is never going to let him live this down.

At the very least, he’d stay somewhat dry until the storm passed. Or so he thought, because suddenly the door of the phonebooth is open and Mikey finds himself with a complete stranger invading his space–

“HEY! WOAH! This phone booth is taken?!”