Top the Charts (Horatio x abitdim)

[Horatio]

The sound of the crowd cheering echoed throughout the sold-out Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles. It was the fourth show of the Rock Your Face Off tour for the internationally famous popstar Krios. The concert had yet to begin but the lights were flashing, indicating the opening act would be coming on soon. The interesting part about Krios' shows were that he always kept the opening act a secret and fans made a game out of guessing who would performing before the main event. Tonight's show fans guesses were fighting between Fun and Ed Sheeran. Little did they know both guesses were wrong.
"I found your eyeliner Mr. Diva," a short, dumpy sort-of woman scowled as she made her way into the dressing room backstage. Her name was Irma and she was Krios' manager. She had been pretty once and had been a famous singer herself, until an accident had ruined her singing voice. Now she was bitter and totally jealous of Krios' success, constantly trying to think of ways to climb her way back to the top.
"Thanks Irmama, you're the best," she glared at the sarcastic smile on the face of her charge.
Krios took the eyeliner from the blonde woman and turned back to the mirror to apply it. His smirk grew as he noticed Irma's hair needed redyeing, her grayish roots were showing.
The popstar focused his attention back on his appearance, checking over the tight jeans, knee-high purple chucks and ripped purple tank-top. That was one of his favorite things about being a popstar, he could totally wear the outrageous clothes he loved and not get eyeballed for it. He ran a hand through his teal-colored hair, his trademark. He didn't remember what his original hair color was anymore, he'd been dyeing it since he was 13.
He finished off the ensemble by tying a black velvet choker around his neck and smiled. He was ready to rock.
"The opening act goes on in five minutes and you go on in a little less than an hour, remember you're entering from the left side of the stage," Irma read off her clipboard as Krios flopped onto the small couch that took up most of his dressing room. The other thing that took up the rest of the space was Krios' pet tiger, Sasha. He'd raised her since she was a cub, she wore a rhinestone collar and had red highlights in her fur. But despite her fierce appearance, she was as docile as a house cat and thought she was small enough to curl up in her owner's lap. Krios pet her large head as she nuzzled against him on the couch.
"Yeah, I know, I'm ready," they'd originally planned to have him repel onto the stage from the ceiling but management for the amphitheater had said no.
"I don't want to see you pulling any of your stunts tonight," Irma glared at the young singer. Krios just laughed.
"I have no idea what you mean Irmama..."

[abitdim]

"Will you stop being a prat for once? You're going on in less than five minutes!" Hushed shouting came from the long hallway behind stage. Gavin Elst was containing laughter, not wanting to anger his manager Brodie even more. His hair was completely doused in flour, and Brodie was doing her best to make him look at least somewhat presentable. The manager finally got the bulk of it out and threw a beanie on top of his head, scowling at him.

"Where did you even get flour? Did you smuggle it in? What the hell possesses you to do this kind of shit?" She yelled at him, pushing him down the dark hallway. At least the beanie went well with his dark clothes, though he was going to stand out like a lump on a log in Los Angeles. They passed Krios and Irma, and Brodie stopped to talk with the other manager while Gavin tried his best to stay as far away from Sasha as possible.

"Princess, do you really have to bring your demon cat everywhere?" Gavin hissed, eyeing Sasha as if she really was the devil. "We're in L.A., for God's sake. There are so many people that could piss her off or start a rampage or something." Gavin tried to make a steady argument, but mostly just blabbered on about how terrifying the cat was.

"Alright, you little shit. You're on." Brodie said, pulling Gavin away from Krios. "Good luck, Precious." He said to Irma, winking at her as Brodie groaned and pulled him away. It was better to get on her good side, Gavin decided, as he was pushed up on stage and handed a microphone. "Don't fuck up." Brodie yelled at him, as the cheers of the crowd became louder.

Gavin jumped up on stage, and the crowd went crazy. "Why hello, Los Angeles!" He yelled into the microphone, smiling cheekily at the crowd. "Fancy meeting you here!" He said, walking around the stage. "Fucking crazy day, right?" He asked, taking off his hat and shaking hair flour into the crowd, who both laughed and cheered. "You don't even want to know what happens backstage."

"Alright then, who's ready to hear an unreleased song?" He asked, and the band began to play.

[Horatio]

Ugh, why did Irma insist on letting this bloody show pony be his opening act? Gavin had to be the most annoying person on the planet. And one of the most talented, he was loath to admit.
Krios and Gavin were two of the most popular artists in the world at the moment. Gavin was popular with the British Invasion crowd and Krios' energy and amazing live performances had people flocking to his shows. They were constantly dueling for number 1 on the Top 40s charts and because of that, always tried to best one another. The media had went wild when they found out the rivalry was in fact real and the tabloids were constantly insinuating a love/hate relationship between the two. Krios always vehnemently denied this whenever it was brought up but of course, that just made them gossip harder.
Even their fans got into it, forming Krios' Army and Team Gavin. It made Krios laugh that he got a majority of Harry Potter fans while Gavin got the Twihards. But they were both formitable groups, the internet exploding with debates on who was better. Gavin was wackier but Krios had better lyrics. The list went on and on and neither side ever seemed to have a clear victory.
Krios didn't care, he ignored Gavin's existence most of the time. The popstar grinned when the Brit came in and started insulting his pet. He didn't understand why Gavin hated her so much, just because she had once eaten a pair of his shoes, the boy threw a hissy fit.
"Careful Elst or I'll sic her on you," he winked as the brunet was led off towards the stage. Krios got up, going out into the wings where he could watch Gavin perform unnoticed. Sasha sat by his side, Krios using her head as an arm rest. His band milled around behind him, tuning and getting ready. Krios smiled as he enjoyed the show, he'd give the Brit one thing, he knew how to appeal to the crowd. It was like the only thing they had in common.

[abitdim]

By the end of the performance, Gavin had lost both his jacket and his shirt, but somehow managed to hang on to his beanie. Brodie was muttering about how he needed to stop doing that the entire time, but it raised the crowds' excitement. "I believe that you've stolen enough of my clothing, and I have to be going." The crowd booed, and Gavin laughed. "Thank you Las Angeles, and have a good time with Krios. A good of a time as you can, anyway." The crowd went wild at that one, as it only fueled the fire for the rivalry. Gavin blew a kiss and jumped off the stage.

"You're going to get us killed, I swear it." Brodie scolded him as Gavin laughed her off, and went to go put a shirt on. "Those things cost money, Gavin, and it's coming out of your paycheck!" She screamed at him, and flopped down onto a chair. "He's going to kill me, I swear that he will." She mumbled.

Gavin came back out, wearing a lazy t-shirt with several different pop bands on it. He sat down on the floor, opposite to Sasha. "Well, top that Princess." He said, winking at Krios. It was an amazing performance, especially for an opening act, and it got the crowd sicked for more. Gavin eyed Sasha with careful eyes, squirming a little in his spot.

[Horatio]

Krios grinned, putting his hands on his bare hips, belly button piercing glinting in the strobe lights.
"Oh I will and I won't have to take my clothes off to do it," he reached down and mussed up Gavin's hair. "Sasha crate," he turned to the tiger and pointed to his right where a large kennel waited for the tiger. If she wasn't penned while Krios was performing, she would follow him onstage and while the crowd loved her, the owners of this venue didn't allow animals without a permit. And Krios wasn't Siegfried and Roy so Sasha dutifully slinked into her crate.
The band made their way onstage, replacing Gavin's band. Krios walked over to where his signature neon orange microphone was waiting for him (it even glowed in the dark) and took a deep breath waiting for his percussionist to give him a drumroll.
"Heyhey L.A.!" Krios strutted onstage as his band began playing the opening to his recent chart topper 'Made of Pop'. "Sorry about the sucky opening but I am here to save the day!" the crowd roared and then screamed louder as Krios jumped right into his performance, singing his heart out and shaking his hips in time with the music.
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekEloAFSmaA

[abitdim]

Gavin scoffed and leaned back against the wall, listening to Krios preform. He rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself, random things like "Bloody sellout American." while Brodie rolled her eyes. "Play nice, Gav." She scolded, and pressed something on her Ipad, undoubtedly placing him in another gig. Gavin tapped the wall behind him, never one to be patient. After a while he got an idea and jumped up to ask Brodie, whispering it in her ear.

She paused for a moment, biting her lip. This could end very, very badly, but it could bring ratings to new heights. She sighed and looked down at her Ipad. "If you must." Gavin whooped loudly and ran up to the entrance of the stage, grabbing a microphone and convincing security. "No no, it's totally approved. Ran it by the boss and everything. Pinky promise." He said, ignoring their insults and waiting for the song to end for him to come on stage.

"Hello again, Las Angeles. And hello, princess!" He yelled into the microphone, and the crowd-already pumped from the last song, screamed. Gavin took the microphone away from his face. "I even have permission for this. We're singing together. Congratulations." He said, winking and speaking into the microphone again. "Well, you see I was backstage, and I thought it would be a brilliant idea for us to do a little duet."

[Horatio]

Golden eyes widened slightly at the intrusion, his hand paused in mid-air to start the next song. Even though he couldn't hear her, Krios knew Irma was having a fit and if they weren't performing for thousands of people right now, she would come onstage and drag Gavin off by his ear.
But surprise quickly changed into a cheshire grin as the crowd cheered around them. Duets were always good and journalists always said there was a raging inferno of desire between the two artists. Though they didn't know it was desire to one up each other not to get in the other's pants.
"Cool, what are we singing your lordship?" he crossed his arms and raised a brow at Gavin, already thinking of ways to get back at the man for interrupting his show.

[abitdim]

Gavin smiled at him. It wasn't his style at all, the song he had picked, but it was fun and it was simple and it was Gavin's favorite, and the band would know it no matter what kind of music they played. "I thought I'd bring back an old favorite." He stated, telling the band the song and stepping up to stand next to Krios. "You'll know it." He said into the microphone. The crowd apparently enjoyed his snark, because they cheered for that. Then again, they'd cheer for anything the two did.

The song started and Gavin picked it up, singing throughout the entire thing with Krios, accenting some of their parts. It didn't help for the whole 'Not fucking each other' thing that every time there was a 'she' or 'her' in the song Gavin changed it to 'he' and 'him'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrkeWsQZNyU

[Horatio]

Krios grinned as the opening chords played, he was a diehard Killers fan and though it wasn't his usual singing style either, he would admit to the band being one of his main inspirations to his early music.
Because of his flamboyant clothes and behavior, Krios' sexuality was always up for debate amongst the public, but like all things in his private life, Krios liked to keep them guessing. So he sang 'she', 'her', 'he' and 'him' interchangably, making up dance moves on the spot.
By the time the last cymbal rang out, the two artists had somehow ended up back to back, leaning against each other and panting as the crowd whistled and screamed for more.
"Nice one Gav, but I will get you back you know," Krios muttered to the other male, keeping a grin pasted on his face as he waved to the audience.

[abitdim]

Gavin laughed at that one, panting and whispered under his breath "I'd like to see you try." He said and patted Krios's ass before he walked off. "Nice ass. Anywho, carry on!" He yelled into the microphone, from which one person in the audience actually passed out, and Gavin had to contain his laughter as he was pulled backstage by a very angry and a very violent Brodie.

"What in the actual hell do you even think you're doing? Why do you always have to be so bloody stupid all the time?" She scolded, hitting him several times. "Ratings are one thing, personal morals are another!" She yelled at him, as he went to the back to get a beer. "Also, what did I tell you about drinking on set!" She half screamed, though it was mostly covered up by the roar of the crowd outside. Gavin shrugged in response.

"It was fun."