Late Night Calls

with Chika Takami and Sarah Kazuno

No one really knew when it started. Heck, not even these two girls knew when they did start doing these. They guessed it just occurred randomly after some discussion the other wanted to make regarding Love Live. So maybe from there it just went on and on until it became a regular thing.

It was weird, to say the least. Every night, every passing second or minute or hour under the light of the moon, one of them just could not wait to talk to the other once more.

What was this weird...thing they were feeling? A loud and hard throbbing in their chests as they waited for the next call. And once they do receive a call, that burning sensation whenever they reach for the "Accept" button was inevitable. But, for some reason, they felt empty and blue. It was as if they were anticipating the call...?

But why?

They never really talked about anything interesting, they thought. It certainly was not something worth mentioning. However, was it really not worthy of any mention? Did not any other infatuation start with just a talk?

They only really talked about random, boring things. Most of the time it was about Love Live and its various subjects. Other times they talked about what they did all day long. Like what they ate, or what they did in school, or how they did during the exams, or how You went to the restaurant with the others while wearing a maid outfit, or what Mito did to Chika after making a huge mess in the inn, or how Leah was apparently deathly afraid of spiders, or where Chika and the rest of Aqours went during the weekends, or where Sarah and Leah hung out every Sunday.

Okay, maybe calling their topics boring was a bit of a lie. But still, how would an infatuation with the other form from just that? Maybe it was the way the other seems so interested in whatever story the other was going to tell? Or maybe it was the way the other smiles and laughs towards the other's jokes and funny stories?

Maybe it was the way they had fun talking to each other...?

Whatever the reason was, they certainly cannot deny these feelings...

A certain orange-haired girl went over her contacts in her laptop's online messenger. She was sure this was the thirtieth time she did these during the night, every night. She just had to check if the other girl was online.

It was already half past ten and was way beyond her planned bedtime. Surely, she will get an earful if Mito caught her still wide awake.

However, she did not worry about that possiblity right now! She just had to talk to her! She just had to talk to Sarah!

She had to ask her a very important question. Something that she was figuring out how to say to her from that morning till this very moment. That did not change the fact that she was determined to tell her though! She was never someone that would just give up because of emotional barriers anyway. Or so she likes to think so.

"Uwa..." She silently muttered in frustration. Where was she? Why of all times was she offline now?

Oh no! What was this feeling? What was this thought? The orange-haired girl suddenly had a nervous feeling. It went from her spine to her very skin hairs, chilling at that wetched thought.

Maybe she did not want to talk to her now? What if she was actually getting bored of her? Could it not be that Sarah was just tolerating her? No no no no no...

Chika shook her head and slapped both of her cheeks lightly. This was not the time to think negatively! There was no way Sarah was just forcing herself to talk to Chika.

...Right?

Oh no, there it was again... That accursed feeling. A certain thought that, Chika thought, should have never been discovered...

Doubt.

She was full of doubt right now! What was she going to do?! If she does not see a green circle and the words "ONLINE" beside Sarah's name in that screen for the next five minutes, she was going to burst into tears.

Five minutes have already passed... And yet, there was still nothing. Still offline.

The orange-haired girl hung her head in utter sadness. She let the tears that was welling up inside her finally fall down. She bit her lip to stop herself from bawling. The pain from doing so only made things worse though, so she closed her eyes and only hoped that she would stop from crying.

But then a certain tune played. It did not came from the laptop as she hoped; it instead came from her phone.

Her phone! Oh, how did she not think of this before! She could have just called her!

"Baka! Baka! Baka Chika!" She scolded herself as she lightly hit her temples with her fists, incredibly frustrated at her own stupidity. "Ah! Wait! Someone's calling!"

Hastily, she reached for her phone from the bedside table and gasped to see who the caller was.

"S-Sarah-san!" Immediately, she tapped the "Accept" button and put the phone near her ears. "H-Hello?"

Her voice was hoarse and broken... She did not notice that she cried that hard. Did she really cry so much that her own voice broke?

"Hello, Chika-san? Are you okay? Your voice is a bit raspy..." The girl in the other line asked with concern.

Chika did not realize she was holding her breath. She sighed deeply and let herself calm down. The voice of Sarah alone made her feel comfortable...like she was being lulled to sleep in a warm, cozy night.

"Don't worry about me..." She said in her calmest tone. Everything was fine now. They were talking to each other. They may not be seeing each others faces right now, but maybe that was for the better.

"B-but—"

"I have an important question to ask you." She interrupted almost immediately.

"If it's about not going online tonight, it was because of our internet connection. It became really slow for some reason."

Chika shook her head even though she knew she wouldn't see it. "No, don't worry about that either."

"Um... Okay then... What's troubling you?"

Her past nervousness and embarrassment all came back to hunt her. She felt her cheeks warm up from being reminded of what she was about to ask to Sarah. Maybe she went silent a bit too long...

Nervousness can surely do many things to you, huh?

"Chika-san...?"

"S-Sarah-san..." She finally spoke, swallowing a lump. "H-have you ever felt...n-nervous...and e-excited...all at the same time whenever we wait for one of us to call every night...?"

It was now Sarah's turn to become hushed. This instantly signaled Chika to immediately change the subject.

"S-sorry! Th-that was a stupid question! Nevermind that!" She acted, letting out an awkward chuckle.

"Wh...What if I told you that I do feel those every night I wait for your call...?"

The orange-haired girl's cheeks immediately reddened at the older one's reply. Her eyes widened and she supressed a shriek from her very flabbergasted reaction.

"Y-you do?" The young girl asked for comfirmation, almost desparate for the older one's answer.

"I love you, Chika-san..."

"W-w-w-w-w-wait, WHAT?!" Chika accidentally screamed in full volume. She tensed up, covering her mouth and hoped that no one heard her. Thankfully, no one came to scold her...

But seriously, that caught her really off-guard! A sudden confession?!

How was she supposed to respond to that?

"I apologize. I should have said it in another way, shouldn't I?"

"Y-y-y-you love me...?" The young girl repeated for another confirmation.

"Yes... I-I really do. It was something that I have been keeping for a while now. I finally found the perfect moment to tell you, I suppose."

"I'm still not sure if what I'm feeling really is love though," Chika replied with a bit of guilt in her voice.

"Don't worry. I don't need an immediate response. At the very least, I was able to tell you what I truly feel. And that, I think, is enough for now."

"O-okay then..." She simply replied, not knowing what else to say.

"I will wait for your reply though. So take your time, no need to rush."

Was it just her or did Sarah sound sad to her? Oh gosh, this was making her feel guilty more! She NEEDS to figure what she's actually feeling towards Sarah immediately!

"I hate to end conversations in an awkward way, but I...think I'm gonna sleep now," Chika excused, feeling guiltier every passing second.

"I understand. I'm sorry for my sudden confession." Chuckle.

"N-no, don't be!" The young girl cried. "Rather, I'm sorry for my response... I know what I'm feeling, but I just want to make sure right now."

"I completely understand." Another chuckle. "It's not everyday that someone would just suddenly confess to you. I'll bid you a good night now! Sleep well!"

"Wait! Still, I don't want your effort to become wasted..." The orange-haired girl halted and then whispered shyly. She then breathed heavily to calm herself down.

"What do you mean...?"

"Let me just try this..." Inhale. "I-I love you too..." In almost an instant, her heart ran miles and her whole body heated up. This was too much for her poor heart.

Pause. "I love you more, Chika-san. Have a good night. And thank you...for everything."

With that, Sarah hung up. And as if Chika was not already slowly dying from embarrassment, that expression of gratitude from Sarah quite possibly killed her.

Looks like someone's in love~

EXTRAS

"Shhh! Stop making noises, Shima-nee!"

"Uwa~! I'm way too sleepy for this! Why did you have to bring me along anyway?"

"I told you! If Chika finds us, you're gonna make up a reason because I'm really bad at those!"

"Why couldn't you have just planned of this in advance?"

"Oh geez! Stop being a baby! I told you I only just her scream a while ago. I never thought they're actually gonna talk tonight! Plus, I'm way to busy to plan for something like this."

"Let me just try this... I-I love you too..."

"Oh. My. Gosh! She said 'I love you too'!"

"Well now you're interested... I told you there's something going on between them!"

"Go Chika-chan!"

"Sh-Shima-nee! Don't be too loud!"

Meanwhile...

Chika: *way too embarrassed to function*