Prologue

You Watanabe, as much as she tried to, would never forget the day she knew that her best friend, Chika Takami, loved another girl.

It had all started in English class. They had been independently working on sentence structure worksheets when Chika realized she had forgotten something very important.

"YOU-CHAN!"
Every student who had been working diligently nearly jumped out of their seat. The always-energetic orange-haired girl had shrieked as she tapped the shoulder of the short-haired swimmer sitting next to her. You Watanabe, who had been incredibly concentrated, flinched - her pencil making a long mark on the paper.

"Takami-san, is something wrong?"
"Sensei! You must understand! It's a CRISIS!"

You chuckled. That was Chika alright, her emotions always filled with spirit and drama, even when the situation was minor. You always loved how Chika would turn every life happening into a big story. The teacher, however wasn't so amused.

"Takami-san, you demanded that everyone had to evacuate the classroom because you saw a spider sitting in the corner."

The class all laughed, Chika's face turning as bright red as a tomato. She gave a nervous giggle before putting her hand behind her head, something she always did when she was embarrassed.

"It had been a huge spider, though, she should give you credit for that!" You whispered. Chika turned to face her for a second, her lips curving upward, a smile serving as a silent "thank you" to her best friend.

"It's not a spider this time, sensei."
"Then...?"
"It's my lunchbox, sensei. I left it at home."

The classroom laughed again. You turned to look at the red-haired, quiet girl sitting on the other side of Chika. She held her hand to her mouth. You did not originally realize she had been suppressing a giggle until she looked her in the eyes. The girl's eyes, amber and sparkling, were squinted - telling a certain truth unable to be covered the way her mouth was.

"Lunch isn't for another hour, Takami-san."
"I fear I'll starve...and then I wouldn't be able to take this class due to poor health...and then I would die. Die! Die before learning the English language, what a sad story that would be, wouldn't it?"

The teacher, clearly fed up with Chika's stories, sighed in disbelief. She seemed to have given up on trying to banter with the one girl widely known for being able to sway just about anyone. Even the third years, when they were in a tussle that hadn't even involved her.

"If you leave to go get it now, do you think you can be back by the end of class?"

Chika hesitated.

"Yeah! But...I'd rather not go alone-"
"Youzoro! Do not fear, for You Watanabe is here." You boldly shouted as she stood up, her hand held to her forehead as a salute. She turned to Chika and nodded.

"I'm happy to go with you!"
"Really? Wow, thank you!" Chika's eyes lit up and her grin spread wide. You gave her a thumbs-up and began to pack up her bag.

"Watanabe-san, have you finished your worksheet yet?"

You turned to look at her worksheet. Only 2 out of the ten problems had been completed, and her long pencil streak due to Chika's shoulder tap made a huge line over the rest of the questions.

"Um...well..."
"Excuse me. Sensei, I have completed the worksheet. I am happy to walk back with Chika. She lives right across from me, so if for some reason she can't get in, I'd be able to give her some food from my fridge."

It had been the same girl You had caught suppressing a laugh earlier. The girl bowed, picking up her worksheet and holding it out in front of her patiently.

"Riko-chan! Do you still have those red-bean filled breads?" Chika, already excited by the concept, had turned to face her. The girl smiled back and nodded. You sat down in her chair, defeated. She hadn't been able to talk to Chika in a long time, and had been hoping accompanying her on the walk back would give them a chance to catch up. She began erasing the pencil streak in defeat.

"Now that's how you make a rather reasonable request. Takami-san, take note from Sakurauchi-san, alright?" The teacher asked, pleased with Riko's approach and still disappointed in Chika's outburst. Chika yelled "Yes ma'am!" before the two quietly made their exit. You turned to face Chika's desk, where a notebook lied wide open. You quickly grabbed it and ran towards the hallway entrance.

"Chika! Wait! You forgot-"

You cut off her sentence upon seeing their figures running at the speed of light. Their footsteps pit-patted in sync as they ran, their paces perfectly aligned. She saw Chika push open the door, holding it open to let Riko go first. They both giggled, the sound muffled due to the distance. You would have appeared as only a speck in their vision, and even if Chika had cared, it was impossible for either of them to notice her.

You sighed. It hadn't always been like this. The three of them had been a team when Riko first transferred to Uranohoshi. They were the first 3 members of their school idol group: Aqours. You always thought Riko was so talented with her ability to write songs for them with such ease. She even once thought she and Riko could become closer with time. But something must've happened. All of a sudden it felt as if Chika no longer cared about You. She and Chika were still friends but some sort of connection got lost along the way. The other Aqours members often commented on how their voices suited each other, their dance moves timed perfectly upon working together. You was starting to feel like the "backup" friend, and quite frankly, it sucked.

You started to head back towards the classroom when she felt something drop. She turned behind to find it was a small, pink loose paper that had been tucked in the very notebook Chika had left behind. You crouched down to grab the paper. It had been folded, and she hesitated whether to open it or not.

It's just English class, You thought to herself. It's not like there could be any secrets in here.

But oh, if only the once naïve You knew how wrong she was.

She unfolded the pink slip, her eyes wide upon reading the handwriting.

I Love You.

The three words had been written sloppily, the letters just barely distinguishable. You chuckled at first, slightly confused by its meaning. "You" was how her name was spelt. Was Chika referring to her?

She was comforted for a second, wondering if perhaps Chika declaring her love for her friend. That maybe she had meant to pass the note onto her at some point, and left behind the notebook hoping You would open it.

You smiled and flipped the page over.

I love you too, Chika-chan.

You's smile immediately disappeared. The handwriting had, unmistakably, been Riko's.

Stupid You She thought, Of course she didn't mean you, she used "You" as a direct pronoun, as what would be said in the English version of あなたが 大好きです.

You folded the note and put it back inside the notebook. She turned towards the classroom door and started heading back to her desk.

Maybe they're just friends. Expressing friend-love for each other.

Except that the minute the thought crossed You's mind was the minute You knew it wasn't so simple. The heart Riko had drawn underneath was too sincere. Chika didn't use the word "love" often, except when it came to school idols.

It was starting to become clear to You that Chika and Riko loved each other as more than friends.
You began to wonder if she should've spoken up sooner.