Author's note
For reference of the previous happenings between the main characters, read the story titled "Moments forever faded". This is somewhat a continuation of the previous story. However, it centers around the relationship between Ayumi and Mizuki, as a side story focusing on Ayumi's best friend Haruhi.
White lies
Chapter 1
Their world
They say that having true friends is the greatest treasure of all. But when you get too attached to that person, things can get out of hand.
"Haruhi! Wait- Stop pulling!" called out Ayumi, a blond teen with long straight hair.
She was trying to stop her best friend and doubles partner from pulling her down the street. School had just ended, and they didn't have practice that day. The purple headed girl in front of her didn't listen. She just continued pulling her best friend her aimlessly with her.
"I said I have business to attend to! Let go! Will you stop already?" Ayumi raised her voice by a tone.
With her own force, Ayumi brought both of them to full stop. However, Haruhi had no intention of letting go. Instead, she tightened her grip on Ayumi's wrist, as she looked seriously at the blond teen. Ayumi tried to keep a cool head, and not provoke her best friend. She knew how Haruhi was easy to irritate. She was the only one able to calm her down. So, Ayumi gave returned the same serious look but then it disappeared, light reappearing in her eyes.
"Jeez, Haruhi, calm down. I told you, I have to go someplace. What's wrong? Why did you pull me all of a sudden? This isn't like you." started Ayumi calmly.
The said teen's eyebrow jumped up at her remark. Haruhi didn't give into Ayumi's 'calming down Haruhi phase'.
"You can just say it out loud, you know." stated Haruhi coldly, still gripping onto the blonds' hand. Ayumi raised her eyebrows, blinking a few times in confusion.
"Huh? I'm not quite following you-" started Ayumi but Haruhi narrowed her eyes.
"You and Mizuki. You're still dating that stalker freak, aren't you? That's where you were about to go. To meet HIM!" grunted Haruhi, pushing the last word through her breath.
Ayumi's face expression froze, as she then looked away. She couldn't deny it; she was still going out with Mizuki. Haruhi gritted her teeth because she knew that expression. It was true, and she didn't like it.
"I will not let you go to where he is!" demanded Haruhi, as she started pulling the blond teen again.
Ayumi just in time yanked her hand out of her best friend's grasp. She didn't get angry. Rather, Ayumi wore a concerned expression like she always did, when she tried to calm Haruhi down.
"Haruhi, why are you so concerned about this? I believe I have my own right to choose someone I want to go out with." said Ayumi calmly. Haruhi balled her hands into fists, as she hid her eyes under her bangs in an effort to control herself.
"I just don't understand. Why him? Why does it have to be someone like him?" asked Haruhi in anger.
The blond teen opened her mouth to say something but didn't say anything. She simply sighed, as she cast her gaze to the ground.
"I just don't understand. How can you date that guy when you don't even love him?" asked Haruhi in anger.
Ayumi raised her head, staring back in shock. She knew that Haruhi was fond of her but never had she expected her to be this concerned about her.
"How can you smile around him? How can you be so friendly with each other? Why choose him? Ayu-chan, I will not stand by and watch this. He's not worth you. I believe he doesn't even love you." said Haruhi a lot calmer this time, trying to talk some sense into her. Ayumi made a defiant look as she shot her eyes down again.
"What makes you think that? We have been dating for more than a half year now. Doesn't that mean that we have a strong bond?" asked Ayumi silently. She didn't want to indicate any signs that she wasn't completely true to her doubles partner.
"A kiss without love is the same as kissing a corps! Ayu-chan, I saw you two. When he kissed you, you didn't mind but… I couldn't see any emotion coming from the both of you. This is just wrong. I can't accept him as your boyfriend." said Haruhi with a desperate face expression. Ayumi just stared down, furring her upper lip.
"There's nothing wrong-" she whispered but Haruhi beat her to it.
"You don't know him at all. He is from a different school and they're our opponents. He's just using you, like he uses others to get information. Everyone knows this. That's why I can't stand listening to when people talk about Ayu-chan behind your back. Saying that you might betray us… I always supported you and I kept cool about it until now but I can't anymore. Ayu-chan, he's not the one you should be with." begged Haruhi.
Ayumi didn't look at her. Both girls stood in silence. Only when the cold breeze blew through Ayumi's golden strands, she raised her head, putting a soft smile on her face.
"Thank you, Haruhi, for supporting me. But-" Ayumi swallowed her next words. She wanted to tell her but decided to lie, "-I do like him and I need to see him. I'm sorry."
With that said, the blond teen spun around, leaving Haruhi speechless. The purple haired girl made an angry, yet sad face expression. She didn't like it. She hated the fact that Mizuki was the one she chose. Besides, taking away her precious time with Ayumi, Mizuki was a despicable guy to Haruhi's opinion. She had heard too many things about him from Inui and other regulars. It hurt her to hear people talking ill about her best friend but she could never leave her, even if people would start speaking the same about her.
Ayumi walked down the street to the appointed meeting place. She had walked for quite a while after parting with Haruhi. The blond teen wore a sad and tired expression. She thought that she and Mizuki had made it more or less believable that they were dating. But it seemed that she could never fool Haruhi, who was her best friend and doubles partner. She had to lie to her about her relationship with Mizuki but she didn't lie about her liking him.
It was after Ayumi succeeded in making Fuji go after Yumi, finally bringing them together. She had a crush on Fuji for a long time but she knew that he loved only Yumi. The reason why Ayumi went out of their way was because she cared for both of them, only wanting to see them happy. She didn't take her feelings into account. Instead, she hid them for the sake of the couple. She didn't even tell Haruhi about it because didn't want her to be too worried about her. The only one she could talk to about this, was the person with the same feelings as her. That was Mizuki.
Mizuki was Yumi's childhood friend and considered Fuji to be his rival. Mizuki had a crush on Yumi, and cared for her deeply but never did he confess to her. He knew Yumi had feelings for the Fuji, so he did everything to see her happy, even if it meant silencing his feelings.
By that time it all began. Both Ayumi and Mizuki saw that they were similar, and could only trust each other. Both needed someone that could understand the other and help forget about their unrequited feelings. From that time on, they started dating. Although, they acted as a couple, they were far off from that feeling towards each other. From the true feeling which is called love and affection…
'I'm sorry, Haruhi. There is something that only Hajime can give me. Even though it's not love, I still need to see him.' she thought, sighing.
Ayumi didn't lie about liking him. They got to know each other better during the time that they had spent together. Even though people spoke differently about him, Ayumi got to know sides of him that no one else knew. During this time she felt a mysterious attachment to Mizuki, and sometimes even expressed her affection unconscious to her true feelings. She felt like she could talk to him about anything. He became like her best friend, slowly squeezing out Haruhi. Ayumi felt guilty about it. It was wrong to substitute her best friend over her boyfriend.
'I'll have to apologize to her.' thought Ayumi, cursing herself for being so foolish.
The blond teen reached a park. She spotted Mizuki walking to the place that they decided to meet at. He didn't notice her, so Ayumi made a soft smirk, as she followed him.
'Haruhi, I can't tell you the reason why I'm doing this because you'll disapprove even more.' thought Ayumi. Mizuki came to a halt. Ayumi was just a few steps away from him.
'I know you care about me but there are things that I can't tell you. Even if just a little, we can help each other forget about Yumi-san and Fuji-san.' Ayumi tried to squeeze out a smile as good as she could as she stretched out her hand to catch Mizuki's attention.
'I don't want to lose you, Haruhi, but I can't throw this away either. I don't want to feel the same pain again.' she thought, her eyes widening at her thoughts.
Mizuki felt the sleeve of his shirt being pulled, so he turned to his left only to find Ayumi, looking straight at him.
"Hajime." she said silently as she pushed a depressing smile out.
The said teen turned to her. He wanted to return the smile but it disappeared when he noticed Ayumi shedding tears. She must've done it unconsciously because she was looking at him with a frail smile and sad eyes. He figured that something had happened.
"Ayumi. What happened?" he asked with concern written all over his face. The said teen widened her eyes.
"What?" she inquired, not following his words. Mizuki reached out to her eyes, as he put his hand to the stream that was flowing down her cheeks.
"Why are you crying?" he asked again.
Ayumi perked up, quickly looking at his hand. She then examined her cheeks with her fingers. She finally noticed that tears were flowing on their own.
"What? Why am I crying? I'm sorry. I'll be fine in a moment." she said, turning around to wipe her tears away.
She didn't want their date to start off with a negative atmosphere. Mizuki looked at her suspiciously. It wasn't like her to show such a sad side. He had always seen her smiling, and liked the cheerful side of her. Mizuki took her hand gently, which caused Ayumi to turn around.
"What happened, Ayumi?" he asked again, smiling reassuringly. The said teen stared at him for a few seconds before smiling faintly.
"Sorry. Can we just stay here for a while?" she asked. Mizuki didn't stumble upon an answer and agreed.
Both teens sat in the park on a bench. Ayumi had told him what happened before she got there. Mizuki listened through all of her concerns, as he sighed at the very end of her story. He then pulled out his notes and started reading them.
"So, your best friend considers me to be a fiend, huh?" he asked with sarcasm. Ayumi glanced at him.
"Well, you can put it that way. I know that she's purely concerned about me but- I just feel like I'm neglecting her." said Ayumi, sighing. Mizuki turned a page in his notes as he continued listening to her.
"Hmm… Then don't. I'm not forcing you into this. If you want to break up-"
"No, I don't want to." said Ayumi quickly before he could say more.
Mizuki glanced at her. He then smirked. There was a short period of silence before one of them spoke again.
"Hajime?" asked Ayumi, confirming that she had his attention.
"Hm? What is it?" Mizuki didn't lift his eyes from his notes (apparently that was some data that he had gathered not too long ago).
"Do you remember why we're even doing this?" asked the blond teen.
"Eh, it's to forget the feelings that we had, right? In my case it's towards Yumi, in yours it's towards Fuji-kun." he said calmly. Ayumi smiled softly.
"And do you know why I agreed to be your girlfriend?" Ayumi asked again. Mizuki switched his eyes to her.
"It's because you need to fill that emptiness inside your heart. The emptiness from seeing Fuji-kun with Yumi… You want to suppress your desire to be in Yumi's place." he said, being sure of his answer.
Ayumi stared at him for a mere second. She was struck by his almost precise answer. She then sneered softly.
"Hn, is that another of your conclusions from the gathered data?" she asked sarcastically. Mizuki gave a quick grin as he turned back to his notes.
"Well, more or less." he said.
"Hn." Ayumi smiled softly, switching her gaze to the sky.
It was true what he said. She felt empty seeing Yumi and Fuji together. She wanted to suppress the desire. And the only way she could do that was to have someone she could spend time with, and feel equal to Yumi. That was just another reason why Ayumi agreed to be Mizuki's girlfriend. She knew that he didn't mind about this. He probably had the same reason as her. They just wanted to fill that emptiness with something. They just didn't know a better way than dating on a whim.
Silence filled the place for a while. It was spring time. A month had passed after the new school year started. Sayaka had returned from the US, and tennis practice resumed as always. It was hell once again for the girl's team but Ayumi had other things to worry about as well.
As Mizuki turned a page in his notes, he felt something heavy on his shoulder. Turning his head to the source, he spotted a few golden strands hanging down on his shoulder. Ayumi had rested her head against him.
"Can I borrow your shoulder for a while?" she inquired with a tired voice. Mizuki simply smiled, turning back to his notes.
"Go ahead." he said. Ayumi sighed, as she closed her eyes, letting the warm and fresh breeze embrace her.
It felt good. She felt calm for that one moment, forgetting about her worries. For some reason she wanted to rest her head only on that shoulder. The broad, warm and soft shoulder…
Ayumi and Mizuki walked down a street. It was getting dark as Mizuki decided to walk Ayumi home. They lived far away from each other but he still went through the trouble to walk her home. It was one of the ways to show the small affection that he had for her. He liked her, and admitted to her when he asked her to go out with him. However, he couldn't compare that affection that he had for Ayumi, which he felt for Yumi. It could be only considered as friendship.
The teens reached Ayumi's house, and came to a halt. Ayumi spun around to say goodbye.
"Thanks for walking me home. Be careful on your way back." she said with a smile. Mizuki simply smiled back, giving a quick kiss onto her lips.
"Goodnight, Ayumi." he said. As he was about to turn around to leave, he noticed Ayumi with a sad glow in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he inquired. The blond teen looked at him.
"Say, is this wrong… what we're doing? I mean, we don't love each other but we act like a couple. Is this really okay?" asked Ayumi with faint desperation written in her eyes. Mizuki sighed as he brushed through his hair.
"I don't think it's all that wrong. It's true that we have feelings for other people but it's also true that I like you. Would I have asked you to be my girlfriend if I didn't like you?" he countered. Ayumi widened her eyes for a second. She then shot her head at the ground.
"Well, no." she said silently.
"And would you have accepted my offer if you hated me?" he asked again.
Ayumi raised her head only to find Mizuki with an obvious face expression. They stood in silence for a few seconds, when Ayumi slowly moved towards Mizuki. She wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head against his chest. The data gatherer was a bit struck by her sudden action.
"Are you okay with hearing people saying things about what our true intentions are behind this relationship?" asked Ayumi sadly.
Mizuki sighed softly, returning the hug. He felt that she was just shouldering this on her own, so he decided to lift that weight off of her a bit.
"Let them say what they want. You and I both know the truth behind this. Isn't that enough?" he said gently. Ayumi sighed and let him go.
"Thanks, Hajime. Sorry that this turned out to be so depressing today." said Ayumi, looking away in embarrassment. Mizuki patted her head.
"Since I had to listen to your whining today, how about a fun date next time?" he asked. Ayumi sweat dropped. He didn't have to call it whining. Well, she did act all girly, she had to admit.
"Oh, alright then. You want a fun date? You'd better not regret it afterwards." said the blond teen with a devilish grin.
This caused Mizuki to withdraw his hand in an instant. He really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. He had already experienced the first time they had come across each other. He then sighed, shaking off the uneasy feeling. The couple parted ways shortly. Ayumi stood outside of her house, watching the figure disappearing into the darkness.
'I wonder what we would do if Yumi-san and Fuji-san broke up?' she asked herself, sadness reappearing in her eyes.
If this would really happen, she wouldn't want to go chasing her feelings again. It would be just too hard for her to turn around, and go back. Right now, Ayumi only wanted to move forward. She wanted to see if she could have feelings for someone else.
'What about Mizuki? What would he do?' was what she asked herself. Somehow it was the only thing that she desired to know now.
Ayumi stood in front of the entrance door for a while, pondering on that question. She then chuckled. Softness reappearing in her eyes, she placed her hand on the door handle.
"Well, I'll just ask him when I have the chance." said Ayumi silently, as she entered her house.
Next chapter
Ayumi plans out a date with Mizuki. They encounter Fuji and Yumi on one of their own dates… "You say you can predict anything. Then try predicting this: According to your data, what will I do if by any chance Yumi-san and Fuji-san break up?"
