I wish I could be honest with Yoko about my feelings.

This was the first line of Aya's diary entry, which she wrote after school today, snuggled up in bed in her purple nightgown. It had taken her a while to write that sentence. What if someone found her notebook and read it?

Aya twirled her long hair around her index finger, as she stared at the page, wondering what Yoko was doing right now. It was dark outside, and only a lamp was turned on in Aya's bedroom. The notebook the girl wrote in had flowers on it. It was Yoko's suggestion.

It was irresponsible of her to ruin her own notebook so quickly... said Aya, angry at her friend. But, even if she was angry, she kept thinking about how much she loved being near her tomboyish friend, and how warm and friendly her smile seemed. Well, I should've expected it. I mean, Yoko is Yoko...

But, she doesn't deserve honesty! She's always upsetting me, and embarrassing me, and being totally oblivious! She's as dense as the sun!

This was the second line of Aya's diary entry. Aya sat up, deciding to call Yoko. It took her forever to press the 'dial' button on her cell phone.

"Aya! Hello!" said Yoko.

"Yoko, you idiot!" said Aya.

"What?" said Yoko.

Aya bit her lip. Wait, what was she mad about again?

"Oh, it's nothing! I'm sorry! So uh, what's up?" Aya didn't know why her hands were shaking so much right now. She usually got nervous calling Yoko, but this was worse than usual.

"Nothing much. I was about to play a video game."

"I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"No, of course not. I like talking to you!"

Aya's face turned red. "W-What's that supposed to mean!?"

"It means... that I like talking to you...?"

Aya calmed down, suddenly embarrassed by her outburst. "Oh. Okay."

"Hey, Aya, are you okay? You sound... annoyed, I guess."

"You're too dense to notice that!" said Aya. "Yoko, baka..."

"Oh, so are you upset about something? You can tell me all about it!"

"You want to know that badly!?"

"No, not really... I mean, it was just a suggestion..."

Aya sighed. What was she supposed to say? She thought for a few seconds.

"I'm stressed about the English test tomorrow."

"What, why? You always get great grades!"

"I think this one is going to be harder than usual..."

"You're worried about nothing. Do you want me to help you study?"

"You're terrible at English, so you'd be no help to me," said Aya.

"Aww, you're so mean, Aya."

"Well seriously though. You need to work harder in school."

"You really care about my grades that much?"

"What? Well, I-"

"Don't worry about me, Aya! I'll improve my grades for you!"

"For me?" said Aya. "I'm not worried about you..."

"Oh?" said Yoko. "Well, don't worry, because you'll do great on the test! I believe in you!"

Aya nodded, feeling numb. "Y-Yes..."

"Well, bye then, Aya."

"Bye," said Aya. She ended the call.

Aya sat there, staring at her phone for a while.

What was I doing? I called her for no reason! ...I wanted to be honest with her, but I ended up lying anyway. I should call her back to clear things up. I need to tell her I wasn't really worried about the English test...

Aya called Yoko again, and it didn't take long for her friend to pick up.

"What is it, Aya?"

"No hello?" said Aya. "How rude!"

"Sorry, sorry!" said Yoko. "Hello!"

"Yoko, I wasn't really worried about the English test," said Aya, before she could regret anything.

"Oh, you weren't?" said Yoko. "Then what's wrong?"

"I..." Aya started playing with her hair again. "I was thinking about... the science project!"

"Science project?" said Yoko. "Oh, you mean the chemistry thing? I actually don't think that sounded so difficult..."

"Well, my grade has gone down some, and I want to improve it, so I have to do really well on the project!"

"Oh," said Yoko. "You'll be fine, Aya."

"But I won't!" said Aya. "You don't understand my problems, Yoko!"

"I guess not," said Yoko.

"I'm worried about it..." said Aya softly.

"Really, you'll be fine," said Yoko. "You need to trust in your abilities."

"M-hm," Aya mumbled. "I guess so..."

"Okay, I'm going to hang up now. Are you going to be alright?"

"Of course," said Aya. "I... I don't need your help, anyway..."

"I'll go now then. See you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

Yoko hung up.

Aya didn't know why, but she felt tears beginning to form in her eyes. She rubbed them away, but more tears formed, and started rolling down her cheeks.

Why is it so hard to be honest with Yoko?

Aya took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding, and her arms and legs were quivering. She closed her eyes, opened them again, and looked back at her phone.

I can do this... She looked back at her open diary again. She'd managed to write a couple more sentences.

Yoko doesn't notice things unless they're right in front of her face. That's why I have to be direct with her, and tell her what I really think of her, with complete honesty...

Aya gulped and called Yoko again.

"Aya, you're calling again?" said Yoko. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"You ruined your notebook!"

"Huh?"

"You know, the one that matches mine!"

"So what? That happened a long time ago, and I already said I was sorry... and you already yelled at me for it."

"I did?" said Aya. How had she forgotten?

"Yeah..." said Yoko. "You did..."

"Oh..." said Aya.

"Aya, what are you really upset about?"

"It doesn't matter!" said Aya. "Because no matter what's bothering me, you'll always be there to cheer me up, won't you, Yoko!?"

"Of course..." said Yoko.

"...What are you doing right now, Yoko?"

"Sitting in my room, on my bed."

"Is there anyone else with you?"

"Not in this room."

"So uh... Yoko..."

"M-hm?" said Yoko.

Aya was starting to feel sweaty. "Won't you always... be my best friend, no matter what?"

"Absolutely," said Yoko without hesitation.

"What a relief..."

"Eh? Is there a reason I shouldn't be your friend?"

"Uh, no, it's nothing like that. I'm just trying to tell you about... my feelings."

"What kinds of feelings?"

Aya couldn't remember how to think. "Uh..."

"Do you have a crush on someone?"

"A c-crush?"

"Ahaha, are you embarrassed, Aya?"

"Don't make fun of me!" said Aya. "...Yeah. I have a crush on someone."

"Ooh, really? I meant for that to be a joke! So, who is it?"

"Do you think you deserve to know!?"

"Um..."

There was an awkward silence that was unbearable for both of them, but especially for Aya.

"Yoko..."

"Yes...?"

"...Even if I say mean things to you, you know that I don't really mean them, right? I really like you a lot, more than anyone." Aya's face was surely redder than it had ever been before. "I just want to be honest with you, but I lie because I'm embarrassed to admit how I feel about you."

"Aww, I know you don't mean to be rude, Aya," said Yoko, a smile evident in her voice. "So, who is this person you have a crush on?"

"What!?" said Aya. "Yoko, why do you have to be so dense!?"

"What do you mean?" said Yoko. "You still haven't told me."

"Yes I have."

"When?"

"Just now!"

"I seem to have missed that part."

"Baka!" said Aya. "I like you! You, Yoko!"

There was another awkward silence.

"Yoko, are you going to say something, or should I just hang up now? I mean, it's getting late, so..." Aya was starting to get scared.

Then, Aya heard a small sound come from the phone.

"Y-Yoko?" said Aya. "What was that noise just now?"

"It was the sound of me kissing you through the phone."

"What!?" said Aya, blushing and jumping up a little.

"You couldn't tell? How about I do it again?"

"W-Wait a sec!" Aya's mind was racing, not having anticipated this kind of response. "D-Do you like me, Yoko!?"

"Well of course! You're my best friend!"

"That's not what I meant!" said Aya.

"Ha, ha... Yup, I like you."

"Y-You're serious!?" said Aya. "This isn't a joke, is it!?"

"No, it's not a joke," said Yoko. "And, to be honest, I already knew you liked me, Aya. You don't hide it very well."

"I don't try to hide it!" said Aya. "I want you to know..."

"Well, then you did just fine with being honest. I knew all along."

"You never acted like it," said Aya.

"I was just messin' with ya! Everyone knows already, Aya."

"Everyone!?" said Aya. "T-That's..."

"Great, right? We should start dating now! We can go to the movie theater this weekend; I have nothing planned. And we'll buy a super large popcorn, and-"

"Y-Yoko!" said Aya.

"Yeah?" said Yoko.

Pink and flustered, Aya kissed the air near her cell phone. After a few seconds, she heard Yoko kiss her back, and turned even redder again.

"So that's a yes, right?" said Yoko. "You're free on Saturday?"

"Yeah, I am..." said Aya.

"Great! We can talk about it more at school tomorrow, but I've got to get going. Love ya, Aya!"

"I love you too," said Aya, wiping her burning cheeks with the back of her hand.

The two girls hung up almost simultaneously.

Then Aya fell back on her bed, suddenly feeling drained of all her energy.

"I can't believe I did it..." said Aya. "I told Yoko how I feel..." She sat slowly back up, and looked at her diary again. Then she picked up her pen to conclude the entry.

I love Yoko. I've finally told her how I feel, and I feel happy about it.

Aya closed the notebook and hugged it to her chest, against her fluttering heart. The room was silent but for the sound of a ticking clock.

I love Yoko.. so much...

And back at Yoko's house, Yoko smiled to herself and turned out the light.