i'm only half way through ep27 so ill pretend the end half doesn't exist because i don't know what happens

It wasn't hard for a week or two to fly by, the ever eventful school days made even more exciting by Priya. The novelty of a new student did fade slightly with every day that passed but the student body's fondness for Priya only seemed to increase as they discovered more about her.

Candy was sitting in a classroom for study hall, joined by a lot of her class, although most of them had forgone any sort of work in favour of gathering around Priya. Candy stared down at the worksheet she was filling in, not being able to stop herself from listening in on the group.

"-It turned out that he was the owner of an antique shop and as a reward for returning his lost wallet he gave me this necklace." Priya finished her story, hand coming up to fiddle with the item in question.

"Wow, that's really cool!" Iris said, open mouthed, murmurs of agreement coming from everyone else. Candy gripped her pen a little tighter, stopping herself from rolling her eyes. She felt embarrassed by her feelings but she really couldn't help the irritation that bubbled up when Priya was around.

She took a deep breath, one part of her wondering if it would look strange if she got up and went to work in the library, but another part not being able to bear not being around to hear what was happening with Priya. She dropped her pen when she heard the group laugh loudly about something, glancing up to see Priya with her hand on Armin's shoulder. Candy pressed her lips together tightly, having no doubt that her pinched expression would have been a sight to behold had anyone been looking at her. She pushed back her chair suddenly with a screech, shoving her things in her bag before striding out of the room.

She kept her head down as she walked, her feet not leading her to the library as she had initially planned, instead taking her to the girl's bathroom. She shoved open the stall door, locking it behind her and dropping her bag on the floor. She closed the lid before she sat down, mind in too much turmoil to care about how gross it was. She heard someone else enter the bathroom but paid no attention, head bowed. Why couldn't she be like Priya? She'd been dithering over telling Armin how she felt for such a long time now, even Rosa was seriously getting annoyed. The last thing Candy wanted to do was be a burden. She was really doubtful Armin even felt anything for her beyond friendship, why would he when there was someone like Priya around? It would only make sense for Armin to fall for her so quickly when there was a chance that the Indian girl would not staying around long in Sweet Amoris.

Candy hunched over, hands over her ears, wishing she could just stop thinking. She startled when there was a knock on her stall, lifting her head to stare with wide eyes at the door.

"Candy? Are you in there?" She recognised Priya's distinctive accent. What? She couldn't even get away from her in the bathroom? Candy cleared her throat before she answered, unsure of why Priya was asking.

"Yeah, it's me." She stood up, feeling a little awkward being talked to through a bathroom stall.

"Are you alright? You left really suddenly and you seemed a bit off." Of course, the ever so perfect Priya couldn't stop being perfect for one second. Please stop being so kind and concerned… Candy couldn't help but plead internally. She hesitated noticeably before answering, wondering what it would be like to tell the other girl about everything that was bothering her. She couldn't do that though, she knew very well that it wasn't really Priya's fault, or was it? Maybe she was perfectly aware of everything she was doing?

"No I'm fine, I just had to use the bathroom." Candy answered finally, trying to sound casual, hoping that her lie wouldn't be questioned. She picked up her bag, putting the lid back and flushing just so it wouldn't seem weird.

"Oh okay then." Priya answered after a pause of her own, going silent. Candy pushed open the door to find her standing in front the mirrors, fixing her hair. She shuffled over to wash her hands, keeping her head down as she did so. Somehow while she was washing the soap off her hands she felt a little burst of confidence and so lifted her head to look at Priya, watching her reapply her lip gloss with practiced precision.

"Do you like Armin?" She blurted out, feeling her cheeks redden with the look Priya leveled her after she asked it.

"Armin? Yeah he's a nice guy, a bit silly but nice." Priya closed her lip gloss, storing it in her bag before giving Candy her full attention. She didn't ask why Candy asked, only raising a brow questioningly.

"No, I mean…" Here Candy hesitated before realising she had to say it now as she'd boxed herself into a corner. "Do you have a crush on him?"

There. The dreaded question was out in the open, and Candy was on the edge waiting for an answer. She didn't know what she would do if Priya said yes.

"I've only known him for around two weeks." The girl shot Candy an amused look, but Candy noticed she didn't actually answer the question.

"Yeah, well you never know…" She shrugged, making it clear she was still waiting for an actual answer. Priya seemed to hesitate, thinking quickly but carefully about something, glancing around the bathroom. When assured of the fact that they were the only people there she turned back to Candy.

"Listen…" Priya looked uncertain, something so rare that Candy couldn't help but be surprised, not saying anything. "If I tell you something, can you keep it a secret until I feel comfortable enough to reveal it myself?"

"Y-yeah of course!" Candy was so shocked by the request that she agreed without hesitation. Even though she might not have the best feelings for Priya she wasn't the type to maliciously reveal other people's secrets. Priya seemed to be searching her face for something and probably found what she was looking for as she relaxed minutely.

"I don't like boys, I like girls, if you know what I mean."

"You mean…?" That was the last thing Candy had expected Priya to say. "Oh."

"Yeah." Priya had her arms crossed and was watching Candy with a guarded expression.

"Oh, yeah that's cool!" Candy said quickly, nodding her head furiously, sensing that the other girl was looking for some sort of concrete reaction.

"Oh yeah? Good." Priya seemed relieved, relaxing and offering her a smile. Candy returned it, still very shocked at this new information.

"You seem really interested in Armin, do you have a crush?" From the mischievous look on Priya's face it seemed she already knew the answer before she asked.

"What?" Candy asked, surprised at the sudden change in topic before blushing when she realised what had been asked. "Maybe." She hesitated, feeling like it wouldn't be so bad to admit it when the girl had just admitted something so big to her. "Yeah…"

"Nice choice."

"Thanks." Candy let out a laugh, sharing a look with Priya.

Maybe the new girl wasn't so bad after all.