Title: Whether You Fall
Prologue: The Surface of the Ordinary
Rating: PG-13
Characters are not mine I am just borrowing.
On the very surface they were two ordinary girls sitting on the roof of their dormitory under a velvet sky. On the surface they were many things, but deep down, under the normality of what everyone else saw, there was a bit of light. It was a shine that only came through in barest of circumstances, the light of a distant star that can only be seen on the blackest of nights, far from the aura of the city. Two pin points of ordinary and subtle light, and one was older and much more faded, but she was still there with a tarnished shine.
Circumstances had thrown them together over the summer break and the frugality of the academy during breaks had made them roommates. They were nothing alike and yet it was possible to see how they were in some ways very much the same. The older of the two was likely to turn more heads in her direction simply because she had been involved in a very public breakup. The younger might only stand out from the crowd because of her vast optimism and plucky charm. They were as ill suited for each other as roommates could be, but as things went the situation worked itself out. It proved that nothing brings complete strangers together like boredom, and, particularly, a chatty and chipper girl who is determined to make the most of things. Energy like that refuses to be ignored, and, in fact, can be quite contagious even to a recovering liar.
The summer had been long enough to make them friends. Optimism claimed they would remain close for the rest of their years at the school. Reality made a bid that such things never lasted, but made for a nice life lesson in the end.
Neither girl was at a point in which they wished to think about what would happen when the new semester started. It loomed around the corner just a few days away. Early starters were already beginning to show up fresh from visiting their parents or from a pleasant vacation in a city that was not Ohtori. The girls had shared their envy over the lovely exploits that others would have over the summer break, and they shared their disappointment of being shuttered away in a boarding school.
Violet eyes and brown eyes stared up into the inky blackness of the sky and the girls' thoughts were hard to trace. One of them wished the summer would last forever and the other wished it too, but knew that such wishes never came true even if they were believed in.
It was at that point a star flickered and dove from the sky until there was nothing left of it but the memory.
Violet eyes shut and made a wish.
Brown eyes shut and made a wish.
A slight breeze picked up through the warm air offering a cue that the two should head inside. They chatted as they moved themselves from their places on the roof. The conversation was the type that typical teenagers have, which is to say, they spoke of anything except what they really wanted to say to each other. It weaved about from music to fashion. It sparked between them, a closeness that neither had felt in a long time. It reminded one of what she had lost to her own foolishness, and the other of what she gained and lost at a nearly constant rate.
Their voices trickled down the hollow of the stairwell, echoing behind and in front of them, giddy with laughter and the click of their shoes. There was a pause as the elder of the two felt overtaken by a little too much sentiment. It was all internal, and despite that, her outward carefree demeanor was no lie. She blamed it on the shine the other girl had, that infectious cheerfulness that made everything okay. It was the stock of the ordinary girl. It was the trade secret of ordinary girls everywhere. It made them stronger and reliable, but it was also what made them so easy to forget and taken for granted. The ordinary girl was always there with a smile to lift someone up.
And as the two paused for a long exchange of dialogue the elder girl with the violet eyes felt a stirring in her that reminded her of everything she had lost and could never fully regain. It went deeper than mere regret. It was coupled with a feeling she had only known once before in her life when she had seen sad and stoic hazel eyes drop every mask. The occasions were completely opposite from each other, but the feeling was the same, and came with its own name. It sat at the back of elder girl's mind and pushed forward with action before hesitation could even have the slightest chance of interfering.
That was the moment when Shiori Takatsuki kissed Wakaba Shinohara. It was such a free section in time, and hesitation, along with worry and regret, were having a hard time finding a way to sink in to either of the girls' heads to put a stop to it.
It didn't last long.
A shocked silence left the two staring at each other and blinking in confusion over what had just occurred. Finally, one spoke and it was the kind of apology that wasn't meant, but had to be said, and conversely did not want or need to be heard. It hit the air like soft pin pricks, a jagged little voice smoothing over the short phrase and making it regretfully sincere.
"I'm sorry."
"S'okay."
Shiori and Wakaba walked down the remaining flights of stairs and down the hall to their room in complete silence. They did not say good night to each other, and in the morning they pretended, as only ordinary girls can, that it had never happened.