Hypocrisy At Its Finest

Summary: Haruka and I were best friends until Michiru came into the picture. I let them do the whole 'girlfriend-girlfriend' thing but when I got a boyfriend, Haruka wouldn't leave me alone. Since when are my relationships bad, but hers are fine?

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I clung to Mamoru as I held him back with all my might. My heart was pounding hard in my chest, and I gained a lump in my throat, making it hard to swallow. Because I was behind Mamoru, no one could see the tears in my eyes, which was good. As long as I kept it together and didn't let Mamoru go, everything would be fine…right?

"Haruka, what's gotten into you?" a familiar voice screamed. I peeked to see what was going on but made sure no one could see the rest of my face. Michiru and Haruka were a few feet away, and Michiru was holding the blonde back. Haruka had started a fight with Mamoru, though I don't understand why. Sure, she never liked him, but was all of this really necessary? Thankfully, Michiru was here to help me keep the peace.

"Usako, let me beat some sense into her!" Mamoru yelled, ready to make Haruka pay for the bloody nose. Mamoru had gotten a few lucky punches in before, but it wasn't enough for his pride.

"Come on, pretty boy, I can play with you all day!" Haruka shot back, trying to slip past Michiru's grasp. The more they traded insults, the more anger and sadness I felt. I just wanted all of this to end, but what could I do? Talking wouldn't do any good, so what was left?

A hot tear fell down my cheeks, and I began to loosen my grip on Mamoru. At the slightest movement, he ripped free from me and ran towards Haruka. I looked at the girl who I had thought had been my best friend and mouthed inaudible words of disappointment. As Michiru moved away from Haruka when Mamoru got closer, the blonde looked at me for a moment. She lowered her guard long enough for Mamoru to strike her down.

Another tear ran down my face as I tore my eyes away from the fight and proceeded to walk away. What had changed in Haruka that turned her into such a hypocrite?


There was once a time in my life where Haruka and I were inseparable. We had been friends since childhood, so we've always been there for each other. If there were something wrong on my end, she would protect me and deal with all of my problems. If something happened on her end, I would do the same.

We grew up together and were so close, yet we faced different problems. After discovering that she didn't like men in a romantic sense, Haruka became a womanizer, trying to conquer every pretty girl in sight. Girls were already swayed with her boyish looks, so why not just take advantage of their company? Because of that, she spent less and less time with me. I felt ostracized by her, so I had to find a way to deal. As a result, I found solace in gaining more friends and spending time with them. Compared to her biggest weakness – pleasure – my issues were small and petty. My other friends helped me with all of those things and made me feel on top of the world.

Unfortunately, that's where all the trouble began. There was a specific time that I recall when she came to me, upset because I wasn't there for her.

"Usagi, what's going on?" she asked me, raising her voice for no reason. I shrunk under her and avoided her eyes. "Whenever I want to be with you, you're always with your other friends. You should be hanging out with me, your best friend!" I cringed as I tried to find my voice. I couldn't believe she would say that.

"I'm with my friends because you're not there for me anymore," I whispered, my voice starting out small before I got loud enough for her to hear me. I looked up into her eyes and said, "If you would hang out with your best friend, maybe she would hang out with you too." Her mouth opened so that she could continue to argue with me, but I couldn't have that. She needed to understand what was going on and that I wasn't the reason for our separation.

"No, Haruka, listen!" I exclaimed. "You're whoring yourself out to so many girls that you don't have time for me! Now, you're just getting mad at me because it's actually your fault that we're not together much anymore!" I let that sink into her head with a long silence. Her mouth was still open, but I knew she hadn't intended to defend herself after that – she knew I was right.

Needless to say, things got better for us. We had returned to being the dynamic duo we once were, and that was great. That day had meant so much, and I thought that it brought us closer in an unusual way. Haruka, still the flirt she had developed into, used her wiles to get me all worked up. It was weird at first because we were both girls, but soon I began to return the favor. Whether she knew it or not, I had eventually fallen for her.

Of course, all good things must come to end as they say. Just when things seemed to be normal, Haruka was whisked away right from under my nose. For my sanity's sake, I'll make a long story short – she had been effortlessly enchanted by the great Kaiou Michiru. It struck a nerve with me, yes, but I let it go. I let Haruka go off to do whatever she wanted to do, which was definitely a mistake on my part.

Once again, Haruka had left me to find comfort in others, and I conditioned myself to be okay with that. My feelings for Haruka slowly eroded away but still lingered by the time I found someone I could rely on for almost everything.

Chiba Mamoru.

He was a cool guy, and he fun to be with. Feelings grew steadily but were never as strong as I had experienced them to be before. Even so, I stayed with Mamoru. Things worked out fine, everyone was happy, and life went on…until I told Haruka about it. She suddenly got mad at me and told me not to date, saying I wasn't allowed to or some lame excuse like that. She gave me all these reasons why I shouldn't be dating, which wasn't fair at all. She committed all these 'crimes' by dating Michiru, so what gave her the right to lecture me?

Michiru didn't really notice the tension between Haruka and I (since we were rarely around each other). If Mamoru was around Haruka for whatever reason, sparks began to fly. Michiru and I didn't understand it, so it would be up to us to control the two.

Too bad neither of us could control them today.


For the rest of the day, I received calls from both Mamoru and Haruka. They apologized to me over and over instead of apologizing to each other. After a certain point, I stopped answering my phone and let it ring. Perhaps if they learned how to text I would think about responding.

Eventually, the sky became a deep purplish color. It was nighttime, yet my phone screaming out the same ringtone. At this point, I just couldn't stand it at all, so I ended up putting it on vibrate. Things seemed okay at first, but the incessant sound of the vibration drove me insane! Rolling my eyes, I answered the phone one last time.

"What?"

"I'm outside. Can we take a walk?"

Looking out the window, I found Haruka staring up at me. She hadn't driven here or brought Michiru along with her, which was almost hard to believe. Sighing heavily, I agreed to meet her down there. I hung up and walked to toward the door, grabbing a jacket along the way. As I glided through the house to get to the door, I only said Haruka's name to whoever heard me. Everyone knew that I was in good hands with Haruka, so there was no need to worry about being out so late.

Just as a cool breeze blew in my face, Haruka appeared a few inches in front of me. I jumped back in fright, bringing a small smile to her face.

"Did I scare you?" she asked. I rolled my eyes at her mischief and started walking away from the house. She followed like a puppy, staying a few steps behind me. I waited for her to speak again to hear what she had to say.

"I'm sorry about today. It wasn't right of me at all…"

"Yeah, you said that earlier; tell me something I don't know."

My voice was cold, and my words were harsh. I needed to get to the heart of the matter and figure out what was going on in Haruka's head.

"It's just not right!" the blonde explained. "You're not supposed to be dating someone like him!" I glanced back at her over my shoulder for a moment and rolled my eyes. "What's he like exactly?"

"He's a loser who doesn't know how to make you happy!" Haruka exclaimed again. "You shouldn't even be dating at your age! You're doing it for all the wrong reasons!" I stopped and turned back. We weren't very far from my house. That small detail actually fired me up – Haruka hadn't wasted any time in starting something.

"Listen to yourself!" I exploded. "You're just making crap up now!" Haruka looked away for a brief moment and struggled to give me a blank stare. "You're only a year older than me, yet I shouldn't be the one dating? You're so immature! Tell me something – why are you dating Michiru?"

"Because we…like each other a lot."

I noticed how difficult it was for her to spew the word out. She didn't know how bad she was going to get it from me – she just wasn't prepared.

"That's all? Mamoru and I like each other a lot, and we make each other happy. He's there for me, I'm there for him, and that's how it's always been. You think those reasons are wrong? I'm sure you're dating because of that too…right?"

Haruka shrunk under the scrutiny of my gaze. She avoided my eyes and sighed. I tilted my head and glared at her. "What's that for, Ten'ou? Finally understanding why you're being so dumb?" I asked. Haruka said nothing and didn't move. Now this was getting annoying.

"Do you see that you're being a hypocrite? Everyone seems to get that except you!"

Finally, her eyes met mine. She stared daggers at me as she grabbed my arms. "I'm not a hypocrite," she whispered dangerously. "Yes, you are," I whispered back. "Why is me being with someone else so bad? Why can you be happy with someone, but I can't?"

Haruka clenched her teeth and squeezed my arms tight. I cringed from the discomfort I felt, but I doubt that she noticed. "You can't be happy with anyone else," she said. "Only with me." I struggled to escape her grasp, but nothing was working. She held me steady and stared deeply into my eyes. "Do you understand that?"

"I'm not property that you can own!" I yelled. "I can be happy with anyone I want, just like you can!" Haruka suddenly let go pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing with annoyance. I rubbed my arms, which hurt like hell thanks to her. When it seemed like her guard was down, I rose my hand up to smack her right across the face. Unfortunately, she noticed my movement and grabbed my wrist.

"You can't date anyone because they're not me," she whispered heatedly. "You can't be happy unless I make you happy. No one can love you the way I could. I'm the only one for you." I suddenly became rigid. Her words swirled around in my head as she stared at me. She was so serious, which confused me. Why didn't she tell me this sooner? Why go through all this trouble?

"What?" I asked dumbly. No other words could come out besides that. Haruka let go of my wrist and held my hands. "You don't need Mamoru, Usagi," she explained. "You only need me. That's why I tell you not to do what I've done."

"Then why do you do it? If I only need you, then do you only need me?" I asked. I watched as she leaned close and kissed my forehead. Her lips were hot against my skin, and I honestly loved it. She tore away after a few seconds of silence and gave a half smile.

"I don't realize the things that I get myself into most of the time," she shrugged. "I just have to make sure you don't do it." I rolled her eyes and told her how lame excuse that was. She laughed, saying it was true nonetheless. "It's the same with Michiru," she admitted, giving me a sneaky look. "We were talking one moment and going out the next. I went with it for a while, and I liked her – just not as much as you."

I blinked a few times. That comment really threw me off guard, which made the blonde grin. "You're the only girl I ever had my eyes on," she said. "Michiru is a pretty sight but…"

"You can't just drop someone for another person," I scolded her. "You lost any chances of being with me a long time ago." Haruka gave me a genuine frown and agreed. "Yeah but…"

"But nothing," I sighed. "Just…learn some morals and stop being a hypocrite, okay?" Haruka scratched her head and expressed her disappointment. Ignoring it, I told her to walk me back home. I started walking, but her hand grabbed my wrist.

"You only need me, and I only need you. We both know that I'm not a good friend, but we also know I could do way better if I were more than that."

I stared blankly into space as I reviewed what she told me. She was right, but she was too late. We couldn't do this now – there was no hope. I turned to her with dull eyes and asked, "Just don't be a hypocrite, alright?" Haruka released my wrist but pulled me closer to her. She lowered her head and brushed her lips against my ear. My face grew hot when I felt her even breaths on my skin.

"I'm not a hypocrite. I just don't want anyone else to have the one I lost – you."

Before I could get the chance to speak, the taller girl's lips moved down to my lips' level and kissed them. I pushed her away at first, but she held me in place. I didn't want to give into her; I couldn't show her that this kiss was what I'd been waiting for. Her lips against mine were everything I imagined them to be and more. She pulled me closer, making the kiss more passionate. With each second, I grew limp in her arms. A kiss from Mamoru couldn't even begin to compare to a kiss like this.

Suddenly, I felt Haruka's heat vanish, which made me want to cling to her and never let her go. I stayed where I was and watched her. She stared right back at me with the most serious face she could muster.

"When you're done playing with that loser…"

"That loser has a name."

"When you're done with him, you know where to find me."

I crossed my arms and turned my head, keeping my eyes on her. "When you grow up, you know where to find me. Now walk me home," I commanded. Haruka smiled at me and put her arm around my shoulder. It was very obvious that we both had feelings for each other, but that was okay. As long as we didn't cross any more lines, it was completely fine.

I don't know what to do about Mamoru – or if Haruka would do anything about Michiru – but I'm sure things would work themselves out in the end.

"So, how was that kiss?"

"It was gross. I don't even want to think about where those lips have been."

Haruka laughed, which in turn made me laugh. It already felt like we were more than friends, but the feeling would eventually simmer down. Once the next day arrived, we would be better friends and nothing else. Haruka could even stop being a hypocrite, but who knows? Only tomorrow will tell.

End

Finally pumped another story out. Writing is one of the only things that keeps me sane, but I don't get the chance to write fanfiction, which totally sucks! Hopefully I can update one of my unfinished stories? Til next story

Serenity101