Chapter 1 - Encounter
Summary
On a fateful encounter Setsuna finds the love and friendship she always wanted. Unadressed feelings threaten to take it all away. Must she give up on her love for the sake of their friendship? Must she lose her friends in the pursuit of love, or can she have her cake and eat it too?
My first attempt at a rational story.
Author's note: Also the rest of my stories are all on standby until I get used to the rational style of writing. There's a chance I'll rewrite them all from the beginning. Thanks and hope you enjoy!
The snow was falling and the cold caressed her skin, prompting her to cover her slender body with her arms. She stared at the white motes falling from the darkened skies, her body shivering a little from the cold and the feelings inside her.
"Its winter. The season of White Album." She repeated without thinking.
Reaching her room, she was greeted by the familiar pink walls and the stuffed animals as she took off her wet coat and left it on the nearby chair while welcoming the warmth of her bed. She was dead tired after her job and didn't feel like doing anything but lay down and think. She could still feel the excitement in her chest as she thought about him.
"Kitahara Haruki, huh" she mumbled half conscious as she turned in the matress and stared at the picture hanging on her desk, a reminder of happier times. Times when she had someone to talk to, times when everything was simpler.
Playing with her auburn colored hair in her hands, she thought about the guy that was school president yet wasn't. He was a pretty famous name in the school being one of the top students while also being head of the student council. She only knew him from afar as they hadn't interacted much, until now.
She had been taken to the student council to discuss the recent "problem" about her not entering the Miss Houjou contest, something she had never been interested in, in the first place.
"But you've won two years in a row! We can't have the contest without you!" said an exasperated member of the council, desperately trying to hide his annoyance with a half hearted smile. She could notice his fear for the fate of the contest in his burrowed brow and averted his gaze. She never could stand the look of disappointment in people's faces, but neither was she willing to budge on this matter.
Suddenly the door opened and a black haired boy wearing the familiar black suit that was their school uniform entered the council room. It was Haruki. He had a serious expression that didn't betray emotion but as she stared straight into his dark eyes she could notice the vibrant glint of a brilliant mind behind them. From the way everyone smiled as they approached what she assumed was the council's president, she could tell he was the one that would put the more pressure on her joining the contest.
"So you're Ogiso Setsuna, right?" he said as he sat on the opposite side of her. She stared at his eyes and once again averted her gaze due to the imposing presence. It was as if he could see right through her, it was a feeling she wasn't comfortable with.
"Y-yes" she replied thinking about what he had come for and preparing to argue against joining the contest.
"I'm Kitahara. I'm in class E with Hiyazaka here" he said nodding to the spiky haired guy that had been trying to make her join moments before and that now looked at Haruki with a wide smile. It was evident that they had a lot of confidence in him. "Nice to meet you"
"As a matter of fact, I know your name" she replied while her gaze remained afixed on the details of the desk that separated them as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "I always see your name at the top of the grades list" she mentioned reminiscing on all the gossip about the president's grades and fame for strict observance of the rules.
"I know you too. Whenever there's a Miss Houjo contest I always see you at the middle. But you want to resign this year?" he asked straight to the point.
"I'm sorry" she said trying to sound polite.
"The high school contest isn't like the Miss Houjo university one. We try to keep it low key, which means no stage event or swimsuit competition" he retorted, trying to point out the pros of the contest.
"I know about that of course" Not like she didn't know them, having won two years in a row had been more than enough experience for her…
"Do you still not want to do it? Are you embarrassed?" he probed. It was clear to Setsuna that he would follow through by insisting on how there was nothing to be embarrassed about and how everyone was expecting it from her.
"I'm not embarrassed. I just don't really like to stand out, I guess" she replied. It was true, entering those contests had never been her intention in the first place.
"Its way too late for that" Haruki's classmate replied before being quickly silenced by a nudge from the class president.
"My friends kept entering me without telling me. I was an underclassman then, so I didn't have the courage to refuse. And so I got dragged into it. I never wanted to do it but…" Setsuna's reminisced on her classmate's faces, giving her the 'good news' about her entering the contest. About what was expected of her, about how she shouldn't disappoint them.
"Yet you won two years in a row! You're obviously the top chi-ow!" Hiyazaki complained as he received another hit from Haruki that went unnoticed by her. Why did she have to participate even if she didn't care about it? But if she refused this year, would that mean everyone would end up hating her?
"Even when I was a freshman, I didn't really want to do it" she continued as she tried to come up with an excuse, perhaps she could say she had to study for college and wouldn't have time for the contest, that way he would have no option but to let her...
"Stop right there, Ogiso-san. No matter what you say now, for the last two years you've entered the contest and were the undisputed winner." Haruki interrupted her with the same calm tone with which he had spoken since the beginning. Setsuna could notice a small hint of sharpness in his tone.
"That's…"
"Saying you regret that is rude to your friends, who entered you because they wanted more people to know about you. To all your fans who voted for you, and to all the people that were happy you won" he said admonishing her.
"If you don't want to do it just say 'I don't want to do it this year'. I'm sorry but we can't take away your past victories." Haruki said with finality. That wasn't what she had expected to hear.
"Cut it out!" interrupted Hiyazaki trying to defuse the situation. "Sorry Ogiso, he's persuasive, but he's got a bad habit of lecturing everybody" Hiyazaka continued, trying to end Haruki's rant by placing his hand on the other's mouth as Haruki tried to keep talking.
She hadn't thought of it that way, in the end her friends were doing it to make her known? After all, she shouldn't assume they had ill intentions towards her right? It…it wasn't like last time, right?
Haruki seemed to be about to reprimand him too for interrupting him when se decided to intervene.
"It's okay! I'm the one in the wrong, the comittee president is right. I hadn't thought about that" she said as she thought about it. They had put their effort on her after all, so in a way it was her responsibility to participate.
"No, I'm not the-" Haruki said trying to clarify but was stopped by his friend so that he wouldn't interrupt her.
"You're right, the people who chose me had hopes for me. The people who voted for me were happy for me. I'm sorry for being selfish" Setsuna said. In the end there was no other way, she had to fullfill her responsibilities to them right?
"Okay, now that it's settled, I'll see you in the contes-"
"We'll cancel your entry" said Haruki, surprising both the council members and Setsuna herself. What did he say? Wasn't he there to convince her to participate?
"It's okay?" she asked still unsure about it. After all he had said, was it right for her not to enter the contest?
"Of course its okay. The most important condition for entering is that you want to. If you don't want to, of course we'll cancel." He said matter of factly while everyone in the council stared at him wide eyed.
"Haruki, what did you come here to accomplish?!" Hiyazaka said exasperated, trying to contest his decision.
"I came here to stop you from steamrolling her, of course. Did you forget that the school fair is supposed to be fun?" was the response as the black haired man stood up from the chair and directed his gaze to the rest of the council.
"Then stop lecturing people" Hiyazaki replied exasperated.
"Okay people, gather! Lets have an emergency meeting" said Haruki quickly taking care of the situation and everyone followed. After that Hiyazaka thanked her for her time and showed her out. Setsuna couldn't help but admire the ease with which Haruki took care of the situation, it was evident he was used to that kind of emergencies and assuming the leadership.
As she stared at the ceiling of her room she replayed that day's events over and over. She had achieved what she wanted, she was finally free from that accursed contest and could enjoy the festival just like any other student, yet in the end, was that what she wanted? Even more, she pondered about Haruki. He was supposed to recruit her yet in the end had considered her interests in the final decision.
What's more, she wasn't sure he had done that just to please her like most boys she had known usually did, saying things they didn't really mean just to gain her favor. Or had he? That uncertainty made her feel troubled and yet, her chest beat faster at the novelty of it.
It was still snowing outside, her window clouded as the cold wind raged outside. Her last thought before falling asleep was that she wanted to get to know Haruki better.