Middle School, Second Year, Holiday Party
Kumiko Oumae, on principle, had never really bothered to get to know most of her bandmates. She had tried once, and it had only lead to trust issues and a dented school euphonium. She knew most by name, of course, but she knew almost nothing else about them - what they liked, what they feared, what their hopes and dreams were. They often blurred into each other when she thought about them, just one big pile of schoolchildren playing their brass instruments. She hadn't become close with any of them, nearly striking up a rivalry with most. She lurked in the corner during the holiday party, occasionally taking a snack from the table. Nobody seemed to notice, and she was perfectly fine with that.
So, it came to her as a surprise when she was shoved under the mistletoe by some smart-aleck looking for a good laugh. Immediately, the room fell into a hush as the students gathered around to watch. Who hung up mistletoe at a middle school party anyway? Another girl - Kumiko couldn't quite place her name - stood under the stupid plant with the same dumbfounded expression, although she seemed more bored than irritated.
What was her name? Kumiko thought, vaguely remembering the girl's trumpet solos and quiet demeanor but not much else.
"So," the other girl broke through the silence. "What now?" Kumiko blinked and mentally cursed every plant in existence.
"W-well, I, uh, I think that there's some tradition about the, uh, mistletoe, or something . . ." Kumiko mumbled, a blush steadily creeping its way into her cheeks.
"I know," the girl responded, her face showing no sign of emotion whatsoever.
"B-but we don't have to, obviously, I don't even like plants, I don't own any at all, nope, no plants at my house, none at all, heh . . ."
"Just do it!" some student screamed from the crowd. Kumiko sent him a glare. The trumpet girl really was very pretty, with her long dark hair and shining violet eyes. Kumiko shook the thoughts out of her head - no matter how pretty she was, it didn't change the fact that Kumiko's first kiss was going to forever be caused by some idiot middle schoolers, and she was powerless to stop it. The trumpet girl leaned in and Kumiko waited for the lips that never came. Instead, the girl turned to Kumiko's ear, her breath tickling slightly.
"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," she whispered. Kumiko nearly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks," she murmured in reply, pulling away. The students cheered, unaware of the actual lack of kissing that had taken place. The trumpet girl smiled and walked away. Kumiko watched her leave in silence, still feeling warm where the girl had whispered into her ear.
Kitauji High School, First Year, Winter
Kumiko had more or less sworn off parties since that day in middle school, but she still thought about it from time to time. She wondered how that mysterious trumpet girl - nothing more than a blur in her mind at this point - was doing now. Reina sat down next to her, silently unpacking her lunch.
"Hey, Reina," Kumiko murmured. "Do you remember that holiday party in middle school?" Reina tipped her head to the side and chuckled.
"Yes, I think I remember it somewhat. There was an incident involving plants, I think. Mistletoe, to be exact." Reina laughed again as Kumiko sat, dumbfounded, slowly realizing the impact of Reina's words. Kumiko stood up suddenly.
"Here," she mumbled, lightly kissing Reina on the cheek while still blushing like a maniac. Reina blinked in confusion. "You were kinda cheated out of that kiss last time. Also, I lied," Kumiko continued, struggling for something to say and jumping for the first thing to cross her mind. "I do own a plant. A cactus, to be exact. It's a very nice cactus." Shut up, shut up, she thought to herself. "M-maybe you'd like to come over and see it sometime." Idiot.
"Yes, I think that would be nice," Reina responded.
"Really?" Kumiko yelped.
"Yes." With that, Reina walked away, leaving Kumiko to once again watch her leave in silence. It was a content silence this time, though.