A/N: This was actually a Secret Santa gift for a friend who is featured in the fic. I wanted to write all of it before posting it, but sometimes pressure helps me write.

Hope you like it. It's winter time Mitsu. 😉

"When are you going to tell her, Ricchan?"

"I'm not, I said!"

"But why not?"

Day 0

Class was boring as usual.

Sawako's droning had lulled Ritsu into a state of half-sleep. Somewhere to her left Yui was already out cold, with her head pressed against the window and cheek fogging up the glass.

Mugi was taking notes, ones that Ritsu would most likely copy later, and Mio- well, Mio was also taking notes (as usual).

That is until there was a shift of movement from her childhood friend. She had folded a piece of paper up and passed it over to the girl on her left. Ritsu watched curiously as the note was passed on and on in a continuing chain until it reached Mugi.

A tight feeling welled itself deep in her stomach. The alertness she felt only amplified when she heard a rather loud "Oh!" come from somewhere to her left.

"Oh? Is there something you'd like to contribute, Yui-chan?" Sawako asked.

Ritsu peered back at her airheaded friend. Yui sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. Sawako was far enough to not see it, but there was a line of dried drool on her chin.

"N-no, I just remembered that I have to go Christmas shopping soon," Yui responded.

Sawako crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Please do that on your own time," Sawako told her. She returned her attention to the board and continued writing. "Now it's time for one of my favorites, the Pythagorean theorem-"

Whatever the Pythagorean theorem and the hype behind the triangle their teacher had just drawn on the board was, Ritsu didn't notice. Instead she watched Mugi fold the note up again and hand it over to the girl on her right.

Ritsu watched the passing train as it made its way over to Mio. Her friend's brow furrowed and then she shook her head. Mio bent over her desk and hastily scrawled a message back.

There was a dull pang in Ritsu's heart. She chewed on her pencil and began to swing her right foot.

A few days back, Ritsu had heard Mio and Mugi talking. She'd been hiding in the club closet and ready to scare her friend, but the conversation topic, while muffled, had been unexpected.

Ritsu leaned her chin on the palm of her hand and closed her eyes. She didn't want to remember, but it came back in bursts. She didn't even understand why it bothered her so, it's not like it was relevant to her.

Ritsu's eyes flew open, just as she saw Mio take the note from Ichigo, the flood of memories returned with a vengeance.

"Do you ever plan on saying anything?" Mugi had been the first to talk and it had been Ritsu's indication that she had not walked in alone.

Silence followed afterwards and Mugi let out a low sigh; there was an exasperation in her voice that didn't belong there. Ritsu wasn't sure she'd ever heard Mugi sound irritated before.

"If you wait too long, time won't stop for you. I say you should do it now while you still have time," Mugi said.

There was a response, but it was too quiet for Ritsu to catch. That meant that she was either speaking with Azusa or Mio because Yui was way too loud to be this quiet.

"I know, we've discussed it before, but we won't be around forever," Mugi told the mystery person. At that point Ritsu had gotten impatient and had tried to see who it was by plopping onto the floor and peering through the gap of the door and the floor.

"We're graduating this year and there's no knowing whether or not we will all stay together after," Mugi continued, her voice had taken on a softer tone.

From the way she was angled, Ritsu could see Mugi's shoes clearly, but whoever it was seemed to be seated on the couch. She silently cursed to herself and figured that it was probably Azusa then. She was the one who would be mainly impacted by their graduation and she and Yui had been getting kind of close lately.

"I know, but I also don't want to change anything," said Azusa (?).

"Sometimes fear keeps from the things we really want," Mugi retorted. The couch's springs groaned under pressure and Ritsu realized she'd probably taken a seat on it too.

So, it is Azusa then. Ritsu thought to herself.

A teasing grin crept onto her face, the more ammo she'd have to tease their kouhai and Yui the better. She was getting a tad bit bored as of late.

"Mio-chan, please just consider it."

Ritsu's grin dropped from her face. She'd heard that wrong, right?

"I-I can't, Mugi. I just don't want to break our dynamic!"

She recognized that voice anywhere. Ritsu's heart panged. An uncomfortable sinking feeling hit her deep in the gut. She didn't like it, it made her feel nauseous.

"Just think about it, Mio-chan. Remember what I told you," Mugi said.

"But, Mugi…"

"The heart wants what it wants, Mio-chan."

Mio had hummed in acknowledgement and the two had gone silent after that. The three of them sat there for what felt like hours. Yui and Azusa had then bound in together.

It wasn't until her phone buzzed, that Ritsu texted them saying that she'd gone home because she didn't feel well. The other four had then left, thus leaving Ritsu in the closet.

It'd been eerily quiet in there. The overwhelming darkness along with the pit of loneliness, it was scary, and she didn't want to feel it again.

"Ricchan!"

Ritsu's eyes widened with attention. She spun her head to the left and met chocolate brown eyes.

"Are you okay? You've been staring at Mio-chan for the last ten minutes," Yui said.

Ritsu looked back over toward her friend and saw that her classmates were packing up. When had class ended?

"My bad, I was just...thinking," Ritsu responded.

Yui eyed her worriedly. Her eyes darted between her and somewhere in the distance before there was a light in her eyes.

"Oh!" She said suddenly.

"Oh?" Ritsu questioned.

Yui flashed her a thumbs- up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Just know that no matter what, I support you Ricchan!" Yui told her proudly.

"Support in what, Yui-chan?" A voice came from behind her.

Ritsu turned around. Mugi and Mio had approached them. Her eyes met Mio's, but when she saw the light blush on her friend's cheek, she was reminded of their talk. Ritsu quickly averted her eyes and refocused her attention on her notebook.

"Nothing important," Yui cheerily responded. She dropped her hand from Ritsu's shoulder and continued, "What kind of cake did you bring today, Mugi-chan?"

"Oh, you know, I figured since it's our second to last day until break, that I'd bring Strawberry Shortcake," Mugi said.

Yui gasped. Ritsu watched her tackle Mugi from the corner of her eyes.

"Mugi-chan, can I marry you?" Yui cried.

"Oh, Yui-chan, but what about Azusa-chan?" Mugi said and merely pat the back of her head.

Yui tensed and pulled back. There was a dark blush on her cheek that was unusual for her. Yui was rarely embarrassed about anything.

"U-um, I mean, Azunyan is- it's not like that," Yui said back.

"And the grass isn't green," Ritsu mumbled.

There was a soft pressure against her shoulder and she peered up to catch Mio frown at her.

"Don't be rude," Mio said.

"The heart wants what it wants." Mugi's voice echoed in her mind.

Ritsu glared at the memory. The look must have caught Mio off guard because she withdrew her hand and tightly folded it against her chest.

"Shall we head up then?" Mugi asked.

"Yup! Let's go, Ricchan!" Yui half-shouted, she grabbed Ritsu's bag and bounded out the door.

It took a moment for her to realize that her stuff had been taken, but when she realized it, she chased after Yui.

"Oi, come back here, Hirasawa!" She shouted as she took off after her.

Ritsu ran down the hall, ignored the teacher yelling at her not to run down the halls, and ran up the stairs. As she turned the corner she almost collided into a girl wearing all black. Ritsu immediately recognized her as one of the girls from the Occult club.

"A-ah, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," Ritsu apologized.

The girl's eyes focused on her too intensely for her liking. Ritsu uncomfortably squirmed in her place under her scrutiny.

"You're in turmoil," the girl said.

Ritsu looked at her in confusion. The girl raised the small crystal ball she held in her hands and stared into it.

"Don't worry, it will pass soon. Misunderstandings seem to be a common trope in alternate universes," the girl droned on.

"Ahaha, right…" Ritsu nervously laughed. She slowly edged back toward the staircase.

"Though do be careful," the girl said, a frown highlighted her face. Her brown eyes somehow seemed darker than they had been before. "Stairs will be your enemy."

"Right, thanks uh-"

"Ali," the girl clarified.

"Thanks Ali. I'll be sure to be mindful," Ritsu nodded and pointed her thumb back toward the top of the stairs. "Have a good one. Happy holidays if I don't see ya around."

"I'm seeing something…" Ali frowned and turned the crystal ball in her hands. "A darkened room, too large for a warehouse… It's cold and lonely… is it a closet?"

Ritsu's heart sank to her stomach.

"I-I've gotta go," Ritsu stammered. She whirled around and sprinted up the stairs.

By the time she reached the top, she was out of breath and her heart was drumming loudly in her ears. Ritsu threw open the door to the clubroom and found that it was empty, but that her stuff was on her chair.

She walked over to it and pulled out her seat. Ali's words rang in her ears.

That was too weird. How could she even know? That was probably a plastic ball too. Ritsu hummed in irritation and pressed her cheek against the table.

The door creaked open. There were too many footsteps for it to be just one person.

"I know what I saw, Azunyan! I'm not lying!" Yui said.

"Yui-senpai, just because someone tells you that they can talk to ghosts doesn't mean that they exist," Azusa scolded back.

Ritsu poked her head up. The moment they realized she was in the room, their hands dropped from each other's grip.

"Oh, so you went to get Azusa, Yui?" Ritsu asked.

"Y-yeah, you were taking a while, so I went to fetch her," Yui nervously laughed, that dark blush was back on her cheeks.

"How're you feeling Ritsu-senpai? Yui-senpai said that you were spacing out more than usual during class?" Azusa asked her.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Ritsu responded. She successfully suppressed the urge to glare at Yui and instead smiled back. Instead she decided to spin the situation against them. "So, is there anything youtwo should be telling me, hmm?"

Ritsu hadn't expected the dark blush on Azusa's cheeks to be as dark as it was.

"N-no! It was just- Yui-senpai, explain!" Azusa stammered.

"U-uh, you see, um... "Yui looked around nervously. She suddenly pointed at the wall and gasped. "Ricchan, look at Ton-chan!"

"What?" Ritsu asked, she turned around and looked at the turtle.

He was floating around as usual and not doing anything too exciting.

Was she just trying to- SHE WAS DEFLECTING? Ritsu peered back at Yui who was placing her guitar strap around her shoulders.

"I think we should practice, Ricchan," Yui said.

The club door opened again. Mio and Mugi walked in with Sawako following a few seconds after.

"Are we not having tea and sweets today?" Sawako asked.

"Some club advisor you are," Ritsu deadpanned.

She glanced over at Yui and Azusa, the latter was correcting the former on her fingering. There was an odd glimmer in Yui's eyes as she watched Azusa instead of her hand.

The feeling was warm. It was itchy. It was-

"...Is it a closet?"

Ali's echoed in her mind. Ritsu stared down at the table.

"Everything okay, Ritsu?" Mio asked.

There was concern in her voice. It should have made her feel better.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ritsu responded.

Her eyes flickered back over to the closet. It wasn't like it mattered.

Her best friend was in love with someone.

She didn't know why that hurt so much.

Day 1

Ritsu had been sitting in her usual seat when Yui had barged in with a smile that looked a little too wide for her liking. She hadn't questioned it until the before mentioned airhead plopped down next to her and just hummed a song.

That was it.

No greeting. No "Hey, Ricchan, do you know what kind of cake Mugi-chan brought for our last day?" Nothing.

Ritsu eyed Yui curiously. That goofy smile was still plastered on her face. Something must have happened for her to get this doe-eyed.

Something… or someone.

Ritsu couldn't help the grin that slid onto her face. Yui wasn't the subtlest when it came to her feelings and if there was any indication that the person of her affections was reciprocating- well, yesterday Azusa had been a bit more flustered than usual.

"So, uh...what's up, Yui?" Ritsu began. Coaxing Yui into lowering her guard would certainly be much easier than just straight up ambushing her. "Anything exciting happen?"

Yui shook her head.

"Nope," she answered, the pop of the p somehow seemed to irk Ritsu. It was almost as if Yui knew something she didn't. The thought made her uncomfortable.

Ritsu rapped her fingers against the table anxiously.

Before she knew it, she had begun to tap out her part for Don't Say Lazy. She sighed and immediately forced herself to stop. It was then that the club door opened.

An angel with blonde hair had walked in likely saving them from this oddly uncomfortable tension. Though before Mugi could take two steps in the room, Yui bolted from her chair and dragged her out.

"What the-" Ritsu muttered under her breath. Not exactly sure what to make of what she'd just seen transpire in front of her.

She scratched the back of her head and leaned back into her chair. Was there something she was missing?

The door opened. Ritsu peered up just in time to watch Azusa walk in, but then just as quickly get dragged back out and the door was closed again. Their kouhai yelped in shock. Ritsu could hear her muffled yelling on the other side.

Should I go investigate or should i just mind my own business? Ritsu thought to herself. She sighed and rolled her shoulders back.

She'd figure out why her friends were acting so oddly eventually.

As Ritsu strode over to her drum set, the door opened (yet again). This time it was Mio. It took her a few seconds to localize her, but once she did, those grey eyes of hers showed so much confusion.

"What's up, Mio?" Ritsu asked. She pulled her chair out and grabbed her drumsticks.

"Do you know why Yui, Mugi, and Azusa are just standing outside?"

"Beats me," Ritsu shrugged, twirling a drumstick delicately in her fingers before smacking it against her snare. "Yui was here earlier, but then when Mugi came, they both stepped out."

Mio frowned, the sight was so cute that Ritsu distracted herself from it by refocusing her attention on her drum set.

"Should I... get them?" Mio asked.

"If we wanna practice, that's probably for the best," Ritsu said slowly in response.

Mio's eyes met her own, her childhood friend's gaze was inscrutable. Ritsu politely smiled at her and then returned her gaze back to her drum set.

"They're gone."

Ritsu didn't even feel the drumstick slip from her fingers.

"What?"

Mio rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I said they're gone. Are you okay Ritsu? It feels like you've been spacing out a lot the past few days," Mio said.

Ritsu swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.

"Y-yeah, just y'know... "her eyes trailed back toward where her stuff was. Mio was blocking the only exit to the room and there was no way of making a clean escape.

It then dawned on her why Yui had had such a wide grin before. She had been adamant about supporting her the day before.

She thinks I like Mio! Why that little-

"No, I don't Ritsu," Mio pressed on. The irritation in her eyes had been replaced by a mix of curiosity and hurt. "You've been avoiding me for the past few days."

Ritsu could feel her ears getting red. She nervously licked her lips and scratched the back of her head. There was no way she was going to get out of this.

Honestly, Ritsu didn't know why she was being so odd with her friend. Just because yesterday hadn't been the first time Yui had caught her staring at Mio didn't explain the way she'd reacted. You'd think she'd found the cure for world hunger.

Things hadn't been the same since Mio and Mugi's discussion and now with winter break starting tomorrow, Ritsu knew for a fact that she'd been in the clouds lately.

She wasn't surprised that Mio had caught on.

"Well, you see- uh"

A phone rang in the distance. Ritsu recognized that ring tone. It was her phone. She nearly knocked over her drum set when she moved over and dove toward the couch so she could pick it up.

She had to fight the death glare she so desperately wanted to give her phone when she saw the name of the caller.

"It's been ten minutes, Ricchan. Have you confessed yet?!"

Yui's voice chirped through the phone. Ritsu's eyes darted over to Mio who was watching her.

"No, not yet, Satoshi, but I can do it now if you want," Ritsu said.

"Wait, what? I'm not Satoshi, it's-"

"Geez, mom needs it now? Well, it can't be helped then. I'll see ya later," Ritsu interrupted. Oh, Yui was so gonna get it when she got her alone.

"Ricchan, what're you talking abou-"

Ritsu hung up the call and sped walked over to her bag. She hastily packed her things and threw it over her shoulder.

"Sorry, can't stay. Mom needs me for an errand," Ritsu laughed nervously. She sidled over to the door and waved Mio goodbye. "I'm sure the others will be back soon, but let them know that I'm sorry! See ya guys during break!"

"Wait, Ritsu-"

Ritsu quickly closed the door after her and hurried down the stairs. She needed to head out before Mio had a chance to stop her. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she jumped down the last couple of steps.

Her phone buzzed again. Ritsu stopped walking, looked around to make sure she was alone, and opened it up.

"Is everything alright, Ricchan?" Mugi asked.

"Well, it could be better if you guys didn't pull that trick on me," Ritsu grumbled.

"What trick? Yui-chan needed help with something and Azusa-chan happened to come by so we asked her for help too," Mugi responded. Her voice was so soothing, Ritsu glared down at the floor.

Had she just overreacted?

"I'm sorry, Mugi. It's just that-"Ritsu took a deep breath and looked down at the staircase. "It's been heavy the past few weeks, I guess and Yui's been acting weird lately."

"How so, Ricchan?" Mugi asked.

"Well, she-" Ritsu stopped, she felt silly for speculating that Yui had purposefully thrown them into that boat. And it wasn't like she liked Mio that way anyway, so why...?

"I was just being dumb, but I gotta head home 'coz I have some errands to run," Ritsu finished.

Ritsu took a step forward and grabbed onto the railing.

"...I guess we should be honest and stop lying to you, Ricchan," Mugi said, though her voice was a bit muffled and were those other voices in the back?

Ritsu frowned and pressed the phone harder against her ear.

"What do you mean, Mugi?"

"I may have miscalculated, but the signs seemed positive! Look, you just have to go back to the clubroom and talk to Mio-chan,"Mugi said softly.

"I can't, I already told you I have to go home."

"Ricchan… I'm going to tell you something and if you don't reciprocate that's alright, but you have to go talk to Mio-chan."

"Mugi, just say it already," Ritsu said.

A silence filled the area for a few seconds. In the distance, Ritsu heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She tightened her grip on the railing and leaned against the banister.

"Ricchan, Mio-chan's in love with you."

Her eyes widened at that.

Had she misheard her?

Ritsu's heart raced in her ears. That icky warm feeling was back and effectively replaced the shallow emptiness that was lurking in her gut before.

"W-what?" Ritsu croaked. Her head felt warm, her grip on the railing slackened.

"Ricchan, you need to go talk to her."

"B-but, I-"

I'm not gay. I'm not, I-

"Ricchan, please," Mugi pleaded.

Ritsu brought her hand up to her chest. She felt so weird, almost as if she could throw up, but in a happy way?

"Ritsu!"

No, not now.

Ritsu looked up to face the other end of the stairs. Mio's eyes were teary, her cheeks and nose were red. Had she been crying?

"M-Mio," Ritsu gasped.

"Ritsu, I need to talk to you," Mio told her boldly, there was a determination in her friend's voice that was there.

It was almost as if they had switched personalities. Ritsu hated feeling this weak. She wanted to run, she couldn't do this. Not right now.

"Mio, I-I'm sorry, I-"

"No, Ritsu, we need to talk now," Mio said.

Ritsu watched her walk down the rest of the stairs. Her raven hair billowed after her and somehow even though they were teary, those grey eyes looked radiant.

Mio looked absolutely beautiful and that terrified her.

"Mio, I'm sorry, but I gotta go-" Ritsu pleaded, her voice was so weak. She absolutely hated it.

Ritsu swallowed and took a step back.

Why did it feel like there was nothing there?

Mio's beautiful grey eyes widened, she opened her mouth to speak and reached out to grab her arm.

Their fingertips brushed against each other.

That warmth sank deep into Ritsu's stomach, the feeling of falling almost exhilarating. Why hadn't she seen it before?

I can already hear her calling me an Idiot. Goddamnit, Ritsu, the person Mio wanted to confess to is you.

Ritsu chuckled to herself and closed her eyes.

How silly it was for her to realize she had fallen at the wrong time.

Thud.

End of Day 1

A/N: Oops, LWYMMD