When Aoi Asahina saw Touko Fukawa slouched in a corner, eyes puffy and red, sobbing into her hands, she wasn't sure what to do. To be sure, Touko had not been very kind to her. In fact, she hadn't been kind to anyone but her precious "master", whom she fawned over like a lovesick puppy. Aoi would like to say that she didn't know what she saw in him, but she understood her reasoning perfectly. Byakuya was tall, handsome, rich, cold...in other words, your standard male love interest in a romance novel. Asahina had tried unsuccessfully to make friendly conversation with Fukawa a few times, and from that, it became very clear to her how important Touko's fantasies, or, as Touko cynically called them, "delusions", were to her. Although Aoi didn't dare to confirm her suspicions, worried she would offend the easily offended girl, she suspected Fukawa was a rather lonely person.
With a personality like that, how could she not be, she thought, before shaking her head like an etch a sketch, erasing the uncharacteristically judgemental thought from her head. What Byakuya was to Touko was the answer to all her hopes and dreams, the opportunity to live out the idealistic life she had so lovingly written in her beautiful novels. For Touko, Byakuya was perfect. Or, rather, the idea of him was. Aoi plopped down next to the sobbing girl. She gingerly tried to put her arm around Touko, but she recoiled from her touch.
"W-what do you think you're d-doing, s-slut?" Touko accused.
Asahina threw up her hands, as if surrendering.
"Sorry," she said, "But...are you okay?"
Touko scowled.
"W-Why does it matter to you?"
"Why wouldn't it matter? You're my.."
friend, Aoi almost said, but realized her and Fukawa were far from friends. At best, they tolerated each other.
"...classmate," she finished.
"It's about Master," Touko confessed.
Aoi let out a sigh.
"W-what is that supposed to mean?" Touko huffed.
"Nothing, sorry, just...thinking about something else, I guess."
"W-well, you sh-should be focusing on me. It's r-rude to not listen when someone is s-speaking to you."
Aoi had to admit that Touko's stuttering was a bit grating, but it's not as though Fukawa could help it. She was, however, bothered by the accusatory tone in her voice, which, on the other hand, never seemed to falter.
"A-anyway, I've realized I have no chance."
"No chance?"
"Yes, are you d-deaf or something? Or are you retarded? G-god, all you brainless bimbos are all the s-same! Y-you're probably too busy thinking about some dumb b-boy to even listen to me!"
Aoi would point out that Touko was currently preoccupied thinking about "some dumb b-boy", but Touko seemed testy enough as it was.
"A-anyway. I've realized that, maybe…"
She turned and looked Aoi in the eyes. "
Byakuya will never l-like me," she whined, tears forming in her beady eyes.
That seemed obvious to Asahina, but she was more concerned about comforting her classmate at the moment.
"Why do you say that?" Aoi asked tentatively.
"A-are you kidding?" Fukawa nearly shrieked, gesturing to her body, "I'm h-hideous!"
Touko buried her face in her hands, making muffled screaming noises.
Aoi didn't think that was true. Touko often lamented her lack of good looks, but Aoi didn't think she was bad looking at all. In fact, she'd go as far as to say that Touko was attractive, in her own way. She had a sort of elegance to the way she moved, and her petite frame - though Aoi loathed to describe anything of Touko's as charming - did have a certain charm to it.
"Look, Touko, Togami's a jerk, okay? I know he's rich and handsome and super successful, but beneath that all, he's kind of a loser."
"D-don't talk about him like that!" Touko lamented, still avoiding eye contact.
"He'd have to be one to not pay you the time of day!" Aoi exclaimed.
That caught Touko's attention. They locked eyes, a horrified expression on Touko's face.
"A-are you h-hitting on me?" Touko said, clearly aghast.
Aoi wanted to explain that she was just trying to pay Touko a compliment, but she was cut off.
"W-wait. Actually, this could w-work."
Work? Aoi thought, What did she mean, work? Touko blushed, the pale skin on her cheeks flushing a deep pink. "I-if a dumb bimbo like you is attracted to me, I m-must have something going for me, right?" Fukawa smirked.
"K-kiss me," she demanded. Aoi was taken aback, to put it politely.
"What?" she asked.
"J-jesus, I said to kiss me! I m-mean, you're clearly i-in love with me, so this might be your o-only shot!"
Aoi supposed she wouldn't mind kissing Touko, like she said before, Touko had a certain attractiveness to her, but the thought never really crossed her mind.
"Um, Touko, I-"
However, she was interrupted by a pair of lips smashing against hers. She should have pushed Touko away, asked her what the hell she thought she was doing, but instead she closed her eyes and let the kiss deepen. After a few moments, Touko pulled away.
"U-uh...h-huh," Aoi stammered, now noticing that she was the one stuttering.
Touko looked down at the ceramic floor, avoiding Aoi's gaze.
"That was nice," Fukawa admitted, after a considerable pause.
She looked up at Asahina.
"H-hey, um, Aoi?"
"Yeah?"
"C-could I do that a-again sometime?"
"Oh, um…" Now it was Aoi's turn to blush. "Sure, I guess?"
Touko's face lit up. She stood up, and as Aoi looked up at her classmate, she noticed a rare sight: a genuine smile on the bookworm's face. Touko then skipped - wait, skipped? Touko Fukawa doesn't skip, Aoi thought - away.
Over the next few days, Asahina noticed a change. Fukawa seemed to hardly pay Togami any mind now, instead spending her time staring at Aoi instead with a goofy look on her face that almost made her want to laugh.
Strangely enough, she didn't make the connection until a few days later…For every brooding angsty male love interest in a romance novel, there was always the sweet best friend, who the protagonist later realized she also had feelings for all along. Aoi had inadvertently become that friend. It was a laughable idea, but she knew Touko took it very seriously.
From the moment they kissed, Asahina had become the girl of Touko's dreams - or, as Touko would put it, the girl of her delusions.