HAIIIIIIII YALLL it's Middie, and this is Chappie 2 of Afternoon Reads (lame title I know I'll come up with something) WOOOO and currently I'm in a car hoping my laptop battery doesn't run out. That is basically my life in a sentence. Yeah.

Either way, I just wanted to say these chapters are (like in the description) completely unrelated; so if you're surprised that Rin is an emo freak in one chapter and a male stripper at a gay bar in the next. . . um, don't be. UH LET'S JUST GET TO THE-

Breakfast at the Bleu

The high school junior year at Krypton meant parties. Big parties.

Very rich kids usually hosted such events; with each having an abundance of hair gel, currently popular models of smartphones, selfies, and independence. And every once in awhile, an extremely unpopular, unfortunate, what's the word—NORMAL—kid would show up looking extremely out of place. Rin spoke from experience.

She was what her mother called a "grunch"; glooming over something insignificant for a long period.

It was more or less because of the nauseas concentration of artificial sweetener beside her. The artificial sweetener's name was Hatsune Miku, the very picture of femininity. With her long, glossy hair, and ability to apply flawless makeup, she was the Belle-of-the-ball when it came to parties and just socialness in general. Unfortunately, her personality and looks were identical; they were both so bright that they were hard to see.

Miku always spoke in a margarine-sweet voice and laughed at everything she said. In addition, all of her attention focused on helping the "less fortunate" people. And by that, she meant giving all the other girls in Class 2-3 make-up tutorials, relationship advice, and clothing choices (whether they liked it or not). For Miku, everything was an opportunity for her to stick her nose in and 'help'.

Rin was one of Miku's hardest cases. She was childish, under-grown, severely lacking in popularity and then some. This left her completely vulnerable to Hatsune Miku.

Well, it's not as if Miku was a total monster; most girls wanted her help. However, that response from classmates was probably what made her assume Rin wanted it too. One thing led to another, and the Unholy Goddess of Leeks herself took it upon herself with Great Spirit a new community project, the title being "Making a Kagamine Rin #02". Or something along those lines.

This process was absolutely traumatic.

At first, Hatsune Miku would simply say pleasantries and complement Rin's never-changing outfit: the usual gigantic sweater, pleated skirt, stockings, and Plushie boots. Then, Miku would sit with Rin at lunch or in the library and try to make small talk (which would mainly consist of Miku talking about her infatuation with Kaito Shion the (apparently) Perfect Senior, and/or pop celebrities like the Kardashians and Rin trying to relate). Rin was completely okay with Miku at that time, until the girl took things a bit far. Miku started choosing verrry showy outfits that Rin "had" to wear and leaving free samples for skin products on her doorstep. Rin tried everything as Miku-repellent; polite asking, earphones, avoiding, and just going along with the blasphemy. Nothing worked; Miku clung to her like infomercial.

Today was the worst by far. The most awful thing about it; Rin didn't even see the catastrophe coming.

A half-an-hour ago, Rin had stumbled into the Bleu, red-eyed and sore all over. It was Day 51 (she counted) of the Miku Tolerance Program, funded and sponsored by Rin's patience. The tealette had made accounts for Rin in every clothing line, accessory booth, and fragrance store on the planet. Notifications went off in orange3er02's inbox all night, causing her to fall in and out of sleep.

The Bleu was her only retreat these days, the only place where Rin knew Miku wouldn't even think to come. It was a little café tucked into the outskirts of the city; on the verge of Market Street and a retirement complex, causing it to be full of people who didn't judge you on whether or not you had a social media. The Bleu was just a perfectly untouched relaxed atmosphere.

Rin took her normal seat in the back corner of the Bleu, next to the arrangement of ceramic mug bouquets and seasonal sweets. The familiar scent of coffee beans and old books wafted to her, and she heard the cadence of a low fidelity song patter lazily through a record player hidden in the bookshelves behind her.

Rin leaned back in her booth, sighing in bliss. She checked her watch; 5:45 am, the Sun was barely up. It felt more like an evening than a morning. Rin would just sleep here; the rest of the world could go to Hell.

Somewhere off to her right, she heard soft snickering. Familiar snickering.

"Go away, Len." She could almost picture the left end of his mouth quirking up. "I wanna sleep."

Len started to use his no-nonsense-waiter tone. "I'm sorry, ma'am. According to Rules and Regulations, we can't have any loitering in the Bleu."

Rin laughed, and with tremendous effort, opened her eyes to glare at him. "I want to speak to your manager, Sir."

Sure enough, Len was sitting across from her at the table, in his usual attire. His hair was in its usual part down one side, sporting a short ponytail. He was close enough for Rin to smell faint wood and soap. "Wakey wakey, eggs'n'bakey." His grin widened. "Is that what you'll be having today?"

"Don't mock me," Rin toed off her boots and pulled her knees up to her chest, yawning. "I'm hiding from a stalker."

"You tend to over exaggerate a lot," Len leaned forward, examining her closely. "Are you serious? And if you are, can you bring them to the Bleu? I work on commission."

She palm-heeled his forehead, rendering a yelp. "Quit being a moron and do your job, Lenny."

They had such a weird relationship, but Rin was completely okay with it. In reality, she didn't know that much about Len, like what school he went to or what his email was (emails were overrated anyway). However, Rin knew his favorite songs, which he constantly played on the radio while doing morning shifts. She knew how he always subconsciously tucked his pen behind one ear when asking for people's orders, and how he liked his eggs soft (he'd smuggled her inside the kitchen once). It was as if they'd only meet in The Bleu, as if seeing him anywhere else would be awkward. That was the kind of effect The Bleu had on people.

"You have a visitor," Len was staring at the entrance. Rin followed his gaze until her eyes rested on a sequin-studded Miku, who waved, looking like a disco ball in the filtered early-morning sunlight.

"Uh oh," Rin moved to crawl under the tablecloth of the maple-wood table.

She was embarrassingly too late.

Miku cat-walked over to her, blowing kisses. Rin simply put her head on the table, Len having disappeared. The library was fine, the classroom—even better! But not the Bleu. Rin knew if Miku colonized here, her early morning would be silent and lonely.

Miku plopped herself down where Len was sitting (she saw him taking a couples' orders across the room), fanning herself. "OMG Rin-Ran. You don't know how long I spent searching for you." She winked and held up her iPhone 7 triumphantly. "Exactly twenty minutes. You left your location services on."

Len walked over, hiding a smirk under a layer of professionalism. "And what would you two ladies like?" He asked.

Miku sized him up, growling playfully. "I'd like some of that." Rin gulped back her laughter as she saw his face turn to mortal terror and back to nonchalance in a split second.

"Unfortunately, ma'am, I'm not on sale." Some part of Rin lifted just the teensiest bit, hoping maybe Len wouldn't fall for Miku's charm. Then again, no one (boy or girl) could really resist her seduction. Len turned to her. "Rin, the usual?"

"Yes, please," Rin tried to stare into his soul, sending him a telepathic message. 'I'm sorry,' she thought. 'Miku's a bit rude.'

He didn't show any signs of retrieving.

Miku gave a low whistle as she and Rin watched Len disappear into the kitchen. "He's hot, no? Rin-Ran?"

Rin choked promptly.

"Oh! Speaking of which," She pulled out a CoverGirl catalog. "I found this hot new fragrance for you; it's called Midnight Dream, from Bath & Body Works. Also, there are two more uber cute outfits for my spring fling party tomorrow night at 8. Do you like crop tops?"

"Meh," Rin thumbed through the desserts menu, trying to find one she hadn't eaten and take her mind off the party. It was to be the third of the other catastrophes she'd been to, and she was sure even Miku knew she'd just call her brother Rinto to pick her up hallway through. Rin thought she was probably best for Miku's social status (as if it needed to be higher), and yet the girl hadn't released her from the mocking and snide comments. If the Devil liked high fructose corn syrup and Kaito Shion, he would be Hatsune Miku.

"Hmmm . . . first of all, " Miku pulled a fragrance bottle out of her bottomless pit of a purse and proceeded to spray a splurt of it into Rin's general direction. "You can thank me later, darling, you smelled like my grandmother."

Rin coughed, the disguised teargas burning a path of Hell up her nostrils. Bleary-eyed, she stared blankly at the teal smudge that was Miku. "Excuse me?"

Miku laughed giddily like Rin had told a joke. "It's spring, silly! You smelled like cinnamon and baked goods. That is sooo out of season."

An unhealthy mix of sleep-deprivation, frustration, and anger started to rise in Rin's stomach. Thinking back, she shouldn't have said anything rash, but she was sure her face gave it away. "How is that a bad thing?!"

Miku pouted, one manicured finger twirling the wispy end of her teal side braid. "Ring-a-Ling, you should really thank me. You're never going to get someone with this attitude. And you and I both know that's a fundamental thing in one's life."

"I don't need someone to feel good about myself, Miku," Rin retorted, desperately trying burn her gaze into Miku's.

The coward simply ignored her and flipped through the menu, humming.

That was it. Rin splayed her hands on the table, standing up. "I'm done with this 'friend' façade. If you're going to turn me into someone else for tomorrow's party, I want to know why. Then," She glanced around to see if Len was near. Thankfully, there was no sign of him. "Then, I might do what you what me to do." She sighed, before adding. "I obviously know we both don't like doing this, so why won't you give up on me?"

Miku looked around sheepishly before staring at her hands as if that manicure was the most interesting thing in the world. "My friends wanted to see how well I could transform someone." She glanced up and flashed her too-bright smile again. "You were just overflowing with so much natural beauty that I couldn't help but choose you."

Rin leaned forward, towering over the tealette for once, unable to think. "Tell the truth."

Miku seemed to shrink. "I made a . . . a wager of sorts . . . ?" Her blue-green eyes darted to the entrance, possibly plotting escape. "Like . . . I could turn you into the Belle-of-the-Belle by the spring or something?" She gained confidence as she went, and rambled on. "Like we are SOO close, I even managed to get you a date—"

Rin sat back into her chair, all traces of anger evaporated. Suddenly, she had been sapped of her strength, her body completely numb.

Everything pieced together in an eerily perfect way. The attempts at new fashion, the emails, the sympathetic looks from other girls at school. All of this was even worse than Rin had prepared for; Miku wasn't even trying to help her out of good intentions, this was all a stupid bet.

She felt whatever resilience to Miku she had shattered. Nothing could save her now. "Am I—"her voice cracked, and it took a while to try again. "Am I that bad at being a normal girl? That you guys can bet how long it takes me to crack under your pressure?" God, she felt pathetic. Everyone was playing the same game for months now, and Rin was the only one not in on it.

The only thing Miku looked sorry for was that she had revealed her true motives. She gaped at Rin in horror before scrabbling in her purse. "Oh god, you're crying." She handed Rin a small pack of tissues. "Here, this reduces puffiness."

Rin didn't realize she was crying until she put her face in her sleeves, trying becoming as compact as possible. "Can you leave?"

The tealette's tone softened into something that might pass as sincere. "Rin, I'm really—"

"I said I'd go to your party if you told, and I'll go to your stupid party, okay?" She heard a sniff, didn't seem to register it was hers. "Just leave." Miku had to leave before her voice was clogged with tears. "Please."

Miku didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed her giant purse and hurried out, leaving a few bills on the table, leaving the tissues. Rin allowed herself a bitter, 'Good Riddance.' It just sank in her mind, making her feel even worse.

Moments passed, Rin heard the clink of silverware in front of her. Something brushed her wrists, and she heard the soft sliding of a plate onto the table. She smelled faint wood and soap and smiled painfully. She couldn't bring herself to take her head out of her arms, because it meant she would have to face him as a tear-streaked mess. Yup, she'd had enough of embarrassing and pathetic for one day.

Still, eventually she was going to have to face the world.

Also, she didn't eat breakfast at all this morning, and those pancakes weren't as tasty cold.

Rubbing her eyes, Rin took a shuddering breath and composed herself. The world hadn't ended yet, and it would have to wait for a while. This time, Rin was going to prove to all of Krypton high school that she could last without all the latest fads.

She stared somewhat blankly at the perfectly stacked 3-layer pancakes, slathered with molten butter. They stared back at her, along with a tiny message written in loopy, syrup letters.

Dinner at 6?

My treat.'

Rin felt her heart bloat up to 2 times its size, her face flushed suffocating hot. Blood rushed up to her ears, and she heard a perfectly timed Michael Buble start lilting through the record player. She somewhat sadistically scraped the syrup off the pancake, trying desperately to erase the evidence of the cheesy from ever being there.

She scarfed the pancakes down at record speed, while savoring each bite. It was partially to hide her smile (which looked quite psychotic given her tear-stained cheeks). Who needed Miku? She already had a blonde, cerulean-eyed problem on her hands.

And on the empty white plate, she scrawled in maple letters:

Bring your Wallet.:)

Indeed. This ending was so horribly rushed and sweet and shallow I can't believe I wrote it. Actually I can. This is kinda me during the school year (sorry guys) Yeah, sorry there wasn't much Len in this Chapter, but like Miku so yeah. And yall in the comments, do not fear, Miku has legit reasons to be the princess she is, so do not hate because she is queen. I was reading over the first Chapter as well, and it turns out it ended at 5:45 pm. O.o Weird. And I also thought it was kind of ironic how in the last chapter, Rin was going to a party and here she is, despising them. Yea, I just thought it was cool so like yea. OKKKKK this is getting really boring and my battery will legit die any second so BAIIIIIIIIIIII!

Ok this is my second time editing this, and I thought the story ended really badly cuz Rin just leaving after writing that is sooo awkward like their date is jinxed oops sry. Anyway, I think my excuse this time is that this is a fanfiction, so let's gloss over the things that only make sense in a naturally-high teenage girl's head, mm'kay? AWWW Thankx for understanding boos.

OH YEA R&R PLEASEEEEE EVEN FLAMES WORK I WANNA HEAR FEEDBACK OK THX IN ADVANCEEEE

~ Middie