Hey guys, back with another chapter.
It's a bit longer than the first but it has not been beta read.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, including Vocaloids
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The school bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch, but for Luka the sound signalled the start of an hour of humiliation; laughing, pointing fingers and harsh comments all directed at her. Very rarely did she ever experience any respite from this, so she had learned to get used to it and she had pretty much accepted it as part of her daily routine.
Luka however felt bad for including Miki in her war with Miku. Miki was young and frail, had no other friends besides Luka and to top it all off, her father died when she was little. Luka felt that Miki was only one harsh comment away from an emotional breakdown, and Luka knew that the risk of that happening was much higher than it should be just because she was friends with Miki.
Luka had considered pushing Miki away to spare her the ridicule and torment she received for being friends with her, but Luka knew that this would crush the poor girl. Stripping Miki of her one and only friend as well as her main support system was something that Luka could not bring herself to do, even if it meant that somewhere down the line Miki would have her breakdown due to Miku, Lily, Gumi and all of the other bullies.
Luka was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but she knew keeping Miki as a friend, was definitely the easiest option for now at least…
"Megurine-san, everybody has already left for lunch." Meiko said with a confused look on her face, "shouldn't you get going as well?" she asked.
"Oh, umm… yeah, sorry Meiko-sensei, I was just daydreaming." Luka stuttered nervously as she was snapped out of her session of deep contemplation.
"It's ok, there's no need to apologise." Meiko said with a comforting tone of voice, "I was just curious, you seem so distant and disconnected, is something bothering you?"
"Oh, it's nothing really." Luka said quietly, "I don't wont to waste you time with my problems.
"Nonsense, you wouldn't be wasting my time." Meiko said sincerely. "I've got a teacher meeting in five minutes, but we can chat until then if you would like."
"Are you sure, I don't want to be a burden." Luka said unconvincingly, she desperately wanted to talk about her problems with someone, but she was always too shy to ask.
"A burden?" Mieko questioned. "It's not a burden, in fact I insist." She said playfully.
"Oh, ok then, well it's just… umm it's just that… you know." Luka mumbled incoherently.
"Don't be shy, you can tell me anything, that's what I'm here for." She reassured the younger girl.
"Well, it's this girl Miku. She's always tormenting me; calling me names and stuff." Luka mumbled nervously, eyes fixated on the floor.
"Ok." Meiko said, nodding politely and motioning for Luka to continue.
"It doesn't really bother me that much, I've sort of gotten used to it. It's just that my friend Miki receives the same treatment just for being my friend." Luka said quietly, with a low tone of voice. "I can handle it, as for Miki, I'm not so sure. She seems close to a breakdown, and I hate knowing that it is because of me that it is more likely to happen."
"Have you tried distancing yourself from her?" Meiko asked, unaware that she had struck a nerve.
"I can't do that, I'm her only friend; she's too scared to make new ones. If I leave her then she will definitely have a breakdown." Luka said in a slightly louder voice, tears beginning to brim in her eyes. "I don't know what to do, it's so unfair." Was all Luka managed to choke out through her tears, which were now streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh Luka, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise." Meiko began to apologise.
"It's not your fault, you weren't to know." Luka whispered while gently sobbing.
"But I feel so terrible." Meiko choked, her voice tainted with sorrow and regret. "No-one should have to live like this."
Meiko quickly pulled the pink haired girl into a tight hug; she gently caressed the younger girls back, comforting her until her tears had subsided.
"Thank you Meiko-sensei." Luka wailed into Meiko's shirt. The older girl pulled Luka away a few inches and looked into her teary eyes.
"For what sweetie?" Meiko questioned.
"For being there for me, and listening to me." Luka responded. "And for hugging me. It's been so long since someone hugged me, I'd practically forgotten what it felt like." Luka blubbered. "I almost forgot what it felt like to be human"
Meiko didn't say another word; she instead pulled Luka into an even tighter hug while struggling to hold back a few small tears of her own.
The hug continued for almost a minute until Meiko remembered her meeting. She looked at her watch which told her she had about a minute left before the meeting. She reluctantly pulled away from the hug, wiped away a few stray tears from Luka's cheeks with her thumb and took her firmly by the shoulder, looking straight into Luka's teary eyes.
"I have to go, but stay behind after school and we will figure this out." Meiko said; her words were firm and reassuring. "I can't let this happen any longer. I swear, I'll help you get through this, I promise." She added.
"Thank you Meiko-sensei, so much." Luka giggled, happy with her new friend and the promise she had made.
With that they said their goodbyes, Meiko sprinted off to her meeting and Luka picked up her bag and left slowly. She was very contented.
Luka opened the classroom door and almost jumped out of her skin when she was faced with a confused looking Miki only a few inches away. Her ahoge was forming a question mark.
"What took you so long?" she questioned. She was about to continue but she saw that Luka's eyes were red and puffy; indicating that she had been crying. "Are you ok Luka?" Miki implored, her voice cracked slightly with fear. "You look as if you have been crying, is everything ok?"
"Yes, it's better than ok, Meiko-sensei said she would help us with our Miku problem." Luka squealed with happiness.
"That's great." Miki replied, a smile was slowly spreading across her face. "Let's go to the cafeteria talk about it though, I'm starving" she joked, although the rumble that followed definitely reinforced her point.
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Miku was woken from her slumber by the lunch bell. Maths class had been so boring that today it had actually put her to sleep. During her short nap she began to have dreams; dreams about Luka.
In her dream Miku had gathered that she and Luka were friends, best friends actually. She had also realised that in this alternate reality she was a lot happier. Instead of ruling the school like a princess by herself, she had Luka at her side ruling with her.
In her dream she no longer felt alone, she instead felt complete, the thing that she couldn't put her finger on that was missing from her own life, was here in her dream. It was Luka.
Miku felt like she had been hit with a tonne of bricks, she didn't want to open her eyes. A mix of emotions was now swimming around in her head, she didn't know what to think or feel anymore. She was at a loss.
"Oi sleepyhead, wake up!" Gumi shouted, fully awakening the teal haired girl, making her sit bolt upright, eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Did you have a nice nap?" Gumi questioned.
"Uh…what, yeah not to bad actually." Miku countered, quickly regaining her composure.
"Yeah it looked it; you were really out of it. Did you have a nice dream or something?" Gumi asked.
"I did actually, it was so good." Miku squealed happily, unaware of what she said until the worlds had come out her mouth.
"Why, what happened?" the green haired girl inquired.
"Oh…er, it was nothing special, just a good dream." Miku lied unconvincingly.
"Yeah right." Gumi quipped sarcastically. "It must have been good for you to get as excited as you were a few seconds ago. So spill, what happened?"
"Like I said it was nothing." Miku said, trying to sound serious. "You don't have to know every detail of my life you know." She said spitefully.
"Sorry, I was just curious…" Gumi managed to say before she was cut off.
"I don't care!" Miku interrupted loudly. A small blush was starting to form on her pale cheeks. "Stop being so nosy." She ordered.
"Jeez Miku, what is wrong with you today, you're acting all weird." Gumi continued, knowing she was pushing Miku's buttons.
"NOTHING!" she screamed, the blush on her cheeks was now evident. "It's nothing, let's just go to lunch, Lily's probably waiting." She said more calmly, trying to shift the topic of conversation.
"Yeah you're right let's go." Gumi conceded, knowing from past experience that she should not mess with Miku or push her too far. The tealette may have been small, but she sure did pack a punch; Gumi shivered slightly as she remembered a previous incident.
They exited the otherwise empty classroom and sure enough Lily was leaning on the wall on the other side of the corridor waiting for them.
"What took you guys so long?" the blonde asked.
Miku quickly turned her attention to Gumi and shot her a look that said "If you talk about what happened in there, I'll hunt you down and beat you with a leek like last time.
Gumi saw this and began wracking her brain for an excuse. "Um, I went to pick up my bag and everything fell out, Miku was helping me sort it out." Gumi lied.
Luckily for Gumi, Lily believed her story and was saved another leek beating. Lily suggested that they should go to the cafeteria and have their lunch.
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Luka and Miki set off with a brisk pace, although this wasn't necessary because they were guaranteed seats even though they were almost ten minutes late. This was because they had permanently reserved seats at what was dubbed "The loser table." A small table in tucked into the corner of the cafeteria which was populated by Luka, Miki and two twins who were part of the chess club.
Luka and Miki rarely conversed with the Kagamine twins, but were never bullied by them; so in their books the twins were considered good people, even if they did seem a little weird.
The two girls quietly walked into the cafeteria, trying to avoid detection and the ridicule it would surely bring. As they made their way to the loser table, they were pleasantly surprised when no-one tried to trip them up, no-one threw food at them, and no-one even uttered a simple spiteful insult. After a cursory glance around the cafeteria, Luka realised they respite was due to the fact that Miku hadn't arrived yet.
It was Miku that spurred the bullying on, she was the catalyst. The teal haired princess could turn normal students who felt more or less indifferent towards Luka, into savage bullies just with her presence. They would see Miku coming and try anything to get noticed by the school princess, even if it meant humiliating innocent people.
For the moment Luka wasn't complaining about the lack of torment, she was still ecstatic about Meiko's proposition. She and Miki sat down across from Rin and Len, who were each reading and eating a piece of fruit. Luka extended a friendly greeting which was met with a synchronised grunt from the twins.
"So what were you saying about Meiko-sensei?" Miki asked cheerfully while pulling out a bowl of fruit salad that consisted mainly of cherries.
"Oh yeah." Luka started. "I kind of broke down in front of her, but she was really comforting and understanding." She continued while rummaging around her bag. "I told her about Miku and she seemed eager to help us." Luka finished just as she found the tuna salad that she had prepared for lunch.
"That's awesome." Miki rejoiced. "Maybe our luck is beginning to change, maybe we won't be at the bottom of the pile anymore." Miki theorised as she popped a cherry into her mouth.
Before Luka could respond, Rin began to speak. This almost never happened and took Miki and Luka by surprise.
"What are you guys talking about?" Rin questioned without even glancing up from her book.
"Um, Meiko said that she'd help us with our Miku problem." Luka responded. "Why do you ask Rin?"
"I was just curious as to why a teacher is randomly helping you?" Rin replied. "It seems a little uncharacteristic. Are you sure you can trust her?"
"I think it'll be ok Rin." Miki said defensively.
Rin was about to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of the two heavy cafeteria doors slamming against the walls. Miku started to walk into the large room filled with people; the doors being held open by Gumi and Lily, although all the attention was on Miku.
The trio walked towards their table; otherwise known as "The popular table", drawing everybody's attention. A small boy, around the same age as Miku got up and blocked their path. As Miku approached him, he pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and confessed to Miku with a shy and barely audible voice.
"I love you Miku, will you please go out with me?" he asked.
"No." Miku replied bluntly.
"Wait… is that it?" he asked.
"Yes." She said just as bluntly as before. She walked past him and didn't look back.
"Wow Miku, that was cold. It gave me goose bumps." Lily said; her voice tinted slightly with fear.
"Yeah well, I'm not really in the mood today." she responded.
Miku would have normally rejected a confessor much more gently than that, especially in the cafeteria in front of everyone. Her mind was just fixated on Luka and her dream.
The trio sat down at their table, which because of the way the seats were laid out, was only four tables away from the loser table; the one at which Luka was seated. As Miku was about to take her seat she glanced over at Luka's table only to realise that Luka was staring at her.
Their eyes met. They both held the stare and both began to blush; unaware of the feelings they had towards one another. After what seemed like an eternity, Luka broke the stare. She returned to her tuna and tries to hide her blush with her long pink hair.
"So you still like her I guess?" Len asked uncharacteristically.
"Yeah I can't stop thinking about her." Luka admitted.
"Why!" Miki shouted, drawing attention from nearby tables. "I don't see why you like her; she brings you nothing but misery. How is it possible to like someone like that?" she asked, her voice much quieter than her earlier outburst.
"I don't know. I can't put my finger on it." Luka pondered.
"Maybe it's because she's popular." Rin spoke up. "Or maybe it's because she is pretty".
"It's a mystery to me." Len added.
Miku watched as Luka sat down and continued eating. When the eye contact was broken Miku felt empty and alone. She was still standing and attracting a lot of attention from the whole cafeteria.
Luckily for Miku, her green haired companion yanked her arm and pulled her down to a seat next to her.
"What the hell are you playing at Miku?" she asked in a hushed tone. By now the blush on her friend's cheeks was prominent. To hide from the accusing stare Miku adjusted her bangs to hide her face and began rummaging around her bag for her lunch. Gumi got no reply and so tried again. "Miku? What's happening to you? The classroom, the confession and now this. What's going on?"
"Uh…nothing Gumi, I didn't sleep well last night. That's all." Miku lied, still trying to hide her ever present blush.
"Yeah right." Gumi responded sarcastically. "Seriously, what's wrong, you're never that mean to a confessor. And what's with you and Luka exchanging googly eyes?" she added.
"I told you to drop it." Miku seethed through clenched teeth.
"I've never seen you like this before; you're usually so calm and collected." Gumi continued in spite of Miku's warning.
"I said drop it!" Miku shouted, drawing a leek from her bag and swiftly bringing it up to Gumi face, stopping only an inch from her cheek.
"Ok man, be cool, were all friends here. I'll drop it." Gumi said defensively, hands in the air to show her innocence.
"Thank you." She responded politely. She withdrew the leek and began to nibble cutely on the end of the vegetable, a smile formed as soon as she took her first bite.
Miku was so engrossed her leek that she failed to realise one of the upper class men; Kaito, approaching her. He extended friendly greetings to everyone but quickly turned his attention to the tealette.
"Hey Miku, how you doing?" he asked confidently.
"Fine." She replied bluntly, going back to her leek immediately.
"Okay…"Kaito said with a puzzled look plastered on his face. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Gumi.
"I'm not sure, better not push her though." She replied quickly and quietly, to avoid further aggravating Miku and incurring the wrath of the leek.
"I think I'll be okay, but thanks for the warning." The blue haired boy joked, his attention quickly shifted back to Miku and he began to ask for what he came over for.
"So Miku, I was wondering if you wanted to go out on Friday, you know see a movie, grab some dinner and then maybe go back to my place?" Kaito asked confidently.
"No thanks." Her reply just as blunt and cold as the one a few minutes ago.
"Why not, it'll be fun, I promise." He added. "I know a great little place that does the best leek stew.
Miku's interest piqued slightly at his last comment, but not enough to warrant her considering going out with him.
"Sorry Kaito, not interested." She said flatly.
"Why not Miku, I know you like me. Why keep fighting it, why not just give in to my charm?" Kaito insisted.
"I'm not in the Kaito, get out of my face." She demanded.
"Don't talk to your senpai like that, it's rude." Playfulness now fading from his voice.
"I don't care. Just piss off!" she shouted, standing up to confront him face to face.
"Why you little..." He brought his hand up and struck Miku across the face. "No-one talks to me like that, even if you are the school princess, it's unacceptable." He added. Miku stepped back and brought a shaking hand to her rapidly bruising cheek.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Luka shouted. The whole cafeteria was in awe at the scene. They expected someone to interject, but not Luka, anyone but Luka. "Don't you touch her!" she furiously added.
Luka walked confidently and stood in front of Miku defensively, shielding the teary girl from the blue haired perpetrator. "Didn't you hear her, she said no, so just leave it." Luka ordered.
Miku couldn't believe her eyes; her crush was shamelessly defending her in front of the entire school. Luka should have been embarrassed and trembling, but she stood firm, her voice loud and assertive. Miku had never seen her be this confident before.
Miku spent a few seconds in Luka's shadow before realising that to everyone else the scene was unbelievable. She looked around and saw hundreds of pairs of incredulous eyes staring; trying to make sense of the situation. What Miku did next pained her, but she knew that it had to be done to maintain her appearance and integrity.
"Shut up Luka." She hissed. "I don't need your help." With that she picked up her leek and whacked Kaito round the face, knocking him to the floor. She turned back to Luka, made sure not to look into her beautiful blue eyes before speaking.
"See, no help necessary. And even if I did need help, I wouldn't take it from the school loser." She said spitefully.
Luka's expression fell and she lost all composure.
"You're a mess Luka, get out of my face." She howled.
Luka ran out of the cafeteria, not even bothering to pick up her bag. Instead of stopping outside of the cafeteria, she continued to run, out of the main doors and down the road. She felt terrible, foolish and humiliated, and in front of the school no less.
She could never go back she thought to herself; even if that meant missing her meeting with Meiko. Because at the moment nothing mattered to the emotionally crippled pinkette.
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That's chapter 2, I hope you enjoyed it, more will be coming soon.
Please leave a review and let me know what you thought about it.
More chapters coming soon!