A/N : *insert stupid excuse as to why she missed two weeks worth of update*

*insert heartfelt apology*

I'm just going to take this one line to say that I love my girlfriend very much. I love you 3

also, disclaimer. but you already know that.

so here it is, chapter 3. Hope you enjoy!


Himemiya Chikane's heart was pounding.

What did I just do?

She kissed her bestfriend was what she did.

What came over me?

Of course she was expected to do right by her bestfriend, but what was she going to say? 'Himeko, I kissed you while you were asleep. Forgive me'?

Even in her head, Chikane knew it sounded…off. Besides, Himeko is in love with Saotome-san.

Is she? Because yesterday, she said—

Chikane knew exactly what Himeko said the day before. She said she was still sorting out her feelings. That meant that she did have feelings for Saotome-san, although what they were, exactly, Himeko still has to determine. The fact that she knew this, and still did what she did was betrayal.

And if I told her?

If she told Himeko about what she just did…? No. No. No. That would be too terrible. Already, she knew Himeko was alone in facing her feelings for Saotome-san. And if she were to act properly and tell Himeko what she just did, she knew she would lose Himeko. Himeko would be even more alone. It is a far too terrible thing to do to her bestfriend.

Besides, she could tell Himeko was obviously in love with Saotome-san. She was just dreaming about her. The mere mention of Saotome-san's name flusters her. Himeko was distracted, pre-occupied, and always blushing.

And it is breaking my heart…

Himemiya Chikane knew she was losing her bestfriend—the most important person in her life. But what that meant exactly, she was yet to find out.


Since she met her bestfriend and lunch mate, the Himemiya heiress, Himeko has had plenty of—suggestive—dreams. These dreams were always just pictures; as if she was looking at a slideshow presentation of highly arousing pictures of her bestfriend. None of them were conversational or story-like.

However, when Himeko woke up after dozing off to sleep during lunch, she had a horrific realization: her most recent dream involved her bestfriend stealing a kiss from her—while she was sleeping! No, that wasn't the horrific part. The horrific part was that when she woke up, Chikane-chan was right there, peacefully drinking her tea!

"Good afternoon, sleepy head. You should be hungry by now."

It was nothing short of a wonder how someone could sound so beautiful even when teasing. Himeko had a sudden thought that if Chikane-chan's voice dipped just a little lower, it would possibly be the most seductive voice in the universe. This stray thought of course made her blush…with some other parts getting hotter than they should be.

"Were you dreaming of Saotome-san?"

Himeko wasn't quite ready for the question. Well, truth be told, she wasn't actually ready for which lie she should tell right now: that yes, she was dreaming of Mako-chan, or that she was just having one of those good dreams. A wiser person would have chosen the latter. But Himeko, when faced with her bestfriend, was never a measure wiser than an amoeba. So she chose the former.

Someone please hand her a sledgehammer and beg her to hit her head repeatedly. Who knows? It may awaken her sleeping brain cells.

"Uh…yeah. Mako-chan…" Himeko muttered, not even daring to look at Chikane-chan's eyes.

"You don't need to be shy about it, Himeko. I don't mind. Why don't you tell me all about it while we eat?" Himeko thought she heard a tone of relief from Chikane-chan. She would have thought it weird had she not been so pre-occupied watching her bestfriend prepare the tea set and pour the fragrant tea.

She really is a princess: poised, calm, graceful.

Himeko observed even the tiniest movement, mesmerized. It was almost as if everything Chikane-chan did was a slow dance: a graceful, seductive dance…and it was pulling Himeko in. She watched as even the mere act of breathing, her chest rising and falling, was like a haunting melody somewhere inside Himeko's mind. Not watching it, the effort of not staring at the rhythm before her very eyes, was almost as hard as…Organic Chemistry.

"Himeko?"

When poor, mesmerized Himeko woke up from her reverie, she found her jaw slightly open and staring at, of all places, her bestfriend's quite prominent chest. Her throat suddenly felt dry and her cheeks were on fire.

"Uh…Yes?" she didn't want to think about how she looked like at the moment, but she was hoping Chikane-chan didn't notice she was staring, and most especially where she was staring.

"You seem distracted today. Is anything wrong?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine." At the back of her mind, Himeko knew that she just said 'Yeah' and 'No' in the same sentence. "Lack of sleep," was what she offered as an excuse. It wasn't really an excuse. She really hasn't been sleeping too well for the past few weeks. But she couldn't be honest at the moment, either.

When Himeko found that her bestfriend was still looking at her with that worried and troubled expression she knew she had to change the subject fast.

"Come on, let's eat. I'm starving!"


To his credit, Oogami Souma was not always the prettiest boy in town. He used to be the second most handsome boy in town—that is until his brother left Mahoroba. So now, Oogami Souma was the Prince. As much as he hated that title, he hated the rumour that came with it even more.

That stupid rumour was, obviously, that he was pledged to be married to the Princess, Himemiya Chikane.

First of all, he didn't like the oujo-sama types. He preferred the simpler girls, the quiet ones, the ones almost nobody knew. To be more specific, he preferred the simple girl, the quiet one, the one almost nobody knew. One would think that his standing as the duly appointed Prince would at least boost his confidence and declare his everlasting love to the girl he desired. Unfortunately, his standing as the duly appointed Prince was exactly what was stopping him from confessing.

The only way he knew he could reach out to her was through her roommate.

"Saotome-san! Do you have any good news for me?"

The captain of the Track team looked confused for a moment, then annoyed, then amused. By the end of the mood shifts, Souma could swear she was about to laugh.

"Give it up, Souma. I have been giving you good press all this time. In fact, I've been talking about you so much she's starting to think I have a crush on you now." She shook her head. "She's just not interested." Saotome patted him lightly on the shoulder, as if comforting him.

"Does she like someone else?" It's not like Souma was overconfident. Quite the opposite of it, else he wouldn't be bribing Saotome every week. But still, how can you not like the Prince?

"I can't really tell you that. Look, why don't you ask her yourself?"

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

It sounded almost like a challenge. Souma wasn't one to back out of a challenge, but what Saotome was asking was too much

"Because I just can't…Because Kurusugawa-san would get hurt if people found out."

He didn't want to explain. She wouldn't understand anyway. Nobody would understand. He wanted to confess his feelings for Himeko so badly. Unfortunately, the moment everybody finds out about his feelings, Himeko would be in trouble. And in Mahoroba, there is no such thing as a secret.

After that frustrating and rather uneventful conversation with Saotome, Souma knew there was only one other person who would understand.

Himemiya Chikane.


You know the most frustrating thing about this story is that Saotome Makoto was also in love. The second most frustrating thing about all this is that she was in love with the only person she should never have fallen in love with in the first place: Oogami Souma.

Mako knew he was waaay above her league. She may be Captain, but she was not exactly the prettiest girl in town. This was the same argument she used against Himeko when Himeko tried to justify her pretend feelings for her by saying that Mako was pretty. Mako knew she wasn't at all pretty.

But she wasn't lying when she said she had been giving good press for Souma. How could she not give good press? He was all she ever wanted to talk about. At first she thought it was fun how she and Souma would meet and have small talk. Said small talk would end with the usual reminder: to make sure that Kurusugawa Himeko knew exactly how awesome Oogami Souma was. But now, these small talks were getting frustrating.

Himeko, of course, couldn't care less about how awesome Souma was. First of all, she was gay. Second, she was also madly in love with someone else. If the walls of their small room could talk, they would be complaining about how the only two things they talked about were the Prince and the Princess. But while Himeko denied her feelings for a long time, Mako shrugged and admitted it as if it was nothing.

What Mako couldn't admit though was the favour Souma asked of her.

"Other than that awkward car ride, did anything else happen to you today, Himeko?" It was after school and they were walking back. Neither the Prince nor the Princess was to be seen, so the roommates decided to walk home early.

"Does it count when I tell you that I dreamt that she kissed me?" Himeko was blushing, and Mako didn't have to look at her to know it.

"No. You always dream about her." She said teasingly, wrapping her arm around Himeko's shoulders.

"I know. But today was so vivid, it was as if it was real. And you know the most embarrassing part?"

"You woke up and she was there?"

"How'd you know?"

"I couldn't think of anything more embarrassing…unless she said you were moaning and talking in your sleep."

"That would have been embarrassing and awkward."

They both laughed at the thought but then quieted down when a few girls who were passing by gave them odd looks. After a while, it was Himeko's turn to ask.

"How about you? Did you talk to Souma today?"

"Mhm…"

"What about?"

"Oh you know, the usual stuff: Track, sports, Track, sports. We even talked about sports and Track."

"Change the subject then…" Himeko offered.

"Nah. It's okay. I quite enjoy talking to him about those things."

They were quiet after that…until Himeko stopped walking and looked up at the orange sky. Saotome didn't have to look closely to know that, try as Himeko might, tears were already falling.

"We make quite a pair, don't we, Mako-chan?" Mako could hear the tremble in her roommate's voice

"What do you mean?" She knew exactly what Himeko meant. She just didn't want to say it out loud.

"Here we are, both in love with the only two people we should never fall in love with, desperate for their slightest attention."

Mako didn't know when her tears started falling.


So now, we have come full circle. But it is near evening now. The orange sky is rapidly turning gray. The warmth of the sun is disappearing, only to be replaced by all too familiar chill of the night.

Himemiya Chikane wasted no time when she got home. Before Otoha could even ask, Chikane had already asked for a cold bath, possibly with a bath tub full of ice. With a slightly fazed look, Otoha gave a small bow and disappeared. A few minutes later, she gently knocked on her oujo-sama's door, announcing that the ice cold bath was ready.

Despite the unbearable coldness, Chikane still could not forget what happened. Every inch of her body was cold and numb, save for her lips. As her trembling hands reached up to touch her lips, she was pleasantly surprised to find that they were still warm…and immediately, her thoughts came back to this afternoon.

Specifically, they came rushing back to that moment when the world disappeared and all thoughts came crashing and flying out the window…that moment when Himemiya Chikane was reduced to nothing more than a fragile little girl…that moment when Himemiya Chikane understood what it felt like to let her restraints go…that singular moment when Himemiya Chikane let down her guard.

…that moment she now swears will never happen again.

For Himeko.