The night before the concert, Miku couldn't help but feel restless. She couldn't even so much as will herself to close her eyes. She'd talked to Kaito enough that day, she'd decided, and calling him yet again in hopes talking to him would bring her peace so late at night wouldn't be the best option. He'd been apart of plenty of concerts before, she was sure he wasn't sitting up in bed like her, opening and closing his phone indecisively like her.

That and talking to him only seemed to bring her temporary relief. She loved talking to him, that was for sure. She loved the way he always seemed happy- Happy to hear her problems, happy to spare whatever time he had to talk to her, happy to hold her hand and kiss her if she ever were to ask. But something about it always left her wanting. Something wasn't right. Something was missing, and it was something that his smile and his voice couldn't bring her.

She withheld a frustrated groan, turning it into a long sigh as she came to find she'd been filling through her contacts yet again. Luka's name was highlighted on the screen and her thumb hovered apprehensively over the select button. Why could she never bring herself to delete her number? Why was she finding herself, yet again, going back and fourth in her mind whether or not she should press down and call her.

"Stupid," She muttered to herself, angrily snapping her phone closed and, for good measure, tossed it over her bed and out of her reach. "I don't need to call her. I don't need her anymore…" In her head she continued, adding an unsure: "Don't I?" Turning her eyes to her window she looked to the night sky peppered with stars. Even now, they still looked dull to her.


"Wow, that was quite a yawn!" Rin gasped in amazement. Miku agreed silently, rubbing sleep from her eyes. It was an exhausting feeling to be nervous on top of being deprived of sleep. She'd finally managed to drift into slumber just as the sun had begun to dye the black sky a light pink, and even that seemed like only a few brief seconds to her. Now her stomach was churning nervously and she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"That's so you, pulling some sort of all-nighter before something as big as this," Len chuckled, his voice echoing from the back of the stage. The Choir students had been required to stay after school until the concert, but no one had shown up yet and Miku didn't want to be left alone. Being alone meant there was time for her mind to wander, all thoughts leading to long, flowing pink hair and deep blue eyes she was so sure were going to be easy to put from her mind when she forced herself to put her heart into another person. So she'd dragged Rin and Len along with her, who didn't seem to mind in the slightest. They seemed to enjoy exploring the stage as well as poking fun at their friend's sleepiness some more.

"I couldn't sleep, that's all," Miku muttered, restraining herself from yawning a second time as she spoke. She sat at the edge of the stage, swinging her legs and knocking her heels hard against the apron in hopes that the pain would shock her into being more awake. "You'd be nervous, too, if you-" Miku cut herself off as the sound of the auditorium doors reverently opening barely managed to fill the room. The sudden halt of footsteps that had begun to echo through the room alerted her to who it was. Someone who was having second thoughts about coming in, seeing as the only person in the auditorium –who was in the choir club, at least- was Miku. Despite all of her will being channeled into not looking to acknowledge who it was, she found herself looking to the back of the auditorium almost willingly.

"Oh…" It was Luka, who'd begun to nervously look from side to side as if looking for a way to escape. "I figured everyone else would be here by now…" Miku felt some soft of electrical surge run through her veins. Other than hearing Luka sing (Rather unenthusiastically as Meiko has stressed over and over) it had been what felt like forever since she heard her voice. It filled the room that was already quickly overflowing with a suffocatingly awkward feeling with a strangely soothing one that left Miku feeling confused.

And also mad, because she couldn't stop herself from wanting to hear it again.

"Everyone's just slacking, I guess," Miku explained monotonously, her eyes darting to a corner in the room. She felt ever muscle in her body grow tense as she heard Luka's footsteps start up again.

"Oh, someone's here!" Rin exclaimed, walking out from behind the curtain. "We should probably get going anyway." She leaned backward, calling loudly backstage. "Len, it's time to go! And stop touching that, I don't think you're allowed to!" Miku wanted to beg them to stay, and wanted someone there to talk to besides the person that hurt her to even think about. But her mouth remained closed as she waved goodbye instead, a forced smile on her face as the two of them promised to come later that afternoon to see the performance.

Once the twins were gone, the room was uncomfortably silent aside from the noises from outside in the hallway, where Miku wanted to dash off to. Instead she remained perched on the apron of the stage, watching her feet sway limply back and fourth. And her thoughts, oh her thoughts, they were loud enough to give herself a splitting headache.

I should talk to her. No, I shouldn't. I don't want to. I- I-

"Miku," The sound of Luka calling her filled her ears.

Please, don't call my name!

"Miku-"

"What!?" Miku exclaimed, her body going ridged as she lifted her head and hit Luka with a frustrated gaze. Luka jumped, looking unsure as if whatever she had to say had been demolished by Miku's single outburst.

"I…I just wanted to say good luck… I'm sure everyone will be telling you that tonight, so I wanted to be the first…" Her blue eyes traveled to the ground, looking duller than usual as they became filled with some sort of sadness. "And…"

"And what?" Miku snapped. She was angry, not so much with Luka, but more at herself. She'd caught herself smiling at Luka's wish for her to do well, and she had begun to willingly drown in the sound of Luka's velvety smooth voice. Luka jumped yet again, her eyes finally meeting Miku's for a split second. But before she could continue the auditorium doors opened once again, as what seemed like the entire choir club began filling inside. Miku masked a sigh of relief as she slid off of the apron; quickly walking passed Luka to greet Kaito who was walking in with the others.

"Hey, look who got here before us!" Kaito chuckled, giving Miku the usual greeting of patting her head like an obedient dog. "And check out those bags!" He teased. " Didn't get much sleep I'm guessing."

"Only an armature would loose sleep over something as simple as a standard concert," Gakupo huffed before Miku could deny the undeniable. She looked over her shoulder angrily, meeting his belittling gaze.

"Alright everyone, to the stage!" Miss Meiko called, breaking up any sort of argument that could have developed. "We've got a lot of practicing to do before the concert!" Miku turned away from both Gakupo and Kaito, her eyes resting on Luka who had already made it to the stage.

"I can't wait for after the concert," Kaito purred in a low voice, resting his hands on her shoulders. Miku remained looking forward, her eyes fixed on Lukas movements despite her angry thoughts in her head demanding that she stop. The two of them had arranged to go on a date after the concert, and it was there Miku, in the heat of trying to rid herself of every scrap of thought that still dwelled on Luka, had promised to give him something more than just her heart and happiness. And it was only then that Luka's words of warning traveled through her mind as she felt Kaito's fingers tracing along her bra strap from outside of her uniform.

"He's a massive womanizer, there's nothing good about him!"

"Me neither," Miku said, her words just as forced as her smile. And still her eyes were focused on Luka, now bathed in the complimenting glow of newly turned-on stage lights. " I can hardly wait."


But, in reality, Miku could wait. She wanted to wait. But time was unkind and seemed to have sped up at thousands of times it's normal speed. Before she knew it the concert had begun. She was no longer nervous about the hundreds of people watching them from the dark auditorium or messing up her own singing. All she could worry about was what would come after all of it was over, after she'd sung the final note and stepped out from under the stage lights to be whisked away by Kaito. After the end of every song she found herself looking to him, and he'd give her an excited smile. He certainly was looking forward more to their date than she was.

A whole new problem soon emerged in the form of the duet that she had placed from her mind to worry about the places Kaito wanted to go and things he intended to do. After the final group piece the lights around them dimmed and she watched as Luka walked off stage. It took her mind a while to catch up before she realized she had to exit as well. Meiko had prepared separate outfits for them especially for the song, somewhat because she loved the piece enough to accessorize it with special costumes, but mostly to make Luka and Miku's singing it all the more permanent and guilt them into singing at their best.

In the quiet of the choir room the two of them began to shed their uniforms, both of them facing opposite each other. Miku could feel her heart racing as she listened to the soft sound of fabric being slipped off Luka's body before she angrily tried to shake the feeling away.

"So, I hear you're going out with Kaito after the concert…" Luka muttered, breaking the silence occupied by the quiet noises of the two girls changing. Restraining a groan Miku turned around only to quickly whirl back the other way after having just barely caught a glimpse of Luka's underwear and her bare back as she pulled her uniform over her head. A strange heat warmed her cheeks, being spawned by something between embarrassment and anger.

"Yeah, so?" she shot back, fastening the strange butterfly-winged headset accessory over her ears, partially so the rest of the sounds of Luka stripping behind her would be muffled to an extent.

"I just wanted to know, that's all…" Luka said, accompanying her words with a strangely acidic sounding "Congratulations."

"He's willing to love me, Luka," Miku argued, still facing away from her. "He's willing to hold my hand and kiss me even when people are watching. He isn't ashamed…" She forced herself to stop, considering the small lump in her throat was threatening to swell and affect her singing.

"Well maybe a relationship isn't based of whether or not you kiss in public, Miku!" Luka's newfound tone surprised her. It was stern, almost furious, every word sounding sharper than the last. But underneath the sting there was a strange melancholy, but before Miku could turn to her and meet the eyes she could feel were burning holes in the back of her head the distant sound of cheering echoed from the auditorium, signaling that Meiko was probably introducing the song. Luka had already made a B-line for the door, refusing to meet Miku's gaze. Glued to where she stood, Miku waited until Luka had long since left the room and turned the corner before walking after her. She longed to speak up, throw something just as angry right back at Luka's back that was now far away from her, but she couldn't bring herself to even speak.

Her voice only came back to her once they were back under the bright light of the stage lights, and there was no way she could have lashed out at Luka then. All there was to do was sing.

But as the song began, Luka underwent an odd transformation. Her gaze became soft and longing and a kind smile spread across her lips. And under the bright glow, it was almost similar to when they had first met, her warm, inviting smile surrounded by light. And unlike during rehearsals, her voice was full and dripping with feeling. It was nearly enough for Miku to miss her cues as she puzzled over it all. And like a moth drawn to the flame, Miku felt herself being pulled to Luka as their eyes became locked. Hands grasping hands, Miku felt Luka move her body as if she were her puppet. All of this touching- their faces drawing closer before quickly drawing back- none of it had been planned beforehand.

And as the song drew to a close she felt Luka's hands gracefully wrap around her waist, fingers lightly grasping as she pulled her close, the final words of the song exiting their lips as they stared deeply into each other's eyes. What was happening, what was this feeling? It had been so long since Miku had felt such a rush, the feelings seemed alien to her now. And the final note she held was muffled as Luka leaned in and planted a kiss against Miku's lips. At first, her eyes were as wide as everyone elses, the contact of Luka's lips shocking her before flooding her with an overwhelming soothing sensation. Leaning forward as well she kissed back, hungrily. This was the feeling she had been trying to get back, the feeling that could only be cheaply replicated with kisses and caresses from Kaito. And they were from the person she wanted to forget- The person she couldn't hope to forget.

Their soft gasps for air filled the dead quiet auditorium as their lips parted. Both the audience and the choir club looked at the pair in surprise, but for once, with all those eyes digging into them, Luka didn't seem to flinch. She just stared back at Miku intensely for what seemed like a long, quiet eternity. However, Miku felt as Luka pulled her hands away from her, not in a fearful way like before, when she'd snatch her hands away. In fact, the touch seemed to linger as she slowly relinquished Miku's body back to her before turning and hastily running off the stage, leaving Miku to stare back at everyone like a dear caught in the headlights.

Luka…

"Luka!" She shouted, running after her, the sound of a confused uproar slowly growing in the audience at her back as she exited the auditorium. After the kiss, she'd been left breathless, so now running after Luka quickly winded her, but she continued on. She followed the echo of Luka's frantic footsteps until the two of them reached the school courtyard illuminated by the orange glow of the setting sun. In her attempt to escape into the streets, however, Luka suddenly lost her footing and fell onto the unforgiving earth with a pained cry.

"Luka!" Miku gasped, picking up her speed to catch up to her fallen companion. By the time she reached her side, she was already grasping at a bleeding wound on her leg with scratched up hands. All they could do was stare back at one another, heavily breathing. Luka's deep blue eyes were brimmed with tears and Miku could feel her own just waiting to escape as well.

"Here," she gasped, pulling out a handkerchief she'd been keeping close to her heart. A handkerchief embroidered fancily with a pink "L".

"Miku, I-"

"I was planning on giving it back to you after tonight. It looks like you'll need it more than me anyway." Miku told her, kneeling down and gently pushing Luka's hands away from her injury so she could press the white cloth against the blood that was seeping from it. Another long moment of silence followed before Luka finally spoke up.

"I'm not afraid anymore!" She said, looking Miku dead in the eye. "If giving you as many kisses and hugs as you want while everyone watches means you'll forgive me, I'll give you what you want a hundred times over! I love you, Miku, and no insecurity of mine is going to get in the way of that anymore!"

"…Luka…"

"So, please, I beg you…" Luka's courageous voice became slightly dampened as she became more and more choked up, tears beginning to flow even more freely. "Love me again!" Miku didn't have the voice to respond. Every last word she could have said was choked off by the hot lump that had built in her throat. Instead she lunged forward, wrapping Luka in a warm hug. And along with the hug she planted a chaste kiss against her trembling lips.

"I'm sorry!" She muttered, now joining Luka in crying. "I'm sorry! I acted like such a jerk! I…I'm so sorry!"

"It doesn't matter, you had every right to be mad," Luka whispered softly, pulling Miku close enough that she could feel the contours of her body pressing against her. "All that matters now is that you're here in my arms. And this time, I'm not going to let you go again."