Another short chapter, sorry! At least its less of a wait this time, amirite,,

Anyway, here you go!

Could Maki be any more narcissistic? Their entire conversations were about her! Every second Maki would bring up her family, her pets, where she used to live, or some snotty rich bitch shit that Nico knew Maki had.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, my father usually buys me a new phone whenever I ask."

"What? You've never had a credit card?"

"You can't drive? Really? It doesn't seem that hard, or at least that's why my limo drivers told me."

Nico wanted to punch her in the throat, literally. She wanted to grab that pretty hair of hers and slam her head down against the table. If there was one thing Nico couldn't stand, it was people who brag about money.

Since she wasn't the wealthiest, she had always worked for herself. She earned everything she had ever gotten, and had never asked of anything from her mother, grandparents, anyone. She found that gifts were mostly out of pity, and that no one should have to bear giving them or receiving them, but only when they're asked for.

Nico wasn't quite sure if Maki was paying for this dinner or not, and frankly, she was terrified about what the bill would be.

Maki, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. Nico didn't seem to be making any effort to try and keep a conversation at all, so all she did was talk about herself and the family of the restaurant. While she was mindlessly spewing out whatever could come to her head, Nico seemed to be focused on something completely different. She would stare off into space in a certain direction, stare at the menu, or check her phone. It was irritating Maki, she wanted nothing more than Nico's attention, she was paying, after all.

Taking a small breath, she put her fork on her plate and stared at the girl across from her, who was on her phone, not paying attention once more.

"Nico," She spoke. Nico only made a soft hum in response, so Maki decided to take it up a step. She tapped her nail on Nico's plate, "Nico, what are you doing?"

Nico squeaked at the sudden noise, dropping her phone on the table and looking up at the girl, blushing, "W-What? What was that for?"

Maki grunted and sat back, crossing her arms, "If you could pay attention to me for more than a split second, I'd appreciate it," She huffed, "Especially since I'm the one paying."

'Oh, thank god' Nico thought, grabbing her chest and looking back up at Maki, "A-Ah, sorry, I'm just a bit occupied."

"With what?" Maki leaned forward, snatching Nico's phone, "Playing a game?"

"No! Maki!" Nico leaned forward, attempting to grab it as the phone vibrated. Maki looked at the phone, her eyes widening before Nico snatched it back from her, blushing and looking at the text.

[Nozomi ^-^ at 7:12 PM] I asked, come to the bathroom now.

Nico got up quickly, speed walking over to the bathroom, while Maki sat at the table in silence.

"Hm," She finally spoke up after a minute, "Maybe it's not worth it to love her," She sighed, "She doesn't even care about me."

Meanwhile, Nico was in the bathroom, waiting anxiously as Nozomi opened the door, and Nico's eyes lit up.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well," Nozomi sighed, "Guess I don't have a chance."

"Really?" Nico asked, almost sounding excited, but then toned her voice down, and made a fake sigh, "I'm sorry."

Nozomi huffed, leaning against the sinks, "It's alright, I should have expected this, right?"

"Nozomi," Nico hugged the girl softly, "It's alright, it's really okay, there's tons of other girls out there to fall in love with!"

Nozomi scoffed, hugging Nico back, "Like who?"

'Me,' Nico thought, blushing. She looked up at Nozomi, smiling, "Like anyone else! We're only 17, Nozomi, there's no need to rush!"

"But, Nicocchi," She pushed her off gently, looking up at the lights, "I think it's her. She's made me feel like everything. I think it's absolutely her, no one else. She's my Elichika, my best friend. I would never want anyone else," She pushed Nico more, "She's all I want."

Those words hit Nico like a bullet. All at once, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Sure, Eli was her crush, but her best friend? Nico wanted at least that, if she couldn't have Nozomi to herself. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream. The only wish she had ever asked for had been Nozomi, but now that flew from her too. She wasn't sure if there was anything else to do except cry.

Or run.

And that's exactly what she did, with tears flowing to her eyes she turned and bolted out the door, running through the restaurant, crying her eyes out. She passed Maki, grabbed her wrist, and ran out with her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Maki yelled at her as they fled out, her wrist in pain for how hard Nico was holding it.

The two girls ran as far as Nico took them, until Nico was finally out of breath, probably a half a mile away from the restaurant. She leaned against a wall of a building, sliding down it and then collapsing on the ground. She was sobbing hard, unable to breath. The only thing filling her mind was Nozomi, and what Nozomi told her.

She couldn't feel, think, or hear anything. The only thing that was filling her mind was crushing doubt, and suicidal thoughts. She felt absolutely sick to her stomach, she wanted to vomit. She felt her limbs numbing and her head pounding. She didn't want to live like this.

Without her Nozomi.

Maki looked down at Nico, a crying mess. She sat down in front of her, leaning over her and holding her tightly. Nico grabbed onto Maki harder than anyone ever had before, sobbing onto her and shaking hard. Maki rubbed her back gently, too afraid to say anything to the girl as she felt her clinging to her.

Neither of them knew how much time had passed before Nico stopped crying. Had it been minutes, or an hour? Did it matter? It didn't to either of them.

Nico looked up at Maki finally, and Maki blushed lightly, "Huh? What is it?"

Nico sniffed, smiling gently, "Nothing, god, nothing."
"What happened in the bathroom, Nico," She asked.

"I…" Nico looked down, coughing gently, "Nozomi doesn't need me anymore."

"What?" Maki scoffed, "Are you serious? Nozomi couldn't live without you."

Nico smiled sadly, "She's going to."

"What does that mean?" Maki asked.

"It means…" Nico sighed, "That I'm not her best friend anymore."

"That's bullshit, Nico."

"It's not," She said back harshly, "It's not bullshit. She said it herself."

"Yeah, well, if she ruined you that much, then she obviously doesn't care about you," Maki rolled her eyes, "Ditch her, she doesn't deserve you as her friend at all if she didn't care when you ran out crying. You shouldn't be the one to feel bad, she should." Nico felt frozen. She looked at Maki, who seemed to be absolutely furious over the topic. Her face was red, and her grip on Nico got harder, "Nozomi's just a bitch like the rest of them if she doesn't care for you. If she would do this to you, why would you want her back at all?"

"I don't know," Nico whispered.

"Exactly, that's my point, Nico," Maki looked back at the smaller one, "Don't go running back to her, she'll just hurt you more. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise me you won't."

Maki sounded dead serious. Nico gulped, nodding her head, "I promise I won't go crawling back to her."

With a gentle sigh, Maki nodded, "Good," She stood up, offering a hand to the smaller, "Come on, Nico."

Nico took her hand, standing up gently, and looking at Maki while she stared into the moonlight, "Where are we going?" Nico asked.

"Home, of course," Maki laughed, "Where else would we go? Your mother must be worried sick."

Nico rubbed her eye, smiling gently, "Yeah, probably."