Rin was already waiting at the café, practically bouncing in her chair. When Miku said she might be late, Rin told her she was hungry and that she'd head to the café first.
Miku was wearing a pair of sunglasses and her only hat, all in a vain attempt to avoid the sun. The light was aggravating her headache, and when she saw Rin, she hurried over to her table, collapsing into her chair with a sigh. She hated hangovers.
"Oh, you look awful." Rin pulled no punches as usual, and Miku groaned, taking a sip of water. The ice clinked against her glass, and the cool drink was a welcome relief from the weather. It was becoming uncomfortably warm nowadays.
"I didn't even drink that much," she complained. "Maybe two glasses of wine tops. I need to start working on my tolerance."
"No, don't. If you become a heavy drinker that will just give me more reason to worry about you," Rin deadpanned, and Miku cracked a smile, putting her glass down. "So, tell me everything – where did you all go for dinner? And what's his sister like?"
"Okay. So his sister's name is Gumi, and…she's friends with Megurine Luka. Can you believe it?" Miku herself still couldn't. Rin blinked. "We ate at TAKO last night. I'm still half-convinced it was a dream because, as you know, I've wanted to eat there forever."
'Wow. Really!" Rin shook her head, eyes wide. "Okay, then I guess bumping into Gumi was a good thing. Megurine Luka…" Rin whistled. "She's becoming really popular now. I hope you got her autograph. You know, before she seriously blows up."
"Oh. Um. Okay, I didn't," she admitted. Rin frowned. "But she did say I could help her out at TAKO if I wanted to." At least, that was what she recalled. Some parts of last night were still kind of fuzzy. "I'm contemplating. It's not that I want to be a chef or anything, but you've seen her videos…she's an amazing person and I like her a lot."
"Is she any different in real life? Like, snobby or something?" Rin asked.
"Nope, she's the same! Warm and funny and genuine. She's going to help Gumi with her wedding lunch, and I'm going to attend, so I'm looking forward to that."
Rin nodded, looking impressed. "You're so lucky. And to think all you had been doing was lazing about in your room." She frowned. "I would never have guessed that Gumo had such connections. Wonder if he knows anyone else in the industry."
"Hm, given his talents, I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Miku thought about it. "He submitted work for a few games before, didn't he? Among other things. We can ask him someday, I don't think he'd mind talking about it."
"Yeah, but that would probably inflate his already enormous ego." She snorted. "You of all people should know that. Every time we request his help for collaterals…it'd be easier to just pay him sometimes. But he always wants you to do stuff for him."
"He doesn't ask for much, though," she told her, voice mild. "Most of the time he just wants a meal. And once or twice he asked me to mail parcels on his behalf when I went to town." She decided not to bring up the one time he asked for a kiss – after what transpired last night, it felt a little dangerous to talk about that now.
"Yeah, sure," Rin said, sounding dismissive. "And I know, he's basically a professional artist and he's doing stuff practically for free, we should be grateful, yada yada. This does not change the fact that he can be an insufferable prick at times."
"Because he calls you gorilla girl?" she asked. Rin's eyebrow twitched.
"Do you think I, the great Kagamine Rin, would be affected by something so trivial?" she declared. Miku was pretty confident that Rin was at least annoyed by it.
"Of course not," she said. Rin nodded, looking pleased with her support. "Well, that was my night for me. Nothing else happened. I was starstruck the entire dinner."
"No, no. Don't move on so quickly." Rin slammed a hand on the table, leaning closer. "What's up with Gumo being in your room last night, huh?"
She stiffened, suddenly thankful that she was wearing sunglasses. It made answering her question much easier since she didn't have to look Rin in the eye. "Oh, I told you I was tipsy, right? He helped me to my room and decided to stay just in case I needed anything. He was worried I might hurt myself. You know how clumsy I am."
Her laughter sounded forced to her ears, and Rin appeared to think that too, her blue eyes narrowing. She hated looking into Rin's eyes; they always seemed to pierce right through her, almost as though she could read her mind. "Mm, sure. Miku, I know there's something you're not telling me. You almost never smile with teeth."
She abruptly pressed her lips together. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"C'mon, I'm your best friend. You tell me everything," she cajoled, and Miku wavered, wondering if she ought to bring up her current situation. The main reason she didn't want to was that it would open up a whole can of worms – she wasn't ready to face her problems right now, but Rin looked so eager that it was difficult to say no.
"He…" She hesitated, and Rin watched her, almost wriggling in anticipation. "He kind of admitted his feelings for me. I didn't tell him anything, though."
"Oh." Rin blinked. "Well. Do you like him? You two have been really close lately."
"I don't know for sure." She paused. "But I think I do. He's funny and sweet and he's good at making me feel comfortable. I enjoy his company a lot. And I know I like him enough that I wouldn't outright turn him down." She sighed. "But I'm not sure…"
"Because you have feelings for Len?" Rin supplied, and Miku nodded, staring down at the table. Rin groaned. "I already told you, Len definitely has a crush on you."
"Did you ask him?" She glanced up, meeting her best friend's gaze, and Rin exhaled.
"No, because you told me not to, remember?" She shook her head. "But I don't need to ask because it's so obvious. I already told you, guys don't buy toys for no reason. Guys don't buy anything unless it's for their good friend's birthday, and your birthday isn't any time soon so don't try to feed me that. You're simply in denial."
"Guys buy stuff for other occasions too!" she pointed out, and Rin glared at her.
"Yeah, sure. Like on Valentine's Day. Or their first anniversary. Or when they're trying to propose. Do you see what all these have in common, Miku?"
"Ugh." She fell back against her chair, kneading her pounding temple. "Fine. Let's say that Len does, for some unfathomable reason, have a crush on me. It doesn't change anything. Not anymore. Gumo already confessed that he likes me."
Rin looked like she pitied her. "You know the number of girls who would kill to be in your situation? Two fairly attractive guys, both trying to win your heart."
"It's stressful, that's what it is." Their conversation was interrupted by the buzzer on their table, and Rin got up from her chair, heading over to the counter. Miku waited, filled with anxiety, and she took another sip of water in an attempt to calm her nerves.
Len didn't like her. He didn't. If he did he would have said something by now – there were so many missed opportunities, so many nights where they were alone. So why didn't he? She drew a line through the condensation on her glass, contemplating.
"Here you go – carbonara for you, and beef lasagne for me." Rin was back, and she set their food down, placing the tray on another table. "You always get the same thing so I went ahead and ordered. Hope you didn't want to try something new today."
Miku gave her a grateful look. "Nope, I'm fine with this. Thanks. I'll pay you later."
"Oh, take your time. I used my expiring credits so it doesn't matter to me." Rin settled into her chair, humming to herself. "Huh. Did you notice that every time we meet at this café, it's because one of us has some problem the other needs to give advice on?"
She laughed. "Yeah. It's like our favourite heart-to-heart spot." She twirled some of the pasta around her fork, poking listlessly at the bacon. "The last time we were here, you were thinking about whether or not you should accept that sports scholarship…"
Rin groaned. "Man, don't remind me." She ran her fingers through her hair – she had finally gotten her hair cut, and now it was in its usual pixie, cropped close to her ears. "I think I'll be traumatised forever from making that decision."
"Did you ever regret turning it down?" she wondered. Rin shrugged, cutting into her lasagne. The smell of molten cheese wafted over to her, making her nose twitch.
"I don't think it's good to dwell on what-ifs. I rejected the scholarship so I'll just move on from there – thinking about that decision will bring me nothing but grief." She offered her fork to Miku. "Want some? You look very interested in my lunch."
"Just a bit," she said, watching as Rin cut out a small piece of lasagne for her. "I guess that's a good mentality to have. Wish I could do the same."
"You can't change who you are." Miku took hold of Rin's fork and ate the lasagne, the savoury cheese and tomato and bits of beef harmonising perfectly on her tongue. "If you could, then you wouldn't have such a crippling fear of change. Or relationships."
"I'm not afraid of relationships…" she muttered, trying to ignore Rin's raised eyebrow. "I just don't think people can be trusted. It's too hard to understand their intentions."
"And I'm telling you that not everyone is an asshole like he was," Rin answered. "He's stupid, Miku. An unquestionable idiot. Clearly an exception rather than the norm."
The pasta was overcooked today. "I know that. You have it drilled into my head."
"Yeah, but that's just blind memorisation. Useless. You can chant it like a mantra but you obviously don't believe it to be true." Rin said this so matter-of-factly that she could feel her cheeks burn, her shame painted on her face for all to see.
"I want to believe it. But whenever I think back to that memory I just hate myself for being so dumb. For not seeing the truth earlier. It was right in my face. The way his friends stared at me. How they laughed every time they saw us together. And –"
"Wait, hang on. Take deep breaths," Rin interrupted, stopping her before she could go on another tirade. Miku nodded, inhaling, squeezing her eyes shut to quieten the turmoil in her head. "You know, your situation sucks. You're frightened of getting a boyfriend but at the same time, you're desperate to not be alone. So complicated."
"Thanks for the reminder," she muttered, shovelling a forkful of pasta in her mouth. "Like I don't already think about that every single day."
"I'm not making fun of you or anything. I just think that's a tough situation to be in." Rin propped her chin on the back of her hand. "It's not like I can empathise. You know how I am about relationships. I've never understood what falling in love feels like."
"Yeah, I know." The bacon was chewy. On the bright side, the sauce tasted good. She liked the carbonara here because it was one of the rare places that actually used eggs and parmesan rather than the usual heavy cream sauce. "And that's enviable."
Rin laughed. "Is it? Sometimes I do wonder if I'm missing out on anything. Or if I just haven't met the right person. But then I look at you and, well, I don't think I want to be in your situation." Her eyes softened. "Normally I'd encourage you to talk to Len, but Gumo treats you well, so I don't want to be biased. They're both good people."
"I wish someone would just decide for me," she mumbled. "I don't want to end up hurting anyone." Seriously, how did she even end up in this situation?
"Would it be easier if I got confirmation from Len about his feelings? That's why you're paralysed now, right? Because you can't believe that he would like you back?"
"I don't know if that would change anything." She slumped onto the table, her cheek pressed against the cool surface. "Maybe it would have helped if I was still ignoring Gumo's feelings, but I can't avoid him anymore. I don't want to just wave it off, either."
Rin had already finished half of her lasagne. "But it's better than not knowing, right? I'm his sister, after all. Anyone else would take advantage of that."
"Yeah, but I'm not them." She took another sip of water. The pasta was already helping to perk her up. "Everything that's happened so far – I don't know. I'm pretty close to my limit." She sighed. "I don't want to know anything else for now."
"Fair enough." Rin reached over, stealing some of her food. "We don't want to stress out your big writer brain with all this information."
"Speaking of writer's brain. I have an assignment due next week. We have to workshop and I'm nowhere near done." She groaned. "My ideas just aren't coming to me."
"What's your thing about?" Rin asked with her mouth full, and Miku pushed her plate over, deciding that her carbonara would be better appreciated elsewhere.
"We have to submit three short stories by the end of the semester. I'm done with one? The other two are annoying me." She found herself relaxing a little as she complained to Rin – it was easier to talk about schoolwork than her love life. "Oh, and once we're finished we have to let our classmates dissect our babies. It hurts!"
Rin snorted. "Writers!" She burst out laughing at the look on Miku's face. "I'm kidding. I know, it must suck to hear criticism about something you worked so hard on."
"Uh-huh." She paused. "All I have in my head right now is a plot about a boy who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. But he doesn't know what he's doing is bad, and when his parents separate he's forced to move away and confront his inner demons…"
"Have you been talking to Len?" Rin's fork paused in mid-air, halfway to her mouth. Her piece of lasagne fell onto the plate, but she didn't seem to care, her gaze fixed on Miku, and too late she remembered where she'd heard that narrative from.
"No. Why do you ask?" She couldn't explain why she felt the sudden urge to lie – Rin probably wouldn't make any fuss about it. But she didn't want to admit she had any kind of relationship with Len, at least beyond what Rin could observe.
Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, nothing much. I just suddenly thought about him, that's all." She scooped up her fallen lasagne. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
Miku's heart thudded, and she forced herself to shake her head, already feeling guilty. But she had the feeling that being honest would make things difficult later on, and she'd rather avoid that. Rin paused, then shrugged. "All right then."
"What are you going to do after this?" she asked, desperate to change the subject.
"Hit the gym. I'm in the mood for a nice, leisurely run today." She winced – Rin's idea of a leisurely run included sprinting on the treadmill at a steep incline. "But I guess I'll let my lunch digest a little first. Maybe I'll try to figure out my assignment…"
"Another one?" Rin was a math major, to everyone's surprise. Most people automatically assumed she did sports science. She made a face.
"Math assignments are never-ending. Just like the value of pi." Miku groaned at her awful joke and Rin frowned, playfully offended. "What about you?"
"I'll probably try to bang out something in time for the workshop next week." She finished the rest of her water. "You want to work together in the common room?"
"Hm. Nah, not this time. I need to concentrate." Rin's expression was sour, and she couldn't help but laugh. "You're welcome to join me at the gym later, though."
"No thank you." She glanced out of the café, looking at the people streaming in and out of the library. "Maybe I'll take a nap."
"Yeah, you should." Rin peered at her. "You're probably the only person I know who doesn't sleep in after getting drunk the night before."
"I woke up close to noon. That's sleeping in." Rin just raised an eyebrow, then finished the last bit of carbonara on her plate, washing it down with a mouthful of water.
"If you insist." She got up from her seat, brushing down her shirt. "I'm going to pick up stuff at the convenience store. No, don't come with me," she said when Miku opened her mouth. "You need more rest. But do you want anything?"
"Um, cup noodles. I'm running out." The pasta was beginning to make her feel queasy. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to eat something so rich right after getting up.
"Okay. Spicy chicken as usual?" She gave Rin a thumbs-up, and Rin frowned at her, looking concerned. "You're not looking too good. Go back to your room."
"Yes, yes. Whatever you say, Mum." She stood and was immediately struck by a wave of nausea – her hangover was a whole lot worse than she thought. "I'll get going," she mumbled, pulling her hat down to shield her eyes from the mid-day sun.
"You need me to walk you back? I'm afraid you'll knock out in the middle of campus the way you are now," Rin said, but Miku waved a hand limply, taking a step towards the café entrance. "Ugh, you're so stubborn sometimes."
"I'll be fine, I swear. Go get me some cup noodles. Pretty please?" she wheedled, and Rin exhaled, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.
"Since you're so sure. But don't come crying to me later if you do collapse in the hallway. I don't have time to put up with your nonsense today."
"Even if I did that, you'd still love me," she pointed out, and Rin cracked a grin.
"Unfortunately I do, in all your dumb glory. Maybe it's time to get a new best friend."
Miku simply slid down her sunglasses and rolled her eyes at Rin – oh god, that actually hurt – and the two of them went on their separate ways.