Four of Diamonds

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Turns out, I didn't need to track down Kotoe myself. After class, I followed Oikawa out of the room, hands full with his books. My arms were already starting to ache. I was pretty sure that Oikawa didn't even use half of these large, thick, heavy books. But then again, everything I knew about him seemed to be wrong.

He was immediately joined by Iwaizumi, who glanced at me before talking with the King. The look had been kind of strange, like he didn't know what to make of me.

"I've got science now, so have the books for it ready," said Oikawa, casting me a glance as I trailed behind him.

I nodded absentmindedly, almost crashing into someone. Oikawa frowned at my noticeably distracted state.

"Hey! Watch it, pet," the person snarled before walking past.

I snapped out of my preoccupied state and glared at his retreating back, mumbling something about "jerk". At this, Oikawa couldn't help but smirk slightly. Now that was the girl he knew.

I caught him staring and demanded, "What?"

"Nothing," he said. "And you'd better watch your tone."

I sighed before hearing footsteps. Turning around, I spotted Kotoe, her hands fiddling with her skirt as she approached. She didn't look at me before addressing Oikawa.

"E-Excuse me, Oikawa," she said nervously, and Oikawa and Iwaizumi stopped. Kotoe cast a timid look at Iwaizumi before continuing. "Would it be alright if I t-talk with your pet for a second?"

I felt indignation flare up inside me as she casually said "your pet".

"Really?" Oikawa raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"I just… want to clear something up."

There isn't anything to clear up, I thought irritably. The anger must've shown a little on my face, because Oikawa noted my expression, observing it before coming to a conclusion.

"S-So, can I?" Kotoe squeaked as the silence dragged on.

Please say yes. Please say yes.

Oikawa hummed. "Alright, fine. But don't take too long." He shot a glance at me, and I knew he'd noticed the tension between me and Kotoe. He smirked slightly before he continued down the hallway with Iwaizumi, adding behind his shoulder to me, "And I want to hear all about it once you're done."

Kotoe, who'd let out a breath of relief at his permission, stiffened at this. It wasn't long before Oikawa was taken over by the other students, and soon, it was just me and Kotoe in the empty, quiet hallway.

I said coolly, "What is it?" Sure, I was glad I had a chance to talk with Kotoe, but that didn't mean I was going to act all nice and forgive her.

Kotoe frowned slightly. "Come on, don't give me the cold shoulder."

"Why shouldn't I?" I said without missing a beat, glaring right at her.

She faltered a bit under my stare, glancing anxiously down at the ground, twiddling her fingers. Silence ensued for a few seconds. I could see Kotoe chewing her lip, like she was trying to say something, but couldn't get the words out.

I turned around after a few beats of silence. "If there's nothing you have to tell me, I'll be going now."

"Wait!"

I paused but didn't turn around to look at her. The words tumbled out from Kotoe.

"I-I didn't mean to!" Kotoe exclaimed quickly, a pitch of nervous eagerness in her voice. "But-but Mai asked me about you, and I-I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't lie- Mai would've picked up on that and my life would've been over! You know the power she has. I had no choice! I had to tell her. I-"

I couldn't listen to her pathetic rambling anymore. My blood boiled, an irk mark appearing on my forehead. I spun around to face her.

"I this, I that, it's annoying!" I snapped and Kotoe took a step back at my harsh outburst. "Do ever stop thinking about yourself? Do you ever think about the effect your actions have on others? Do you think that you're the only one who's faced with hardships every day? Well, no! You're wrong."

Kotoe blinked. She said quietly, "But I thought you… wouldn't mind. I thought you'd forgive me…"

I stared at this before giving an unbelieving scoff. "You thought I'd forgive you? That I wouldn't mind becoming the pet of the King?" She winced at the way I spat "pet of the King".

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why would I forgive you?"

"Because- Because- you didn't know the situation I was in!" she suddenly cried, and little tears were gathering in the corners of her brown eyes. "I was so scared! Mai could've expelled me. She could've demoted me back to a Class 3 commoner. She could've ruined my reputation! I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let that happen! So I-"

"So you made up a whole plan, framed me, blamed me for something I hadn't done, threw me into a debt I'll never pay off, handed me over to the King to be his pet, to be a Class 4 peasant, to be his servant for the rest of my time in high school," I supplied coldly.

She flinched, her lip trembling. "I-I… I only did what I thought was best for both of us," she whimpered. "I would still be a noble, and you… things could've been worse for you."

"What's worse than being the King's pet?" I asked harshly.

She scuffed the floor with her foot. "I meant… well, you don't seem to be suffering much lately. You seem to be doing pretty fine right now."

"And is that supposed to make what you did acceptable?"

She hesitated. "I…"

"Well?" I prompted.

She looked down, biting her lip. "I don't know."

I gave a bitter laugh, feeling something in my chest twinging at her words. "I thought so. Now if you'll excuse me."

I was about to turn around once more. This conversation was over.

"You're just going to leave like that?" she asked in a small voice. "I-I'm sorry for what I did, so why can't you forgive me? Aren't we friends?"

My eyebrow twitched at her last question. I fixed her with a hard stare, unwavering and cold.

"Friends help each other. They look out for each other, even when one of them is down and defeated. They always think about what they can do to help the other." My eyes narrowed. "They don't stab the other in the back when it's beneficial for them. They don't take advantage of each other and push them under the bus. They don't use the other for their personal gain."

I turned my back on her, taking a step forward. "That's what friends are. You are not."

She whispered dejectedly, "I thought we were friends."

I paused mid-step, staring at the floor, before steeling myself.

"I thought so too," I said quietly, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Then I walked quickly down the hallway, away from Kotoe, away from her betrayal, and towards the King, towards my beckoning pet status. And that fact for once didn't trouble me.

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Aaaaand cut! I know there hasn't been much interaction with Oikawa, but I promise we'll get started on that with the next chapter! I just had to get this drama over with… sorry! Q^Q

*Four means satisfaction and diamonds mean spitefulness.

Okie, baiii

:3