Meanwhile, Back at Luna Nova Cafeteria (lunch)
"But why did they need all that luggage? You'd think they really were eloping." Amanda asked while twirling her fork. They had mostly finished eating and were currently just chatting with each other.
"Better safe than sorry," Sucy replied nonchalantly. She watched as Constanze's stan-bots started clearing up their tables.
"…Do you think anything will, ya know, happen?" Amanda asked suggestively.
"Well, it's Akko and Diana after all. I wouldn't expect much, but it is pretty romantic!" Lotte stated blissfully. "A night beneath the stars…"
"And snuggling up around a campfire!" Barbara added. The two girls squealed and continued to discuss Akko and Diana's chances of romance.
"What are you all on about? Are you saying that Akko and Diana like each other? This isn't one of your novels, Barbara." stated a confused Hannah. Suddenly, everyone in the froze. Even Jasminka stopped with a chip halfway in her mouth and Constanze actually put down her game. The group turned to Hannah.
"W—What? Are you guys serious? There's no way!" exclaimed an uncomfortable Hannah.
"So we had a third idiot all this time," Sucy said dryly.
"Hannah, did you really not realize? You even mentioned earlier that Diana would feel sad if something happened to Akko!" Barbara said incredulously.
"Because she's Diana! She would feel upset if anything happened to any one of us!"
"That's true, but If you really think about Akko's relationship with Diana, it's obvious they clearly like each other." Barbara challenged.
Lotte and Barbara had a whole list of "evidence." The way Diana and Akko looked at each other. Their flirty behavior. The constant skinship! The list went on.
Hannah attempted to comprehend, mostly to appease Barbara. She usually went along with Barbara's antics because that's what best friends do. The two girls did everything together. Hannah gave it her best shot at trying to understand her buddy. She wanted to at least be on the same page as her raven-haired companion. "Diana is perfect, so of course she has a lot of admirers. It's not hard to imagine Akko falling for her too. As for Diana falling for Akko, well…"
Lotte and Barbara were on the edge of their seats.
"I mean, Akko is pretty cute. I guess it could happen?"
That got everyone's attention, especially her best friend's.
"You think Akko's cute? You never told me that…" Barbara said not believing her ears.
"Oh, I guess it didn't feel like something I needed to say. Like, Diana is gorgeous and everyone knows it, whether they admit it or not. Akko is adorable, and I figured we all knew that, so why bother pointing it out? She is an annoying, reckless brat, who happens to be cute." Hannah continued.
"Well, we're gonna head back to the dorms. See you guys later!" Amanda said hurriedly while the rest of the green team gathered their things to leave. Holy crap! I thought they were already dating. They're as bad as Diana and Akko, if not worse. thought Amanda. This is going to get ugly. While she lived for chaos, she didn't want to get dragged into a "lover's" quarrel, and so Amanda decided it was probably best to depart.
"What part of her do you find cute?" Barbara inquired. While there was no detectable malice in her voice, Hannah felt a change in her friend. It wasn't a pleasant one.
Meanwhile, Lotte was furiously scribbling down something in her notebook. Sucy glanced over at her bespectacled friend's "notes".
"I guess authors can find inspiration anywhere." Sucy chuckled. "Taking advantage of your friends' drama? I knew you had some evil in you somewhere."
"They're best friends! Things will work out for them, they always do. It's not that big of a deal." Lotte defended, pen never leaving her page.
"I can't be the only one who noticed that she's in great shape! Did you see her in those shorts?" Hannah blurted.
I thought things would be boring when Akko left. Glad I was wrong, Sucy thought to herself.