Chapter Six

June, 2018

"I can't believe summer break is in three weeks," Aiko says.

Michi looks up from her biology textbook. They're in her room, studying for the semester finals that have finally started to loom on the horizon. Or at least, Michi's studying and Aiko is sprawled on her bed, taking selfies with the new iPhone her parents bought her for her birthday last week.

"Mm," Michi says noncommittally, turning the page with a rustle. Aiko scoots closer to the window and holds up her phone. "Hey, Tachibana, come over here. I need longer arms."

"You need a personal photographer," Michi retorts, getting to her feet and coming over. Aiko tilts her face up and grins at her. "I've got you, haven't I? Wait, don't take it yet. Is my hair okay?"

Michi shrugs. "You look great," she says truthfully. "Why the fuss, anyway?"

"Mom's finally letting me have my own Instagram account," Aiko says, fluffing her dark hair. "I need a profile pic. Okay, now take it. Wait! Should I lift my chin more?"

"You look fine." Michi snaps a picture and tosses the phone back. "What's Instagram?"

"You're such a heathen, Tachibana." Aiko sits up, her hair tumbling around her shoulders, and tilts her head so that the afternoon sunlight frames her face. She purses her lips, takes a picture, and repositions. "Seriously, how are you going to survive high school?"

"With good grades," Michi shoots back good-naturedly. "Because I actually study."

"Studying's overrated. Come on, I want to try out these filters."

Michi sighs and climbs onto the bed. Aiko scoots to make room. "Smile," she orders, flinging an arm around Michi's shoulders. "Annnnnd cheese!"

The camera flashes. Michi blinks. There's a knock on her door.

"Mom, we're busy!" she says, but the door is already swinging open. Michi goes still. Aiko stiffens.

Sayuri looks just as surprised to see them. She recovers quickly. "Tsubara Aiko, right?" she says, her voice cool. Michi glances at Aiko, wide-eyed. The only time she's ever heard Sayuri sound like that was when Jirou confronted her the first day of class.

Sayuri turns to Michi. "Can we talk for a minute?" she asks. Michi slowly uncurls from beside Aiko. "Yeah. Okay," she says helplessly, and looks at Aiko. "Um, I'll be right back."

Aiko is looking at Sayuri with thinly veiled dislike. "Take your time," she says, shrugging.

Michi stops in the hall, closing the door behind her. "What's up?" she says awkwardly. She can't read Sayuri's expression in the dimly lit hallway, but she can guess the color of her eyes. Clouded grey, dark and stormy.

"I didn't know you were friends with Tsubara." Sayuri's voice is carefully level. Michi shrugs. "We've been hanging out for a while now." She wraps her arms around herself. "So what's up?"

"Why are you ignoring me?"

Michi blinks. She hadn't expected her to say it flat out. "I'm not ignoring you," she stammers. "We still talk at school–"

"At school. If you need to get by or if I ask you something." Sayuri folds her arms. "You've been acting weird ever since school started, and now you won't even talk to me unless I say something. What's going on, Michi? I thought you just wanted space, but do you even want to be friends with me anymore?" Genuine hurt laces her voice. "Did what I did really hurt you that much?"

"It's not your fault," Michi mumbles. She hugs herself tighter, avoiding her gaze. "It's nothing you did, I promise. I'm just...I think we just grew apart. It happens. Aiko says–"

"We didn't," Sayuri says. She shakes her head as Michi starts to stammer again. "You're my best friend, Michi," she says quietly. "We've been best friends since we were two. If you want to walk away, fine. Just tell me why."

Michi swallows hard. "We just grew apart," she says. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Sayuri says bitterly. "Okay. I'll stop bothering you, then." She turns on her heel.

Michi listens to her footsteps disappear down the stairs and the distant click of the door. Her heart beats unsteadily in her chest. She feels suddenly like throwing up.

"What was all that about?" Aiko asks when she comes back in. Michi shrugs, not wanting to talk. Aiko looks like she wants to push it, but she just sprawls back dramatically on the green coverlet, flinging her iPhone onto the pillow. "Whatever. Don't listen to anything she says, okay? She's just a bitch."

Michi stiffens. "What?"

"Ichijo. She's a bitch," Aiko says carelessly. She sees Michi's face and sits up. "What, you didn't know? Geez, Tachibana, you're so dense sometimes. Everyone talks about it. Aoi goes off on freaking rants. Haven't you heard her?"

Michi clears her throat. "Why? Does everyone hate her, I mean."

"Oh, I don't hate her." Aiko shrugs. "She's just such a know-it-all, you know? Always being a goody-two-shoes and telling people to shut up in class. The teachers love it, but she's totally just showing off. It gets on my nerves. Plus, the way she only flirts with the princes like that? Sure, she's pretty, but it's just gross watching her demand their attention like that. Seriously. It's so pathetic. And she gets away with it, too, just 'cause she's pretty." Aiko laughs spitefully. "Aoi freaking hates her. I can't believe you haven't heard her go off about it."

Michi bites her lip. She has heard Aoi rant, but she thought it was just her and her friends. Of course some people would hate Sayuri, she had thought. She was pretty and smart and all the boys were in love with her. Of course some people would get jealous. She gets jealous sometimes. But she's never seen Sayuri tell anyone to shut up, never heard her shush anyone except that first day, weeks ago. And she knows Sayuri doesn't flirt with the princes. All of them have sought her out, even Jirou, who only likes to bicker with her about academics. Sayuri's nice– she doesn't ignore anyone, so of course she would talk to the princes. The princes, she realizes now, are the only ones who talk to her. And Sayuri doesn't go out of her way to talk to them. When the princes are gone, she sits by herself, at her desk. At their desk.

She had thought Aiko, at least, who was so good at understanding people, who was so friendly and easy to get along with, had noticed that. She had thought if she just kept her distance from Sayuri and the princes, the story would sail smoothly on as if she had never entered it at all. She had thought Sayuri would be so showered with affection by everyone that the quiet side character would slip out unnoticed.

She can still do it. She's already kept her mouth shut, ignored the snide comments, the disparaging remarks. Sayuri isn't her best friend, after all. Even if Sayuri thinks she is.

She can keep being normal.

"She's not, though." Michi's voice is very small. "A know-it-all. She just answers questions in class because no one else will." Including us.

"Oh, come on, Tachibana," Aiko scoffs. "You don't have to be nice to everybody, you know."

"Ichijo is." Michi's shoulders curl in, but her voice is a little bit louder. "I've never seen her be mean to anybody. Maybe she's not as bad as you guys think."

Aiko stares at her. "Are you serious right now?" She stands up, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's with sudden defense? Do you actually like her?"

"I don't get why everyone hates her so much. She's always nice to everyone, and it's not her fault the guys all like her." Michi doesn't know where all the words are coming from, but they're bursting out now. "And yeah, she's pretty, but so what? It's like everyone hates her just because she's pretty and smart and the princes like her. I don't get it. Why do you guys hate her so much?"

"Unbelievable." Aiko grabs her phone and marches over to the door. "I can't believe this." She whirls on Michi. "I felt bad for you, you know that? I saw you getting smothered by Ichijo and I felt bad for you. Aoi and the others hated you too, you know that? They thought you were just this pathetic little pawn, trying to get close to the princes. I stood up for you." She scoffs again. "I can't believe you. Are you really this stupid?"

"She wasn't smothering me." Michi swallows hard and looks up into Aiko's narrowed dark eyes. "She was just trying to be friends."

"Yeah, well, so was I." Aiko grabs her backpack and flings it over her shoulder. "Whatever. If you're gonna be an idiot, leave me out of it. I don't want anything to do with that stupid bitch." She stomps out.

Michi listens to the door slam below for the second time that day. The gaping pit in her stomach is starting to swallow her up. She feels sick and upset and empty all at once.

There's a gentle knock on her half-open door. For a wild second she thinks Sayuri came back, but it's only Mom, a basket of dirty laundry on one hip. "Did Tsubara-chan leave?" she wants to know, looking around the empty room. "I thought I heard the door." She sees Michi's face and frowns. "Is everything alright?"

Michi shakes her head. Mom sets the basket of laundry down in the hallway and puts an arm around her shoulders. "Tell me what happened," she says soothingly, leading her over to the bed.

The first tear drips down Michi's nose. She explains haltingly, between sobs, what happened.

"And I know I did the right thing, Mom," she says, wiping her eyes and hiccupping. "But now everyone's gonna hate me at school, and Sayuri probably hates me, and I hate me, and I just wish this whole thing had never happened."

"Well," Mom says at last, reflectively, as she hands her another tissue. "It sounds like most of this was your fault in the first place."

"I know," Michi says miserably. Mom holds up a finger. "But since it's mostly your fault, it means you can mostly fix it," she says, tucking Michi's hair away from her tear-stained face with gentle fingers. "I don't know why you and Sayuri fought, but you two have been friends for a very, very long time. Even if it's hard to remember that right now, you two have a lot of history. I'm sure if you reach out first and apologize, Sayuri will forgive you."

"But what if she doesn't?" Michi sniffles. "What if she does hate me?"

"It's possible. But I don't think she will." Mom gets to her feet and reaches for the box of tissues. "It'll all work out, Mich. And besides," she adds, stooping for the laundry basket, "even if you hadn't broken things off with that girl, would you really have been happy listening to her say stuff like that about Sayuri behind her back?"

"No," Michi mumbles. Mom straightens up again. "Well, there you go. And for the record, I don't think Sayuri would have kept quiet in your place, either." She rests a hand on the doorknob. "Dinner's in half an hour."

"Okay." Michi sniffs and rubs her eyes. "Hey, Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"I might be a little late."

Mom smiles. "Take your time," she says.

Michi stares at the apartment door, trying to gather up the courage to knock.

It's not just the guilt. To come crawling back to Sayuri, after what she said earlier…

Pride pricks her. Maybe this is just as selfish, she thinks. Coming back just because I have nowhere else to go. Maybe she'll hate me, after all.

Maybe I should just leave.

She takes a deep breath. Her knock is barely audible in the dimly lit hallway. She waits, heart in her throat, uncertain whether she should try again.

The door opens as she starts to lift her hand. She drops it quickly, knotting her fingers behind her back.

Kaname stands in the doorway. He's not smiling. Michi's shoulders curl inwards. "Can I talk to Sayuri?"

Kaname crosses his arms. "She's taking a nap right now."

Michi shuffles her feet. "Please?"

There's a long pause. When she finally looks up, Kaname's dark eyes are somber. "Did you make her cry, Michi?"

Michi swallows hard. "I'm sorry. Can I please talk to her?"

"Why?"

She forces down the last shreds of her pride. "I want to apologize. Please?"

Kaname steps back wordlessly. Michi mumbles her thanks and follows him inside.

Their apartment has the same layout as hers. She trails behind Kaname, feeling once again as if she's caught up in a dream as she passes the unfamiliar furniture, the strange colors and patterns.

Kaname stops at the top of the stairs and knocks on the first door. "Yuri? You have a visitor."

"Who is it?" There's a sniffle behind the door, but the words are flung harshly. Kaname glances at Michi. "Yuri, open the door," he says, his voice softer than Michi has ever heard.

The door creaks open. A shadowy figure emerges from the darkness.

"Michi has something she wants to say," Kaname says, resting a hand on Michi's shoulder. Michi isn't sure whether it's encouragement or a threat. She doesn't really want to stammer out her apology in front of him, either, but Kaname's grip is firm. She takes a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I shouldn't have said that. You were right. I was ignoring you. I was being really stupid, and I thought– I'm sorry." She hesitates. Sayuri moves into the light. Her pale brown eyes are red and swollen. She doesn't say anything. Michi takes another quick breath and plunges on, conscious of Kaname's hand on her shoulder, "Aiko and I aren't friends anymore. She was saying stuff about you that wasn't true. I didn't know she– she was like that. I'm sorry." She ducks her head, flushing. "I'm really sorry, Sayuri. I understand if you hate me now. I shouldn't have ignored you like that. I shouldn't have just walked away without explaining. I shouldn't have–"

Sayuri flings her arms around her and buries her face in Michi's shoulder. "You can really be an idiot sometimes," she says, her voice muffled in Michi's sweatshirt. Michi stiffens and slowly, carefully, wraps her arms around her. "I'm sorry," she says, her voice cracking. "I should have thought about how you felt."

"'S okay." Sayuri hugs her harder. "I'm sorry, too."

Kaname's gone. Michi hadn't even noticed him leaving. She untangles herself from Sayuri and stands awkwardly, arms at her sides. Sayuri grabs her sleeve.

"Come on," she says, and sniffles and scrubs her eyes with one hand. "We should talk."

Michi sniffs, rubs her eyes, and nods.

"What the hell," Jirou growls, tossing away his game controller.

"Language, Kirishima," Kaname says, not looking up from his book. Tatsuya stirs, blinks at them sleepily, and faceplants on his desk again. The boy does nothing but sleep, Michi thinks, nibbling on her pocky stick. Sayuri plucks the chocolate end off and pops it in her mouth. Michi yelps. "Hey!"

Sayuri draws another pocky stick from the package and wiggles it teasingly. "It's pocky, Michi. You have to play to get the chocolate."

Michi makes a grab for the package, but Sayuri has ridiculous reflexes. She groans and crumples on her desk as Sayuri giggles. "I said I'm sorry. Can I just have one?"

Sayuri purses her lips, pretending to consider. Nagisa plucks the package from her grip and tries a pocky. "Mmm! Hey, Jirou, try one!"

"No thanks," Jirou says, backing away. "I don't want cooties." He glares at Michi. "And why're you being friendly all of a su–"

Nagisa elbows him. "Michi, you can have the chocolate part of mine," he says cheerfully. Michi eyes the pocky poking out of his mouth and makes a face. "Pleaaaaaaase, Sayuri?" she begs, flopping onto the desk again. Sayuri relents. "Okay, Nagisa, you can give her one."

Tatsuya, lured by the smell of food, reanimates again. "What's that?"

"Pocky!" Nagisa waves one under his nose. "Want one, Tatsuya-kun?"

Tatsuya turns questioning dark eyes on Sayuri. She nods. "You guys can have some."

Michi leans back to tug on Nagisa's sleeve, looking up at him pleadingly. Nagisa gives in– she's already discovered he's susceptible to puppy eyes. She munches contentedly, watching Tatsuya deliberate over the pocky sticks. He's got a sleep wrinkle pressed into his cheek, but even that somehow fits him. His eyes aren't black like she originally thought. They're a rich deep blue, crystalizing into fragments of brilliant color when the light hits them.

He notices her staring. "Tachibana-san, you're not ignoring Ichijo anymore?"

Michi almost chokes on her pocky stick. Tatsuya tilts his head, his crystalized eyes vaguely curious. "You were ignoring her for a long time. Why?"

Jirou swivels. Sayuri glances sideways at her. Even Kaname lifts his head to look at her. Michi swallows her pocky. "Um–"

"Hey, Jirou, did you get that top score on the test?" Nagisa says suddenly. "You were going to beat Sayuri-chan, right?"

Heads swivel towards Jirou. He shifts uncomfortably.

"Kirishima-san did really well," Sayuri interjects, smiling sweetly. "He got the second highest score in the whole class."

Jirou sputters. The other boys laugh. Michi sinks down in her chair.

It's only been two days since she and Sayuri made up, but Sayuri has already gone back to being her affectionate self. She even teases Michi about the whole thing from time to time. Between her and Nagisa, who promptly accepted Michi without question, she's been unofficially introduced into the group, but it's obvious that it's only because she's Sayuri's friend. Kaname is friendly enough, and Nagisa treats everyone the same, but Jirou and Tatsuya barely speak to her.

Back to being the side character, she thinks with a sigh. But she knows she's exaggerating. It's only been two days, and already she's happier than she's been since it happened. It's like everything's clicked into place, now that she's playing along. Maybe she is just playing along. Maybe this will all end suddenly, and she'll wake up one day in her old life, without Sayuri, without the Flower Princes, without this stupid, weird world.

She sneaks a glance at Sayuri through her bangs. She's laughing, her green eyes shining, her golden hair sparkling in the sunlight, looking for all the world like a Disney princess in some movie. Nagisa is perched on Tatsuya's desk behind her, waving the package of pocky sticks as he chatters animatedly. Tatsuya is half-asleep again, nodding off against the window, a pocky stick poking out of his mouth. Kaname is still calmly reading his textbook next to him. Jirou is sulking behind him, pretending not to look at Sayuri as she giggles. It's like watching some grand play, the actors all a little too perfect to be ordinary, the scene a little too perfect to be real.

I can spend a little more time here, Michi thinks. Just a little bit more, and see how the story plays out. And then I'll wake up. Just until then.

A/N

Wow. I just wrote six chapters in less than a week. I can feel the writer's block looming now...

What do you think? How are the Flower Princes polling? Let me know!

-SpiritofaRose