Chapter 3
A friend for life
As their lips were about to touch, Haruka awoke from her daydream and she kissed Michiru briefly on the cheek, hoping she would think it was a normal friendly behaviour. The kiss brought Michiru back to reality. What a strange idea she had had… kissing a girl… she was not a lesbian… Why had she thought such a thing? Probably it was just a little thought like this…
Anyway, Both knew they had found a friend for life and that the talk they began would never end. They finally went to the swimming class. Haruka decided to not take care of the others looks, she loved Michiru, and from this day she knew no one would worthier. And it was a desperate thought. Michiru wasn't a lesbian, she would never be in love with her, and she had the intuition that she would never fall in love with another girl. She was not feeling very good. Only Michiru's presence warmed her heart.
So after the swimming class they came back to their room. Michiru was about to go to her violin practice when she proposed Haruka to come with her.
"Are you sure you want me to come? I heard that you were… shy, and that you never play for anyone…"
"That will be OK… and… well… I hoped you would play piano to accompany me… I heard you played piano very well…"
"It would be a pleasure… and I love to hear you play violin."
"What? But you never came to any of my practice, you can't have heard…"
"I… I didn't… but I suppose I'll love it…"
Haruka blushed, she was betraying herself. She had to be careful…
otherwise Michiru would guess that she had followed her, and after it would not take long for her to guess why she did it… and usually people don't like to be spied on.
So Haruka came to Michiru's practice in the open for the first time. She used the black piano of the music room to accompany her. It was marvellous, she knew Michiru played perfectly, but playing with her was magical. Their music fitted very well with each other. Haruka liked to play piano though her parents would have liked her to choose something else, like violin… She didn't know exactly why but they saw piano as a man thing. But at the present time, she could just think of her music, and of Michiru's face, concentrated, so beautiful. She seemed to feel each little vibration of her violin's strings. Haruka loved to see her like in this strange state, though she was feeling she was in another world, usually so far from her but so near today… she enjoyed this moment as one of the best she had spent with Michiru, because it was the first time she could see her play her violin from so near… and having the privilege to accompany her. If she hadn't her piano, she would have felt lost, but she somewhat felt that with it, she could follow Michiru in her world.
Michiru was feeling that something was not as usual, but it was all right, she had played with other musicians before, but she had always felt she was far from them, that she was alone, but with Haruka, she felt a warm presence near her, she was not in her usual cold water environment, the one she dived into when she played… well maybe it was the same, but so delicately warm…
After a good time passed playing together, they went to eat. Everyone looked at them, Haruka had avoided Michiru for three months, it was not secret, everyone knew they had never talked each other though they were roommates, but they also noticed that they hadn't left each other since the swimming class… Michiru was conscious of all those glares, but one of them seemed to pierce her… A girl was looking at her with what she thought were killing eyes. But they would all have to get used to it, Michiru and Haruka would be together everywhere they went now… The girl that had looked at Michiru with killing eyes stood up as they were settling on a table for two. She called Haruka.
"Haruka! There's a sit here! Come!"
"No thanks, I stay with Michiru."
"Are you… sure?"
"I am. I'll see you later."
The girl's face turned red. Michiru could see anger on her face, but she couldn't guess why. Maybe Haruka and her were very good friends and that the girl was jealous… But she was not worried about it. She was too lost in Haruka's green eyes for that, eyes that seems only able to look at her. She had noticed that her new friend hadn't talked anyone except her in the whole afternoon, except the brief moment she had talked to the other girl… but now she went to think of it, she hadn't talked anyone neither. She wanted only one thing, be with Haruka, talked to Haruka, look at Haruka…
Then they walked a little around the school and finally they sat somewhere and Michiru began to draw a little, still talking with Haruka. Weirdly, she liked to feel her glance above her shoulder while she was drawing.
The next day, Haruka waited Michiru before to leave the room for the first time… But she kind of regretted it… When Michiru got up, Haruka was dressed and ready to go.
"You're always that quick? You get up early…"
"I just did my jogging, but I came back to wait for you."
"Thanks… so you run every morning… you're brave."
Michiru came to the bathroom to prepare herself to go. After half an hour, Haruka began loosing her patience.
"Are you always that slow?"
"I'm fixing my hair!"
"For half an hour?"
"Before I was making up!"
"I hate all this girl stuff!"
"But you are a girl…"
"And I think you noticed I'm not girlish!"
Michiru came out half laughing.
"Don't loose your nerves, I know how you are… I just wanted to tease you."
Haruka smiled. Michiru's eyes were so brilliant and her smile was the most beautiful in the world. She had passed time in the bathroom, but it was worth… though she was perfect even without make up and perfect brushing. She had a hard time resisting to kiss her. So she hurried to the door.
That morning, Michiru and Haruka stayed together every minute. The girl of the day before had noticed it and she took Haruka apart at the break. Michiru was worried… definitely, if this girl had had guns instead of eyes she would have been killed at first sight… She had thought of it a bit and she promised herself to tell Haruka about it, this girl had a strange behaviour, it was a bit insane to show so much jealousy for a friend… and she had began to talk with Haruka only since yesterday, it wasn't as if they had passed weeks together. Haruka had left her group of friends only for less than a day. Michiru went to the bathroom… and hoped she hadn't.
"Haruka, what are you really doing with Michiru Kaioh? I want to know!"
"Nothing! Stop shouting this way… I don't want anyone to know…"
"You should understand me! You are roommates! You sleep in the same little room… before I wasn't worried because you weren't talking to her… but now it seems that you can't look at someone else, she bewitched you!"
"You talk non sense. I… I just like Michiru… as a friend. A really good friend, besides, I can't be too much with you, I have to be cautious. My parents mustn't know, and if the whole school learn it, I think they will."
"Maybe spend all your spare time with her is being cautious? The way you behave with her is like you were her girlfriend!"
"I'm not, Michiru is not a lesbian. Please stop this…"
"Well… and if she was? Don't tell me you wouldn't…"
"She's not! So there's no point in arguing about it."
The girl noticed Michiru was observing them. She was surprised… but not shocked… she had expected a bit Haruka to be a lesbian. She had caught sight of her on week ends, without her uniform, and she wasn't very feminine, and there was the way the other girl behaved towards her, this fierce jealousy… too much for simple friends. And the last point was that she was used to homosexuality, she had been only in girl's schools, and in those environments, girls tended to become lesbians, many of her acquaintances were.
But what the girl did surprised Michiru. She had expected her to be embarrassed by her presence, but she didn't mentioned it. Only her could see Michiru, she was facing Haruka who had her back turned to her. She suddenly kissed Haruka with passion, looking at Michiru at the same time. Michiru felt hurt, not because it was shocking… it was something else… she wanted to pull them apart, she just didn't want this girl to kiss her friend, but she was paralysed. Haruka pulled the girl apart, she was angry.
"What are you thinking? If someone enters…"
"Someone has entered, Haruka."
Haruka returned to see Michiru, standing in the entrance. Her face turned white. The girl looked from Michiru to Haruka with an evil smile and left the bathroom.
"See you tonight love!"
Haruka said nothing. She was staring at Michiru. She was feeling ashamed, as if she had cheated on her. "There's no reason… you're not her girlfriend… you don't have to feel guilty…"
"Mi… Michiru… I'm sorry… I wanted to tell you about…this but…"
"Don't be sorry… I don't mind, we only talk each other for less than a day… and… I had doubts, this girl sent me such killings looks…"
"She's… not very intelligent."
"I think you should choose better your flirts. She will be the end of you. I understood that you wanted to keep it secret… and well… she's not the discreet kind. But if you love her…"
"NO… no I don't."
Michiru felt strangely relieved. And Haruka was blushing, she had reacted too quickly, she felt she had to explain and to apologize to Michiru, to defend herself, although the girl did nothing for this.
"That's your problem… but I advise you to find someone else. But don't worry, I'll keep your secret."
"Someone else… I'd like you to be this 'someone'…" thought Haruka.
"Thank you very much, Michiru. I think I'll dump her… and maybe I should… clear something… with you… I mean… don't worry… we are friends… nothing more, I don't look at you this way… L-I-A-R, you'll burn in hell for saying such a thing."
Michiru felt a bit disappointed, but she smiled.
"Don't worry, I didn't… I didn't think of it… I had friends who were like you before, I'm used to it."
"Okay… so everything's clear…"
