Exams were a week away and since the confrontation with Mei at her grandfathers, their meetings were less and less. Besides the occasional passing in halls and during class, the two only saw each other once a week. During the tutoring sessions, it consisted of talking to each other only if needed.
After school, Yuzu met up with Harumi at the school gates. The blonde huffed as she walked towards her best friend.
"It feels like Mei has been avoiding me. I only have a week to learn everything I need to know!" Yuzu said in a worried tone.
Harumi frowned, bringing Yuzu in as she patted her head. "My poor Yuzzuchi! Why didn't you just ask for my help?"
"I don't know if mama would believe we'd be studying," Yuzu said as she shrugged her shoulders. "She doesn't even know that Mei and I haven't been studying together as much."
Harumi looked Yuzu with a questioning stare, "Well, what happened with you guys?"
The green-eyed girl became nervous, unsure of how to explain to her best friend her and Mei's strange encounters. 'What if she thinks I'm weird or over-reacting,'
"Nothing happened," the girl lied. Since Mei wanted to kiss her and then forget about the whole situation, Yuzu decided it was best to leave it be. "I guess she has just been busy with student council work," Yuzu said.
Harumi looked at the blonde, not entirely believing what her best friend was saying, but figured if she wanted to tell her she would.
"That makes sense. The prez has a lot to deal with," Harumi responded.
The two headed off to class together soon after the conversation so they wouldn't be late. Yuzu decided to actually pay attention during their lectures today since she needed to be ready for exams.
After class Harumi looked back at Yuzu. "Wow, you took notes? That's a new one," the chestnut-haired girl stifled a laugh.
The blonde cracked her knuckles, "I haven't written that much in...ever. I think my hand is all cramped up."
"You know, I can still help you Yuzzuchi," Harumi said while giving her a thumbs up.
"That won't be necessary," a voice suddenly interrupted.
Glancing to their side, they saw Mei standing next to them. "Oh, hey prez..." Harumi said while slyly rolling her eyes. Mei noticed the slight attitude in the girls voice, but kept a straight face.
Mei made eye contact with the blonde, "If you needed help, you could've discussed this with me," the raven-haired girl spoke.
"It's just exams are coming up really soon, so I don't know if I'm ready. I didn't want to bother you though," Yuzu responded.
Mei slowly put a black strand of hair behind her ear while looking down to the ground for a moment. "I've been...busy, but it is still my duty to help you succeed. We can meet after school."
Both girls were fully aware of the reason they didn't meet as much. Being in the same room together, there was always tension. At least that's how it felt to the older girl. After the kiss happened, it wasn't brought up again, but the thoughts still lingered.
It seems the end of the school day came much more quickly than Yuzu anticipated. They've met a couple times since their encounter, but each time had Yuzu feeling more and more nervous.
"Ugh, I'm so tired," Harumi groaned while the two were walking to the school gates to meet Mei.
Yuzu nodded back to her friend in agreement, but on the inside her heart was racing seeing Mei at the gates.
"I guess this is where we part!" Harumi smiled at Yuzu and waved goodbye to the two.
There was an awkward silence for a moment before Yuzu decided to speak up. "So, where are we studying today?"
"My grandfather is having a business meeting in his home, so I was hoping we could study at yours," Mei said.
Yuzu put her hands in her pocket as she leaned back on her heels a bit. "My mama is going to be at work late anyway, so that should be fine."
Mei nodded and the two started walking towards Yuzu's apartment. As always, it was silent on the way there. Once they made their way up the elevator and to the apartment, Yuzu pulled out her keys, but accidentally dropped them.
"Whoops," Yuzu said as she bent down trying to pick them up, but Mei bent down as well causing them to bump heads. "Ouch, sorry," the green eyed girl apologize while rubbing her head.
Mei winced in pain slightly, "It's fine, just be more careful Yu-" Mei cleared her throat and quickly corrected herself, "Okogi."
Yuzu's heart suddenly felt like it stopped. 'Was she about to say my name?!' Rather than saying anything about it, the blonde played it off while she finally unlocked the door and walked in.
"We can study at the dining table," Yuzu said as she switched into her slippers. Mei nodded her head as she walked over to the table and started pulling books out of her bag. Yuzu noticed she seemed a little different today. Although, that would be hard to tell since she rarely shows a different side to her.
Yuzu sat across from Mei, quickly diverting her attention to a book in front of her that she had pulled out. 'It's so hard to concentrate. I wish things would stop being weird between us,' the blonde thought to herself.
Mei didn't speak once they began studying. Yuzu felt too nervous to even ask for help. The older girl was struggling with a question, and the raven-haired girl seemed to catch on a few moments later as she finally spoke up.
"You know the whole point of me being here is so you can get help," Mei said.
Yuzu slightly blushed as she looked into Mei's eyes. "Y-yeah, I know. It's just-" Yuzu paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. She wasn't sure if this was the best time to talk about this, but she couldn't handle the tension from the past couple weeks anymore. "Things have been weird the past couple weeks. You've been avoiding me and I know you're only helping because you're supposed to, but it makes it hard to concentrate." Yuzu looked down to her lap as she fiddled with the pencil in her hand. She didn't look up, but she could tell Mei was still looking directly at her. "Never mind, it's stu-" suddenly Yuzu was cut off.
"What do you suppose we do about that then?" Mei asked in a calm voice.
Her voice alone, sounding so serene sent chills down Yuzu's spine. Without looking up Yuzu spoke again, "I- I don't really know." Before Mei could respond, Yuzu's phone began to ring. She quickly answered it while giving Mei an apologetic gesture.
"Hi Matsuri," Yuzu said quietly.
"Onee-Chan, are you busy? I need something to do!" Matsuri asked.
"Uhh, I'm kind of studying right now with Aihara-San, so I can't. Sorry," Yuzu apologized. She took a quick glance up to Mei and noticed a sigh escaped her lips.
There was a pause for a moment before Matsuri spoke again. Somehow Yuzu could tell the younger girl was smirking on the other end just by the way she spoke afterwards. "Is my Yuzu-Chan going to finally lose her virginity today?" A slight giggle could be heard on the other end. There was no way Mei didn't hear what she said, as from across the table the blonde saw a pink tint across the raven-haired girls cheeks.
Leaning over so Mei couldn't hear, Yuzu whispered, "I've told you to shut up about that Matsuri. There's nothing going on. I've got to go." Suddenly hanging up the phone, Yuzu turned back around and saw Mei had one eyebrow arched.
Scratching the back of her head Yuzu gave a nervous grin to Mei, "Sorry if you heard any of that. She can say some really strange things sometimes..."
"I've noticed. She seems very interested in your...personal matters," the violet-eyed girl responded as she looked down to the book in front of her.
"Well, it's not like there's anything to tell her," Yuzu spoke.
"Is there not?" Mei asked while giving Yuzu a questioning look. A blush crept up on Yuzu's face.
"I haven't said anything to her about...that," blonde spoke shyly.
"Even if you did, it wouldn't matter." Mei responded. Yuzu's eyes widened, but she knew the younger girl was right; it wouldn't matter, nothing is going on between them after all.
"I know," Yuzu said quietly with a slight frown. She didn't mean to wear her heart on her sleeve, but hiding how she was feeling was difficult around Mei.
Mei quietly sighed while she leaned back into her chair, changing the subject quickly. "You aren't learning this material fast enough in preparation for the exams," the black-haired girl spoke.
Yuzu leaned her elbow onto the table and placed her chin in the palm of her hand. "Trust me, I tried really hard today to take notes."
"This is something you should've been doing from the beginning," Mei responded firmly.
"Yeah, yeah...I messed up okay?" Yuzu said as she furrowed her eyebrows. "I just wish studying was more fun."
Sighing once again, Mei looked like she was getting irritated. "It isn't meant to be fun. It's supposed to be difficult to prepare you for bigger things."
Yuzu rolled her eyes at that statement. Sure, Mei was right about that, but she didn't really care for school. Mei noticed the frustration on the blondes face and seemingly looked deep in thought.
"Fine. If you sit here for the next hour and prove to me you can study successfully, I will reward you," Mei said.
The blondes eyes widened. "Reward me? How?" Yuzu asked with a puzzled look.
"We can do anything of your choosing," Mei said.
Yuzu tapped her pointer finger on her chin, trying to decide what she should choose to do. "Anything?" Yuzu asked while grinning towards the younger girl.
Mei sighed once again and closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes..."
Yuzu smiled and put out a peace sign, "I'll tell you what I want to do afterwards then, so you can't change your mind!" And just like that Yuzu began drifting through pages of notes and homework. She was completed concentrated for the next hour. Mei had a look of disbelief in what she was seeing. This is the first time she'd ever watched the blonde look so determined. Finally looking up for once, Yuzu saw that Mei had been staring at her, even a slight smile appeared over the raven-haired girls' face. This caused Yuzu to blush slightly. 'Her smile is soo adorable," she thought.
Shortly after, Yuzu huffed out a breath of air while stretching. "There, I finished everything."
"With five minutes left to spare too, I'm surprised," Mei responded. "Let me check over what you've done and then we can decide on your reward."
Yuzu handed her work to Mei and began to patiently wait for her to go over everything. Ten minutes pass before Mei finally speaks. "For someone who doesn't study, you seem to know what you're doing."
"Seriously? I thought I was doing it all wrong," Yuzu spoke in a surprised tone.
"Well you did get a few wrong, but it seems you did well enough for it to be a passing grade," Mei responded as she straightened up in her chair. "Good job...Yuzu."
Hearing Mei say her name for the first time, Yuzu was left speechless and blushing noticeably. Mei pushed the work back over to Yuzu.
"So...your reward then. What will it be?" Mei asked.
Yuzu smiled as she placed all her work back into her bag. "I want to hang out with you this weekend," the blonde said.
"Hang out?" Mei looked confused.
"I know we are pretty much opposites, but everyone likes to have fun. I was thinking we could go to the fair!"
Mei's eyes widened, as if she was expecting something much more different than the blonde was suggesting. "I have never been to one," the black-haired girl admitted.
Yuzu sat there shocked. She knew Mei had a different lifestyle than her, but would've never assumed the girl hadn't been to even one fair. "There's a first for everything! I think you'd have a lot of fun," Yuzu said happily.
"Are you sure that's a good idea with exams coming up so soon?" Mei asked.
"It's just one day. It wouldn't kill you to go out and do something that doesn't involve school," Yuzu responded. "I'll even study extra hard the next day to catch up."
Mei shrugged her shoulders, "If this is really what you want to do."
"Yay! I can't wait," Yuzu cheered loudly as she pumped her fist in the air.
Mei was seemingly less excited as she finished packing her bag and sighed. "Since our work is done here, I'll be leaving," the younger girl said while walking towards the front door.
"Wait," Yuzu paused for a moment seeming hesitant to ask. "Since you called me by my first name, can I call you by yours now?"
Mei rolled her eyes, "I suppose so, but not in front of others."
"Deal. I'll see you later then Mei!" Saying her name caused Yuzu to blush. She's said it to others, but never directly to the violet-eyed girl herself. Nodding her head, Mei walked out of the apartment.
'Even after everything, it feels like we are getting closer,' the blonde thought to herself as she smiled. She couldn't wait to spend time with the other girl over the weekend.
"It is getting pretty late. I haven't even eaten anything yet," Yuzu said out loud before yawning. She decided to have a quick dinner then head off to bed shortly after.
The rest of the week went by smoothly. The two even started meeting up as often as they had before. Yuzu wanted to be prepared for the exams since Mei was allowing a day off to have fun. If she didn't pass she knew all this would be for nothing.
On Friday, they'd met up at Yuzu's once again to cram in as much work as they could.
"I'm definitely going to pass these exams," Yuzu said as she stretched. Mei looked up from her book and nodded.
"You've been studying much better than before. I think you'll do well," the black-haired girl said as she closed the book in front of her.
Yuzu smiled shyly, "I'm kind of glad I have had the help." A shade of pink spread across her face. "I-I was thinking maybe since we have to leave early to get there at a reasonable time you could just stay the night."
There was silence from Mei, causing Yuzu to feel nervous inside. 'Shit, maybe I shouldn't have said that.'
"Uh, I mean unless you don't want to-" suddenly Mei cut her off.
"That would be for the best I believe. Although I don't have any extra clothes with me," Mei spoke as she opened placed her books into her bag.
"Don't worry about that. You can wear mine!" Yuzu responded happily.
"Oh, thank you then. Since we are waking up early, perhaps we should rest now?" The raven-haired girl asked while using her hand to hide a yawn.
'I still don't have a futon for her to use. We are going to have to share a bed again...' the blondes nervousness rose again inside.
"I'm going to take a quick bath, so you can go ahead to bed first," Yuzu said as she headed out of the room.
Walking into the bathroom, Yuzu took a moment to look at herself in the mirror and groaned, "Geez, all this studying has made me look dead on the outside." After taking a bath, Yuzu reached out for her towel, but realized there wasn't one.
"Shit."
Rolling her eyes and sighing, Yuzu stepped out of the bath. "Of course out of every night, I don't have one when she is here. Maybe I could just quickly run and grab one," she said to herself quietly.
The blonde slowly opened the bathroom door, peeking back and forth to see if anyone was around. Seeing that the hallway was clear, she darted towards the towel closet. Right as she got to the door, her bedroom door opened and both of them froze.
Mei blinked a couple times while Yuzu tried her best to cover herself with her hands.
"...What are you doing?" Mei finally asked as she averted her eyes away from the blonde.
Yuzu's face was bright red. She quickly grabbed a towel to cover herself, refusing to even look in Mei's direction at this point. "T-there were no towels and I d-didn't know you'd be coming out h-here...sorry," Yuzu said with her head down as she walked passed the younger girl. Mei walked the opposite direction to the kitchen.
Yuzu shut the bedroom door and leaned against it. Cupping her hand over her face, she was filled with embarrassment. 'That was so awkward. How am I supposed to act like that didn't even happen?' A moment later she heard footsteps heading towards her. Running to her closet, she quickly grabbed clothes to slip into. Luckily Mei decided to knock on the door rather than just entering.
"You can come in," Yuzu said. As Mei entered the room, the older girl still couldn't bare to look at her. 'I don't want things to be awkward...should I just say something?' Yuzu thought to herself as she plopped onto the bed.
Before she could say anything Mei laid down onto the bed facing away from Yuzu. 'Okay I guess we are pretending it didn't happen,' Yuzu laid down as well, still feeling awkward tension.
"Uh...goodnight Mei," Yuzu said quietly. Thinking Mei would remain silent, she turned to her side frowning.
"Goodnight," Mei responded with her voice being muffled by the blanket.
Even with what happened, Yuzu smiled to herself and shut her eyes. She was excited to spend time with Mei without any stress from studying for once. Tomorrow was surely going to be a day to remember.