It's Not My Fault We're Together!
Chapter 9: I Don't Know if I Can Speak (But Still I Try)
"So," Anna whispered to Yuri as their group left the venue, "You and that Kuroki girl, huh...?"
Yuri shook her head, a small headache begin to take shape at the girl's insinuations. "First of all," she began, "the text wasn't from Kuroki. Nothing is going on between us... not like that, anyway. And second, the person I did get the text from and I aren't dating."
Waving her hand with a small smile, Anna replied, "Suuure, whatever you say... whateeever you say."
Yuri decided to ignore the girl, offering a small eye roll instead of a response.
After a few minutes of travel filled with light chatter and laughter, the group came to a stop before the train station. Collectively taking a deep breath, satisfied with the night they had spent together, the group entered and began to split up into smaller pods as they waited for their trains.
Which left Yuri and Hina standing together, separate from the rest.
A silence settled over the pair, neither uncomfortable nor relaxed; instead, it was tense, as though their unspoken need to communicate was pushing against the very air between them. No one else seemed to notice, however, happily talking amongst themselves as they awaited their trains.
Yuri took a sidelong glance at Hina, uncertain of whether or not the usually bright girl was angry. Ordinarily she would just speak her mind, influenced by Kuroki to be unashamed of herself or her words; now, however, Hina kept her thoughts to herself, either unwilling or unable to say anything.
...
Yuri and Hina boarded their train, waving and offering their goodbyes as well as congratulations to Kuroki and Yoshida as they entered. Once the doors slid shut, however, the pair silently walked deeper into the train and found a pair of open seats. An uncertain moment passed before they finally sat beside one another, the air thickening as they bumped shoulders. Each jolted in place, quickly glancing away as their faces turned a bright red.
I can already tell this will be a long ride, Yuri reflected.
...
Yuri sighed as she glanced at her shoulder... and the head full of pink hair currently resting upon it, its owner asleep and dead to the world. How did we end up like this? She wondered.
The introvert raised her hand, reaching over to poke Hina awake. Just as she neared the sleeping girl's cheek, however, she paused. For a moment, Yuri sat motionless, indecisive. As she wavered, unsure of what to do, Yuri blinked in surprise as Hina mumbled a small, contented hmm in her sleep.
With another sigh, Yuri instead lifted her hand another few inches and ran her fingers through the sleeping girl's hair. As Hina began to hum in further appreciation, Yuri decided to allow the girl a bit of rest-at least until they reached their station.
...
"Yuri... Yuuuriii..."
The introvert jolted awake at the sound of her name, surprised and embarrassed that she herself had fallen asleep in the compromising position she found herself in. Recalling that position, she shifted her gaze down to her shoulder.
Hina smiled, smushing her cheek just slightly against Yuri's shoulder. "Our station's coming up." The bright girl said. "I didn't want to wake you because you looked so peaceful, but I figured you'd have to get up soon; otherwise, we'd be stuck on the train all night, y'know?"
Yuri blinked, frozen in place as stared back at Hina, unable to process the fact that she had a) most likely fallen asleep with her fingers in Hina's hair, b) Hina wasn't getting mad or flustered or anything at that, and c) Hina was still resting her head on Yuri's shoulder. She tried to say something, anything, but found her faculties shut down from entirely too much stimulation.
"What's wrong?" Hina asked, her expression shifting to concern as she buried her face deeper into Yuri's shoulder. For a moment, neither said anything as they gazed at one another; however, the moment passed quickly and Hina realized what exactly she was doing. Instantly, she pulled away as both of their faces turned red. Another moment passed as they said nothing, each deliberately looking anywhere but at the other.
Finally deciding she found the silence intolerable, Hina muttered, "...I'm sorry..."
A beat of awkward silence passed before Yuri replied, equally quietly, "I didn't mind it..."
Hina blinked, unsure if she had heard the introvert correctly. "What?" The bright girl asked.
Pausing for a small gulp of air, Yuri clarified, "I didn't mind... you resting your head on my shoulder..."
Glancing at the introvert before just as quickly glancing away, Hina mumbled, "Oh... okay..."
...
Yuri and Hina stepped off the train and into the station crowd, weaving their way through the dense mob on their way to the exit. As they reached a break in the mass, Yuri began to speak before Hina quickly turned around and pressed a finger against her lips. "Sorry," the bright girl said, "But can we wait until we're out of here? I want to be able to speak with you properly, so I'd to wait until we're alone to talk, alright?"
Nodding, Yuri trailed after Hina as she led them out of the station and into the streets, waiting until they had passed through several blocks before turning to face her introverted friend.
"Here seems like a good place to talk," she said, a melancholy smile settling on to her face.
Yuri nodded, prepared for whatever Hina had to say.
Accepting the nod, Hina wavered in place, her smile shifting from melancholy to sheepish to embarrassed before finally returning to its ordinary bold, happy state. "I guess I should start," the bright girl said, "by saying sorry." Her expression shifting once more to a frown as she continued, saying, "I way overreacted earlier today. I felt like you were... rejecting me, I guess, and that really made me... sad. I just don't want you to reject me, Yuri... I don't really know why, but I couldn't stand it if you hated me..." Hina blinked, and Yuri could swear that, for just a moment, she saw a tear in the ordinarily cheerful girl's eye. "It's weird, right? We only just became real friends, but already I could never stand it if you hated me..."
Yuri shook her head as stepped forward, replying, "I told you along time ago, didn't I? I don't hate you. I could never hate you... certainly not now that we're friends, right?" She paused bow her head before adding, "And I'm sorry, too. I didn't consider your feelings and spoke foolishly, so I hurt you. I hurt a friend of mine yet again..." She began to grimace as she concluded, "I have a habit of doing that... Hina."
Smiling, Hina reached over and took hold of Yuri's hand, a small blush beginning to color the energetic girl's cheeks as she replied, "Well, it's better now, right? Because you never tried to hurt me, and we'll try not to hurt each other again, right?"
Nodding once more, Yuri answered, "Right."
...
"Bye!" Hina called as she waved, beginning her short walk home. "See you in school tomorrow!"
Waving back, Yuri answered, "Of course! Goodnight!"
Turning on her heel to head to her own home, Yuri reflected on how the night went, both pleased and surprised by Hina's response. As she did so, she felt a buzzing in her pocket. She pulled her phone out, glancing to find a line message waiting for her.
ANNA: So how'd it go~?
Yuri decided that there was only thing she could say to fully sum up how she felt in that moment. So, after taking a moment to write out and then review her reply, she sent her answer.
YURI: How did you get this number?
***Part 1: Good End***
A/N: So that was part one! I might take a small break from this fic for now. I just hit a pretty big transition, and I'm still trying to figure out how my fic-writing fits into it all. I'll try not to stay away for too long, but I also hope this was satisfying for the time being.