Okay, here we go! Sorry for the delay, life's been hectic lately with work and a few other things I needed to get out of the way.

Thanks to Sappho82 for being the best beta, always a pleasure to read your notes on this.

-Nova

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Yuzu tried her best to trail close enough to Mei and not get lost in the confusing corridors of the castle. At some point she realized Mei was slowing down on purpose before turning a corner just to make sure she was still following her.

Why can't you just wait for me like a normal person?

A frustrated huff escaped Yuzu's lips when she reached the Entrance Hall just to get a glimpse of dark hair and the long robe disappearing behind the huge oak doors leading outside. A group of younger students were just emerging from the Great Hall and excited chatter filled the room before Yuzu had time to consider shouting after Mei.

After finally getting outside, Yuzu broke into a run to catch Mei who was already half-way to the Quidditch Pitch.

"Whoa, hold up! You promised to see the game with me," Yuzu panted. Mei barely slowed down her pace.

"I most certainly did not. I promised to help you find the Owlery and I did," Mei replied coolly.

Not this again… C'mon…

Yuzu swallowed her frustration and tried her best to get on Mei's good side again. "Thank you for showing me the way. I didn't get to say thanks when you rushed off so fast."

Mei continued her determined stroll across the grounds and paid Yuzu no attention.

Why am I getting punished with the silent treatment every time you have a freak episode and end up kissing me?!

"About what happened back there…" Yuzu brought up the subject the other girl was clearly avoiding. "It's okay. I mean—I don't mind the uh—let's just say special attention you're giving me, but could you maybe stop running away from me every time you decide to give said attention?"

"I—no."

"You what?"

"Nothing, would you just…" Mei stopped and inhaled slowly. "I mean, you said you wouldn't stop pestering me. So, I know you won't leave me alone, but could we at least wait until the game is over to talk about this?"

"Fine. But I'll hold you to that." Yuzu gave Mei an exaggeratedly stern look before heading towards the Pitch.

The match started with loud cheering from both teams' supporters. The stands were mostly filled with students from either Gryffindor or Slytherin house. A small blotch of yellow was barely noticeable on the far end of the pitch where a group of Hufflepuff girls had shown up to give their support to the practice match referee, the Captain of the Hufflepuff house team.

Yuzu tried to keep her eyes on the field and enjoy the game. The two had barely spoken since they had settled down on the seats and Yuzu found herself glancing at the brunette's direction more times than she cared to admit. Mei kept her eyes fixed forward and though she clearly tried her best to seem unaffected by the events of the game, Yuzu found her occasionally twitching and holding her breath when the situation got too tight for their team.

Maybe she just doesn't know how to open up? …Maybe that's just it. She doesn't want to be bad at anything, so she doesn't even try…

Yuzu's thoughts were interrupted when she saw a flash of pink soar right in front of her. Matsuri had the Quaffle and was clearly eager to show off. A loud roar sounded from the large group of fellow Gryffindor students sitting in the same stand when the Slytherin Chaser swaggered mockingly, waited for the Gryffindor Beaters to notice her and start swinging Bludgers at her direction. She flashed a huge grin at Yuzu's direction before plunging into a deep spiraling dive dodging the Bludgers just in time.

One of the Bludgers directed at Matsuri flew straight into the crowd of Gryffindor students. The cheers and laughter from the Slytherin group were thundering across the pitch. Yuzu had to try her best not to laugh with them, their own team's Beaters had just bashed their own support group.

Yuzu had seen enough Quidditch games in her old school to notice two major differences between the teams playing against each other. While their house's team did its best to make formations and execute well-practiced plays, the Slytherin team was mainly focused on empowering their few star players to perform stunning solo displays without a clear tactical purpose. This was clearly frustrating some of the players who were shouting profanities along with the supporters in the audience.

Even with the score in their favor, the Slytherin were controlling the game for the most part and causing mayhem whenever they found an opening. Yuzu found herself really enjoying the game and was cheering with others when their team scored. Harumi had a few tricks up her sleeve but was clearly also a team player passing the Quaffle to the other Chasers as well. Most Slytherin efforts were someone going in solo and usually getting blocked by the Gryffindor Keeper.

The game had been going for a good thirty minutes when the Gryffindor Seeker was waving the Snitch in their hand eagerly and the referee whistled the end for the match. The whole stand aside from Mei stood up to celebrate with loud roars. Yuzu was glad to see her friend approaching and waved eagerly to Harumi when she slowed down on her broom close to the stands.

"We're going to Hogsmeade to celebrate, wanna come with us, Yuzu?" Harumi beamed her victorious smile and nodded to few of their classmates in the cheering crowd.

Yuzu was about to nod when she remembered the promise she was going to get the Head Girl to keep. She might as well get some talking done with her while enjoying drinks with the team. "Sure! Can Mei come with us too?"

Mei stood up to protest but Yuzu shot her a meaningful look before she had time to open her mouth. Harumi gave the two a curious look followed by a grin. "Of course. Can you wait for me outside the pitch? Need to change…"

The Chaser flew away and Mei finally spoke.

"I don't think this is a good idea…"

"You said you would talk with me after the game. That was a promise." Yuzu grinned.

"Well—I did, but… I would have rather done that in private," Mei said quietly and the blonde could barely hear her over the noise the crowd was making. Yuzu nodded and gestured they should leave.

The staircase down was still empty and provided a better place for a conversation. "So… I understand if you don't want to come. But I want to go. We can just talk later when I come back."

"I'm not going to discuss this in front of other people."

"I know, it's okay. I feel a bit bad about ditching you like this, are you sure—"

"No, I'm coming. I'm just not going to talk about… things," Mei said and continued walking down the stairs.

Yuzu stopped in her tracks and failed to hide the amazement in her voice. "You're gonna come with us?!"

"Harumi seemed to be OK with me tagging along. You don't want me to be there?" Mei glanced at Yuzu with a strange frown on her face.

"I do! I just thought you weren't coming at all." Yuzu hurried to explain and caught up with her.

"The dorms are going to be loud because we won, it's not like I could get any studying done…" Mei tried to explain the reason behind her actions, but Yuzu was sure this was just an excuse.

Finally getting somewhere, huh? You just want to spend more time with me… Just admit it, already.

Feeling too afraid she'd get the Head Girl to lock her emotions down again and throw the key to the bottom of the Great Lake, Yuzu decided not to tease her about wanting to come along. She merely studied the nervous signals she was picking up when they reached the grounds and stood waiting while students passed them on their way back to the Castle.

For what felt like only few minutes, Yuzu counted at least a dozen nervous signs when the Head Girl either tucked her hair behind her ear or changed the position of her hands while trying her best to rigidly stand still.

"Okay, I just have to ask. Are you nervous about something?" Yuzu pried and kept studying the strange expressions on the other girl's face.

"Well—I don't really know anyone except our roommate. I'm actually debating if I should just go and study in the library instead" Mei replied with a hesitant look on her face."You'll be fine. I'm glad you decided to come," Yuzu said and gave the most encouraging smile she could muster.

Harumi finally emerged with a familiar pink haired girl on her tail. They seemed to be having a rather heated conversation and the brunette was clearly agitated. She shot the two girls an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, if I took too long. This brat here stormed into our changing rooms and caused a scene." Harumi gritted her teeth.

"Told you, I'm sorry!" Matsuri tried to defend herself.

"Well, you got the team riled up pretty good. They changed plans, we're not going to Hogsmeade."

"Ah, damn—I really wanted to go," Yuzu said and pouted.

"Oh, we are going, don't worry. The rest of your team, who, by the way, don't have any sense of humor will not be gracing us with their presence." Matsuri sneered.

"Neither will you, if you don't stop mocking my friends like that." Harumi snapped. This was the angriest side Yuzu had seen of her friend so far. She was unsure if she should try to get the two to calm down, though Matsuri seemed mostly pleased with all the mayhem she had managed to create.

Mei's probably questioning her life decisions right about now…

"Okay, uh—Could we maybe move towards the gates and talk about this on the way? You're attracting some attention here…" Yuzu gently nudged her head towards the group of students still coming from the pitch who had already formed half a circle around them.

"Maybe I should just—" Mei was clearly hesitating if she should just bail on everyone and head to the library.

"NO!" All three bellowed in unison.

"Please, don't leave me alone with these two." Yuzu begged Mei with puppy eyes. Matsuri chuckled loudly and violently pulled Harumi closer to whisper something in her ear. Harumi seemed to cheer up a bit and nodded.

"Okay, let's go people." Harumi took the lead and headed to the direction of the main gates.

Oh, I'm screwed. What're they up to now… Maybe this was not such a good idea, after all… Mei sure seems confused about all this. Is it too much to ask for them to act like normal people?

Matsuri followed Harumi with a wide grin on her face and hung herself on the brunette's arm. Harumi tried to shove her off while Matsuri was still whispering things to her. Yuzu tried to hear what they were talking about but only caught Harumi's loud 'You dungbrain… NO!'. Mei was already eyeing the two suspiciously and Yuzu felt like she needed to scream at them to shut up and behave.

Guys, you're gonna drive her away… PLEASE STOP. Why can't you two just be normal?

Mei followed the others reluctantly. They reached the vibrant small streets of Hogsmeade, packed with other students also enjoying their weekend, before Mei spoke. She tried her best not to be heard by the still bickering couple walking few steps ahead of them. "Are they together?"

"Ah, well… I would say 'yes', I'm just not sure they know about it, not yet anyway." Yuzu spoke in a quiet manner.

"How can they not know?"

"Would you? Someone pushing your buttons constantly just to get a rise out of you, would you know why?"

Mei stared Yuzu intently for a while. "You're right. I wouldn't."

What?! I'm not the one sending mixed messages here…

Yuzu wanted to ask more questions, but they had apparently reached their destination.

"So, Yuzu! Welcome to Hogsmeade. This here is the Three Broomsticks, the only decent watering hole they have around here." Harumi made a grand gesture with her hands while pointing to the small sign outside the door with the name on it.

The Three Broomsticks looked cozy enough and Yuzu felt a warm breeze with wafting scents of food hit her face when they entered the Inn. The place was packed with students, but they managed to find a free table despite the crowd. For the first few days after transferring to Hogwarts, Yuzu had felt homesick but she was slowly getting used to the rustic atmosphere and found herself enjoying the simpler things.

The prospect of finally breaking the ice with Mei was getting Yuzu excited. She barely paid attention to their drink order and just agreed to take whatever everyone else was getting. She was determined not to let Mei feel uncomfortable or left out.

"So, do you come here a lot?" Yuzu directed her question mostly to Mei, though she noticed the quiet snorting sound the pink-haired girl was making across the table.

I know, I know… Lame.

Mei didn't seem to mind the overly-used conversation starter. "Not so much, I just come to Hogsmeade whenever I'm running out of supplies. We've had a few prefect meetings in this place over the years."

"You were a prefect, then?" Yuzu asked curiously, ignoring the quiet huffs Matsuri was making.

"I was until this year." Mei turned her gaze at Matsuri. "I'm sorry, did I say something amusing?"

"Nah, I'm laughing at the blonde dunderhead here." Matsuri grinned widely. "I thought you'd have better game, Yuzu."

Harumi apparently read Yuzu's mind and punched the younger girl's arm. "Oh, just shut up! You're all talk, yourself. How many girls have you actually managed to seduce while behaving like the world's biggest brat?"

"Both of you, just, please stop." Yuzu buried her head in her hands.

"No, I would also like to know," Mei said suddenly, and all heads turned to her direction.

Yuzu stared at her in awe, this girl managed to get on top of the situation and get Matsuri speechless for what felt like the longest awkward seconds she had ever experienced. It might have taken longer for anyone to speak up if the drinks hadn't arrived and everyone started to dig their pockets for a change.

Harumi cleared her throat. "Excuse her manners. I know for a fact she hasn't had a serious relationship, ever."

"Have you?" Mei blatantly asked, way too serious for it to be a joke of any kind. Yuzu faintly remembered their earlier conversation about what Mei thought friends would talk about.

Is this your way of trying to have a friendly conversation?

Harumi was nearly choking on her drink and tried to look at Yuzu for help. "W-what?"

"Have you been in a serious relationship?" Mei repeated, still giving everyone the same unsettling feeling.

Why are you asking these things?!

"Are you getting off on this or something?" Matsuri asked, clearly amused on the oddity of the whole situation. Mei shot her one of her death glares and the two fell into a silent staring contest.

Yuzu had a sudden urge to change the subject. "Okay… Can we just agree that none of us have experience about relationships and I'm quite sure no one is getting off on this whatsoever…"

"Agreed." Harumi complied quickly.

"Fine with me," Matsuri huffed.

A bitter disappointment was clearly visible on Mei's face and she merely nodded in agreement to end the conversation. As soon as the conversation moved to safer topics such as Quidditch, Mei seemed to lose interest in trying to participate. Yuzu tried her best to include the Head Girl in the conversation but mostly got simple one-word answers to all her questions.

Mei finally excused herself from the table and got up. "Sorry, I'm going to get some supplies and head back."

"I'll come with you," Yuzu said but Mei waved her off.

"No, you should stay here. I'll talk to you later about what I promised."

"Oh, okay. If you're sure you want to go alone?" Yuzu asked and glanced at her friends who were still debating on their favorite Quidditch players.

"Yes. It's fine. I still have a lot of studying to do."

Mei hurried off before Yuzu could protest any further. Harumi was clearly waiting for the Head Girl to get out of earshot before she exploded.

"What was that all about?!" Harumi tried to keep her voice down.

"I don't know…" Yuzu's dropped her head on the table with a loud thump. "I'll ask her later if she's still in the mood for a talk."

"I guess the rumors are true, then. She's a psycho pervert." Matsuri sounded too excited.

"No, she's not. She just… broke?" Yuzu muttered against the table. "Oh, and please… Don't start spreading weird rumors about her, okay?"

"What's in it for me, if I don't?" Matsuri asked mischievously.

"I'll spare your life in our next official match." Harumi was quick to defend Yuzu.

"Not good enough." Matsuri protested and Yuzu lifted her head.

"I'll do anything. Please, don't make this worse than it already is…" Yuzu was getting tired of the whole topic.

"You don't have to give into this, Yuzu. She's just joking. I promise, I'll smack you around if you say a word to anyone." Harumi tried to sound serious.

"Can we just drop this, I can't deal with this right now." Yuzu pleaded.

"Fine. You guys are no fun."

Yuzu walked back to the Castle with heavy steps. The anxious feeling in her stomach refused to settle down. Harumi dragged her straight to the Great Hall to eat dinner. Yuzu was partially hoping she wouldn't run into the Head Girl before they got back into the dorms but there was still a small part of her that was worried for Mei. What if they all understood the situation really wrong? What if Mei was really just trying to make friends and was just really bad at it? It did seem like Mei wanted to provoke Matsuri and Harumi to say something. Yuzu kept replaying the conversation in her head but it didn't make more sense, no matter how hard she tried to analyze it.

There was still the possibility that Mei wanted to play cupid with the two Chasers and just wanted them to admit the feelings they had. But that option felt the most far-fetched and Yuzu was pretty sure Mei wouldn't care to meddle in other people's love affairs. Yuzu felt like she had been drained all the emotional energy she had for the day and the thought of the serious conversation she was supposed to be having later was making her nauseous.

"Ah, Harumin… I don't think I'm hungry," Yuzu said while her eyes were scanning the crowd sitting at their house table.

"Don't be silly. You need to eat. You said you skipped breakfast too?" Harumi dragged her friend to the table. "She's not here, if that's what you're worried about."

"Not sure. I would have wanted to see her. Make sure she's okay."

"She's a big girl, she can take care of herself. You just worry about getting some grub in you so you won't just drop dead." Harumi tried to be encouraging. "You're too pretty to die."

Yuzu flashed a weak smile and sat down.

Yuzu was pacing around nervously in the common room. It was getting late and most of the students had given up on the practice game celebrations. Yuzu had been to their dormitory twice to check Mei wasn't there or in the bathrooms. She had mentioned going to the library, so Yuzu decided to wait for her. Her hopelessly bad sense of direction would have probably just gotten her lost if she had tried to find the library on her own. Harumi sat on the couch with a Defense Against the Dark Arts book and pieces of parchment splayed around. She occasionally tried to calm the blonde whilst finishing her homework.

Yuzu stood in front of the couch, ready to start one of her rants again when Harumi kicked her shin lightly and nodded towards the entrance. Yuzu spun around so fast she nearly lost her balance. Her heart felt like it had gotten stuck permanently on her throat.

"Ah, Mei! You're here…" Yuzu took an awkward sidestep to keep her balance before she quickly approached the Head Girl. "Can we uh—talk?"

The familiar nonchalant look on Mei's face was making Yuzu frustrated. She nodded and headed towards the girls' dormitories. Yuzu quietly followed and waved Harumi good night, the brunette mouthed a silent 'Good luck!' and returned to her unfinished homework.

Their room was empty as ever, Cecilia, their Quidditch team's Seeker was gone so often Yuzu mostly forgot they had a third roommate. Yuzu tried to dial back on her nervous fidgeting. Mei put down her bag and turned to face the blonde.

"So, you want to know why I kissed you again?" Mei asked suddenly.

Wow, straight to the point… Okay…

"Uh, well… That too, sure. But also, I would like to know how you're feeling about the conversation we had in Hogsmeade."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Matsuri can be a bit of a pain sometimes. I hope she didn't make you upset and that's why you wanted to leave." Yuzu wasn't sure what approach she should have taken to address the issue despite mulling it over and over in her head for the whole day.

"Oh, that. No. It's fine, you don't have to apologize for her. I left because I got what I came there for." The answer left Yuzu with even more questions.

"And that is…?" Yuzu tried her luck.

"You're not interested in either of them." Mei blurted out. Her expression was still unwavering while Yuzu could feel a tingling sensation in her limbs making them numb.

She tried to form sensible words but barely managed to open her mouth. She stood there with nothing to say. The questions she had previously had suddenly vanished and she forgot what they were supposed to be talking about. She barely registered Mei talking again.

"Don't get me wrong. I've decided I should not form too fond feelings for you. I have important things I need to focus on without getting all of… this, to distract me."

Whoa, what?!

"H-hold it… I need to—let me get this straight." Yuzu found her ability to speak. "You've kissed me, twice, with… feelings? And now you say, before I'm even included in any of this, that you don't want to have any?"

"Yes." Mei replied simply.

"You can't just decide not to have feelings?! You either do or you don't!" Yuzu was getting agitated. "You're talking about this like it is some extra homework you just decide you don't want to do right now?!"

"Not right now, nor later. I don't want to do this at all."

Yuzu stood there mouth gaping for a while, staring intensely at the girl in front of her, trying to find any signs of emotion hidden behind the calm exterior. The anxiety Yuzu experienced got overwhelming as the situation became more and more apparent.

"You're serious… About—"

"Of course, I am. I hope you can respect my decision."

This is…

…not fair.

Yuzu felt something inside of her crumble. It felt strangely empty, but she wasn't sure she even knew what she was missing. She only knew she didn't want to stay there standing like a dumb-ass so she quietly turned around and left the room.

AN:

Sorry for the cliffhangey ending, Yuzu was not ready (and I was not ready) to deal with the mess here that is Mei-in-denial.

Yuzu's a good girl and will not give up. I promise. :3

Let me know what you think!

Ah, yes, and as a side note the scene in the Three Broomsticks was cringey on purpose and just love how Yuzu fails to notice the reasons behind Mei's actions are mostly driven by jealosy. Hah..