"Tsubaki…did you just..."
Tsubaki covered her mouth, she found herself really dumbfounded on what she had said behind her friend's back, and that friend being Kaori.
"Kousei, I'm sor-"
"I get it."
"N-no! Kousei, it isn't like that! You know it's true, don't you?"
"You're jealous, am I right?"
"Kousei...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that, honest!"
Kousei sighed and hung his head as he stared at the gray steps beneath him. He softly shut his eyes and set his glasses aside as he ran a hand across his face, his hand stopping on the nape of his neck. This was all too stressful for him, he just wanted a happy life; what had he done to deserve all this?
Tsubaki was going to say another thing but the way Kousei was staring at her (especially without his glasses because this is actually one of the first times she's seen him without them) and the way he softly spoke out his next words made her quiet.
"It's obvious you're pretty jealous now, Tsubaki...so...why not just say what you have had on your mind all this time?"
Tsubaki shut her mouth and avoided herself away from Kousei's gaze. "Um…" she glanced over to her right a little, "can you please put on your glasses?"
Kousei was confused but then remembered he had taken off his glasses so he just shrugged off why it bothered her before actually sliding them back on. "Okay. So...now shoot?"
Tsubaki let out a gasp of air and faintly whispered, "Okay...but keep in mind that these are my honest thoughts on...well...everything that I've been thinking ever since the two of us had walked along the shore at the beach…"
Kousei nodded once and made a gesture for her to continue on, thinking if he should prepare himself for what she has to say.
Tsubaki hesitantly turned herself toward Kousei and decided it was best to just quickly get it over with in case it's time for the four of them to get back to class.
"Okay. So, first of all...I…" Tsubaki glanced up at Kousei to see him staring her down as he awaited for her thoughts, it wasn't really making anything easier on her so she just decided it was better to look down and talk to the ground, basically. "First of all, I have always thought the two of us would stay together forever, y'know? I never really thought about how music would take you away from me so you could go to your musical course high school that's...away from home…" She glanced back up again to only see Kousei stare at the ground as well, listening or either not to what she's saying; even if he is not or if he is, she's still going to finally get rid of everything off her chest.
"S...second of all, I've always hated music for that reason...I always had, even when we were little kids…" She kept her eyes up to see if Kousei would have any reaction and he did, which was just one of surprise.
"Wait, so...you've always hated music?"
"Can't you tell?"
Kousei looked up in thought and was thinking really hard about all those times Tsubaki could have hinted hatred toward music, but he can't really seem to find any. But maybe she has but he's just been too dense to notice.
"Not...really…" Kousei looked back down to Tsubaki to see her clench her fists beside her.
"Well, maybe if you weren't so oblivious all these years then you would have noticed…"
"What was that?" Kousei really didn't hear her, he was too busy being in his own thoughts comprehending everything so far.
Tsubaki didn't want to lash at Kousei, she didn't really mean to, but he was being so...so...aggravating at the moment that she just couldn't hold it in any longer.
"You see?! This is what I'm talking about!" Tsubaki's voice rang throughout the hallway beside them and possibly all the way to the cafeteria, but we're probably just over exaggerating on that one.
Kousei actually felt his heart leap out of his chest from the abrupt loudness of her voice, but he doesn't blame her; everyone says he's oblivious to the surroundings around him but he's never heard it come from Tsubaki, well not at least until she repeated it.
"You're always oblivious to everything around you! Especially when it comes to me and my life! You don't seem to give a care on what goes on anymore! Ever since Kaori's come into our lives—your life—you've been paying more attention to her and it...it just pains me, okay?!"
Kousei's eyes grew wider with each word that had flown out of Tsubaki's mouth, and on her last word his heart had a little pang; not in sadness (half of it was though because he had no clue that was what she had felt), but in very vague anger.
"Wait, so...what you're saying is…" Kousei had to squint his eyes in thought before he actually realized what Tsubaki had really meant. "Wait, so what you're actually meaning to tell me is that...even though Kaori has suffered through her medical condition...you're saying that she's the one breaking us apart?!"
Tsubaki was actually getting scared of Kousei for the first time, well, ever… But on the outside it was the total opposite. It used to be Kousei being Friend A and Watari and Kaori being the ones who were supposed to be the couple of the group, but when Kaori and Kousei had started playing together, composing together, supporting each other...it's as if Tsubaki was becoming Friend A herself.
"I don't know!"
"Then what are you trying to say?!"
"What I'm trying to say is that I wanted to be by your side! Just me! I like you, and I just wanted to stay by your side!"
Tsubaki, realizing what she had just said, quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. She knows that she already confessed to Kousei, like, 5 times right about now but she didn't really directly say it to him in general.
Kousei squeezed his eyes shut and collected himself in a very difficult situation, he was dating the girl who motivated him to play piano again. And now after being in a relationship, a girl suddenly falls harder for him.
"Tsubaki, I'm really fond that you like me but I already have someone who's by my side... She's down at the path of what you think she is. She's my light whenever I'm in the dark."
Tsubaki nodded, trying to keep her instincts to not cry like she did before. It wasn't her fault Kaori fell for him, she was his first love after all. The picture came together in mind and it became an item. They were together no matter what.
What would I do to make him like me? Should I just give up? I mean, it's obvious the two really-
"Tsubaki-chan."
Kousei turned around and Tsubaki slowly lifted her head and saw Kaori, her reaction was in a controversial pattern of which she thought her best friend would be mad at her, but instead she smiled as she was happy to see her. Kousei's shoulders shifted and Kaori turned to face her boyfriend.
"Kousei, class is starting, why don't you and Watari head to class would you?"
Kaori made a bright smile, which had led to Kousei getting all flustered and stand up. God her smile was too darn cute and captivating, he thought. Right then, Watari came from behind the corner of the stairs and walked down to Kousei—he was following behind Kaori but didn't want to make himself present—and grinned at his best friend before making him squeak in surprise when he threw his arm around his shoulders.
Leaving the two girls behind, Tsubaki's head was facing downward. It was like her world was full of gloom. Kaori's gave Tsubaki a determined look, one that was very similar to the one she had once given to some dummy she ended up falling for.
"Hmm you're looking down, why not try looking up?" The brunette listened to her friend's order, and there Kaori saw her friend's red eyes and her nose outlined in red. She never saw Tsubaki cry before, as a girl there are several ways for a girl to cry easily. And Kaori knew of what she had suffered and cried for.
Kaori kneeled down and moved closer to be able to hug her, she wanted to be a good friend to Tsubaki. Without her it wouldn't be possible for her and Kousei to have met.
Tsubaki didn't understand Kaori's expression. She was unpredictable until she muttered, "A-aren't you mad at me?"
"No because you're in pain and I want to help you."
"But I'm in a stressful situation, Kaori. I like Kousei...I-I'm a horrible friend, you should be mad at me!"
"I'm not, Tsubaki...I get why you like him. I used to be the person who just stood in your guys' way and felt a connection between Kousei, and by connection...I mean reaching-that-person kind of connection. The connection between two people who talk with each other while doing what they like, their hobby is a way of reaching that someone who they love. And when I met Kousei my whole world recieved color by the music he gave me."
"R-reaching...? My connection between Kousei is only to be a friend, and I promised when we were little we would take care of each other...but to see it like this...I-I don't know what to do anymore…"
Tsubaki comprehended her feelings for Kousei, she wished she didn't like him anymore. She needed someone, someone to be there for her.
"You have me, Tsubaki!"
Tsubaki jumped; her friend...her words...they were speechless, she wanted to cry her heart out. But she held back the feelings and decided to be strong. She returned a hug for Kaori, her friend forgave her and was happy that she stood up against her feelings, but a few tears had slipped out of her eyelids and onto Kaori's gray school blazer, but Kaori didn't really care.
As soon as Tsubaki had hugged Kaori back, the second bell rang.
Kaori unwound her arms from Tsubaki to see that the doors from the classes in the halls were closed, meaning that Tsubaki and her were late for their class. "Huh, seems as if we completely missed the warning bell." Her friend suffered through pain and incompatible feelings, she knew Tsubaki wanted to move on. From the look of her dark brown eyes, paints a dark bruise waiting to be healed.
Tsubaki felt a sudden figure above her neck, and a hot blow of air to her ears with the words, "'Sometimes we need someone to simply be there Not to fix anything, or to do anything in particular, but to just let us feel that we are cared for and supported.'" Kaori helped Tsubaki up with a bright smile and grabbed her by the shoulders to shake her a little from the conflict that had arisen.
Kaori kneeled on the ground to pick up Tsubaki's forgotten handkerchief and stood up up to hand it over to her. "Here you go!"
Tsubaki gave Kaori a weak smile but on the inside she was very relieved of the entire situation with a really bright smile. She sniffed and wiped most of the mucus from her nose away with her piece of cloth before folding it and using that side to wipe away her tears, thinking that she should really wash it when she gets home while tucking it back into her skirt.
Tsubaki let out a big, tired sigh and decided to ask Kaori something before they started to head over to class, if that's what they were even going to do at a time like this. "Um...Kao?"
"Yeah?"
"Who was the one who said that quote?"
Kaori let out a hearty giggle and asked, "What makes you think that was a quote?"
Tsubaki shrugged and leaned against the wall behind her. "Well, you're honestly full of quotes and I feel like this would've been the perfect moment for you to let one out."
Kaori grinned and answered: "Charlie Brown!"
Moving on, Kaori smiled and grabbed Tsubaki's hand.
"C'mon, Tsubaki! We'll be late for class, you don't want to be even more late do you?"
Tsubaki ran with her to their second class, she felt as if happiness and forgiveness was running with her, now she knew why the boy she liked fell for this girl. She was beautiful in both ways.
Of course Kousei fell for this girl...I can see why she's the light to you now, Kousei. She's like an angel that came from heaven…
Tsubaki smiled, giving herself confidence as she raced Kaori to their class. And of course she won for being the sporty one. Their excuse for being late was that Kaori had tripped and fell down when the bell had rung so Tsubaki stayed back to help, the teacher had fallen for it since they know Kaori had just recently gotten out of the hospital so they dismissed their absence. They didn't want to be holding buckets of water outside the class for the whole period.
Sorry this took a while to release, it was a little hard to find a way to end the drama, hopefully this went well?
Keeping Tsubaki in character was the hardest in my opinion, but luckily my friend helped me with her and the rest of the chapter.
Hopefully this chapter was at least enjoyable, I wanted Tsubaki and Kaori to have an actual friendship so that was the best I could've gone to doing for the two.
I actually don't have that much to say, to be honest. Just, hopefully I can get the next chapter ASAP ^_^ And sorry fort this being such a short chapter.
Good morning/good afternoon/good evening/ good night :D