Disclaimer: I do not own Citrus.

Chapter Three:

Harumi groggily woke up with Yuzu in her arms. The two were cuddled up together in her bed, a blanket over them. For a moment, Harumi had forgotten that Yuzu had spent the night at her house, but was quickly reminded when she felt Yuzu's body heat warming her up. Harumi's pulse seemed to quicken. 'Relax Harumi.. This means nothing. She's just hurt. She would never do this if she was emotionally stable.' But every time Yuzu seemed to shift in her sleep, inching closer to Harumi, it was hard not to take advantage. Harumi had to get out of bed before she'd get herself more tangled up in her confused feelings.

Slowly, Harumi untangled herself from Yuzu, letting the tired girl rest. 'What Yuzu needs right now is a friend. She needs me, not the me who is trying to woo her. I'm not Mei.' Still, Harumi couldn't help but secretly adore over Yuzu. 'She's so cute when she sleeps…' Harumi thought, frowning softly. She remembered last night, the words Yuzu told her. It only made Harumi hate Mei more. 'I'm not going to let Mei ruin my mood or Yuzu's. Today will be a good day. I promise.' And with that, Harumi walked out of the room, getting herself ready for the big day that she had planned with Yuzu.

Harumi walked out of the bathroom after showering and putting some clothes on. She was surprised when she walked in her room to see Yuzu still sleeping.

"That girl…" Harumi shook her head, and slowly took the towel that was wrapped around her wet hair off. "WAKE UP!" Harumi yelled, playfully whipping Yuzu's body with the towel.

A confused Yuzu soon woke up.

"Ugh...? Ow! Ow! Harumi!" Yuzu squinted, putting her hands up defensively. "I'm up! I'm up!" Yuzu quickly scrambled out of bed, not wanting to get whipped anymore. She snatched the wet towel away from Harumi, her face deadpanned. Harumi giggled.

"What the heck was that for?!" Yuzu asked while she yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, we have a big day ahead of us and I don't need you missing out on it because of you sleeping in!" Harumi whined. Yuzu groaned, flopping back on Harumi's bed. She didn't feel like doing anything today except wallow.

Harumi had different plans.

"C'mon Yuzu, get up! I will not allow you to be sad and depressed today! Today is all about positivity and optimism!" Harumi beamed the brightness that usually Yuzu emitted. Oh how things have changed. Grabbing Yuzu's feet, Harumi dragged her best friend out of bed. Yuzu let herself slump on the floor. "Yuzu I'm not playing around, I don't want you thinking about her all day. It isn't healthy." Harumi huffed, her tone much more serious now. Yuzu knew Harumi was right. She knew she had to get up.

"Alright… What are we doing today?" Yuzu asked, a growing smile on her face. She could forget about Mei for a day, right? How hard could it be? Harumi cheered, sighing happily.
"That's my girl! I planned for us to go get breakfast, so I hope you're hungry. Then we're going to get our nails done, then of course do a little shopping… I don't know which should come first, nails or shopping.." Harumi said, puckering up her lips.
"It doesn't really matter, I don't mind." Yuzu chipped in, chuckling at how hard Harumi was thinking about their plans.
"You're right, we can decide on it later. Anyways, to end off our day we're gonna get some delicious crepes before I walk you home~"

Yuzu was taken aback.

"Harumi, you'd do all that stuff for me?" she asked, her eyes getting damp.

"Of course! I'd do anything for you Yuzucchi. You're my best friend. I love you." Harumi felt her face heating up and cleared her throat.
"Awhh… Harumi.." Yuzu held up her arms like she was a baby, asking Harumi to help her up. Harumi gladly helped up Yuzu. As soon as Yuzu was on her feet, she hugged Harumi with all of her strength.
"Thank you Harumi.. Truly. From the bottom of my heart." she sniffled, burying her head in Harumi's neck. Harumi gently rubbed Yuzu's back.
"No problem Yuzucchi, I know you'd do the same thing for me if I were in your situation." Yuzu slowly pulled back from the hug, and looked at Harumi. The two looked into each other's eyes. Silence filled the room as emotions were being transferred through eye contact. 'Don't lean forward… Don't lean forward..' Harumi had to scold and hold herself from doing anything to Yuzu that would only make things worse.

Yuzu finally broke the silence by clearing her throat. "So Harumi, how are you gonna pay for all of these things?" she asked, smirking. Harumi was glad that Yuzu quickly changed the subject.
"Wellllllll…" she said, scurrying around her room. Harumi pulled out a wallet that was beyond full. It was packed. She smiled and opened the wallet.
"A bunch of coupons!" Harumi exclaimed, smiling widely. Yuzu giggled.
"Of course, what else would I expect from you?" Yuzu playfully shook her head at Harumi.
"Oh shush! Deals are deals! Now go get ready!" Harumi shooed Yuzu out of her room and into the bathroom. "Hurry up! It's already 10!" she nagged, which only made Yuzu move slower.

Minutes passed as Harumi waited for Yuzu to clean herself up. While she waited, Harumi cleaned up her room. Her thoughts often drifted back to Yuzu even though she tried to get the blonde off of her mind. She kept telling herself the same thing over and over to shut her heart up, but it never worked. 'She doesn't like you… Get over her.. You're only her friend…' she thought. By the time Yuzu was showered and dressed, Harumi had cleaned her whole room out of love stress.

"I'm ready Harumi. We can go now." a soft voice said quietly. Harumi turned to her doorway to see Yuzu all dolled up and ready to go. Yuzu looked beautiful, as always. Her hair was neatly braided and she wore a cute floral blouse with some leggings that defined her curves. Harumi stared, in awe.

"I said I'm ready to go now!" Yuzu smiled and grabbed Harumi's hand. She pulled the gyaru out of the house and into the busy world. Harumi internally whined. Today was going to be a long day..

The two girls walked beside each other and talked about the latest fashion. They were headed out to go eat breakfast, even though it was probably 11 by now. Though the restaurant they were headed to wasn't far away. It was a 5-10 minute walk.
"Hey I see the restaurant! It's up ahead!" Yuzu observed, smiling widely. Harumi huffed.
"Good because I am hungry. If you didn't take seven years to get ready we could've been out earlier!" Harumi teased. Yuzu rolled her eyes playfully.
"Oh please. I didn't take a long time because I'm hungry too!" Yuzu walked faster, purposely leaving Harumi behind.
"Hey! Wait up!" Harumi shook her head when she saw Yuzu go in the restaurant. 'What a handful this girl is.' she thought, and quickly joined Yuzu in the restaurant.

Mei sat at the edge of the bed, her gaze on the floor. It was quiet, except for the distant clanging of dishes and such coming from the kitchen. Ume was making food, which was rare. Yuzu usually made all of their meals, but she was gone now, so Ume had to step up to the plate. Mei clenched her teeth and blinked away some tears. Yuzu's words from last night repeated in her mind. Mei was still a bit in shock. Had she really sunk that low? 'I need to work on some things for the academy.' she thought, trying to get Yuzu out of her mind. Mei stood up, walking over to her desk. She glanced at Yuzu's side of the room and saw her dresser was disheveled and open from last night. Mei didn't dare fix it. 'I didn't even apologize.. I ne-'
Mei's thoughts were interrupted from Ume's calling of her.
"Mei! Mei~! Can you come over here for a moment? I need you to do me a small favor!" Ume yelled. Mei held in a sigh and walked to the kitchen.
"What do you need help with, Mother?" she asked, trying not to sound bothered.
"Sorry, I was wondering if you could drop by the store and get me some missing ingredients I need to make lunch for us! I thought I had some pasta sauce here but, turns out we're out." Ume explained, frowning softly. Mei nodded.
"I'll get you the sauce, Mother. No problem." she replied. Ume smiled.
"Ah, thank you Mei! I can count on you for anything. The money for the sauce is on the table over there." she said, pointing to the table. Mei walked over to the table and picked up the money. "Also, do you happen to know why Yuzu was crying last night? She seemed so sad…" Ume asked, remembering her daughter quickly leave the house. Mei tensed up. She cleared her throat and softly exhaled. 'Relax..'
"I do not. I was working on some paperwork for the academy and suddenly she just started packing her clothes and left." Mei replied, lying through her teeth. Ume sighed loudly at the lack of information she had for the reasoning of her daughter's sudden leave.
"I'll have to call her again. She's not picking up her phone or anything. Maybe I'll try to call Harumi. Ah well, thanks anyway Mei."
Mei was relieved that Ume had stopped with the questions but also disappointed with herself. It was that easy to lie? Especially to Ume?

"I'll be taking my leave now. Bye Mother." Mei walked to the door and put her shoes on. She made sure she had the money, and then left.

Mei walked outside, her mind clouded. First she hurt Yuzu, then she lied to Ume about it. What was up with her? 'I'm not a bad person.. I just..' Mei hated seeing Yuzu all happy with Harumi. It seemed like Harumi was slowly taking Yuzu away from her. The two were inseparable at school. They hung out with each other all the time. It seemed like they were dating. Mei stopped in her tracks, cringing from the thought of the two dating. 'No.. Yuzu is mine. Yuzu belongs to me.' she quickly thought, and started walking again. Mei wanted desperately to show Yuzu how she felt last night. And she did. Things did get a bit heated, and Mei did kind of lose herself in the moment of heat but she was only trying to show Yuzu, trying to tell Yuzu how she felt. 'I..I love her.' Mei thought, her face softly heating up.

But that didn't matter. Mei still hurt Yuzu. Badly. She made the blonde go away and look at her with disgust in her eyes. Mei never saw Yuzu look at her that way. It haunted her. 'I have to apologize. I have to. Yuzu deserves it. She needs to know how I really feel. She needs to know that this isn't a game to me.' Mei made herself determined. She had good intentions, and she wanted Yuzu to at least know that. Apologizing to her was Mei's number one priority. And she was going to do that, sooner or later.

AN: My first AN! Hello! Hello! I appreciate all the reviews and follows and favorites even though I don't deserve it.. Heh. My uploading schedule is wack. So I apologize! I've been busy with vacation and writers block… But, I will try to upload more. Thanks!
Also, the next chapter is when the story finally gets juicy, I guess. Heh.