Throughout the entire night, Claudine found herself plagued with thoughts of Maya Tendou. Whether it was spurred on by the dating advice she gave or by Maya herself, it was evident that there was something wrong. No matter how hard she tried to rid her mind of her thoughts, the image of Maya kept appearing.
Normally if it was any other night, the blonde would not have paid much thought to it. It was not hard, after all, to avoid thinking about Maya – even when the brunette's room was right across from hers and Claudine could hear every time the girl snuck out for a midnight snack (or whatever it is she does). Instances such as these contributed to her vast knowledge of the top student.
But this…this was completely different.
Every time Claudine closed her eyes, she saw the way Maya's smooth locks fell forward, the way it covered and softened the brunette's lilac gaze, which only accentuated the gentle smile that was on her face when they talked. Even Maya's laugh echoed in her ears like an addictive melody on repeat, and the way top star seemed unguarded and carefree when she spoke. There was a strong sense of trust – one that was unspoken between the two girls. There was something more between their shared moments. Claudine recognized this, and it made her feel breathless. It made her heart race in inexplicable ways, knowing she was not the only one who felt this. But it was because they were rivals, right?
The longer the thought settled in her mind, the more it became clear how untrue that statement was. But even so, she vehemently refused to acknowledge it. Maya was a rival, and nothing more... Even if her heart told her quite the opposite. The blonde suddenly felt a strong urge to scream into her pillow. She tossed and turned in her bed, messing up her bedsheets as she tried to calm her nerves down, her hands bringing her pillow up to cover her face.
It was not until late in the night when the moon started its descent down from its highest peak that Claudine finally found peace and slept. To her, morning came by in the blink of an eye and she was soon blinded by the bright rays of early sunrise. She turned away from the sun and grumbled in her unconscious state, muttering several curse words under breath when her alarm finally rang. With an annoyed slam on her clock, she begrudgingly got up.
Half dazed and asleep, she made her way to start her morning routine, briskly walking by her mirror before something stark caught her eye. She slowly backed up to her vanity once more, almost comically taking her time to delay the inevitable. The half-French girl's eyes widened at her reflection and she had to physically suppress a horrified scream, biting down painfully hard on her lips.
There in the middle of the dimly lit area of her bedroom, Claudine bore witness to the ungodly tangled mess that was her hair. The golden locks were puffed in places it shouldn't have, and the visible knots that were in it could have easily rivaled that of Chewbacca's. With how much time her usual routine already took in the morning, getting her hair resolved would double – no, triple it.
Already, she knew it was not going to be a good day.
As predicted, she was the last one to arrive at school. By the time the French girl made her way through the halls, students and teachers alike had already settled into the classroom. There were a couple minutes left to spare before the starting bell, and although she was not technically late to class, Claudine still would have preferred coming in earlier.
Upon entering the class, there were a couple students who glanced back at the wavy-haired girl, but no one in her immediate friend group did. Over near the windows, Karen and the others were busy having a lively conversation amongst themselves, too busy to acknowledge Claudine's arrival. From the look on a certain bespectacled girl, the conversation was probably something unintellectual, especially when it seemed like Karen was the one leading it.
"Non, non! It's true, Jun-Jun! Hikari and I saw a jellyfish at the aquarium that was the size of the Titanic!" Karen bolstered loudly.
"That is very unlikely, Karen. In fact, that is outright impossible. Even a blue whale is 70 times smaller than the Titanic, and only a few rare species of jellyfishes could grow to be as big as the whale," Junna retorted back.
"But it's true! The jellyfish was thiisss big!" As if to make her point, Karen jumped up on her chair and outstretched her arms as far out as they could go, while on the verge of tipping over and falling down.
Claudine could see Junna shaking her head in disapproval and Mahiru was trying to reign in Karen's antics, while the others were simply watching in amusement. Well, aside from Hikari who was staring very intently at the white cat keychain on Mahiru's bag.
The young girl chuckled softly as she snuck behind the group to get to her desk. It seemed like everyone was accounted for – all except for one.
Maya Tendou was nowhere to be seen near the group, or even near where her desk is.
That was strange.
The top student was usually the first one to greet her before class started. It was almost like a routine for the brunette to annoy Claudine with her presence, and it never failed to rile the French girl up for the day. The golden-haired beauty had to give a once-over of the classroom to search for the said student. Her crimson colored eyes finally landed near the front of the class where Maya stood with her back turned away. As she was ready to call out to the other, she hesitated.
There in front of the heiress, the classmate from yesterday stood, shuffling nervously around with an envelope in one hand and a rose in the other. She offered it to Maya with a stiff movement, abruptly shoving it near her face. Much to the blonde's surprise, Maya accepted the gifts and offered the girl a small smile.
Something inside of her set off, and she suddenly felt the air knocked out of her out of her chest, a myriad of thoughts clouding her mind at the sight. Maya seemed to laugh gingerly at something their classmate said, and Claudine felt her hands ball up into fists. Try as she might, she could not pry her eyes away from the unfolding scene.
She was completely speechless.
Truly, she could not comprehend it. It was one thing to ask the blonde for advice, but it was another thing to have it taken seriously and applied immediately. Claudine did not even have time to mentally prepare herself for the sight of Maya being with the girl, especially not after her little fiasco the night before.
"-dine."
There was a sense of betrayal in Claudine's chest as she continued to watch the brunette carry on the conversation, none of the intimidating or cold demeanor Maya usually had present. The girl seemed to be more relaxed now, and for some odd reason, that angered the French girl. Since when did Maya Tendou learn to be friendly and sociable?
"-audine."
She knew what she was feeling was irrational. She decided, after all, that Maya was only a rival. She had even made it clear to the entire school that their relationship was nothing more than that. It was just a very, very intense rivalry and the blonde really should not be concerning herself with the Top Star's love life. It was none of her business who Maya Tendou dated should she choose to. So then, why was she feeling so miserable about this?
"Claudine!"
The light-haired girl was pulled out from her thoughts with a jolt. Dazed and confused, Claudine blinked as she turned in the direction of the voice, surprise written all over her face when she glanced down at a short auburn-haired girl.
Futaba let out an annoyed huff, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she glared up. "Finally. I've been trying to get your attention for the last minute or two, Claud," she said bluntly.
"Ah… pardon. I didn't mean to ignore you," the fair-haired spoke a little too softly, averting her gaze from the other. "I was just…distracted."
The shorter girl rolled her eyes at the other. "Obviously. Either that or you've grown deaf from the volume of your speakers during your practices," she said with a sarcastic tone.
Claudine chuckled quietly at that. Futaba never failed to make to make her smile and ever since the start of their friendship, the other always seemed to be there when the blonde needed her the most. And right now, she desperately needed a distraction.
Her friend's expression softened once she saw the pain flash across the French girl's face. "But in all seriousness, are you alright? You're usually the first one to come to class, so I thought something happened to you," she asked, concern lacing her voice.
"Oui. I am alright." The taller girl finally set her bag down, rummaging through it to get her notebooks out.
"Mind if I ask where you were this morning then?"
"Oh, I was just…" Claudine's voice trailed off as a certain figure inched its way into her peripheral vision, causing her to jump slightly.
"She was probably still asleep in the dorms when we left. You know how much she loves her beauty sleep," Maya spoke up, a teasing tone evident in her voice as she smirked.
The blonde immediately glared at the brunette, the anger in her eyes more intense than usual. An inexplicable tightness gripped its way into Claudine's chest upon the sight of Maya, and she felt irritated that the other had the audacity to come up to her after shamelessly flirting with their classmate. The heiress must have noticed when a brief glimpse of shock crossed her face.
"I don't need your snarky comments this early in the morning, Tendou," Claudine bit back harshly, practically hissing out the other's last name.
Maya was taken aback but soon masked it with a look of indifference. She frowned a bit, trying to decipher the other girl, and returned her rival's glare with a cool gaze of her own.
"I see. It seems you woke up on the wrong side of the bed as well," the top student retorted, the teasing completely gone and replaced with apathy.
"Shut up. Again, I am not in the mood right now, and I would greatly appreciate it if you could go be sarcastic somewhere else in the class," she snapped back, slamming her notebook down to end the conversation there.
There was a flicker of irritation in the brunette's eyes, but knowing her, Maya would not express it out loud. Instead, she continued to search for something in Claudine; something that may give her a clue on this odd behavior. When none could be found, her analytical gleam turned into one of concern, but it was gone the instant it appeared.
The dark-haired girl let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. If you wish to speak with me and be civilized about it, you know where I'll be." With that, she turned away sharply and headed towards her desk, brushing her long hair over her shoulder as she did.
Like with anything else Maya did, even the way she walked away from the fight was flawless and perfect, much to Claudine's annoyance.
Futaba stood there in complete disbelief, her mouth opened slightly. She knew better than to intrude on the two girls' arguments when they had one, but it had gotten out of hand fairly quickly this time around. Her gaze flickered back and forth from Maya and Claudine, confusion clear as day on her face.
"Hey, Claud… are you sure you're alr-"
The first bell rang, interrupting whatever the short-haired girl was going to say. The blonde girl sat down abruptly in her seat, leaving no room for conversation and Futaba groaned inwardly before taking her seat.
Needless to say, the French girl spent the entire school day giving Maya the cold shoulder and avoiding her whenever she could – which was near impossible when she practically shared the same schedule with the top star.
Hoping to avoid another repeat of yesterday, Claudine made an extra effort to wake up early and arrived at the school before anyone else could, readily getting dressed into her light-pink leotard for dance practice. Practicing early in the morning and late at night was a common routine for her, so it should come as no surprise that she would be the first one inside the studio.
With what little time she had left before the others arrived, the blonde started to stretch out her hamstrings as she bent forward, reaching her arms down towards her toes. Counting the seconds quietly, she gradually started to feel the burning sensation as her muscles loosened, and soon she moved on to the next stretch for her back muscles, her eyebrows knitting in deep concentration and inhaling deep breaths.
Once Claudine finished the last of her exercises, the first signs of life started to echo in the hallways. The loud footsteps from her classmates reverberated through the walls, filling the once silent air of the studio. A moment later, the sliding door of the room opened and a certain redhead emerged, her eyes still clouded with the remnants of sleep.
Karen raised her hand up to cover her mouth from an incoming yawn, completely oblivious to the other girl in the room. It was not until she almost practically ran into the blonde in the center that she let out a surprised yelp, her eyes widening.
"Oh! S-sorry Claudine! I didn't realize you were there!"
Claudine simply gave her a dead-panned look, her lips thinning into a frown.
Really? She thought but rolled her eyes as she decided to let it go. It was Karen, after all.
Soon another pair of footsteps tailed behind, the owner of it being none other than the silent, ebony-haired girl that was Karen's partner. Hikari gave the two a glance, nodding in acknowledgment of the French girl. Nana, Junna, and Mahiru followed shortly afterward, leaving both Kaoruko and Futaba as the last ones of the group. The pink-haired girl waved a greeting at the blonde with a flick of her wrist before falling in line with her partner to stretch.
As she waited patiently for her classmates to get settled in for class to start, Claudine could not help but notice the absence of her rival once again. With pinched eyebrows, she continued to stare at the door full of incoming students, a knot of anxiety building up in her stomach. It has been two consecutive days now that she did not see Maya first thing in the morning, and that disappointed her for some reason.
Without thinking, her feet started to shuffle its way closer towards the entrance, her fuchsia eyes searching restlessly for any sign of the brunette. She stopped a couple inches from the doorway when she spotted the familiar violet leotard, peeking just around the corner.
The sight of the long, dark hair flowing down with the signature blue bow at the back gave Claudine all she needed to know that Maya was once again turned away from her. Her eyes briefly drifted over to the side expecting the same classmate from yesterday, but her heart dropped when she spotted not just one, but two more girls who were completely different, their arms bearing gifts for the top star.
Not a beat later, the blonde spun on her heels and headed back into the center of the room, a heavy feeling settling itself on her chest. All of her stretchings had been for nothing as she started to feel every fiber of her body tense, her jaws clenched together to stop whatever it was at the back of her throat.
Of course, this was going happen. She should have predicted this was what was going to happen. From how happy and excited the girl from yesterday was from the successful advice, there was no way she wouldn't have shared it with their other classmates. For all she knew, the entire goddamn academy could be going after Maya now. It was Claudine's foolish thinking for believing otherwise. But the question from before popped into her mind again: why did she feel so depressed about this?
Her mind lingered on the thought.
…Is it … because I'm… in love with Maya…?
Love. The word stirred violently inside her head, attacking every corner of her psyche with its heavy weight. Claudine has had crushes every now and then, but most of it was fleeting, like a passing cool breeze on a scorching hot summer's day. Love was definitely a word that held immense power, and it was certainly not meant to use lightly.
Even so, the word continued to bounce back and forth in her mind, and Claudine started to feel her senses grow numb. At this point, it was obvious to her.
Of course, her conflict did not go unnoticed by an ever-observant Futaba, who had been keeping an eye out on her since yesterday's little scene. Sensing something was awry, the pink-haired girl excused herself from her partner and headed over to her taller friend, worry written all over her face. Her suspicions were confirmed when the wavy-haired girl did not even bat an eye at her appearance.
"Claud," Futaba whispered quietly, getting her friend's attention by gingerly grabbing her hands. "What's wrong?" she pleaded, her gaze flickering for a moment when she noticed Maya was now entering the studio.
Claudine caught it and she glanced back, biting down on her lips hard. She hung her head down. She knew it would be unfair to keep the shorter girl in the dark. The French girl slowly pulled her hands from Futaba's grasp. "…I'll tell you later, okay?" her voice was frail, something even she did not know was possible.
Right now, she must face the biggest challenge she's ever encountered: to act normally in front of Maya Tendou.
She couldn't possibly let the top student know what was going on in her mind right now. Not only would it bring embarrassment to her, but it could very well end her spirit if her feelings were not reciprocated. At one point, Claudine may have had an idea of what Maya's feelings towards her were but as more girls start to approach the Star, she grew more unsure.
Truly, this would be the testament of her acting skills if she were to pull this off successfully, fighting against her quickening heartbeat and her growing disappointment that she may be too late in realizing her feelings for the brunette. As the other girl approached, Claudine steeled herself, turning around to face the top student with the best haughty expression she could muster.
It seemed to work, by the look of the smirk on Maya's face.
"I presume you're in a better mood today, ma Claudine?" the dark-haired girl teased, a familiar playful gleam in her eyes.
The blonde twitched at the term of endearment, a slight pain shot through her heart. Claudine knew her partner used it solely to push her buttons, but it has now taken on a whole new meaning. And it hurt.
"Mechante va. I've always been in a good mood. You probably just interpreted it wrong," she jabbed back, trying her best to push down her feelings. "You've never really been able to read people and their moods anyways." Claudine crossed her arms, letting out a huff before pouting.
A chuckle escaped from Maya's lips. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, ma cherie. After all, I'm able to read you pretty easily," she said with a cheeky grin.
Claudine bit on the inside of her mouth, glaring harshly at the brunette. If only Maya knew the irony behind her words.
But Maya can't know.
She can't know just how much Claudine had fallen for her.
The brunette held out her hand for the blonde. "Shall we?"