Chapter 5
Ghost From The Past
"Alright girls, we are going to switch it up today and scrimmage for the duration of practice. A little Friday fun!" Ursula stood in front of the in the middle of the hockey field with the team surrounding her. "Akko and Amanda will be our captains."
As Ursula read off the names of each team, Amanda chanced a glance at Akko who was grinning evilly at her. The red head swallowed dryly and turned back to their coach. Akko hadn't fully forgiven her for the events that transpired the past weekend and although the brunette was usually never a dirty player, she was an expert at getting away with things if she felt the need. And Amanda had no doubt that Akko felt the need to play dirty today, and she was terrified.
The girls split up into their respective teams and met in groups on either side of the field to hatch a game plan and assign positions. After a few minutes, each team separated and took their positions on the field. Akko and Amanda were facing off against each other at center forward. The brunette never took her eyes off of the red head as they took their place at center field. Coach Ursula joined them and motioned for them to come close.
"Amanda will call it." She says as she takes a coin out of her pocket and flips it up into the air.
"Heads." The red head says as she watches the coin fall down and hit the ground.
Amanda, Akko and Ursula lean down to inspect the coin.
"It's heads. Amanda's team gets possession first." Ursula shouts. "I'm the only referee you're going to have today so I want a nice clean game, am I understood?" Most of the girls nod so she continues. "On my whistle!"
Ursula backs up, positioning herself out of the way. Amanda approaches the ball with her stick and takes one last look at Akko before the scrimmage starts. The brunette had her game face on, glaring at the redhead while moving her head side to side cracking her neck. And then one side of her mouth quirked up.
"Good luck O'Neil. You're going to need it." Akko sneers, bending slightly into her ready position.
"Heh...yeah right." Amanda's voice cracks slightly as she looks behind her to make sure her team was ready.
The whistle sounded and Amanda quickly passes the ball backward to her teammate on her left. She turns around to spot any openings in the defense, but her view is filled with a brunette running as fast as she can, directly aimed at the red head. To Amanda it all happened in slow motion, yet she had barely any time to react. In the few seconds it took the brunette to reach her, she thought about running away but she knew she wouldn't get very far. All she could do was defend herself from the ball of rage blazing toward her. Amanda brought up her hockey stick and held it in front of her like a barrier, not that it would do much good, but it was all that she had. Akko was only a few paces away now and...was she growling? A growl that sounded much like a warrior who was ready to strike. 'Ohgodohgod!' was Amanda's last thought before she closed her eyes and tensed up.
"Eek!" She let out an uncharacteristically loud high pitch squeak in anticipation of contact, but no such thing came. She opened her eyes and looked behind her. She noticed her own team stood in shock at the sound that had come out of her, and Akko, who had intercepted the ball, was now almost to the goal with no defenders in front of her except for Jasminka, the goal keeper. But the brunette was just too good, and she faked the goal keeper out and scored with ease. Akko's team cheered as the brunette ran happily back to midfield where Amanda still stood. The brunette slowed her pace and sauntered up to the red head with a smirk glued in place.
"What the hell was that, Akko?" Amanda asked angrily as she quickly closed the distance and came face to face with the brunette.
"That was you being a little bi-" Akko jabbed her finger into the red head's chest but was cut off by the sound of Ursula's whistle.
"Girls! Break it up!" Their coach slid herself in between them and pushed them apart. "No more. I don't know what's going on but if you can't be civil on my field, I will remove you from it." As she finished, the rest of the girls on the field gathered in closer to see the drama unfold.
Akko and Amanda glared at each other for a moment more before their features softened. They nodded in unison at their coach.
"I guess we're even now." The brunette put her hand out for Amanda to shake, and she did. But Akko clamped her hand around the red head's and pulled her in close. "But if you or anyone else touches my phone again, your ass will be on the grass."
The two girls once again stared at each other in silence for a few moments before they broke out in laughter simultaneously. Ursula, who had been watching the whole scene, looked thoroughly confused at the outcome. She opened and closed her mouth a few times in disbelief before closing her eyes and sighing. She blew her whistle to get the attention of all the occupants of the field.
"Alright alright. Let's continue. Sides!" She gestures for the girls to get into position once more.
The match continued lightheartedly after that, although Akko and Amanda's competitive nature resulted in a few fouls and an eventual scolding from their coach. But after practice, the two girls would become best friends once more, like always. After giving everyone high fives for a game well played, Akko and Amanda walked over to there bags and equipment resting on the bleachers.
"So, Akko." Amanda hesitantly starts. "Have you...uh...talked to Diana?"
The brunette acts like she doesn't hear her at first, but then sighs and shakes her head no.
"Oh come on, it's been a week. How many times have you typed out messages and refused to hit send?"
"A few..." Akko mumbles.
"All you have to do is-"
"Amanda! Just...just let it go for now okay? I'm just not ready." The brunette raises her voice while she shoves her things in her bag.
"I thought you liked her..." The red head says questioningly.
"I...do. I really...do. Things just happened so quickly last weekend and I just...I feel so...stupid for feeling like this. Why would she…ugh." Akko pauses for a few moments. "Do you know what day tomorrow is?"
"Um..." Amanda bobs her head as she thinks. "May 11th?"
Akko looks at her solemnly and nods before sitting down to change out of her hockey shoes into her running shoes. Amanda furrows her brow trying to put the vague puzzle pieces together. What is May 11th? A birthday? No. Something significant to Akko, but what...oh. May 11th was by far the worst day of the year for the brunette, and Amanda felt like a terrible friend for not remembering. After coming out to her, Akko had told Amanda about her first love, how it ended before it ever began. This date was a yearly reminder of that, and the red head now thinks she understands why Akko was having such a hard time with this, and why she had been in such a sour mood for the past week.
"Oh, right. I'm...sorry, Akko." The red head sits down next to Akko and pats her on the back softly. "Is...is that why you haven't talked to her?"
"Kind of? Look, I can't...no, I won't let myself...I-I'm scared, Amanda. I'm scared of getting too close. Or too attached." The brunette's voice cracks slightly, obviously trying to hold back the oncoming tears. "I have some things to take care of. I'll see you later okay?" Akko stands up and walks away quickly, not allowing any time for Amanda to respond.
The red head sighs and rubs her eyes tiredly. Jasminka passes by her, gesturing for Amanda to follow her to the car so they can go home. She stands up and glances over in time to see Akko mount her bike and start to ride toward the other side of campus.
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Diana and Barbara sat silently in the cushioned seats in one of the many instrumental practice rooms located at the Luna Nova Music Hall. Hannah stood in front of them, violin in hand, playing a piece that she had been working on for an upcoming orchestra audition. She had been classically trained and was a shoo-in for the open position but being the perfectionist that she is, she had asked her friends to listen to it, and give their input on the completed piece. When she was finished and brought the violin away from her shoulder, the two spectators clapped vigorously.
"That was beautiful, Hannah." Diana says warmly to her friend.
"It was spectacular! You are going to kill it at auditions!" Barbara skips up to Hannah and wraps her in a crushing embrace.
"Th-thank you, ladies!" Hannah says breathlessly as she holds her violin safely to the side as to not let it be crushed by Barbara's enthusiastic show of affection. "I'll get my things and we can go." She is released and walks to the corner where her violin case sits.
Diana follows the other two to the door as she mindlessly pulls out her phone to check it for what seemed to be the millionth time that week. If her friends have noticed the disappointment on her face every time she sees no message on her phone, they chose not to say anything, thankfully. She knew this wasn't rational behavior and wouldn't take kindly to being pitied by her friends. But she really couldn't help herself. Something about Akko had intrigued her, had completely shattered her walls that the blonde had worked so hard to build around her heart in just the span of a few days. But now, she felt very unsure of herself, as well as needy and pathetic. She caught herself looking for Akko in the crowds of students on campus and even went as far as driving past the hockey field on a few separate occasions, trying to spot the brunette while the team practiced. She thought about stopping to say hello but could never muster up the courage. So here she is now, waiting for a message that may never come.
After putting her phone away, she looked up and saw that Hannah and Barbara had been staring at her questioningly while she was lost in her thoughts.
"Oh, my apologies girls. Ahem. Shall we?" She gestures to the door.
Her friends nod silently, shooting her sympathetic looks before turning around and heading out of the room. Diana follows and they walk slowly through the silent halls of the music hall. Hannah and Barbara talk in low voices about their day, when suddenly the blonde hears a haunting melody flow out through a closed door they were approaching. Diana slows to a stop at the door and glances into the small window and sees a familiar figure sitting at a sleek black grand piano in the far corner of the large room. The brunette's head was lowered and her shoulders were hunched over, matching the feeling of the beautifully saddening song. The blonde was entranced as she unconsciously reached for the door handle, turned it and slowly pushed the door open. If Akko had heard Diana enter the room, she gave no indication, so the blonde walked slowly toward the piano, then suddenly froze in place upon hearing a quiet sob come from the brunette.
"Akko?" Diana asks shakily.
Akko stopped playing immediately and jumped, jerking her head around toward the sound of the soft voice. When she realized it was the blonde, she quickly brought her hands up to her eyes to wipe away the tears that had formed and cleared her throat, trying to calm herself down.
"Diana! What are you..doing here?" She turns away and grimaces when her raspy voice cracks.
"I heard your song. It was beautiful, but also so...sad." The blonde says softly, moving tentatively toward the brunette. "Is there something wrong, Akko?"
"Ah...ahem. No, no...uh...nothing you need to worry about." Akko sniffles and clears away another tear with the back of her hand.
Diana sits down next to the brunette on the bench and puts her hand on her back.
"Akko, you can talk to me if you'd like. Obviously something is amiss." She rubs what she hopes to be soothing circles onto Akko's back, trying to help in any way she can.
The brunette looks over at Diana through blurry, red eyes. Silently searching for something unknown in those beautiful pools of cerulean. She found it very hard to concentrate while staring at those blue eyes, almost forgetting her problems. But even so, she was still a complete and utter emotional mess.
"I like you, Diana." Akko whispers, but to the blonde's surprise, the brunette's face contorted as if she was in pain.
"Akko, I like you t-"
Diana's confession was cut off by Akko lunging forward and capturing her lips in a soft kiss. But before the blonde could react, the brunette leaned away quickly with wide eyes and mouth agape.
"I'm...so...sorry." Akko chokes out.
"You don't need to be sorry. Why..." Diana reaches out for Akko's fidgeting hand.
Akko immediately pulls away at the contact and stands up quickly, surprising the blonde. Without another word, the brunette makes a beeline for the door. When she reaches the handle, she pauses when she hears Diana's voice.
"Akko! Wait..." She stands up from the bench.
"I'm so sorry, Diana. I...can't do this. Not now."
Akko quickly throws open the door, tears begin streaming down her face again. She was in such a hurry that she walked right past Hannah and Barbara, who had previously been eavesdropping on their friend, without noticing them. The two girls watched Akko leave in confusion and then looked back through the window on the door to see Diana still standing there in shock and confusion. Hannah and Barbara looked at each other with concern in their eyes when suddenly the door opened and the blonde walked through. She was surprised to see her friends still waiting outside.
"Oh! I didn't think you would wait for me. I apologize for taking so long." She walks past them hurriedly with absolutely no emotion on her face.
Hannah and Barbara sigh in unison. This is the Diana they were used to seeing, cold and unemotional. Disturbingly so, after what they had just witnessed through the window. Her whole life, she was trained to keep her emotions in check like this, so it wasn't surprising how well and how quickly she had put that cold mask back on. 'It was fun while it lasted' they thought.
When the two girls arrived back at the apartment, Diana's car was already parked in her stall but she wasn't in it. So they rode the elevator up and walked in through the door to find the main living space empty. Barbara passed through into the hallway to their bedrooms, stopping just outside the blonde's room. She put her ear to the door and listened closely but heard no sound on the other side. The black haired girl brought her hand up in a fist, ready to knock, before she paused. She lowered her hand after a moment of deliberation, thinking that the heiress just needed some space for a while. Honestly she had no idea what she would even say because even if the three of them had been good friends for a long time, Diana had never been truly open with them about anything. She never asked for help, nor let anyone help her with any hardship she had in her life. Making the decision to let her friend be, Barbara turned and walked back out find Hannah, who was sitting on the couch hugging her knees to her chest and looking distraught.
"What do we do Barbs?" Hannah asks laying her head on her knees.
"I...I'm not sure, Hannah." Barbara sits down and lays her head against Hannah's shoulder. "I'm not sure."
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Saturday morning came and Amanda was woken up suddenly by a frantic pounding at the front door.
"What the..." She rubs the sleep from her eyes and groans as she rolls out of bed. The pounding came again and she slowly walked into the living area. "Stop, stop! Some people are trying to sleep ya know!" She yells before she opens the front door forcefully so see who's ass she was going to have to kick. But she was taken by surprise by the three people standing on her front porch. "Ah shit."
Hannah and Barbara were standing closest to the door with, what Amanda thought, were permanent glares on their faces. Diana was standing directly centered behind them with her arms crossed, calm and collected as ever.
"You do know it's ten o'clock right?" Hannah asked annoyed before her eyes flicked down and realized what Amanda was wearing, or not wearing for that matter. She was wearing nothing but a bra and panties, and the sight made her blush furiously. "Why...why don't you have any clothes on?!"
"Perceptive." The red head mumbles flatly, rolling her eyes. Then she grins and leans against the door frame. "Maybe I was hoping to impress you with my amazing physique." She then leans in close to Hannah and winks. "Is it working?"
"…" Hannah is speechless at the bold advance by the red head. She takes a step back without breaking eye contact.
Amanda chuckles before turning to the other two girls who were watching the scene. Diana was pinching the bridge of her nose as to be expected, it seemed like a trademark move for her, especially around the red head. Barbara was trying and failing to suppress a grin at the sight of her flustered friend.
"So what's this about spice girls? If we can hurry this along I'd appreciate it. I need some coffee." Amanda folds her arms and huffs.
"Spice girls? Really?" Barbara raises an annoyed eyebrow.
"Uh...yeah. Really. I'm mean, you're all English for starters, and you got ginger spice..." She points at Hannah, "posh spice..." she points at Barbara, and then pauses when she turns to point at Diana, seeing the death stare pointed directly at her. "And...scary spice."
"Why you little..." Hannah balls her fist and takes a step toward the red head.
"Enough!" Diana shouts, speaking for the first time. The Hannah and Barbara both wince at their friends tone, but Amanda only raises her eyebrows in mild shock. "I need to speak with Akko."
"Akko isn't...home at the moment."
Diana narrowed her eyes at the red heads hesitant statement.
"Okay." Diana says simply, turning to walk away.
"No you don't!" Barbara grabs onto the blondes arm and spun her back around. "You promised."
"So when will she be home? We can wait." Hannah folds her arms stubbornly.
"She...I'm pretty sure she will be gone all day." Amanda shrugs.
"I see. Then I must speak with you, O'Neill. Preferably in private." Diana lets out a long sigh.
"Oh, okay. Sure." Amanda didn't dare to decline the icy request, so she moved to the side to allow the girls entry into her home. "You can...uh...sit on the couch, or whatever." She says to Hannah and Barbara before walking away while Diana follows.
Amanda leads the blonde to her room and shuts the door behind them. She walks to her closet and disappears while Diana stands by the door, looking around curiously. The only way she could describe the room was pure chaos. There was no rhyme or reason to the way the walls were decorated. Diana walked further into the room when she noticed pictures of the red head and others covered the wall in front of her desk. She immediately spotted a few familiar faces, but only one she was interested in. It was a picture of a younger Amanda and Akko in different uniforms but each with an arm draped across the other's shoulders. The brunette had a medal around her neck and was absolutely beaming with joy, while Amanda had her usual happy grin. Diana smiled at the sweet picture, before remembering why she was here, and the odd interaction with the brunette the day before.
"So, what would you like to talk about, princess?" The red head exited her closet in shorts and a t-shirt and closed it before looking at Diana who noticeably rolled her eyes at the name.
"I wanted to discuss the...odd interaction I had with Akko yesterday. I had hoped to talk to her, but I assume you know what's going on. I'm...worried, about her." Diana had hoped she had fooled Amanda in to thinking that this was completely about Akko's well being, and not her selfish reasons of wanting an explanation about why the brunette kissed her and left so suddenly the day before.
"Oh! So she talked to you?" Amanda raised her eyebrow curiously.
"She didn't tell you?"
"No, um...she hasn't been in a very good mood lately. I did talk to her a little bit last night but she didn't mention speaking to you. I wonder why..." The red head tapped her chin with her pointer finger, looking thoughtful.
"I...walked in on her crying in a classroom in the music hall yesterday. And, well, our conversation didn't go as well as I had hoped." Diana looks down at the floor before speaking again. "What's going on with her, Amanda?" She asks softly.
Amanda looks contemplating at her for a moment before a letting out a long sigh. She gestures for the blonde to sit in the chair in front of the desk and she herself sits down on the bed.
"I can't tell you much about it, it's not really my place. But I can tell you where she is, if you'd like to go talk to her yourself."
"I...right. Okay." Diana nods.
"She's visiting an old friend...at a...a cemetery." Amanda grimaces a little at how awkward that sounded. She's not good at emotional things. She doesn't do emotions. Never.
Diana's heart sinks at the statement. Any thoughts or emotions she had previously were now gone and were replaced with heartbreak and sadness. She knew all too well about visiting loved ones who have passed and all she wanted to do was hold and comfort her new friend.
"Who?" Was all the blonde could get out.
Amanda shook her head as she walked toward Diana to the desk and ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook.
"This is the name of the cemetery. You can find her there." She shoved the piece of paper into Diana's hand. "Now out."
The red head grabs the blonde by the arm and drags her out of her room and into the main living area. They found Hannah and Barbara still sitting on the couch where they left them, but they were joined by Lotte, Sucy, Jasmika and Constanze. They were sitting around the room awkwardly staring at each other in silence. When the two girls noticed that Diana was with them again, they stood up immediately and rushed over to her side.
"Girls, I need to go. I'm sorry." The blonde takes a step back. "I trust Amanda can get you home?" She turns and heads for the door without waiting for a response.
"Wha...huh?" Amanda's eyes grow wide as she looks from Diana to the two girls, and then back again.
"Thank you so much Amanda." Diana says as she disappears out the front door.
Hannah and Barbara were left standing there with their arms raised as if they were going to argue with the blonde, but no sound came out of their mouths. They slowly turned their heads toward the red head who just stood there awkwardly.
"Heh. So...uh...you want some coffee? Or..."
"Oh my god! Is that nightfall?" Barbara shrieked as Lotte pulled the book from a shelf close to her chair. She excitedly walked over to the other side of the room. "Lotte, right?"
"Ugh..." Amanda and Hannah heard each other groan at the same time and then looked at each other quickly in surprise. The red head chuckled nervously and turned away.
"I need coffee. Want any?" Amanda turned back with her brow raised.
"Um...yeah. Sure. Thank you." Hannah smiled shyly as she followed the red head to the kitchen.
"What in the hell just happened here?" Sucy asks Constanze and Jasminka in disbelief.
The two girls just shrug disinterestedly. Sucy just shakes her head and sighs as she grabs the remote to the television, mumbling curses under her breath.
Diana found the address to the cemetery and plugged it in to the GPS in her car before she pulled away from the house. It would be a long drive as the GPS estimated it to be about an hour or so. But luckily it didn't seem that long due to so many things running through her head. She internally struggled, wondering if this was the right thing to do or if she should just give Akko space. She couldn't understand why she felt so protective of the brunette. Maybe because this is something they had in common, that she wanted to comfort her like she would have liked someone to when she was a child and lost her mother. She wanted to be there for her.
Before she knew it, she was turning down the old, well maintained road into Arcturus Cemetery. She drove slowly, looked from left to right, trying to spot Akko, although it was hard to see much of anything through the trees lining each side of the road. After a few minutes, the road widened and more of the cemetery came into view which allowed her to finally see Akko a good distance away from the road, sitting on the ground cross legged in front of a headstone. Diana pulled her car off to the side of the road and sat for a few moments, gathering up the courage to get out. After a few moments of deep breathing, she exited the vehicle and made her way over to where the brunette sat. There was no movement out of Akko when Diana stopped and stood beside her but the brunette broke the silence before the blonde could say anything.
"You can sit if you want, Diana."
"How did you know it was me?" Diana asked, surprised as she slowly sat down.
"You were wearing those boots the first time I ever saw you. And your perfume is, well, unmistakable."
Diana blushed a bit at that as she looked away.
"And Amanda texted me and told me you were coming." For the first time, Akko looked over and gave Diana a small smile, but her eyes didn't have that usual sparkle, they were sad.
"I figured she might." The blonde smiled back, then turned away to inspect the headstone they sat in front of. It was made of what looked like beautiful black marble with ornate flower carvings around the edges. A statue of an angel stood next to it, one of it's hands place on top. She then read the white text that was engraved into the marble, and although she didn't think it was possible, her heart dropped even lower when saw how young this girl had been when she died, seventeen years old. After several minutes of silence, Diana had to find out who this young girl was.
"Akko, if I may ask, who is Olivia Evans?"
The brunette, who had been sitting cross legged, brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly as she continued to stare blankly at the headstone. At first, Diana thought she wasn't going to answer and immediately regretted asking. But just when the blonde was about to apologize, Akko broke her silence.
"Olivia was my best friend." Her voice shook and cracked as she tried to stop her tears from leaking out. "My family moved here from Japan when I was ten, and I was having a hard time adjusting. Olivia was my first friend here, and I stuck to her like glue after that. She didn't seem to mind though." Akko smiles softly at the memories, still looking at the black marble in front of her. "She's the one who introduced me to hockey. We were teammates up until..." Her smile disappeared and she closed her eyes, a single teardrop rolled down her cheek. "We were supposed to come to Luna Nova together. We were a package deal, me and her."
"How did she…?" Diana trailed off before she finished. Unsure about asking anything that might make the girl even more sad than she already was, if that was possible.
"Car accident." She said simply before continuing. "Her parents gave her a car for her birthday. She was so excited that she showed up out of the blue at my house that night to pick me up just so she could...drive. Just me and her, it was...perfect." Again a small sad smile crept onto her features at the memory.
Diana got the distinct feeling from the way that she described it, that this girl meant more to Akko than just a friend. She brought her own knees up to her chest at this point, trying to keep herself from instantly reaching out to pull the somber girl into a hug.
"Somebody ran a red light and t-boned the car...on the driver's side." The brunettes voice again began to crack. "She di...she passed away on impact. I was knocked out and woke up in the hospital with a few bumps and bruises. And well...yeah." She says bitterly before she takes a few deep breaths and went silent again, still avoiding eye contact with the blonde.
"And the song..." Diana whispered, struggling to complete any sentences as she tried to hold back tears.
Akko was silent for a few moments before bringing her hand up to wipe away some stray tears and letting out a whimper.
"I...uh...I had been writing song for her, and was going to play it for her if...if I ever got the courage to..." The brunette pauses momentarily, glancing quickly at Diana and then back to the headstone. "I was almost finished before the accident. When I got home from the hospital I...I rewrote the song and played it at her funeral. I was in a very dark place, I didn't eat or sleep...all I thought about was her. How I would never see her again, or hear her voice ever again. My parents were so worried." She finished shaking her head in guilt.
"Akko, I..." The blonde started as she let a few tears escape. "I'm so sorry. It sounds like you cared about her very deeply." She chose her words very carefully, not making any implications.
The brunette snorted and laughed bitterly at Diana's statement.
"You could say that." She turned to look sadly at Diana. "I loved her." Akko said, barely louder than a whisper. "I never got to tell her. And I regret it every day."
Diana's breath hitched as her words sank in. She had figured as much, but hearing it come out of Akko's mouth just about broke her heart. All of this was too much. She didn't know what to do or say, she was completely lost as to how to help this broken girl sitting next to her. Should she hug her? Hold her hand? Pat her on the back? She was terrible at this. But as if the brunette knew Diana's inner turmoil, she shifted her body closer and laid her head on the blonde's shoulder. Diana stiffened at the sudden contact, but soon relaxed and leaned her cheek against the top of Akko's head.
"You remind me of her." Akko says, sounding sleepy now with her eyes closed.
"Oh?" Diana shifted, not knowing if she felt entirely comfortable with that.
"Mmhmm."
Akko didn't elaborate and they both fell into a comfortable silence for a while more, happy to just be there with each other. The sun started to set, surprising the two girls at how long they had been sitting there. After standing up and brushing off, Akko took Diana's hand in hers and smiled warmly.
"Thanks so much for coming to keep me company today. After yesterday, I thought I wouldn't..hear from you for while." Akko looks at the ground, trying to hide the guilt.
"Don't worry about it, Akko." The blonde squeezes the brunette's hand reassuringly. "But the next time you kiss me, I'd appreciate it if you didn't disappear again. You seem to have a habit of that." She smirks at the brunette.
"...uh...I didn't mean to...I just..." Akko sputters while turn shade after shade of red.
"It's fine, Akko." Diana chuckles as she starts walking toward her car. Noticing there were any other cars close by, and remembering that Akko didn't have a car, a thought occurred to her. "How did you get here?"
"I took a bus."
"Seriously?" Diana raises an eyebrow.
"I didn't want to inconvenience anyone. And I don't mind, really." Akko says shrugging.
"Well I'm driving you home. Get in." Diana instructs as they reach her car. She opens her door and looks back at Akko who is hesitating again. But before she could say anything, the brunette walked as quickly as she could to the passenger's side and gets in. The blonde chuckles, remembering the last time she had to convince Akko to get into her car, before she got in and turned the engine on.
The long drive home was mostly silent. Akko had fallen asleep at one point and Diana couldn't help but glance over at her adorable sleeping face every once in a while. Finally they had arrived back at Akko's house. To Diana's relief, Akko woke up immediately when the blonde shook her shoulder lightly.
"Good, you woke up. I didn't want you not waking up to become a trend as well." Diana giggles.
Akko puffed her cheeks out in a pout and crossed her arms, but couldn't keep up the facade as she let out a giggle of her own.
"I'm glad to see your teasing hasn't ceased." The brunette slaps Diana's shoulder lightly. Turning back to the house, she notices that all the lights are off. Then she glances to the driveway and notices that all of the cars are still there. "Huh, that's weird."
"What?" Diana's leans over, placing her hand on Akko's thigh, looking out the passenger side window.
"A-all the lights are o-off." Akko's breath hitches at the feeling of the hand on her thigh and the burning that must show on her face.
"Oh god. Not again." The blonde whispers.
"H-huh?" The brunette looks at her in confusion.
"Oh. Uh...nothing. Hey, are you okay? You're sweating."
Akko glances down at her hand, still occupying the area of the brunettes upper thigh and then back to her, hoping she would get the point. The blonde looks down at where her hand is placed.
"Oh...oh I see." Diana trains her eyes on her hand and smiles slyly without moving it. She turns and leans in close to Akko's ear, brushing her lips against it ever so slightly as she spoke. "Is this making you uncomfortable, Akko?" She says in the most seductive voice she could muster while gently squeezing the brunette thigh.
"Ah!" Akko jerks her leg and turns her head away, finding it impossible to lean her body away any farther because of the door. "N-no. I uh...it's...f-fine." She says in an octave higher than usual. She then closes her eyes tightly as she hears Diana chuckle huskily, smiling against her ear. A feeling of warmth flooded her entire body as she bit her lip, trying to force herself to calm down. Flashes of the all too familiar dreams she has had about Diana crept into her mind as she turned deeper shade of red.
Diana pulls away slightly and kisses Akko sweetly on the cheek before sitting back normally in her seat. Akko was still frozen leaning into the door and breathing heavily for a long moment. She relaxes slightly as she readjusts herself back into the center of the seat, all the while, still averting Diana's gaze. Her hands fidgeted nervously in her lap and her eyes turned to look at the house once more.
"Uh...do you, want to come in? And hang out? Or...whatever..." Akko asks hesitantly.
"Yes!" Diana says a little too quickly and loudly. "I mean, I'd love to...hang out...with you."
Luckily for both girls, the darkness was cover enough to hide the deep shades of red that had crept onto their faces. Akko clears her throat and smiles shyly at Diana before opening her door and getting out, the blonde follows and walks behind the brunette as they make their way to the front door. Just then, they heard a blood curdling scream from inside the house. The two girls stare at the door in horror.
"What the hell?" Akko breaths out, digging in her pockets to find her new key.
Diana stood still and wide eyed, glancing between the brunette and the door. Finally Akko pulled her key out and fumbled, trying to fit it into the lock. After a few attempts, she was successful and threw the door open. Although it was very dark, the girls could see that the house was completely destroyed. Tables and chairs were knocked over and their furniture was out of place. Diana instinctively grabbed onto Akko's arm when they heard muffled voices, seeming to be coming from the basement.
"Akko, what's going on?" The blonde whispered frantically.
"Shhh..." Akko put a finger up to her lips.
They listened intently, trying to decipher the voices from below.
"We're going to find your friend, shorty."
"You might as well tell us where she is."
"She'll never talk!"
"She will if she knows what's good for her, spectacles."
"NOOOOOOOO! You shot her! You monster!"
"There you are red!"
"I knew we could lure you out!"
'Crash!'
'Thump thump thump thump'
"Somebody's coming up the stairs!" Akko squeaked.
"Akko, what do we…?" Diana was interrupted by the brunette grabbing her and placing themselves out of sight behind a wall. They peeked around the corner to see a figure running from the hallway toward the opposite side of the room. They had a brightly lit circle on their chest and a gun flailing through the air.
"Shit shit shit shit shit..." The figured said to themselves as they zigzagged around the scattered debris and finally jumped up and dove over the couch to hide behind it, holding the gun at the ready and trying to catch their breath.
Akko snorted and giggled loudly suddenly, startling the figure behind the couch, making them fall over sideways. Diana looked at her, confused as to what was so funny in this situation and then looked back to the figure. After her eyes adjusted, she could tell who it was and let out the breath she had been holding.
"Akko?!" Amanda whispered loudly. "You scared the shit out of me." She froze when she heard more voices, now much closer than they had been before.
Akko and Diana were still hidden and peeking around the corner, keeping their eyes on the hallway as the voices came closer and closer.
"Oh little red..."
"Where are you…?"
Akko turned to Amanda with a confused look.
'Who is that?' She mouthed.
They heard footsteps coming closer and the red head looked at her in horror.
'They're crazy!' Amanda mouthed back to her.
Akko furrowed her brow and looked over toward Diana who was just grinning, watching the scene play out. The brunette wanted to ask why she was smiling when her attention was pulled back to the hallway when two figures came around the corner, guns pointed forward and eyes narrowed. The brunette's eyes grew wide. 'Hannah and Barbara?' She thought. 'What in the world?'
"We're going to find you, red. Just come on out and stop wasting our time." Hannah said viciously. She nodded toward the kitchen, silently telling Barbara to check there first.
When she didn't find anything, they both turned to the open living area. They walked forward slowly with guns at the ready, checking every nook and cranny that somebody could be hiding. Barbara looked at the couch Amanda was hiding behind and smiled evilly. She tapped Barbara on the shoulder and pointed. Hannah smiled and gestured for Barbara to move to the left side of the room and she herself moved to the right, walking silently, stalking their prey.
Akko looked nervously to Amanda who was sitting there frozen and wide eyed, listening intently for any noise coming from her enemies. She flinched when Barbara began to speak and turned her body in the direction of the voice, raising her gun and waiting.
"Oh Hannah..."
"Yes, Barbara?"
Amanda turns back around to the sound of the other voice on the other side of the room.
"Allow me get little red, please." Barbara says in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"I don't know Barb, I've been waiting for this all night." Hannah chuckles menacingly.
Amanda now has her back to the rear of the couch, looking quickly side to side, terror etched on her face. She sees movement to her left and quickly turns and raises her gun, when she sees the glowing circle come into view she aims and…
'Beep!'
The loud sound came from her own vest as she looks down to see that it had turned red, indicating that she had been tagged. She twists around quickly to see Barbara pointing her gun at her and then lowering it to her side.
"We win!" Barbara says in a sing song voice, bouncing on her toes.
"We aren't even playing teams! You can't both win!" Amanda shouts, irritated.
"Oh." The black haired girl lifted her gun and points it at Hannah.
"What are you…?!" Hannah starts.
'Beep!'
Hannah's vest beeps loudly and the circle turned a bright red. Her eyes widened as she looked down at it and then her gaze landed on Barbara once more.
"I win!" The black girl says happily.
Amanda and Hannah stare at her in shock. The three of them were so caught up in their game that they didn't see Akko and Diana approaching. They jump when the blonde starts to clap slowly as she makes her way out of the shadows. Barbara spins around so fast that she almost falls over.
"Well done, Barbara." Diana chuckles and grins at the look of shock on her friend's face.
Hannah and Barbara instinctively hide their laser guns behind their backs as if they were children caught playing with things they weren't supposed to be. They were opening and closing their mouths, obviously trying to come up with some sort of explanation at the scene that Diana had just witnessed. Akko snorts and laughs loudly at the sight as she walks over to help Amanda up off of the floor.
"Aw, you didn't wait for me? Or were you tired of me kickin' your ass at laser tag?" The brunette smiles brightly.
"Shut up." The red head says as she crosses her arms, pouting. "So...you okay?" Amanda asks softly, putting her hand on Akko's shoulder.
Akko's smile drops for a split second as she turns to look at Diana, who is smiling at her fondly. A shy smile returns to her face as she looks back at the red head.
"Yeah, I am." Akko punches Amanda's arm lightly. "You up for another game?" She smiles pleadingly.
"Of co..." The red head is interrupted by a yell coming from the basement.
"Can somebody come and untie us please?"
Akko looks to Amanda, confused. The red head points to Hannah and then to Barbara.
"You tied them up?!" Diana's eyebrows shoot up in shock.
"We...uh..." Barbara trails off, looking to Hannah.
"We were interrogating them." Hannah shrugs like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Diana looked between the two girls, speechless. She then looked toward Akko and Amanda. The brunette had her hand over her mouth hiding a snicker, and the red head just looked back at her nodding.
'They're crazy' She mouthed again.
The blonde lets out a loud sigh. 'What have they done to my friends?' She thought.
"Alright Akko, give me one of those guns." Diana smiles as the brunette's features light up brighter than the sun. She walks over to Akko and leans in close to whisper into her ear. " But don't expect me to take it easy one you."
Akko shivers at the feel of the warm breath on her ear. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. She hears Diana giggling softly at her reaction. Feeling bold, and wanting to get revenge on the blonde for the teasing she's inflicted, she grabs Diana and pulls her in close, leaning in.
"Promise?" She whispers, and then winks. "I hold you to that later tonight."
Diana's breath hitches and her face was burning in a red glow. She stared wide eyed at Akko, not blinking, and her hands were balled into fist at her side. The brunette giggled, happy that she was able to give Diana a piece of her own medicine. But after a few minutes, and no movement came from the blonde, Hannah and Barbara came to her side, looking worried.
"What did you say?" Hannah snapped.
"I didn't...uh...just..." Akko sputters.
"Diana?" Barbara waved her hand in front of the blonde's face. "Dianaaaa..." She says again.
"You broke her you dunce!"
Amanda walked up behind them, coming from the kitchen.
"Make way! I have the solution!" She shouts proudly with a glass of water in hand.
The three girls let her through before seeing the water. When Akko made the connection of what was going to happen next, she lunged to grab the glass but was too late. The red head forced the water out of the glass with the jerk of her wrist and it covered Diana's face. The blonde was brought back to reality with a jolt and jumped backward.
"What the shit?!" She shouted, wiping her face frantically with her sleeves.
"Call it the equivalent of a cold shower, because honey, I'm pretty sure you needed one." Amanda says with a smirk.
Akko snorted, covering her face from the fiery stare that was sure to be pointed her way right about now.
"Are you okay, Diana?" Barbara asks, in obvious distress.
"Girls, let's play a little laser tag. Teams of three." Diana sent a death glare toward Amanda and Akko, daring either of them to protest.
The brunette and red head stood silently and just nodded stiffly.
"Good girls." Diana smirks.
"We're still tied up down here! Someone come and fucking untie us!"
"Please!"
"I'm so hungry!"