seven: one step forward, two steps back

She blinked her tears as a yawn escaped her mouth and the soreness that resulted from tossing and turning in bed all of last night spread through her body. After hanging out with Sora and returning home an hour and fifteen minutes late, she hadn't felt the least bit tired. Instead, as she slipped into bed like the obedient younger sister she wasn't (Azriel was absolutely livid), she could still feel her heart thudding rapidly and hands warming at an alarming pace.

"It's not that bad but you should really get it treated."

Jibril inhaled, trying to cool herself as she unintentionally replayed Sora's words from last night. His words and his gestures that night were enough to send her in a state of turmoil that unfortunately lasted and continued at the moment.

And worse yet, she couldn't come up with an explanation why she was in such a state. "Could it be?" A thought drifted to her mind but she stopped walking, her voice sounding hysterical and growing louder by the second. "No, no, no. It can't be. Me? Him? It can't be!" It didn't occur to her that she was gathering attention from students who were on their way to school and she continued freaking out, burying her face into her hands and letting her face become scarlet.

"Of all people, how could I like a guy who's a cocky asshole, siscon, and, and—"

"—incredibly handsome and all things godly," a leveled voice whispered by her ears suddenly.

Jibril yelped, jumping a foot away and glancing at the person who encroached her personal space and was, coincidentally, the reason why she was suffering.

"The heck are you doing?" She finally managed, satisfied that she was able to speak coherently.

"Shouldn't that be my words?" He said, with his smirk to the side and eyebrows wagging. "I see a pink haired girl talking to herself like some crazy psycho in the middle of the path to school. Compared to her, I'm perfectly normal."

"Because a boy who likes his own sister is perfectly normal."

"Psht."

Jibril cracked a grin, wondering why she felt normal all of a sudden and why she was acting out of character to begin with. Sora was just who he was. A cocky asshole who liked his sister. Speaking of his sister…

"Where's Shiro?" Immediately, the boy's grin disappeared and he scratched the back of his head, his red bangs casting a shadow over his eyes. "Well…"

It was then Jibril could spy something red on the side of his face and she pulled his face closer to hers, inspecting the redness. It was a handprint, more specifically a tiny one. She could feel Sora sigh and his hand reaching to remove Jibril's from his face.

"Jibril…"

"What is this," Jibril glanced at Sora, who wouldn't meet her eyes. "Is this about Shiro?"

"It's the rising climax," Sora cracked a barely convincing grin. "Of my story."

Bullshit. "Well," Jibril hesitated, wondering if it was alright to involve herself. In fact, she thought back to their brief conversation about Shiro and how uncomfortable he was about the way she was behaving recently. Was the conversation she had then appropriate as well? She had only associated with Sora on the basis of making progress in each other's love lives but…they hadn't really done anything, had they? Yet, why was she so content with that?

"If you want a tragic climax, fine with me." The words struggled to escape her throat but they did and when they did, Jibril turned around to prevent Sora from seeing her distraught face. She didn't quite understand why she was feeling pained when Sora didn't answer her question about Shiro and she didn't want Sora to see this.

"Wait," a hand wrapped around her wrist, preventing her from walking farther. She bit her lips but didn't bother to shake him off. His hand was large but trembling. "What…should I do…when someone I love is becoming farther and farther away from me and I don't want to lose her?"

Shiro. "Is this…about Shiro?"

He exhaled sharply. "I—"

"Nii-chan!" Their conversation was cut short by none other than Shiro herself. She approached them both, her hair in a messier state than usual and her breathing erractic. She must've been running to catch up. Jibril snuck a peek at Sora, who did his best not to look in Shiro's direction. Whatever they were discussing, it must've been bad.

Jibril had never seen the two siblings so distant with each other before. Sure, they were never the most sociable pair but together, she could tell the level of mutual understanding and respect they had towards each other in the silences they shared and the look they threw at each other.

It…sort of made her feel envious.

"Jibril," Shiro's voice brought Jibril back from her thoughts and she looked down at the smaller girl, whose expression was clouded with irritation instead of the usual blankness. "Step aside."

For someone as tiny as Shiro, she always had a surprising amount of arrogance Jibril never questioned. With her intelligence and her brother's excessive doting, it was sensible to Jibril for Shiro to naturally develop an arrogant personality. But after realizing that Shiro had been in the debate team, Jibril saw that Shiro had worked to maintain it. Natural intelligence and an abundance of love didn't make her life any simple. She was labeled as a know-it-all, a girl who fed off of her loved ones.

It was the reason why she joined the debate team; to be able to have her own voice.

And because Jibril understood this, she held immense respect for the girl and never hesitated to perform a favor for Shiro. Whether it was to get her a drink while Shiro studied or help her out when she was experiencing terrible cramps and Sora was rendered useless, Jibril felt happy that she was able to help out her friend.

Even after considering all of that, however, Jibril refused Shiro's command. "Sorry. No can do."

Shiro's eyes narrowed. "Jibril…"

Jibril shook her head. I'm sorry…

"Nii-chan," deciding to switch tactics, Shiro tried to look over Jibril's shoulders, tippy-toeing. It was a hopeless attempt though. Even on the very edge of her foot, Shiro barely reached Jibril's shoulders. Still, she spoke. "Can I…speak with Sora alone?"

"I don't," Sora spoke coldly, "have anything to say."

Bristling, Shiro faced Jibril. "Please talk some sense to nii-chan for Shiro."

Peering back, Jibril noticed that despite the collected, curt responses Sora had been giving, he had used them as layers to hide the frustration, and fear he felt. He was hiding these real feelings and Jibril had the strangest urge to protect this sentiment.

"Shiro," Jibril said, "I don't have any control over what Sora does. If he wants to speak with you, he'll speak with you."

Stunned that the usually relenting girl refused her request, Shiro glowered. "Jibril, you baka…"

Immediately filled with regret, Jibril tried taking back her words but Shiro spun on her feet and stomped away in the other direction. She was left staring at the little girl's resounding figure.

I truly did respect you, Shiro. You're perhaps, the best girl friend I had in awhile.

When Shiro was completely out of earshot, Sora approached Jibril. "Thanks for that Jibril."

"It's fine," Jibril reassured,

A brief silence passed over them before Sora inquired, "Aren't you going to ask me more?"

"I'm not that nosy," Jibril retorted. But I definitely want to know what happened.

Then Sora smiled, appearing genuinely happy since he had approached her. His eyes shimmered a bit under the morning sunlight and Jibril felt her breath hitch up in her throat. "Haha, I know. That's why I like you."

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Dammit. Please. Please don't tell me it's…

"…and because of that, I'm going to seal the deal."

Jibril threw Sora a quizzical look. "What?"

Instead of answering directly, Sora added, "It's fine that you didn't do much."

"Sora, what the heck are you talking about?" She neared him, having the dreadful feeling that she was no longer going to see him anymore. The way he was nicely treating him and complimenting her was not how normal Sora behaved at all. "Sora, you can tell me you know."

Sora simply chortled, sounding every bit as fake as how the entire scenario felt. "It's just—" His eyes suddenly brightened, as though he had spotted what he had been waiting for. Following the direction his eyes were in with her own eyes, she saw a familiar blonde haired boy bouncing over to them. Teto.

Panic filled in her as she registered that the boy she had been crushing on was coming over to them now. Where she was standing. Right now.

Holy shit, why is he here? Why is he coming here? Is he coming to meet me? No, no. That's stupid. You haven't spoken to him, Jibril. Then, he's coming to see Sora—

But when she looked to her side, she noticed, belatedly, that the red haired boy was nowhere to seen. She circled in her spot frantically, searching in the crowds of passing students until finally, she spotted the boy in the far off distance. He was grinning, pumping his fists to express 'fight on!'

Jibril flustered, trying her best not to melt from embarrassment that instant. "So—"

"Hey," her crush had reached her by now; the distance between them that had kept her crush unrequited and hopeless was now gone. He was inches away from her, close enough for her to whiff his cologne and make out the freckles that lightly sprinkled his face. She looked up "Jibril right?"

"Right." Jibril was surprised by how collected she sounded but shook it off regardless. She was finally talking to her crush; the sole reason why she involved herself with a siscon. This should be a victory flag on her part. "That's me."

"Cool," he flashed a playful, toothy grin that once rendered her a messy goo whenever she saw it but as of now, she didn't feel a thing. "Do you have time after school tomorrow?"

"I should. What's up?"

"That's great" He then took his time explaining his predicament: since he fell asleep throughout his lessons, he was doing poorly in his literature class. "…and since Sora was telling me for a long time how you're an expert in literature, I was hoping I can receive your help!"

It then dawned on Jibril that this was the reason for Sora's abnormal attitude. He had been preparing for this moment. With Teto coming to her, asking her out indirectly, Jibril no longer had a reason to deal with Sora. And while she was thankful for the favor and be rid of Sora's annoying presence, there was a twinge of regret budding inside of her. As for the exact reason for this, Jibril couldn't quite pin the feeling down…

"—how about meeting up tomorrow after school at a local café?" His voice cut through her thoughts and her mind was forced scrambling to come up with a coherent response.

"Sure," she accepted. "Let's go."

They exchanged numbers shortly and talked for a bit. Teto made some small jokes, Jibril laughed, and Teto even complimented her. Few minutes later, they parted and Jibril willed herself to feel happy. She should be happy. The romance she always dreamed of was finally taking form. But all throughout that day, all she could think of was rushing to Sora and informing him of the good news. She could imagine him eyeroll and share information that aimed to slander her image of Teto and she would passionately deny it.

But all throughout that day, she wasn't able to speak to him at all.

Word Count: 1977

A/N: This chapter was long overdue but then again, every chapter I released was. ;D Happy Valentine's Day by the way! (: May you have a great one, either spending it alone or with a significant other!

Hope to have your continued support! Let me know what you think in your reviews and thanks for all the favorites/follows!