Read the A/N at the bottom, guys :3
I do feel the need to add that the two meetings mentioned take place on separate days, just so nobody is confused :P
oOOOo
Love Me Least
Three: Stars Go Blue
iAtethePoisonApple
oOOOo
"Where do you go when you're lonely?
Where do you go when you're blue?
Where do you go when you're lonely—I'll follow you
When the stars go blue."
-Tim McGraw
Momomi balanced the tip of her pencil between her teeth as she kept up with the conversation half-heartedly, amber eyes shifting between Miyuki and Shion as if she were watching a tennis game. Glancing away for a moment to give her eyes something new to look at, one thin eyebrow shot up as she caught Chikaru gazing at Shion, almost as though in a trance.
Interesting.
The moment only lasted for another second, however, as the Le Rim president seemed to sense Momomi's gaze and blinked out of her paralyzed state, shooting her an enigmatic smile.
You won't fool me so easily, Chikaru, she mused to herself, her eyes blank as she continued to stare at Chikaru until the other girl looked away. Momomi smirked.
Chikaru was what Momomi liked to refer to as a puppeteer, always bending the will of those around her to match her own with one sweet little smile. I mean, for God's sake, look at what she's done to Shion. Then again, Shion had never really had what it took to be at the top, not really. She had always struck Momomi as more of a poster child, a pretty face and booming voice for the cameras. She was smart, yes, but the girl was far too noble, always stepping back when things got shady.
Don't build your house in a swamp if you're not willing to get wet.
But she digressed.
It wasn't just Shion—Minamoto Chikaru held the vast majority of Astraea Hill in the palm of her hand, with each and every girl wrapped around her pinky finger. She knew each and every dirty little secret, and everyone was just so stupefied by her that they didn't take the time to analyze her—to read the writing behind her eyes.
But she wasn't going to trick Momomi into revealing her plans or her secrets. Not now that Momomi had caught her scent, because even Chikaru wasn't bold enough to risk the one thing that seemed to truly affect her.
She stiffened as she felt a shiver run down her spine, but refused to turn and meet Kaname's snake-like gaze. She wasn't going to be the weak one—wasn't going to be the one begging on her knees. Not this time.
The meeting let out early, with Miyuki and Shion reaching a semi-agreement for once, and Momomi was out the door a second later, heading for Miator. She'd heard from her sources that Tamao had her literature club around this time, and she didn't want to waste any time on formalities—they needed to get right into the revenge.
Once there, Momomi leaned against the side of the school, one foot pressed against the wall, supporting her weight, her arms folded over her chest as she waited for Tamao to be released from her Literature club.
"Already?"
The honey-blonde glanced up, eyes wide for only a moment before her lips curled in a devious smile. "I just wanted to walk you back to your room safely, honey bunches," she cooed in a syrupy sweet voice, tapping Tamao's nose. The blunette drew back, rolling her eyes.
"What do you want, Kiyashiki-sama?" she asked in a tone that clearly stated that she wanted to be anywhere but there as she began to walk away.
Momomi pursed her lips in an exaggerated pout. "Now, now, Tamao-chan, is that any way to refer to your girlfriend?" she asked, easily matching the smaller girl's gait with her own saunter. "Though I wouldn't be opposed to being addressed in the bedroom…or perhaps Momomi-senpai would be better…" she mused innocently, though her amber eyes flashed with a trace of mischief.
Tamao groaned, causing the older girl to smirk beside her. "Let's just do this as painlessly as possible," she muttered under her breath, just loudly enough so that Momomi could hear, smirking to herself when the honey-blonde seemed to actually pout at her lack of enthusiasm.
"That's not what you'll be saying afterwards," Momomi retorted, her tone involuntarily huffy as her wounded pride shone through. "I make that precious 'Nagisa-chan' of yours look like a bag-lady."
"Ego much?" Tamao replied as they arrived in the lounge area of the Strawberry Dorms. "So what exactly am I supposed to do?"
Momomi chose to ignore her first comment, smirking as she slunk into a large, plush armchair and yanked Tamao by the wrist, causing the younger girl to cry out and fall into her lap just as a certain brunette entered the room.
Leaning against the doorframe, Kaname raised one eyebrow as if to ask, 'Really?' Momomi tilted her head, replying with a would-be innocent smile—would be, that is, if she didn't have a very flushed blunette sprawled across her lap. "Fancy meeting you here, Kana-chan," she began sweetly. "Heading out, I see?"
Kaname paused, narrow eyes taking in the scene before her. "Yeah," she finally stated in a clipped tone, skeptical eyes never leaving the duo. "Fancy that."
Momomi's smile tightened minutely. "You didn't answer my question, Kaname," she said in a somewhat forced tone. "Are you heading out?"
Kaname paused, eyes flickering to stare directly into Momomi's in an unspoken challenge. "Perhaps," she lazily. "If I feel like it." Her gaze shifted to Tamao, then back to the honey-blonde. "You fucking her?"
Tamao blanched, caught off guard by the casual use of the harsh language, but Momomi simply met Kaname's gaze with a plastic smile. "Perhaps," she replied, an almost undetectable trace of venom lacing her tone. "If I feel like it."
Kaname finally looked away, throwing her head back and scoffing. "Yeah, okay," she replied sharply, her façade melting away. "Whatever, have fun with Aoi's pet." With those words, she stalked out of the room, leaving a smug Momomi and a fuming Tamao behind.
Momomi watched her go with a smirk—it hadn't been a complete victory (such a thing couldn't be expected when one was dealing with a snake), but Tamao was clearly having the desired effect. Speaking of which…the older girl returned her attention to the blunette on her lap, mildly stroking the girl's arm as she shook with what Momomi could only presume was anger over Kaname's last remark.
"Don't let her get to you," she said softly, in a tone that Tamao hadn't heard from her thus far. It was far gentler than her usual snarky drawl, and less fake than her sweet, lilting cooing, and Tamao assumed that this was the Momomi that usually only Kaname got to see. However, seeing as the two had really been each others' only friends, Tamao wasn't sure how big of an event this actually was. "She's trying to get under your skin."
"I know that," Tamao muttered as her rage began to ebb away, leaving her feeling strangely empty. She sighed. "How much longer do we have to do this?"
Smirking, Momomi shifted, prompting Tamao to stand up, allowing her to ease out of the chair. "Not giving up already, Suzumi?" she asked, her voice back to normal. "I really thought you were tougher than that."
Tamao rolled her eyes. "I just don't want to keep this going longer than I have to," she replied. "What if I meet someone who wants to be with me?"
"Too bad for them," Momomi replied without hesitation, smirking as she dodged a halfhearted slap aimed at her arm. "Really, though, it's not like I'm going to tell you not to date anyone—just keep it under wraps. I've dealt with enough public humiliation without being seen as the upperclassman who was cheated on by her kouhai." She spat out the last sentence, not really intending to put as much venom into the words as she had. Glancing over at Tamao, she caught the girl staring at her with a strange expression, one that made her want to scream. Halting in her tracks so abruptly that Tamao ran into her back, she spun around and pressed a finger into the girl's chest. "Don't pity me, Suzumi," she stated lowly.
"It's hard not to pity one of the loneliest people I've ever met," Tamao retorted, and Momomi actually took a step back, not expecting the girl to stand up to her so boldly. Tamao took the opportunity to slip away from the older girl and towards the flight of stairs leading to her room. "Goodnight, Kiyashiki-sama."
"This does get tedious at times," Chikaru noted mildly to Miyuki's assistant, Hitomi, as the two, along with her other assistant, Mizuho, watched the volley between Shion and Miyuki as if it were a tennis match. The raven-haired president had her chin resting on her intertwined fingers, her eyes landing on her Spican counterpart for just a moment too long. "Particularly so late in the evening."
Hitomi nodded wearily. "At least it looks like they're winding down," she replied, nodding to Miyuki, who appeared to be on the verge of conceding this particular match to the fiery blonde opposite her.
The meeting was called only several minutes later, and, as usual, Miyuki glided out of the room first, followed by Hitomi and Mizuho, leaving Chikaru and Shion alone in the room. Smiling gently at the blonde, Chikaru attempted to brush past her and to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Shion-chan," she said, resting her fingers gently on Shion's arm and pulling away only to be caught by the wrist.
After a moment of silence, Shion shifted uncomfortably, her violet eyes darting nervously around the room. "Look, Minamoto-san…just let me walk you back to your room," she said lowly. "It's dark now, it's not really safe for you to be walking around alone."
Chikaru raised one eyebrow as she flawlessly hid the smile that was threatening to form on her lips. "The last I heard, the campus was secure, Tomori-san," she replied coquettishly, turning back to face Shion and tugging at the Spican's bow tie, unnecessarily straightening it.
"Yeah, well, you never know," Shion replied gruffly, running a hand through her blonde hair. Finally, she looked up, meeting Chikaru's amber gaze with her own pleading violet. "Please, just let me do this, Chikaru," she begged, her tone dropping an octave as she crossed the boundary between professional and personal.
Chikaru smiled gently. "Always so chivalrous, Shion-chan," she said softly, brushing her fingers over the Spican's cheek. "If you insist, then."
Shion seemed to let out an inaudible sigh of relief as she reached over and picked up Chikaru's binder for her before walking to the door and holding it open for the Le Rim president. Chikaru smiled gratefully and patted Shion's chest in acknowledgement, causing the blonde to flush bright red. "Chikaru…"
The raven-haired girl merely giggled as they were hit with the brunt of the icy nighttime air. "Spring is nearly here," Chikaru noted after a moment, lacing her fingers through a still-blushing Shion's. "Our last year is looming before us, Shion-chan, but we still have one last summer to be free."
Shion frowned slightly as she allowed herself to be pulled along. "I'll be training to take over the company," she stated. "That's not really what I'd call free."
Chikaru glanced at her, smiling sadly. "No, Shion-chan, but you haven't really allowed yourself to be free since our first year, have you?"
Shion shrugged, unable to meet Chikaru's eyes. "I have to do this, Chikaru," she stated after a moment.
Chikaru hummed in agreement. "Indeed," she said simply. "Well, I, for one, plan on enjoying my last summer. My family plans to travel to the seaside. Imagine it—the sun, the beach…perhaps even a summer romance…" she added, watching Shion out of the corner of her eye, and delighting inwardly when the girl stiffened.
"Summer romance?"
"Why of course, Shion-chan—I think you'll find it's quite the popular cliché in some parts of the world," Chikaru replied brightly.
The Spican just grumbled under her breath.
Chikaru pulled to a stop just outside of the doors of the Strawberry Dorms, causing Shion to halt beside her. After a moment of silence, she tugged at the blonde's wrist, forcing the girl to look at her. "What do you want, Shion-chan?" she asked quietly, cupping the girl's chin in her hands. "If you could have anything at all, what would you ask for?"
Shion stiffened, her violet eyes looking everywhere but at Chikaru. "I don't see what it matters," she stated gruffly.
"It matters, Shion-chan," Chikaru replied, her voice gentle and unrushed. "What do you want the most?"
The Spican inhaled sharply, and then seemed to deflate before Chikaru's eyes. "You know what I want, Chikaru," she said in a defeated tone, her gaze finally meeting Chikaru's. "Don't make me say it out loud. Don't play these games with me."
"This isn't a game, Shion-chan," Chikaru said softly, tucking several stray strands of blonde hair behind the Spican's ear. "What do you want more than anything?"
"You."
It was quiet—barely more than a whisper—and Chikaru wasn't sure she was meant to hear it at all.
But then Shion leaned forward and just kissed her, and Chikaru just stopped thinking entirely.
"I don't want you to have some summer romance," Shion murmured, her breath hot against Chikaru's icy skin, arms wrapped possessively around her waist.
"And I…don't want you to pretend this didn't happen…tomorrow," Chikaru replied, kissing up the column of the Spican's neck. Then she pulled away slowly, raising her hands to cup Shion's face, her thumbs massaging the girl's jawbone. "But we can't always get what we want, can we?"
"Chikaru," Shion growled, her hands tightening at the Le Rim's sides. "Don't be like this."
"If you didn't want me to be 'like this', you shouldn't have kissed me, Shion," Chikaru replied, her voice uncharacteristically harsh, but Shion seemed to take it in stride.
"If you didn't want me to kiss you, you shouldn't have tempted me, Chikaru," she replied in the same tone, her hands shifting to clutch at the other girl's hips.
There was a moment of defiant silence, and then Chikaru let out a small cry, thrusting her arms around the Spican's neck as if she were clinging for dear life. "I miss you, Shion-chan," she whimpered, her sobs muffled by the fabric of Shion's jacket. "So, so much."
The blonde tensed for only a moment before wrapping her arms tightly around Chikaru's waist, pressing firm kisses to the other girl's hair. "Me too," she finally murmured, falling back against the marble stairwell and resting her chin on top of Chikaru's head.
Okuwaka Tsubomi watched the scene unfold before her with wide eyes, terrified to move, in case she killed the moment. She'd just stormed out of her dorm room after a heated argument with her new roommate, a certain infuriating brunette, and had been on her way to cool her head with a late night walk when she had frozen at the top of the stairs, transfixed by the sight of the unflappable Chikaru falling to pieces in the arms of Spica's own president.
She stood there, paralyzed, until she was yanked backwards roughly by her collar, stifling a yelp as she fell back into the Dorm, into a pair of strong arms.
As soon as she was sure that the door had closed behind her, she whirled around, knowing exactly who her assailant had been. "What was that for, Yaya-baka?" she snapped, attempting to shove the brunette away from her.
Yaya rolled her eyes. "Nothing, I was just saving you from inevitably getting busted by Shion," she replied.
Tsubomi gasped in a humorously dramatic fashion. "Yaya-senpai, show some respect for authority!"
"Whatever," Yaya replied, grabbing Tsubomi's wrist and dragging her back towards their room. "Tomori-sama and I have a bit of an agreement." Once they reached the room, she pushed Tsubomi inside and closed the door behind them before turning to face the pinkette with an uncharacteristic scowl. "What were you thinking?"
Tsubomi frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked, pouting. "I was thinking I wanted to get away from my baka-hentai of a roommate!"
"You could've done that without running into the forest at night," Yaya replied harshly, and Tsubomi was taken aback.
"What's your problem, Yaya-baka?"
Yaya huffed, folding her arms tightly over her chest as she stalked back towards her bed, leaving a confused Tsubomi behind. "Nothing," the brunette muttered, burying her head underneath the covers. "Go to sleep."
But Tsubomi wouldn't be so easily deterred. "Were you…worried about me?" she asked, brow furrowed.
"Of course I was!" Tsubomi jumped back as her roommate sat up straight in bed, glaring at her—she hadn't expected Yaya to just…come out with it. "I know it's a secure campus, but I mean, really, Tsubomi, it's not like people can't think of ways to get around the system!"
Tsubomi huffed—she had been touched by Yaya's concern at first, especially considering her growing feelings for the brunette, but she didn't appreciate being treated like a child. "I think I would have been in more trouble if Tomori-sama had seen me," she replied petulantly, her nose upturned.
She heard Yaya sigh—heard the brunette's mattress shift just before she felt a pair of warm arms snake around her waist. "Just go to sleep, okay, pinky?" she asked, absentmindedly pressing a lazy kiss to the pinkette's temple, unaware of the profuse blush that appeared on Tsubomi's cheeks and stretched all the way to the tips of her ears.
"Yaya-senpai shouldn't expect me to do everything she says," she finally replied, folding her arms over her chest. Yaya rolled her eyes and returned to her own bed.
"Whatever," she muttered, disappearing once more beneath her covers.
Tsubomi stood there for about another minute, just to make her point, before giving in to her tired body and collapsing on her own bed, pulling the comforter over her still-red face.
She didn't fall asleep for another three hours—just lay there, staring at the wall, reliving the kiss that she could still feel burning into her temple over and over again in her mind.
Hey, it's the authors note :O
Yes, there is now a lounge area :P Also I was too lazy to look up Chikaru's assistants or whether or not those two actually WERE Miyuki's assistants, so please bear with me.
So I've decided to respond to reviews after all—I felt like shit not responding to your guys's reviews when you took the time to write them, which I know not a lot of people do. So yeah :3
xannaxmurderx: They will, eventually, I'm just trying to build up a bit of romantic suspense, I suppose :P
awintersbreeze: Thanks :)
TheNomade5: Yep, I really wanted to experiment with it after I started to that one time, and this seemed like the right opportunity.
Huggler: Thanks! :3 I just really wanted to try it out and see if I could make it work :) Momomi's just too pretty to be left all heartbroken and unused, I decided :P Well, the kiss was more or less just Momomi trying to persuade Tamao to do this whole thing with her, or at least that's what I had in mind. I love jealous Shion, she's so cute :3
ChibiRox: I will :)
Mochifreak: I can totally relate to the whole iPod touch thing—it's the same thing I do at one in the morning when I can't sleep, lol. I have to keep repositioning myself because of the stupid screen :P Thanks! I can't see me not finishing this at this point—it's got too many good things going for it (or so I'd like to believe :P). Thanks for the review, I'm glad you took the time to :3
Remember to review, por favor! :3
