—Chapter 5—
Today was the day. Today was the day she was going to go visit her. Things wouldn't go wrong. Everything would go right, actually. Miku shook her head, attempting to relieve herself of the bad thoughts that prodded at the back of her mind. "Are you ready?" A voice appeared with a coating of uneasiness.
This time, the tealette nodded, her eyes filled with determination, yet slight terror hid behind their reflection. "Yeah."
"You're lying. I can feel it. Ease up," the invisible blonde girl stated, parting her bangs out of her face. She could easily tell that Miku was having problems believing that everything was going to be okay.
Their friendship had seemed to continue as if nothing had happened. There was no car crash. There was no crying. There was no broken hearts. But, Miku hasn't seemed to notice that it was her yet. 'It's me, Rin,' she wanted to say, but the blonde knew that could have a seriously bad effect. Miku was already bottling up so much inside her, it was probably going to make it worse if some entity began claiming that it was her best friend who was in a coma.
"It's hard to lighten up when something like this is happening," the tealette replied, brushing through her front hair with a comb.
Rin let out an elongated sigh, "I know that, but it doesn't make it any easier if you're fretting over it."
"You've told me this before, don't make me come and hit you!" Miku quipped, comb being crushed under the grip from her hand. "I'm gonna hit you for making fun of me last night, too!"
The blonde laughed, a smile adorning her face, "like you could hit me. You can't even see me."
Lips curling to match her invisible friend, the teal haired girl resumed brushing through her hair. "Then I'll just have to find a way to see you, and when I do I'm gonna give you a good one."
The older Kagamine twin took no offense to the threat, instead she was staring at the other female in interest. "I like the way you smile. It's much better than frowning all the time."
"Do I frown a lot?"
"Yeah, you do. And the way your eyebrows furrow all day are gonna give you wrinkles!" Rin glanced over at the mirror that stood tall at the wall, her reflection still not there.
The teal haired girl scoffed, "I don't furrow my eyebrows that much." Quickly, she put her hair into two long twin tails. "There, done."
"You're not gonna put in the weird, unnatural, floaty ones?" Rin inquired, noting the absence of the objects that usually held up the tealette's hair.
Miku nodded her head, putting her brush down on her desk. "Yeah, I only wear those hair ties on certain days."
"School days and work days, right?"
The teal haired teen hummed in confirmation. "Does my hair look okay?"
Rin glanced up towards Miku's bangs, "Your bangs are a little off, lemme fix them." The blonde reached out her hand, parting the teal hair correctly with a swipe. "There you go."
"Ah, thanks," the tealette spoke, staring at herself in the mirror. It was just herself, no one else. "I was wondering... How old are you?"
"Me?" Rin sat still, unsure of whether to tell her the truth or not. Hesitantly she replied, "I'm a year... younger than you."
Miku swallowed thickly, "How h—how did you, uh, y'know..."
The blonde had a pained expression on her face, but it wasn't available to be shown. "I, um... I messed up. I messed up real bad."
Eyes downcast, Miku added on, "I messed up, too."
"Hey, hey, there's no need to start crying," Rin attempted to comfort Miku with her words once she saw glassy teal orbs.
"Hah, you're right," Miku exhaled deeply, "Today's gonna be a good day." Prepping herself was the first thing on her list, there was no way she was going to see her crying like a baby.
"That's the spirit!" The blonde took Miku's hands in hers, pulling the tealette from her seat. "Now, let's go!"
A laugh came out of her mouth as she was pulled to her feet by the mysterious entity. "We need to go find Meiko-Nee since she's the one driving us!"
"Us? I never said I was going," Rin stated, a bored yet playful look on her face. She just had to mess with the tealette, and seeing the way Miku's face dawned with despair only made her smile bigger.
Lips dipped downwards, Miku whispered, "you're not going?"
"Not going," the blonde replied.
"Really?" The tealette inquired, her fingers twiddling in front of her legs.
"You're stupid, you know that?"
"If I'm stupid you're even stupider, Ri—."
Rin's eyes widened along with Miku's.
"Oh, um—"
"You do realize that 'stupider' isn't grammatically correct, right?" Rin quipped, allowing Miku to regain her composure.
"Haha, yeah..." The older female made an obviously fake laugh.
Rin cringed. "Hey, we need to leave," she said, opening the door, and letting the sunlight filter in through the hallways' windows.
"You're right," making her way out of the room, she was stopped by a hand that latched onto her sleeve.
The blonde had grabbed Miku's sleeve at the last moment. "Cheer up. I don't know why you're suddenly acting all sad, but it needs to stop. You look better when you're happy."
The corners of her lips raised, "Thank you," she took a step out of her room. "I honestly don't know why you still follow me around."
"You'll find out one day, Miku," Rin spoke, her voice nothing more than a light breeze carried away by the wind that escaped into the hallway from the opened windows.
Miku simply kept quiet. She could've agreed to the entity's statement, but she chose to relax in the silence instead. A comfort washed over, and for the first time in a few months, Miku felt a genuine moment of solace within herself. It had been a constant battle of regret and distress, yet she had always hung onto that one strand of hope.
It was a dark red.
Not dark as in evil or anything, but it was of joy and happiness. It was of love.
Miku would see the red strand in her nightmares at times. Hope in a sea of fear, it was almost frightening at how many times she would have this nightmare. But as of late, the nightmare was no longer a nightmare; it was just a regular reoccurring dream.
The thread would feel smooth against the pads of her fingers as they ghosted over the material. It would sometimes bring a sense of security, other times it brought nostalgia.
Lately when she woke up from these dreams, Miku would feel something pressing against her hand. It was warm and full of life, it reminded her of the old days when misery wasn't chasing after her. The warmth against her hand would lull her back to sleep to dream about something more peaceful where she could take comfort in the tranquility.
"Only if you can stand my oddness," Miku replied, wind flowing against her hair as she opened the front door.
Rin snorted, watching the tealette with interest, "oh, been there done that. You're as odd as someone I once knew," she said, actually speaking about the tealette, though she couldn't give her identity away so Rin used 'someone I once knew.'
There was a reason why the blonde wouldn't tell her older friend her true identity. Rin was afraid.
Afraid of hurting Miku.
Miku would probably not take the news well, and would not believe her. Sometimes the truth was better yet untold, the blonde guessed.
"Huh, they must've been pretty weird then," The older girl made a quiet giggle, her lips curling into a small smile. A thought had been prodding at the back of her had these days. I'm getting Deja vu, especially when I called this person... It's just a coincidence, I can't let myself slip again.
Rin gave a wistful grin to the rising sun, "yeah, I hope we can see each other again one day. Anyways, we should go, it probably looks like you're talking to yourself, you weirdo."
The tealette pouted, blood rising to her cheeks from embarrassment of what could happen. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going," she spoke, her eyes searching for Meiko's car. "I hope she's not drunk already."
"I hope you're not drunk since you're talking to yourself," a voice came from behind the two girls.
Snapping around, Miku put on her best smile while laughing, "Meiko-Nee, I would never! I'm just prepping myself, I think."
"You think? You're such an odd child, you know that?"
"Oh, I've been told," Miku replied, heading over to Meiko's car. Unlocking the door, Meiko sat in the drivers seat, and Miku plopped down in the back while Rin piled in unbeknownst to the eldest.
"I'm gonna turn on the radio if that's okay with you," the brunette stated, her fingers already reaching for the dial. Miku gave a silent nod, her favorite past time was listening to music anyways. Turning the knob, a commercial was on, talking about a criminal who had been attacking visitors at a hospital, but Miku payed no heed until a duet between two female singers appeared. Just the first few seconds of the song was enough to make Miku hate it, and the second the singers had begun to release their voice, she wanted to turn the music off.
"Upside down reverse rainbow
While you still are singing
A melody only for you
Makes the world go swinging," both females sang, their voices ringing in all three of the car's passengers' ears. Oddly enough, Meiko let the song play, not turning it off despite Miku's watery eyes.
Miku made a small sniffle, I won't cry, I won't cry. I've come this far, just hearing her sing shouldn't make me feel this way.
The song continued on, "Upside down reverse rainbow
While you still are singing
A melody only for you
Makes the world go swinging," they sang the phrase again.
What Miku expected next did not happen, "If you use the same excuse everytime you'll end up suffocating," something other than the radio emitted such words.
"More fake words don't change any part of your fake melody," Miku finished the phrase, unconsciously allowing herself to sing the song without weeping.
"The sky," both the tealette and the blonde sang.
"Drowns in," Rin added, though she highly doubted that Miku noticed that it would be her from singing a verse.
"Dark clouds," both sang again.
Rin opened her mouth, " stretching over the sun. I will be better than them," she finished.
The two continued to sing the song, "Upside down reverse rainbow
While you still are singing
A melody only for you
Joy for one is ringing."
"If the world changes to the sound of the falling rain outside."
"All of us will turn into yellow and blue specs of dust."
"I said—"
"that I—"
"Made it—"
"into seven different colours. Why is—"
"it different now?"
"I want you to see that you—"
"Don't have your umbrella—"
"with you in the cold rain."
"Upside down reverse rainbow
While you still are singing
A melody only for you
I'm sorry I left you bringing
Upside down reverse rainbow
While you still are singing
A melody only for you
Joy for one is ringing
Upside down reverse rainbow
A melody only for you"
"Enjoyable"
"Sorrowful"
"Happiness"
"Loveless"
"A melody. A melody," the song finished, and the racing of the tealette's heart increases. They were already at the hospital, in a short five minute drive.
"Hey, hey. You've got this," the entity's voice rang in her head.
Getting out of the car, Miku huffed a breath, her determined gaze was pointed at the tall, large, white building that held her dear friend. "You're right, I can do this!" She held her closed hands in fists by her waist, fingernails digging into the pale flesh.
Meiko opted to stay in the car to let Miku have her time with her best friend. "It's room 1227-07," she reminded the tealette before the younger female left the vicinity.
The tealette chanted the room number like a priest would say a mantra to exorcise a demon.
"Are you trying to condemn the people of this hospital to death with that prayer?" Rin inquired, her little joke making the tealette's mood a little bit better.
"Yes, actually," Miku snickered, "don't you know me? I am obviously doing just that."
The two stood at the beginning of an extensive hallway, that seemed to endlessly twist in the tealette's vision. The clacking of her shoes only serve as a reminder that she was moving forward towards the end of the drawn out hallway. The last door was their entrance.
However, instead of entering, Miku stood with her eyes closed. Hand on the door knob, her forehead rested against the cold wood.
Behind this door, she's there. Behind this door, is the sight of something that will make my heart break.
Should I press on? Or continue to wallow in the past?
"Aren't you going to enter?"
Exhaling a deep breath that had been held inside, Miku slowly turned the knob, pressing against the door with the slightest touch.
The room was pure white, not a speck of dust was to be found. It was furnished with everything a person could ever need, if they were awake to need them.
In the corner, under the piles of wool blankets was a mop of blonde hair.
Her breath stopped.
The sound of the ticking clock droned on in the background, and her frontal lobe's struggling sense of reason attempted to move forward from her frozen place in time. One foot at a time, harrowed feelings begin to flood her barely held together heart. The tealette's knees buckled out from under her, "Hey! Careful, you don't want to hurt yourself."
In between Rin's arms was Miku's quivering body. "I'm scared," she mumbled, her voice so low and quiet that the blonde could scarcely hear what she said.
"What are you scared of, Miku?" Kneeling on the floor, the younger teen whispered in the other's ears, hugging the girl from behind with a firm grip.
The tealette's gaze was pointed towards the bed, where over grown blonde hair trickled out from under the sheets. "I'm afraid of what I've done. I can't face her no matter how hard I try."
Rin's lips curl into a small frown, "you can't let the past hold you back. Time stops for no one, and it'll leave you behind if you can't cut off the chains that hold you in the early days."
"If I can't face my regrets alone, then what am I supposed to do?" With a hand raised to her heart, she can feel the warmth of another envelope her even tighter, closer.
"Who said you have to do it alone? You may have to face your problems, but I'll be at your side," —forever, the blonde rested her head on Miku's shoulder.
The swirling doubt inside of Miku's mind continued to plunge deeper into her heart.
It's her isn't it?
No, it isn't. If it was, I'm sure she'd tell me as soon as possible.
Then why does this entity continue to follow you around like she did?
I don't know.
Why does she continue to worry and fret over you?
I don't know.
Why does she sing like her? And even sound like her?
I—I don't know...
Let's continue to play this game of repression, why don't we? It's only a matter of time to see who gets hurt in the end.
The arguing voice in her head disappeared on a disturbing note, but the tealette was brought back by the voice of her newest friend. "Here, let's stand up, and face it together."
Brought to her feet, Miku's eyes landed on her best friend's face. With her mouth slightly opened, she struggled to get air.
The room was filled with an eerie, unsettling emptiness so deep that she could easily drown.
The blonde's face was so pale, she was almost a life like doll, sleeping in the bed during the night after play time was over. Miku reached out a hand to her golden locks of hair. Her fingers stop an inch short, agonizingly reminding her of the guilt stored within the closed doors of her heart. Yet, the warmth of a hand on her back, brought Miku to continue on.
Soft strands press against her skin, and the tealette tentatively brushed the curls to the side, revealing more of Rin's face. She looked so pale, so frail, fragile.
Miku's hand slid downwards, holding the unconscious blonde's cheek. She was warm, but it felt different. It was like it was just her body, just an empty case left to rot.
The tealette's finger ran along Rin's lips, they're soft, colorless. With a hefty sigh, Miku pulled up a chair from the side to the edge of the bed. Once she's finished, she moved the blankets, fishing out Rin's left hand to hold. Rin's fingers were bony and slim, a sign of weight loss. She was delicate, a flower barely standing after being crushed by someone's shoe. A frown tugged at Miku's failing-to-keep-her-composure expression. "Hey," she whispered lowly. "It's me, your" —best friend... Does she still consider me her best friend after what I did? "—Miku. It's me, Miku."
The tealette struggled to take another breath, the words she wanted to say caught in her throat. Her invisible friend stayed quiet.
"How long has it been? Four months, I think..." She paused, "I'm a terrible friend, aren't I? Not even visiting you once in four months." Miku's throat began to constrict, causing her choke, water was already welling up in her eyes. I'm going to cry. I'm going to cry. "I'm so sorry."
And the tears had begun to fall.
Rin's heart officially hurt more than it ever did before.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. It hurts, my heart it hurts. It really does," a sharp intake of air interrupted. She's crying and the tears show no sign of stopping anytime soon.
Having enough of seeing her best friend cry, Rin decided to speak up. "Miku, your friend... She—She loves you with all her heart. That I can tell."
The tealette's face scrunched up, "and how do you know this?" She questioned not believing a single word. It's her, I know it's her,
but I don't want to believe it.
"Just listen to me. Your friend doesn't want you to regret what happened. She knows it's not your fault and that you're blaming yourself for something that you weren't in control of," the invisible blonde explained, her hand placed over her shattered heart. "She—She loves you very much."
Miku grit her teeth, trying to suppress the feelings inside her heart and the thoughts of her mind. A name is at the tip of her tongue. She can't say it. It won't come out. "R—R," she began to try to articulate it.
"—R?" The entity questioned.
"I know—I know that it's..." Miku held back a sob.
"You know what, Miku?" Rin said ever so softly.
The tealette looked up at the girl on the bed, "I know that it's you, Rin."
At that very moment that Miku had fumbled out Rin's name, the comatosed girl began to heave. Rin felt a burning sensation in her heart, her mind went numb, and she soon succumbed to the darkness. Seeing the girl on the bed, and no longer hearing the voice of Rin, Miku's heart began to beat hard. "Rin?"
The girl on the bed's chest surged forward again.
"Hey, Rin!" The name becoming more and more familiar on her tongue each time she said it.
Rin began to sputter, coughing and hacking. Her eyes opened, wide and afraid. Her hands clawed at her throat, acting as if something was causing her to choke. "He—lp," she was able to let out in a hoarse voice.
"Rin!" Miku exclaimed, jumping out of the chair and rushing to her friend's side. Immediately, Miku knew the girl was choking, and wrapped her arms around Rin's waist. Pulling Rin against her, it caused her to violently cough out the object that was in her throat.
It was a pure white feather.
Gasping for air, Rin dropped her head, resting her chin against her rising chest. "Miku... You did it."
Wide eyes, Miku spoke, "did what?"
"You set me free. That was what all you had to do. All you had to do was call my name. Now I realized that," The blonde girl said, her voice still gruff.
"Me? Really?" The tealette shook her head, "that couldnt possibly be the reason why you woke up."
Rin smiled, her eyes becoming a little bit wet, "It was. I know it."
Miku held Rin in her arms, resting her head on Rin's shoulder. There were so many words she wanted to say, but they wouldnt leave her throat.
Rin gulped down a pool of saliva that had formed inside her mouth. Before she knew it tears began to skim down her cheeks. "W—Why am I crying?" Her fingers reached up to touch the liquid.
Placing both hands on Rin's shoulders, Miku faced Rin straightforward. "Rin, I have something to tell you. And it's very serious."
Rin raised an eyebrow, unsure of what the older teen was about to say.
Miku raised both her hands to Rin's face and thumbed away the tears. "I've been wanting to tell you this for days, for months, no, for years." Miku paused, looking the younger teen right in the eye and cerulean met teal. "I want to tell you this. And even if you don't feel the same way, I still want to tell you because I have to get this off of my chest."
The blonde's eyes opened.
Miku started, "I love you, R—," she was cut off by something that covered her mouth.
Rin had pressed her lips against Miku's, intertwining their fingers. That moment when their lips connected had felt like hours, they both began to lose their breath. Backing off, Rin took a deep breath, while Miku held a red face, heavily breathing.
"Does this mea—" Their lips were connected once more, the feeling of Rin's lips against hers felt like heaven. It wasn't hard, yet it wasn't soft at the same time. It felt just right, as if they were just meant for each other. The blonde released the tealette.
"I love you," she paused before resuming, "I love you," Rin spoke with confidence.
Miku pressed their foreheads together, "I love you. More than you could ever think."
They both shared a sweet smile that neither of them would forget. Then came the awkward silence. "So— Um... Does this mean that we're together?"
The tealette awkwardly nodded, "Hey... Do you think that we could y'know... again?" Miku mentally slapped herself, she should just be honest with what she wants.
However, Rin knew exactly what Miku wanted. Their lips touched once more, and they both basked in each others warmth, holding their bodies close together.
Click
What. The two broke apart before turning to the door to the hospital room. It was Meiko, Kaito, and Len, all standing there with giant smirks on their face. They all had their individual phones out and had snapped a picture of them kissing.
"What the heck guys! How long have y'all been here!?" Rin exclaimed, her face reddening.
"Long enough," Len replied.
"Awww you two looked so cute kissing each other! Why don't you do it again, my photo was blurry!" Meiko requested, her eyes holding an impish glint.
Miku blushed heavily, while Rin took a deep breath to calm herself. "Hey, Miku."
"Yes, Rin?" the tealette turned around.
"I love you!" Their faces met by their lips for another time.
Miku smiled, "I love you, too, Rin."
Fin.
I finally finished it after a long time! I hope that y'all had fun reading this story while it lasted. I'm sorry that it was so short! But thankfully I was at least able to finish it!
