A/N: Hey so here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. My science class is done now and I did pretty well so I'm happy. Now I lose my job on Wed when I switch schools so yay for going broke? I have an interview tomorrow, so I guess we will see. Anyways that is just an update from me, I may not be posting for another week or so, I'm going ot try and get as many hours as I can this week.
As always, I hope you enjoy the story!
Rei took a deep breath as she shut Yoshino's bedroom door behind her and watched Yoshino sit down on the side of her bed. Never before had she felt awkward being in this room until now, it was an unwelcome feeling.
Yoshino glanced to her computer quickly to make sure the picture she was looking at of them was gone, which it was. "So what is it that you want?" Yoshino asked as Rei frowned a little.
"I know you want nothing to do with me, but hear me out." Rei said as Yoshino sighed at her. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about what you said. I want to hear it again." Rei continued as Yoshino raised an eyebrow curiously at her.
"There is no need for me to repeat myself." Yoshino replied as Rei frowned a little and looked to Yoshino's dresser where a picture of her and Yoshino sat.
"Fine, but at least tell me if it is the truth." Rei asked as Yoshino looked to her bedroom floor. What she was about to say was going to hurt.
"Why? So you can tell my parents like Youko told Sachiko's?" Yoshino asked bluntly as Rei remained silent for a moment. The word about that happening had gotten around quite well.
". . .Yoshino, I am not going to tell anyone." Rei reassured her calmly as Yoshino raised her head and looked at her. Rei's tone was soothing and soft which was not what Yoshino was expecting. "I didn't come here to insult you. I came here for peace of mind."
"Peace of mind?" Yoshino asked confused as Rei nodded and leaned her head back against Yoshino's bedroom door for a moment.
"I don't want to lose you, Yoshino. I feel comfortable when you're around, like everything is in place. I've had trouble focusing and or caring about things since you. . . Since I turned my back on you and our friends." Rei said carefully treading on dangerous territory to make her point.
"So what do you want then?" Yoshino asked as Rei smiled and went over to her dresser to grab the photo.
"This is what I want." Rei said holding the picture up of them with sitting together at the pool they had gone to the year prior. "This is all I've ever wanted."
"I don't know what you think we had there, but I thought I did until just recently."
Rei sighed as she glanced to the photo and looked back to Yoshino. "The trust is...I dont' know what we had their either, but I'm beginning to understand what I hoped it was."
"So you're confessing?" Yoshino asked as Rei paused for a moment, not sure how to answer.
"I don't think so. . . I guess what I'm trying to say, is that. . . If it's you. . ."
"Leave." Yoshino said as she pointed to her door, which Rei looked at kind of surprised. "You still don't get it. If you can't accept lesbianism you can't claim to have feelings for me and I would like if you didn't. You are not a lesbian and don't like them."
"Yoshino, I. . ." Rei trailed off as Yoshino jumped to her feet and looked at her in the eyes with tears in her own.
"You can't just toy with my feelings like this. You don't get how much I have always loved you and how much it hurt when you showed me your true feelings." Yoshino said as Rei pulled her close suddenly and placed her lips against her own. The kiss was a lifeless plea from Rei, that unfortunately was not returned.
"Leave." Yoshino muttered after the kiss, something she never thought she could do.
-X-X-
"Three please." Sei said as she gave the money to the person on the cash register. As the person behind the counter was counting her change she glanced over her shoulder and saw Youko with her head down at a nearby table.
"Your food will be out to your table soon." The clerk said as she handed Sei the change and a cup.
Sei just smiled in response before going over an filling the cup with water before making her way back to the table. "Here, drink this." Sei said as she handed the cup to Youko who just raised her head a little and took the drink. She hadn't had anything to drink in awhile either.
Sei just simply watched as Youko drank the water in front of her like her life depended on it. She couldn't help but reach a hand out and feel Youko's forehead which caused the girl to look up at her kind of surprised. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were feeling alright. You drank that like you haven't had a drink for a day or two." Sei said as Youko's eyes looked away from Sei in a manner that told her she was hiding something.
"You have been taking care of yourself?" Sei followed up as Youko shrugged.
"I have been. . . I just haven't really had an appetite for the past day or so." Youko answered as Sei sighed and gave her a look that said she was in trouble. That or was it that Sei was not pleased with the answer she gave her? "Why does it matter to you?"
"Because I care for you." Sei replied quickly as Youko went silent for a moment, her mind in a twist. Did Sei really just say that? She couldn't mean it.
"H-How can you still say that after what I said to you?" Youko asked a bit confused after a minutes silence to which Sei smiled.
"What you said to me hurt, I won't lie." Sei replied as she waited for Youko to look up to her a bit more. "I guess you could say that I wasn't going to give up on you."
"But why. . .?" Youko asked almost desperately as she felt tears coming again, thankfully she could force them down. She had no idea why she wanted to cry right now.
Sei paused for a moment before putting on a more thoughtful but serious look and tapping her finger on the table. "You might hate me for this." She said as Youko shook her head. ". . .I think it's because I know what you are going through." Sei said as Youko raised an eyebrow curiously. "I think you are jealous of Sachiko and Yumi. . . Not only that but you're taking it out on me for being oblivious."
"Sei. . ."
"No," Sei said with a shake of her head and a sigh. "I deserve it, I deserve it all. You have been my best friend for as long as I can remember, but I never saw it. I was also so wrapped up in getting out of the attentions eye and dealing with my own problems that I never noticed you. I never noticed that you were sitting with open arms trying to help me."
Youko sat silent as she stared at the table for a moment feeling her heart weigh heavy from the truth in Sei's words. She also remembers the terrible things she did though.
"You can't say that fully. I also remember telling you to go straight." Youko said as Sei smiled at her.
"You did, but I don't think it was because you hate lesbians. I think it was because you saw how much I was hurting and thought it the only way out for me." Sei said as she rested her head in her hand just as a waiter came by and placed their food on the table.
"I can't believe that." Youko said as she put her head down.
"Do you like me?" Sei asked as Youko lifted her head slightly and nodded. "I mean, do you really like me?" Sei continued as Youko hesitated for a moment before nodding again. "Then I think it's possible that a move like that was your first signs of caring for me. Seeing Sachiko and Yumi together must have flared a wrathful jealousy in you. I'm guessing you weren't even sure why you felt the way you were."
"H-How do you know all this?" Youko asked curiously as Sei smiled and grabbed one of the noodle take outs she had ordered.
"What you told me that day, that you hate me for not paying attention." Sei said as she placed the take out on the table and opened it. "It hit me like a train and opened my eyes, I finally started paying attention. I started to see a conflicted girl that seemed cold and judgmental on the outside, but possibly confused and screaming for help on the inside. I just wish it wouldn't have taken me until then to realize it."
"It's not your fault. I always pushed you to be someone you weren't. I was probably the last person you would expect of this." Youko said as Sei pushed the noodles towards her.
"Yes, but I think a lot of pain could have been saved if I had realized sooner." Sei said as Youko glanced down to the noodles. "Now eat up, I heard your stomach growling on the way here."
"I-I can't, I mean I'm only being a burden." Youko said as Sei insisted by holding the chopsticks closer to her face. Youko finally gave in and grabbed them making Sei smile as she grabbed her own noodles.
"Good now eat up and we can go back to my place." Sei said as Youko glanced to the clock only to see Sei pull out her cellphone. "Your parents already know you are spending the night."
Youko finally smiled a little as she looked down to her food. "Thank you and I am truly sorry for everything that has happened in the past few days."
"No need to apologize, the mixed emotions are very hard to deal with and accept at first." Sei said as Youko thought about for a second before taking a bite of her food. She had a feeling that things were going to change soon, but she wasn't sure how.
The next morning
Yumi moved her left shoulder a little as a small displeased grunt escaped her. She hated being disturbed when sleeping, but soon her disturbance was back. This time her eyebrows moved from discomfort as she moved her head away a little. The intrusion didn't stop there though as she felt something on her ear and groaned a bit louder before trying to push whatever it was away. What she got though was a loud gasp that instantly opened her eyes as she glanced over and saw her hand firmly against Sachiko's breast.
Yumi blinked once or twice before pulling her hand away and looking to Sachiko's face that held a very large blush. "S-Sorry." Yumi said as Sachiko shook her head as if it was no big deal. She was wearing pajamas after all, but the touch still made her shiver.
"I should be the sorry one, I was playing with your hair while you slept." Sachiko said as Yumi raised her eyebrow curiously which caused Sachiko's blush to deepen. "You're really cute when you sleep, I couldn't resist."
Yumi blushed this time though it was only faint as a smile made it onto her face. "I love you." Yumi said causing Sachiko to raise an eyebrow at Yumi who just smiled this time. "I just really like when you say things like that, it makes me happy."
"Well, I love you too." Sachiko replied with a smile before leaning in and giving Yumi a kiss just a knock on the door came. Both Sachiko and Yumi's eyes went wide quick as Sachiko scrambled to get out of Yumi's bed.
When Yumi's mother opened the door a moment later she saw Sachiko on the floor next to Yumi's bed. The issue was that the blanket was still clung to the bed and her pillow was right next to Yumi's.
"Busted." Yumi's mother said as Sachiko glanced to Yumi and sighed.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep, it was my idea." Sachiko said as Yumi's mother smiled at her to relieve her worries.
"It's no problem, I was just pointing out that I know you were there. You both are well behaved and have already taken that next step anyways. Besides if that was to happen, I doubt you would pick here." Mrs Fukuzawa explained as both Sachiko and Yumi just nodded as casually as can be.
"That isn't what we were doing, so you don't have to worry." Yumi said as her glanced from Sachiko to her.
"Oh, I know dear, but they say that teenagers think about that stuff all the time. It would only be normal if you two were to-"
"Mom!" Yumi interrupted in embarrassment with a red face.
"Alright, I get it, I'm just saying that even though you are both attracted to one another in that way, that I don't think either of you would do that here in your room." Mrs Fukuzawa summarized as both girls looked away from her blushing, which caused Mrs Fukuzawa to chuckle. "You are both so cute shying around talk of being together."
"Mooom. . ." Yumi pouted as her mother put her hands up in surrender.
"Alright, alright, I'll just grab the laundry that I came for and leave you two be." She said as she grabbed what she was looking for and made it out of the room.
"You're mother is very open with her thoughts." Sachiko noted as Yumi sighed and laid back on the bed.
"She is worse than Yuuki sometimes." Yumi sighed which got a chuckle out of Sachiko who climbed back into bed with Yumi.
"You should be happy about that." Sachiko said as Yumi glanced to her, to see Sachiko smile even though she had a somewhat sad look in her eyes. "I mean, I haven't even spoken with my mother in a day or two."
"Well as long as she didn't scare you away." Yumi replied feeling terrible about what Sachiko just told her.
"Nope, there is nothing that will scare me away from you." Sachiko smiled causing Yumi to smile too. "Why don't we get up though, if you have time today, I think I know something we can do."
"I have time, today. . . I mean, I. . After what we did yesterday, I just want to be with you more. . ." Yumi said with a small shrug after Sachiko had climbed out of bed.
"I'm glad you feel the same way I do." Sachiko replied with an even brighter smile than before. "Now come on I'll call my driver."