The pounding rain continued unabated over her prone form.
"You've done it," she told herself, "now for God's sake, get home before anyone notices."
She slowly-
"...Eli?"
Was she hearing things?
"Eli, what the hell are you doing out here?"
A moment passed as Eli attempted in vain to collect herself.
"I should be asking you the same," she finally replied.
Nico was standing over her, equally soaked, and without a trace of her usual pomp. She chose to answer rather than endure another impasse, "I just needed to, you know," she sniffled, "get away from it all and think about some stuff."
"You too?" a third voice quietly added. The pair looked back to find Nozomi standing behind them, two umbrellas in hand.
Thunder echoed across the field as the three waited, at a loss for words. Nico habitually rubbed at her eyes while Eli hadn't even the presence of mind to stop herself from slipping back down to the drenched Earth. Nozomi silently closed the distance to them and offered Nico an umbrella.
"You should take better care of yourself Nico," she said, shooting the girl a knowing look as she sniffled once more, "you seem to be getting a cold."
Pride spared, the smaller girl murmured a thanks before replying, "Shouldn't you be telling that to the girl lying in the mud?"
"What are you doing Eli?"
The former student council president looked up at her.
"I just...came to get away from it all and clear my mind."
A silent understanding was reached between the three.
"Something about being out in the rain is just extremely right for that, isn't it?" Nozomi mused.
Eli finally rose to her feet and the three stared at each other for an endless moment before both former student council members turned towards their homes.
"I'll see you two tomorrow, then," Eli said, more for herself than the others.
They began to leave.
"Wait!" Nico's sudden cry shattered the austere weight of words unsaid. "You expect me to just walk away like this never happened? You think I'm gonna pretend that none of us are out here, in this godforsaken weather, because we have something important on our minds?"
The outburst gave the other two pause, and they turned to watch Nico as she spat, "I'm wandering around out here because I can't sleep while I'm worried sick about where the hell my life will go once we graduate. There, I said it."
"You as well?" Nozomi asked, quiet and delicate, as though speaking something forbidden.
Eli, too, rejoined the group, "I've been trying hard not to think about it."
"And it hasn't been working for you either, has it?" Nico inquired, eyes downcast.
Her classmates both looked away, wordlessly answering.
Nozomi responded in turn after another flicker of lightning, "It's terrible, isn't it? Like watching the night fall, knowing you're about to tumble into the unknown."
"I don't know if I'm ready to leave," Eli murmured, "not just for where we're going, but because of what we're leaving behind. It's only been three years, but the school feels like a home to me now. To think - and I don't blame Honoka, Umi and Kotori for this - but to think we're just going to be replaced, that it'll be as though we were never even there..."
"...Makes you feel like we were meant for something more," Nozomi continued, before adding, "and it's not just about the student council, is it?"
"Makes you feel like μ's should be meant for something more," Nico finished.
And there it was. The one feeling they had all been dancing around was out in the open, and the conversation lapsed once more.
Eli broke the silence, "Indeed. I've been wondering if we'll go like we did from the council."
μ's as a group, and their friendships within the group were intertwined so tightly as to be nearly indistinguishable and inseparable.
"I don't even wanna imagine a world where we just fade away, where our name can't make anyone smile anymore. It's almost worse than never being something to begin with," Nico muttered, futilely combing through her soaked hair with her fingers.
"And I can hardly bear to imagine one where all the others can say about us is, 'Who? Oh! Oh yes, them.'"
Nozomi's shoulders began to shake the barest amount as waves of painful nostalgia crashed over her. In solidarity, the other two took up places at her sides. Together, the trio moved to the crest of the slick hill for the marginal protection afforded by the oak atop it. It seemed that the worst of the storm had passed; the lightning had withdrawn and the force of the rainfall was gradually descending.
"Nico, what happens when an idol retires?" Eli asked, staring out.
The question hung in the air a moment as they watched the rain.
"Hm? Well, there's normally a huge send off event meant to recall all their best moments, which all their fans and teammates show up to. After that they either go through with a marriage, since a relationship is a common reason for an idol to retire, or they keep working, but no longer under their idol persona." She paused, eyebrows knit, before adding, "Sometimes it's actually for the best; if the retirement is on good terms, they can continue their work as a musician, but without the pressure, and with all their connections intact."
"For the best...?" Eli whispered.
"So really," Nozomi said, "it can be more of a symbolic ending than a true one."
"Almost more like a new beginning than an end," Nico agreed.
Her spiritually-inclined classmate breathed deeply of the petrichor and looked out over the dwindling storm.
When it was put that way, she thought, it didn't hurt as much.
"Really, what's going to change once we're gone?"
The other two simply stared in confusion.
She pulled out her cellphone, "We'll be going separate ways from the others, and maybe even from each other, but do we really have to let go? Does the need to work harder to keep out relationships mean we should give them up? Hell no!" Nozomi was shouting uncharacteristically, perhaps channelling a small part of that very same zeal with which Honoka propelled the group. "The end of us doesn't have to be the end of us, nor should it be."
Now Nico, too, was gripped by the infectious energy, "You're right, damn right! Leaving the stage only means we're eligible to enter the hall of fame."
With tears in her eyes, Eli silently pulled the pair closer to her. They stayed like that for longer than any of them could tell and watched as the storm finally burnt itself out. Only sparse, gentle, droplets still fell by the time she had composed herself to utter, "Just promise me we'll always stay close."
After a round of tearful agreements and hugs, the trio parted ways.
"You have school today," she told herself, "you're just causing yourself grief."
Well, perhaps it really was going to be more trouble than it was worth; the clouds had just barely begun to part, after all.
She slowly-
"...Eli?"
Was she hearing things?
"Eli, what the hell are you doing out here?"
A moment passed as Eli attempted in vain to collect herself.
"I should be asking you the same," she finally replied.
Nico was standing over her, staring, bleary-eyed, owing to both the recent late night and current early hour. She chose to answer rather than endure another impasse, "Last night helped," she yawned, "but it definitely did not help me sleep."
"Which is why I thought I might as well come back to watch the sunrise," a third voice quietly added. The pair looked back to find Nozomi standing behind them, holding a miraculously still-steaming mug of tea. "I expected to be alone, though. It's nice to see that we're all so, adamant, shall we say, on that promise," she giggled.
"Well, I guess there are worse things than being stuck with you dorks," Nico replied, warm smile letting slip the joy behind those words.
Finally, Eli added, "...I wouldn't have it any other-"
"Oh. Look."
"What-? Oh."
The trio gathered close, hands linked. The sun was beginning to rise, splintering the remaining clouds, light spilling down like liquid gold.
Finally at peace, they faced the brave new day.
A/N: And there it is. Thank you all for reading this; I hope you enjoyed it. If you have something to say, please review, or even message me, if need be.
It still amazes me to think that the idea I had regarding Eli a few months ago turned into this. I'm glad, however, that the ideas for this ending did come to me; it's nice to write something happier for for once.