Lonely No More
by Cyberchao X

Chapter 41

Disclaimer: The standard. Don't own…certain characters and themes.

A/N: Where did all of my buffer go?

*June*

"Thanks for coming again today," Arisa said.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Suki asked.

"I don't know, maybe a jealous girlfriend? Seriously, Katsu-chan is crazy for not keeping a better grip on you."

"Well, don't you have your own girlfriend to worry about?"

"…That obvious?"

"No way. You're not together anymore?"

"Um…technically we sort of still are, but…in the public eye, I'm still the best friend, not the girlfriend, and…" Arisa trailed off.

"How is that different than the way we were?"

"It isn't. I'm just…more jealous. I'm sorry, Suki-tan, it's not that you didn't mean as much to me; it's just…"

"Don't try to be diplomatic about it. I know that it'll never be the same. You've known Suzuka-chan for so much longer. I'm not jealous. Besides, I've got Katsura…for now, anyway."

"So then getting back together is out of the question?"

"I thought Suzuka was the one you really wanted." Arisa responded by taking Suki into an embrace and kissing her. "Yeah, I love you too…always will. But I have to at least try to make things work with Katsu-tan…and you and Suzuka-chan really do belong together."

"I hope you're right."

"You're not really worried that you'll lose out to a man, are you?"

"Well, that's one possibility…but there's also the chance that our friends aren't gone for good."

"Oh. Right." Suki laughed nervously.

"Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."

"No, I acted suspiciously but managed to get through it without spilling the beans. Barely. It probably helps that you've barely mentioned the three of them to Katsu-tan."

"You're really horrible at keeping secrets, aren't you?"

"Yeah…I'm not a good liar."

Much to Arisa's surprise, Suzuka was waiting for her when she got home. "S-Suzu-chan?"

"Geez, don't act so embarrassed. I mean, yeah, your parents already know that you're a lesbian and that we're more than just friends, but a lot of people would react oddly to it."

"You still haven't told your parents that you're bisexual? And Farin-san hasn't spilled the beans yet either?" Suzuka shook her head. "So then, is this visit just as a 'best friend'?"

"Of course not. Keeping up appearances has limited our time together, and, well…" Now Suzuka was the one blushing.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that. I…really thought I might be losing you."

"Arisa, you'll never lose me."

"I know. I meant—"

"I know what you meant. I meant the same thing. Arisa, I love you."

CCX: Words cannot do this scene proper justice. Well, maybe someone's can, but mine can't. There just isn't much dialogue and a lot of meaningful facial expressions.

"Suzuka, I—"

"I feel kind of bad, actually. I still haven't really gotten a chance to sate my curiosity, and yet…by the time Dylan-san is ready, you and I could be…well…I shouldn't really be thinking about that. We're too young. And yet…I can't stop."

"…Is that what you think I want to hear?"

"Arisa?"

"I don't believe you. You can't possibly be thinking about that when you're still too embarrassed to tell your own parents that you're bisexual."

"…I know. It's…a process. I may have exaggerated exactly how much I've been thinking about it, but…I have. I'm not planning to stay in the closet forever."

"…We need to find you someone without a stigma about sex."

"Isn't that you?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Until you get that chance, I don't think you'll be able to admit that it isn't right for you."

"And what if it is right for me? What would you do then?"

"…Probably get back together with Suki-tan. She's trying to hold onto Katsu-chan, but I can tell that she doesn't think she'll be able."

"Well, I guess that's a pretty good fallback position."

"I'd rather have you."

"I know." She kissed Arisa.

CCX: Yyyyyeah…that was definitely getting dangerously close to being an overly abrupt ending. I'm kind of in a rut right now in that I did some things to help add depth to the story and prolong it, only now I have no idea how to get back to the endgame.

(So of course this means that our next cut will take us away from the canon characters completely)

"Wow. You look dynamite."

"I'm so glad you approve. Sakura thought you might think I was trying to 'go too fast' again. Oh, wait…that wasn't the part that she was concerned about…" Miki blushed.

"What's too fast? You look like a teenager. Which you are," Izei said.

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts." An accidental bilingual pun as Izei subconsciously groped Miki before moving his hand somewhere more innocuous. "Yeah, maybe you don't quite look like you'll be 17 in a couple of months, but you do look like a teenager."

Miki blushed again before recovering. "You're just saying that because I piqued your curiosity about just what else it was that I bought."

Izei blushed back. "That's…that's not…I wasn't even…"

"Glad to hear it. I wouldn't mind playing hard-to-get for once." And then she spun around purposefully, intentionally letting a bra strap slip into view. Teasing Izei was so much fun.

"Okay, this boy ban is really starting to get on my nerves," Katsura said. "And I think my parents are still a bit suspicious. It could get in the way of us."

"They won't let you spend the night away from home even at a friend's house?" Suki asked.

"It's not that they won't, unconditionally. It's that they plan to check in with the parents of whoever's house I'm staying at."

"Then we'll have to not spend the night together, or rather, to be platonic if we do."

"You and I both know that we're incapable of being platonic together."

"Okay, yeah, you're right."

"I might be able to get away with a little more leniency at Hanna's house."

"The fact that she has older brothers isn't a problem?"

"Hanna-chan's my best friend. I was probably the first person she told when Atsuya-san came out to his parents. That was pretty much my first exposure to the concept of homosexuality. So, yeah, they're in the loop on that one. And Ryo-san is away at university, not to mention old enough to probably be considered a 'man' rather than a 'boy'."

"Good point. Six years is a bit much at this age."

"But I wouldn't want to do that to Hanna-chan anyway."

"She puts up with us the rest of the time."

"…Oh, right. Yeah, I guess there's that."

"You were thinking about trying to break the boy ban."

"…Yeah. Well, it's not like I could really use Hanna-chan for this one anyway."

"…Wait. Don't tell me you already have something vaguely resembling a boyfriend."

"We're…just friends."

"Your face says otherwise."

"We are! But yeah, I like him. That's just between us, though, okay?"

"I'd force you to bribe me with sexual favors, but I don't even know who this boy is."

"…Right. Thanks. You'll get your bribe regardless."

CCX: It amazes me just how much I've developed. Back in the Dream era, five pages was considered long for a chapter, yet despite being on the fifth page, this one is considered "unbearably short", weighing in at less than half the length of the "average" chapter of Lonely No More. But a chapter's a chapter, and…ah, who are we kidding, that's a horrible place to end a chapter!

"I…I know you have your reasons for wanting to go slow. I respect those reasons, admire them, even. But I'm really in love with Arisa-chan, enough to be dreaming about spending my life with her. And yet I can't even work up the courage to come out publicly. Ari-chan thinks that the fact that I've yet to properly sate my curiosity is what's holding me back from coming out, so unless you'd be willing to step up, we're going to have to go our separate ways."

*BEEP!*

"And I know it was completely chickenshit—[chickenshit]—I hope I used that correctly—that it was a complete chickenshit move to call you at a time when I was absolutely positive you wouldn't answer, but I wanted to say everything I had to say without interruption, and I wanted to make sure you were the only one who heard it, and of course if we do break up, no one can know the real reason why… I guess I did it this way to make the break-up easier. Maybe we can at least pretend to hate each other. Though of course, I'd rather our relationship just get stronger…"

CCX: That's more like it. Until next time!