Lonely No More
by Cyberchao X

Chapter 48

Disclaimer: The usual.

*Christmas*

"Merry Christmas, Suki." Arisa attempted to greet Suki with a kiss on the lips, only to be surprised to find that it had been diverted. "Wait, there's someone not in on the masquerade watching us?" she whispered.

"Kasuka-chan."

"Your ex? No, wrong honorific…" (CCX: I could've sworn I'd explicitly stated that they broke up last chapter, but I can't find where. But yeah, Suzuka and Dylan aren't the only couple that broke up offscreen between Chapters 46 and 47.)

"Younger sister. Natsu-chan's best friend."

"Small world."

"That's what I said when I found out." Suki took the initiative with greeting Suzuka so she wouldn't have to go dodging again.

"Ah, Kuwata-san!"

"Er, yes, Aoba-san?"

"I was just wondering how your class did on the Christmas food drive. Ours kind of sucked…"

"…You're talking student council business at a party?"

"…Yes?"

"…I'm walking away." Which was exactly what the plan called for. "Ah, beg your pardon…oh, it's you, Watagami-chan."

"Yeah. Funny you two running into each other here," Katsura answered for her, pointing upwards.

"…Given your current status, I'm surprised your parents even allowed you to put mistletoe up. Also, fat chance."

"Like I'd want to kiss you," Hanna replied. "I've been set up."

"As have I, and I'm a bit surprised by whom by." (CCX: I think that's better than "at by whom". The problem with that sentence is that "by" is both the proper word to succeed "surprised" and the proper word to precede "whom", but unlike "that" or "had", it's not a word that you can repeat twice in a grammatically correct way.)

"I knew it. She's been denying it for awhile, but I knew."

"I think you misunderstood me. There has never been anything romantic going on between myself and Katsura-san. That said, unlike you, I consider her a friend."

"I am your friend. Both of you. And friends look out for their friends' best interests."

"…We're never going to be a couple," both said in unison.

"Aw, but you make such a cute one."

They both walked off in opposite directions.

"If you're going to look like that in a couple of years, promise I can at least be your winggirl and pick up on your leftovers," Kasumi said.

"What?"

"Your sister. Seriously, if I were into girls I'd probably fall for her."

"She certainly does pull out all the stops at this time of year. Though last year she wasn't banned from dating so she had more reason to dress up," Natsume conceded, though privately she knew that the only person Katsura was really trying to impress wasn't "off-limits" at all—though that wouldn't hold if their parents ever found out that Katsura swung both ways. "That said, I can't foresee our roles being reversed anytime soon."

"You can't foresee anything. Yeah, I may be the popular one now, but there's no way of knowing who puberty will decide to bless."

Natsume giggled. "I don't think puberty has anything to do with Neesan's ability to be stunning. Her two best friends are Hanna-chan and Suki-neesama."

"Both of whom have boobs as big as my head."

This made Natsume laugh even harder. "Well, not quite that big…but pretty close."

"You don't think both boobs put together would be bigger than my head on either one of them?"

"Oh. Both put together. That's different. Yeah, totally."

CCX: Eh, I'm running out of ideas for the Christmas party, especially since most of the romantic stuff can't happen with Katsura as the party hostess. Which means…

*New Year's Eve—Tsukimura residence*

"Hmm? A newcomer to our group? Or is this just some classmate of yours whom I've forgotten?" Arisa asked.

"The former. Though I'm still a bit surprised that Kanna-chan was bold enough to bring her."

"Hey, it's the least I could do. After all, my best friend is making her big announcement tonight; I can't just hide my girlfriend away. …Though I think I'll still try to duck out of sight before kissing her."

"That's no good. If you're 'supporting me' like you say you are, you have to be there at midnight."

"What am I missing here?" Rika asked.

"Suzuka-chan is going to very deliberately kiss Arisa at the stroke of midnight. Like you—and to an extent, me, but I had been rumored to be a lesbian for awhile whereas the most Suzuka has had was some vague rumors of bisexuality—she's not out of the closet. And also like you but not like me, she hasn't come out yet to her family."

"Which, seeing as how this is her house, would also be changing when she takes that action," Rika concluded. "That's pretty gutsy, coming out to your family and your friends at the same time, and with actions rather than words at that." She smiled. "I think I can wait for a kiss from you. I wouldn't want to miss that."

"How about you stock up now?" Kanna kissed her.

"Eh? I kind of expected to be the second or third guest to arrive, at least among the students."

"You are the third," Suzuka told Suki, "Piyori-chan's with Kanna-chan."

"Are you from out of town?"

"Nope; just a third-year junior high student. Makimaro Suki."

"Piyori Rika. You're a year younger than me?!"

"I get that a lot. Wait until Hanna-chan and Sakura-chan show up; they're both a year younger than me and look, well, maybe at most a year younger than I look."

"Uh, Suki? Watagami-chan was a party-crasher last time. Katsura-chan got an invite because she's your girlfriend and has sort of become a friend of ours as well, and Aoba-chan will be here as Chura-san's date, but this is still more or less a high school party."

"You didn't say anything about Sakura-chan."

"Er…that wasn't entirely my doing. Remember who provided your fangirls the opportunity to sneak in in the first place."

"…Ichirei-san's parents are going to be here too, aren't they?"

"Father; Ichirei-san has been a widower for over a decade." (CCX: See, this is why I hate working in honorifics. When Suki says "Ichirei-san", she's referring to Miki; when Suzuka says it, she's referring to Miki and Sakura's father—who, in case you hadn't noticed, was never given a first name.)

"…Oh. I was wondering why I'd seen their father hovering around the same way Katsu-tan's parents do, but never their mother."

"Word of advice: never mention that subject to Miki-chan. Seriously, just don't."

"You've piqued my curiosity."

"Too bad. I already probably know more than most, and that's still not much. Just trust me; Miki-chan hates her mother and you shouldn't ever mention her."

"Shouldn't ever mention who?" Katsura asked, arriving just in time for the end of the conversation.

"Don't worry about it," Suzuka said, "it's unlikely to ever become an issue for you."

"Not necessarily; Ichirei-san was starting to enjoy hanging out with my friends, probably because they're around her size."

"What's this all about?"

"You've probably noticed that Ichirei-san is a bit overprotective of his daughters—much like your parents—but his wife is nowhere to be seen," Suzuka said. "Don't ever ask where she is. At least, don't ask Miki-chan. Sakura-chan was young enough when she died that she didn't fully understand what was going on, but…well, I only got what Izei-kun knew at the time, and that was before they started dating and she really opened up to him. Not that you'd be able to get anyone else to tell you anything; rule number two about Miki-chan's past is that if you do know anything about it, you don't talk about it and just let her decide how much to tell."

"What was rule number one?"

"That you don't talk about it."

"…Then how did this topic come up?"

"Well, that's the one thing that can be talked about. Sakura-chan had barely even met me when she preempted my attempt at asking about her mother by telling me not to."

"Right. Never ask Ichirei-san about her mother."

"See? Told you you wouldn't be the youngest one here," Miki said.

"That barely counts. They're the same year as me."

"Either way, you're not alone. And I thought they were your friends."

"Aoba-chan is my friend. I'm still not really sold on Himiya-san."

"Hey, Sakura-chan, Miki-san. Didn't realize you'd both be here."

"Yeah…turns out that for once Sakura-chan's not the only one being 'chaperoned'," Miki said sheepishly. "You know, to prevent your father from having to come here again."

"Tell her that having fellow second-years here doesn't count for not being the youngest."

"I'm still 13. It totally counts," Mayu replied. (CCX: I've been shoring up some of the DOBs. Mostly I just go by instinct, but I had to move Natsume's birthday a few days because of what year she was born in.)

"Told you so."

"Ah…weren't you a classmate of Suzuka's in junior high? I didn't realize you'd remained that close with her."

"I'm probably more friends with Bannings-san than with Tsukimura-san…but I'm here because I'm dating one of her classmates. Her ex-boyfriend, actually," Kaburagi replied.

"…Ex…"

"Yes, Okaa-san," Suzuka cut in, "Ex-boyfriend. You have to pay more attention; I told you that Keith-san and I had broken up. Mutual decision; better as friends. Hence, no post-breakup depression."

"You wait until after it's too late for us to find you a date for tonight to tell us that. I suppose that was intentional, though; you never really much liked it when we fixed you up with the sons of family friends, did you?"

"No, I didn't, but don't worry; I won't be alone at the stroke of midnight." Suzuka had to hold back a grin.

"That quickly?"

"…Not really."

"Is there something you're hiding from me?"

"...Just wait a few more hours."

Once they'd gotten clear of Mrs. Tsukimura, Kaburagi asked, "Are you implying what I think you're implying?"

"Yep. I made my decision early in the month; talked it over with…" she paused. "With Dylan-san. He had noticed that I seemed distant and guessed, correctly, that it wasn't just because I knew I'd have to break up with him anyway when it came time for him to leave. He thought it best we make the breakup official so that I'd be 'single' when I—when the time came." Another pause, partly to gather her words because she didn't want to be overheard talking about her plans for midnight. "It feels so weird talking to you about this—not so much the part about what I'm going to do, but about my breakup with Dylan-san."

"Because I'm dating him now?"

Suzuka nodded. "I probably hung onto him for longer than I should have; Arisa noticed me 'easing myself away from him' in mid-November, possibly even earlier."

"It's all about appearances, right?"

Indeed it was. "Not that your new girlfriend isn't good-looking, but seriously, why'd you break up with iincho-san?" Nitodaki asked. "Or did she break up with you?"

"It was a mutual decision…sort of. I guess I was the one who suggested we actually break up, but she had been kind of distancing herself from me for awhile. I think she thought it would be easier to say goodbye at the end of the year if she did."

"…So then the rumors about her being bisexual?"

"Last I checked, 'bisexual' meant 'shows interest in both boys and girls.' So I don't think that would really get in the way of her being with me."

"So then she really is?"

"I didn't say that."

"I think you're already saying too much," Suzuka said. "Am I going to have to lock you up for the next hour?"

"You couldn't have done that while we were still dating?" Dylan teased.

"Oh, so that's something you like? You heard him, Kaburagi-san; get cracking." And she sent the two of them off to one of the more private parts of the mansion.

"Why an hour?" Nichi asked.

"You'll see."

By the time midnight had reached its final approach, everyone was buzzing about the fact that the class rep was obviously going to make some sort of big announcement, and Suzuka's parents also had some idea that their daughter had some sort of big plan for midnight—not to mention they were curious as to who she'd be with, since she said she wouldn't be alone. As such, nearly every pair of eyes at the party seemed to be trained on Suzuka. "You okay?" Arisa asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Even your parents' friends seem to be eagerly awaiting what you'll be doing at midnight. I'm not sure if half of them even know why they're supposed to be so interested, other than that everyone else is."

"I cannot believe you subjected me to that," Dylan cut in.

"[To what?]"

"To nothing; he's just joking. [Kaburagi-san of all people wouldn't do something like that.]"

"Ah. Gotcha."

"Heh. You're here, too? I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're part of the team," Kanna said.

"Well, yeah. When it gets right down to it, he was the one who convinced me to finally go through with it."

"Even though it meant giving her up for yourself? Are you sure you're straight?"

"As an arrow."

By this point the whispers were starting. Dylan being the only boy anywhere near her raised a bunch of red flags for the students—many of them correctly guessing that she was about to out herself. "Geez, I'm nervous, and I'm not even in the closet," Arisa said.

"Don't be. This is exactly where you belong. Where we belong."

The clock struck midnight.

*January 1st, 2014*

Even to those who were expecting it, it was still somewhat shocking the way she didn't say anything about what she was doing. Her parents took it in stride, only asking, "How long?"

"A couple of years, at least. Maybe more. That I knew that I wasn't entirely straight, that is—I had been on the fence until fairly recently, thinking I could go either way. But I don't think I was ever going to be with any other girl."

"You say that as if I was your first," Arisa said.

"…well, I wasn't going to venture out of our little group at any rate. Not without you, anyway," she added, remembering the threesomes and foursomes with Suki and Katsura.

"…Yeah." Arisa kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. "I think we're finally where we belong. Whatever else may come our way, we'll always have each other." Suzuka nodded.

CCX: That…ended abruptly. But it's still not really over! CCX, signing off. (Also, posting this on a character's birthday, lol.)