WARNING: Minor Swearing. Reader's beware.

Chapter 6 - Sankaku Kankei

The sound of Miku's rushed footsteps sounded throughout the empty halls of Meiko's small apartment. Soon, they faded and Meiko was left alone in the dead silence. The teddy bear that Miku had thrown to the ground before she ran out was near Meiko's small socked feet, just lying there, looking up at her through a jagged hole in the picture's head. A wave of emotions washed over her, anger, pity for herself, depression. It all came down to that teddy bear. That stupid bear she created as revenge. And Kaito. The tall blue haired 2nd year that all the girls swooned over. She being one of those foolish girls.

She knelt down and lifted the bear, the picture slipping off a bit from the blunt force applied only minutes earlier. It's black eyes stared up at her, watching her every move. And it pissed her off to the fullest. Why did she find this stupid thing so cute!? All it does is cause problems! She threw the bear at the wall, it slapped against it roughly and fell to the ground face first. The brunette stumbled back onto her bed and gave up, it was all so difficult, she couldn't take it anymore! The tears she had been holding back finally broke free, and Meiko didn't bother to wipe them.
"I deserve my bitter tears.." She gulped before passing out on her bed, in her lonely apartment, that late evening. All alone.

Meiko jumped awake, her cellphone buzzed and rang loudly in her pocket. Her ringtone didn't match the way she was feeling right now at all. She rolled onto her back and looked at the bright screen. "Luka M." She laid there for a moment, pondering whether or not to let it ring or answer just to see what she wanted. If she let it ring, Luka, being the stubborn mule she is, would just call again and again until she got an answer. But if Meiko answered, Luka would just bombard her with questions and force her to come to school, but to be honest, school was her last priority at the moment. After letting it ring for a bit longer, she finally flipped it open and brought it to her ear with much hesitation.

"...Hello?"

Hey, it's me, Luka.

"I know, what do you want?"

...I was going to ask if you were coming to school today or not. You've missed so many classes already the teachers-

"I don't care what the teachers say." Meiko replied coldly. "I don't care what anyo-"

You care what I say don't you?

"..." Meiko went quiet, Luka had been her friend for the longest time, how could she not care?

Ugh, look. I know things are hard and all but you can't just run away. If you hide, life goes on and people will continue to move. Is that what you want?

"...D-Don't ask stupid questions!" Here come the tears..

If you know the answer already, then come to school. I won't force you but I also won't wait for you neither.

Meiko sniffled and wiped her nose. "Miku and I fought the other night..."

Wh- *click*

Meiko hung up before she could hear Luka's response. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to hear anything that would break her heart anymore. But she had to go to school, even if seeing Miku's face at lunch killed her. "If I see Miku, I'll just spend lunch in the bathroom." Meiko promised to herself and giggled a dry laugh. She stood up and shuffled off to the bathroom, after a night of crying she was bound to need some makeup to cover it up.
Meiko spun around in the mirror, she looked the same as she did everyday but today felt different. Despite everything that went down, she felt as if something good might happen today. She purposely skipped breakfast and "forgot" to pack her lunch but she didn't really feel that hungry so she was okay with it. If she changed her mind later on, she could mooch off of Luka for some of her lunch. But then again, all Luka ever ate was Tuna. What was with that?

The walk to school was lonely as ever, not having Luka to smile and wave at her when she reached the gate was kind of depressing. She brushed it off and headed to her homeroom class, maybe Luka would be happy to see her. Hopefully she wouldn't be mad that she hung up on her twice this week. Surely, being the understanding friend she was she would just brush it off.

(MEIKO'S IMAGINATION MODE)

MEIKO: Hey Luka! Hope you're not mad that I hung up on you twice this week without saying goodbye!
LUKA: Oh, not at all Meiko! You were going through a stress full time and I completely understand!
MEIKO: Yay! Friendship!
LUKA: Yes! Lets go frolic through the roses on our way to Kaito's and your Wedding!
MEIKO: Yay!
LUKA: Yay!

Meiko wiped those thoughts away with an innocent smile, maybe it wouldn't go that well but surely Luka wouldn't be too mad. Right?
Meiko opened the large white door and stepped inside, putting on her brightest smile.

"Good morning Luka-chaaan!" Meiko waved slowly to her from the doorway.

Luka turned her head at her quickly and gave her best death glare. She was staring intensely at her phone.
"Good morning, Meiko." Luka dead-panned her. Her glare getting scarier by the minute. "My phone must have cut off because I don't believe I heard you say 'good bye' before hanging up this morning."

"Ehh? You're still worrying about that? Come on Luka-chan! Calm-"

"Drop the chan."

Meiko scooped Luka's hands in hers. "I'm so so so so so sorry Luka! I didn't mean to hang up, it's just a lot has been going on and I didn't-"

"I know." Luka raised a hand to shoosh Meiko. "Get in your seat, homeroom is starting." And with that, Luka turned back around and stared on with her normal dandere poker face.

Meiko felt like crying, Luka mostly hit her when she got mad at her, never stopped talking. Did this mean she really DID hate her forever? She took her seat and spent the whole time worrying about it, turning around every once in a while to make sure Luka wasn't glaring at her in secret.

The bell rang, signalling lunch had began. Meiko spun around and grabbed Luka's wrist before she could stand up. "LUKA-CHAN, I'M SO SORRY!" She blurted out. "PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOREVER-"

Luka smirked. "Ehhhh? You're still worrying about that? Come on Mei-Chan, Calm down." She mocked Meiko's voice.

Meiko ate her words like a true coward. The 'Mei-Chan' bit sent shivers up and down her spine. Luka was an evil master. She knew exactly what to do to send Meiko doing backflips into her own trap.
Suddenly, Gakupo burst through the door holding up two large boxed lunches. One was purple with an eggplant on it, the other pink with a large tuna sticker on the front.
"LUKA-SAMA! I HAVE BROUGHT YOUR LUNCH FOR YOU!" He shouted, catching the attention of the other students.

Some girls giggled in their groups. "Wow, Gakupo is such a loyal boyfriend, I wish I was lucky enough to be dating him..."

Luka flushed a dark shade of red. "Y-You idiot! Stop shouting!" Is that what people saw them as? A couple? Luka would never date such a goof! Well, she can't say she never thought of it once or twice but... NO! Gakupo was just some creep! How could anyone fall in love with him?!

"May I feed you my love~?" Gakupo questioned while holding up a tuna roll with a pair of chopsticks he made specially for Luka. On words "Luka, My Love" were carved into the sides of the chopsticks and painted over in pink and purple.

Luka opened her mouth to protest only to have the roll shoved into it, she blushed lightly as the flavour filled her mouth, she was a sucker for tuna. She quickly opened her mouth wide, drooling a bit. "A-Again. More..."
Gakupo's nose starting bleeding at the sight of his innocent little Luka begging for him to feed her. The pinkette quickly snapped out of it and punched him in the face. He flew backwards and hit the ground hard with a rough thump.

"IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU MAKING ME SAY!?" Luka stomped over to him and lifted him by the back of his collar.

"Eh? Where are you going?!" Meiko questioned, trying one of the tuna rolls herself.

"Taking this idiot to the nurse's office. His nosebleed obviously isn't going to stop anytime soon. Well, not after that punch at least. And he's my responsibility so..." Luka's cheeks seem to turn a darker shade of pink then before and her bangs covered her eyes as she dragged Gakupo out the door and down the hall towards the nurses office.

Meiko sighed and checked her watch. Miku and Rin should be here soon. She collected a few things to keep her busy in the washroom and headed out the door. As she stepped out she crashed into something tall and hard and fell back, dropping her phone on the ground.

"A-Ah! Meiko-san? Are you okay?"

Meiko-san? No one calls her that except Len and some of her younger fans. She looked up and her heart nearly jumped from her chest. She turned beet red and nearly for how to speak.

"K-Kai- I mean, Shion-senpai?" Meiko's vision started to blur and she felt as if she might pass out.

"Senpai. That's pretty formal, just call me Kaito-kun, its what all my other friends call me." Kaito reached his hand out for Meiko to grab. She hesitated for exactly 8 seconds, just sitting there staring at his hand as if it were a foreign object. His skin so pale and innocent, long slender fingers perfect for playing piano and that shiny blue nail polish- wait. Nail polish?
Meiko grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull her up with his strong arms. "Kaito-kun, you wear nail polish?" Meiko studied his fingers for a while, taking note of how perfect each one was. He scratched the back of his head shyly.

"Y-Yeah, Gakupo does too so...I figured it was alright... Do you find it weird?"

"N-NOT AT ALL! I have tons of guy friends who wear nail polish! Blue really suits you!" Meiko smiled like an idiot, she didn't understand. Flirting was always so easy with other guys, why was it so awkward with Kaito? A guy she ACTUALLY liked. She fixed her hair blindly and pulled her shirt down.

"Really?" His childish smile made its usual appearance and he grabbed Meiko's hand. "Red really suits you, Meiko-chan!- Oh. Meiko-chan. Red REALLY suits you, your face is almost the same colour as your nails." Kaito giggled and let go of the teenager's hand, smiling widely at her.
"Oh, is that your phone?" Kaito reached down and lifted the shiny red device. "It's so cute!"

Meiko took a deep breath, she couldn't lose her cool now! Everything was going perfect! "You think so? It's the latest model, I got it with my idoling money!" Meiko boasted.
"You're an idol too!? So that means I know 3 idols now! You, Luka-chan and Miku-chan. By the way, where is Miku-chan today? I ran into Rin on my way here but she wasn't around.." Kaito looked into the classroom, expecting to see the tealette sitting on a desk with her blonde friend as she usually was found doing around lunch hours. "Is she sick?"

"Yeah, I think so. I might have given her my cold!" Meiko lightly hit her head and stuck out her tongue, giving a short wink and tilting her head to the side a bit. "Whoopsie!"

Kaito laughed again, looking over Meiko's phone. "You know what would make this phone even better?"
"Hmm? What? A charm?" Meiko guessed, taking a step closer to look it over.
"My number in it." Kaito leaned down and looked Meiko in the eyes. "If that's okay with you of course."

Meiko used all her willpower to not jump up and down and have a fangirl attack and simply nodded. "Mhm, sure! I don't mind!"

"Good!" Kaito flipped her phone open and started punching in his number into her contacts. "You can call me any time you'd like!"

Meiko grabbed her phone from him and looked at the number. "Okay!"

*fli-flash!*

Kaito looked back. Did he just hear a camera flash? Meiko looked around too, surely she heard it. But from where? "Did you-" Kaito looked at Meiko with a concerned look on his face.
"A-Ah, sorry! I took a photo for your contacts picture! Sorry, I should have told you first before a took it..." Meiko lied, someone else took that picture but she couldn't involve Kaito into all of this. Idols get followed by people all the time, and tons of the times they take pictures in secret. Surely it was no big deal.

"Oh, did it come out good?" Kaito asked tilting his head to the side in the most adorable (and clueless) of ways.

Meiko opened her mouth to answer but the bell had rung and Luka was heading towards them with an odd look on her face. "Oh, gotta go!" Kaito replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. "See you tomorrow Meiko-chan!" And with that he ran off to his next class. Meiko smiled goofily as Luka walked up to her and looked her face over.
"What did I miss?" Luka asked bluntly, wiping some left over blood from Gakupo into a tissue.
"I GOT HIS NUMBER!" Meiko squealed, letting the fangirl run loose.
Luka looked at her stunned. "H-How?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Meiko shouted even louder.

Luka spent the rest of the day staring at the love-sick Meiko who was too busy staring out the window to hear the teacher ask her to answer a question. For daydreaming, she was sent into the hall yet she didn't seem to care which made Luka even more worried. What happened to not wanting to make a move on Kaito for Miku's sake?

-After School / Walking Home-

"Aah..I can't believe I got Kaito-kun's number~" Meiko sang along side Luka as they walked the short path home. "Let's get some ice cream to celebrate! Sound good Luka-chan?" Luka didn't answer so Meiko asked again. "I said, sound good Luka-chan? Luka? Luka, what's wrong? You haven't said a word since we left the building." Meiko looked over at Luka who had a worried look plastered onto her face as she seemed deep in thought.

"Luka-"

"Meiko. Is this really what you wanted?" Luka looked over at her. Meiko's expression fell, why was she being so serious. Hasn't she been listening to what her friend has been saying this whole time?

"Of course I want this. What are you talking about Luka?" Meiko slowed her walking.
"Well, you said you wouldn't make a move on Kaito because of Miku's sake, so why do you seem so happy about this?" Luka slowed down too.

Meiko felt something tighten in her stomach, harden and twist in the most unsettling and grotesque way. It was that thing she continuously felt for the past week. This weird feeling called anger.
What was Luka trying to say? Did she honestly hate the fact that her friend was so happy with finally getting the man of her dreams that she spent time deep in thought thinking about it? What kind of friend is that!? Meiko felt her face warm up drastically to the point where she felt as if she might start sweating in anger. She balled her fists to try to stop the shaking but it failed. It only made it worse as her white knuckles turned whiter and whiter by the second. Her eyes widened to the point where her irises looked that of a black dot in those large seas of white. She stopped walking altogether and hung her head low. Luka's words stabbed through her like a knife. A knife everyone had been eager to cut her open with. First Miku, now Luka?! Why was everyone so obsessed with her love life to the point they wanted to destroy it!? The feelings mixed up like a shaken pop bottle and exploded out.

"What?! Are you jealous now?! Look, I know you're too weak to tell Gakupo how you feel and you think you're all wise and cool and stuff just because you've lived alone since your 3rd year in middle school but don't try to make my life miserable too!" Yes, that was what Luka was feeling, jealousy. And the reason she looked so hurt right now was because Meiko was right.
Luka didn't respond so Meiko took this as an opportunity to say everything else that was on chest.

"I don't care what you think! You don't know anything about me or Kaito! Kaito loves me and you're just jealous of that!" This venting wasn't helping like it usually did, normally after spewing a few bitter words at an innocent bystander she would feel better and it helped ease the pain but it only seemed to be making it worse. The feelings weren't going away, only more were showing up.

"You always support Miku but never me! What if I actually like this boy, you would never know because of your stupid attitude. I hate that about you! You and your stubborn ways! I hate everything about you!" Meiko didn't mean that, why was she saying these things? But she couldn't stop. Once the water started to spill, there was no way to make it flow back in.

"Why do you never support me-" Meiko started another insult but felt something hit her cheek roughly, using enough force to turn her head around. It started to sting and burn a bit. It was a slap. Luka had slapped Meiko just to shut her up. Meiko brought a hand to her cheek and noticed Luka's expressionless face and hand raised.

"Just because you're depressed doesn't mean you have to drag everyone down with you. I always support you to the point where it breaks me, yet I never complain. You're only thinking of yourself in this situation. What about Miku!?" Luka's voice rose as she got more irritated.

Meiko's eyes started to burn and her vision went blurry and foggy as she could feel steam rise from her salty tears. "WHAT ABOUT HER!? She made it clear that she didn't like me anymore last night! If I'm going to lose all my friends can't you at least let me have the boy of my dreams?!"

Luka gritted her teeth and raised her hand once more, but Meiko grabbed her wrist in midair and pushed her back onto the sidewalk. Meiko was tall and had amazing cardio from so many dance lessons, Luka was no match for her in a fair fight.

"Don't touch me, you bitch!" Meiko cussed after Luka. Luka's eyes widened with shock from hearing her friend curse for the first time in a long time. She watched as Meiko ran off down the street to god knows where and turn the corner. Luka looked down at the sidewalk, little splats of water darkened the area just above where Meiko was standing before her. Luka bit her lip and tried not to cry too. Her two best friends were experiencing something dreadful and she was only making it worse by trying to help.

Both of her friends were falling face first into a deadly force.

A "Love-Triangle".