A/N: chapter 5's up so enjoy! lol, Eri didn't go on a journey but she's in for a tough ride. :3 -smirks- though i originally wanted to develop her character more and have her agonise over whether she likes Nozomi or not but...-shrugs and looks away-

anyways~ i updated this later then usual since i was caught up in watching several anime that was just released yesterday and today. -glances away guiltily-

once again, thanks for the reviews! It really made my day! :3 :D

5 – Nozomi; A few days later – afternoon.

It felt like everyone was staring at them. Though the tension between the two had somewhat diffused, there was still a lingering sense of embarrassment between the two. Now that the purple head had boldly confessed to her best friend, she felt relieved but worried at the same time. She was worried for the blonde who's obviously not paying attention to whatever's happening in the room at the moment. But for now, the purple head was contented with watching Eri from afar.

Occasionally, Nozomi would feel the short stares coming from her idol-mates. She also knew that they were trading glances at one another before their gaze landed on Eri and then back to her. The fact that she knew why they were staring at her didn't make it any easier for her. Meanwhile, Eri was too distracted to notice the stares that she was receiving.

Nozomi sighed inwardly. When she felt Rin's gaze on her, her own eyes drifted towards the first year and stared at her. Rin flinched, a startled look on her face as she smiled sheepishly, scratching her hair. When the purple head turned to look at the rest of the μ's they immediately looked away. Only Maki stared unflinchingly at her, her purple eyes narrowed slightly.

On the other hand, Eri couldn't bring herself to look at Nozomi. She was sure that if she looked at her, she'd blush.

Unable to stand the atmosphere any longer, Maki suddenly stood up and walked towards Nozomi.

"Nozomi," the red haired girl called out.

"Yea?"

"About…E-Eri…and you…" she trailed on, not too sure how she should phrase her question.

"W-What about…us…?" Nozomi asked cautiously.

"A-Are…you guys…I mean have you guys…settled…whatever's going on between you two?" Maki blushed slightly. She'd originally wanted to phrase it differently for she had noticed the purple haired senior staring at Eri while the blonde was deliberately avoiding looking at Nozomi and was constantly distracted.

Maki had also noticed that whenever Nozomi stared at Eri, she would have this dazed look on her face – wistful and longing. It pained her to see her senior, or rather, her friend looked so sad – as if not being able to obtain what was in front of her. If she had to guess, she would have guessed that Nozomi was in love with the beautiful blonde. Not that she had the guts to confirm it with the purple head.

"Um…I can't say that it's settled but she did confront me about it. And…well, I did tell her about my…feelings and I'm waiting for her response…" Nozomi said, blushing slightly.

Nozomi's blushing…? Maki looked at the red-faced purple head. She hadn't known Nozomi to be the blushing type. Instead, it was Maki that was more prone to blushing. Not that she'd ever admit it to anyone else.

Does that mean…that Nozomi really likes Eri? She answered pretty vaguely after all. I might be over thinking this though…But it would make sense if she was conflicted about that... Maki turned to look at Eri who was resting her chin on her palm, deep in thought.

"I must be imagining things. There's no way that could be true…" the younger girl murmured under her breath, causing the purple head to look at her questioningly, wondering what she'd just said. The red head hastily denied saying anything and scowled.

Seeing Maki's scowl, Nozomi started to get worried. Is she getting suspicious? Or had she already guessed what's going on? Nozomi turned to look at her best friend again. Her thoughts now fully consumed by that particular individual.

Thinking too much about this won't get me anyway. Maki decided. If that's the case… Maki took a deep breath before nonchalantly asking, "So, you confessed to her?"

"Yea…" Nozomi answered distractedly, her eyes still on Eri. "Wait. What?!" She snapped her head around when she realised that she'd a slip of a tongue, only to see a certain red head blushing furiously.

"W-Wait. That's not what I meant. I –" Nozomi tried to say.

The red head interrupted her senior shyly, "S-So w-what was her reaction?"

"M-Maki-chan… Like I said, that wasn't what I –" Nozomi tried to deny but Maki cut her off again, "And you were saying that I'm being dishonest with myself regarding my feelings for μ's? Admit it, you told Eri that you like her right?"

Nozomi blinked at those words before a full grown blush covered her entire face.

"Well…yea…But E-Eri-chi…she's still thinking about it. I confessed to her a few days ago...She hasn't rejected me which is a good thing but she's trying to figure out…her feelings." Nozomi admitted quietly to the first year. She felt a little relief now that she actually talked to someone about it though she was embarrassed as well.

"Thinking…huh?" Maki commented, her eyes drifted to the third-year blonde again. This is time Eri had turned around and blue eyes met the purple orbs.

"Hey, Nozomi. I just had an idea. It wouldn't hurt to give Eri a push right?" a smirk crept up the red head's mouth, her eyes still on Eri.

"What do you mean?" Nozomi asked the red haired girl, confused.

"This..." Maki made sure that Eri was looking before she leaned forward and planted her lips against Nozomi's soft cheek, "…is what I mean."

Eri

Eri held onto Maki's gaze, not knowing what the first year was up to. She had a bad feeling about this as she kept her eyes on Maki who was next to Nozomi. She knew that Maki had been conversing with Nozomi just now but wasn't sure what they'd said. All she knew that when she tried peeking at her best friend just now, she saw that she was blushing at whatever it was that Maki had said.

That irked her to no end.

Oh, she wasn't mad that Nozomi had blushed.

She's ticked off at the fact that it was Maki that made her blush.

No one is supposed to be able to make her blush like that. The blonde had selfishly thought. She tried to dismiss the uneasy and irritated feeling inside her but it persisted when she saw Maki turning to stare at her.

Maki turned away and leaned towards Nozomi.

What the hell is Maki doing? Unconsciously, Eri started to clench her fists. How dare she lean so close to Nozomi?! Wait. Why am I so irritated by this?

That anger that was growing inside of Eri shocked even herself. She didn't know she was capable of such anger towards her friend.

Eri's eyes widened when Maki's lips touched her best friend's cheek.

Eri couldn't breathe. Her throat felt raw, as if on fire. She never knew she could even feel this way. This was a first. Though it scared her to no end, the burning jealously in her out-rode her fear.

Control. Control yourself, Eri. Control– Maki kissed Nozomi's cheek again.

Something inside of Eri snapped.

Red hot anger coursed through the blonde's blood, making her whole body boil. Gnashing her teeth, the Student Council President clenched her fists so tightly that it would surely leave a deep mark. How dare she kiss Nozomi? My Nozomi.

Wait? My…Nozomi?

She could hear gasps of shock in the room.

"M-Maki-chan?" Nozomi whispered, utterly confused just as Maki lifted her lips off her cheeks and turned to look at Eri.

"Maki-chan…that…was bold of you…" Honoka commented.

"Yea! Who knew Maki-chan would kiss Nozomi-chan like that?"

"And so suddenly too…"

"Wait. Does that mean Maki-chan likes Nozomi-chan?"

"There's no way that's possible. Maybe something happened before that…?"

"Or maybe she just wanted to try it out?"

The intense look in Maki's eyes were challenging. Maki took another deep breath, and leaned in against the protesting Nozomi again.

This time, her lips were directly in front of Nozomi's.

The rest of the μ's was too bewildered to say, much less do anything.

Before Maki's lips touched Nozomi's, a loud bang resounded inside the club room. Maki stopped what she was doing, a faint smile on her lips before composing herself and turned around to face the wrath of Ayase Eri.

Eri had slammed the table with her fists loudly, and all eyes were on her. However, she was far too mad to notice the rest of the μ's staring at her in shock.

"What do you think you're doing, Maki?" Eri growled.

Maki gulped. Maybe I was too hasty in trying to provoke a reaction out of Eri…

"W-What does it look like I'm doing?" Maki said indignantly.

"Why are you k-k-kissing Nozomi out of the sudden?!"

Maki shrugged, "Why should you care? You're not even her boyfriend or girlfriend."

Eri finally exploded.

"Don't touch her ever again! She's mine. Mine! You hear that?!"

The blonde stormed towards the both of them and before Maki could even react, Eri swept the purple head away from Maki, standing in between them.

Honoka and the others all scurried to one corner of the clubroom, not wanting to be involved in this out of ordinary drama that was unfolding before their disbelieving eyes. To see Eri blow up and claiming Nozomi as hers…was quite a huge shock for the rest of the μ's.

Just one more step…Maki thought as she smiled at Eri, "Prove it."

Eri sucked in a breath and glared at the red head. If looks could kill, Maki would probably be dead by now. Slowly, Eri turned to look at her best friend.

Nozomi looked dumbfounded at the events that were unfolding before her eyes. She hadn't expected Maki to act so rashly – it was almost out of Maki's character to go such lengths for her. She hadn't expected Eri's huge outburst as well. When Eri blew up, she was almost scared of the blonde but when she heard Eri claiming that she was hers, she'd felt happy beyond words.

When Eri stood staring at her best friend, the purple haired girl was entranced, once again, by the depths of the azure orbs that were staring right into her green ones. A faint flush spread over her cheeks but the whirlwind of emotions hidden in the blue orbs in front of her got her worried.

Eri on the other hand, was conflicted. She knew what Maki wanted her to do. But she was afraid to do so. She was scared of herself. She'd blown up just now due to the overwhelming feelings and lack of control.

She wasn't sure of her feelings before but it was as crystal clear now. Or rather, it was already clear when Maki had advanced onto Nozomi.

She was in love with her best friend.

When she finally admitted to herself that she's in love with Nozomi, she just wanted to crush her own lips onto Nozomi's and kiss the live out of her. She finally understood how Nozomi felt. How did Nozomi survive that all these while?

Just a kiss. Just a kiss would do.

And so, in front of everyone in μ's, Eri boldly pulled her best friend forward and pressed her lips against hers.

A/N: I just realised the existence of the reply button to the reviews. ._. I feel like a fool now... oh well. Just 'coz i found the button doesn't mean i'm gonna use it. yet. (i still my pride -huffs- ) i'm too lazy now to use it so i'll just type it out here...

Major Mike Powell III: Yep i like the scene where Eri pinned her dear friend against the wall as well -grins mischievously- I had lotsa fun writing that scene too :3 i was also thinking of including an actual impulsive kiss but aborted that idea 'coz it wouldn't be fun then :D

Bad one: well, it wasn't so much of a journey...was it? it's more of a roller coaster (don't mind my weird analogies) ride, i guess.