"Oh, no. Nuh-uh, no way, HELL naw!" Weronika shook her head and closed in on Neo. "Ain't no way in Hell you're getting outta this one, especially not now!" She finally brought a hand down hard on the wall mere inches away from Neo's face. Had Sophia been there, she would've had a fit, flung herself at Weronika in an attempt to shield Neo, and then had another fit. Or at least, she would've had that second fit after Weronika got done beating her ass just for trying to start some shit in the first place. Such was the bond between Abyssmare members.
For better or worse, Sophia was not there. It was just Weronika and Neo. And even though Weronika would've been more than happy to throw hands with Neo, she knew Neo would never. It disappointed Weronika, but there were a million ways she could best the other girl at being the best! Weronika certainly wasn't going to let a hurdle as small as creativity stand between her and her long-awaited epic showdown with Neo. She wasn't going to let any hurdles stand in Neo's way either. That was how it was supposed to be, but it couldn't happen if Neo just decided to quit!
"Like Hell I'm letting you do that!" Weronika grumbled. "It's just not like you, Neo! You may be the sorest loser I've ever met, but you never back down from a worthwhile challenge, so don't you dare try backing out of any of mine!" Her face was inches away from Neo's eyes wide and wild. By contrast, Neo's eyes were half-shut lazily, and she seemed completely unmoved by the position Weronika had taken over her.
"I suppose this is the part where you make some sort of declaration of friendship?" she drawled.
"Deck—what?" Weronika jerked away from Neo as if she'd been stung, scowling at her feet. "It's just that… I was supposed to be the one who defeated you and claimed the title of ultimate diva! Now I… can't do that if you start losing to everyone else too…" Weronika growled, growing increasingly uncomfortable as she scuffed a foot against the floor. "It'd be way easier for you to just stay on top until I beat you!"
"Hmm. This is your own brand of friendship, is it not?" Neo practically sneered the word. Even though she predicted that Weronika would attempt to conceal her concern behind selfishness, it was still mildly amusing to hear what exactly she said.
"What the—?! Dude, no!" Weronika slapped her forehead. Was Neo really that stupid? Just what the heck did D4Fes do to her?!
But while Weronika continued to question Neo's sanity, or what little remained of it, Neo herself was smirking at Weronika.
"I wonder, is this how you felt the day I took your turf and title from you?" she mused.
"What?" Weronika snarled. Was Neo really gonna go there? Really?
"Even though you should've been humiliated into hiding your face forever, you immediately challenged me."
"Well duh! No way I was going down without a fight!" Weronika snorted, thumping her chest.
"Even though you were already so thoroughly defeated?" Neo continued. Weronika scowled at her, but Neo was being sincere.
Her words were not meant solely as taunts, rather, a strange sense of new understanding. She would not have said that she liked or felt more connected to Weronika, but now Neo personally knew what it felt like to suffer such a defeat in such a manner.
"Woulda looked like even more of a pathetic little coward if I didn't at least try to stand up to your uptight ass!" Weronika cried grimly, crossing her arms protectively in front of herself. Neo could not tell if Weronika was making the same connections she was, or if Weronika was off on her own little wavelength, but Neo suddenly felt a tiny spark of renewed interest in her bandmate.
It started in the underground club, Weronika wishing to reclaim her turf and her "honor", but after joining Abyssmare and trying and failing to catch up to Neo time and time again, it became an almost obsessive desire to outdo her in something, anything! After all, hadn't Weronika recently challenged her to a race and a noodle-eating contest? Of course, Neo knew from the start that those two challenges were only ploys meant to segue them right into Weronika's true schemes, but Neo was amused enough to agree just to see what would happen. While she played dumb, Elsie and Sophia, for once, acted as the voices of reason and reminded them all of why Weronika's ideas were terrible. Neo considered that day a double victory. Not only did she conquer Weronika in every challenge, but she was privately amused by her other bandmates' antics as well.
She's the only one who challenges me now, Neo thought, remembering the sight of Weronika fleeing the boardgame café after losing to Neo over and over again. Now, Neo raised her eyes to meet Weronika's calmly. "Do you know where the nearest ramen shop is?"
"…What?" Weronika's arms fell open, uncrossed, from sheer shock at what Neo just said.
"I'm hungry." Guess we can call this… training for the rematch, eh, Weronika?
"What?"
"I can race you there too, if it's close enough." And I'm sure I'll win, she smiled slyly at Weronika.
What? Angry disbelief turned into stunned, nervous confusion. Neo was serious, and Weronika didn't know what to think about it.
What? Didn't you WANT to compete with me? Neo's tiny smirk seemed to ask. For a moment, Weronika would only open and close her mouth indignantly, but nothing of importance came out. Eventually, she gave up and growled, pulling out her phone.
ooo
"Hmpmphenkdt?" Weronika complained through a mouthful of noodles as she and Neo raced through the bustling, city sidewalks. While Weronika had to dart back and forth like an ungraceful rabbit just barely avoiding capture, Neo wove seemingly seamlessly in and out of the crowds. At the same time, she quietly, gracefully, delicately sipped a bowl of noodles. Not a single drop of soup or piece of noodle flew out of place even once, even slightly. She couldn't help but smirk, not just at her own success in the race-o-ramen challenge, but at her struggling competitor.
While Neo made it look effortless, Weronika had to fight not to bump into too many people, all while loudly and messily slurping up her soup. More than once, she almost choked on the noodles because she was distracted, or trying to cuss someone out. But Neo was also amused by the thought of how Elsie and Sophia would've reacted if they could've been there too.
"Oh… Neo-sama, no!" Sophia would moan, sounding like a howling wolf, pawing at her face in humiliation and worry. "Y-your image! Neo-sama! Think of your image!" She would fret and ask if Neo was sick, if Sophia ought to call, or be, a doctor for her.
That would leave Elsie to stare, trying to figure out some way to salvage the sight of Neo speedwalking away from Weronika while eating ramen as fast as she could. Would she have the guts to call Neo out on how foolish she looked, or would she take the coward's way out and say nothing, but still distance herself from the other woman?
More than likely, even if only for her own sake, Elsie would act as if it was normal and planned. Unlike Neo, she never seemed burden by boredom. At least not the way Neo was. And she hid behind Neo the way she hid behind her father. Of course she would cover for Neo. And Sophia, of course, was Sophia. So that truly left Weronika as the only one who still challenged Neo in any capacity.
Neo smirked again at the thought. She attributed her own swift, smooth walking to all the practice she had in singing and moving for music videos and live shows. Then, for the noodles, she had powerful throat muscles, courtesy of years of vocal training. Her lips quirked up as she raised another strand of noodles to them, Weronika still whining and panting behind her. Dare Neo say that the thought of having Weronika as a forever-rival and forever-second-best was a tempting fate?
AN: Yall, Neo totally agreed to Weronika's race and ramen-eating challenge. Elsie and Sophia robbed us from witnessing it. F. LOL. This was also an unplanned, semi-related sequel just because I actually kinda REALLY like their dynamic.