As always, the fifteen-minute walk to school seemed to go by too quickly that morning.

School made her feel tired because it was so boring. She didn't feel like any of it concerned her at all. Being rich, she didn't truly need a good education, and thus, she didn't need to get good grades. Because of this, there wasn't much for her to do at school, except for catching up for lost sleep or fixing her nails.

If she could have, she would have just stayed at home most days, but her parents were determined to make her go, for some reason. It didn't bother them that she failed several subjects, so she didn't get why they bothered to force her to go there at all.

"Yo, Isuke-sama!"

The familiar voice tore Isuke out of her thoughts. She turned to see Haruki waving frantically at her to get her attention.

"You actually remembered that we were gonna walk together," the wild-haired girl said, sounding a little surprised. She muttered a halfhearted confirmation to her statement.

Truth be told, she'd actually forgotten all about it, seeing as Haruki had texted her late last night, when she was already half asleep. Luckily she'd decided to walk this way today.

"Did you sleep well?" Haruki asked, grinning widely. She wasn't sure if she was faking it in case they had any spectators, or if she was actually in a genuinely good mood this morning. Isuke certainly wasn't. She was never much of a morning person.

"Mhm," she mumbled, still kind of sleepy from waking up so early.

"Me too," the girl chirped, "Had a weird dream though."

"Too much sweets right before bed," Isuke commented. Haruki laughed as she rubbed her neck, looking like she'd been busted doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"Mind telling me why you're so chummy?" She was getting more and more certain that she was in a genuinely good mood, and not just keeping up their little act.

"Well…" she begun, not quite sure how to answer the question.

"'Cause you get to walk to school with your beautiful girlfriend, maybe?" she teased in a sing-song voice, batting her eyelashes.

"Ain't that every girl's dream," she replied sarcastically, placing her hands behind her head as she walked. There sure as hell wasn't anything wrong with Isuke's confidence, at least. Tilting her head up slightly, the sun started stinging in her eyes, so she closed them.

"By the way, I thought we were done with the girlfriend jokes?" She opened one eye slightly to catch a glimpse of the other girl as she replied.

"You got to make more of those jokes than I did. It's unfair."

"Whatever. I'm just keeping up the act, like the deal says I should," she waved her off nonchalantly, but deep in her heart, she knew very well that was a lie. No matter how hard she tried to make sure this remained a strictly professional arrangement, she found herself growing more and more attached to this selfish and blunt rich-girl.

Now, it wasn't as if she was head-over-heels in love or anything, but she did care for her. Then again, just what Isuke was to her, she didn't know.

"Good. Glad to know it isn't a complete waste of time and money," she retorted, sounding a bit displeased, for reasons unknown to Haruki.

She didn't quite know how to continue their conversation without upsetting Isuke further, so she decided to leave it at that.

The rest of the way to school, none of them said a word to each other.

"Good morning!"

Nio's jolly voice gave Isuke an immediate headache. She was already in a bad mood, and having to deal with Nio this early in the morning would not make it any better.

"Hey, Nio," Haruki greeted the girl, who stepped into pace with them.

"Not to be nosy, but-" she started.

"You are nosy," stated Isuke honestly. She wasn't in the mood to have Nio snoop into her private life, but she knew there was no avoiding it.

"You two should start acting more like a couple," she uttered, "No one even knows you're dating."

Well, Otoya must have figured, but no one else had really seen them together all that much.

"I guess," the redhead agreed eventually. There was no point in pretending to date if no one even noticed.

"It's very crowded here." Nio looked around the schoolyard, at all the people walking around, minding their own business.

"Now would be a good time," she decided.

Haruki extended her hand, her fingers gently touching the top of Isuke's hand.

"As good a time as any," Isuke sighed in agreement as she let her hand slide into Haruki's, their fingers intertwining.

At first they didn't look at each other, both of them finding the contact awkward, but as they walked towards their classroom, they became more and more comfortable with it. Eventually, they managed to look at each other and make light conversation. To any bystander, the two would look completely natural.

In the hallway, they passed another pair holding hands.

If Isuke had cared more, she might have asked what was the deal between those two. Kirigaya Hitsugi and Namatame Chitaru were like glued at the hip, always together and often holding hands, just like now.

She found it sort of weird, seeing as Hitsugi was just a little girl. Sometimes she wondered what their relationship was…

"Good morning," Nio greeted them with a wave.

"Good morning, Nio-chan," smiled Hitsugi politely. With her adorable appearance and innocent personality, Hitsugi could melt even the coldest of hearts. Isuke imagined all the things she could get away with had she been so young and sweet.

"Hello, everyone," said Chitaru. While she looked sort of boyish with her short, messy hair and dressed in pants, she had a very feminine demeanor at the same time.

"Aw, this sucks!" Nio erupted suddenly. Four pairs of eyes looked at her with curiosity.

"Everyone is holding hands," she explained, "I feel so alone!"

Hitsugi and Haruki laughed at Nio's half-joking comment. Chitaru cleared her throat.

"Well, we should be leaving. See you guys in class," she said.

"Goodbye," sang Hitsugi as she jogged to keep up with the older girl's long steps.

"Those two are really weird," said the blonde after they were well out of hearing range.

"Don't be so judgmental. They aren't nearly as weird as you, anyway," mocked Isuke, making Nio pout. She could imagine that the girl felt sorry for herself right now, being forever alone and in addition, being the offer of her scorn.

Yet it wasn't as though her feelings would be seriously hurt, so it didn't really matter.

"Still, I feel so lonely," she whined childishly.

"Maybe you should hire a girlfriend," joked Haruki with a wink, urging her to follow her own advice.

Maybe she should, thought Isuke. At least then she might leave them alone.

Isuke and Haruki were eating their lunch in a comfortable silence. After several derisive comments from Isuke, Nio had finally gone off to find someone else to converse with, much to their relief. Both of them were glad to finally have some peace and quiet.

However, their happiness was short lived.

"Hello, you two."

The class rep approached them, with Shuuto Suzu following close behind.

"May we have a word with you?" asked the girl with glasses, not waiting for a reply before she sat down beside them. Since there only were three chairs, Suzu ended up leaning on the table.

"Make it snappy, would you?" demanded Isuke, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Just as she got rid of one nuisance, another one appeared. Couldn't she at least get to enjoy her lunch without any disturbance?

"Mizorogi-sensei requested that we ask around about what everyone wants to do for the festival," explained Suzu. She used to help out Kouko with her work a lot. Isuke suspected it was more because she wanted to be around her than to help her with her work, but it was none of her business, really.

No matter, she preferred talking to Suzu, as she always appeared friendlier than the class rep.

"Hmm," Haruki thought out loud, "What do you have so far?" She gestured towards the notebook Kouko was holding.

"Hanabusa-san claimed that Banba-san has a good voice, but she doesn't seem up to performing, so I don't think there'll be any singing on the program," informed the blue haired girl, pushing a lock of hair out of her face.

"We wrote down maid café as an option, but there aren't that many who are willing to participate," continued Kouko, looking at the list. Suzu smiled at the two.

"Unless you are up to the task?"

"Count me out," Isuke immediately rejected her, sounding bored. She looked at her nails, trying to decide what color to paint them later.

"What about you, Sagae-san?" asked Suzu.

"It ain't really my scene. Besides, Isuke-sama and I planned to participate in the same thing," she informed them, hinting towards them being close.

"Is that so?" While the blue haired girl's curiosity was sparked, she didn't wish to be rude.

"Doing a play has also been considered. Mizorogi-sensei absolutely wanted us to do Romeo and Juliet," suggested the class rep.

Haruki winked towards Isuke.

"What do you say, Isuke-sama? I imagine we'd do awesome as Romeo and Juliet," she grinned teasingly.

"You'd be a fine Romeo," she played along, faking a smile for the effect. Then, she turned towards Suzu and Kouko, pretending she'd forgotten about them during her flirting banter with Haruki.

"I'm not feeling up to playing any part, seeing as I'd have to learn so many lines, but I guess we could do some stage work," she offered. Both of them looked at her with wide eyes and half-open mouths.

"What is it?" she asked cutely, acting clueless.

They were too taken aback to answer right away. Isuke never offered to do anything. Normally, she'd just say something along the lines of "what a pain" and wander off. She always just shrunk all her duties and let the others do the extra work. This was so out of character of her that they didn't even know how to respond.

"Oh, nothing," Suzu convinced, waving her hands dismissively, "You offering to help is just a bit unexpected, that is all."

"What? I love to help out," she said sarcastically, still acting all cute and innocent.

Kouko decided she'd gotten what she needed and arose from her seat.

"Thanks for your time," she thanked them politely. Her and Suzu began walking.

"Enjoy your lunch," said Suzu as they left. Haruki waved at them with a smile while Isuke continued to eat her food.

"Think we convinced them?" she wondered.

"Seems so. They never were hard to fool, though," Isuke replied.

Haruki grabbed a piece of pocky from the box, waving it around as she spoke.

"I can't help but wonder; why did you offer to help out? Thought selflessness was a foreign concept to you."

She realized a little too late that it may have come off as harsh, but luckily she decided to overlook it.

"They say when you meet the right one, you become a better person. I don't know, I guess I want to seem like I'm nicer when I'm around you," she tried to explain, but she wasn't entirely confident on how to put her thoughts into words.

"Catch my drift?" Haruki nodded after thinking through it for a minute.

"You know, that's pretty deep for someone like you. Perhaps you're changing for real," she teased, punching her shoulder lightly.

"Keep dreaming, Haruki."

"This was a productive day," Haruki exclaimed as they walked through the schoolyard, hand in hand. Classes were finally done for the day, and they'd gotten to hang out a lot, showing off their relationship to people around them.

"Looks like I have to pay you soon, then," Isuke stated. Right now, it actually felt like it had been worth the money. Especially now, as she was walking so close to Haruki, holding her hand and-

She shook her head. She promised herself not to get too carried away.

The thing with her and Haruki was that sometimes they loathed one another, and in the next second, it felt like they'd been best friends for as long as she could remember, and in the next one, her heart would flutter simply upon touching her.

It was all so confusing.

Haruki stopped walking and grabbed her other hand, turning her around so they stood face to face, their noses only inches apart.

"Think it's too early for a kiss?" she spoke softly, a gentle smile on her lips.

For a short second, Isuke felt as though she was about to faint, but then she regained control of her body. Her entire face felt boiling hot and she was sure she was as red as a tomato. She would have turned around, but couldn't make her body move the way she wanted it to.

"W-what?" she stuttered. She'd meant to make it sound like an irritated growl, but it came out as something closer to a suffocated scream.

The redhead's face cracked up into a wide smile. She let go of Isuke's hands and began laughing hysterically. It looked like she was having difficulties remaining on her feet.

"Sorry," she said through the fits of laughter, "I couldn't help it."

"Idiot!" she hissed angrily, upon realizing she'd only been fooling around. Seriously, that girl had darn near given her a heart attack.

"I was worried for your sanity for a sec, you know."

Haruki didn't think that's what first came to Isuke's mind when she'd said that, but figured she wouldn't argue with her this time.

"You have to admit; it was kind of funny," she said. Isuke folded her arms and snorted stubbornly.

"Not at all."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry, alright?" Even as she apologized, she didn't manage to keep a straight face.

After a little while, she let her arms drop and looked back at the girl, her annoyance vanishing upon the sight of her.

The sunlight hit Haruki's eyes, making them glitter like gold. Isuke had a lot of expensive jewelry, some of it being gold, but she was certain that none of it would sparkle like that in the sun. Haruki's eyes were far more beautiful than all the gold she could ever buy. She had always been so concerned with materialistic things like makeup and clothes that would make her look beautiful, but looking at the girl in front of her, she finally realized what true beauty was.

She was well aware that it sounded ridiculous and cheesy, but that's what went through her mind in that moment.

There was something about that girl that drew her in.

She knew she shouldn't even feel this way.

Just a week ago, she'd been so pissed at her parents for trying to find her a girlfriend. For months, she'd been going on about how she was better off on her own. And Haruki… Heck, Haruki was only in it for the money. Even if Isuke had liked her, there'd be nothing to do about it. Haruki didn't feel that way about her, so even if she…

"Let's just go," she grunted, grabbing her fake girlfriend by the arm and pulling her along.

"I wonder what's happening over there," Suzu thought out loud.

"Inukai looks rather annoyed, it seems," Kouko observed, not fully as interested as her friend.

"I would say she looks embarrassed," she corrected. They watched Isuke drag Haruki away hurriedly.

"I don't think I've ever seen Inukai-san so serious about anything," spoke Suzu, looking at the couple in the distance. She took a sip from her tea.

"Yeah, except for her nails, maybe," joked Shiena drily. For many reasons, she wasn't very fond of the pink haired girl.

Suzu shook her head at her friends' blindness. Sometimes, they could be so ignorant that they failed to see the obvious. Then again, most people could. Sometimes, that was the easiest solution.

"No, I mean it. Whether she's sleeping through class or walking around with her head held high, she always acts like she doesn't care. It's like she's far above us and our everyday matters don't even concern her in the slightest," she explained.

Isuke was different today. She hadn't been her usual self.

"Didn't you notice how she offered to lend us a hand with the play today? Or how she attended all our classes? How she dragged Sagae-san with her just now?"

Kouko nodded. Of course she'd taken note of all that.

"Yeah, she does seem to be a little more down to earth when she's around Sagae," Shiena agreed thoughtfully.

"Mhm," said Suzu, "That's what love does to you."

And that makes the sixth chapter! When I started this project, I was certain I'd give it up rather quickly, but I'm glad I didn't. It's a lot of fun writing. However, it does seem the reviews are dropping slightly in number. Not that I want to sound whiny, but getting reviews is very encouraging, so I hope you decide to leave one if you read :)

I'm still considering to write that SYOC, and I also started thinking of a plot for a Sumireko/Mahiru story, but I haven't decided if I'll write either. We'll see.

Not much more to say, so I guess I'll leave it at that. Bye!