They had spent all week working on their project. At first, they had been hanging out in the café after work for several hours trying to find a song. It had proved difficult, seeing as they needed a song that fit their voices and that had lyrics that fit both of them.
Eventually, they had found a song that worked out pretty well for both of them.
They spent the rest of the week practicing whenever they found time, but with school, clashing shifts at the café and Haruki having to take care of her family, there hadn't been nearly as much time as they would've wanted.
They would practice at the café before it opened in the morning and after it closed in the evening, they'd practice as they walked home together after school and maybe stop at the park for some extra time.
Eventually, they had managed to make it sound pretty good, and although it had been stressful, Haruki had to admit it had been lots of fun, and she had enjoyed spending time with Mahiru.
It was the day before the dance, and they were more or less done with all the preparations. School had just ended, and Haruki's shift didn't start for another hour or so, giving her and Mahiru some time to hang out in the park.
They were on the swing set, Haruki swinging lazily back and forth while Mahiru was humming on the song they were going to perform at the dance.
The atmosphere was relaxing and comfortable, which Haruki found a bit odd.
She hadn't known Mahiru that long, but it felt like they had been friends for ages. She liked to think of the girl like a little sister that she needed to look out for.
"Cause you're the one for me
And I'm the one for you
You take the both of us
And we're the-"
Mahiru stopped mid-sentence, taken aback by the sudden sound of Haruki's phone calling.
She took it out of her pocket and glanced at it. The caller ID said Isuke.
While she wasn't quite sure what she could say if Isuke asked her the wrong questions, she didn't think it would be wise not to answer either.
Besides, she hadn't been able to spend much time with her the last couple of days, and she was starting to miss her.
"Hey," she greeted her girlfriend casually.
"Where are you?" spoke Isuke's voice. She sounded rather annoyed. Not furious, but undeniably annoyed.
"Oh, um…" she stuttered, "The teacher let us out early, so I thought I'd go pick up some stuff at the store before my shift starts."
Yeah, that was a decent excuse.
She didn't want to tell her about the song, because that would ruin the surprise and then it wouldn't be all that awesome anymore.
"Did you forget we were supposed to walk home together today?"
"Uh, did I say that?" she asked, "Sorry, Isuke-sama, I guess I forgot. You aren't mad, are you?"
Isuke giggled, but there was a bitter undertone to it.
"No. It's just that you've been so busy this week," she admitted.
"Yeah, I know. I've had a lot to do."
"Are you sure that's all? No secrets this time, remember?"
That's true, she had said that. But this was different. She was trying to do something nice for her, so it didn't truly count as a secret, did it?
"I haven't forgotten," Haruki promised her, "And there's nothing to worry about, ok? I'm just kinda busy at the moment, but it won't last that much longer."
It was the best she could come up with without letting her know what she was up to. Unless, of course, she came up with some lie, but she didn't want to have to do that anymore.
"You sure you're alright? Isuke isn't mad, you know," she spoke more softly, "I just worry about you, especially when you say things like that."
Haruki laughed, trying to comfort her.
"It's nothing, I swear. I'll tell you about it tomorrow."
With that, she hung up on Isuke and put her phone back in her pocket and stood up.
"I should go. That call reminded me I actually do need to go shopping," she excused herself, picking up her bag.
"Think it'll go well tomorrow?" Mahiru asked, her voice low but clear. The stammering was getting less frequent, probably because they were getting to know each other better.
"You're kidding, right? Hanabusa is totally the type for that stuff. She's going to love it."
And she really hoped Isuke would, too.
Isuke stood beside Nio, her arms crossed and a frown on her face that managed to keep people from asking her for a dance.
The dance was a success so far. There were lots of students there and the overall mood was nice. Almost everyone appeared to be having fun.
Isuke, however, wasn't having any fun at all.
Haruki had said she would meet her there, but she still hadn't arrived half an hour after the dance started.
She'd been so distant the past few days, and whenever she had tried to question her about it, she'd come up with some cheap excuse and run off shortly after.
It wasn't that Isuke didn't trust her. She did, but it was rather strange, and she was becoming worried about her.
"Hey, earth to Isuke!" sang Nio, poking her arm to grab her attention.
She looked questioningly at her friend, who wore a dress that reached all the way to the floor and a jacket to cover her shoulders and arms. Nio never wanted to show any skin. Isuke couldn't understand how she managed to find any pretty clothes at all. Shopping must be such a pain for her.
"Look over there." Nio pointed towards the stage.
Just by the stage, she spotted Mizorogi-sensei, and he was talking to two girls.
Taking a closer look, she realized it was Haruki and Mahiru.
Isuke was about to walk over to them, but changed her mind when she saw the two girls stepping up on stage.
"What is she doing?" Isuke asked, figuring the blonde probably knew something about it. She always did, after all.
"Wait and see, why don't you," snickered Nio playfully.
"Yo, guys!" spoke Haruki, attracting everyone's attention, "If you could quiet down for a sec, I'd like to say something."
The girl paused, waiting for everyone to stop muttering.
"I'm Sagae Haruki, and this is Banba Mahiru, and…" she trailed off. Obviously, she hadn't prepared an introduction in advance, and didn't know how to continue. "Have you ever had something you wanted to say to someone, but you didn't know how to get your feelings across? Maybe you wanted to tell them how you felt about them, or maybe you just wanted to do something nice for someone who's done a lot for you?"
The crowd started muttering again, some agreeing to what she said, while others seemed to think it was pretty stupid and only wanted the music to be switched back on.
"I'm not really sure you guys know what I'm talking about right now. And I'm not sure I know it either…" This earned a good laugh from the audience. "But I think that's kinda where we stand right now, so we thought we'd perform a song, if you wanna listen."
Loud cheers of encouragement could be heard, and it seemed to boost Haruki's confidence.
"Alright!" she yelled, now far more comfortable on stage, "This song is dedicated to Inukai Isuke and Hanabusa Sumireko, so give them an applause."
Her announcement was followed by a loud applause, bonus some cheering and whistling.
After the crowd calmed down, Mahiru walked up to the microphone, adjusting it so it fit her height. She cleared her throat, and waited for a few seconds until the music started playing from the speakers.
"Oh, oh,
Yeah, yeah"
To begin with, her voice was low and raspy, and it was easy to tell that she was nervous. Even from this distance, Isuke was sure she could see the girl trembling slightly, and she had yet to look up at the audience.
The music continued, and the silver haired girl's lips moved, but not a sound could be heard. It was then that Haruki stepped forward and began to sing, her voice loud and clear.
"-peanut butter to my jelly
You can be the butterflies I feel in my belly
You can be the captain and I can be your first mate
You can be the chills that I feel on our first date"
Even though she was forced to jump in in the middle of a sentence, it was a nice save, and her voice was surprisingly beautiful, Isuke thought.
Haruki's help somehow seemed to snap Mahiru back into reality and gather up some courage, for as the next verse started, she sang too. This time, her voice was louder, on par with her costar's powerful voice.
"You can be the hero and I can be your side kick
You can be the tear that I'll
cry if we ever split
You can be the rain from the cloud when it's stormin'
Or you can be the sun when it shines in the mornin'"
Isuke leaned toward Nio as she spoke, so that the girl would hear her through the music.
"I didn't know Haruki could sing," she stated simply, her mind still unable to comprehend the entire situation. Nio shrugged and smiled slightly.
"Haruki has always loved to sing, she's just never been much of a performer," she informed, "I had no idea Banba-chan had such a great voice, though. I mean, she's always so quiet…"
"Don't know if I could ever be
Without you cause girl you complete me
And in time I know that we'll both see
That we're all we need"
Isuke nodded. Mahiru stepping up and performing in front of the entire school had come as just as much of a shock to her as to anyone.
She must really like Sumireko, if she went out of her way for her like that …
"Cause you're the apple to my pie
You're the straw to my berry
You're the smoke to my high (ow)
And you're the one I wanna marry"
She looked around for Sumireko, wanting to know if she was even around, and how she was reacting to this, but it was too crowded to see much more than five meters in each direction, and the dim lighting didn't help much either.
Eventually, she gave up on searching for the blonde and decided to just enjoy the performance.
"Cause you're the one for me (for me)
And I'm the one for you (for you)
You take the both of us (of us)
And we're the perfect two"
Haruki looked great up on stage, like she was born to be up there. Not only was her voice amazing, but she seemed so passionate about it, making it feel like, no matter what she was singing, it would get to you.
"We're the perfect two
We're the perfect two
Baby me and you
We're the perfect two"
And she looked happy. While her lips moved to shape the words, there was a bright smile in her glinting golden eyes.
"You can be the prince and I can be your princess
You can be the sweet tooth I can be the dentist
You can be the shoes and I can be the laces
You can be the heart that I spill on the pages"
Isuke would have to admit, that right there and then, she was happy, too. Standing there, listening to Haruki sing to her, knowing she'd done all this for her, it made her so very happy.
It might be a bit stupid. Inukai Isuke wasn't normally supposed to go all soft and mushy, she didn't normally feel all warm and fussy inside.
But then again, nothing was normal around Haruki. She wasn't quite the same person around her, but she still felt more like herself than around anyone else.
"You can be the vodka and I can be the chaser
You can be the pencil and I can be the paper
You can be as cold as the winter weather
But I don't care as long as we're together"
Being together with Haruki felt right.
"Don't know if I could ever be
Without you cause girl you complete me
And in time I know that we'll both see
That we're all we need"
The two kept singing, and by now the crowd was going wild with excitement. They were cheering so loudly Isuke almost felt like screaming at them to shut up. She knew it was normal for the audience to be excited during performances, but she always felt like they got too loud and ruined the song.
But as she looked back at the girls on stage, and spotted Haruki looking right at her as she sang, she soon forgot about them.
"Cause you're the apple to my pie
You're the straw to my berry"
"You're the smoke to my high
And you're the one I wanna marry"
"Cause you're the one for me (for me)
And I'm the one for you (for you)
You take the both of us (of us)
And we're the perfect two"
She averted her attention to the other singer for a moment, starting to wonder what would happen between Mahiru and Sumireko after this.
Sure, she was happy Haruki did something like this for her, but they were already together, to it wouldn't change much for them.
But this was Mahiru's way of finally confessing her feelings to Sumireko. Would it bring them together, after everything that had happened? Or would it perhaps lead to even more complications?
"We're the perfect two
We're the perfect two
Baby me and you
We're the perfect two"
"You know that I'll never doubt ya
And you know that I think about ya
And you know I can't live without ya"
Isuke hoped it would all work out for the best. She was tired of the drama. Of everything. She wanted to work on her relationship with her girlfriend and become friends with Sumireko again.
All she wanted, was for all the pain and hurt to end, so that they could finally be happy.
"I love the way that you smile
And maybe in just a while
I can see us walk down the aisle"
"Cause you're the apple to my pie
You're the straw to my berry
You're the smoke to my high
And you're the one I wanna marry"
"Cause you're the one for me (for me)
And I'm the one for you (for you)
You take the both of us (of us)
And we're the perfect two"
"We're the perfect two
We're the perfect two
Baby me and you
We're the perfect two (perfect two me and you)"
The music ended and was replaced by a loud applause.
Haruki and Mahiru panted heavily, trying to regain their breath, but they both looked satisfied, smiling and waving at the audience.
Mahiru was barely recognizable in that moment. She didn't seem shy or scared or anything. She was brimming with confidence and the excitement and happiness made her face brighten up. Isuke never even realized she had such a beautiful smile before.
As the applause slowly subdued, Haruki brought the microphone closer and thanked everyone. Then she placed it back in its spot and left the stage along with Mahiru.
They stopped just by the stage, exchanging a few words before they parted.
Haruki pushed through the crowd towards Isuke. People tried to make way, but she wasn't patient enough to wait for them and just kept pushing forth.
It felt like an eternity before she reached the spot where Isuke stood.
The goofy smile was still covering her face, and she was a bit sweaty, her cheeks red, but she still managed to look gorgeous. She was about to say something. Isuke figured she probably wanted to ask what she'd thought about the performance, but Isuke didn't give her a possibility to speak.
She grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her into a deep kiss.
At first she seemed a bit surprised that Isuke had kissed her like that in front of the entire school, while everyone's eyes were still on them, but then she decided to go with it.
She placed her hands gently on Isuke's hips, pulling her closer as she returned the passionate kiss.
As they kissed, they received yet another applause from the students, which soon led to them breaking apart as they could no longer refrain from laughing.
After people had stopped clapping and returned to what they were doing before, Haruki smiled softly at Isuke.
"So…" she spoke hesitantly, "What did you think? Too cheesy? Embarrassing? All too rom-com musical?"
Isuke giggled at how cute she was being. Haruki wasn't usually the insecure type, so it these moments were insanely adorable.
"I won't deny that it had that a certain High School Musical element to it," she replied jokingly, "But you were amazing."
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
She placed her hand gently on Haruki's cheek, moving her head so that their eyes met.
"Really," she promised, her voice completely serious.
Without warning, Haruki pulled her into a strong embrace.
Isuke knew her hair would look like a mess afterwards, and she felt like she was being suffocated. Overall, it wasn't the most elegant hug, but she didn't care.
"Thank you, Isuke-sama!" she exclaimed, and Isuke struggled to let out a laugh.
"Are you stupid?" she asked, "I'm the one who should be thanking you."
Haruki finally let go of her, laughing embarrassedly as she rubbed her neck. Classic Haruki.
"I guess you should, huh."
"Yeah, so…" Isuke agreed, "Thank you, Haruki. And you do have some pretty crazy ideas sometimes, but you're pretty awesome."
"You too, Isuke-sama," smiled the redhead genuinely.
Hello everyone.
So, I know it's been more than two months since the last update now, and I'm sorry that it took so long and that I didn't write a message. It's just that I've been having kind of a hard time lately and I haven't had much spare time or motivation to write, but I feel like I'm getting better now. A few days ago, I suddenly started thinking about this fanfic and I read through a few of the chapters. It reminded me of how much fun I had when I was working on this project, so I decided I wanted to try and start it back up.
Now, I don't have any guarantees that I'll keep working on it, but we'll see. Anyway, it's great to be back, and I hope there'll still be some people reading after all this time.
Yeah, so I don't have anything else to say, other than I hope you decide to leave a review and hopefully there'll be another update rather soon.