Update! Thanks so much for the reviews; they are much appreciated. Additional side note: I don't own Romeo and Juliet either. Or Dire Straits. Why don't I own more things?

CHAPTER TWO

Ritsu was subdued. Mio could see it from here where she trudged behind the group, her gaze fixed on Ritsu's back. Ritsu was smiling enough that the others weren't questioning her lack of participation, but Mio could tell; she was hanging back a step and her gait lacked its usual spring.

Yui, Azusa and Mugi, meanwhile, were extremely animated, fired up by their new club goal.

"Noppufura!" Yui exclaimed. "Sounds yummy!"

"It's Knopfler, Yui-sempai. Mark Knopfler. He's the lead guitarist, so you're playing his part."

"His name is weird! Knoffel… Knoflup… Knolpuff."

Azusa narrowed her eyes at her. "You were closer when you thought he was a food."

"Do you think we could translate the spoken word parts to Japanese?" asked Mugi. "I think it might be better received if nothing gets lost in translation."

Mio physically cringed. Getting lost in translation was her only remaining hope.

"Good idea, Mugi-sempai." Dashed. "Should we tell people in advance to generate interest or let it be a surprise?"

Surprise. Then she could plead forgotten lyrics on the day.

"Hype, hype, hype!" Yui chanted. Azusa murmured her agreement.

Mio wondered what she had ever done to her friends to warrant such an absurd punishment. Weren't there enough classic songs in the world for this outcome to be avoidable? She had enjoyed the play well enough once it was happening, but it hadn't made the prospect of the school's undivided, adoring attention any more appealing.

Besides which, Mio found everyone's assumptions to be… disconcerting. To have said, during casting, that Juliet had to be Ritsu. Had to be, because Mio was Romeo. Because there could be no Mio without Ritsu. Because Ritsu was supposed to be beside Mio in every thinkable way – even opposite her in a romance. Mio enjoyed her closeness to Ritsu but she didn't like how hard it was pushed by other people, as if their togetherness was some obvious fact of life that she just couldn't–

"Oof!"

Mio's chest cavity collided with Ritsu's back. Apparently they had stopped and Mio had failed to notice. Ritsu staggered forwards. "Are you okay, Ricchan?" Mugi asked.

"It's okay," said Ritsu. "Her boobs softened the-"

Ritsu received another thump.

"How is it my fault?" she griped. Mio didn't dignify that with an answer. They were at the crossing where they typically parted ways from the others, so the girls said their goodbyes and Ritsu and Mio continued on alone. Mio had expected Ritsu to revert to normal once it was just the two of them – to fall back into their usual dynamic, freed from constant chatter about their impending musical doom – yet Ritsu still didn't say much of anything. She initiated not one conversation and answered all questions concisely.

Mio started to grow impatient. They rounded the final corner onto Ritsu's street and the words left her mouth before she could stop them.

"Why aren't you making fun of me?" She had no idea why she had asked that. Having pointed it out, she waited for the tirade of friendly abuse to finally begin; yet nothing came. Instead Ritsu gave her a strange look. "Why would I? I have to do it too, you know."

What do you mean, why would you? Mio thought. "That doesn't bother you normally," she persisted. Was she seriously demanding Ritsu's endless teasing?

Ritsu shrugged. "We've done it before right? With the play. I'm tired of joking about it."

Mio eyed her suspiciously. "When have you ever tired of-"

"I better practise," Ritsu said abruptly. She broke eye contact. "It's a slow song, but there are a few parts I should learn."

"Oh." Mio blinked and stopped walking, thrown off-track now her question had been severed. "Right."

"See you tomorrow," Ritsu said. Her smile was faint, her expression unfathomable. Mio wasn't used to being unable to read Ritsu's eyes, and she found immediately that she didn't like it.

She didn't have time to ask anything further: by the time Mio had registered Ritsu's departure, she was too far from reach.

Mio dropped into her desk chair and flipped open her laptop. Once it had loaded, she opened her browser and began her search for bass tabs.

Click. Click. Click.

Huffing softly, she sat back in her seat and whipped a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She was annoyed, that was all. Ritsu was just annoyed that she had been drafted back into the nonsense of Mio's mathematically impossible levels of popularity. How could so many people be drawn to someone so shy she couldn't even speak to them? Mio shook her head. High school girls made absolutely no sense.

Mio glanced across at her phone. Ritsu should have sent her a text about an axe murderer breaking into her house by now. Tonight, however, Mio had received nothing. She frowned.

Crossing the room, she extracted Elizabeth from her case. Her father was working from home so she opted for her headphone amp, inserted one earphone and gently adjusted her tuning keys. She played through the song, faltering once or twice, before growing used to the progression and picking up speed. She downloaded Romeo and Juliet onto her computer and played against it for comparison. After a tweak here and there she was confident the tabs were right.

By the time she glanced at the clock again, it was nine-twenty; she dutifully unplugged Elizabeth and set her back on her stand. Her parents had assigned a nine-thirty curfew for bass practice which Mio understood and respected. She returned to her seat and resolved to memorise the tabs whilst listening to the song, her fingers twitching unconsciously with each change.

Her phone vibrated; it was Ritsu.

The killer's behind you!

Mio shrieked and spun around to check but, of course, there was nothing. Quiet laughter escaped her, shaky and sheepish; a relieved smile settled across her face. She called her an idiot, set her phone down and headed for the shower.

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