Now, pretty Jenny, I'm running back home to you… Fresh out the slammer, I know who my first call will be to…

Another summer, this one spent in Japan rather than America, the diva took cover as it rained. Her unit's most recent song—Raindrops—echoed in her mind. Maybe the metaphor was a little heavy-handed, but that because it was accurate. Once an American Queen, Neo was dethroned and exiled from her kingdom, forced to flee and take refuge an ocean away. Now she was just… a lost, lonely teenage girl, not even a princess.

They don't understand me… The fans. The rivals. Sho. Her parents. Even her own unit-mates. They understood she was upset at being stranded in Japan, but it was more than just that… Splintered back in winter, silent dinners, bitter, Neo kept an icy distant from that weird, annoying blonde chick that came all the way over from Japan to spend a year in an America middle school (for some reason).

Flash forward to high school, and Neo again found herself a classmate of Yuka "Jennifer" Sasago and she was surprised by how fast the name surfaced from the depths of her memory. They hadn't spoken in years, after all. And whose fault was that…? It was another reason Neo hated it here, and why she knew no one would ever understand her. Except perhaps Yuka… But though Neo wanted to talk to her, now she lacked the courage.

If only she knew Yuka felt the same way. Gray and blue and fights and tunnels… They were both thinking of the days spent, hours perusing New York City together, rain and shine. They argued, bickered, bantered, and teased. Yuka showed Neo all her favorite "hiding places", a secret only they shared. Handcuffed to the spell I was under. Ah, what Yuka wouldn't have done for just one more hour of sunshine…!

Instead, it was years of labor, locks, and ceilings. Neo made her choice and paid the price. In the past, she considered herself superior to the daft and unprofessional VJ. Oh, how the DJ turntables turned. Yuka seemed free and happy as a bird, full of fire and light. Neo, meanwhile, was still trapped in the shade of how she, and those she secretly wanted to impress, were feeling.

But it's gonna be all right, I did my time… Neo tried to tell herself. Sometimes it still felt like a lie. It would be years of labor again, but with any luck, this time it would be a labor of love… Now, pretty Jenny, I'm running back home to you… It took a couple more weeks, but Neo finally found the courage to approach the other blonde after school one day.

ooo

Camera flashes, welcome bashes, Neo was surprised, then even a little impressed and understanding. Not only did Yuka not instantly reject Neo's request to talk, but she even suggested that they spend a night out on the town. That way they could talk alone, but they'd still be in a public space so that if anything got too intense or awkward, it wasn't just them in, say, Yuka's bedroom or Neo's new apartment.

But it was more than just that. Neo watched as Yuka stood on the balcony of one building, tossing a handful of glitter down below. It was a summer block party, and anyone who passed through that part of town was automatically part of it. Yuka pretended the confetti was ashes. This was a new beginning, even though old feelings were already starting to resurface… Then Yuka finally turned to Neo.

"As I said in my letters, now that I know better, I will never lose my true self again." What she meant was that in all the years she wrote to Neo, even when she stopped sending letters and merely shredded them after she was done, she'd gone through her own struggles trying to move on from the vocalist and not let it damage her self-esteem or self-worth too badly. She failed miserably at first, but she kept trying.

Neo winced guiltily, but Yuka wasn't saying this to make her feel bad. She even shook her head compassionately. They were words for Yuka too. She had to remind herself no matter how badly she wanted to try again with Neo, they could never go back. Maybe in a movie, but not reality. Sometimes broken-up loves were never stitched back together. Instead, they were called to build a new type of relationship with each other.

Neo seemed to understand, and even though she looked away, elbows on the balcony as she stared idly at the bustling and darkening streets below, she spoke. "My friends tried, but I wouldn't hear it. They watched me daily disappearing…" In her madness she slipped further and further away from them, but even though she abandoned them, they did not abandon her. In particular, her DJ… whom she'd been exceptionally cruel to.

"I… She deserves better… She was one of the first to declare allegiance to me even when the rest of the world laughed. I had never seen such conviction from her before… She deserves better, but for some reason, I'm the one she wants." Four blue eyes met, Neo's pleading. Yuka understood her silent question and nodded. Neo really had changed. She wanted to do right by her next girlfriend, if that was what Sophia became.

Sophia… Yuka shuddered at the name at first, an old flare of jealousy rising up in her heart. Way to kill the mood, Neo… Here we are talking about OUR relationship and you bring in someone you supposedly love more than me…. But Yuka quashed those feelings down quickly. They would have to be addressed eventually, but she did her time too. Fresh out the slammer, she didn't want to go back so soon. Besides, she understood Neo.

It was how she felt with Peaky, unable to tell them her most important secret even when they worried about her occasional bouts of gloom. But Yuka still loved them deeply because she knew they loved her. Her eyes drifted back to Neo's face. Past and present, Yuka had the same thought. What she wouldn't have done for just one glimpse of Neo's smile… All those nights you kept me going, swirled you into all of my poems…

Even though Yuka spent half her time raging about and resenting Neo, she spent the other half thinking wondering where Neo was, and if she ever thought of Yuka, and what. Embarrassing, but true. Neo was never far from Yuka's mind, though it came in ebbs and flows. Now they were at the starting line, feeling almost like they had when they met, at least on Yuka's side, both a little shy and uncertain.

But's gonna be all right, I did my time… Neo finally looked back at Yuka. No more words were spoken, but none were needed.

ooo

Now, pretty baby, I'm running… Neo approached the little old house, simple but pleasant. The porch lights were on, and for a moment, she hesitated, lurking in the shadows at the edge of the light. But what was she afraid of? The one she was looking for was still waiting up in that porch light gleam. Yuka's eyes lit up and she waved from the door, opening it quickly. Four blue eyes met again.

To the one who says I'm the girl of her American dreams… For the first time in far too long, the two girls finally started to forgive not just each other, but themselves as well. And no matter what I've done, it wouldn't matter anyway. Ain't no way I'm gonna screw up now that I know what's at stake here… For Yuka, it was the risk of trying to rekindle a relationship with Neo. For Neo, it was losing Sophia the way she lost Yuka.

Each girl was ready for her second chance, but first… Yuka took Neo to the closest park that looked the most like the ones in New York City. There was playground there with a set of swings, and Neo understood immediately. At the park where we used to sit on children's swings... wearing imaginary rings… She looked at Yuka and knew at once Yuka was thinking the same thing, for she was staring pensively at Neo's left hand.

Then each girl turned her face to the moon above and took a deep breath in and out. Old feelings were still there, still conflicting with new ones, but… It's gonna be all right, I did my time…

AN: TFW you hear a Taylor Swift song with the lyrics "American dream" and realize the song is all about reconciling after splitting apart. Also this could be considered the new "official ending" since it takes place after "The One" (which was the previous official ending).