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Miu adjusted her outfit, the gear adorned hat from her costume finally resting comfortably on her head. The music from the Halloween party was audible through the door in front of her. She took a breath, then stepped forward into the gym.
It’s not like she necessarily wanted to spend her night at a Halloween party, much preferring to spend her time inventing instead of any poor attempts to socialize with her sorry excuse for classmates. She knew that if she didn’t go, then she wouldn’t hear the end of it from Kaede. The eccentric pianist worked hard to organize the ultimate courses’ Halloween night and has been all but begging Miu to not flake out on it. Sure, she had probably been trying hard to get all their classmates to attend, but Miu liked to think Kaede wanted her especially.
The promise of Kaede being there would have been enough to drag Miu out, but she didn’t need to know that. As hard as Miu tried denying her little crush on Kaede, she couldn’t help but be a little excited to see her. She would never outright admit it, but being around Kaede made her happy.
She figured she couldn’t enjoy the night if she spent it stressing about her maybe-possibly crush, so she pushed the thoughts aside and prepared for whatever the night threw her way.
Half an hour in and Miu had caught no sight of Kaede.
It's not like she was necessarily trying to scope her out and remind herself about her definitely-not-a-crush, it was just hard to notice her not being there. Miu would often stick to Kaede during school events, reveling in the kindness she was treated to in the other girl's presence. It’s even attributed to why Miu has … completely normal feelings about Kaede! Nothing more!
Besides, Miu found another way to entertain herself without Kaede. Shortly after entering the dance, she met up with Kokichi and Kiibo who were arguing about something or other. Or rather, Kiibo was arguing and Kokichi was goading them on. After a quick back and forth of insults to each other's costumes, the trio had spent the better part of those 30 minutes commenting on the costumes of their peers. Kokichis and Miu’s obviously more akin to insulting over commenting, much to the chagrin of Kiibo.
“Oooh look at Maki-roll over there.” Kokichi excitedly pointed across the gym. “A black cat? Golly gee so original!
Miu crossed her arms. “I blame Space Cuck. He probably made her wear it.”
“I wish you both would stop being so hostile to our classmates!” Kiibo butted in.
“Aww, cry about it.” Kokichi teased. “Do you realize how nice we’re being, Kii-boo? Your ghost costume isn't exactly getting you any tonight.”
“Yea, Kii-boob, relax a little, why don't you give it a try? A lot could be said about Tsumugi’s shitty nun costume.”
“I don't think I want to.”
“Laaaame!” Kokichi crossed his arms as his eyes scanned the room again. His eyes lit up as he spotted his next targets. “Hey, hey, look! My darling Kaede and Shuichi are finally here.”
Miu’s head snapped to look where Kokichi was watching. She was admittedly embarrassed by her excitement to see Kaede, but—
Miu’s heart sank. Kokichi said she came with Shuichi, but there was nothing that could’ve prepared her for what she saw. Kaede was in a witch costume – a rather attractive one in Miu’s opinion, too – but that wasn’t the problem. The issue came with Shuichi. His costume was something that looked either like a vampire or a magician, the specifics didn’t matter to Miu, it only mattered that their costumes were awfully similar. Undeniably, they were supposed to be matching. Miu tried not to let her little crush affect her all that much but seeing them together like that killed her mood.
“I wonder if Himiko is going to fight them for going after her brand.” Kokichi was still going, though. “Or maybe a magic duel.”
Miu tuned him out. As much as she loves making fun of her classmates, her mood was shot.
She detested the sight, but she didn’t look away from Kaede. Miu kept staring as if she would blink and suddenly Shuichi would be gone. That their whole matching thing was something Miu imagined and not actually real. But it was real. Kaede’s head turned enough for her eyes to catch Miu’s, and for a split second, they made eye contact. Miu whipped her head away as fast as she could. Everything felt stuffy all of a sudden and her costume felt too warm. She needed to get out.
She looked back at Kokichi and Kiibo. Kiibo was again trying to reprimand Kokichi about his rude behavior, something Miu saw as a prime opportunity to slip out.
She turned away from the two before speaking. “I’m stepping out for a minute. It’s hot as balls in here.” The excuse was directed more at Kiibo than Kokichi, knowing they would be more concerned if she randomly disappeared.
They stopped their conversation with Kokichi and turned to her. “Okay. Please don’t refrain from telling either of us if anything is wrong.” Their voice was full of concern. They were probably able to tell something was wrong, but Miu doubted they knew exactly what it was. She wanted to keep it that way. Miu nodded her head and walked out into the hallway.
Once out of the gym, she made her way to a spot against a wall. Only a few paces from the doors, but she already felt so far from everything. She placed her back against the wall, alleviated by the cold surface. She shut her eyes hard and pressed her palms over them.
It’s just a little crush, it really is, so why is it affecting her so much? Shuichi and Kaede are close, that she’s always known, but matching costumes? They might as well be having sex for everyone to see. It should have been obvious that something was going on, Miu thought she was stupid for ever thinking her dumb crush could go anywhere. She dropped her hands to her sides and tried to keep her breathing steady. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door to the gym swing open.
Kaede stepped into the hallway. “Hey, Miu. I’m glad you came. You never seemed like you wanted to.”
Fuck. She forgot about the eye contact she made with Kaede a minute ago. She totally saw Miu rush out. She can’t appear distressed, she has to act normal.
“Heh. Came.” Perfect.
“Are you alright? I saw you walk out here kind of suddenly.” Of course she’d worry like that. Miu turned her head away. She was usually awful when it came to lying, so maybe half truths would be easier.
“I’m… alright. Gym’s hot as fuck n’ was getting hard to breath.” She turned her head back towards Kaede, a strained smile on her lips. “And as much as I love being hot and bothered, I'm not a fan of breath play.”
Kaede hummed in acknowledgement and moved to lean against the wall opposite to Miu. “Do you mind if I stay out here with you? It’s pretty stuffy in there and this cape isn’t doing me any favors.” She tugged at her neckline to give herself a little breathing room.
“Do whatever the fuck you want.” Silence filled the space between them. Miu’s eyes were downcast on the floor, unaware of Kaede’s eyes on her until she glanced up.
Kaede spoke first, “I know I already said this, but I’m really glad you came.” Pink tinged Kaede’s cheeks as a smile overtook her lips. “Every time I would bring up this party to you, you made it seem like going was the last thing you wanted to do. So, it makes me happy that you’re here.”
That brought some color to Miu’s cheeks. She was excited by the implications behind Kaede’s praise for her attendance, but had to remind herself that Kaede came there with Shuichi, not her. As much as she’d love trying to spend the night ruining any semblance of romance between them, she really wasn’t in the mood. Though, she still tried to act normal.
“Everyone’s glad when I come. And if I didn’t, I know I’d never hear the end of your whining about it.” Miu gave Kaede a once-over, “and weren’t you the one that was late? Who would’ve thought I’d be more of an upstanding student than Kaede Akamatsu,” she teased.
Kaede looked amused. “It’s not my fault, Shuichi lost his cape.”
Ah, there it is again. Another blatant reminder, just what she needed. Miu stared at the floor once again, suddenly not wanting to continue the conversation any longer. She just couldn’t keep acting like it didn’t bother her. Kaede must have noticed her sudden change in mood, because she moved from her side of the hallway to Miu’s.
Kaede couldn’t have been more than a foot from Miu’s side. “I really like your costume. It’s very… Miu, ” Kaede said softly. Miu didn’t respond to her. “Hey, is everything alright? You seemed fine a moment ago, you can talk to me if you need to.”
“...Fuck off…” Miu shifted her head downward, her hair falling into her face and blocking Kaede from her sight. She knew she was being emo as hell, but she just didn’t care at that point.
“Miu…” Kaede tried to brush away the newly obstructing hair strands on the inventor's face. “You can tell me what’s wrong.” Miu turned her head away from Kaede, deterring any attempts to unobstruct her face.
“Go suck off Shuichi if you want someone to talk to.”
“Is that what this is about?” Kaede sharply exhaled and tried again to push another strand of Miu’s hair behind her ear. Miu recoiled, the hair falling back in front of her face. “If you think I’m dating him, I’m not.” Miu lifted her head, her eyes catching Kaede’s.
Miu stood up straight, “Don’t lie, bitch. I mean, matching costumes? Might as well be telling the whole school ‘we fuck”
Kaede raised her voice, “Matching costumes don’t mean that! Have you never matched with a friend before?”
Miu didn’t want to answer that
Kaede’s voice softened again, “Hey Miu, were you jealous?”
She didn’t want to answer that either!
“O-of course not! Fucks there to be jealous of, dumpy tits!”
Kaede leaned her back against the wall and stared straight ahead. A moment passed before she spoke, “I mean… I could help you.” Kaede looked back to Miu, an apologetic expression on her face. “If you like Shuichi-”
“Fucking-! No, it’s not that, hell it’s-” she hugged her arms around herself and averted her eyes. “It’s not… Shuichi,” she murmured
“Oh!” Kaede perked up, her cheeks faintly turning red as she understood. “It’s, ah, is it me then?” She scratched her cheek demurely.
Miu didn’t answer, just hugging her arms around herself tighter. Kaede took that as a good enough answer.
Kaede walked away from the wall until she was standing in front of Miu. “I never asked you this because I didn’t know if you even wanted to go, but…” she held a hand out to Miu. “Do you want to go with me to the Halloween party at the school?”
Miu was taken aback by her offer, not expecting it in the slightest. “Huh??” Kaede smiled fondly at her reaction, keeping her hand extended.
“I like you, Miu. Will you be my date for the night?”
Miu didn’t respond at first, paralyzed by shock. The girl she likes likes her back? She’d say her freezing was justified. It took her a few seconds to shake off the daze but she recovered. She smirked, then took Kaede’s hand. Kaede’s smile grew, then she used her hand holding Miu’s to pull the inventor close to her in a swift movement.
She tucked a rogue strand of hair behind Miu’s ear. “Feel better now?.”
“Yep, you really know how to put the moves on a girl, Piano Freak. Good to know I give you a hard on too.” Miu teased.
“Maybe don’t word it like that…” Kaede faltered..
Miu looked towards the doors to the gym, faint music able to be heard from the party. She turned to Kaede, “So, had enough of a breather to go back in?”
Kaede furrowed her eyebrows, “shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Miu just stuck her tongue out in response. Kaede gently sighed as her face relaxed, “but if you're ready, then so am I.” She squeezed Miu’s hand, and started to walk towards the gym.
Kaede stopped in place and turned towards Miu. “Oh wait, one more thing.” Before Miu could really register what Kaede said, she felt Kaede’s lips press against her cheek. Her face exploded with color as Kaede beamed at her.
“Let’s go,” Kaede resumed her walk to the gym, Miu in tow. The inventor smiled, remnants of the kiss buzzing on her cheek, and followed Kaede.