Chapter Text
It was a busy afternoon, the sun barely setting just outside Hazawa Coffee’s window. The familiar sounds of plates clanking, the people talking and the fresh smell of baked goods and coffee was just like home to Afterglow as they sat at their usual table, waiting for Tsugumi to finish her shift so they could go on about their day and plans they have for the next few days.
In that space, Mitake Ran had been going through her bag and paused as she picked up a familiar envelope. Amidst her looking at it, she could see her friend walking up just behind her chair. “Ah! Ran chan, that's the event you've been invited to, right?” It was Tsugumi, who just took off her work apron and grabbed a chair to sit next to the others. Ran only gave her a slight nod, heaving a short sigh. “Yeah, it's for band vocalists all around Japan. It's taking place in a luxury hotel, and Kokoro even booked a few rooms for all of us girls band party vocalists for the weekend..”
“That's so Kokoro, I've heard her family is even sponsoring it.. that's crazy. But man, that sounds fun!” Tomoe pitched in, nibbling on some cookies that were left in front of them. Sure, it may sound fun at first glance, but for Ran, she was more worried than anything. She wasn't used to attending these kinds of events and even more so she didn't really want to mess things up or embarrass herself.
“Have you picked out what to wear yet? I'm sure you have a few fancy ones in your closet right?” More than anyone, it seemed like Himari was the most excited about it, scrolling her phone to see what the venue was like and what to expect from it, though since it was a private party, it didn't seem like too much was written about it, which only piqued her curiosity.
Ran put the envelope back into her bag and just shook her head. “About that, I'm actually not sure what to put on. I'm not satisfied with anything I’ve tried at home.” That seemed to have intrigued himari more than anything, scooting a little closer to the girl to hear what she had to say. “Ehh! That's not like you, Ran! You usually pick your outfits pretty easily, and the event is in a few days! What are you gonna do?!”
“I- I know, I know… it's just… I don't know. Maybe I'm a little nervous..”
The moment Ran let out that sentence, silence had engulfed the table and dumbfoundedness was written on everyone's face. The raven haired just blinked at them, not sure why they were looking at her so weird. Tomoe was the first one to break the ice. “Nah, dude.. that's not like you to get worked up over this..what's on your mind?”
“Eh..?” It was Ran’s turn to be confused by herself as well.
“Ran chan, if something is worrying you just let us know..”
“What- no, it's nothi-”
“Tch, tch. Tsugu~ you've got it all wrong..” Moca shook her head, her arms akimbo as she spoke. It was a success as she had caught everyone’s attention now. “It's not something…it's someone if you know what I mean~”
“wh- moca..!”
At first, it didn't seem like everyone understood what moca had implied by that statement, but slowly, they started to get it and they had very sneering smiles on their faces. The last thing Ran wanted was to be teased but here she was, having her childhood friends giggling around her for being so damn readable.
“what, if you're trying to impress minato san, you should've just said so, Ran!” Tomoe had this wide-ass smile plastered onto her face that it made Ran sink into her seat with a pout. “I-it's not like that..!” She still tried to deny it despite it being quite obvious; the last thing she wanted was to have a conversation about Minato Yukina. God knows that Ran saw Yukina as a simple rival at first, but recently, it felt more than that. And if there was one thing Ran was bad at, it was to hide said feelings from others. Heck, she didn't even realize it at first, until afterglow had pointed it out to her; Whether it was the intense stare she'd have on yukina during Roselia lives, or being clumsy around her, or even stuttering while speaking to her sometimes. Still, being aware of her own feelings had only made it worse for herself in so many ways.
“Don't try to hide it, dear ran~ I know~” moca had a smug smile as she gave Ran the look she always does when she knew what was up and it only made her stomach churn in which thing out of the thousand things she was going to blurt on about now. “You're going to be sharing a room with her in the hotel right~?”
Ran froze, her cheeks blossoming into a pink color right on the spot but the other girls’ reaction was way bigger than that. They all raised their voices in surprise, looking at Ran with awe on their faces. Even more so, the vocalist was like a snapping turtle, giving Moca a glare of absolute shame. “H-how do you even know that?!”
“Fufufu~ detective moca chan always knows the truth!”
“Moca!”
Moca frowned and glared back at Ran only to look away, crossing her arms as she sat one leg over the other in an exaggerated manner. “You're no fun~ but fine! I've heard it from Lisa san~ It seems minato san was smiling when she told her too, just saying ~”
“E-eh..?” Ran felt a sense of warmth all of a sudden but it was quick to go away when she realized it was moca saying that and she couldn't really trust her words would be accurate at all. They've been friends long enough for her to understand her jokes if it even was one. Before she could bark at moca again to get her to quit teasing, it was himari who spoke next.
“Wait, wait, wait..! Moreover, how did that even happen?! Did you ask her or something?!” Himari was standing up at this point, her eyes screaming rom-com fanatic and you could see how much adrenaline she had and everyone knows how unstoppable she is at that stage.
Ran looked down a bit embarrassed, her hands forming into fists. “N-no! I didn't .. Kokoro was like ‘it would be fun if everyone had someone to share a room with instead of spending the nights alone!’ so she suggested we group into pairs for each room..We are 8 vocalists after all..”
Honestly, she had mixed feelings about this happening; because as much as she liked being with Yukina, she knew she was gonna make a fool out of herself around her and it's worse that they'll be sharing a room for two days. She wonders if she'll be able to even sleep at all when the time comes.
“Wait, so was it random selection or something?” Tomoe asked.
“Ah no.. actually almost everyone was getting into pairs when we talked about it together last week and I just stood there and..” Ran stopped midway and her cheeks felt like they were ringing a little too much to her liking. “..Minato san suggested it to me..”
“Oooh~ she likes you~!” Moca sneered and put a hand over her mouth but Ran was quick to debunk that more than anything.
“Wh- no! It's just because she was being considerate, that's all!” Ran says that because she didn't really want to make assumptions at all. It was true though, she will admit that she did shamelessly make brief eye contact with yukina the moment Kokoro suggested sharing rooms, but they were both quick to look away. And before she knew it, Yukina was the one to initiate the conversation about it. Still, it was nice to know that she wouldn't mind sharing with her but it still weighed on her mind like a bowling ball.
“You know, I have an idea!” Tomoe suddenly blurted out and Ran was confused, but nonetheless decided to listen to what she had to say.
“What if you wear a suit?!” Enthusiasm was evident in Tomoe’s eyes and slowly it seemed like it got passed on to everyone else around the table. “I'm sure it'll impress her..!”
A suit..? Like a tuxedo, with a tie and everything? Rans got to admit, it did sound pretty tempting to wear but if she were to show up in a tuxedo to an all girls event, she'd stick out like a sore thumb. She hated the idea of being the center of attention but if it meant that Yukina would look her way, then maybe… wait!
Ran shook her head at the thought, but it was so excruciating to even think about, she couldn't even gather her brain cells together.
“I..I guess I could, but I don't think I'll be able to pull it off..”
“What are you talking about! You'd look amazing! We’ll even help you style it, right guys?!” Himari looked around and it seemed that everyone was on board. Ran just sighed, but the tender look on everyone’s visage had given her some kind of calmness and she was quite pleased to have such supporting friends.
“Then let's go shopping right now!”
“Eh, now?!”
“We'll definitely find the best suit for Ran! Ready guys?!
Ei, Ei, oh~!
—hey, do it with me~!”
-End