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Maki was fascinated by Nico.
Well, a better way to say it would be that Maki was head-over-heels in love with Nico. Not that she’d ever admit that.
So let’s just say that Maki was fascinated, instead.
“The course of true love never did run smooth!”
Nico spoke with a conviction that made it hard to believe she was only acting. Maki was as “no-BS” as they came, and she still had a hard time distinguishing when Nico meant what she was saying and when she was just reading off a script. After all, she had only ended up in the drama club because Nico’s performance captivated her.
CORRECTION: it fascinated her. That was all. There was absolutely nothing captivating about Nico Yazawa. Not her cute, short stature. Not her glowing red eyes. And definitely not the way she spun Shakespeare’s words around like a master seamstress. Or how she transported everyone watching her to a time of love; lost and yearning. Nope, not at all. Maki was simply fascinated.
Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself.
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged cupid painted blind.” Nico stated, as she stood in the middle of the stage. The audience watching was silent as they invested themselves in the story.
Maki pondered the gap between Nico’s true self and the guise she wore as “Super Actress Nico-nii”. When she was on stage, Nico moved with grace of the finest dancers, and spoke with the prose of the greatest poets the English language had to offer.
Off stage, she was just short (both in height and temper), spoiled, and arrogant.
But on stage, she was larger than life. She made Maki feel small, and Maki didn’t like that one bit.
Well, maybe she liked it a little bit.
Maybe her judgement was just biased. After all, she HAD visited Nico’s home before for a character study. Maybe seeing her melt in front of her siblings had skewed Maki’s view of her. Maybe the realization that Nico’s confidence came from such a raw place made Maki think of her differently. Maybe finding out that Nico Yazawa wasn’t just spitfire and venom, and that she was just another vulnerable person who refused to stay that way had caused Maki’s image of her to change.
Or maybe Maki was in love with Nico.
“Though she be but little, she is fierce!” Nico smirked lightly as she said this line. Maki smirked in tandem from her seat, knowing she was probably the only one who noticed. As well as for knowing just how much Nico loved that line. It basically defined her entire existence, after all.
As Maki continued to watch Nico perform, she allowed herself to become fully entranced by the dark-haired girl.
“Just this once.” Maki murmured to herself.
Maybe she was being overdramatic. Even if she liked Nico, which she didn’t, Nico was still her upperclassmen. She would go off to college by the time the year ended, and promptly forget about her red-haired, mean-faced classmate.
Just as Maki was preparing to give up on her ‘definite-not-crush’, Nico looked in her direction from the stage.
And promptly winked at her.
Maki could feel her face heating up. She proceeded to bury her face into her hands, as she couldn’t take the smirk she was sure Nico was currently sending her way.
Maki was indeed fascinated, but she also decided that it probably wouldn’t hurt to see how far her 'definite-not-crush' could go. She had nothing to lose but her pride, after all. And heaven knows how many people have told her she could use less of that. Maybe they were on to something.
That’s probably what that “old fart Shakespeare”, as Nico graciously dubbed him, would have said anyway.
Maybe if his words came out of Nico’s mouth instead, she might choose to listen.