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Umika rolled her eyes as Kairi paced back and forth in front of her, carefully cradling a bouquet of red roses. "I don't know why you're so nervous," she sighed. "You and Keiichiro have been dating for what, two years now? He's gonna say yes."
"But what if he doesn't?" he whined.
"If he's not going with his boyfriend to prom, then who the hell is he going with?!"
Umika's phone pinged and she quickly checked the notification: a single red heart emoji from Touma. Lowering her voice, she hissed, "Quick, he's coming - go hide!"
With an uncharacteristically cute squeak, Kairi dashed around the corner just as Keiichiro turned into the hallway … with his own bouquet of red roses.
Oh hell.
Why did these two have to be so in sync?
Keiichiro smiled and waved at her as he approached. "Hey, Umika! Have you seen Kairi anywhere?"
"Uh …" She swayed back and forth nervously. "He said he'd meet me here in a few minutes, why?"
"I wanted to, uh …" He lowered his head shyly, his face turning as red as the roses in his arms. Without warning, he turned back around, whimpering, "Tsukasa -"
The girl in question rolled her eyes and promptly turned him back around. "You and Kairi have been dating for two years. I promise you, he will say yes."
"But what if he doesn't?"
Umika couldn't help burying her face in her hands. "Good god, you two were made for each other."
"Huh?"
Kairi chose that moment to step out; at first, all they could do was stare incredulously at each other, but then their confusion turned into smiles that turned into laughter and hugging.
Yeah, sometimes they were a headache and a half, but they really were a sweet couple. Umika couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever be in a relationship like theirs. She did have a crush on someone, but … there was no way she'd ever look at her like that. Umika was an utterly average person, excelling at nothing, but Tsukasa - Tsukasa was beautiful, smart, actually good at her instrument, got into one of the best law schools in the state - she was perfect and she was going to be someone great one day.
Umika didn't deserve to stand at her side.
Next to her, Tsukasa chuckled and shook her head. "Those two, honestly …"
Before she could stop herself, Umika asked, "So are you asking anyone to prom?"
"Huh?" Her cheeks turned a light pink. "Um … I, uh … not sure yet. Why?"
"Oh, uh, just wondering."
okay yeah Umika just leave it there be normal be cool
"You know, 'cause Touma talked Noël into coming back, Sakuya and Houka are going as friends, Right and Gira are probably joining our prom group -"
girl you are over-explaining stop that what happened to be cool
Tsukasa wrung her hands together. "I …"
Their eyes met briefly, and for a moment, Umika forgot how to breathe.
Tsukasa turned away, and the moment ended just as quickly as it appeared. "I … might ask you for advice on that later."
It felt like her heart was simultaneously leaping for joy and getting crushed under the weight of anxiety. "Yeah, sure. Anytime."
It was a little mean, but when she first met Keiichiro in their freshman year, Tsukasa thought she'd have a girlfriend long before he even thought about getting a boyfriend.
And now here they were in their senior year: she almost never saw Keiichiro without Kairi by his side, and her? She was still single.
She had a few crushes, sure - Hymeno, Mako, Houka (then again, anyone who was attracted to girls had a crush on Houka at some point) - but the only one that had lasted for more than a few weeks - the only one that had captured her heart -
"- what the hell do you mean, it's still wrong?! Tsukasa -"
She blinked as she slowly returned to the real world. "Huh?"
They were nearing the end of their lunch period, with empty trays and milk cartons pushed aside to make room for what looked like Kairi and Umika's math homework. She turned one of the papers around and pointed to a problem, asking, "Does this look right?"
Matrices? It had been a while since she last saw one of these, but -
"… yeah no, I think you got the multiplication wrong somewhere."
"Told you," Kairi said dryly.
Umika groaned and draped herself across the table. "I think I'd rather deal with imaginary numbers again."
… even when she was upset, she was cute. Umika Hayami had been her best friend and her sunshine for the past two years; if she just asked her to go to prom as friends, she'd probably say yes, but …
… was this what Keiichiro felt like last week?
Then Shiho slid into the empty seat next to Umika, and Tsukasa recalled that even though Umika said she was single, she was still very close to Shiho.
… close enough to ask her out?
Umika nuzzled Shiho's temple. "Hey hey! What's up?"
"Did you do the Algebra 2 homework?"
She glared at the papers on the table and then glared at Shiho.
"… oof. Anyway -" Abruptly, she turned to Tsukasa. "I just wanted to let you know -"
Umika pouted. "Hey!"
Ignoring her, she continued, "- Urara let it slip that Canalo's gonna ask you -"
On cue, Canalo approached the table, trying to stand tall despite his nervousness. "Hey Tsukasa, did you, uh, maybe … wanna go to prom?" After a second, he hastily added, "As friends."
… if she just found the courage to ask Umika, maybe this would stop happening.
"… no, thank you," she finally answered. "I'm sorry, Canalo."
He shrugged, looking a little more relaxed. "Eh. Thought I'd try, at least. Have a good day!" With a wave, he walked back to his lunch table, where Urara had buried her face in her hands.
"… mm." She glanced back at Umika; she never said anything, but it was clear that she was incredibly uncomfortable whenever she had to watch someone else try to ask her to prom.
She had to find her courage and find it soon.
Two weeks passed, and Tsukasa still hadn't asked Umika for her advice on whoever it was that she had her eye on. In the meantime, it seemed like several people had their eye on Tsukasa; in the past few days alone, she had turned down seven people.
Enough was enough, Umika decided. If Tsukasa didn't bring it up today, she would after school. It would break her heart and she'd have to swing by the grocery store to pick up a pint or two of ice cream for herself afterwards, but watching her ask someone else was infinitely better than hearing "Tsukasa, do you want to go to prom with me?" several times a day and holding her breath until she heard her say no.
As the last school bell rang, Umika sprinted to the band hall, where her friends usually gathered before going home together. Where was she, where was she - there she was - "Tsukasa -"
At the same time, she turned and called, "Umika -"
Tsukasa giggled - out of nervousness, it sounded like. "You first."
be calm be cool just ask her if she still needs that advice on asking someone out
"Why are you single?"
good god what's wrong with me
Tsukasa's face turned bright red. "Wh - what?"
"Oh, uh, I mean, because you're really smart and pretty and kind and clearly, a lot of people really like you -"
what is wrong with me
"Huh? I - why are you single?"
Umika blinked in confusion. Where the hell was this conversation going? "What - me? What are you talking about?"
Tsukasa cast her eyes down, fiddling with her backpack straps. "Well … I thought you and Shiho were …"
Where the hell was this conversation going?!
She shook her head and waved her hand dismissively. "We're just friends - really good friends, but just friends. Why do you ask?"
Tsukasa took a deep breath before stepping closer to Umika. "Because, um … if you're single and I'm single, then, uh … doyouwannagotopromwithme?"
Her brain short-circuited as she tried to register what was happening. "Do I - what?"
Tsukasa whimpered as she scratched the back of her head. In a quivering voice, she repeated, "Do you … wanna go … to prom … with me?"
It was like a wave of pure bliss crashed over her. Tsukasa liked her, too. She liked her, too.
She couldn't help squealing and pulling her into a hug. "Yesyesyes!"
Any leftover anxiety Tsukasa might have had turned into laughter as she returned the hug.