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"Red desire, you're the coolest!"
What.
Scarlet's eye twitched.
Cool-est to Red Desire?! Meaning Vodka saw her as the best... Better than Scarlet.
Unacceptable! Just yesterday Vodka had told her that she, the Daiwa Scarlet was the "coolest." But now she's going around calling any girl that?
Daiwa Scarlet slammed her locker shut, the sound echoing through the changing room. Sieving as her girlfriend rival's words repeated in her head.
A certain teal haired umamusume peaked through the corner. "Woah, what's got you so mad?"
"Uh— it's nothing!" Daiwa Scarlet stuttered. Why was she so angry...?
"Lost a fight with your girlfriend?" A smug smile stretched ear to ear, trying to pry into the personal matters.
Scarlet released her twintails from their confinement, letting the hair cascade down her back. Letting out an exasperated sigh, "No, I haven't even seen her the whole day—and she's not my girlfriend!"
That sentence seemed to get the gears in Seiun Sky's head running, "Oh-ho-ho, silent treatment?"
Those two words were Daiwa Scarlet's last straw. Running to the sink to wet her hands before flicking the excess water towards Sky.
"Hey!" Seiun sky closed her eyes on reflex, when she finally opened them again, the stubborn brunette had already disappeared from the locker room.
Scarlet ended up outside the gym room, waiting for a certain uma. It was 8.00PM, almost curfew but the shaggy bay hadn't come out yet.
She opened her DM's with Vodka.
You:
Come out, curfew's in an hour.
30 seconds.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Why hasn't she replied?
Just as she was about to called her girlfri—Rival.
A new message binged through her phone.
"No. 1 Rival":
Scarlet-chan, you can head back to the dorms first, Red desire and I are doing 10 more minutes on the treadmill!💪
A strings finally broke.
Scarlet shoved her phone into the pocket of her pajamas Storming off.
✯(☆)✯
Ten minutes on the treadmill had turned to twenty, Vodka and Red desire had lost track of time as they continue chatting even after practice had finished. Leading to there only being less than a few minutes left before lights out.
Vodka and Desire rushed to the dorms, parting as they went to their own rooms.
The bay reached for the key card in her pocket, only to feel the emptiness... Strange, she was sure that it was in her pocket this morning. Whatever, she can just ask Scarlet to open the door for her and then find it tomorrow.
Vodka knocked on the door, "Scarlet-chan, can you open the door?"
A beat passed and nothing.
"Scarlet?"
Ears perking up to catch if anyone was even inside, the rustling of blankets could be heard through the walls.
"Daiwa Scarlet, I know you're in there..."
"No, I'm not!"
Vodka was dumbfounded, what had she done wrong this time?
"Did I do something wrong?" The bay huffed, what petty game was her rival playing now, at this hour of all times.
Muffled stomping came closer to the locked door, "I don't know." You could practically hear the pout.
"Dude, what's wrong with you, what did I even do?"
Hollow footsteps could be heard down the corridor, Vodka's heart dropped.
"Scarlet, let me in...!" She whisper-shouted.
"Why should I?"
The steps drew closer.
"Daiwa Scarlet, please!" The mare's knocking grew more frantic.
A long shadow loomed behind her.
"I'll let you win the next race!"
"What's all this?" Fuji Kiseki, the head of dormitory. Crap.
Vodka turned around, almost robotically so.
"It's 9:01PM," Fuji Kiseki glanced down at her wrist watch, "meaning it's past curfew." She smiled, a smile that was super awesome yet so intimidating...
Daiwa Scarlet finally opening the door, although it was already too late. Her face sinking as soon as she saw the short ebony hair through the door crack.
"And you, why weren't you letting her in?" Fuji crossed her arms with an eyebrow raised.
"I... Because she..." At a lost for words, she pointed to Vodka who was pointing right back at her.
The dorm leader sighed, "I'll let you two off the hook this time, but try to resolve your lover's quarrel more civilly next time."
The accusation made both Scarlet and Vodka jump up.
"We're not dating!"
"She's not my girlfriend!"
"Right... Well, keep it down there's other umas who need sleep." Fuji patted both their shoulders shoving them back into the shared room, giving them a small wink before closing the door behind them.
The duo exhaled in relief as they had just narrowly avoided trouble.
Vodka took a short glance at Scarlet who was currently wearing a shirt with the words "the COOLEST!" printed on it, a secret Santa gift from her last year. A shirt she swore she'd never wear.
Scarlet's eyes flashed between hurt and embarrassment, had Vodka really done something bad?
Her eyes softened, looking at the girl across from her whose ears were drooping downwards, "So... What did I do wrong?"
"Let's just go to bed."
"—what? No, we're talking out, it's not cool to go to bed with a sour heart." Vodka reached out to grab the mare's wrist.
"That."
"That? What do you mean?" Vodka's thoughts were jumbled, 'that' could literally mean anything.
She watched as Scarlet took a deep breath, the other uma seemed to almost be hesitant about what she was going to say next.
"You told Desire that she was the... coolest."
Oh.
Ohhh.
"No, no, I didn't mean that she was cooler than you!" Vodka panicked, trying to explain that her surface level words were just that. Surface level.
"And you were avoiding me just to spend time with her!" Those pink eyes seemed avoid the beige ones in front of her.
It finally clicked in the taller uma's hair where things had gone wrong. "Scarlet-chan, I didn't mean for it to seem like that... I just wanted to spend some time with Red desire."
Without a second thought, she pulled Scarlet into her arms.
Those same pink eyes filled with shock, however she never made a move to pull away—choosing instead to melt into it.
"I'm sorry for making you feel that I was ignoring you." Vodka clearly wasn't used to doing this kind of thing, but it just seemed like the right thing to do... Especially when it came to her.
Scarlet seemed deep in thought as she buried her face into the other's shoulder, as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I should apologize too, for overreacting like that, I know you're allowed to have other friends, but I thought I was the coolest person you know." She sniffled as she sheepishly cried over something so small, but nothing was ever too small when it came to Vodka.
Vodka's finger unconsciously started combing through the long brunette hair. "It's not like that, you're both equally as cool to me."
Scarlet pulled back steadily, she didn't want 'equal' she wanted to be number one in the dumb uma's heart even if she couldn't bring herself to accept that yet.
The dim light barely concealing the deep burgundy blush that had formed on both their cheeks, after the hug.
A selfish part of Vodka wanted to take a picture of Scarlet like this and hang up photo on the wall for all eternity, but that's something only a creepy crush would do—which she is not!
The rivals gazed at each other for what felt like forever, before Scarlet finally piped up.
"I'm sorry for taking your key card as well."
"That was you?! Both of us almost got in trouble because of that!" Vodka's words lacked any real bite to it.
"Deserved."
"Can I at least have it back now?"
"Nope, I'm still a little mad at you." The stubborn girl's hands came to rest on her own hips, her lips drew into a line.
"Fine! Tomorrow after class, we're going out to the movies!" Vodka huffed, mimicking the girl's pose, as if to declare a challenge.
"Fine, but I get to chose what restaurant we go to after!" Scarlet whipped her hair before copying her rival's huff.
"Deal?"
"Deal!"
.
.
.