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Muu was obsessed.
How could she not be? Rei was such a novelty to her. Why wouldn't she shower Muu with praise? Why couldn't Muu charm her as easily as everyone else? How was she so easily able to look past Muu like she didn't exist? It drove Muu insane. She needed to have Rei in the palm of her hand.
There was so much about Rei that left Muu craving her. Her stone-cold expression, her curt demeanor, her vulgar language; Muu could've listed all the things that fascinated her about Rei all day. She knew her friends would disagree, however. But they didn't know any better. They were just lowly worker bees, after all. The Queen knew best.
When Rei transferred in, Muu's clique had been quick to ostracize the newcomer. No one bothered to talk with Rei, acknowledge her presence, or even remotely act like she was part of the class. This worked to Muu's favor. She would be Rei's salvation. How could the other girl possibly deny Muu then?
The peach-blonde smiled to herself as she thought about her plan to make Rei love her. She was walking through the hallway, with a noticeable bounce in her step, towards the stairs that led up to the roof. It was lunchtime, and Muu knew Rei would be up on the rooftop eating alone. It was perfect. Muu was so gracious and compassionate, how could the other girl not fall for her?
After reaching the stairs and making her way up to the door that opened to the roof, Muu paused, making sure her uniform was neat and tidy, clutching her wrapped bento in one hand. She felt her face start to heat up, and her stomach churned in anticipation. This will work. It has to. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open slowly.
A wave of cool air breezed past Muu, and she had to squint as the sun shone through and invaded her vision. It was the tail-end of winter, and spring was only a few days away, so the weather was temperate and agreeable. As Muu's eyes adjusted, all of that washed away when she spotted the object of her affection.
Rei was sitting on the single bench that was up there, opposite of where Muu entered. It was pushed up against the chain link fence that barred the edge, so that no one could fall off. Or jump off. To Rei's side on the benchtop was an open bento with some wooden chopsticks set on top of it. Rice, scrambled eggs, and one piece of fried sausage were nestled inside the container. Her bookbag was also on the ground, leaning against the bench. The violet-haired girl herself had a small book in one hand that her attention had been on. Upon realizing that the door had been opened, she flicked her gaze upwards to see Muu. For anyone else, Rei's expression didn't change. But Muu had been observing Rei for a while now, and she could tell that the girl's brow had furrowed the slightest bit. She was so handsome. Muu felt her face grow hotter, and every line she had rehearsed the night before evaporated in her mind. Rei's steely gaze was solely on her; Those piercing, deep, amber-colored eyes drew Muu in and left her in a daze. This wasn't good. She had to say something.
"Oh! Rei! What a coincidence, Muu didn't know you'd be having lunch up here too…"
That was a lie of course. Muu put on a cute smile, mustering every bit of charm she could into her mannerisms. She held her bento with both hands behind her back, walking towards Rei.
"..."
Rei didn't say anything, her eyes following Muu. If Rei kept this up any longer, Muu was sure she could combust on the spot.
"Muu figured since the weather has been so nice, that it would be just as nice to have lunch on the rooftop. Did Rei think the same thing~?" Muu went up to the bench and sat next to Rei, minding the latter's bento.
"...We've never talked before now, and you're throwing around my first name like we've known each other for years."
Crap. Muu had completely forgotten formalities. She was so used to calling her just Rei in her head. The way Rei spoke was so cool though. It made Muu's heart skip a beat.
"Ah- Sorry, Muu's just so used to calling everyone in the school by their first name… If Rei wants, you can just call Muu by her name too~"
The peach-blonde laughed sheepishly, occasionally meeting Rei's gaze but quickly averting her eyes before Muu could get completely flustered. Rei was silent, staring at Muu and closing the book she had in her hand.
"As an apology… Would you like to have one of the mille crêpes Muu packed? They're super delicious~"
Muu quickly unwrapped the cloth that had been carrying her bento in her lap. It consisted of two stacked compartments, and she took out the one with the crêpes. Grabbing one of the forks that was packed with her lunch, she stabbed it into a piece of the crêpe with a blueberry, and held it up to Rei.
"Muu gets these from a local French bakery all the time. They're a total favorite~"
Rei eyed the fork with the crêpe, then flicked her eyes toward Muu after a bit. Her expression was unchanged.
Eeek… I hope Rei doesn't hate sweet things
Muu thought, panic rising within her chest. She still kept the fork outstretched, even inching it closer to Rei's face and uttering small hm's to encourage her. It felt like an eternity of silence between them.
Finally, Rei turned around to put her book in her backpack, then grabbed it and slung it over her shoulder while standing up, not giving Muu a second glance.
"Eh? Rei? Er, um… Would you actually prefer it if Muu just called you Kuraki?"
She didn't respond, and simply walked across to the door of the roof, opening it and going inside still without even so much as a glance. Once she disappeared behind the door, it shut with a definitive click, and Muu was left alone on the rooftop, fork still outstretched to where Rei was. Great. The peach-blonde let out a heavy sigh, lowering the fork disappointingly. That exchange definitely didn't go the way Muu thought it would.
But…
After Muu's initial disappointment, she looked down and realized Rei had left her half-eaten bento up there. Her breath hitched. Jackpot. Muu felt her face heat up all over again. It had to have been fate for Rei to leave her bento with Muu. She already thought of a million scenarios in her head, all of them picturing how giving it back to Rei would look. This encounter wasn't a total bust after all. Without really thinking, Muu ate the bite of crêpe on her fork and hurriedly put it all away, setting it aside so she could pick up Rei's bento. She stared at it for a bit, taking Rei's chopsticks and holding them in her hand, rolling them in her fingers. They were a nice dark wood. The bento itself was pill-shaped and light blue colored, with two compartments separating the rice, eggs and sausage. Muu's heart fluttered as she picked up the lone sausage with the chopsticks, delicately putting it to her mouth to eat. She hummed as she chewed, keeping the tips of the chopsticks pressed against her lips. This was like, a total indirect kiss wasn't it? She hummed more excitedly, kicking her feet a bit.
This was only the beginning of her quest for Rei.
–
Later that day, after classes, Muu followed Rei around the school, the other girl's bento in hand. Muu ducked behind walls and shrubbery as Rei went through her after-school routine, trying to make sure she didn't notice Muu's presence. This was exhilarating. Muu couldn't wait to see how Rei would react once she gave her bento back. When Rei made her way to the shoe lockers at the front of the school, Muu hid in wait, peeking around the corner as Rei changed her shoes. Finshing her change, Rei tapped her foot on the ground once, presumably to fit her shoe into place, then snapped her head towards Muu with her brow creased deeply in annoyance.
"Why the fuck are you following me around?"
Muu nearly jumped out of her skin, letting out a small squeak. So Rei did notice her… That fact made her feel dizzy.
"R-rei-! Wait, look, Muu just wanted to give you back your bento from earlier when you left it…!"
The words kind of tumbled from Muu's lips, and she nearly tripped over her own feet as she emerged from behind the wall to go up to Rei. Frantically, she pushed the bento towards the other girl with both hands, head bowed.
Pleasetakeitpleasetakeitpleaselovemepleasetakeit-
Muu's thoughts were total chaos. She didn't lift her head. She didn't dare to. Her face was searing hot, and it felt like she would be stuck like this forever.
A beat.
Another beat.
Muu only lifted her head when she felt the weight of the bento leave her hands, the vision of Rei softening her brow as she picked it up instantly flash-branded into Muu's memory. Muu's eyes widened, and her heart pounded at an impossibly fast rate.
"...Thanks. Muu."
Rei muttered the two words so lowly that Muu almost didn't hear them. But she did. Because Muu paid so much attention to Rei, after all. As Muu was basking in being acknowledged, Rei turned around to walk away and muttered again. "See you tomorrow or whatever."
See you tomorrow.
Her voice rang through Muu's head. Nothing else registered to Muu, even as Rei left through the school entrance.
"Ah- See you tomorrow-!"
Muu managed to squeal out before Rei left campus completely. Hopefully she heard her. This was perfect. That went better than anything Muu could've ever dreamed of. She looked around and did a small fist pump to herself once she was sure she was alone. Rei acknowledged her. Spoke to her. Thanked her. Said her name. Oh god. Muu could die right there and be happy. Well, she'd probably kill Rei first then herself. But this was fine. This was more than fine.
"Muu-chan, there you are! We were looking all over for you."
A voice from behind her snapped her back to reality.
Eugh. The worker bees. Muu let her expression fall into a disgusted one briefly, from having her reverie so rudely interrupted, before immediately changing it to put on a small, disinterested smile as she turned around to address her clique.
"Sorry everyone~ ~ Muu was just enjoying the weather while she was walking around."
"Ehh that sounds so nice, let us walk with you next time Muu-chan~"
The 4 of them descended into casual conversation as they all started to walk home together, but Muu couldn't have cared less. She replayed the scene of Rei taking the bento from her hands in her mind's eye over and over again. Her plan may have strayed from its course, but where she landed was just as good.
She'll definitely make Rei fall for her.