Komaru leaned over, grabbing the pen and notebook. The pen is broken and has blood all over it. She winced, gently setting it down and accidently getting blood on a purple flower. Komaru normally wouldn't invade somebody's privacy like this, but Toko was her best friend, so it was fine, right? She would just read a couple pages and maybe write a quick note, then she would give it back.
Right?
She opened the book, reading the first page. It's a small, unfinished page of a story.
'the woman brushed her hand against the rose, brushing the light layer of frost off of it. she tried picking it, but it pricked her hand. she picked it despite the pain, and delivered it to the love of her life, just to find him with another.'
Komaru flipped through the pages, invested in the small stories, until she reached the last page. It had blood and ink smeared on it, but it was longer than the other stories. Just as she was about to read it, the bell rang.
I'll have to read it when I get home.
She winced as she realized that her next class is with Toko.
And they're doing a group project.
And Toko is definitely going to ask about it.
She shoved the book into her bag and tried to forget about it for now.
"H-hey Omaru? Have you seen m-my notebook?" Toko asked. Komaru wiped the blood off on her skirt.
"No." Komaru lied, changing the subject. "I need help on this part. I'm not sure how I should write it." She pointed to a section on the paper. Toko brushed her hand away and explained how to better write the emotions.
"J-just- let me show you." She sighed, taking a separate piece of paper and writing down a few sentences in neat cursive. She placed it on the paper where Komaru's writing was, her handwriting much nicer than Komaru's scribbly chicken scratch.
"Oh. Thank you." Komaru erased her sentences aggressively, replacing them with what Toko wrote. They went back and forth about the writing before somebody spoke up.
"Ahem. Shouldn't you give other people a chance to write?"
"Sorry, Togami." Komaru said quickly, sliding the papers over to him. He scoffed and snatched them, writing in cursive similar to Toko's, but definitely not as pretty. Just as he started writing, the bell ringed. Toko grabbed Komaru's arm as she started to stand up.
"C-can I stay over at your house today?" Toko asked quickly, her eyes flashing with fear.
"Of course, Toki!" Komaru smiled. "But first we have to pick up my brother from his class."
"Did you know that Makoto wet the bed until 5th grade?" Komaru asked, looking back at Toko. Makoto huffed in annoyance.
"I did not!" He cried, elbowing his sister. Komaru giggled, elbowing him back with much more strength. "Ow! Not fair!" He yelped.
"Maybe you should try working out, then." Komaru grinned at him, nearly walking past their house before Toko swiftly grabbed her arm and pointed to the house.
"Isn't that house yours?" She said quickly.
"Oh! Yeah." Komaru bounced off into the house and heard Toko talking to Makoto briefly.
"Y-you can go in, Naegi. I wanna see something."
"You can call me Makoto." She can almost hear Makoto smiling.
"O-oh. You can call me T-Toko, I guess."
Komaru grinned. Maybe Toko will start making new friends! She darted into the kitchen and opens the freezer, pulling out some icecream.
"MAKOTO! TOKO!" The sound of two pairs of shoes slapping the ground reassured her that they were coming, so she began tussling with the icecream.
"W-what are you doing?" Toko asked, standing in the doorway and eyeing the icecream.
"I was getting some out for you." Komaru gave her a small smile and watched in confusion as Toko bristled and jumped back with wide eyes.
Toko shook herself out. "I don't need any." She said quickly, her eyes wandering across the room and to the stairs.
"2nd- room- on your- right." Makoto panted, pushing past Toko and flopping onto a chair.
"You're so unathletic." Komaru teased, sliding him his icecream and darting up the stairs after Toko.
timeskip to nighttime
"Oh! Toko!" Komaru gently leaned over, placing her hands on Toko's shoulders and adjusting her shirt gently. Her hands slowly drifted down and she squeezed Toko's, feeling the other girl's heartbeat soar.
Why does everything feel so different now we're in highschool?
Toko clenched her jaw and pulled away. "I-I'm going to sleep." She murmured, slowly laying down.
"Okay." Komaru sighed, grabbing her clothes and bag and walking off to change in the bathroom.
As soon as she got in she locked the door, pulling Toko's notebook out of her bag and flipping to the last page.
"I love you. I love you, -/-==--=#."
It's scribbled out. The name is scribbled out.
Komaru grabbed a towel and shrieked into it in frustration. Calming herself with a sigh, she set the towel aside and continued reading.
"Maybe it's your hands. Your petal soft skin. Your laugh that would make any person fall for you in a heartbeat. I'm in love with you. When did I realize? When you came to my class? When you lead me to the spot next to the cherry blossom tree?"
Komaru's eyes widened and she slammed the book shut, shoving it in her bag and scooting into a corner.
It's me?
My friend, Toko Fukawa, loves me?
word count: 878.
YOU ARE READING
"friends" -a tokomaru fanfiction-
Romancewho knew a word could feel so bittersweet.
