You Put Me On and Said I Was Your Favorite

CW: References to self-harm in the 3rd section and the start of the 4th. Feel free to either skip those parts, or skip this fic entirely, if need be.

Merm4id tee, brand new phone, energy overblown.

Saori watched from her DJ booth as Rika rocked the stage. She was a master at keeping the audience engaged. Now she was trying to take a selfie with all of them, raising her phone high over her head and flashing a peace sign as she tried to cram as many people as possible into the shot.

Sequin smile, red lipstick, sensual song magic.

Saori couldn't stop a smile as Rika continued to hype the crowd. In moments like this, she was truly hypnotic. Her lipstick was bold, bright against her pale skin. A fitting choice, Saori thought. Overhead, the spotlight made her orange pigtails look like twin flames. Also fitting, Saori thought.

The crowd went even wilder as Rika shared the selfie on Digitter. For just a second, Saori's smile faded and a small wave of jealousy washed over her. As happy as she was for Rika right now, she would be lying if she said it didn't sometimes bother her to think how many other people out there adored Rika too. Saori's one consolation, and it was enough to somewhat return the smile to her face, was the knowledge that no matter how devoted Rika's fanbase was, there would always be sides of her that only Saori got to see.

In fact, after their show finally came to a close, one of those sides came out in full force.

I knew you, dancing in your Levi's, drunk under a streetlight.

Rika had since changed out of her performance outfit and back into something more casual, but even though the show was over, she was still singing and dancing her heart out and asking Saori to take her hand and join her. If Saori hadn't known her as well as she did, she would've been amazed that Rika was still this energetic. The soft, golden glow from the streetlights turned Rika's pigtails back into twin flames.

This side of Rika was secret because it was when she was having fun purely for fun's sake. She wasn't performing, this was who she truly was, drunk and crazy and laughing. But that wasn't the only "secret" side of her that Saori had fallen in love with.

I knew you, hand under my sweatshirt, baby, kiss it better.

Another positive side to Rika's endless energy and enthusiasm was that she didn't just impart it into her performance. Her heart was just as big, strong, and loud as her personality. She was so kind, to everyone! But especially for Saori, she always went the extra mile, comforting her whenever she felt down and caring for her whenever Saori felt as though she didn't have the strength to care for herself. But best and most importantly...

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone's bed, you put me on and said I was your favorite.

Of all the things Rika ever did for Saori, from inviting her to Merm4id to basically being her live-in work-wife whenever it was necessary, simply reassuring Saori that she was loved and valued was by far Saori's favorite thing.

ooo

But as Saori would one day learn, sometimes Rika's best trait was also her worst one. Too much of a good thing was a bad thing, and sometimes Rika's big heart worked to their detriment. It all started when she ran into an old childhood friend of hers, Tsubaki Aoyagi.

A friend to all is a friend to none. Chase two girls, lose the one.

From the moment Rika realized who she was looking at, she was hooked. She dropped Saori's hand to chase after the other girl. Saori could only stand there in shock and watch Rika run away from her, after Tsubaki. Saori was suddenly taken back to the first time Rika ever ran away from her.