Connected Hearts

Chapter 3

"Wake up..."
"Kiana..."
The soft gentle voice and touch woke up the young girl who opened her eyes. The girl blinked a few times and lifted her head up seeing a person but it was difficult to make out the face since it was slightly blurry
"H-huh?" The girl asked
"Kiana...morning" The other girl said smiling warmly and caressed her cheek softly
"Ah...Mei-senpai heh...morning" Kiana replied and Mei slowly leaned in kissing her lips. Kiana blushed a bit and kissed her back softly
"...I love you" Mei whispered softly and...

"Hah!" Yuzu gasped as she trembled and sat up shaking. She blinked a few times and looked around seeing her room. Yuzu tried to calm down her heart since it was beating rapidly and started breathing calmly
"Wh-what the hell..." Yuzu said as she rubbed her head. She looked at the time seeing that it was almost time to wake up and got out of bed. Yuzu groaned a bit as she walked over to the bathroom where she went to get herself ready. She splashed some water on her face and looked down remembering the voices but couldn't seem to remember in what place the dream took. Yuzu sighed and grabbed her head
"Why do I forget dreams so easily? Am I not allowed to remember them or something?" Yuzu asked and shook her head
Whatever...maybe next time hopefully
The young girl got herself ready for school once again and stepped out seeing the other girl dead asleep
"Hey Shai. Shai...hey. Hey! Get up!" Yuzu said as she shook her
"Ah! Huh!? Eh? What?" Shai asked and fell off the bed
"Hey you okay?" Yuzu asked
"U-uhm yeah yeah. Hehe sorry" Shai said as she rubbed her head
"Come on" Yuzu said as she helped her up
"Oh right you heading to your new school" Shai said
"Ah! What about you?" Yuzu asked
"Uh...actually I'm not g-going today" Shai said
"Eh? Why not?" Yuzu asked
"It's nothing to worry about" Shai said and Yuzu only shook her head
"Fine" Yuzu said and the door opened as Ume checked up on the girls
"Ah morning Yuzu and Shai. It's great that you both are up. Breakfast is almost done so hurry up and come out" Ume said and walked away
"Well you heard her. Get your ass up" Yuzu said
"Yeah yeah" Shai said as she got up. The two girls went to eat breakfast together at the dining table with Ume
"So Yuzu, how have you been in your new school? I hope you'll start putting more effort into your studies" Ume said
"I've been doing well. I've even made new friends" Yuzu said
"I'm glad you're getting along in school but let's hope you do well" Ume said
"Yes I know. I'll make sure to give it my all..." Yuzu said
"U-uhm...hey Auntie. Thank y-you for this delicious breakfast" Shai said
"You're welcome, Shai. Are you doing well at your school?" Ume asked
"Y-yes I've been doing well" Shai said
"That's good to hear. How's your mother?" Ume asked
"Mom is doing fine. She's doing...a lot better lately" Shai said
"Are you sure today you're not going to school?" Ume asked
"Mhm. My mom knows so don't worry. I'm not skipping or anything" Shai said smiling warmly
"Hey mom. I'd like to let you know that I might be coming late some days" Yuzu said
"And why's that?" Ume asked
"A friend of mine will help me with my homework and give me some tips on studying" Yuzu said
"...are you sure you're not going to run off to have fun with your friends?" Ume asked
"Well if you don't believe me then I'll bring her over" Yuzu said
"Alright" Ume said
"Oh wait, I can bring her over?" Yuzu asked
"Sure" Ume said
"Yay!" Yuzu said
"But you'll be doing your homework like you said. No playing games" Ume said
"Got it" Yuzu said
This is great! I'll invite Mei over and we can spend time together! Ah wait...but what about Momokino-san? Will she be third wheeling?
After breakfast, Yuzu stepped out of her apartment quite earlier than usual since she wanted to be able to see Mei. Luckily for her, Yuzu ended up spotting Mei who was on her way to the Academy
"Meii!" Yuzu called out which made Mei tense up a bit
"Ah..." Mei sighed
"Oh look Mei. It's Okogi-san" Himeko said but Mei continues moving on
"Mei! Mei! Mei!" Yuzu said as she excitedly got close to her
"Morning Okogi-san" Himeko said
"Ah hey Momokino-san. Good morning. Also morning Mei" Yuzu said as she looked at her but Mei avoided looking at her
"Morning" Mei said
"Aww hey don't be so cold with me now. Aren't we a bit close?" Yuzu asked as she went to hold her behind her. Mei tensed up and tried to pull away from the hug
"Don't hold onto me" Mei said
"Then greet me properly" Yuzu said
"I did" Mei said and Yuzu cuddled her
"But say my name and look at me" Yuzu said and Mei pulled away before grabbing Yuzu's uniform
"Good morning, Yuzu. Are you happy?" Mei asked and Yuzu smiled
"Thanks" Yuzu said and Mei pushed her gently
"Don't do that ever again" Mei said as she walked ahead of them
"Hey, you're going too fast" Yuzu said as she followed her from behind. Himeko only stood by the side who seemed confused feeling something odd as she saw the two girls walking close to each other
"This situation feels...familiar somehow?" Himeko said slightly confused
"Hey Momokino-san! Don't stay behind" Yuzu said and Himeko caught up to them both. The girls got to the Academy and Yuzu sighed as she noticed some of her fans who were waiting for her
"Great..." Yuzu mumbled
"Don't cause any problems" Mei said and Yuzu grabbed Mei's arm pulling her close
"Can I visit you in your classroom?" Yuzu asked
"Fine. Now let me go" Mei said
"But we're friends right?" Yuzu asked
"Come on, Himeko" Mei said as she walked ahead of her
"I'm sure you'll be able to be with her again. It'll just take time" Himeko whispered
"Yeah..." Yuzu said
"See you around, Okogi-san" Himeko said as she left with Mei
"You too, Momokino-san" Yuzu said and sighed as she got surrounded by other girls
...now I have to deal with these people?
"Hey Yuzu! When were you so close to Aihara-san?" A student said
"Yeah we usually see her only with that pigtail girl" The other student said
"Uhm...we're not that close. We only bumped into each other when we were walking" Yuzu said
"Will you be able to hang out with us today?" The student asked
"Ah today? Hmm? I'll have to think about it" Yuzu giggled
"Aww come on. You have to hang out with us today"
"Yeah, aren't we friends? Let's hang out"
"It'll be only for a little while. I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind"
Yuzu seemed to be getting slight annoyed but the girls around her and struggled to keep a innocent smile
Ahh...I forgot to ask Mei to come over!! Agh! How could I forget!? Maybe I was just too excited to see her. Well there's next time
"Hey Yuzu. Are you listening?" The girl asked
"Ah sorry about that. Look...I'll see when okay? Besides today my mom is coming back from work quite early and...let's just say  she kinda told me not to go out playing games since I have to take my studies seriously" Yuzu said
"Hm? Is that why you changed schools?" The student asked
"Mhm. I was surprised that I was accepted though" Yuzu said
"If you're having any problems then you can definitely join our study group. We actually help one another and have gotten good grades" The girl said
"Ah...well thanks for the offer but...I'll be fine. I already have a study partner..." Yuzu said
...let's hope that Mei accepts being my study partner.