Strawberry (A Natsuri Fanfiction)

Chapter Two

It felt like before I blinked, the bell had rung. Isn't it funny that the more you dread something the faster it comes? In this case, however, it wasn't really dread so much as anticipation. Yuri shot me a smile from across the room as Monika winked at me knowingly. I tried to hide my furiously blushing face behind my pigtails to no avail.

I picked up my backpack. Surely Papa wouldn't notice I would be gone for an hour or two. Yuri waited for me by the doorway, so I ran across the clubroom, despite Monika's harsh words telling me not to. Yuri held the door open for me, and the two of us head off downtown.

Yuri must have noticed my uncomfortable expression. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Did I do something to upset you!"

"No, no! You're fine!" I waved my arms in front of my face in a denying motion. "I just have a lot on my mind right now, I guess."

"I understand that."

We walked in an uncomfortable silence for another block until we reached our destination: The Boba Bear. It was a place I'd been a lot of times, but never with her. Today was the first time I've been anywhere outside of the school with her.

Upon entering the boba place, Yuri gasped. "Oh, they have strawberry pearls! My favorite!"

I scoffed. "What, that crap? I still can't believe people pay for that garbage."

"How dare you!" Yuri said, mock-offended. Then she shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I just have a sugar addiction. Why? What's your favorite flavor?"

"I usually stick with regular tapioca pearls, nothing too fancy," I replied with a smile. Yuri chuckled and we made our way to the counter to place our orders.

~♡~

We settled into our seats in a quiet corner of the shop, sipping on our drinks and making small talk about school and the club. I couldn't help but steal glances at Yuri as we talked. She was so calm, so collected, and so beautiful.

Finally, she caught me staring and raised an eyebrow. "Is there something on my face?" She began to wipe her cheeks in embarrassment.

"No, that's not it!" I laughed at her bemused expression. "I was just lost in thought."

"Ah, okay." Yuri carefully sipped from her boba, looking around awkwardly. She seemed a bit distressed.

I swallowed my pride. It felt weird to say, because of my reputation as a hot-headed mess. Nevertheless, I asked her, "Hey, is something wrong? You've been fidgety since we sat down."

"Oh!" Her face reddened. "No, I was just...thinking as well."

"Huh? About what?"

"Well..." She sat down her boba and took a deep breath. "Nat, you're so nice to me, you know that? I mean, we're polar opposites in every way...but we're still friends. Isn't that kind of funny?"

I shrugged. "It's not funny ha-ha. But I guess it's kind of interesting."

Yuri sighed. "It's just...there's been something on my mind for about a month now...I've realized I've fallen in love with someone. But if I tell...him, he won't like me anymore. He'll treat me differently, since I know there's no way he likes me back."

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.

There's...a boy?

...

Oh.

I see now.

"I have to go."

"What? But you said-"

"I forgot. Papa texted me he'll be home earlier."

I stood up from my chair and began to exit the restaurant. Yuri called something out to me, but with my heartbeat in my ears, the taste of oncoming tears in my mouth and the salty water blurring my vision, I didn't hear it.

She already belongs to someone else.