Starry Days & Sunlit Nights: Volume 2 - Haze of Shadows

Chapter 2.7 - Unexpected Friends

A rose-haired girl dressed in red and white entered the hall just in time to see her best friend and the Student Council President on the dance floor. The former moved like she always did whenever she was in the mood to shake her body, while the latter was awkwardly trying to keep up with her.

The smiles on their faces did not escape Yumi's notice, and she found herself laughing in delight. The amber-eyed girl's date stood next to her, staring at the same spectacle with a grin, evidently enjoying the scene.

Together, Yumi and Jay decoded to come closer when they overheard a condescending voice amidst the music flooding the room.

"Look at those two. MacHallen's always been annoying, but it looks like our dear Student Council President has finally lost it."

She was a slim girl with milky pale skin and long, straight, black hair with blunt bangs. Thin eyeliner traced her dark, narrow eyes. A gold-like tiara adorned her head while a white toga hung from just her left shoulder. In addition, she wore a pair of bracelets on her right wrist, and stood in a pair of fancy leather sandals.

She was flanked by two of her friends, a brunette female in a bodysuit straight out of science fiction and a tanned girl boldly clad in a cavewoman's fur bikini. All three shared a spiteful laugh at the expense of the two they had singled out among all the others dancing.

The mean-spirited comment annoyed Yumi, especially after recalling that gossips and cruel rumors was what had ruined Juniper's confidence and caused her to isolate herself, leading to Greyford kidnapping her. The amber eyed girl approached the Korean girl dressed as Greek royalty.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Kim."

Now that she thought about it, Yumi realized she hardly sounded protective, let alone confronting.

The black-haired girl turned to the person addressing her and eyed her from top to bottom judgmentally. The sun-topped wand in her hand wasn't even necessary to tell what she came as.

"Did you seriously come as a magical girl, Yumiko?" she scoffed. "Ever the child, but I suppose that's your appeal."

Yumi pouted. "Nevermind that," she said. "Junie's been through a lot lately, and she doesn't need more bad stuff said about her while she's finally starting to have fun."

"It's all in good fun, and not like they're gonna be hurt by it anyway," Kim replied with a smug shrug.

"Still..."

"More importantly, is that loser your date?"

Yumi blinked, then glanced at Jay standing beside her. Even having heard what was said about him, he simply shrugged, not really disagreeing.

"He's not a loser," Yumi retorted, frowning now.

"Really? Either way, you can do a lot better than that guy," Kim replied, somehow throwing a genuine compliment and an insult at the same time.

Jay, familiar with the growing oppressive atmosphere, yet never one to show any real hostility for a girl, spoke up.

"I think we've been standing around long enough, Yumi. Shall we we go embarass ourselves together with our friends?" he suggested.

"Oh shush, Mister Van Helsing," Yumi replied with a smirk, punching his shoulder playfully. Silently, she did recognize what his real motive was, and was appreciative of him. "That does sound like a good idea, though."

Jay offered an arm in gentlemanly fashion, and Yumi wrapped her own around his, giggling.

"See you later, Kimmy," the strawberry blonde said before being led towards the dance floor.

"Have fun with your date, Yumiko," Kim replied with a somewhat mocking tone.

Jay glanced at Yumi on the way to Kylie and Juniper, who were still dancing to their hearts' content.

"Friend of yours?" he asked.

"Sort of," Yumi answered. "Her name's Kim Soon Song. She was my classmate when we were freshmen. Sorry she was mean to you."

Jay chuckled softly. "Was she? I hardly noticed."

"Jay..." He wasn't really that oblivious, Yumi knew that much. Did he really have that low an opinion of himself?

"Hey Kylie, Juniper," Jay greeted once they made it over to their friends.

"Hi Jay! And it's about time you got here, Yumi," Kylie greeted back while shaking her booty tantalizingly. Jay had to mentally remind himself not to stare while he was already on what was technically a date with someone else.

"Sorry, we got stuck in traffic for a bit," Yumi apologized.

Not to mention that Yumi had been asleep until two in the afternoon, on account of the two of them having stayed up all night until near sunrise. Kylie had been constantly prodding for more details about her best friend's powers and everything and anything supernatural she and Jay had encountered. Yumi loved her best friend, she really did, but sometimes she wished she knew when she needed to sleep. She never was a night person to begin with.

Meanwhile, Juniper had stopped moving and was now sizing up Jay, but in a different way from Kim.

"Forgot about me already? I was there when Yumi found you in the forest, remember?" Jay said, using the version of the incident Juniper had come to believe.

"N-No, I remember, Mister Haniel, and am still grateful for it," Juniper replied in her usual formal style. "I simply do not recognize your costume."

Jay grinned and whipped out his paintball pistol, startling the golden-eyed girl. "Van Helsing, legendary vampire hunter," Jay introduced himself. Grinning, he put away his prop before he got in trouble for it.

"Well then, please do not slay me, Mister Van Helsing," Juniper said, holding her hands up. Her three friends quickly decided she was a horrible actress. The female Dracula blinked. "That was a joke."

Of course it was. Jay's hand twitched instinctively, and he had to fight back the urge to offend her by palming his own face in exasperation.

"By the way, please don't call me 'Mister Haniel' again, ever. Call me Jay, I insist."

The dusky-skinned girl nodded once, giving a faint smile. "Very well then, Mister Jay."

"Leave out the 'Mister', while you're at it."

"Of course, I was only teasing."

Juniper's smile began to broaden, then she started to laugh a little. Her three friends quickly joined in the laugh.

"Well, the night is still young," Jay said, facing his date. "Come on Yumi, let's show these two how to really get down."

To prove his point, he began to wiggle to the beat, his bold yet ungraceful movements making Kylie and Juniper look like professionals by comparison. He knew he was a bad dancer, from the look on his face, but that didn't stop him. That dork.

Giggling, Yumi began to dance as well, swishing her body from side to side with her arms raised. As it turns out, she wasn't much better than her partner, but like him, she was quickly enjoying herself.

The two awkward dancers looked each other in the eye and shared a happy smile. Before long, Kylie and Juniper resumed their own boogieing next to them, and the four good friends kept going until they started to feel tired and hungry.