A jealous love

Chapter 2

Ruby buried her face into her tear-soaked pillow. She had already run out of tears to cry, but she was still in pain mentally. Hardly any time had passed before she heard a knock at the door. Her gaze turned towards the door, almost glaringly. Without knowing who was out there, she refused to open the door but kept a close eye on it.

A muffled voice came from outside the door, shouting, "Ruby-chan, open up! We want to talk to you!" Ruby could clearly recognize that it was a combination of Dia and Hanamaru's voices. Ruby peeked through the peephole in the door and was relieved to see it was only them. If Yoshiko had been there, Ruby would have never opened that door. She quickly rubbed her eyes to get rid of any lingering tears and hesitantly turned the door knob.

What stood before her was two girls, together, holding a bouquet of hand-picked roses. They both smiled at her so kindly, and Ruby knew they cared for her. "We wanted to bring you these to make you feel better," they spoke in unison. Ruby smiled as happily as she could, still feeling down from the events that occurred earlier. Her hand further opened the door and let the duo in. Of course, Dia would have to come in at some point regardless, since they're siblings.

Subsequent to walking inside before Ruby closed the door, they handed her the small bouquet. It wasn't a fancy bouquet, but it was picked by them, and only them. Ruby placed the collection of flowers next to her bed and sat down next to Dia and Hanamaru. "Thank you for the roses," she gratefully, but also a bit wearily, thanked them. Her voice was a bit shaken due to her crying before.

Hanamaru beamed back at the timid girl, "It was no problem. Anything for you, Ruby-chan." Dia nodded to that statement before adding, "Now tell us, what's wrong? What's been up with you these days?" The traditional girl lost her grin, which turned into a more worried expression.

Ruby hesitated, not sure if she could talk to Dia about such a thing. "Um... Onee-chan..." her voice felt weak. After a second or two, she gained the courage to continue, "I.. I think I want to talk to only Maru-chan about this." She could tell it hurt her sister a bit, but Dia simply nodded and walked out of the area. Hanamaru stared at Ruby with her warm, golden eyes, confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked, as she pushed her light brown locks out of her face. Ruby could only stare back at her. Those eyes were mesmerizing to look at.

Ruby regained herself and stuttered in reply, "I..It's nothing." Her blue-green eyes turned to the floor below them, almost empty, void of emotion. There was still a tad bit of sadness stuck within her eyes, and Hanamaru knew it.

Hanamaru grabbed onto Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby-chan, I know something is wrong. Please, tell me what's wrong." Ruby wanted to shout at her, "It's you!" but knew it would only make everything worse. Even if that was the truth, even if her love for Hanamaru was the problem, letting it out now would bring more pain.

With a deep sigh, Ruby confirmed what Hanamaru had said. "You're right, there is something wrong." Ruby mustered up the most confidence she could within herself. Being so reserved was difficult, especially like this. She wanted to let those feelings out freely. Her gaze returned to Hanamaru's, their eyes locked together. "I.." she paused, nervous about how this could sound to Hanamaru. Then she snapped out of it, realizing it was now or never.

"I fell in love with someone who will never love me back."

Hanamaru gasped, in shock. Ruby didn't seem like the type to fall in love easily, so it must have been someone she's known for ages. "Ruby-chan.." her eyes began to water. Seeing her friend in pain like this hurt her just as much. "Tell me, tell me why you think they'll never love you back?"

Ruby wiped a small tear from her eye before continuing her confession. "Because.." she shivered a bit, extreme nervousness overcoming her. She had to stay strong. She had to let it out. "They have someone else. Someone better than me."

Hanamaru held Ruby tightly at the sound of those words. "Ruby-chan, you're perfect. Don't say that about yourself. One day, things will be okay. I promise." She loosened her grasp and gave a small smile to Ruby before standing and turning to the exit. "I think I should give you some alone time, but.." she stopped, facing back to the depressed girl sitting behind her, "Don't think I will ever stop caring about you." And with that, her caramel hair fluttered behind her as she walked out the door.

Ruby sat in shock. She didn't know what had just happened or what it was all supposed to mean. Dia came around the corner and stared at her as if she was angry, but it was a look of doting. "Do you think you'll be able to hide it forever from her?" Dia knew. Ruby knew that Dia knew. "Can you hide those feelings forever?" Dia's voice pierced through Ruby's ears. Could she actually hide those feelings forever? In the end, it didn't seem like she could.

-

A/N: This is starting off so sad. ;-; I plan for it to be a happy ending! I think the next chapter will be a lot more uplifting.