Longing (Izzy Izumi x OC)

Chapter 7

That night Rita had attempted to talk to Mimi, rather worried if she was alright. However, only hearing "go away!" from the other side of the door made it apparent that she was still not ready to converse. The next day at school was no better. Mimi left ahead of Rita, even when they usually walked together. In class the two didn't speak or even glance in the others direction. Izzy's concern was growing, obviously they weren't able to make up. Rita seemed even more depressed then the previous day, of course he did understand completely. When she looked at him and smiled his heart skipped a beat, thinking about the embrace from last night. It was rather frustrating that he couldn't put that aside for now. Rita clearly needed his support right now, yet his feelings and mind were a complete mess. That lunch break Rita joined Izzy in the computer lab. "Are you sure you are fine spending your break in here with me?" Izzy asked, looking over to the seat next to him where Rita was browsing on the web. "Of course, where else would I be?" Her beautiful smile making his whole body heat up again. "I mean don't you want to be outside on such a nice day?" He mused. "I enjoy being inside as well, there are tons of things to do on the internet after all." Rita responded. "What do you do on the computer?" He asked, Rita just sat back in thought. "Hmm, well I message my friends, browse through the online shops of stores I like. Sometimes I read stories or play games, look at pictures of cute animals, etcetera." Rita answered, looking over to Izzy's screen. "What are you doing?" She asked, seeing all of the coding and open windows on the screen. "Just going over some data while messaging a few of my friends." Izzy responded, again flustered by her sudden proximity. "Is that so..." Rita muttered before realizing how close she was to Izzy again. Blushing she moved back to her computer, trying to shake that feeling. A sudden ding on her phone made her jump. "What is it?" Izzy asked, seeing the serious look on her face as she focused on the smaller screen. "It seems that Sora and Meiko want to talk to me... it's probably about Mimi." Rita sighed. "You should go then; I will see you back in class." Izzy smiled, hoping that this might solve the dilemma between the two girls. "Yeah, I will see you later then!" Rita smiled, her hand instinctively tousling Izzy's hair before she left the room. As the door shut, Rita's face turned into a glowing red mess. "What did I just do?" She quietly cried out as she ran to see Sora and Meiko. Izzy remained frozen, his heart racing again. How was he supposed to focus now?

"Sorry it took me so long, I still get lost in this school..." Rita blushed, still slightly red from before. "Don't worry, we just wanted to talk to you, if that is okay?" Sora smiled, taking a seat. "Of course... are those the outfits for the café?" Rita smiled, looking at the clothes on the table. "Ah yes..." Meiko squeaked. "They really are cute!" Rita's eyes lit up, finding herself drawn to the colour scheme. "It's kind of about this as well..." Sora again spoke. "You want to talk about Mimi I presume." Rita said as she sat down. The girls both nodding, their eyes showing concern. "Mimi seems really upset... she said to just forget these outfits and left." Meiko explained. "Have you managed to talk to Mimi after what happened yesterday?" Sora inquired. "No... I tried to talk to her last night but she just told me to go away. Sorry I don't think I can be of much help." Rita felt her chest ache, she wanted to help Mimi, but what could she do? "I think we should keep going!" Meiko stated to the other girls' surprise. "You mean keep making the outfits?" Sora asked. "Yes, I think Mimi's idea is a good one... and Rita... I know how much she wanted to do this with you." Meiko's eyes were filled with drive, something Rita hadn't seen from her. "She does huh?" Rita mused, picking up the outfit. "W-will you please do it with us? I-I know it's embarrassing and it really is for me... but it would make Mimi so happy!" Meiko stated, clutching her uniform. Rita thought of Mimi's smile, the smile that always made her feel happy and safe. She told herself before that Mimi's happiness was most important to her. So if this would return that beautiful smile then so be it... embarrassing or not, for Mimi she would bare it. "Okay, I'll do it." Rita smiled, receiving two glowing smiles in return. "Thank you!" Meiko said as her eyes sparkled. "No... thank you Meiko, for caring so much for Mimi." Rita spoke as she reached out to embrace Meiko. Happy to feel Meiko hug her back.