Pairing: Mina x Fem!Reader ⚢
"Friends?"
You know, it wasn't always like this. You weren't sure when it had began, but the rivalry between you and Mina had started about midway into the friendship you shared with her. It wasn't always subtle glances and snarky comments thrown out into the air for everyone to see. And maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to go back to the way things were.
'Myoui, Mina Sharon. 96%' The score list read. Your name was under hers and you had nearly gotten a seizure when you saw your percentage. 95.5% was just a very small percentage below Mina's and, for whatever reason, you felt strange.
You were definitely jealous that Mina had been extremely gifted in terms of intellect, and ballet, and she looked much better than everyone else. Scratch that, she was extremely gifted in all forms and you were jealous. Jealous that she was able to be the embodiment of everything you deemed ideal.
That was it, you were just jealous of her innate ability to execute everything with serenity and grace. This whole rivalry had become an exceedingly draining ordeal and you were ready for it to be over, just to regain your peace of mind. Though surely, the opportunity to end it wouldn't just come to you.
Or would it? Once chemistry class rolled around, you were far too exhausted to find another flaw within your skillset. "Good afternoon class!" The teacher, whose name you never bothered to remember, greets in a gleeful voice. The class groans collectively as she begins to scribble on the board.
"For this class' final task, you'll have to create a molecular model." Oh great, another thing for Mina to surpass you in. "You'll do it in pairs. Pick a piece of paper from the table, the one with the matching molecular formula does it together."
You hastily pick a paper up and unfold it. 'C5H12′ the paper reads, meaning you'll be creating a molecular model for pentane with whoever got the other paper. Everyone scrambles back into their seats and begin to look for their partners. You sit still, waiting for the others to pair up which will then reveal your partner.
"Everyone sit with your pairs." This stirs up chatter and the partners who had found each other had begun to take seats. You hear the sound of a chair's legs scratch against the floor and you turn to the source of the noise. Once you see who it is, you're frozen in place.
Out of the 18 other possible partners, you end up with Myoui Mina. Great, just your luck. "Hey, I guess we're partners." She states in a small voice, her gaze soft. Oh yes, the rivalry is one-sided. As far as Mina knows, you're still her childhood best friend.
You suppose that this'll be one of the only projects where Mina won't be surpassing you, after all, this was scored by groups. The teacher then drones on and on about the mechanics and Mina notes them down while your mind is somewhere else. To be specific, your mind is on Myoui Mina.
Your mind wonders if she feels the tension, if she feels the rivalry too. You wonder if she even cares. She probably doesn't, she's got her own group of friends now. Sana and Momo whose presence she seemed to enjoy more than yours. You doubt she even remembers much about you.
After class, you gather your books and place them in your locker. Once you shut the locker door, you're met with Mina in all her glory. She's gazing at you, her smile delicate and as graceful as the rest of her. "My place?" What? Your mind scrambles to understand her words.
"For the project, come with me." She clarifies, before tugging you along with her. She tugs you out of the school building and into the parking lot, where she drops your hand to unlock the car. "Get in." She tells you, and you oblige. She starts up the car and as she's waiting for the engine to heat up, her mouth opens and closes as if she has something to say.
"What is it?" You ask her, encouraging her to speak her mind. "Never mind, it's stupid anyway." She dismisses your protests as she pulls out of her parking spot and into the open road. Slowly, a comfortable silence enshrouds the two of you and you don't intend to break it. Neither does Mina as she remains silent.
After what you assume is the world's quietest car ride, you follow Mina into the stationery store she had driven to. You're actually quite familiar with this store, you recall vaguely that you had visited the store with Mina and Sana in the past. Aside from the familiarity, many memories were made in the back corner of the store.
They kept the calligraphy pens in that corner and Sana insisted that she wanted to take a look at them. Which then resulted in a hilarious reverse reading of Sana's handwriting, eliciting lots of laughs from the three of you. But that was the past and here you were again with Mina.
You wonder if she's thinking the same thing as the two of you approach the calligraphy pen corner, were her memories cherished as fondly as yours were? You receive your answer once she finally speaks. "Remember when Sana wrote gambling?"
"Of course I do, we came here to finish that art project and Sana got distracted." She picks up one of the pens, the corners of her lips quirking upwards into a smile. Once again, her mouth opens and closes. You're tempted to ask her what she wants to say, but she seems to have decided against it as she places the pen back. "Let's focus."
After buying the materials needed, you head back to Mina's apartment to craft the actual project. You haul the materials along with Mina as she leads you to her all-too-familiar apartment. She unlocks the door and leads you into her living room, telling you to close the door and to place your items by the coffee table.
You do as she tells you and position yourself in front of the items and begin to plan the project. Mina disappears into her study room and returns with a hot glue gun and a cutter in her hands, before plopping down beside you. "How should we do this?"
She pulls out the materials and seems to contemplate the design for a moment, before drawing the model on paper. "Alright, let's begin." You start to cut the straws into shorter segments and place them in a pile as Mina paints the styrofoam balls. The moment is strangely serene and you're comforted by Mina's presence.
What followed was a moment of silence shortly followed by the barely noticeable sound of Mina's sigh. You're almost sure that Mina won't say anything, but you're wrong this time. "Do you have a crush on Sana?" She hesitantly asks, her gaze avoiding yours.
"What?" You're dumbfounded, why did Mina think you felt that way about Sana? "You're always looking her way, it isn't exactly subtle either." Once you collect yourself, you place the scissors down. "I don't feel that way towards Sana."
She lets out another sigh as she stops painting momentarily. "But do you? For anyone else, I mean." You're actually not sure, were you interested in anyone? "I don't know." She nods vaguely, the lack of response unsettling to you. "How've you been?"
That question wasn't one that was as straightforward as it appeared to be. Truthfully, you had missed her for a long while now and were more than willing to forget the one-sided rivalry you had created. "I missed you. Why are you avoiding me?"
You're taken aback by her sudden confession. For the first time, you genuinely don't know what to say. "I didn't mean to drive you away." She rambles on, placing the painted styrofoam balls down in cups. "You didn't. I was jealous of you." Her ears seem to perk up as you finally respond.
"I was jealous that you were so inexplicably graceful and excelled in all your activities." Now, she was the one who was speechless. After a moment of contemplation, she sticks her hand out for you to shake. "Friends?" She meets your gaze once again. "Friends." For now, that was enough for you.
