With the Stars and Us

Chapter Three

It never occured once in her life that by a simple meeting her world would immediately turn the other way around. And it's been two weeks for heaven's sakes; two weeks of no sleep, two weeks of prancing around her room at night at a desperate attempt to erase the cloud forming around her thoughts. What happened to the nights she looked forward to, that now became a seemingly endless series of denials and unfortunate events?

Ever since that girl barged right into her life without even taking her shoes off, her past came crawling back in.

An opposite manifestation of her failures.

Kobayashi Yui blankly stares at her ceiling, sweat beading across the temples of her forehead. What was it really, that drove her into such a corner?

Was it fear for the past, or about the fact that Imaizumi Yui effortlessly tears the walls she's been trying to build, as her fear for uncertainty begins to rise within the depths of her being?

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Yuuka's lips began to tremble as she sought for words to explain her thoughts. It felt like the room was nothing but a paradise that only the two of them shared; wrapped in their own worlds, protagonists of their own fairytales.

She abruptly enters the room with hope plastered on her lips, only to be met with a surprised look upon the younger girl's face. "P-Pon, you— you didn't— it was you with Imaizumi, isn't it?"

Stammering, the girl in question awkwardly glances around the room, suddenly aware, conscious. The short haired duo exchanges thoughts, arriving at one conclusion.

"Yui—"

"Whoops, uh, ah, so uhm, Imaizumi-san," she inwardly grimaces at the sudden change of attitude, "Y-You did great."

"But I wouldn't be—"

"Nope, that was all you, trust me."

Manaka grimaced, the secondhand embarrassment was slightly getting out of hand. "Yui, it was the both of you, to be frank."

"What?"

Risa feels a sweat drip down her cheek. "You really don't know where this is going, do you?"

Pon dryly laughs. "..I don't."

"Yuipon," Yuuka sternly says, "I... I want you to sing with her on the festival. I mean, if it helps, this could be your big break."

"Ha!" Kobayashi steps backwards, waving her hands in front of her as if to dismiss. There were too many reasons why she didn't have to; including the shorter girl looking at her with regret present in her irises. "Nope. No big break, no singing. I was just trying to help."

"Were you trying to help, or was that an excuse?"

Manaka, Risa and Yuuka shared a knowing glance at each other. Imaizumi, with her shoulders dropped, tries to extend a hand towards the younger girl, to no avail. "Just tell us if you want or not. We respect whatever you want to happen." Kobayashi didn't even hesitate to swat her hand away; it's as if something else was controlling her. Zuumin flinched, pain evident across her features.

Pon looks down and gingerly rubs her arm. "I-I'm sorry."

She expected something along the lines of Manaka grabbing her shirt to let her rethink her decision, or Risa throwing a drumstick against her head and calling her an idiot from across the room; but there were none. Their faces were blank, except Imaizumi, who has this bitter smile on her lips. "But we could've... we could've..."

She unslings her guitar and bravely held the younger girl's hand, eyes boring into hers. "We could've worked out, you know?"

And then something snapped within Kobayashi Yui.