Skip A Beat (Completed)

Chapter 4

Yuzu sighed for what felt like the nth time that day. Everyone other than the delinquent duo had left the classroom already. She casually took her medication before packing up her bag.

Noticing the girl's gloomy demeanor Harumi asked, "What's wrong Yuzucchi? You were so excited for Christmas yesterday"

"Mei can't make it to our Christmas party tonight… she said she has to do student council work", the blonde answered with another sigh. "Plus, she's been acting weird"

"How so?"

"She suggested that I go out with Matsuri today…", she trailed off. They started making their way out of the school.

"But you want to help the student council out so that the pres can go home early and celebrate with you and your mom", the brunette finished.

Harumi had guessed exactly right. Yuzu was about to remark how she'd hit the nail on the head before a cheery voice interrupted that thought. Waiting in front of the school gates was a pink haired middle schooler. "Yuzu-chan~ Let's go on a date today!"

Seeing her best friend's troubled expression Harumi spoke up, "Sorry but mind if I tag along? No? Thanks!"

*****

After revealing Mei's whereabouts, Matsuri would have expected Yuzu to cry. (She was trying to break her heart after all). Maybe some denial as well since Yuzu seems to admire anything that the snobby student council did. Anger would also have been a probable expectation. But she didn't expect that the blonde would actually get angry at her.

"I'm going after her"

Yuzu stormed out, leaving Harumi and Matsuri behind. They sat there in silence for a while until the younger girl spoke up. "I don't get it. Why would-", her question caught in her throat. She didn't know which question to ask. Why does Yuzu care so much about that arrogant student council president? 'The one who told me to go out with you today was Mei' Why did she even care about her, especially since she literally blackmailed her into going on a date with some guy?

As the questions increased in her mind the girl sitting across from her sighed, "Beats me". Somehow, she knew the basics of what Matsuri was trying (and failing) to articulate.

"She doesn't deserve Yuzu", she mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it's not really up to you, is it?"

She was taken aback by Harumi's words. 'What does she know? I've known Yuzu longer than any of you'. Seeing Mei living healthily yet so unhappily pissed her off. Furthermore, her cold and impulsive nature was not good for Yuzu's heart. "Don't you care that she's hurting her? Mei's words and actions… they'll just end up hurting Yuzu!"

Harumi shook her head, "Aren't your actions hurting Yuzucchi as well? If you know your oneechan so well then you should know that something as minimal as a sickness isn't enough to keep her from doing what she wants".

The older girl's words hit Matsuri like a ton of bricks. Though she hated to admit it, she was right. Her actions were selfish and hypocritical, in short, she was acting like a child.

Seeing the young girl realizing her mistake Harumi tried to take a gentler approach, "Look, I can see that you care a lot about Yuzucchi. You look up to her right? And you only wanted to protect her. But doing it like this is wrong. The most important thing now is that you apologize"