Date Her Instead Vol. 3

Chapter Nineteen: Wilting Petals

"Haru-chi? What's up?" Chiyo's voice said through the speaker. Haruna could hear the mild surprise in her words. "I..." she began, but trailed off. "What do I even say?" she thought. "We haven't had a real conversation like this in months. Is it really okay for me to just call her like this?"

No matter how much either of them had tried, the distance that had formed hadn't lessened. There had been times that it seemed like it had. During lunch at school, sometimes the way they talked to each other appeared to be just like before. But, below the surface, it was clear there was a gap. It was as if Haruna stood on one side and Chiyo on the other, both staring at each other. They both wanted to build that bridge again to connect them, but they could only do so much on their own. Chiyo had tried by acting like her usual self. Haruna had tried to forgive, but still had a hard time doing just that. So the gap remained, leaving both girls to awkwardly interact with each other until they figured it out.

Although, the process does go faster when a hand is forced. Left with no other solo options, Haruna knew that she needed Chiyo. In the past, she had helped her plenty, even to the point of getting her to realize her feelings for Kanako. Haruna also knew that romance wasn't her strong suit, and yet she had tried to go about it alone. "If I had just swallowed my pride or whatever and asked her for advice a long time ago, would things be different now?" she wondered. Would Haruna have the upper hand on Akio? Would she be making constant progress with Kanako? Would the two of them... be dating right now?

There was no use in contemplating those questions. After all, they'd never get answers. Thanks to Haruna's unwillingness to move past the blockade she had set in front of herself, she had put herself in the position she was in now. That was something she would just have to deal with. However, it was that kind of thinking that brought her back to her guilt. This was her problem, so was it really okay to ask Chiyo for help?

As Haruna's thoughts raced, a giggle emanated from the other side of the line. "Oh, Haru-chi," the voice cooed. "Lemme guess. You're totes overthinking everything right now, right?" Haruna let out a breath. "I-" she tried saying, but was cut off. "Listen Haru-chi. I know things have been, well, kinda weird between us. And I'm like, totally up for talking it over if you are. But, I get the feeling that you're real worried about something, so... d'ya think it'd be okay if I helped you out a little?"

Those words were nearly enough to bring Haruna to tears. Her friendship with Chiyo still wasn't 100 percent. It would take a little more to fix it all the way. But, knowing that even when it was awkward between them Chiyo was still willing to help her, that meant a lot. So, releasing the tension in her body, Haruna smiled a little. "Yeah, that's fine."

"So what's up girl?" Chiyo said, going into a more serious tone. "Miyashita-kun... asked Kanako out on a date yesterday, and they went today." "...What?!" Chiyo exclaimed after a brief pause to process. "It gets worse," Haruna continued with a groan. "Kanako seemed to have had a really good time too. She was all smiles and stuff." "Are you sure she wasn't faking it?" Chiyo asked. "Huh? Why would she?" Haruna asked, dumbfounded. "Kanako's always been in love with Miyashita-kun. Of course she'd be happy to be on a date with him."

It made perfect sense to Haruna. Whether it was when they were friends or when they weren't, there had always been one fact that remained true: Kanako had a crush on Akio. That was something that had been true for a long time. Even despite Haruna's efforts to win Kanako's heart, it was clear that she was still losing out to the boy from childhood.

"Well anyways," Chiyo said, moving past Haruna's comment. "Definitely surprised Akio-kun did something so bold. I guess he was serious after all..." "Serious?" Haruna repeated. "Don't worry about it," Chiyo said light-heartedly. "What you should worry about it how you're going to respond." "Mmm..." Haruna let out, voicing her distress over the situation. "You really got nothing?" Chiyo said. Haruna sighed. "I don't."