Chapter Text
Hanayagi-san I'm going to kill you. The only thought that rung in my mind considering the situation I am in.
It all started when their instructor announced that they will be doing a special activity to enhance their acting abilities. Although it doesn't mean everyone should participate and only those who are willing to do it because the activity will take place after class. Besides, it will only be considered as an extra credit. Of course, as a stage girl who strive to better myself, I signed up to it along with my friends.
We all form a circle and the instructor is in the middle. At first, the activities doesn't seem too different to their actual lessons and boredom strikes to those who are easily influenced by it. I have to pinch a dozing Karen on my side every ten minutes to prevent the girl from sleeping. Hanayagi-san keeps whining and repeatedly saying "This is so boring, Futaba-haaaan I want candy." While Isurugi-san only sighed and muttered a low 'later' again and again.
Even so, I thought the activities were not even that bad and I believe I can do well.
"Since you are all aspiring stage girls, I'm sure you would be open-minded about the next activity. Today, you will all learn the art of stage kissing."
Or not.
A series of different expressions followed the announcements. Tendo-san looked at Saijou-san with a challenging smirk and the blonde seems to return it but there is a subtle blush covering her face.
Karen's sleepy demeanor disappeared instantly and immediately bent down on one knee in front of a very flustered Tsuyuzaki-san, "Are you ready my lady?" Making her voice deeper causing the poor girl to hyperventilate. It worsens when Kagura-san imitates Karen's position but without saying a word. Tsuyuzaki-san short-circuited from then on.
Hanayagi-san bellowed her most terrifying laugh that can cause even the devil himself to cower and hide. I freaking shivered. Isurugi-san covered her ears and yelled "Will ya shut up!" to the laughing gremlin.
I face palmed so hard I thought my glasses will break. A pounding headache is forming inside my head already because of this commotion. I hear a click beside me and I know Nana is taking photos again.
"Well that is one turn of events isn't it, Junna-chan?" I turned my head and saw Nana with an amused smile on her lips, her phone in her left hand. "This is just a disaster in the making Nana." I answered her, a sigh escaping my mouth.
A loud cough breaks the commotion and everyone stopped their antics when they saw the irritation in the instructor's face. "Before I was rudely interrupted by all of you, can I continue what I'm saying?"
A chorus of "Yes, Sensei!" rang inside the classroom. The instructor continues what she is saying and the only thought that runs through my head right now is why did it have to be that? I mean it's inevitable that we will tackle that subject but why now?
"So to properly demonstrate the art of stage kissing, may I have Saijou and Daiba as the volunteer?"
Saijou-san choked on her bottled water after hearing the names uttered by the instructor. As for me, I'm grateful that I'm not drinking any water right now or I might have spluttered it everywhere too. My brows are furrowing and I can feel something gnawing in my chest.
Hanayagi-san's face is displaying a shit-eating grin which annoyed my whole being. Tendo-san has an unreadable expression on her face and Nana seems surprised since I'm not hearing the camera clicks anymore. She raised her right hand and the instructor allowed her to speak "If I may ask, why me and Kuro-chan, sensei?"
"Well for starters, you're the tallest person here Daiba and Saijou's figure is feminine, I don't see anything wrong with my choices here. Unless you have another person in mind that you would like to be your partner for the activity, hmm?"
For the first time I saw Nana's face grew a shade of a tomato, caught off guard by the question of the instructor. She looked at my direction and quickly averted her gaze when our eyes meet. I can feel my face grew hot too, why did you look at me just now?
I can see Hanayagi-san's snicker behind her fan and God if you're out there give me the patience I need. The devil incarnate folded her fan and pointed it to me. "Sensei~ I think Banana-han wants Hoshimi-han to be her partner in this activity."
Forget the water, I choked on my own spit and the blush on my face worsens. "Hanayagi-san!" I exclaimed loudly.
Nana seems to freeze on the spot because her right hand is still raised. I glared at Hanayagi-san and she only smiled widely in return.
Sensei looked at me then at Nana. "Hoshimi, Daiba will the two of you stand?" Nana lowered her right hand while I stopped glaring at Hanayagi-san and complied to her request. She walks over to our position and began scrutinizing us. "Why this is interesting. I can see that the two of you are the ideal height of a man and a woman!" She exclaimed excitedly.
Oh. My. God. THAT'S WHAT I SAID TO NANA BEFORE. I couldn't masked the horror that's quickly creeping in my face. One look on Nana's face and I know she remembered it too. Hanayagi-san began laughing out loud again along with Isurugi-san this time. God reconsider my wish. I don't want patience, I want the ground to eat me right. now.
"Well Saijou, you don't mind if Hoshimi switch places with you?" Sensei asked the blonde who seems very satisfied about the outcome. "Bien sur, Sensei!" She winked at us then settled comfortably in her seat. A flash of relief can be seen in Tendo-san's face for a split second but it quickly vanished.
"The two of you, please stand at the center."
And this is the moment I decided to plan different ways on how to murder Hanayagi-san and getting away with it. That gremlim has the widest smile right now and what's worse? Isurugi-san didn't even try to stop her because she too is donning her own wide smile.
Tsuyuzaki-san looked like she recovered from her situation and she's giving me and Nana an encouraging smile and Karen shouting "Go go Banana! JunJun!". Kagura-san is giving me that look after the valentines incident.
We moved to the center and I sneaked a peek at Nana, the red on her face is not diminishing. Her right hand tightened in her shirt and she looked so "Cute..."
I quickly clamped my hand on my mouth while Nana lets out a surprised squeaked and now we are staring at each other. Looks like I don't need God's help because I'm digging my own grave anyways.
"Now that we have the volunteers to demonstrate stage kissing, let me ask a few questions first, did the two of you have experiences regarding this matter? Even if it's just kissing on general."
I shook my head because the idea of kissing someone didn't even crossed my mind. I mean the act of doing it is for two people in love only and I'm sure Nana doesn't have any experiences on the matt-
"I have, Sensei." She speaks shyly and everyone look at her in shock including me. That feeling I can't describe is back again full force and I don't even know why.
"Oh la la~ our sweet Banana-han already had her first kiss?" Hanayagi-san is back to her teasing again. Nana laughed nervously and she scratched the back of her head. "S-something like that."
Nana already had... Does that mean she has someone she likes and... The uncomfortable feeling keeps gnawing my chest again. Why am I feeling this way, what the heck is this?
"Hoshimi, are you alright?" Sensei asked me and I can see the worried looks of everyone except Hanayagi-san, whose giving me a knowing look.
"I-I'm alright Sensei, please continue the lesson." I said and everyone stop giving me that look. Nana still look concerned so I tried lifting the corners of my mouth. She accepted it and also give a smile in return.
Sensei nodded on my answer and continued her lessons. "To start of, stage kissing is all about making sure that there is a chemistry between the two actors so that when it comes to that part, the audience will think that the act is real even though it's not."
She make her way to us and then give a ring to Nana. "So how about we do a scene from Phantom of the Opera where Daiba will act as the Phantom and Christine will be acted by Hoshimi? The scene you two will perform is where the Phantom realizes that Christine's love for Raoul is the real 'true love' after she kissed him in his lair." The squeals coming from our classmates is equal to the sound of the pounding of my heart. Sensei really know how to pick a veeery intimate scene I'll give it to her.
"You can start anytime you want because as I've said, chemistry is important so the mood needs building up. I'm counting on the two of you to give a spectacular performance." Sensei's final words as she sits together with my classmates.
Nana looked at me with the same concerned expression a while ago. I tried to calm my breathing and I nodded at her so that we can start. Okay you've got this Hoshimi Junna, you're already familiar with this script just like Nana. The only difference this time is that the 'kiss' will happen. Yeap, I really got this.
Nana took a deep breath first before her expression morphed into a pained look that if you didn't know she was concerned a while ago, you wouldn't assume otherwise. "Ah Christine, why can't you be mine!" She clutched her chest like she's hurt. I could see the audience in my peripheral vision being captivated by her, and who wouldn't? Even without the costume, Nana portrayed the Phantom's anguish really well.
"Tell me in your singing voice where I swore my life. Tell me why my love cannot become yours!" The way she portrays her voice, her acting... It looks so true ... now is not the time for that focus!
I tried focusing more on Christine's lines and didn't think too much on how contradicting her feelings are to what I'm really feeling right now. "No, my love is yours! It is true, I loved you, but I cannot promise it forever!" I shake my head to emphasize the point of the lines, "My body and the soul here in my bosom already belong to Raoul. Could you still love me should I betray that and choose you instead?" I give my all to this one line, my feelings building up.
"I would still love you!" Nana lamented, "My love shall shine forever like the diamond in this ring." This is the scene where we will act the stage kiss. I'm already preparing myself to walk up to her to finish our act but she beat me to it.
She grabbed my wrist and placed a kiss to the back of my left hand. "I may have done unforgivable things, but please Christine, accept my love I have for you?" She's looking deeply in my eyes when she said those words. The surprised gasp of everyone entered vaguely in my ears when Nana recite a different line from the script. She looks so ethereal right now as she bent down on one knee and inserted the ring on my ring finger.
I couldn't control my emotions any longer. The only thing that matters is the girl right in front of me. My body move on its own, I cupped her face with my right hand and pressed my lips to hers, pouring what I'm feeling right now to this one moment.
"I love you too, Nana."
I muttered as I slowly break the kiss. I opened my eyes and what greeted me is a very shocked, tomato-faced Nana. Horror dawned upon me as I realized what I've said and done. I looked around and everyone too is shocked by what happened. I took a step back and tried to say something "I-I'm-" I don't know what to do anymore so I did the first thing that pops in my mind.
I ran.
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I didn't know how long I've been running. The only thing that matters is that I need to get away from everyone especially from Nana. I stopped and I noticed that my own feet dragged me back to the dorm. I entered the front door and quickly made my way to my room.
I made a beeline to my bed and went to the corner and hugged my knees. What the hell am I thinking?! It's clear Nana likes someone else already. She already kissed that person!
I'm always doing it, how could I let my feelings slip and get in the way of everything. And now Nana...
Someone wipe the tears that are falling from my eyes. I didn't even know I'm crying. I looked up and come face to face to the last person I wanted to see right now.
I already plan to run away again when she hold me back by the shoulders. "Junna-chan don't..." Nana pleaded to me and I feel my resolve crumbled when I saw the look on her face. She looked worried but I can see many emotions play from her eyes: scared, doubtful... And an unknown emotion I can't decipher at all.
Nana starts rubbing my shoulders and I feel myself calming down. The tears stopped completely and my breathing became normal again.
"Feeling better?" Her voice is small but I can hear the concern behind it. I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak yet.
After a moment of silence, I began speaking. "You followed me." My voice is hoarse from crying. She smiled that wonderful smile that always make my stomach turn into knots. "I will always follow you, Junna-chan. Didn't I say that you can rely on me more?" A memory of our class president election passed through my mind and I couldn't help but smile about it.
"I know that." I whispered to her and closed my eyes.
"Did you regret it?" I heard her voice cracked and I opened my eyes to look at her face. Nana's face looked like she was the one whose gonna cry now and not me.
Something tugged at my chest when I saw that look. It reminded me of the time when she spilled her loops to me. Her expression is very pained and the image of her phantom act pops out again.
I made a mistake of not answering her question because she took it the wrong way. "It's fine Junna-chan... You don't have to answer that. I'm sorry for making you cry." She said dejectedly and began to stand up, but before she can fully stand, I grabbed her wrist to prevent her from leaving.
"Sorry I kinda spaced out there. I'm just thinking of something else." I pulled her to me and I nervously touched her cheek with my right hand. "I didn't regret what I did Nana I'm just embarrassed..." She seems relieved by my answer and returned to her position.
"So do you mean what you said Junna-chan?" She leaned into my hand and I feel something blooming in my chest. I nodded and looked away because of embarrassment.
She turned my head in her direction and I gasped when I see how big her smile is. "Hehe, Junna-chan finally loves me back~"
Wait what?
"Wait what?!" My eyes widened and she only giggled in response. "Don't laugh Nana what do you mean by that!?" Her giggle turned into a full blown laugh. "Nana..." I tried to glare at her but one look of her happy face and it immediately crumbles. She proceeds to wrap her arms around my body and whispered the words I didn't know I will be hearing at all.
"I love you Junna-chan."
No quotes of Shakespeare's can make me smile like how Nana said those words. Warmth is quickly spreading to my body and I let out a laugh at how absurd the situation was.
And here I thought Nana likes some...
I roughly pulled back from our hug and she yelped. "Junna-chan?" I narrowed my eyes and started crossing my arms. She looks taken aback by my actions.
"Who's that person?" I can hear the bitterness in my voice but Nana just tilted her head like a cute puppy. Don't think of such thoughts right now Hoshimi!
"Who are you talking about Junna-chan?" The bewilderment in her voice is apparent.
"You know! That person you share your first kiss with!" The indescribable feeling is back and I don't know how to control it this time.
Instead of feeling guilty, she have the audacity to smirk at me and- "Why Junna-chan? Are you jealous?"
The feeling burned brighter after she said those words.
"Why would I be-" and realization dawned upon me. I pouted and looked away from her. So what if I'm jealous?
"Eeeeeh, Junna-chan look at meeeee." She tried making me look at her direction again but I didn't relent this time. I heard her sigh and since I'm not backing down she decided to directly place her face in front of me causing me to yelp. She grab my face with both of her hands to prevent me from looking away.
"You know about the loops right?" She asked me. "Of course I know you told me that." She then place her forehead on mine causing my heart to beat erratically again. "Well during those loops a certain roommate of mine," a peck on my nose, "Tripped and accidentally kissed me on the lips because she's trying to catch Karen-chan for causing trouble in the hallways."
I can feel the giddiness inside me because of the kiss and I can't help the blush that is rising from my cheeks again, "So technically I'm your first kiss too?"
She smiled that breath taking smile causing my stomach to flip. "Of course you are, and you reacted the same way. Running off to some place although..." Her smile turned into a bittersweet one, "You said it was only an accident and asked me to forget about it."
I feel a pang in my chest after hearing what happened after that.
She looked me in the eyes, "That's why I'm happy when you said you love me back now Junna-chan. So don't be jealous anymore, I mean it's technically you."
I can't believe this, here I am getting jealous over myself? I pinch her cheeks making her yelp. "That's what you get for making me jealous over myself." She rubbed her nose to mine as an apology causing me laugh. "Well Junna-chan looks so cute when she's acting like that, I can't help it."
"Well this time I won't ask you to forget it Nana. I don't regret it too, I promise." I assured her.
Our face become so close now and I can feel my pulse quickening. Nana seems to notice it too and she smirked. "Say Junna-chan..." Oh God her voice is deeper now.
I gulped when she says my name like that. "W-what?" I unintentionally licked my lips and her eyes began to have a deeper color.
"You stole two kisses from me now and I think that's very unfair." Her hands now went to my arms and she's rubbing it up and down. I can't help the shiver running down my spine. I gather my voice to speak confidently but it came out shakily. "W-well what are you going to do about it?"
Her smirk grew wider if possible and she whispered to me. "I have a few things in mind that I want to steal from you too..." Capturing my mouth in a heated kiss.
That moment, let's just say we stole a lot of 'things' from each other.