So, do you like him?

Finally. Anymore of that and I'd have been labelled a creep my whole high school life!-

"Futoshi?" a voice rang out. The voice had a chill, seemingly comforting exterior. One that'd be a good friend in a time of need. This voice it was-

"Haruto. Finally...I-I found you." Futoshi bent his knees as he braced his hands against them, as he caught his breath. Haruto's gaze widened. To him, it was either two things: a confession - just then, Haruto's gaze met the floor as he bent his knees

"Sorry, I can't go out with you, my heart belongs to Ojino-senpai." He retracted his actions before pushing his palms together. In that moment, Futoshi's legs carried the weight of all the frustration boiling inside him. T-this idiot is a no-show and h-has the audacity to joke like that? Futoshi raised his head to meet Haruto's indifferent gaze before placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"Just shut up and come with me."

                                                                               ****

"So do you...?" 

Reina's lip quivered at that repeated question. It was like what she wanted to say wouldn't come out. In its stead, her tongue tied.

"Uhh...w-what are you-"

"It's obvious you like him; heck, you yourself probably sense it deep down." 

For once, her prestigious tone had been replaced. In its place was a more modern, stern tone of voice.  When it came to her own Romance she was aloof, but when it came to others in that position, it's like a switch in her flips. 

Reina scratched the back of her head before her lip curled. "What do you mean...ha ha. Me? Futoshi? I mean, have you seen how disgusting-"

"Reina, stop it. Let's talk... the real you... not whatever this is." Rin turned, meeting Reina's dejected gaze. Was it that obvious?

Reina dropped her shoulders, no matter how much she tried to deflect- Rin had backed her into a corner. 

"Fine. Let's talk."  Reina scoffed. This was one of the only times she could talk without the fear of judgment or rejection, so why didn't she want to take that chance? After hearing her reluctant agreement, Rin bent her knees as she put her hands behind her back. A soft, comforting smile tugged at her lip.

"I...guess if you had to put a label on things then... yeah, I do. Anyway, how could you tell? And why aren't you talking funny like usual?" Rin wafts a hand in the air in response to Reina's ending questions. 
"We all have things we keep hidden, don't we? For you its your secret soft spot for Futoshi, which you hide behind that outrageous demeanour of yours..."

"You don't sugarcoat things, do you, Ojino-senpai?"
"No, because that would be lying to you, wouldn't it?" Rin placed a hand on Reina's rose-coloured hair. If everyone got told what they wanted to hear, they wouldn't grow. So, Rin chose not to pretend. 

Rin lowered her voice in a tone only she and Reina would be able to hear.

"For me, I put on the prestigious girl act to be liked. To be honest... I feel as if my normal self isn't worthy of being liked. My words...they've hurt people-"

"So have mine, and do you see me pulling any punches? Especially with Futoshi. To be honest, I'm amazed he still talks to me after all I've made him deal with." 

Reina puffed out her chest as her cheeks turned red. When it came to Futoshi, she couldn't grasp what he was thinking, and that thought terrified her. 

"Yeah, but he understands it's all just empty words; mine, on the other hand, carry weight-"
"Your words have helped people as well, haven't they? I mean, look at Nakamura-kun. " Reina placed her hand atop Rin's shoulder, as well as all the bad stuff she says she said in the past, a lot of good has come from her words as well, for that, she should hold her head high.    

Rin's gaze lowered till it met Reina's, her eyes widened. Out of everyone she had her money on, she'd never expect that those words of sincerity would come from Reina. 

"I guess you're the school's honour student for a reason, huh?"  She flashed a half-hearted smile in Reina's direction. One that was devoid of any malice or ill will, but carried a hue of sadness to it. 

"I try..."
"...Thanks, Ojino-senpai, it feels a lot better getting it off my chest." Reina chose to respond to that subtle hint at sadness with warmth of her own.

"Just make sure you're true to yourself, Reina. You don't want to end up like me and run away from who you are." Rin's gaze sharpened as she said that. As if to say, 'don't forget these words.'"

Her angelic, almost perfect mask had already dropped. The contents, however, remained to be seen. Her long, almost fairy tale-like stature propped itself up onto the table behind them. 

"So what's next?" The way her eyes dazzeled, you would never have imagined they were fake-yet they were. In its place, a hollow shell was left. 

Reina leaned against the table, following suit.
"What do you mean, next?" 

Rin rested her head against her slender knee as Reina stood there awaiting an answer. 

"You can't keep living a lie, Reina. It's not fair... for you, or for him." Her natural brown hair had flowed to one side. 

Reina's eyes cast off elsewhere, as the aura of Rin's hollowed gaze welled up around her.

She couldn't run.

"B-but what if I'm not ready to take the next step?"

"That's fine... no one does- or at least, no one I know does anyway." Reina placed her hands on the table before propping herself up to the same level as Rin. Now back to back, their gaze shifted upward. 
"Y'know, we're quite similar, one runs from what they want, and the other runs from themselves. We're both living a lie."

Reina placed a hand over her mouth as she broke into a laugh.
"pph...Is there any way you could've made that sound less corny?" In retaliation, Rin herself followed in Reina's footsteps.

"I couldn't make it sound less cringe if I tried, but you know what? The message still got across."

As the two sat there back to back, there was a knock on the clubroom door.

"Uh, excuse me, is this the confession club?"