Strawberry (A Natsuri Fanfiction)

Chapter One

It was a Monday, I think. It wasn't very far into the week after all. My friends and I were spending the last few hours of school in the Literature Club. I was reading something quietly in the back of the room, dreading the moment the school bell rang and I had to go home. It wasn't that I was afraid to leave, Papa was coming home late tonight. I just wanted to talk to my friends a bit longer...

That wasn't an issue. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, a slender girl with long, purple hair quietly sauntered up next to me. I jolted a bit as she leaned down to read over my shoulder, I didn't hear her sneak up.

"Hey!" I shouted, snapping my book shut. "It's not nice to sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry!" Yuri recoiled in surprise. I guess I yelled a bit too loudly. I didn't mean to startle her...

I groaned and pulled out a pink frilly bookmark. "What do you want? I was just getting to the good part."

Yuri sighed. "I just...wanted to know if you were free after school today. I was going to get some boba tea...do you want to come?"

My eyes lit up against my will. I quickly hid behind my manga in an attempt to hide my smile. It didn't work as well as I hoped. "I have some time...my dad won't be home 'til 7:30."

"So..." Yuri played with her hair. "Is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes, idiot!" I giggled and smacked her arm with the manga in my hand. In doing so, my grip loosened, and the book flew out of my hand and onto the clubroom floor. Nothing tore, but some pages were bent. I pouted and reached to grab it, not looking at the page it opened up to. Yuri raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. I glanced up to her. "What? What's that look for?"

"N-Nothing!" she stuttered, looking away quickly. "It's just...that page...I didn't know you liked that kind of thing."

I blushed. My manga was called Stay Here With Me, and it's a lesbian romance! Of all the days I could've chosen to read it, I picked this one...

"So what?" I said, pretending not to notice my racing heartbeat. "I'm allowed to read romance from time to time, right? It's not like there's any cute boys in the Literature Club."

"Well, that's true..." Yuri smiled sadly. "Are we still going to get boba?"

I carefully began to bend the pages back to their original shape. "Sure, I don't see why not. Just let me put this away first."

The closet door was already open, and Monika was inside rearranging the shelves. I've told her to stay out of it before, but she wouldn't listen. I groaned and began to put my volumes back to where they were.

Monika sighed. "Natsuki...you're undoing all my hard work."

"Your hard work?! I worked to put these where they were in the first place!" I huffed and began to put SHWM in its proper spot. No wonder my books keep disappearing...

"I heard you and Yuri were going to get some drinks later, is that right?" Monika smiled knowingly.

"Huh? How did you know that?" She was in the closet the whole time, there's no way she could have heard our conversation...

"I read ahead." She never looked up from her work. I gave her a confused look, and she sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. So, is this your first official date?"

"Date?!" My cheeks heated up, and I began to vigorously shake my head. "No! No, I didn't...we aren't..." I took a deep breath and regained my composure. "We're just friends, okay? She doesn't like me like that."

Monika finally looked up from the bookshelves. "What about you?"

"Huh? What about me?"

"Don't play dumb, Nat." Monika set a box of manga down on the floor of the closet. "I've seen the way you look at her from the other end of the room. It's obvious how you feel about her."

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I glanced outside the closet to ensure Yuri couldn't hear our conversation. "She's just..." I twisted the hem of my skirt around my finger. "She's so tall...and beautiful..."

"That's what I thought." Monika knelt down to my eye level, a gesture in any other situation I would have found insulting. "Listen, Natsuki. I know you've liked her for most of the school year. So why not just tell her how you feel? The worst she can do is reject you. She won't want to stop being your friend because of something like that."

I shook my head. "It's not that easy, Monika. I don't even know if she's into girls..." My voice trailed off, and I could feel the sting of tears in the back of my throat.

Monika placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You won't know unless you try. Besides, if you don't tell her your feelings now, you'll never get closure. Trust me, it's not worth the pain of never knowing what could have been."

She was right. I would never know if Yuri felt the same way if I didn't tell her. And if she didn't, at least I could move on with the knowledge that I tried.

"Okay," I said, nodding my head. "I'll tell her tonight."

Monika smiled wide, patting me on the back. "That's what I like to hear. Now, let's finish up here and get going. You've got a date to attend!" 

I blushed furiously. "It's not a date!"

"Sure it's not," Monika winked. "Just go and have fun, okay?"

I nodded, smiling. Maybe it was a date...maybe not. But regardless, I was going to tell Yuri how I felt. It was time to take a chance and see what could happen.