Perfect The Way You Are ~ Love Live! NozoEli Fanfiction

Chapter 18: Snow Halation

A few days passed involving the same routine for the pair; waking up, going to school, practising, coming back home exhausted and either sleeping in their separate beds, or whenever Eli's fear of darkness overwhelmed her Nozomi slept by her side in order to help quell the blonde girl's phobia. Despite all the happiness Nozomi felt when she was with her friends, her physical and mental health was suffering severely; her skin was getting ghostly pale, her energy had depleted and practice sessions were becoming incredibly difficult to get through and she was becoming closed off from the others.

Eli noticed these signs and continuously tried her best to help her friend, but Nozomi always had her ways of getting around things. It was something she had become increasingly good at recently. Eli figured that the best way to help would be to put her all into the performance when it came.

The day arrived sooner than anyone could comprehend and deciding to begin the day off in a mysterious way - in order to make the surprise even better - , Eli left the house early to meet up with the others, while Nozomi slept on, completely unaware of what was happening.

When the sun began to trickle its way into Nozomi's bedroom, the drowsy girl woke from her slumber, her eyes blinking to remove any morning crust that found its way around her eyes. As she shifted her body around, her sight wobbled, the room a relatively dark blur.

Within seconds a shooting sensation began pecking at her head, causing her to wince in pain. Dismissing it as not having woken up properly yet, she stretched her arms and legs out, trying to wake her body up so she could face another day with her dear Elicchi and the rest of the Ayase family. Feeling the soft texture of the bed sheets as they cradled her body almost enticed the fatigued girl back into slumber, but Nozomi knew she needed to get up lest she cause anymore worrying for Eli and send her anxiety into hyper drive.

Ignoring her aching body, she wiped her face and sat up, reaching her arm out automatically towards the bedside table to retrieve her phone. After being blinded by the sudden brightness of the screen she was able to make out a few text notifications.

Rice-chan 🍙: Good morning Nozomi-chan! Hope you are doing well!

Starry Sky 😸: Nya! Good morning Nozomiiiii-chan!!! I hope you have a great day and that got tons of sleep, if not Rin will have to come and make sure you get fully rested okay?!!! \(ᗒᗨᗕ)/

Nozomi quietly chuckled, admiring the always-lively nature of Rin that even showed in her text messages, compared to the cutesy and innocent way Hanayo would act in hers - yet the pair still matched so perfectly. Ever since Hanayo had spoken to her during practice that day, her and Rin had made sure to check up on her everyday and even invite her on little outings to restaurants (usually places that sold either rice or ramen dishes), the cinema to see whatever film they thought looked funny or even for a trip to the shrine as the couple knew how much Nozomi thrived when in her element and after having her spiritual power recharged. Nozomi really felt lucky to have such caring friends.

Quickly typing out her replies, she tried to wade away the feeling of light-headedness that still hung around, before switching off her phone and cautiously rising up off her bed, attempting not to stumble in her movements.

Once she had maintained a sense of courage that she wouldn't fall over, she hobbled out of the bedroom and entered the bathroom to begin her first challenge of the day: getting ready.

As usual she shuffled over to the sink, turning the tap handle and letting water begin pouring out, which she scooped up with her pale, shaky hands and splashed it in her face - effectively making her more alert and awake. As she surfaced her face up and peered into the mirror, her tired face stared back at her. She took in her appearance - even with her distorted view she could definitely tell that she looked run-down in general.