Date Her Instead Vol. 2

Chapter Six: Can We Start Over?

Haruna stared blankly at Chiyo. "I mean, I'm right, aren't I?" Chiyo asked. "...N-No... I... I'm not..." Haruna muttered. It was like her entire mind had emptied. "I don't know Haru-chi. Seems pretty obvious to me," Jasmine said. Everything Haruna could think of fell into a tangled mess, each word being ensnared by confusion and denial. Her heart was racing, but for what reason remained unclear. Was it joy? Nerves? Or, maybe it was fear.

Suddenly, Haruna stood up. "I-I have to go," she said. Then she bolted for the door. "Haru-chi!" Chiyo called, but it did nothing to slow the girl down. Once she was outside, Haruna broke into a run. It didn't last long, as she quickly turned into the nearest alleyway. Leaning against the wall, Haruna breathed heavily. "There's no way... there's just no way that's it..." she kept repeating over and over. If anyone had walked by and saw her, they may have thought she was crazy.

Honestly, it all made Haruna feel a little crazy. "In... love..." she muttered. "No... that's not right... Chiyo's wrong... she has to be..."

The hate that had plagued Haruna for so long had seemingly vanished, but taking its place was a mass of confusion. And, even putting aside her own personal feelings, there was a bigger issue. "Girls don't fall for other girls..." Haruna thought. "They don't... right?" But even that excuse sounded hollow. It wasn't like Haruna had never seen two girls together on social media or on TV. And yet, when she thought about it for herself, it made no sense. "It's fake... it's all fake..."

That was what Haruna chose to lean on. If nothing else, the only reason she could feel the way Chiyo had said was because Haruna had been forced to think that way about Kanako because she had to act like her girlfriend. "That has to be why..." Haruna told herself, but even that didn't seem to alleviate the distress she was under.

Haruna was desperate to find anything, any reason at all, to be able to explain the feelings she had in any way that didn't fall under the category of love. However, every reason she came up with just didn't fit. So, in the end, Haruna went with the one excuse that everyone can argue but no one can win against, because only the stubborn come up with it. "I refuse to accept it."

No matter what her head or heart told her, Haruna decided that she would simply deny those feelings. "I won't believe it," Haruna thought. "Besides, even if I did, there'd be so many problems. We'd probably get a lot of hate, not to mention it would be pretty hard to get married..."

Married?

Haruna's strength left her legs as she slumped to the ground. It was dirty, covered in dust and grime and surely adding its filth to the bottom-side of Haruna's skirt, but she didn't care. "What the hell am I even saying?" she wondered. "It feels like the more I try to talk myself out of it, the worse it gets."

It was then that Haruna's phone buzzed. Pulling the device out of her bag, she saw Chiyo was calling her. "Hello?" she answered weakly. "Hey girl, where'd you go? I'm looking all over for ya," Chiyo said. "I'm just sitting," Haruna said quietly. "Sitting? Sitting where?" Chiyo asked. When she spoke, Haruna felt like she was hearing an echo effect, almost as if the gal was getting closer. "Huh? Oh, there you are!" Chiyo said suddenly. Looking up, Haruna saw Chiyo and Jasmine standing in front of the alleyway entrance.

Chiyo walked over to Haruna and offered her a hand. "You should get up. It would totally suck if you stained your skirt or something," Chiyo said with a smile. "R-Right," Haruna said, taking Chiyo's hand. Once she was up, Chiyo abruptly bowed. "I'm so sorry Haru-chi! I didn't think saying that would freak you out so much!" "O-Oh, um, it's okay, I guess..." Haruna said, feeling uncomfortable. "It's not like it matters anyways, because you're wrong."