Ongoing Cycle

34

Snow falling lightly upon [Y/N]'s head, she held her palm out and caught some tiny snowflakes. Her feet crunching the snow on the ground, she grinned. She was already loving it here. The fresh and crisp air made it breathable. The view was also really pretty; the dark, bare trees stood loomed above them and the lake was frozen in a nice shade of icy blue. The cabins they were to stay in were nice and cozy — her favorite part about them were the fireplaces. This place was exactly what she never knew she needed.

     Four students stayed in each cabin, so she was staying with Miku, Aoi, and this other girl she didn't know. She hadn't really talked to Aoi in a while, so it was a nice surprise to know that she was staying with them. She hoped the girl was finally over with Kuro by now.

     [Y/N] was just exploring the area with Miku and Aoi, the trio catching up on some stuff.

     "What have you've been up to, [Y/N]? I've got to talk to Miku sometimes, but I rarely ever got to talk to you," Aoi asked her curiously.

     "Oh, just mainly school," she responded casually. Miku shot her a look that called her out on her bullshit, causing the [e/c] eyed girl to roll her eyes. True, her life didn't just consist of school anymore; it was so much more complicated, but it wasn't like she could spill her life story to Aoi here. "What about you? Have you gotten over your heartbreak?"

     The girl beamed. "Yes. Thanks to you, of course. Though I can't deny how hot he still is."

     They all laughed, but [Y/N] couldn't help but feel uneasy. Was she a bad person for being involved with this girl's ex? Aoi was a nice girl, and she didn't want to go behind somebody's back like this. Well... it wasn't like she was actually dating Kuro; hell, she wasn't sure if they were friends either. She should be fine then, right? Unless they do become friends... or even something more.

     Horrified, she wanted to slap herself. What was she thinking?! Dating Kuro would inevitably lead her to heartbreak, exactly what Aoi had gone through. It wasn't like she had feelings for him either.

     Miku smirked. "Since we're on the topic of boys, I have a secret to tell," she brought up. Mischievously looking at the two females, she dropped her voice to a low whisper. "Past seniors have been saying they hooked up with someone while they went on this trip. If anything, this is the the perfect time to do it. So I'm going to try and find myself a cute boy."

     [Y/N] sighed loudly and shook her head. Her boy-crazed friend was going to drive her insane one day.

     A loud voice spoke into a megaphone and everyone grew quiet. It was the staff calling all the students to come to the center of the large camp. They were going to have to talk about the rules and such. Hearing that, the three of them began to make their way to the designated place.

     While they were on their way to their destination, they met two other groups of friends. One of them consisted of Kuro and his soccer friends, the other group were giggling girls, who were busy flirting with the boys. Curious, she watched as Kuro fooled around with his friends by tackling them. They rolled on the ground, snow sticking in their soft-looking hair as they laughed like a bunch of idiots.

     She could feel Aoi tense beside her and she turned her head to see her looking at Kuro too. Actually, she could see that most of the girls here were looking at him. Not knowing how to feel about it, she unconsciously backed away from this situation.

     She was about to leave the scene, but then Kuro stood up. In the corner of her eyes, she could see him staring at her with a grin. Slightly blushing from such attention, she glanced at him to give him a quick middle finger.

     He feigned hurt dramatically, touching his heart and pouting excessively. He then blew her a kiss, and that got her chuckling under her breath. She stopped a second after though, when she realized where she was again. Peering at the other girls' faces, it was unmistakable that they were jealous. Dammit. They had seen everything; she had to leave, now.

     "Let's leave, you guys," [Y/N] quickly whispered to her friends. Luckily, they decided to follow her. When they were out of sight of the other two groups, she let out a breath of relief. When she looked up again, her face paled. Aoi was staring at her with confusion and hurt; she too had seen what happened.

     "What's your relationship with Kuro?"

     Her hands sweating, [Y/N] didn't know how to answer. She couldn't tell her the truth – that was for sure. Was she really going to have to lie to this poor girl again?

     "We're acquaintances. I recently did a project with him," she explained rather nervously. Technically, it was true. This was a simplified answer – something that could cover the dirty mess and problems that she called her life.

     Aoi nodded and softly smiled at her. She had bought it. Thank god...

     No one having any other words, they all continued their trek to the center. The rest of the walk was silent and [Y/N] felt really uncomfortable. She hoped that she hadn't just killed the mood for the rest of the trip.

     They reached the large crowd of students and when it was confirmed that everyone was present, the staff started stalking. The rules were quite simple: respect peers and teachers, no smoking or drinking, no fighting allowed, and no leaving the camp. There was also a curfew at 11pm; then there was also a schedule. There were certain times for meals of the day and although they were given a lot of free time on this trip, there were going to be activities that everyone had to attend.

     [Y/N] turned to her friends and saw them speaking normally again. Smiling, she joined the conversation as she was immensely grateful. Realizing how close she had come to ruining the mood, she made sure to not do it again.