Crazy in Love

Warning and disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies (obviously) and just a small warning before you read! I wrote this to relieve some exam stress. Might not be what you're expecting/what you want, so read at your own discretion! Some ?triggering material and implied character death (maybe).

You've been warned!

The roads were dark, the streetlights flickering dimly.

The two high school girls didn't falter, the path so familiar to them that they knew that even in complete darkness, they'd be able to navigate it without trouble. Despite the familiarity, their paces were quick, brisk, frantic almost.

In the darkness, their hands found each other, fingers intertwined, swaying with their steps.

Kumiko basked in the silence they walked in. It was another day for them, another day of routine. It was another day of being alone with Reina. Over the years, Kumiko had become more like the trumpet player, more ambitious, more driven. It gave her life meaning, to know that she was working towards something better. She never knew what she wanted to do after high school, but now she did. She wanted to go where Reina was.

Nothing else mattered.

They were both alone now. Alone on the dirt path, alone in their own thoughts, but also alone in the ambition that they shared with each other.

They were going to have a life together, naive as it sounded, but there was nothing else that they wanted. There was nothing else that Kumiko could think of doing. She had lost most of her friends over the years, sacrificed them for Reina, for ambition. She had lost her best friend recently, but that was-

"Kumiko."

The brunette paused in her stride, wondering why Reina's tone of voice sounded off. "What's wrong?"

After a deep sigh, the dark haired girl turned to Kumiko, feeling uneasy. "You know what I'm going to ask you, right…?"

The euphonium player felt a heaviness in the pit of her stomach, but tried to laugh it off. "Haha…don't tell me you want to ask me to marry you so soon, Reina?" Her smile was insincere, but she desperately wanted to lighten the mood.

A smile twitched at Reina's lips and she struggled to control it while shaking her head. "Kumiko…" She warned, trying to regain her stoic facade. She was beyond elated. It seemed like forever since she had seen the old Kumiko. She cleared her throat. "I'm being serious here. We need to talk about it."

Smiling sheepishly in apology, Kumiko looked away, her eyes darkening. "I know…but I just…I can't."

A strange silence fell on the two and Reina simply squeezed Kumiko's hand and continued walking, pulling the other girl with her. "You know it's not your fault, right?"

Kumiko bit her bottom lip, hard. She could feel the guilt welling up now.

Someone should have noticed.

But they didn't.

The signs were all there, but no one was paying attention.

Instead, the school was abuzz with the rumours of a new couple in the Kitauji Music Club. They were just rumours at first, but everyone could see it. Kumiko knew it was obvious. She knew their secret was out once one of the trumpets walked in on her and Reina kissing after school. No one was supposed to be there. They were the only ones assigned to cleaning duty that day.

The girl must have forgotten something.

The girl must have thought they were disgusting.

And the girl must have held a grudge against Reina.

After that day, the rumors spread like wildfire. They were unsubstantiated, but it gave everyone probable cause to scrutinize their every move.

It also gave Tsukamoto Shuuichi an incentive to confess to his childhood friend. The rumours bothered him more than most. He needed to know if they were true.

Needless to say, he got his answer.

Just thinking about the event that started, Kumiko shuddered. Her childhood friend wasn't who she thought he was. That dumb looking, happy-go-lucky guy didn't exist anymore.

The brunette paused her train of thought. Had he ever been that way? Or did she just not know how he really was?

"Kumiko, don't blame yourself for anything. You're the victim here. I'm still surprised that you didn't press charges…" Reina's grasp tightened, the trumpeter's heart tightening at the recollection of something.

"I can't. I'm sure he didn't mean it. I mean…I just didn't know it had gotten so bad." Kumiko squeezed back, her other hand instinctively going to her neck. She could still feel the hand shaped bruises there. They were gone. It had been more than a few weeks, but it was hard to forget.

It was hard to forget that her best friend had tried to hurt her.

"It's alright. I'll stay by your side. I'll make sure nothing can hurt you."

Just those words alone made Kumiko feel so much better. It was that Kousaka Reina confidence, that steadiness she felt when Reina played the trumpet, that steadiness that Kumiko felt when Reina came to her rescue.

She felt like crying. The images were replaying in her mind.

The euphonium player thought to herself, wondering if everything would have been normal if she had just accepted Shuuichi's third confession, or his tenth one, or even his 30th one.

She knew that he was in love with her, but she didn't know he had become obsessed. She didn't know his parents had just gotten a divorce. She didn't know his sister had died.

How could she? They barely talked anymore. He had stopped coming to school. She tried visiting him, but he never talked to her. The only words out of his mouth when they met were to ask her out.

How was she supposed to know how much trouble he was in? How was she supposed to know how damaged he had become over the years?

"Reina…" Kumiko stopped, biting her lip again, hard. "I don't want to be alone. I don't want to go home."

Reina looked over, compassion and pity in her eyes. It was the third week that the brunette had refused to go home. It was understandable and the trumpet player swallowed hard at the realization that this could have been prevented.

If only she were nicer to Tsukamoto. Would things have changed?

Reina flinched, her knuckles tingling. Her left hand was still sore, her knuckles still pink and healing, and her left hand still very much broken. It had been three weeks, but her trumpet wasn't a light object and despite objections from her doctor, she continued to play. The pain now was worth it, she thought to herself. As she held Kumiko's hand in her right one, Reina knew that the pain was all too worth it.

If the black haired girl had a second chance, she was sure that she would have done exactly the same thing. It was more like a protective instinct when she smashed her trumpet case into the trombone player. He had peeled himself off Kumiko screaming in pain as he clutched his head, but Reina knew that she had been too late.

She could remember Kumiko's terrified face when she was finally free of Shuuichi who had her pinned down, his hands around her throat, choking the life out of her, exclaiming, 'If he couldn't have her, no one could.'

After that, Reina's mind blanked. It was surreal almost, like she wasn't in charge of her own body. She could feel her anger welling up again as the memories returned. She had broken her hand, a few fingers, and Tsukamoto's cheek, nose and right eye socket. It was a good thing she had her trumpet with her, otherwise there was no doubt that the 6 foot young man could have subdued her after incapacitating Kumiko.

"Reina, you're getting that spacy look again." Kumiko tried to dispel the awkwardness, wanting their after school walks to go back to how they used to be. However, they both knew that they could never feel safe again. Not for a long time.

"Sorry, there's a lot on my mind too." Reina flashed Kumiko a reassuring smile and they both walked down the path, approaching the riverbank. They were both hypervigilant at this point, feeling their pulses racing as they passed the exact spot where Kumiko's former friend approached them and requested a private audience with Kumiko a few weeks ago.

They both thought it would be another one of his innocent confessions.

Reina had given them privacy, standing on the flood plains rather than the riverbank. Separating herself from Kumiko was her first mistake.

The bushes rustled.

The two girls froze, Reina's hand almost crushing Kumiko's in her own.

They both eyed the movement in the underbrush, tense.

A mouse scurried out and the tension dissipated from the air.

"L-Let's go, Reina." Kumiko took the lead this time, pulling the black haired beauty along. They had a false alarm, but something wasn't right. She could feel it.

The brunette swallowed hard, flinching as twigs snapped by the roadside. There were a few trees off to the side and Kumiko swore she saw movement in the shadows. Was it her paranoia?

She walked briskly at first, but then she heard the mismatched steps. It was a third pair of steps, not her or Reina's.

In no time, Kumiko's walk broke out into a run.

"K-Kumiko! What's wrong? Slow down!" Reina picked up the pace, trying to keep up with Kumiko's fear induced panic.

"I-I can't! I-If we stop-he'll catch up!" Kumiko could feel full-fledged fear hit her. She wanted to protect Reina. She wanted to escape, but they were too far away from the city, too far away from anyone. They needed to run.

It wasn't long before Kumiko's mad dash ended up with the two girls sprawled on the dirt floor. It had happened in a flash, an uneven bump in the road had set them off course. Kumiko was the first to go, her shoe catching in the depression in the ground as she sprawled forward. With her grip still tight on Reina, she pulled the trumpet player down with her.

It was a hard fall.

Stunned from the impact, it took Kumiko more than a few seconds to regain her bearings. The fear numbed the pain effectively, and she quickly wiped the dirt from her lips, smearing blood and dirt everywhere. She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could, ignoring her scraped knees, her palms raw from skidding against the ground.

Coming to her senses, Kumiko bristled at the sound of fast approaching footsteps. She glanced back at Reina, desperate. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was wrong, so wrong.

"Reina! Hurry! P-Please!" Kumiko nearly choked on her tears as she stood, pulling Reina's arm, trying to get the other girl to stand.

Reina winced as she got to her feet, feeling her ankle give under the weight. The pain shot up her leg every time she took a step and she grit her teeth together. She could feel it now too, why Kumiko was in such a panic.

The steps were getting closer.

"Kumiko-I-I can't…Just go on without me. Go get help." Reina winced, chancing a glance behind them. Her face paled.

Kumiko's breathing came in shallow and fast, looking over frantically at Reina. The trumpeter was determined, determined on being selfless, on being stupid.

"Kumiko!"

It was a new voice this time, full of a desperation that both Kumiko and Reina never wanted to hear ever again.

The boy was only a few feet away, dressed a grey hoodie and black jeans that looked like they hadn't been washed in a long time. Both his hands were stuffed in his pockets, his shoulders tight to his body, posture slouched. His hair was longer now too, dirty, matted. His face. Kumiko swallowed hard at the sight of his face.

The swelling around his eye and face had subsided, but the purple-yellow bruising was just starting to disperse.

"Shuuichi…" Kumiko backed up instinctively, her grasp tight on Reina's arm.

"Kumiko, I-I'm so glad to see you. Y-You didn't have to run so fast, you know?" Shuuichi was still breathing hard from the exertion, but he smiled. At that, Kumiko felt her heart break. It was the smile she was used to seeing all these years. For a split second, she thought her best friend was back, but she knew it was wrong. His smile was so wrong.

"Don't do anything stupid, Tsukamoto." Reina stood defensively in front of Kumiko. She was shaking inside, but her voice was steady, clear, trying to ward off the boy who was approaching them slowly.

Shuuichi scoffed, brushing his hair back with one hand. The other was still firmly rooted in his pocket. "Or what, Kousaka? You're going to throw your trumpet at me again?"

Reina swallowed. She knew she didn't have either the element of surprise or her instrument this time

"S-Shuuichi. What do you want!?" Kumiko nearly screamed this as the former trombonist continued to close the distance between them.

"That's simple. I just want to know if it's true, Kumiko." Shuuichi's posture relaxed as he drew closer, making the girls tense up even more. The road was deserted. It was dinner time. There wouldn't' be anyone on the streets at this time, not in this area.

"What are you talking about?" Reina interjected, narrowing her eyes menacingly.

Without warning, the blond boy whipped out an object from his pocket.

'Shick'

It was the click of the blade locking into place, a shiny metal object in Shuuichi's hand. He waved it around threateningly. "Now, now, Kousaka. I wasn't talking to you. I don't like rude people too much…"

He was within arm's length now.

The metal gleamed in the semi-darkness.

It was getting closer.

Everything moved in slow motion for Kumiko. It had been ages since they had been friends, but she could usually tell what Shuuichi was thinking. Now was one of those times. It was instinct, reflex. Her hands shot out and pushed Reina away.

He lunged.

With a desperate glance into Reina's widening violet eyes, Kumiko felt herself getting sucked in.

At that moment, she felt like she wouldn't mind losing her life.

She just hoped Reina would understand that this was her confession of love.

A/N: Hahahahahaa...hope you guys don't hate me for this. Lots of exam stress. Kinda wanted to blow it off! Totally not written seriously. Inspiration hit while I watched this AMV by Brausur - Crazy in Love (for the billionth time) I pondered doing some weird stalking thing with Kumiko or Reina, but I love the characters too much to paint them in that light with so little time to write.

It was a fast type up with minimal proofreading, meaning more as a stress reliever than anything.

Review with your thoughts :P