Storm in Lover: The Making

"So why are we here instead of practicing on the rooftop?" Eli's inquisitive voice rang out from her position at the table.

Muse had hastily met up in the Idol Research club room under Maki and Nico's fervent orders. The raven-haired girl was grinning widely and her crimson eyes twinkled with excitement as she sat at the end of the table. On the other hand, Maki frowned slightly as she stood next to her, her violet eyes filled with mild irritation. Hanayo, Rin, Kotori, and Umi sat on one side while Honoka, Nozomi, and Eli sat on the other.

"Everyone, listen to this amazing song Maki-chan just made!" Nico exclaimed eagerly, whipping out her phone and connecting speakers to it. Seven eyes widened in curiosity before surprise took place moments after the music started to play. Immediately after, they fixated on Maki, who started to twirl her scarlet locks in embarrassment.

"W-What?" The redhead asked, her frown getting deeper.

"I-It doesn't seem like your type of music." Hanayo replied meekly and Rin nodded energetically.

"Usually it'd be more piano-y, nya!" Rin responded with a grin, making the girls giggle at her use of language.

"I concur with those two. I did not expect a samba-like song to be composed from an individual like you." Umi agreed and the rest of the girls nodded, making Maki blush lightly.

"I-It's not like I wanted to make something like this. Anyways, it's all Nico-chan's fault. She made me watch one of those telenovelas when she came over last week." Maki defended but froze, inwardly banging her head on an imaginary wall when she realized she let out too much information. Her violet eyes squinted in annoyance when she noticed Nozomi's face light up.

"Oh? The two of you met up last week? I wonder how long these secret rendezvous' have been happening…" Nozomi teased, grinning when Maki and Nico blushed.

"S-Says the one who eats parfaits all the time with a certain someone." Nico responded angrily, glaring at the purple-haired girl who shrugged it off.

"Everyone knows that though. What the two of you have been doing is something no one knows about however." Nozomi replied with her teasing smile still in place. Eli shifted nervously next to her, not liking where this was going.

"Nozomi, stop teasing Nico. What's important is that we need to write lyrics and decide who sings what." The blonde interrupted, giving pointed looks at the two. Nozomi giggled while Nico sat down on her chair with Maki still standing next to her. Maki rolled her eyes at the three, choosing not to sit because she thought the meeting would be over quickly.

"I do not have much experience with these types of songs though." Umi commented and Honoka shook her head vehemently before giving Umi a hard look.

"That's no good, Umi-chan! Tell me, what do you think of when you hear the about the Spanish language?" Honoka said and Umi paused in thought but was shortly interrupted by the girl next to her.

"Ah! I see what you're getting at, Honoka-chan!" Kotori exclaimed, clapping her hands together while Hanayo nodded amiably.

"Romance, right?" Hanayo replied and the two made eye contact with each other before sighing dreamily. Maki rolled her eyes yet again; of course it would be those two who would react that way. They loved those cheesy romance movies too much.

"Like French, Spanish is considered a romantic language. Plus, it helps that Maki-chan was thinking of a telenovela at the time, right?" Honoka clarified, sending the redhead a wink and the group nodded their heads in realization. Maki just blushed and kept quiet, starting to twirl her hair in embarrassment once again.

"A l-love song?" Umi questioned, her face turning red at the thought. The group of girls giggled at their blue-haired friend; it was amusing how just talking about love got the girl embarrassed.

"Umi-chan, fight-o dayo!" Honoka exclaimed, giving the girl a thumbs up. Umi groaned lightly and rested her head on the table but was slightly eased by the feeling of Kotori patting her head.

"It's okay, Umi-chan. I know you can do it." Kotori comforted and Umi raised her head slightly, shooting the girl a small smile.

"Thank you."

"Now that that is over with, who will be singing what?" Nico asked, getting everyone back on track. Umi lifted her head and straightened her posture once again; it wouldn't be proper for her to keep her head down while a conversation was still going. The girls sat back in silence but Nozomi spoke up moments after.

"Now that I think about it, this song doesn't really fit my style." Nozomi brought up and Nico nodded her head, her face looking serious as she put her hand under her chin.

"Of course. You fit more with those electronic songs so you can make use of those huge ass tits of yours—OW! What the hell, Eli!" Nico started but the smirk on her face was wiped off when Eli threw a pencil at her.

"Nico, behave."

"Oh my god, if it was to protect your girlfriend just say so."

"We're not like that!" Eli bit back and was going to say more but she felt Nozomi's hand on her arm.

"Don't worry about Nicochi, Elichi. I'll make sure to punish her later." Nozomi said, the smile on her face suddenly looking ominous. The other girls stayed quiet in fear of Nozomi's infamous punishment but Honoka's excited yell broke the third years out of their fight.

"I have a great idea!" She exclaimed and Maki groaned, walking to where the computer was and sitting at the chair there. At this point, she knew that the meeting wouldn't be over soon.

"If only you thought like that every day." Umi muttered, making Kotori poke her cheek.

"Don't be mean, Umi-chan!" She whispered back.

"Hey, lovebirds, I'm in the middle of saying my idea. You're being rude!" Honoka interrupted, inwardly grinning when the two blushed. She continued when she saw Umi try to respond.

"We're not—"

"As I was saying, I thought of something that would be different from usual. We should do some duets!" Honoka shouted in excitement and was met with eight curious eyes.

"Duets?" Maki asked peculiarly but was shadowed by Nico and Hanayo's exploding enthusiasm.

"How could I forget?! In the history of idols, duets within a group—" Hanayo started passionately.

"—are extremely popular!" Nico finished energetically and the two gave each other high fives, leaving the group of girls to ponder about Honoka's idea.

"It might be a bit complicated though." Eli commented but Nozomi shook her head.

"I think it's a wonderful idea. Ah, but I'll only agree if Nicochi does a duet with Maki-chan." Nozomi responded, her lips forming into a smirk when she saw the two's faces turn red.

"W-What? Then you and Eli should do a duet!" Nico pointed a finger at the two angrily, making Nozomi giggle. No one questioned Nico's outburst, already knowing why she didn't reject the idea in the first place.

"Are you fine with that, Elichi?" Nozomi asked, her eyes looking at the blonde in amusement. She held back a giggle when she saw the blonde turn slightly red.

"Of course. If it's you, I don't mind." Eli replied, giving her best friend a shy smile. The scene made Nico gag, who could never get used to the two flirting even though most of it was purely unintentional. This was why she mostly hung out with the first years; Nozomi and Eli practically drowned with each other with attention.

"Wouldn't it be cute if Kotori-chan and Kayo-chin did one too, nya?" Rin asked suddenly, getting everyone's attention.

"Really? Why?" Kotori and Hanayo asked at the same time, tilting their heads slightly which made Rin squeal.

"See? The two of you are so cute, nya! Ah, but to me Kayo-chin is the cutest!" Rin exclaimed, hugging the blushing girl tightly while rubbing her face on Hanayo's.

"M-Mou, Rin-chan!" The shy girl exclaimed, her face red with embarrassment.

"How about Rin-chan and Maki-chan do one too?" Nozomi asked, making the two girls look at her curiously.

"Eh? Why?" Maki asked blandly and Nozomi gave them a knowing smile.

"The two of your voices mesh together pretty well." Nozomi replied and Eli nodded.

"That's true. The two of you are pretty close too. Well, Rin is close to everyone." Eli remarked, making the cat-like girl give the others her usual cheery smile which made them giggle; Rin never failed to brighten up everyone's spirits.

"Ah, I completely forgot!" Honoka shouted suddenly, making Nozomi and Maki flinch slightly at her loudness.

"Oi, lower the volume." Maki glared at Honoka, who smiled sheepishly in return.

"Umi-chan and Kotori-chan should totally do a duet!" Honoka exclaimed, inwardly smirking when she saw the two become flustered.

"W-Why do you think that?" Umi inquired and Honoka looked at her with her eyebrows raised.

"Eh? You don't know?" Honoka replied with genuine curiosity to which Umi shook her head. Honoka then shifted her gaze at Hanayo, who gasped in realization before she started to twiddle with her fingers.

"What's up Hanayo-chan?" Kotori asked, making the first year a bit more embarrassed.

"Ah, it's just I was talking to Honoka-chan earlier about how my class saw the three of you." Hanayo responded with a shy smile on her face. Umi motioned for the girl to continue.

"W-Well, they thought that Honoka-chan was really charming, which is expected of a leader but they also thought that Umi-chan was prince-like whereas Kotori-chan seemed like a princess. Something about how dashing Umi-chan looks in her archery uniform and how cute Kotori-chan is to the point that one would want to protect her. The three of you are more popular than you think." Hanayo explained, her smile becoming softer when the two girls felt heat rush up to their cheeks; it reminded her of when she would call Rin cute.

"P-Prince-like?! Dashing?!"

"Princess?! Protecting me?!"

"The two of you didn't know?" Nozomi said before she giggled loudly and elbowed Eli. "Told you I wasn't going crazy. Pay up, Elichi." Eli frowned lightly as she handed Nozomi 500¥, muttering about how she wouldn't bet against the spiritual girl anymore; this was her third time losing.

"The two of you had a bet without me!" Nico shouted in surprise and glared at the two. "Not cool!"

"That's not the point Nico." Maki grumbled, annoyed that they were getting off topic. "What about Honoka-chan?"

"Eh? What about me?" Honoka asked, making Maki sigh.

"You don't have a duet with anyone." Maki pointed out and the room was silent again. They all started to think again except for Umi, who was still embarrassed of the previous conversation. On the other hand, Kotori got over the shock faster seeing as how she wasn't like Umi.

"How about Rin-chan?" Nozomi suggested and Kotori nodded in agreement.

"Those two do give off a similar vibe. I bet it'd be an exciting song." She said, smiling softly when the two bubbled up with excitement. Umi, on the other hand, started to furrow her eyebrows. This made Kotori poke her best friend on the cheek again, giggling lightly when the blue-haired girl raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Stop that Umi-chan, that expression doesn't suit your face. I thought you'd be used to her energy by now." Kotori whispered, making the girl frown.

"I can never get used to her. In fact, Honoka with Rin means too much energy, which in turn creates problems." Umi replied, making Kotori pout.

"Are you used to me? Or are you the type who likes to be kept on their toes?" Kotori asked and her voice sounded innocent but her eyes betrayed her; they were full of mischief. At this point, she had scooted closer to the blue-haired girl, her hands wrapping around her arm.

"O-Of course not! I prefer you over Honoka any day, although I admit it wouldn't be the same without her either." Umi stuttered quietly and her soft voice was filled with embarrassment as she tried to not think about how close the girl was. Kotori was a bit clingy sometimes but that didn't mean that she was used to it.

"Oi! Stop flirting!" Nico exclaimed and the two immediately separated, making Nozomi giggle.

"You're just jealous you can't flirt with Maki-chan, Nicochi."

"S-Shut up! That's not the point!"

"Oh, is it really?"

"Gah! Nozomi, I swear—"

"Nico! Nozomi! Behave!" Eli interrupted and glared at the two.

"Or what? You'll spank me?" Nozomi asked, the teasing smile apparent on her face once again. The room was deadly quiet save for the sound of Nico's muffled gag and Eli blushed lightly before she turned serious once again.

"The two of you will be doing a duet then. I will personally review it and if it isn't up to my standards, I'll make the two of you do something you'll regret." She ordered, her blue eyes forming into an icy glare which made Nico groan loudly.

"Are you kidding me? As if I want to sing with that big titties monst—" Nico started but stopped when she saw Eli's glare upgrade to the "Death Glare", which basically meant she wasn't joking around at all. That and her punishments would become equivalent to hell itself.

"A-Ano, what about the song that Maki-chan made?" Hanayo meekly asked, wanting to avoid another conflict. This was the reason they met up here in the first place instead of going straight to practice at the roof top. It was amusing how all their meetings ended up like this; lively, random, and bordering on procrastination.

"Now that I think about it, Umi would fit that song pretty well." Maki noted, making the girl blush lightly.

"Is that true? How so?" The blue-haired girl asked, a small frown forming on her face when she realized that she would most likely have to write the song. A love song. "Soldier Game" didn't count; that was inspired by an action movie with romance as a subgenre. This right here was a full on romantic song.

"I think your deep voice is compatible with a song like this. Hm, I just realized now that Eli's voice with yours is a good combination." Maki explained and Honoka nodded approvingly.

"Deep Umi with a higher, sorta soft Eli is a good combination." The ginger said before twisting to her right. "Nice going, Maki-chan!" She held out her hand to give the girl a high five with a wide grin on her face.

"O-Of course! After all, I have to make sure everyone's voice is in pristine condition so I would know whose voices would be compatible." Maki responded, twirling her hair in embarrassment and ignored the hand, making Honoka pout. The group of girls giggled lightly at their interaction.

"Hm…Kotori, Nozomi, are you okay with this?" Maki brought up after with a slight frown and the two girls looked at her curiously.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Kotori replied, tilting her head to the side. Maki bit her lip and chose not to respond because she didn't know how to so Nico spoke up for her.

"It's supposed to be a love song, you know." She stated and Nozomi giggled.

"It's not like these two dorks are dating or anything. Unless they have been having secret rendezvous' like the two of you." Nozomi teased, giving the two a wink and Nico huffed angrily; here she was trying to help her best friend and all she gets is having it thrown back at her face.

"I told you already, it's not like that!" Nico protested while Umi groaned lightly at the hurt look Kotori was giving her.

"Eli and I are not like that Kotori." Kotori gave Umi a pout and was about to respond but Honoka decided that it was time that they started to organize everything.

"Okay, so we've got a couple duet songs to make. How about each duet writes the song themselves? This way, Maki-chan has enough time to think about some ideas for the music while Umi-chan can take a little break." Honoka explained loudly to get the group's attention and the girls agreed.

"That sounds good but what about today's practice?" Nico asked and Honoka made a thinking pose before hitting her fist onto her palm.

"Let's cancel it!"

"You better have a good reason for skipping practice." Umi said gravely, thinking that Honoka was making an excuse.

"N-No, of course not! I just thought that we could all start working together with our duet partners. Eli-chan and Umi-chan should get started soon anyways."

"But wouldn't one person be left out, nya?" Rin asked and Honoka shook her head while smiling.

"That's okay! How about we have Kotori-chan and Hanayo-chan, Rin-chan and I, and then Nico-chan with Maki-chan and Nozomi-chan?"

"Eh? Why do I have to be with the annoying ones?" Nico made a disgruntled face and Honoka giggled.

"Because if you and Maki-chan are alone, you'll argue—"

"You mean make out?" The group of girls ignored Nozomi's statement for the sake of ending the meeting.

"—over everything! Nozomi-chan can mediate for you two as well as work with you for your duet." Honoka replied and Nico frowned, not liking the plan at all. If Nozomi was there, then she wouldn't be able to do anything with the redhead.

"You've planned everything out pretty good, Honoka-chan." Kotori remarked, shooting her friend a thumbs up.

"Of course! All this sugar is converting into work after all!"

"Sugar, you say?" Umi's voice became dark and Honoka let out a squeak.

"W-Well, then, let's all get to work now! Rin-chan, let's go!" Honoka took Rin and dragged her out of the door before Umi could even say anything. The girls shook their heads at Honoka before getting up.

They had a lot of work to do.

"So how do we go about this?" Eli asked Umi as they sat under the tree in the courtyard.

"I have no clue. They did say that this song would be r-romantic." Umi replied and blushed lightly, "This really is not my forte in my opinion."

"Well, it isn't my strong point either." Eli responded as she sighed. The two kept quiet, musing about what to write while looking at the sky. Eli was leaning against the tree while Umi sat on the grass.

"How about we start off with some ideas?" Umi asked and Eli nodded slowly in agreement.

"Let's see… For some reason I think of summer and sunsets." Eli responded and Umi wrote that down.

"Ah, like dancing at the beach?" Umi asked with her hand under her chin as she thought deeply.

"Something like that. It's like a samba song anyways so it has a dance-like feel to it."

"That is true. When I think of this song, I think of the word 'passion' and maybe something like the rhythm of waves since we're talking about dancing." Umi added slowly, trying to piece her thoughts into a comprehensive sentence and Eli nodded once more.

"That's pretty good. I really hope some people don't take this the wrong way though." Eli replied, making Umi look at her with curiosity.

"Why is that?" She asked and raised an eyebrow, making Eli chuckle at how unaware her underclassman was.

"Well, what would people think when two of the most sought-out girls in the school created a love song together?" Eli replied with a teasing smile and Umi blushed.

"I did not think we were seen like that."

"You heard what Hanayo said earlier; you've got quite the fan base. Not to mention, Nico was ranting about ship pandering a couple days ago." Eli chuckled once again when the blue-haired girl blushed at the memory.

Nico was trying to get everyone to liven up the "yuri vibes" because that was what the fans wanted but they all decided not to go through with it with the excuse being that they felt like doing affectionate things in public was too much (except for two certain first years who were practically stuck to the hip). Nico knew that that wasn't the case but let it go; if she pushed them too hard, it might have resulted in an opposite reaction.

"Shameful." Umi whispered before continuing, "Is there a specific reason as to why you hope some people don't take it the wrong way? I can tell you were sort of changing the subject back then." Eli laughed nervously; it seems like Umi wasn't as oblivious as she thought she was.

"Well, you see—please don't take offense to this—but I can't really think of you in a romantic way. There's someone out there that I like so I hope that that person doesn't misunderstand." Eli explained tensely and Umi let out a small smile before shaking her head, making Eli raise an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I can't see you like that either; I see you more as someone to look up too, especially with how you deal with people so calmly." Eli almost let out a snort at this; she was sure she meant everyone but Nozomi, "You are very level-headed and I admit that you are the most reliable one in the group. B-But like you, there's also someone I like…" Umi confessed, blushing lightly as she played with her pencil and Eli gave Umi a pointed look.

"Really? Umi likes someone? The Umi who always cowered at kiss scenes and shameless things?" Eli questioned, her lips forming into a teasing smile.

"Y-You are one to talk! The school thinks you are cool and composed when in reality you act like a dork. Around a certain student with emerald eyes." Umi bit back, a triumphant smile forming on her face when the blonde turned red in embarrassment.

"S-Says the one who can't resist a certain second year's charm!" Eli responded with a smirk, which made Umi blush this time.

"W-Well I can't help it, not when she gives me those eyes." Umi groaned lightly as she lay back on the grass, looking up at the blue sky. She got rid of her troubled look and let out a small smile when she saw two birds flying together, making Eli giggle lightly. The reason behind her smile was so obvious.

"I know how you feel. Part of the reason why we get parfaits all the time is because she gives me those eyes too." Umi drifted her eyes to where Eli was, smiling warmly at the sight. Eli was looking to where the Student Council room was, her eyes glazed over in deep thought. Umi knew that the other girl was thinking of someone, specifically a student with twinkling emerald eyes.

"Will you do anything about it?" Umi asked gently, breaking Eli out of her reverie. She was answered with a deep sigh and heard her move to lay her back completely on the tree.

"Probably not. It's sort of hard to explain, you know. I want to tell her but I also don't want to. Partly because I'm scared she won't feel the same but mostly because—"

"—you do not want things to change." Umi finished and Eli looked at her in surprise. Umi sat up and shot Eli an understanding smile.

"I know how you feel. It is the same thing with her too. I am content with what we have now but I know deep down that I want something more. " Eli held back a surprised look; Umi was being unusually open today. Eli concluded that it was most likely because they were in the same situation.

"…summer." Eli muttered and Umi gave her a questionable look, making Eli repeat her comment in a louder tone.

"Summer?"

"Yeah. That could be an idea, no? It's hot, and hot comes hand and hand with passion which is the theme of the song." Eli clarified and Umi nodded her head, writing down the idea on her notepad.

"A summer of wanting to see you…" Umi suddenly said and blushed, making Eli giggle.

"That's a cute and bold line. Add that!"

"No, it is too shameless." Umi grumbled and Eli playfully threw grass at her.

"If you haven't noticed, we're writing this song with them in our minds." Eli responded straightforwardly and Umi blushed harder.

"That is exactly why it is shameless. If she found out—"

"—then she would be ecstatic."

"Would it not seem desperate? And what makes you think that?" Umi asked curiously and Eli let out a knowing smirk.

"I've noticed that you like to spoil her a lot and that she doesn't mind at all."

"W-What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, let's just leave it at the fact that the prince singing something like that to the princess would make a great romantic story. And everyone knows she absolutely loves romantic stories." Eli chuckled loudly when she saw how red Umi got.

"W-Well you are going to sing it too!"

"Well now that I think about it, I've felt like that before. During my first and second year at this school, I mean." Eli replied as she smiled, closing her eyes as she tried to remember the feeling.

"I thought the two of you were close from the start though." Umi replied and Eli opened her eyes to give her a deadpan look.

"Are you serious? With how shy she was and how standoffish I was? I really owe it to her though; she was really determined to be friends with me, and I'm grateful for that." Eli responded and Umi let out a sheepish smile.

'A great miracle at that.' Umi mused; if it weren't for Nozomi convincing Eli to join, then Muse would never be the same. Their dances, their success, their friendship which bordered on family—none of it would have been possible without the two mothers of Muse.

"Let's get back to work now. We have a couple good ideas but some more would be great." Umi said and Eli nodded vigorously, a determined smile on her face.

"Let's write and sing this for them then."

"For them."

A Week Later

"So, I thought we could use these duet songs as part of our next live two months from now! I think that's enough time for us to organize and write the other songs. The only ones who need to write one now are Umi-chan, Kotori-chan, Eli-chan, and Nozomi-chan after all." Honoka explained amiably.

The girls were all in the club room once again under someone's fervent orders and this time, it was Honoka. The seating arrangement was the same as before except Maki chose to sit next to Honoka so that Nozomi was on her side. She came to regret her decision now.

"Has everyone finished their lyrics though?" Maki asked, irritated at how energetic Honoka was. She thought she would get used to it after hanging out with Rin but it was still annoying.

"Yeah!" The group chorused and gave their papers to her. Maki raised an eyebrow when she looked at them, quickly scanning the contents so she had an idea of what type of song to compose.

"A confession song from Hanayo and Kotori? Interesting." She shuffled the papers to see the next song, and Kotori ignored the curious look radiating from Umi. "Ah, just as I expected from Rin and Honoka; something filled with energy." She flipped the papers over and groaned lightly. "Right, I can't believe I forgot about Nico-chan and Nozomi's song. The entire thing is a joke."

"You're one to talk. All you and Nicochi sing about is looking at each other and being attracted to it." Nozomi replied, smirking when the two blushed heavily.

"That's pretty gay, Maki-chan." Honoka commented with a snicker but stopped when she saw Maki's glare.

"W-Whatever. Let's see Eli and Umi's lyri—" Maki responded, wanting to get the meeting over with but didn't get to finish her sentence. Her blush turned darker as her mouth slowly opened and closed like a fish, which was an extremely rare occurrence. The girl was embarrassed easily but never to the extent that she was flabbergasted; she had her reputation and pride as a Nishikino at stake after all.

"What's wrong Maki-chan?" Hanayo asked curiously but was completely ignored as Maki suddenly stood up and pointed her finger at Eli and Umi, her eyes wide in embarrassment.

"T-The two of you are completely shameless. Sharing extreme dreams? Your b-body calling out? The temptation of perfume? Absolutely shameless!" Maki exploded and Nico walked over and snatched the paper out of Maki's hands.

"You're probably overreacting Maki-chan. After all, you're pretty inexperienced when it comes to roman—" Nico started but couldn't finish her sentence.

"Yeah this is pretty intense. And a bit desperate sounding. Really, an entire summer? I can't believe Maki wasn't joking when she commented on the 'body calling out' part."

"Really, nya? Rin wants to see!" Rin took the paper from Nico but blushed when she read it. "I completely agree with Nico-chan, nya…"

"Y-You said you wanted romance so we made some romance!" Eli defended herself but groaned when she saw Nico's eyebrow raised, "Not like that, Nico." Eli really didn't want to create any misunderstandings.

"Wow, I didn't think Elichi was like this." Nozomi teased yet she hid her true emotions expertly; she knew Eli and Umi didn't think of each other in that way but it still didn't do anything to ease the anxiousness she felt. With lyrics as passionate as those, Eli must have been thinking of someone.

"Like I said, it's nothing like that!"

"Eli is right! We absolutely do not see each other in that way." Umi added frantically, turning to Kotori when the girl was being too quiet.

"I thought we were best friends, Umi-chan. I thought you would tell me everything." The girl sniffled and Umi frowned deeply, resisting the temptation to bang her head on the table and groan out loud.

"If I had something to tell you I would say it right away. You are the only person I cannot hide anything from." Umi reassured, ignoring Honoka's protests and lightly grasped her shoulders, using her other hand to lift her face up. She frowned when she saw the girl look like she was about to cry.

"Kotori…" She used her thumb to gently wipe away a tear dropping and moved her other hand to hold Kotori's, trying hard to comfort her best friend. If Umi inched closer, just a little bit closer, then their lips would meet and then—

'Flash!'

"Oops, did I leave the flash on?" Honoka asked out loud and laughed nervously when she saw Umi's death glare come out; her death glare came hand in hand with death itself.

"Uh, everyone be sure to practice your songs. Gotta blast!" Honoka exclaimed, sprinting out the door with Umi on her heels.

"They can't even practice their songs without the music you idiot!"

"Umi-chan, you're so mean!"

"How do you expect to take over Eli's position as Student Council President if you act like this all the time!" Umi's furious voice trailed off as she ran father away, chasing Honoka to wherever she ran off to.

The room was awkwardly quiet after. The atmosphere was tense mostly because everyone, except Eli, knew that Nozomi had a thing for the blonde and that Kotori liked Umi. They all also knew, except for Kotori and Nozomi, that the song was written for the two but the four kept quiet, not wanting to do anything because they thought that it would be best if the other four solved their own problems. That, and they were afraid of making things worse.

At this point, Kotori wasn't going to cry. Instead, she slumped slightly into her seat quietly, an adorable pout on her face. Nozomi had relaxed somewhat but was still wondering who Eli wrote the song for. The same thing was in Kotori's mind.

"Right. I'll get to composing right now. Eli and Nozomi, you two still need to write your lyrics. Kotori, you too." Maki interrupted, not wanting to stand the silence any longer.

"E-Eh? But Umi-chan is somewhere else right now." Kotori replied nervously, not wanting to face her best friend just yet. Nico snorted and took out her phone but was hit by Maki before she was able to do anything.

"You're being rude."

"That doesn't mean you have to hit me!"

"Of course I have to! No one else will do it!"

"Shut up and let me finish what I'm doing!" Nico yelled back but immediately smirked when she felt the person she was texting reply.

"Really? All she sends is the letter "K"? I thought she was supposed to be eloquent, seeing as she's so good at writing lyrics." Nico commented sarcastically and Rin opened her mouth to question what was going on but was stopped when the door slammed open by a frantic Umi.

"Wow that took like a second. Say, Rin, what's your fastest 100m time?" Everyone ignored Nico's attempt to make a joke and paid attention to the girl who had just opened the door.

"What is it?! Where is she?! Kotori are you okay?!" Umi almost shouted. Almost because she saved the real yelling to scold troublemakers and Kotori was definitely not one. Well, if making her heart skip a beat counted then she would be one but that wasn't the point.

"U-Umi-chan I'm right here." Kotori raised her hand weakly and Umi sighed in relief. She walked over to Kotori and hugged her tightly. "Umi-chan?"

"Nico told me you were crying so I ran here." Umi replied before she pulled away, blushing slightly. On the other hand, Kotori was a darker shade of red, not expecting this from the normally conservative girl. Meanwhile, everyone else almost scoffed when they saw that Umi had completely forgotten that Nico lied to her, knowing that the reason of her forgetfulness had something to do with Kotori.

"W-We should get started on our song now, Umi-chan." Kotori said, giving the girl her best smile. By now, she knew that Umi regarded her as someone special but didn't know if it was the same type of special she was thinking of. She didn't know who Umi wrote that song for and instead decided that she would pour her feelings into her lyrics no matter how desperate it seemed.

"Of course. Would you like to come over? I believe the house provides fewer distractions than the school." Umi offered, fidgeting lightly at how forward it seemed. Kotori didn't seem to catch the intention seeing as she stayed at Umi and Honoka's place as often as they went over her house.

"Sure. We'll both be leaving then." Kotori told the rest of the girls as she got up to get her stuff. Umi gently pushed the chair back in before waving to the girls, and the two walked out of the door.

"Those two are so dense it's killing me. Oh right, the other two are pretty damn oblivious too." Nico grumbled as she sat down and slumped into her seat. "Oi, the two of you need to write your song too." Nico raised the volume of her voice, getting the attention of the other third years.

"Wanna come over to my place too, Elichi?" Nozomi suggested as she wagged her eyebrows up and down. She laughed when Eli gave her a light slap.

"Only if we get some parfaits on the way." Eli mumbled, blushing lightly and Nozomi gave her a warm smile. It wasn't uncommon for Eli to come over; the two studied together before every test and Eli slept over pretty often, not that anyone knew about that.

"Deal." The two left and the remaining occupants in the room sighed.

"Holy hell, how haven't those four gotten together yet?" Nico complained loudly and Rin thought for a moment before bursting in laughter, making the rest of the girls look at her in disgust (Maki) or curiosity.

"What's up, Rin-chan?" Hanayo asked and Rin put a hand on her shoulder to steady herself.

"Rin just noticed that the Soldier Game Trio is made up of the densest, dorkiest people in the world, nya!" Nico and Hanayo looked at each other before joining Rin and laughing noisily, which was extremely unladylike. Not like the two cared at the moment anyways.

"Oh my god, that's so true!" Nico agreed, using her hand to wipe a tear coming out of her eye. Maki scowled at the three and coughed loudly.

"Excuse me? I'm part of said Trio and I'm most definitely not dense or a dork." Maki frowned when Nico stopped to laugh to give her a deadpan look.

"How many hints did I drop for you during that night when we watched that show?" Rin and Hanayo kept quiet while Maki blushed, fidgeting lightly.

"Uh—" Maki started but stopped when Nico turned around to the first years.

"This dork didn't understand me when I showed her like a million hints. First, I wore a cute outfit and complimented everything, to which she did her usual dumb "T-That's expected of the Nishikino family". I even flirted with her so many times but she just brushed me off with her stupid"I don't get it" response." The two first years giggled at Nico's imitation of Maki while Maki's face reddened considerably.

"Oh my god Nico-chan please—"

"Nu uh! You are not interrupting me! Second of all, I decided to cook lunch and made her an omelet with tomatoes in it. With ketchup in the form of a heart! She just gave me a weird look and ate it." Nico complained and Maki groaned, using her hands to cover her face while Rin and Hanayo giggled even louder.

"Then, when we start watching the show, I start to cuddle up next to her and she has the audacity to ask what I was doing. When I said that I was getting cold, she just pointed to a blanket and told me to use it. This dork only understood what I was getting to when I went on top of her lap and shoved my—"

"—Okay that is far enough now!" Maki shouted, using her hand to cover Nico's mouth while Rin and Hanayo laughed loudly at how red Maki was.

"So the two of you are together?" Hanayo asked and Nico nodded, sighing heavily.

"It took so much effort." Nico pouted and Maki groaned once more.

"I think it was worth it, nya!" Rin responded and Nico gave her a warm smile, her sudden angry mood gone in a flash.

Nico turned around to look at her girlfriend with the memories of what had happened after they got together. They spent more time talking than arguing and learned more about each other. The two still had times where they would quarrel but they also had their quiet days, and the most memorable to Nico would be when they laid next to each other and gazed at the stars. Nico engraved that relaxed, loving expression Maki had whenever she talked about the stars in her head, loving it when the redhead was able to smile so honestly.

"It was definitely worth it," Nico gave Maki a quick peck on the cheek, which made the girl blush, "so let's make sure our other friends realize that too."

"Roger that!"

AN: Since I'm NozoEli trash and I love the song "Storm in Lover" I just had to make something to rest my jealous uneasy NozoEli trash heart (sorry EliUmi fans). Also for those who want there to be a happy ending for "The Facade"...Maybe? Well, it's meant to be a tragedy but I might add an alternate ending later when I have time.

Other than that, this story will have four parts. As always, criticism is always appreciated!