"I love you," Riko says.

"…What?" Chika says out of surprise.

Riko realizes what she says and begins to blush furiously. She also notices that Chika is blushing as well. "I…um…I don't mean… Let's just go back. Okay?"

"Umm, okay…"

On the way back, there was a dead silence between the two as they rode their bikes.

Riko couldn't stop blushing, but kept a straight face while going back to the inn. She had to think about what she said.

'I can't believe I said that! We're just friends, she's my best friend! I just got caught up in the moment. She said for me to go to the piano concert and I was just so happy. I don't like her in that way, right?'

Chika also was blushing, but seemed a bit more flustered.

'My best friend said she loves me? That's okay though. Friends say that to each other all the time, right? Best friends would say that even more…'

'But, maybe she really meant love. There was something that tells me she loves me, in that way.'

After thinking about the times her and Riko shared, she thought 'And I think I might... no, but… argh! I just don't know!'

Right as they got back to the inn, Riko rushed off her bike and ran inside, not even looking at Chika.

"Riko, wait!" Chika exclaimed, but was ignored. 'I need to know, I need to know if she does… love me…'

Riko immediately covered herself with the futon, and hid herself under the covers so Chika couldn't play with her face.

Just thinking about Chika, especially Chika touching her face, made her blush intensely. Chika walked into the room, and crawled into her bed… which is right beside Riko. This put Riko in an even more panicked state.

'My heart is beating so fast, she is so close! What am I going to do? That's it, I'll just pretend I'm asleep. I hope she-. '

"Hey Riko? You still awake?" Chika asked quietly. 'I need to know before she leaves. This is the only time I can talk to her.'

Riko was pretending to be asleep, but Chika wouldn't fall for that. Chika got up and went to Riko's futon and started poking the cover. Riko was starting to get annoyed.

"Riko, please let me talk to you. I want-."

Riko moved her covers and stormed outside. Chika quickly followed her.

"Chika, please leave me alone. I need some time by myself," Riko asked, sounding a bit upset.

"No," Chika answered, "not until we talk about what you said. We can talk about this-"

"But I don't!" Riko quietly yelled. "I don't want to talk about what I said. I didn't mean it."

"I think you did, and I want to say something about that."

Riko wouldn't turn around to face Chika (because she was blushing at what Chika said), so Chika did what she had to do. She went around quickly and looked Riko in the eyes. Riko was really shocked and started to walk away. She froze up when Chika held her shoulders.

She turned Riko around and started to speak."Riko, I know you might say that you were joking about saying… those words. But I've thought about what you said. The amount of time I've spent with you throughout this year was one of the best years of my life. Along with everyone else, I've never had as much fun than becoming school idols. You have been one of the biggest helps along this path, along with You. Helping me with songs always made me happy, and I hope it did for you. Those words you said may have been a lie, but I realized something."

Riko and Chika were both in tears, and Chika said those words.

"I love you, Riko."

Riko didn't react at first, but she did what she felt was right.

She kissed Chika. A short kiss, but one that made sure of their feelings toward each other.

They both were blushing, but were both very happy.

"So, what you said. It was real?" Chika asked.

"I thought I was too weird once I said that, but I realized after what you were talking about with us that… I felt the same way you do." Riko said, still furiously blushing.

"We should head back inside. You wouldn't want to get sick before your big competition," Chika said.

"You should follow your own advice then," Riko teased as Chika laughed.

As they were going inside, Chika looked at her bed and then Riko's futon. "Would you like… to… sleep in… my bed?"

Riko looked shocked, but her expression changed from shocked to happy. "I would love to."

They cuddled up under Chika's blanket, and Chika kissed Riko's nose as they drifted off to sleep."I love you," they said in unison. They giggled and fell asleep.

END OF CHAPTER 1

Hi there! Thanks for reading my fanfic.

This is the first ever fanfic that I have written, so sorry if it's bad. When I saw Riko tell Chika that first line of this story, I had to write something from it since the episode just ended after. I hope that this fluffy story was short and sweet, and left you happy.

Any feedback and critiques are welcome, since this is my first time writing anything! I want to make this into a full-on fanfic with multiple chapters, but I would want to hear some feedback beforehand.

Have a great day!