Diana was running late.

And she loathes being late to anything. Granted that she texted ahead that she'll be by a little later than planned, she still hates to keep the other girl waiting.

She fast-walked into the bar, heels clacking onto the hardwood floor. Her eyes quickly scanned the place- a flash of brown hair by the bar and Diana immediately knew it was her Akko.

Unwittingly, a smile had formed on her lips as she watched the brunette laugh. It did wonders to her heart as she marvels at the girl's bubbly giggles, effectively wiping away the tiredness of her day.

Her eyes had locked on Akko, her feet swiftly, if not too eagerly, walked towards the girl by the bar.

"Akko," she called, and the girl had turned to face her. Her heart tittered when the brunette's eyes lit up at the sight of her. Even so, she willed herself to continue, as apologies are after all, in order "I'm so sorry, I had to deal with-"

Movement at the corner of her eye had caught her attention.

Normally, when she was together with Akko, there would be no one else in Diana's purview. So to speak, Akko's the only one she could clearly see and everyone else is just a big blob of blur. That includes the person sitting beside Akko.

The peculiarity however, lies in the familiarity of this certain blob. As its mass of ugly brown hair atop its disgustingly, pasty, white flesh looks so very-

The subject of her stare becomes undesirably visible, as her sight began to slowly focus on none other than her childhood acquaintance.

In her mind, the dramatics of it all inevitably escalates (she is after all, an actress) as the Fifth Symphony played at the back of her mind. As if it wasn't enough that she had to be traumatized from the whiplash of looking at the most beautiful thing in the world, to the sorriest sap in this bar, she sees Akko's hand on Andrew's arm.

Ignorance begets assumption, and most often than not, assumption deviates from the truth. It's one of the reasons why Diana, a rational and logical woman, only trusts cold, hard, facts. Emotions however, hinder such rationality, and seeing Andrew together with Akko fills her with emotion. Emotion that's most definitely not directed at Akko as she's very much certain that the angel wouldn't do anything untoward, oh no. It was Anger, and all of it was directed at her treacherous (ex) best friend, Andrew Hanbridge.

Akko, not noticing the awkward tension, replied earnestly. "It's alright! You told me you were running late, and I was just a bit early. And I had someone nice here who kept me company. This is-"

"Andrew, what the actual f-" Diana stopped herself, remembering that a lady mustn't swear. Although a situation like this calls for an appropriate reaction, so she relents.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" she looked between the two brunettes. "Are you hitting on my gir- Akko? Are you hitting on Akko?" she repeated for clarity, as her cheeks reddened by her slip-up. She hoped that it hadn't been too noticeable, but Akko's wide grin proved her wrong. This only served to make her blush even more.

"Please," Andrew started, rolling his eyes "girls hit on me. And for the record, I was hitting on Akko for you. You know, so you can finally get a girlfriend." He finished with a wink.

If Diana hadn't been flustered by his teasing, she would've shown him exactly how girls would literally hit on him.

"G-girl- w-were still not at that-"

Akko's gasp (thankfully) interrupted her "Oh! So your friend was Diana! That's great! Everything worked out in the end, huh?"

"W-what? Akko?" Diana had been stumped to incoherence.

"Andrew here told me all about you!" Akko had jumped in her seat, taking both of Diana's hands in her own as she flashed her a toothy grin. To say the least, the girl was adorable, and Diana had to will herself to focus on her words instead of how the girl had been gently stroking her hands.

"A-all about me?" she stuttered once again, a little afraid of the connotation of Andrew ever telling anyone anything about her, especially to Akko.

"Yup!" the girl nodded "He told me that you were a fan of Shiny Chariot, and that you and him are co-stars in Night Fall, and how you were a repressed lesbia-"

"Andrew! What in the world have you been telling her?!" Diana's head snapped to the man beside Akko, her face formed into a snarl.

Andrew doesn't seem fazed. "Um, the truth?" he shrugged.

"It's all right Diana!" Akko had pulled at her hands, getting her sole attention once again. "I really liked knowing about his friend. And when I found out that it was actually you, well, it finally clicked why I liked hearing all about her- because it was you! And I really like you, you know." The sweet girl explained with a tender yet cheery smile.

Diana was only an ordinary woman and had no sort of defense against the radiance that is Akko's smile.

"Fine." She huffed in defeat. There was no use arguing here. Not in front of Akko anyway. It would be unbecoming of her and she doesn't want the other girl to see such a negative side of her. She made a mental note of threatening Andrew for trying to seduce her girl in her own time. Maybe Thursday next week.

She pushed Andrew off his stool which was beside Akko, as she sat on it in his place. She was ready to fight him for it, with her glare ready and all, but Andrew had easily complied and took the empty seat next to her instead.

"Hi" Akko greeted, the earlier fiasco temporarily forgotten as she tenderly placed a kiss on the taller girl's cheek. Diana's heart had fluttered at the contact. It was a shame that she didn't have the courage to kiss the girl on the lips in public, but Diana appreciated the other girl's patience and understanding, knowing that she's yet to be comfortable with blatant public displays of affection. Especially since she is a famous movie star, she's compelled to be careful about her personal matters. Nonetheless, the paparazzi would be easily fooled as most often than not, the nature of their relationship was time and again, misconstrued.

"Akko," she started, grounding herself through the remnants of her anger towards her newfound rival from being distracted by the other girl's show of affections. "what do you think about leaving this place for a nicer restaurant?" she offered with a charming smile not even Akko could refuse.

The smaller girl hummed in thought "I think here is fine. Although, if we were to go to another restaurant, Andrew should come as well, right?" Akko looked at Andrew over the blonde's shoulder in affirmation.

"I'm sure Andrew has much more important things to do, right Andrew?" she turned to her friend, not in the least bit trying to hide the prickle in her tone.

"Aw, come on Diana," Akko pulled at their entwined hands once again, the girl had yet to let her go ever since she got a hold of them. "I think Andrew's nice. And it won't be nice of us to ditch him again, don't you think so?" she looked up at Diana, pleadingly.

"Wh- I-I didn't cancel on him for nothing!" she said, quick to defend herself.

"Really Diana, because it seems to me that you ditched me for Akko here." He said with a cheeky smirk.

"Did you really ditch him for me, Diana? I feel bad now." Akko drooped.

Diana could've sworn that Akko had winked over her shoulder, but nonetheless, she hates seeing the girl upset.

"Wh-Akko I- that was not!" being caught off-guard had rendered her to a faltering mess. Instead of facing the fatality of Akko's puppy-dog eyes, she snapped her head to Andrew in irritation "Look, you little-" the grip in her hand had tightened, once again reminding her that Akko is beside her. She took a breath and decided that a little decorum was in order.

"Andrew, I apologize for cancelling on you on a very short notice. But I truly had a family emergency, and you know firsthand how my cousins can be such a handful. Now that it's resolved, I just chose to spend my free time with Akko." She told him with a straight face.

"Really, Diana." he hummed, unimpressed. "Oh, will you look at that." He flicked his wrist as he pointed at his watch "There's still time for us to swing by on the second act, why don't we head over th-"

"Okay, fine! I hate Night Fall!"

Silence took over the whole bar at her outburst. To Diana's horror, her confession was heard by the patrons of the entire bar. It would be dreadful if the paparazzi caught her saying that, no, it would be terrible if anyone would recognize her at all and post it on the internet. She's sure she wouldn't hear the end of it from her spiteful manager.

Thankfully, after a beat, everyone went back to their own business and Diana was able to breathe easy.

"Now was that so hard to admi-"

"You, shut up!" she hissed at him, still a bit riled up at almost being exposed to the public.

"Is this why you never told me that you play Belle in Night Fall?" Akko cut in, evidently trying to prevent her from going off on Andrew any more. "I mean, you told me you're an actress, but when I googled you, nothing really came up." She finished, cocking her head in question.

Diana's heart once again filled with fondness at the other girl's adorable mannerisms. She couldn't help herself as she replaced her hand in Akko's grasp with her other hand, refusing to severe any contact with the girl. She moved closer in Akko's space, pushing brown locks that fell from its place behind the girl's ear with her dainty fingers, faintly caressing her soft cheek with a thumb.

"Yes." Diana shook her head, guilty at having to lie by omission "I'm sorry, darling, I should've told you." She felt Akko shiver at the palm of her hand, concerned that the girl might've been cold. The warmth on the brunette's cheeks told her otherwise. Still, it didn't stop her from worrying.

"Darling, are you cold?" she asked as she began peeling her jacket off.

"No, no! I was just- there's no need to-" even at Akko's protests, Diana still draped it over the girl's shoulders, hoping that it would be enough to warm her up.

Diana clasped Akko's hand in her own once again as she continued "Well, you won't find me in google as I use a stage name. I'm known as Diana Post. My manager told me to change this as it may appeal to a wider audience and for one, 'Cavendish' can be a such mouthful to say."

"Really? That's the reason? Well, I didn't bother to change mine." Andrew shrugged.

"That's because you don't take your manager's advice." She deadpanned.

"I do what I want. 'I'm the captain of my own Fate!'" he pointed his finger upwards, quoting a line from the movie.

"No, you're an imbecile. That alone says a lot about your fate." She replied dryly.

"I don't think that's what Belle said." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Anyway, do go on. I'm intrigued at this whole heartfelt apology you've got going."

If Akko wasn't here, Andrew would've already been thrown in a ditch moments ago. But she had to restrain herself. She inhaled deeply to calm her aggravated nerves. Yet another mental note was added on Thursday.

You better prepare yourself, Andrew. I'm going to make sure you-

She felt Akko tug at her hand, interrupting her murderous thoughts.

"Diana?"

"Sorry love, you have to forgive Andrew. You see, he's a very special case." Diana explained sincerely.

Akko just shook her head. "No, it's not that. I was gonna say that you don't need to apologize about not telling me about this."

"Akko I-"

"You really don't have to, Diana. I'm not even mad. I understand that this is your secret to tell. And really, isn't it more exciting to learn something new about each other as time goes by?" she said, squeezing their entwined fingers.

Diana stared deep into the most earnest crimson eyes as Akko looked up at her with a bright smile. She couldn't help but mirror the girl's grin as she squeezed their hands back in reply.

It confounded her how she thought she'd have any winning chance against the girl in the first place. In the end, she conceded that she'd never win any argument with Akko, especially not with that kind of heart-melting smile.

"Of course, darling." Her grin grew wider as an idea formed in her head. She pulled the girl closer by her hand, draping her other arm around her waist. "I think being with you is always exciting." She whispered, her lips lightly touching the other girl's ear.

Akko only giggled, pushing Diana away with the heel of her hand on the blonde's forehead "You say the cheesiest lines sometimes, Diana."

"Are you perhaps, emulating Edgar? Or is it Arthur?" an unsolicited comment from the man sitting on her other side.

"Andrew, why in the world are you still here? Go someplace else where you're wanted, or I'll surely k-" Diana started, a warning threat ready on her lips.

"S-so!" Akko pulled at her hand, "are we going to watch Night Fall on our next date?" she said suddenly.

Diana's face contorted into a painful grimace. "Akko," a deep, steadying, breath "I know that you're just being sweet like you always do. But I ask of you to never speak of that atrocity again, at the very least when I'm around."

"Oh! Right, I just remembered that you hate Night Fall." the brunette giggled as she scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

Diana shook her head "To be honest, I'm ashamed of my role as Belle. At the beginning, she's a typical damsel in distress. And even as she's started to come out of such a two-dimensional characteristic, every direct action or decision she has revolves around Edgar and/or Arthur. It's as if she's there solely for the development of her love interests. When in fact, it should've been the other way around as she's supposedly the central character. Or at least, it should be a two-way street." She explained. She's beginning to get a headache from thinking about this alone, as she pinched between her brows to ease a little of the pain. "I'm just baffled that so many young women see themselves in Belle. In my opinion, she's not a very good role model." She sighed.

"If it were my choice," she continued "I wouldn't be caught dead starring a role in such a pointless movie. My aunt, however, insists upon it as she says it would be helpful to my career."

"I didn't know this was up to your aunt." Akko said, tone laced with concern as she gently stroked her hand.

"Well, it wasn't entirely up to her. I did see her point, so I decided to give it a chance in the end." She shrugged, not including the fact that she may be starting to regret that decision. But she's had her hands tied here as she already signed a ten-year long contract.

"And, I truly apologize for calling off our plans, Andrew. It's just that after reading the books, I swore on my life to never sit through such torture again. I'm suffering enough by making a living out of it." Diana ran a hand through her hair, exhausted at having to recount her misery.

"You read all 365 volumes of Night Fall?" Akko asked, wide-eyed.

A nod. "In three months. I burnt all of them afterwards." She said, grimly.

Andrew shook his head "After that, the only interactions she allows herself with those 'literary monstrosities'" he air quoted, "were autographs for the fans."

"Shut it, Andrew. You don't know how distressing those three months were. I died, Andrew, I died. I even had Anna dig up my grave. It was the most despicable thing I've ever read." She couldn't help but shiver at the chill of three months' worth of memories she'd rather forget.

"Is that what the big gaping hole in your garden for?" he shook his head in disbelief "At times, Diana, you can be so dramatic. And again, nobody said you should read it."

"I chose to read it as it is my job to know. The fans appreciate it when I know what they're talking about. I'm just diligent, Andrew, unlike some people." She rolled her eyes at him.

"You just always take things to the extreme. You should've taken things slow. Look at me, I'm still at volume two."

"And we're already at our second installment of the movie which is roughly three-fourths into volume 59. You've just proven my point." She shook her head, exasperated.

"It's nice to see you both bickering like old friends. How come you never introduced me to Andrew, Diana?" Akko asked, interrupting their banter.

"It-I was," Diana coughed to steady herself "It's because Andrew couldn't act like a grown man for more than an hour. I was merely concerned that you may contract his mental illness an-"

"Oh, cut the crap, Diana. I see right through you." He rolled his eyes at her before turning to Akko. "She knew I would immediately recognize your name and she didn't want to be outed as a Shiny Chariot fan."

"Agh! Andrew! You-"

"Oh, so you've already met her friends?" he cut her off.

"She did!" Akko replied in her stead. "I introduced her to Lotte and Sucy. Now that I think about it, you were acting strange when they met you. Sucy thought you were out of your mind."

"What, why? What did you do?" Andrew's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"I dressed up in a disguise because I was sure Lotte Yanson would recognize me." She replied, defeated.

She turned to Akko, worried what the other girl might think of her now. "I didn't want to talk about Night Fall any more than I have to. I'm sorry for deceiving your friends, Akko. My behavior was unacceptable and-"

"It's fine, Diana." The other girl just chuckled, squeezing her arm in consolation. "I just thought you were silly. And I got a picture out of it too!" she said cheerily.

"Really? Show me!" Andrew stood from his seat, moving towards Akko, like a child with a present on his first Christmas.

Diana rolled her eyes at her two companions. Regrettably, she had to let go of Akko's hand as the girl had to pull out her phone when her co-star squeezed himself between them.

Oh, Andrew, if only Akko weren't here, you'd long be carted away by a ship to an unknown island, and your hideous remains would be fed to a flock of carnivorous birds. She thought gruesomely.

Diana refused to participate in making fun of her truly magnificent and ingenious disguise as she ignored their laughter from browsing the pictures on Akko's phone. In the meantime, she decided to order her own drink and food for the three of them. She's quite famished after having to deal with Maril and Merril after all. They act so much like wicked step-sisters that Diana was sure if they'd audition for such a role, they'd indubitably get the job.

The two brunettes continued to pick on every detail of her disguise as she quietly sipped at her drink. Moments later, the food came, which had naturally caught Akko's attention.

"Food! Thanks, Diana." Akko cheered as she finally put her phone away and Andrew had gone back to his seat.

"Uh, why is my 'meal' a Bloody Mary?" he ungratefully complained.

"Isn't that what normally constitutes your diet? Especially of people such as yourself? Be thankful I even ordered for you." she deadpanned, daintily forking her kale salad.

"I'm pretty sure alcoholic tomato juice is not normal for people such as myself?" he said, unsurely.

"You're a treacherous, blood-sucking snake." She'd normally abate from such infantile name-calling, but Andrew had been stretching her patience all night. If they weren't at a public place, she'd have childishly stuck out her tongue just to taunt him.

"My, Diana, there's no need to verbally abuse me like this." He wiped crocodile tears from his eye. Truly the academy award winning actor that he is.

Diana just rolled her eyes at his antics.

"You act like you hate me so, but I think deep down, you truly care for me like a brother." He winked, this part of him just served to irritate her even more.

"Wh- I'd never!" Diana started, ready to dispute his absurd claim.

"You're totally right, Andrew!" Akko cut in, mouth still half-full from chewing her food. She swallowed before continuing "Diana's a tsundere." She grinned, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"A what now?" he asked.

"A tsundere! It's a Japanese term." Akko hummed in thought "She's all sharp and sarcastic on the outside, but she becomes doting and gentle when it counts! It's like she's hiding behind all the cool sarcasm vibe she's giving off." Akko finished with a bright smile.

"My, I have to say, that term most definitely embodies Diana Cavendish." He laughed, looking at Diana who refused to meet any of her two companions' eyes.

She just grumbled as she grumpily picked on her food.

"Aw Diana, don't be mad. We're just joking around." Akko moped, pulling at Diana's arm closer to her chest. Diana still refused to look at the girl as she's certain that she'd easily give-in, especially when Akko's looking at her like that.

"Please don't be mad at me, Diana?" Akko pulled at her arm once more, and Diana didn't have a choice but look down into the eyes of the girl who was sulking in the most adorable way. Diana had to restrain herself from pinching at Akko's cheeks as her pouting lips made them look rounder and softer.

"Oh darling, you know I'd never get angry at you. Especially not over something like this." She relents, her voice appeasing any qualms the other girl may have had.

"That's great!" Akko delightfully jumped in her seat, placing a sweet kiss on Diana's cheek in gratitude.

"Whipped." Andrew mock-whispered beside her.

Diana snapped her head to the dead man sitting on her other side at a frightening speed.

Before she could clearly express the extent of Andrew's knowledge of his certain death come Thursday, she felt an insisting pull at her arm.

"I'm curious, Diana, did you know that I play Shiny Chariot when you approached me in this bar?" Akko turned to Andrew "This is where we met, by the way." She added, for Andrew's understating.

Diana sat stock still. Caught off-guard by the question. The only indication that she heard Akko's question was her reddening ears.

"Diaaaanaaa," Akko called, clearly teasing her.

She was embarrassed as she couldn't help but cover her face in her hands, muttering a reply.

"Come again, darling?" Akko teased once more, borrowing the term of endearment that Diana always used on her.

In the end, she's left with no choice as she raised her face from her hands. She might as well get this embarrassment over with.

"Yes, I was very much aware that you play Shiny Chariot." She admitted, looking down at her plate, refusing to meet Akko's eyes.

Diana felt the other girl's giggles through the vibrations of her chest on the arm Akko's still had firmly wrapped in her grip.

"I have to say, I'm very flattered. Did you like my performance?" Akko ducked her head a little, trying to make Diana meet her eyes.

Diana shyly looked her straight in the eye, before coughing and giving her reply. "I-I've seen it six times now, so yes. I love every one of your performances." She came clean.

She expected Akko to laugh and tease her even more, but the tender kiss on her cheek was a pleasant surprise. "I'm so glad you like it, Diana. Thank you." This garnered another sweet kiss on the corner of her lips. Akko had pulled away, with her teeth straining her bottom lip. It made Diana's heart skip a beat.

More so, Akko had finally let go of her arm, sliding a warm hand down instead as she intertwined their fingers once more.

Andrew, the scoundrel, decided to yet again butt in on their tender moment.

"So Diana, you're not jealous that Akko stole your childhood dream to become Shiny Chariot?" he asked, ignorant of his gruesome fate come Thursday.

More than being endlessly annoyed at his countless interruptions, Diana was even more baffled at his imbecilic query. So she had to prioritize and decided to maim him on some other day.

"What are you on about? I adore Akko. If I was so bold, I'd say being with Akko is a dream." She grinned triumphantly. She knew that she was being uncharacteristically cheesy, but she also knew how Akko likes it. True to form, Akko rewarded her with another one of her soft kisses on the cheek.

"So you're saying," Andrew doesn't seem to tire of himself as he continued cheekily "now that you're all grown up, you fulfilled your dream of wanting to become Shiny Chariot by sleeping with Sh-"

Diana didn't let him finish his awfully uncouth statement as she stood from her seat at an alarming speed. The dead man seems to have felt her deadly aura as he reacted accordingly, fleeing immediately to the other side of the room, opening the screen to the outdoor patio of the bar.

She heard Akko calling for her as she chased her (ex) friend down. She made a mental note to apologize to the sweet girl for her crude behavior later. But for now, not even Akko could stop her from mutilating a dead man named Andrew Hanbridge.

Shiny Tart: guys guys guys guysss, remember Diana Cavendish? The girl I introduced to you?

Crazy Sucy: you mean that freak with buck teeth you brought to dinner? Look, im not having her back here. Our cats are still spooked. And really, I hate the competition.

I-love-you-a-lotte: Sucy! That's not nice. Akko can date whoever she wants. Even if they look like someone she picked up from the streets and who hasn't washed their hair in two weeks.

Crazy Sucy: nice shade babe

Shiny Tart: she was just wearing a disguise guys! she's actually Diana Post. She says it's her stage name :P

I-love-you-a-lotte: asl;kdjaslkfjadf!11!?

Crazy Sucy: who?

I-love-you-a-lotte: DianaPost! Belle! From Night Fall!

Crazy Sucy: I mean, trying to fly irl with a broom was one thing, but this settles it. Akko, you've gone crazy. Furreal.

Shiny Tart: [Image . jpg]

I-love-you-a-lotte: OMG OMGOMG IS THAT EDGAR!

I-love-you-a-lotte: WHY ARE THEY FIGHTING

I-love-you-a-lotte: YOU KNOW WHAT JUST BRING THEM HERE

Shiny Tart: lol omg lotte

Crazy Sucy: -_-

I-love-you-a-lotte: haha love you babe ❤

Crazy Sucy: ❤

A/N:

a roughly seven-thousand word "short fantasy" of mine. oh well, i hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed putting it to text.

as always, I'd like to know what you guys think!

Edit: i forgot to add this, but i borrowed Diana's stage name from her english voice actress