If Jealousy Could Kill

“Rina, why don’t we go out today? I’ll call Mami up and the three of us can do something together. We need to do something to take your mind off of those two,” Miyuki said desperately to the distraught young girl. Rina looked so sad and Miyuki had begun to hate seeing her like that, she only wanted to help Rina smile again.

It was early on Saturday morning but even after all these hours; Rina was still upset by Haruna having left with Tomomi. Miyuki thought she was overreacting a bit, but she could understand it. Rina cared so much about Haruna and it looked like Haruna didn’t even see that, or maybe she just didn’t care. Miyuki didn’t really know which it was, all she knew is that Haruna’s actions were badly upsetting Rina and Miyuki didn’t like that. Miyuki could admit that she was beginning to feel some resentment for Haruna because of all this.

Rina looked over at Miyuki, staring silently at the older girl. Miyuki had picked her up just shortly after Haruna had left with Tomomi and she had been over at the older girl’s house ever since. Rina had to admit that being at Miyuki’s house did make her feel a bit better. Being here was better than being alone in their house at the very least. It felt nice to have the company, but it didn’t take her thoughts off of those two.

She knew she was being irrational and overreacting, but she was scared. This weekend would be an opportunity for Tomomi to sneak her way into Haruna’s mind even more. If they got closer again, then it would be harder for Rina to take Haruna back. She didn’t want Tomomi to take Haruna away from her any further than she already had. She didn’t want to keep going in a circle like this. She just wanted this to all be done and over with so she could have Haruna back by her side.

“Please, Rina? I don’t want to see you this sad,” Miyuki begged her. Rina sighed softly, looking away from Miyuki. Miyuki did look so upset right now and Rina could use a distraction.

“All right, I’ll go with you two,” Rina said finally. She looked back over at Miyuki, giving the older girl a sweet smile.

The older girl nodded in affirmation, quickly leaning over and kissing Rina’s forehead before she pushed herself off the couch. Rina could feel herself blushing from the kiss. Haruna wasn’t around right now, so she didn’t see why Miyuki kept the façade up.

“You know, Miyuki, you don’t have to do all of that when Haru and the others aren’t here if you don’t want to,” Rina spoke up. Miyuki turned back to Rina, her cellphone now in her hand. She flashed Rina a bright smile before answering the younger girl.

“Who said I didn’t want to give you kisses and hold you?” Miyuki asked her. Her smile grew as she saw the red tint to Rina’s face deepening. “I like showering you with affection; you’re so cute after all, Rina. But if it’s not okay with you then I will stop when we’re alone. It won’t bother me; I just want you to be honest with me.”

Rina didn’t answer her right away, she found herself unable to. Was Rina really uncomfortable with Miyuki’s actions? Truthfully, she couldn’t say that she was. She actually liked it in a way. Miyuki made her feel loved and cared for. She liked all the attention that the older girl was showering her with and she didn’t really want it to stop when they were alone. Even if she didn’t like Miyuki like that, she still liked her affection. And it wasn’t really leading Miyuki on if the girl knew that Rina didn’t love her, was it? Of course not. There wasn’t any harm in enjoying the affection.

“I don’t mind it,” Rina finally answered. The smile on the young brunette’s face grew when she saw how happy Miyuki seemed at her answer. There were times Rina would feel sorry for Miyuki, the older woman did seem to like her a lot. But Rina’s heart was set on Haruna and no one else; she could never return Miyuki’s feelings.

“I’m glad. Now sit tight while I track down Mami,” Miyuki instructed her. Rina nodded as she watched Miyuki turn her back to Rina again, her hands fiddling with the phone. Rina leaned back into the phone, her eyes making their way up to stare at the ceiling.

She could hear Miyuki talking in the background, no doubt to Mami, but Rina wasn’t really listening. Her mind was running away again as it floated back to thinking about Tomomi and Haruna. She had thought that she was making progress with Haruna after the way she’d been acting with Miyuki but now, now she wasn’t so sure about that. She didn’t want to think that her plan wasn’t working but she could feel that sinking suspicion pulling at her heart.

“Rina.” Rina pushed her body up when she heard Miyuki call her name. She turned to the older girl who was smiling at her. “Spacing out on me, huh? Try not to for too long, Mami will be here soon.”

“I wasn’t spacing out!” Rina defended. Miyuki laughed at her defense, making her way over to the couch and sitting down next to Rina. She snaked an arm around Rina’s waist, pulling her close in a sudden action and causing a surprised yelp to come out of her. Miyuki pressed her lips against Rina’s cheek in a gentle kiss, admiring the way her face heated up when she did so.

“You’re so cute,” Miyuki said, pinching one of Rina’s cheeks. Rina slapped Miyuki’s hands away from her face with a huff, which only made Miyuki laugh. She let her hand drop from around Rina’s waist, sitting back as the silence overtook the waiting girls.

***

“It’s so cute!” Rina gushed, her hands wrapping around the tiny plush toy that sat on the store shelf. Mami walked over to where Rina was standing, raising an eyebrow when she saw Rina holding a small toy dinosaur. Of course that is what she would be holding and gushing over, Mami didn’t know why she expected anything different.

“I take it she likes dinosaurs?” Miyuki asked, coming to stand by Mami’s side. The blonde turned to Miyuki with a confused look.

“You don’t know this yet? Usually that’s one of the first things people find out about her. She is obsessed after all,” Mami pointed out.

“I am not obsessed!” Rina defended herself, pouting in the direction of the now laughing duo.

“How weird that never came up between us, Rina. Well it’s good to know what to get you for a present if I ever need one,” Miyuki commented.

“Rina will be happy with anything that has a dinosaur on it,” Mami chimed in. Rina huffed, turning her back to the duo and walking away from them. Mami shook her head and followed after the younger girl.

Miyuki had told her how much of a bad mood Rina had been in since the two girls left but now that they were out and about, Rina seemed to be in a better mood. Miyuki and Mami were making sure to keep her busy enough so she didn’t have time to think about anything that wasn’t happening right in front of her. Neither girl had any idea how to keep Rina this happy when it got late and was time to return home but for right now, Mami just wanted to be glad that Rina was happy for at least this moment.

“Are you really going to get that?” Miyuki asked as the two girls followed Rina up to the register.

“Of course,” Rina replied simply, doing her best to ignore the two girls who had made fun of her. The young brunette could hear Mami whisper something to Miyuki before she heard a set of giggles. Rina rolled her eyes when she had heard that; Mami was just as bad with Miyuki as she was with Haruna.

Rina could feel someone sling their arm over her shoulder and when she turned her head, she saw that it was Mami who was standing next to her. The blonde gave her a warm smile.

“Don’t be mad, we’re just playing with you,” Mami said before poking Rina on the nose. Rina glared at her, slapping her hand away and pushing the blonde off of her. The older girl laughed, slapping Rina’s back before she stepped back to stand by Miyuki again.

“Temper, temper, Rina,” Miyuki scolded her playfully. Rina stuck her tongue out at the grinning Miyuki before she turned back to the clerk who gave her a small smile. The clerk handed Rina her change and the small bag containing her new toy.

“Good luck with them,” she said softly to her.

“Thank you, I think I’ll need it,” Rina mentioned. She could hear the gasp from behind her and a smile came to Rina’s face. Three could play their game.

“We are not that bad,” Mami said, faking the offense in her tone. Rina waved to the clerk before she spun on her heels, bounding back the small distance to where Mami and Miyuki stood. She laced her hand with Miyuki’s before turning to her blonde companion.

“Where to next?” she asked the two of them. Miyuki and Mami exchanged looks before Mami simply shrugged in response, stuffing her hands into her jean pockets.

“Whatever you two want to do,” she said with a shrug. Rina let out a soft grunt at Mami’s reply, the blonde only grinning at her. She knew Rina hated it when she gave that for an answer, but she really didn’t have any ideas this time. She was fine with doing anything at the moment.

“Well, at the very least, we should probably leave this store before we annoy people,” Miyuki mentioned. Seeing both Mami and Rina nod in agreement, Miyuki gave Rina a small tug, leading her out of the store with Mami following them.

When they got out, Rina let her hand drop from, making her way over to the railing. She slowly leaned over the railing, her eyes peering down at the first floor of the mall below them. It didn’t take long before she felt the arms wrap around her waist, Miyuki pressing herself against Rina. The younger girl’s body stiffened a bit, but she soon relaxed into Miyuki’s touch. She knew Miyuki was just doing this for show for Mami, but Rina was still enjoying it. Miyuki’s touch still felt nice to her.

Rina glanced to the side to see Mami leaning with her back against the railing, her arms leaned back and resting on the white railing both girls used for support. Mami leaned her head back, her hair falling back as well.

Mami didn’t really want to look at Miyuki or Rina right now. At least, not when Miyuki was holding Rina like that. Mami couldn’t quite explain it, but it made her feel almost sad to see. She had originally set up Miyuki and Rina because she was sure the two of them would be perfect for each other, and that had proven to be true so far. They did seem really happy together but Mami couldn’t control the feelings that continued to nag her and pull at her. She continued to feel sad for some reason whenever she looked at them.

Mami blew out a huff of air, blowing some strands of hair to the side. Just what was wrong with her? Mami had really thought she had learned her lesson about crushing on her friends after what had happened with her. It’s not that anything bad happened per say, Mami just didn’t want to have to go through the task again of accepting another unrequited love like that.

Maybe it was because Mami had stopped longing over her that her heart was now trying to find something else to fill the void that letting go had left behind. She’d accepted long ago that she and Tomomi would never make it, they were simply too similar to each other. They were always better off as just friends. Even if Mami still loved her, it didn’t hurt anymore. Seeing Tomomi so happy with Haruna had helped Mami leave behind that desire. Mami knew she’d always feel that love for Tomomi, you never did forget your first love after all, but she also knew she wouldn’t long after the hyperactive brunette anymore.

“So what do you say, Mami?” The blonde was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the familiar voice. She turned her head again, this time seeing Miyuki was looking over at her.

“What?” Mami asked. Miyuki rolled her eyes, mumbling something about Mami never paying any attention to her before she spoke clearer.

“We’re hungry, are you up for food?” Miyuki asked her.

“That took you two long enough to decide,” Mami cracked off, smiling at the couple. “But sure, I’m okay with food.”

“Good, so you’ll pay for it too?” Miyuki continued, flashing the now shocked blonde a big grin.

“When did that become part of the plan?!” Mami asked her quickly. Miyuki tried to do her best to hold back the laughter at Mami’s reaction, but she wasn’t doing too well at it.

“It became part of the plan from the beginning when I asked you the first time.”

“You know, when someone asks you to repeat a question, you should repeat the entire thing,” Mami said with a glare. Miyuki gave her another big grin before she could feel Rina squirm beneath her. She stepped away from the younger girl, letting Rina go near Mami. Rina grabbed onto Mami’s hand, causing Mami to look down at her.

As Mami looked at Rina, she could feel the warmth of the girl’s hand transferring into her own hand. Rina’s big eyes stared at her, blinking delicately as she smiled sweetly at Mami. The blonde was beginning to realize something she never wanted to. All this time, all this cuteness she’d seen in Rina was more than just childlike cuteness to Mami. It was much more, and Mami hated that she was thinking like that right now.

“I’ll help you pay,” Rina replied to her. “Although I shouldn’t after all that teasing earlier,” Rina added in.

“Hey! Miyuki started it! I was just following her lead,” Mami defended herself. She could hear Miyuki laughing from where she stood and the blonde shot her a glare. Rina giggled from Mami’s outburst, letting go of her hand finally. She bounded back over to Miyuki, lacing their hands together.

“Well come on, slowpokes. I’m hungry,” Rina said. Miyuki shook her head, flicking Rina lightly on the head for her comment. As the three set off, Mami could feel a sinking feeling settle in her stomach. She wanted to keep denying these feelings but she knew she couldn’t.

Somewhere down the line of helping Rina find love, Mami had managed to finally let go of her feelings for Tomomi. But as she let go, she now found her heart setting its sights on another small brunette.