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It was the beginning of the new school year. Starting junior year was dreadful for numerous reasons: grades mattering more than ever, standardized testing, and of course having to finally think about life after high school, however Ayaka dreaded junior year for even more reasons than that. One, Lumine. Two, Yoimiya.
Lumine was Ayaka’s first girlfriend and regrettably her last. For a first girlfriend, she was perfect. For starters, she was absolutely gorgeous. She had blonde silky hair that fell right below her neck and golden eyes that were far too easy for Ayaka to get lost in. She was sweet. She was caring, always going out of her way to help others (even if she didn’t really want to, something Ayaka would often scold her for). Lumine truly was perfect, and Ayaka had silently cursed herself for letting her go ever since their parting.
Yoimiya was the reason Lumine was Ayaka’s last girlfriend. It was true Lumine was a girl straight of anyone with eyes’ dreams, but the same applied to Yoimiya. She was the funniest person Ayaka, or anyone else at their school, had ever met. She was always energetic, a smile constantly remained on her face, and she would brighten everyone’s day when she walked into a room. She was also blonde, leaving Ayaka’s peers with the joke that she had a thing for blondes ever since the news of her affair broke out. No one could really blame her for wanting both of the two, but she still blamed herself.
Ayaka and Yoimiya’s fling was short lived, but fiery. It started at the spring dance and ended at the autumn return to school. What started as a misunderstanding between Ayaka and Lumine had transpired into a passionate love affair between her and Yoimiya.
It started when Ayaka saw Lumine dancing with someone she had long been jealous of- her best friend Thoma. The two had been introduced a little after Ayaka and Lumine started dating. Thoma was Ayaka’s closest friend who she had known since basically forever. What started as preschool playdates ended up a long term friendship. When she had introduced her girlfriend to him, the two instantly clicked, a little too much for her liking. Ayaka didn’t really consider herself the jealous type, but with your girlfriend being a bit too close with your best friend, it was bound to happen.
Part of it was her fault, she had been late to the dance which left Lumine with no one to dance with. Ayaka of course recognized this now, but in the heat of the moment the thought didn’t cross her mind. She had gotten caught up in family business and ended up showing up about 30 minutes late, only to spot her girlfriend dancing with a certain someone. Of course, like the idiot Ayaka was, she assumed Lumine was cheating and immediately decided to numb the pain by dancing with the first hot girl she saw, who happened to be Yoimiya.
The two had been friendly in the past, nothing serious but they had multiple classes together and always got along well in them. Yoimiya was not only someone she knew well, she was also someone extremely attractive and gay. Those two pretty much crossed off her checklist.
“Oh hey Ayaka! You look lovely tonight,” Yoimiya said with a smile, looking her up and down.
“You as well, Yoimiya. Would you um… care to dance with me?” Ayaka meekly asked the blonde with a red face. She was nervous over asking a girl to dance and even more flustered over said girl complimenting her. She had never been one to get straight to the point, her and Lumine had stayed in the awkward “you want a girlfriend? me too, if only we could both find one” stage for quite sometime before Lumine finally took the hint. Directly asking someone out was far too new for her liking.
“For sure! But uh where’s your girlfriend?” Yoimiya asked her. Ayaka mentally kicked herself for asking someone to dance when she had a fairly well known relationship. It’d surely get out, but it wasn’t like Lumine would care. She had Thoma.
“It’s complicated! Let’s just dance!” Ayaka assured and grabbed Yoimiya’s hand. Since Yoimiya was about as carefree as they came, she didn’t question any further and let Ayaka guide her to the dance floor.
The lights were dim, slow romantic music hummed throughout the gym, and Yoimiya rested her hands on Ayaka’s hips. It was a scene straight out of a movie. The two laughed and talked about silly mundane things, Yoimiya cracking a joke at every opportunity she had. Ayaka’s previous nerves eased fairly quickly. Yoimiya was like a ray of sunshine beaming down on every negative emotion she had had in the past hour. The clouds in her head parted, leaving her with a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart.
“I haven’t had this much fun with someone in awhile,” Yoimiya shouted through the music and dipped Ayaka down.
“You always seem like you’re having fun, what makes me so special?” Ayaka questioned with a bright smile on her face.
“For starters you’re like, really pretty, and you don’t care that I talk way too much,” Yoimiya beamed. Ayaka blushed again, a usual response for her when being met with praise.
“Why would I care about how much you talk? I’ve always been told I’m a good listener and you do have a nice voice,” she countered. Yoimiya laughed.
“I like you, you know? I always have to be honest. The moment the teacher sat us next to each other in Inazuman history I fell for you pretty much instantly. I never thought I had a chance because of Lumine, but here we are,” she mused, looking Ayaka deep in the eyes. “Has anyone ever told you you have really pretty eyes? Their blue suits you really well, both in looks and your whole vibe,” she told the blue haired girl.
Ayaka was taken aback, but with everything that had happened tonight the words were like music to her ears. She wasn’t the best with words so she did the best thing she could think of at that moment. She kissed her. Sparks flew between the two and she knew she’d never be able to forget the kiss.
“Wow. That was better than I imagined it would be,” Yoimiya laughed after pulling apart. “What do you say we ditch this place and go back to my place?”
“I’d love that,” Ayaka answered, not knowing of the mess she was dragging herself into.
Ayaka ended up going over to Yoimiya’s place more than she would have imagined. Lumine had inevitably found out about what happened between the two thanks to the school’s local gossip, Yae Miko. Normally she would’ve brushed it off as stupid high school rumors, but there were too many witnesses for that to be true. After she ended things, Ayaka had no choice but to continue her fling with Yoimiya. It was fun and numbed the pain of losing her first love, something she very much needed.
So here she was a few months later, sitting in the first homeroom period of the year. Her eyes scanned the room for her ex girlfriend. They had been in the same period since freshman year, but Lumine was nowhere to be found. Optimistic, Ayaka hoped she was just late. Lumine had never been one to show up late, but Ayaka wasn’t going to give up hope just yet.
Anxiously tapping her pencil, she stared at the clock as it hit 7:30. Lumine still hadn’t shown up, meaning one of two things: she was far later than she had been in the past, or she wasn’t in the same homeroom anymore. After everything that had happened between the two, Ayaka assumed the latter.
The only reasonable explanation for this was that it was because of her. Lumine hadn’t picked up a single one of Ayaka’s calls, responded to any of her texts, and when she had seen her pass by her house, she immediately closed her blinds. Lumine truly didn’t want anything to do with Ayaka, but Ayaka wanted everything to do with her.
Being with Yoimiya was fun, but she had to admit all she could think about during the entirety of it was Lumine. Quite honestly, she had hesitations about continuing it, but it was easier than being alone.
It was the last week of school and a few weeks after the spring dance incident. Ayaka hadn’t spoken to Yoimiya nor Lumine since then. Being with Yoimiya reminded her too much of Lumine, and being with Lumine just wasn’t an option anymore.
Alongside the everlasting pain in her chest, Ayaka had to deal with the fact she no longer had a ride home anymore. Her brother could take her to school in the mornings, but after school he had football practice, leaving her all alone. Luckily, her house was fairly close but her legs would still ache when she arrived.
“Hey Ayaka! Get in!” the voice of someone who she really did not want to see called out from her car.
“Yoimiya, what are you doing?” she questioned. There had to be some sort of ulterior motive here. She imagined Yoimiya hated her for toying with her feelings that night.
“Well, I noticed you’ve been walking home alone these days, and I feel kinda bad so I figured I’d offer you a ride,” Yoimiya answered innocently. Ayaka squinted her eyes, still convinced this was just an elaborate ploy to get back at her.
“You’re not mad about the dance?” she asked.
“Nah, I get it. It’s also quite honestly hard for me to be angry at people,” Yoimiya replied with ease in her voice. This Ayaka knew was true, no one had ever seen Yoimiya mad. She truly was a ray of sunshine that was never blocked by any clouds. Letting out a sigh, Ayaka opened the door and threw her bag into the back. Yoimiya smiled. “So where’s your house?” implored.
“It’s right outside Inazuma City, I can give you directions if you need,” Ayaka explained, gesturing to the next turn Yoimiya needed to take.
“Yeah I’ll probably need those, I’m not very good with finding things on my own,” she laughed. Ayaka stared out the rolled down window as they drove. Lumine was never very good at directions either. Nine times out of then when Lumine drove them somewhere, they ended up getting lost. Ayaka never minded though, the more time she could spend with her the better. “Is something wrong?” Yoimiya asked, concerned. Ayaka shook her head.
“Not at all, just happy to finally have a ride home,” she lied. Yoimiya’s giggle that followed helped ease the tension in her mind. Ayaka had forgotten how much being with her distracted her from the pain of losing Lumine. In that moment she decided to do something she knew she’d later regret. “Yoimiya, I’m sorry about what happened at the dance, but would you maybe want to hang out more?”
She took her eyes off the road for a second to stare at Ayaka. She was a bit stunned, as she had assumed everything between them was just Ayaka trying to get her mind off Lumine, but she seemed sincere.
“If you insist!” Yoimiya gleefully exclaimed, thus beginning their summer love.
The end of August approached, and Yoimiya hadn’t heard from Ayaka in a week. It appeared like the end. Part of her expected it, she had always been told by people she was “too much,” but Ayaka had always insisted she loved her energy and didn’t mind listening to her talk for hours on end. “All good things must come to an end,” was what her friend Itto had told her. It was true, it was the end of her time with Ayaka. Yoimiya had no clue why, but she knew things had come to a close.
Ayaka walked out of homeroom, only to see Lumine at the end of the hall. Gulping, she decided to approach her. Maybe this time she’d hear her out and things could be somewhat normal between the two again. Ayaka pushed her way through the crowded hallway, desperate to make it in time. Unfortunately, Lumine noticed her and immediately picked up her pace and looked away. Another failed attempt at making things right.
Feeling defeated, Ayaka walked to her locker to grab her textbooks for her next class. Opening it, a note slipped out.
“Hey Ayaka! Meet me behind the gym after school? - Yoimiya :)”
She sighed. Ghosting Yoimiya was a shitty thing to do, but she had done it anyway. Ayaka felt bad, after all Yoimiya had never been anything but nice to her, however she knew she had to end things. Ayaka could sense towards the end of their affair Yoimiya was slowly slipping into a state of love, something Ayaka never felt towards her. As horrible as it was, she was thinking of Lumine the entire time.
She crumbled up the note and threw it in the trash can. Better to ignore it than to get Yoimiya’s hopes up again.
“Yoimiya, wanna grab ramen with me and the gang today?” Itto said approaching his friend.
“Oh I’d love to but I’m waiting on someone!” she beamed. He sighed, knowing who that someone was. He was dumb as a rock, but even the biggest idiot could tell Ayaka was no longer interested.
“Why don’t you just come? I don’t think she’s going to show up, but the Arataki gang is always there!” he insisted. Yoimiya nervously laughed.
“I don’t think you’re one to talk about my love life after what happened with ‘Miss Hina’,” she told him. She had a point, Itto had an embarassing romance past. He fell for the school newspaper’s advice columnist, only to find out the famous “Miss Hina” was a pseudo name for a dude. It was humiliating, but he got over it pretty quickly.
“Hey! It wasn’t my fault she gave me the best advice in my entire life! How was I not supposed to fall for her!” He stood firm.
“He gave you the best advice in your entire life, and I’m fine, really. I have faith she’ll show up,” Yoimiya told Itto. He groaned. She had always been too optimistic for her own good.
“Fine, fine. I won’t pry any further, but my offer will still stand if I’m right, like I usually am, and you wanna get your mind off things,” Itto sighed. She rolled her eyes, still believing Ayaka would show up.
“You won’t be right! Now shoo!” Yoimiya commanded. He rolled his eyes back and turned away to go meet his other friends.
Five minutes passed, then twenty, and finally thirty, and Ayaka still wasn’t there. Yoimiya sighed and sat down on the stairs. She didn’t want to admit it, but Itto was right. Ayaka hadn’t shown up. She was desperately clinging onto hope she just hadn’t read the letter, but deep down she knew that wasn’t true. Yoimiya made sure the note she had written was placed somewhere in Ayaka’s locker where she’d be sure to find it.
Yoimiya pulled out her phone and dialed Itto’s number. “Hey Itto… I think I’ll come get ramen with you guys.”
Ayaka approached her house, this time on a skateboard. Ayato had graduated last year, leaving her with no ride in both the morning and afternoon. Still refusing to get her license, she took up skateboarding. It was still a shitty way of getting to and from her house, but it was better than by foot. She stopped for a second to catch her breath, and to stare at Lumine’s house.
Her car was parked in the driveway, meaning she was home. Ayaka pondered knocking on her door, pulling a cheesy rom com move and begging her to take her back, but she knew better. She’d probably just be met with Lumine’s overprotective brother, Aether, yelling at her to go fuck off. It’d happened a few times in the past.
After a few minutes of staring longingly and hoping Lumine would notice her and come running out, Ayaka jumped back on her skateboard and continued her journey home. The adrenaline from it was nice, it helped erase some of her thoughts, but it could never rid her of them completely. The only thing that would truly help was Lumine loving her again.
Ayaka moved faster and faster, trying to clear her mind. Eventually she threw her skateboard in the yard and went up her front porch stairs.
“Welcome home!” her mom exclaimed, but was ignored. Ayaka huffed and went up the stairs to her room. She slammed her door shut and slumped onto her bed. She hugged her pillow while scrolling through her Instagram feed, of course making sure to stalk Lumine’s page.
Back to school party at my place!! Friday at 10!! BYOB!!
Ayaka bolted up. This was her chance. If it was just showing up to a party to have fun, Lumine couldn’t possibly deny seeing her, especially if she brought beer. She made a mental note to call her brother and beg him to buy her some. Knowing the reason she needed it, he’d probably oblige.
She stormed to her desk, pulling out a piece of paper to plan a script. It had to be perfect, something out of a movie that would guarantee Lumine would take her back.
Lumine, it’s me!! You look lovely tonight! I brought beer! Want to go out again?
She crumbled the piece of paper up. She still wasn’t very good with words, but she knew someone who was. Ayaka hurriedly picked up her phone and dialed the number of the one person she could help her out.
“Hello?”
“Kazuha! It’s me, Ayaka. Would you mind helping me win the love of my life back?” she greeted.
“Um… sure?” he responded, a bit confused on what the hell he could do to help.
“Lovely! So what I need you to do is write me a little script, maybe even a poem, I know she’d love one of those,” Ayaka explained.
“And one on…?” Kazuha further questioned.
“Well I need Lumine to one, know how much I miss her, two know how much I still love her, and three explain Yoimiya was just a summer fling and I would do anything to have her back,” she clarified.
“I can try, but Ayaka, I think it’s best if you explain those things yourself,” he suggested. He was right, words coming straight from Ayaka would most likely work best.
“You’re… most likely right, but still just give me some ideas on what to say, please?” she begged.
“Alright, but just to give you an idea. I’ll text you what I come up with,” he told her, regrettably giving in.
“Archons, you are a lifesaver. Thank you!” she said, expressing her gratitude before hanging up. She sat patiently by her phone for hours until the text tone finally went off.
Lumine, I apologize for what I’ve done to you. My heart is clouded by the regret of things I’ve done, head clouded by my everlasting love for you. I yearn for time together again. Yoimiya was that of summer, not forever like I feel for you. You are the love of my life, and will stay so until death does us part. Be with me again, and I will forever be yours.
It was a little too poetic and formal for her liking, but she really shouldn’t have expected much more from Kazuha. Ayaka would definitely have to do a few touch ups, but it looked like it’d work fine, at least she hoped it would.
The week went by painfully slow. Homeroom was hell, reminding Ayaka of her actions every day, and every other class, even ones she had previously enjoyed, were incredibly boring. She looked for Lumine in the halls everyday, but never saw her. Looks like she had figured out Ayaka’s schedule and how to best avoid her. Her attempts wouldn’t work though, Ayaka’s plan was sure to succeed.
Alongside fine tuning what she’d do Friday, she worked on avoiding Yoimiya at all costs. Ayaka was finally having things go right for her, and didn’t dare let anything interfere with it. If Lumine saw them together even once, all her efforts would be in vain.
Finally, Friday approached. Ayaka was nervous the whole day, what if things didn’t go right? She’d meticulously planned everything out and couldn’t afford to slip up. Her future was riding on this party. School was even longer than the days before as she daydreamed the entire time. She thought of Lumine leading her into her family’s garden, hearing her out then kissing her more passionately than they had ever kissed before.
Ayaka also daydreamed of everything going to shit. Lumine could first not be the one to open the door and it instead be Aether, which was probably the worst case scenario. Lumine could also slam the door in her face, or Lumine could just flatly tell Ayaka to go fuck herself and never speak to her again. All of these options were horrible and she prayed to every Archon they wouldn’t happen.
The bell of her last class chimend and she sprinted out of the classroom. She needed to hurry home and get everything into place. Running out the door, she picked up her skateboard and immediately hopped onto it.
The wind blew through her blue hair and she had a wide smile on her face. Realizing she was about to pass Lumine’s house, she slowed down. She stood in front of it for a second, smile never faltering. Ayaka had absolute faith Lumine would take her back. Noticing a car that looked a little too much like Lumine’s coming from down the road she jumped back on and skated as fast as she could.
Ayaka opened the door to her house, for once actually greeting her mom back, and ran upstairs to her brother’s room. She knocked on his door, and he came out
“Did you get the beer?” she asked.
“No, Ayaka, I’m not promoting underage drinking,” Ayato sighed. He’d always been a goody two shoes, so she really couldn’t have expected more from him. She groaned and shut his door. One thing had already gone wrong, and she couldn’t afford to have another thing to do the same.
Entering her room, she moved to her desk and picked up the piece of paper where she had written down what she was going to say.
Lumine, I’m sorry for what I did to you. I really regret it and I still love you. I really want to be together again. Yoimiya was just something for the summer. I love you. Be with me again, please?
It was similar to what Kazuha wrote, but less similar to something Shakespeare would’ve written. Ayaka appreciated his help though. She shoved it in her jacket pocket, making sure she’d have it when she arrived at Lumine’s house.
She stared at the clock on her phone for hours on end until it finally reached 9:45. Lumine’s house was about 15 minutes away, so this was the perfect time for her to leave. Ayaka hurried down the stairs and shouted to her parents she was leaving. She grabbed the skateboard from the yard and began her journey there.
Out of breath from how rapidly she skated, Ayaka stood on Lumine’s driveway with shaky hands. This was it, her one chance at redemption. It looked like nobody had arrived just yet, meaning she’d probably be greeted with the host she so desperately wanted to talk to when she knocked on the door. Her legs were basically frozen in fear as she tried to walk forward. Ayaka slapped herself on the head to knock herself out of it.
She fumbled with the paper in her pocket as she approached the door. She’d never been more nervous in her life. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the wooden door with a noticeable tremor in her hand. Ayaka stood there in silence for a second as no one answered it. Maybe Lumine knew it was her and refused to open it. She figured this was the case and turned around, before hearing the door open.
“What are you doing here?” Lumine called out. Ayaka froze, her hand still holding onto the script she’d written. Her throat was dry and her head pounded. She turned around to face Lumine.
Deciding to ditch her script she began. “Lumine, I’m so fucking sorry for what I did. I was an idiot, far more than that, and I’ve regretted it every single day since it happened. Yoimiya was nothing like what I felt with you and I dreamt of you the entire time I was with her. I love you, Lumine. I really do,” Ayaka rambled. Lumine scrunched her face. Taking this as a sign her apology didn’t mean shit, Ayaka sighed and began to turn away, until Lumine grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Lumine?” she questioned. Lumine stared at her for a few seconds before sighing and pressing her lips onto Ayaka’s. Ayaka kissed her back like she had never kissed before. It worked. It had fucking worked.
“I love you, Ayaka. I still do as much as I’ve tried to fight it and move on, but I love you,” Lumine told her tearing up.
“I love you too. I always will,” she responded, beginning to cry too. The two of them kissed again, only taking breaks to look into each other’s eyes and smile. As people arrived, they stared at the spectacle in front of them, most of them happy the two dipshits had finally resolved things. Only one person appeared to be disappointed, Yoimiya.
Her eyes welled up with tears as she watched Ayaka and Lumine enter the house with hands interlocked. She dropped the drinks she had brought onto the ground and covered her mouth to try and keep down the noise of her sobs.
“I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so,” Itto exclaimed, putting his arm around Yoimiya as he noticed her.
“Shut up,” she muttered with anguish in her voice.
“Ah come on don’t be like, there are plenty of fish in the sea!” he told her in an attempt to cheer her up. It didn’t really work. “The homies and I are gonna beetle fight tonight, wanna come? It’ll get your mind off things and maybe your bets will win,” he enthusiastically suggested. Wiping away her tears, Yoimiya nodded. She wasn’t one for beetle fighting, but it was better than going to a party where she’d have to see Ayaka and Lumine all over each other.
Itto kept his arm wrapped around Yoimiya shoulder and guided her towards his car. As she stepped into it she only could think of one thing, she was never Ayaka’s, and Ayaka was never hers to lose. Summer was over, and so was their love.