Twelve

But the apology she's been wanting to say can't seem to reach her as she can't find a proper time to do it and before she knew it, the exam time came.

'I hate this feeling. I can't concentrate well.' She stares at Peach's back. 'Well, she sure is happy, while I' m here suffering.'

"Okay, put away all the things on your desk so we can start the exam." The teacher announced.

She stares at the test paper feeling dizzy with all the unfamiliar words she's seeing.

'What the... Why don't I remember any of this? That's it. I'm doomed. I can only write my name!'

She unknowingly stares at Peach's back again and it's as if she could feel a thousand knives stabbing her at her chest.

'I really don't like this feeling.'

Looking at the paper one more time, an idea appears in her mind and she comes up with a conclusion.

'If I could pass this exam then I'll apologize to her.' She nods at herself, feeling satisfied with what she came up with. 'Yeah, that's good.' With that in mind, she felt strongly motivated and answered the exams right away.

-

"It's only the first day and I feel like dying already!" Hana whined as they sat on the stairs of their hang-out. "How did you do guys?"

"It wasn't that great, but it wasn't that bad either," Lea answered calmly. "What about you, Yujin?"

"I'm actually not confident, I just hope that I get on the passing side."

"What about you, Siren?"

"I don't know. I don't wanna think about it. My sister's not expecting anything from me anyway."

Then it got silent.

"Uh, Siren..." Yujin hesitantly calls, breaking the silence.

"Oh?"

"A-after the exams... Wanna go to the amusement park?"

"Wow! Like a date?!" Hana exclaimed loudly, slightly startling them.

"N-no! All of us... I mean..."

Hana grinned. "But you only called Siren. It's fine you know, We don't wanna be a third wheel for you guys."

Yujin's face went beet red and Lea and Hana can't help but laugh.

"I-it's not that..."

"The amusement park? Sounds nice. Sure, let's go there."

Yujin's face lit up as she looked at Siren. "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"It must be nice having motivation on this hell week, huh." - Hana

'Motivation? Yeah, right.'

"I got thirsty, I'll buy a drink," Siren announced and stand up. Yujin stands up too.

"I'll go with you."

"Then, buy us drinks." - Lea

Siren only nods and starts to walk. There's a vending machine near where they are.

"What are you drinking?"

"S-strawberry milk."

"Okay."

"Siren..."

"Hmmm?"

"Are you... Really okay with going with me to the park?"

Siren glances at her. "Of course. Why?"

"N-nothing! I just felt like..."

She hangs her sentence mid-air when Siren pats her on the head, smiling.

"I told you, it's fine. Stop overthinking things, okay?"

Yujin nods as she stares at her.

"Siren... I... Like you."

'This, again?'

"I know... I like you too."

Yujin shakes her head. "No, n-not that. I mean..."

Siren could feel as if someone is staring at her so she looks up.

"Huh?"

Siren's gaze shifts to the person behind Yujin who seemingly heard their conversation.

"I'm getting a drink too, so if you're done..." Peach announced while slowly walking towards them.

'Here? We have a vending machine at the entrance of the building, why here?'

"Ah, yes." Yujin moves away to give space to Peach.

Siren doesn't know what got in her mind when she panicked and bids goodbye to Yujin and walked away in hurry.

'That perfume, I haven't smelled it in a while.'

- - -

It was only when she reached the classroom that she realized what she did.

'Ah. This is getting really annoying. Why should I care if she sees it? And why... Just why did I panic and run away? What is wrong with me?'

Siren let out a heavy sigh as she lowers her head to her desk to hide her face. She may not see it but she can tell how red it probably is due to the heat she can feel on her cheeks. She actually ran away panicking after seeing Peach's cold stare at her.

'She never looked at me like that.'

She closed her eyes, feeling as if a thousand knives has stabbed her in the chest. This is the first time she felt this way, and she did not like it.

'Why am I this concerned and bothered by a single person? And why do I feel this way? Was it supposed to... Hurt like this?'

But as she remembers Peach's stare, the pain gets even worse, almost becoming unbearable to her.

'Stop... Why...'

A faint footstep can be heard entering their classroom. She didn't even bother looking up to see who it was but the closer the footstep gets to her, the stronger the scent that person brings.

'Flowers... Peach?'

The scent stayed longer as if the person wearing that has some business to do besides her.

'This is it. It should be fine as long I don't show my face... Right?'

Gathering all the courage she could have, she raised up her hand and held Peach's wrist.

"Ha? Si-"

"D-don't say anything, please... Just... Just let me speak..."

'It's now or never.'

She took a deep sigh once more. "I'm sorry... I don't have a defense as to why I said that... I know it's harsh and rude so I-I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just want to apologize... I got too harsh and it's wrong of me to take my anger out on you so I'm sorry... I don't know why I feel this way whenever you're near but..." Her grip on Peach's wrist tightens as she struggles to continue.

"... Please don't avoid me." Her last words were almost a whisper, and she is not sure if she had heard her.

The awful and deafening silence lasted longer than she should expect and the throbbing pain in her heart is slowly coming back.

'Of course... She won't forgive me. What I just did was really bad... If I were her...'

A tear fell out of her eyes as she slowly loosen the grip on her wrist. Her chest feels incredibly heavy.

"I... Think you got the wrong person..." A calm and sweet voice suddenly speaks out, surprising her. She slowly lift up her head and saw her new seatmate, Cindy. She stared at her frozen.

'What?'

"You must feel really bad, huh?" She added as she bring out a handkerchief and wiped her tears carefully. "Whoever you're apologizing to will forgive you... Knowing how sincere you are right now. I'm sorry I had to hear it."

"No... I-"

Cindy gasped as she watched Siren bawl her eyes out from crying. What's making her panic, even more, is how she's not making any sound and just stares at her wide-eyed while her tears fall like a waterfall.

'She' s not Peach... Is this really a sign that I won't be forgiven?'

"Siren, why are you crying?" A voice she's so familiar with breaks her from her thoughts. And as if in a daze, she sees Peach sitting beside her, holding her right cheek.

"P-peach?"

'I must be crazy... Why am I seeing her in Cindy?'

She nodded as she wipes her tears carefully. "Yeah, it's me. Why you're crying?"

"I wanted to say sorry..."

"What for?"

"I-I said rude words to you..."

"Siren, tell me... what are you feeling right now? Please... Answer me honestly."

'It's weird. Why is Cindy asking me this question?'

But she still answered anyway. "I... I feel bad... And hurt..."

"Why?"

"Because you suddenly avoided me... and you never looked that way to me, no matter how rude I was to you."

"And that hurt you?"

Siren nodded while sniffing like a child in between. Peach's hands move and landed on the hand that is on her lap and squeezed it gently.

"I don't want you avoiding me..."

She stared at her for a moment before she pulled her into a hug. "That's enough. I've heard enough."

"H-ha?"

"I'm not mad at you, Siren. Just like you, I was hurt too. I felt like you hated me so much and that hurt me. But right now, I can't help but feel relieved when I heard about what you feel."

'What?'

Siren blanked out for a second before finally realizing the situation. She grabs her by the shoulder and stares at her face.

"P-peach?!"

"Yeah, I'm Peach." She added a grin after. "What's wrong?"

She stands up in surprise as a rush of heat is slowly forming on her face.

"But... But... Cindy..."

"I told her that I wanted to talk to you so she left us alone."

"Ha?"

'Just now... My...'

Her words earlier encircle her mind that it's driving her crazy. She can't believe Peach tricked her again! No. Actually, this is her fault for not noticing anything and believing that she's seeing things. For a second, she actually thought that she's gone mad for real.

Peach giggled and stood up too, successfully cornering her on the wall.

"It was really cute seeing you that defenseless Siren."

"I just feel bad because I said that to you! D-don't think of other things!"

Peach lips curved into a smile. A smile that made her heart skipped a beat. A smile that seemed dangerous.

She leaned closer, her lips almost touching her left earlobe. It was cold.

"I like this side of you. I should be the only one to see this."

"W-what are you saying?!"

"No. You're starting again." Her arms suddenly encircled her waist.

"What are you-"

"I haven't forgiven you... You know?" Peach managed to stare right into her eyes, melting all her protests into thin air.

"What... What I did was really out of line. I'm sorry." Silence. Peach only stared at her making her even more nervous. It doesn't help that their bodies are literally so close to each other that she is sure that Peach can feel her wild heartbeat.

"A-are you still mad? I told you, I'm-"

A pair of cold, wet lips silenced her from talking. It only lasted for a second but she could still feel Peach's cold, wet lips against her.

"W-why did you do that?"

"What do you think?"

Peach smiled at her before leaving her in the classroom, speechless.

-

Earlier...

Peach was walking down the empty corridor and goes inside their classroom. She halts to a stop when she saw her classmate and Siren. With her slightly panicking and Siren staring right at her with tears in her eyes.

"Peach..." Cindy called out helplessly. "She's scaring me." She glanced at Siren again who is still crying with no emotions on her face.

"I'll talk to her."

A wave of relief can be seen on Cindy's face. "Really? Thanks!" She almost stormed out of the classroom leaving the two of them behind.

'I wonder what' s wrong with her. She doesn't seem to notice that I'm here.'

She quietly took a sit beside her and tried to call for her attention.

"Siren." She called out one more time as she raised her hand to caress her cheek. "Why are you crying?"

It seemed to have worked as her eyes landed on hers. "P-peach?"

"Yeah. It's me. What's wrong?"

'Now, let me know what you really feel, Siren.'