"Hey, Chika-chan?"

"Yeah?" Chika answered as she turned to look at the red haired girl. It was nighttime, and the stars shined brightly. The girls were sitting next to each other, star gazing at a flower field. Everything looked peaceful, quiet, and beautiful. Chika could not take her eyes off Riko. She was just laying there, looking at the stars, but somehow, Riko made everything seem so full of life, so beautiful, even though she was simply standing there.

"Why?" the red headed inquired. Chika furrowed her brows as she walked closer to Riko.

"What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you save me?"

And then, it hit her. Chika hadn't saved her, but she needed to. All of the sudden, Chika found herself far, far away from Riko. The scenery had changed completely, and they were no longer in a field. Riko was standing in the middle of a highway, and she shoot a desperate glance to Chika. Her eyes were full of fear and blood was dripping from her nose. Bruises suddenly started to appear on her body, and she started screaming in pain.

Chika ran towards her, screaming her name as loud as she could. Or at least that's what she thought she was doing. Her legs felt heavy, and Chika suddenly found herself lacking the ability of moving or even screaming. A car came outta nowhere, and just as it was about to hit Riko..

She woke up

Chika was screaming as the tears fell down her face like a waterfall. She felt as if her heart had been stepped on. Both her sheets and herself had been dripping with sweat. "It was just a nightmare.." Chika whispered to herself, and as she did, her voice cracked. She could barely stand it. Ever since the incident, she had been having nightmares about Riko, and there was a point where she couldn't even tell reality apart from her dreams. She wanted to keep crying, but then again, she knew that it wasn't gonna be of any help, so she wiped her tears and jolted out of bed.

Chika walked towards the bathroom with a gloomy look on her face and decided to take a shower, even if it was 5:00 AM then. She was used to being up early recently, her nightmares wouldn't leave her be.

Teens her age would be excited around that time of the year, happy, because summer was finally here. This meant no school, no stress, and happy vibes. But not for Chika. She normally would have been enjoying herself at the beach with friends, but not this time. She just couldn't bring herself to act happy, not without Riko. Ever since she left..

No, stop thinking about her, it'll only harm you more.

I wish it was that easy-

Stop talking to yourself! Jeez, you're hopeless..

:30 AM

After several failed attempts to sleep again, Chika decided to head out and get breakfast at a caffè near her house. She plugged in her earbuds and played the most cheerful µ's song she could find, she needed something to get her mind of that nightmare. Chika hummed along to the song while she walked to the shop, which was around five minutes away. This was pretty much her daily routine when there was no school. She would have a nightmare and try to forget about it as she walked to the caffè to get breakfast. And then she would get through her day as positively as humanly possible for someone in her situation.

As she reached the caffè, she noticed something was different. She came by pretty much at least once a week, which was enough to be known by the employees and establish a small friendship with them. Well, maybe not a concrete friendship, but it was nice to talk to them, in a way, they kept her company every once in a while.

Chika scanned the room, looking for what was different, and then, she saw it. Well, more like saw her. A new employee! She hadn't seen her around before and she assumed she must've been covering a shift for someone. She was a short silvered haired girl. She had blue eyes like the sky, and glasses that acted as shields for them.

Not many people could see this, but Chika kinda liked observing.

Chika sat down at a chair and the girl she had just seen walked towards her and spoke up.

"Good morning, and welcome! How may I serve you today?"

"Just the usual", Chika answered immediately. The girl tilted her head with a look of slight confusion.

"Oh, right. You've just started working here, correct?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, I'm a bit of a constant costumer here.. either way, I would like two juice bottles of mikan juice and 6 chocolate chips cookies, ah, and to take away."

"Two bottles? Looks like you're a mikan lover!" The girl let out a small smile "Hey! If you come here often, I'll call you that! Mikan lover!" She let out a small giggle

"Uh, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't call me that-" Chika answered. Yes, she was cool with making friends and talking to the employees, but she didn't want some stranger to approach her like she had known her before.

"Whatever you say, Mikan lover!"

Not even 7 minutes went by before the girl was back with what Chika had ordered. "Here you go, Mikan lover!" The girl handed Chika a plastic bag with what she had ordered and Chika took it. With no further ado, Chika walked out of the shop.

Chika headed to the beach in order to clear her head, but she knew it wouldn't help her, since it was where she had first met Riko..

Back to square one.. great idea Chika, going to a place where you know you'll be hurt. Great idea.

"Hey, Mikan lover!" Someone screamed behind her. Chika turned around to see the girl from the caffè running towards her. "Did you plan to leave just like that? I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself! My name is You. Watanabe You." Said You as the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"Chika, Takami Chika." Wait.. why did I..? Well, it was just out of mere politeness I guess.

"Don't think that because you've told me your name I'll stop calling you Mikan lover~!" You said as she poked Chika's cheek. The orange haired girl rolled her eyes a little as she pushed away You's hand. They simply started at each other for a few seconds until You finally broke the silence.

"Shoot! I gotta get back to work! See you later, Mikan lover!"

Chika watched You run away as her figure faded away while she headed to work once again. She slid her hands into her pockets and whispered to herself.

"Mikan lover.."

That girl was pretty annoying, but.. maybe she wasn't too bad.