Momo was done with classes for Tuesday, and it was now time to have lunch before heading to the academy. She found herself looking forward to lunch time much more lately. Not that she would ever want to admit it, but she enjoyed Mina's company a lot. After some long, deep reflections, Momo concluded that Mina was that kind of person that's shy at first, but once you get to know her, she's in fact quite talkative and funny. Momo was especially fond of people that gave her a good laugh. At this point, it already seemed completely ridiculous that, a mere week ago, she hated her so much.

Academy practice would start soon. Mina asked the girls to wait a bit for her, because she had forgotten to pick her stuff up from her locker. Since Mina was going to take a bit longer anyway, Momo took the chance to go buy another omelet sandwich to eat later. For some reason, they were even more delicious that day.

When Momo returned with her sandwich, the other girls were nowhere to be found. They had left without her and totally forgot to tell her. Momo shrugged. Not like it mattered anyway, because she was, as always, going to ride her motorbike while the rest of the girls took a ride in Pinky's car.

A certain someone was standing beside her parked bike. Momo lifted an eyebrow in confusion and looked around, to see if they were still there, but Pinky's car was gone.

She caught the girl's attention as she approached her. She looked at Momo with concern in her eyes.

"Why... are you still here?" Momo asked with a certain hesitation. She didn't want to sound rude, but she had to ask. "I mean... I thought you were going with Pinky and the others."

"Tzuyu texted me. She said Victoria-sensei called them to see if they could go earlier to help her clean up the practice room. Apparently the jazz dance class before us left the room in a mess, but everything's fine. She apologized and told me to wait for you here so you can... give me a ride." Mina said, her eyes not meeting Momo's as she ended her explanation.

Momo's stare was glued to the girl, opening and closing, in search for something to say.

"O...kay." Was the only thing she could think of.

"I-I'm sorry for bothering you..."

"No! I-It's okay! I always ride with Sana, it's perfectly fine, I'm used to it! Here, t-take this." Momo said, extending her hands, holding a white helmet. "It's Sana's, so it might be a little smelly. I hope you don't mind."

Mina eyed Momo and then the helmet, looking at it for a couple seconds before grabbing it, and only then did she giggle softly at Momo's joke. Momo put on her helmet, then looked back at Mina to make sure she properly put hers on. Right, she didn't. Momo took a step closer to Mina and fastened the chinstrap.

Then, it happened - Momo met Mina's eyes and they glued. Only when it happened did Momo notice how close their faces were. Mina looked oddly cute, with her eyes and long bangs behind the helmet's transparent face shield.

Momo blinked and smiled awkwardly, taking a step back.

"L-Let's go?"

Momo hopped on and waited for Mina to do the same. She looked hesitant, unsure where to even begin resting her foot on.

"Is it your first time riding a bike?" The blonde asked and Mina nodded. "Okay so put your foot here," Momo pointed to the footrest, and Mina did so. "and then you hold..." She suddenly froze. When Sana rides with her, she always holds on to Momo to help herself climb on. Momo felt her face gradually heat up each passing second. "You hold my... shoulders. So it's easier to climb."

Mina's eyes widened for a second. She awkwardly supported herself on Momo's shoulders and finally managed to sit behind her, letting right after. The blonde looked over her shoulder to find Mina looking around her, to both sides of the bike, finding the passenger handholds and holding them tightly.

Mina seemed ready, so Momo started the engine. As soon as she did, Momo felt two arms abruptly gripping around her waist, and Mina's body in contact with her back. When the engine starts, the bike jumps up a little and it makes a loud, cracking noise. Of course Momo was more than used to it, but she forgot that Mina wasn't. She stopped the bike.

"Did I scare you? Sorry."

"I'm s-sorry..."

Both girls spoke at the same time.

"I-It's okay! You can hold on to my waist. And it's safer, you know..." And more comfortable. Momo tried to hide her red cheeks, looking up front again.

Momo restarted the vehicle. Mina was once again startled -  at least that was what Momo inferred from the tightening grip on her waist. After all, she said it was okay for Mina to hold on her, so, she had to deal with the consequences. Consequences such as, but not limited to, her heart pounding strong against her chest, feeling Mina's arms around her waist, her hands on her stomach and her body against her back.

Momo knew how dangerous riding a bike could be, especially if she had someone with her, so she knew she had to be one hundred percent focused. But, that ride was, by far, the hardest to focus on she ever had in her life.

---

"Was it fun?" Sana asked, sitting next to Momo, while they were waiting for Victoria.

"What was?"

"The ride... with Mina." She whispered the last part, her teasing tone clear as water.

Momo lifted an eyebrow.

"What sort of question is that?"

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering." Sana was clearly holding her laugh.

Then, the light bulb on Momo's brain finally lighted.

"Sana... This wasn't one of your plans, was it?" She asked, fearing her answer, hoping she would deny.

"Me? I did what? I don't know what you're talking about."

"I swear to God Sana, I'm gonna kill you. What was that for?! You have no idea how difficult this ride was! I could barely concentrate on the road!" She whispered-yelled, the words coming out from without being thought about first.

Sana looked at Momo, her face showing amusement with Momo's confession. The corner of her lips curled up.

"Oh, why is that?"

"Why is what?!"

"Why couldn't you concentrate? Was your faceshield foggy or something?" Her mischievous smirk wouldn't disappear.

Momo's glare might as well shoot lasers to kill Sana at that moment. And at the same time, she felt like dying on the spot. To the twins' great relief, Victoria entered the practice room with a big smile.

"Hello everyone! I hope everyone's in a good mood. If you're not, you're going to be now, because I have good news!" The girls' eyes were all on her, waiting with curiosity. "I had a meeting this past weekend and there's gonna be a showcase to promote our academy on May 20^th, You're all invited to come perform."

Everyone's faces lit up in happiness, except for one, that showed concern instead.

"Myoui-san, that includes you." Victoria said with a warm smile.

"B-But... I haven't even been in any choreography, I don't think I should-"

"So it's gonna be a great start for you, don't you think?"

Mina shyly looked around to find the other girls smiling too. Her eyes found Momo's and they locked for a couple seconds, before she looked at Victoria again.

"Okay, thank you for trusting me. I'm not going to disappoint you."

"Alright, that's the spirit! So, as you can see, we don't have much time to practice, and we have about 10 to 15 minutes to fill with good covers, so ideas are needed and welcome!"

Victoria sat with them and they arranged in circle, spilling ideas. They couldn't pick something too difficult because it would take a long time to practice - time that they didn't have. But they also didn't want to choose a song with an easy and boring choreo.

Actually, someone had an idea, but she was too shy to speak, even when the silence broke between everyone. But she made an effort, a huge effort, and finally her voice came out.

"I-I think..." She started, making all eyes turn to her, making her even more nervous to talk. She gulped and continued. "S-Since we don't have much time, what if we all do something together with Victoria-sensei being the center, and then everyone else divides in small groups? If it's just one choreo with all of us, and we split up in pairs or trios, that means each person only has to practice two choreos, but we actually have 4 to show."

The girls exchanged approval nods.

"I wasn't thinking about performing with you, but I guess that's a really good idea, and I must admit I miss performing." Victoria laughed. "Okay, everyone agrees?" The girls echoed a yes. "So, it's decided! We still need to decide the songs and the units. Who wants to dance with who? I know Sana, you want to dance with Tzuyu." She added, not even letting the girl speak, already predicting it would happen.

The others looked at each other like they were high school students looking for partners for a group project.

"Maybe I can pair up with Momo-senpai, since the both of us have an assignment together at school, we always practice together... If she doesn't mind, of course!" The shy girl spoke again, and this time, it took her even more courage.

Both Victoria and Mina looked at Momo. The blonde had quite an unreadable expression on her face. Something between surprise and happiness? A bit of a smile could be seen on the corner of her lips.

"Y-Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't mind. I guess we can perform something... together." She said, her ears getting redder.

Mina wanted to dance with her... again? She didn't remember feeling this flattered when Mina picked her on the first day.

So the groups were formed – Momo and Mina, Pinky sticked to Sana and Tzuyu, and the other three girls, Ayumi, Reina and Eri. Everyone seemed happy with it, maybe except for Sana, that still preferred to dance alone with Tzuyu, but Pinky also refused to dance without her sister, so the groups were more balanced. It was now time for brainstorming about the songs they wanted to perform. Just like before, Mina had a great idea that everyone seemed to love – Lee Hyori's 'U Go Girl'. A perfect song for them. Victoria would be the center and the eight girls would be the backup dancers – the exact number as per the official live performances. The choreo was fairly easy to learn but at the same time powerful and entertaining.

Next, the assigned groups gathered together to chose their songs. Mina sat next to Momo, and for some reason, because it wasn't normal lately, Mina seemed a bit awkward. Was she still embarrassed from the ride? To be honest, Momo still was. Just a bit. Neither of them seemed to know what to say, so they both assumed the other was thinking about a song.

Momo found herself staring at the red haired girl, trying to think about a song that could suit the both of them. A lot of boy group songs, of course, but it would be too difficult to learn in such little time when they had to learn a whole group dance too. Then, Momo remembered something, and it seemed her vocal chords gained life themselves.

"Sunmi's 24 Hours."

Mina's gaze met Momo's and the both of them seemed lost in words. Yes, it was happening again.

"You... saw that?" Mina asked, after the long silence in which she was gathering courage to ask her.

Momo bit on her tongue inside and cursed on her mind, over and over again. How could she answer this? What would she say? Yes, I stared at you for at least a whole minute while you danced to 24 hours, having no idea I was watching you like a creep. And I was in absolute awe, then for some kind of reason, I couldn't stop looking at you.

Of course she wouldn't say that, she wasn't that crazy. Momo knew she had to say something, because time was ticking, and the more the seconds passed, the more nervous she grew.

"I-I just happened to see a bit. While I was, you know, wondering if I should kill the spider or not." She managed to say, trying to convince herself that it was convincing enough. She wasn't sure if Mina was buying it or not, but to stop her from asking anything else, she spoke again. "T-That's why I think it's a good idea to dance to 24 Hours! You already know the choreo, and you definitely killed it." A second of silence followed, then she added in a rush - "From what I saw, of course."

Mina looked away and giggled, almost hiding it from Momo. The blonde quirked an eyebrow in confusion. When Mina met her eyes again, with her gummy smile, those reddish, squishable cheeks, those sparkling eyes, along with a soft "thank you", Momo swore her heart pumped so hard, she felt it on her whole body.

Momo wondered why she suggested that song. Was it really because it would be easier, since Mina already knew the choreo and Momo could easily learn it, or was it because she wanted to see Mina dancing to it again? Either way, she was happy she was going to dance it with her.

---

Next day - Wednesday.

Momo was anticipating Project class even more that day. She wanted to show Mina her idea for the concept of 'love', and the moves she had been creating for the last two days. Even though contemporary wasn't her strength, she made an extra effort and was fairly satisfied with the result.

But this time around, Mina took the first step. She had created a bit of the choreo and wanted Momo's opinion. The blonde was surprised that she took the first step, but then thought that if she did, she must be really confident about it and it was nice to see her step up more often.

"Since I was so motivated and excited for this project, I also thought about the concept and the plot for the choreo. I hope you don't mind, it's nothing permanent, it's just an idea!" Mina said, sitting in front of Momo.

"It's okay! Go ahead."

"So... Normally, when you think about love, you think about it as a happy feeling, or a happy ending, right?" Momo nodded. "Thing is, love stories don't always have a happy ending." Momo nodded again. "The song we get is called 'Crazy in Love'. But, what does it mean to be crazy in love?"

"Like, madly in love? When a person loves someone, really really a lot?"

"Exactly, and that makes sense with an energetic and fast beat, like the original version of the song. But I don't think that concept matches well with the version we are going to dance. So I was thinking about being crazy in love in a bad way."

Momo frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"When a person loves someone too much, that love can turn into obsession." Mina explained. "The more that person wants the other, the more the other wants to be free because it starts to feel suffocating."

Momo didn't know what to say. She was lost in Mina's soft voice, in the way she gently spoke, in the way she moved her hands while talking.

"Do you know what I mean?" Mina asked.

"I think so... But I don't understand how a relationship works like that."

"Exactly, it doesn't work. A relationship like this is abusive. Sometimes, the person doesn't realize they're being abusive, and they actually think they're being protective. That would be, say, if your boyfriend became so jealous that he would forbid you to see your other friends and your family, because he says you can only have him. That's abuse." Momo pictured the scenario in her head. Knowing Jungwon, who was always so kind and supportive, it was impossible to imagine him acting the way Mina described. "And sometimes it gets worse. Following the person, controlling what the other does, the way they dress... Sometimes, in very extreme cases, it could become physical... That's not even love anymore, but the person thinks it is." Mina was no longer looking at Momo's eyes, but at her hands on her lap.

Momo though, was still looking at her, in absolute loss of words. Mina's words were so sincere, and the way she spoke, it almost seemed she went through it. Momo suddenly became angry, thinking that someone could actually have done that to her.

"Myoui-chan," Momo called, her hand gaining life and coming to rest on top of Mina's left hand, making her meet the blonde's eyes. "Did someone do that to you?"

Mina's eyes widened for a second as she shook her head vigorously.

"No, not to me, but..."

It would be a lie if Momo said she didn't want to know what happened, whatever it was.

"It's okay, you don't need to tell me." She said, beating down the curiosity, but it was as if she hadn't said anything, because Mina continued.

"My dad started acting like that towards my mom. He started becoming obsessive, suspecting she was cheating on him, so he slowly started controlling her. At the beginning, she thought he was just worried and wanted to protect her, but it started to be too much. Trying to forbid her to meet her friends, controlling what she wore, checking her phone without her permission all the time. One time, my mom found him following her when she went to the supermarket, and he said it was just a coincidence that they met there. She believed it at first, but it happened more than once."

"Why didn't she do anything?"

"She knew he wasn't mentally stable, so she was afraid of what he might do. Plus, he manipulated her, saying that he couldn't live anymore if he didn't have her, and managed to convince her that everything he did was only because he loved her, that she should be grateful he cared so much. One day, my mom got home a bit later than usual, and my dad freaked out. They argued and he... he hit her. And that was when my mom put a stop to it. She couldn't do it anymore."

When Momo noticed, her hand wasn't just resting on top of Mina's anymore, but squeezing it.

"What happened then?"

"She asked for divorce, but he opposed and hit her again. My mom took me and we ran away that same night. She filed for a restraining order and with all the legal stuff solved, we don't have to live with him or see him anymore."

"How old were you when it happened?"

"Around ten."

Momo's chin dropped. She was still a child... How could Momo judge and hate a girl that went through all this? Momo hated herself for everything she had thought about her at first. No wonder she was so shy and soft-spoken.

There was nothing she could think of saying or doing now. Actually, she could think of it, but she could not do it. Momo wanted to hug her and tell her everything was alright, and that she was there for her. But she didn't dare.

"I'm sorry, we were supposed to be practicing, and I just-"

"No, don't apologize for that! I am sorry for asking questions and in the end, I don't know what to say..."

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything." There was a short silence. Mina placed her right hand on top of Momo's, making her look at her own hand. "It was the first time I opened up like this to someone, so... thank you, for listening to me."

Momo noticed Mina's eyes were shinier than the usual. Were those... tears? No, Momo absolutely didn't want to see Mina cry, or else she would cry too, for sure.

"Why me?"

Mina's eyes fidgeted with such sudden question. It seemed not even herself knew the answer, by the way she tried to start a sentence but ended up closing .

"I feel like I can trust you. When I first say you, you came off as a cool, almost unreachable person, like those popular main characters you see in movies. Then, I saw you dancing, and I was so blown away by your energy, your passion. I really wanted to dance with you, to learn with you, and fortunately I got the opportunity to. I had a feeling about you... that you were kind and a good friend, and as I got to know you, you've only proven me right."

Mina only met Momo's eyes when she finished her sincere speech. Momo had no words to answer with. dried up with the taste of self-loathing. She grew an unjustified hatred for Mina instantly, not knowing the first thing about her, only to learn that Mina had always admired her. She was not any of those things she said and thought of her. She never judged her or judged herself superior. How could she have felt this way?

Momo felt the pressure around her tear ducts with Mina's words and her own reflection about them. She didn't remember the last time she heard someone speaking so openly. Momo suddenly felt that she wasn't even worthy of Mina's friendship anymore.

"You're wrong... I'm not even a good person." Momo said, her voice lowering until it came as a whisper, and she couldn't look Mina in the eyes anymore. "I get mad at small, petty things. I'm too competitive. I want to be right every single time and I never admit my mistakes, even though deep down I knew I made them. It makes me feel weak. I hate that people point flaws in my dancing because I don't have the strength to take it constructively and I immediately lose my confidence. I... judge too much before I even know anything." The last sentence was the hardest one to say, and she actually couldn't stop a single tear from escaping from the corner of her eye.

"Momo-senpai," Mina gently called, still cupping her hand. "I don't think owning up to your mistakes makes you weak, much more for the opposite, it makes you strong. That's actually what you just did. You openly admitted your flaws. So that means you were strong."

Momo felt like she was meeting another side of the red haired girl. She made her heart beat abnormally fast. She made her say things she didn't think she could say and in the next second, she stole her ability to speak. Since when was Momo capable of opening up like this? And with... Mina. Not with her sister or her boyfriend, but Mina.

"I..." Momo said, because the silence was becoming suffocating. "Thank you."

They looked into each other's eyes, as a smile appeared on Mina's lips.

"Since you opened up to me about your family, is it okay if I talk about it with you too?" Momo waited for Mina's nod of approval before continuing. "My mom died when I was four."

Mina couldn't help but to hide her open mouth with her hand.

"And my dad is a pilot, so he spends a lot of time away. Me and Sana grew with our grandmother and since we turned 18, we live with each other. Well, and with dad, when he's home." Momo finished with a weak smile.

"Was it hard to... grow up without a mother? I didn't have much of a father, but when we left, I was already old enough to understand. You were a lot younger."

"I don't know, because I don't know what growing up with a mother is. I don't have many memories of her. I barely remember her face... Only from old photos." Another silence followed. "Guess we both have some tragedy behind us." Momo said in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

And it actually worked. Both girls smiled.

"Well... let's practice?" Momo asked, already sick of the dark atmosphere in the room.

"Y-Yes! I wanna show you what I have."

Mina got up and walked to the center of the room.

Even without music, she was brilliant. Momo couldn't help but let her chin drop as she watched the red haired girl move gracefully to the sound of the silence while explaining each little detail that went into thinking every move, her eyes glistening with enthusiasm. Faced with this, she felt like a total loser about what she had made. What she thought could be good once, was nothing next to what Mina was showing. Her moves were much more complex and beautiful, the choreo much more interesting.

Mina came to a stop and sat in front of the blonde, her breathing heavy.

"What do you think? I also thought about your parts, but I need to know what you think first."

"It's beautiful."

"Did you like it?"

"Loved it."

Mina's smile grew wider.

"I'm glad... I was afraid you weren't going to like it. Did you prepare something?"

Yes, I did.

"No, I didn't." She said. It wasn't even worth it to waste precious time showing what she did. "But even if I had, I'd wanna go with your vision. After all, your contemporary skills are way superior to mine. This is your thing."

Nothing could have left a bigger smile on Mina's lips. She was the one who wanted to learn from Momo at first, but surprisingly, Momo had a lot more to learn from her than she could have ever imagined.

---

A/N: and here you go, a large dose of fluff! But don't think that was it, because the next chapter is going to have even more fluff kekekekeke <3
I hope you're liking everything so far! <3