Right Beside Her
TzuMo? TzuMo."Momo! Why are you running?" Tzuyu yells towards the fleeting girl as she runs down the hall.
"I'm late for my date with Kei! Bye~!" Momo quickly yells back, her voice fading in the distance.
Tzuyu sighs, it's only been 2 days since Momo broke up with her last girlfriend and she's already running off with Kei. Not to mention that her last relationship only lasted a week.
With a sad heart, Tzuyu grabs her stuff and heads home.
—---—
After arriving home, Tzuyu heads out to the nearby park alone, her mother inside preparing dinner and her father not yet home from work.
She sits on the swing, eyeing the second seat beside her and reminiscing about her and Momo on these swings.
—---—
It is a warm sunny afternoon, a few fluffy clouds in the sky with the sun shining down brightly on the kids playing on the playground.
"Come on Chewy-ya! Let's go on the swings next!"
Momo excitedly runs towards the swings, dragging a slightly sulking Tzuyu along with her, due to the fact that she wasn't able to finish her sandcastle. They sit themselves down, screaming and giggling uncontrollably as the swing continues to move them back and forth, the unfinished sandcastle long forgotten.
"Let's see who can swing the highest!" Momo challenges.
"Ok!" Tzuyu agrees with an eager smile, determined to win this competition.
They immediately begin swinging back and forth, trying to beat the other. Due to the hight and speed of the swings, Tzuyu tries to slow herself down. Having no control over the swing, she is flung off, a scream escaping her lips right before she crashes onto the ground. Momo quickly hops off the swing and rushes over to the girl, noticing her hands and knees were scraped on the gravel.
Momo leads the now crying girl to a bench as she constantly reassures the girl that she will be ok. Momo gently rubs off the access gravel on Tzuyu's hands and knees before quickly scurrying off to fetch Tzuyus parents. Soon after, Tzuyu's dad is running over with Momo by his side.
"Tzuyu! Are you ok?" Tzuyu's dad asks as he bends down to examine Tzuyu's injuries.
Tzuyu nods in response, her hiccups and tears still present.
"Let's get you fixed ok?" Tzuyu's dad says as Momo hands him the first aid kit.
Momo goes over and takes Tzuyu's hand into her own, giving it a small squeeze. Tzuyu grips her best friend's hand as her father lightly rubs alcohol on Tzuyu's scrapes.
After that accident, they all walked back to Tzuyu's home, Momo constantly reassuring the injured girl with small squeezes and comforting words. Momo never once let go of Tzuyu's hand until they eventually parted ways at Tzuyu's house. Tzuyu was always curious as to why she never let go, but she didn't object because Momo's hand made her feel warm and secure.
And that's when Tzuyu began falling in love with Momo.
But Momo has changed...
—---—
Tzuyu swiftly wipes her tears away.
The current Momo always had dates to go to, kisses to give, dinner to buy, visits to pay, gifts to present, but none of it was for Tzuyu. They were always just best friends, nothing more and nothing less.
Yes, Tzuyu has held feeling for the girl for years but she has never once dated her. Although Momo was famous for being quite the playgirl, Tzuyu was always known to be her best friend.
Sure, there were numerous rumors about the two friends. One being, their parents didn't allow them to date so they always did everything in private and Momo was just dating all these girls to cover up her secret affairs with Tzuyu. Or Tzuyu was Momo's secret bodyguard but Momo always ran off with her girlfriend to escape from her home. None of these were true but sometimes Tzuyu wished they were.
Tzuyu gives a small sigh, knowing that the brunette doesn't have feelings for her. She rises from her seat and begins walking back to her home.
Suddenly, Tzuyu catches a glimpse of her long time crush walking into the park. She quickly hides behind a tree, not wanting to be caught. Momo walks hand in hand with Kei, both of them with satisfied smiles on their faces. Tzuyu feels a shot of pain in her chest, but before she can leave she suddenly hears them talking.
"Thanks for the dinner Momo, I appreciate it." Kei shyly says.
"Anything for you princess." Momo responds, a small chuckle escaping her lips as she sees a red hue form on Kei's cheeks.
Momo gently brings her hand up to cup Kei's jaw, she looks at her lips and back to her eyes. Kei finds herself becoming mesmerized with Momo's lips, they both lean towards each other... Closer... Closer....
*rustle rustle*
They both stop, the sudden noise catching their attention as they whip their heads around towards the source of the sound.
They are met with a fleeting figure, but Momo could recognize that figure anywhere.
"TZUYU!" Momo yells after the girl.
Kei stands there frozen as Momo chases after Tzuyu. The girl eventually heads home pondering about the relationship between the two.
Just as Tzuyu sees her house in the distance, Momo manages to catch up with the girl grabbing her hand, and causing her to come to an abrupt stop. Tzuyu quickly rubs her tears away with her sleeve before jerking her hand away and sprinting back home, not even sparing a glance at the worried Momo.
Not once in her life has she ever ran away from Momo but she was too heartbroken to face her crush after she's kissed her girlfriend. She'll just make up an excuse for it and deal with her heart break alone.
—---—
A couple days later...
Tzuyu was walking to school alone, which felt quite unfamiliar to the girl. She always walked with Momo to school ever since that day...
—---—
It was Tzuyu's first day of Middle School!
When they arrive at the new school, she is introduced to the teacher, Mrs. Kim, and her seat mate(who happens to be her best friend), Hirai Momo.
"Where are you from?" A new girl who sits in front of her, Im Nayeon, asks curiously.
The girl strangely resembles a bunny but she's still very friendly and pretty. She moved in the area about 2 years but has never met Tzuyu.
"China." Tzuyu answers with a small smile.
"So can you speak Korean well?" The girl sitting across from her, Yoo Jungyeon, asks.
She has short hair and seems to have a boyish aura around her, but she's undoubtedly very pretty and friendly as well. She actually attended Tzuyu's old school but has never had any classes with the girl.
"I can speak simple words, but I'm still studying it." Tzuyu replies a bit embarrassed.
"It's ok!" Nayeon offers with a bright bunny smile.
Tzuyu smiles in response. She takes a glance over towards Momo, only to find her staring intensely at her and she offers a smile as if she wasn't doing anything. Tzuyu happily smiles back at her childhood friend.
After the hours of listening to rules, attending classes, seeing old friends and meeting new ones, Tzuyu thanks the gods for finally ending the school day.
Unfortunately Momo, doesn't share all of her classes with her so she feels slightly disappointed. But at least she made some new friends and found out some interesting information.
Like finding out that there were a lot of girl couples, I mean who would've thought that Nayeon and Jungyeon were actually dating?
As Tzuyu was walking home she saw that it was growing quite dark but she still has a long way to walk. As she continues walking she suddenly hears soft footsteps behind her.
She decides to ignore it, thinking it was just another student, but as she continues she hears the footsteps coming closer... closer...
Suddenly, she tackled to the ground by a man. Her wrists are pinned above her head and tears are streaming down her face. She tries to scream for help, but her voice gets caught in as she makes eye contact with the man.
Before the man can do anymore harm to Tzuyu, a foot suddenly comes into contact with his side and he lets out a grunt of pain. Tzuyu quickly scrambles to her feet and distances herself as she watches a... Girl... Wait! That's Momo?!
She watches Momo tackle the man to the ground, pinning him down and rapidly throwing punches at him mercilessly. The look of hurt and rage clear in Momo's eyes as the ruthlessly beats up the man, his nose and lip brushed, bleeding and swollen.
"Momo!" Tzuyu shouts, pulling on Momo's fist just as she is about to land another punch on the man.
Momo looks up and sees Tzuyu crying as she still holds Momo's now bleeding fist. She seems to awaken from her rage and looks down at the unconscious man on the ground. She widens her eyes as she scrambles off the man in horror.
Tzuyu pulls the girl off the ground and grabs their bags as she leads Momo away from the man and toward the latters house.
Luckily, Momo lived close to Tzuyu and was living with her parents. Tzuyu enters Momo's house and asks Momo's parents if she could sleep over, they happily agree and call Tzuyu's parents to inform them that their daughter is spending the night with Momo.
After that was settled, Momo's parents immediately head to bed and Tzuyu began to clean up Momo's bleeding knuckles. Momo stays silent as she watches the way Tzuyu concentrates on making sure to clean her wounds properly.
After she was done, Tzuyu looks up at the girl with concern.
"Thanks..." Momo mumbles as she breaks eye contact with the girl and stands up to walk away.
Suddenly Tzuyu grabs Momo's hand, causing the girl to come to a halt. Momo turns around and stares at the girl once more, noticing the sparkles in her eyes, making her look even prettier.
"Thanks for saving me back there Momo. But why did you save me? You could have called the police." Tzuyu questions.
Momo thinks for a moment. Why did she save her? Was it because of my duty as a friend? No I could have been kidnapped along with her... Was it because I li- no it can't be, no...
"Because... B-Because it my duty as a friend to protect my friends when they're in danger."
"Momo, you beat him up and made him unconscious."
"He deserved it..." Momo mumbles angrily.
"But still! He could have-"
Suddenly Tzuyu is pulled into a hug. Momo buries her head into the crook of Tzuyu neck as she tightens her embrace around Tzuyu. Tzuyu's heart flutters at this and she's afraid Momo will feel the rapid beating of her heart.
"He could have hurt you and taken you away from me Tzuyu. I can't let anything happen to you." Momo whispers, her voice filled with worry.
Tzuyu just nods in response, unable to say anything because of Momo's confession.
They stay in each others arms for a moment before letting go and heading to bed.
Ever since then, Momo has always walked with Tzuyu to and from school. And their relationship has gotten just a bit closer.
—---—
Tzuyu now sits in her last class diligently taking notes as the teacher wraps up the days lesson. When the teacher leaves, Tzuyu gives a sigh of relief as she packs up her stuff.
While exiting the school she sends a quick text to Momo telling her she's heading home.
~Meanwhile~
Kei and Momo stand together on the school roof, an appropriate distance apart, enjoying the view.
"Let's break up." Kei states.
Momo's eyes immediately widen as she turns her head toward her now ex-lover.
"W-Why?"
This was just one out of the handful of times she's been dumped, but she can't help but feel a bit sad when she breaks up with her girlfriend.
"Momo, do you love me?"
"Of course I do!" Momo answers immediately.
"Do you really?" Kei asks as she looks at Momo with a slightly hurt expression.
"Yes." Momo says firmly.
"Then why did you leave me alone in the park as you ran after Tzuyu?" Kei asks.
Momo freezes. Why did she?
"I-I don't know." Momo finally says, breaking eye contact and looking down.
"It's because you love her, isn't it?"
Momo doesn't respond but instead asks,
"Is this why you're breaking up with me?"
"Momo answer me, do you love Tzuyu?" Kei persists.
Momo stays silent as she ponders, has she fallen in love with Tzuyu?
Kei takes the silence as a yes and continues.
"Momo, if you love her then I don't want to be in the way of your love. Go after her and leave me behind, I'll get over you. I think Tzuyu likes you too you know."
Momo looks up in shock and disbelief as Kei giggles at her reaction.
"Anyway I got to get going Momo, it was nice talking with you and I hope we can be friends. Just friends." Kei says as she picks up her things and leaves with a cute wink.
Momo sighs and after a few moments of thinking, she heads home herself.
—---—
On Tzuyu's way home she decides to stop by the park again. She surrounds herself with music and her thoughts.
Suddenly she hears a man shout and she quickly takes out her earphones and looks around. She sees a man a couple of steps behind her looking at her like a maniac.
It's the same man.
Tzuyu's memories flash by her as she remembers the man from a few years ago who tried to kidnap her.
No, it can't be...
The man suddenly charges toward her and Tzuyu stumbles back, falling on the ground trying to get away from the man.
The man manages to pin her down and Tzuyu has tears b her eyes.
"So we meet again. Where's your little savior this time huh?" The man says, disgust and anger filling his voice.
Tzuyu finds her voice trapped in once more as her minds runs in panic.
No, not again... Please Momo, someone help!
"Hmmm I don't see her coming so shall we get on with the show?" The man says as Tzuyu thrashes around in his grasp.
But as if on cue, he's knocked to the side and tackled once more to the ground by a familiar figure.
Tzuyu scrambles to her feet and sees Momo straddling him, ruthlessly throwing punches at his face.
Momo punches so hard his skull starts to bleed as he barley manages to stay conscious.
With his last bit of strength, he pulls out a pocket knife and stabs Momo in the abdomen.
Momo gasps in pain as the man finally falls unconscious. Tzuyu scrambles to Momo's side as Momo clutches her stomach to prevent the bleeding.
Tzuyu quickly calls the police as she holds Momo in her arms, crying out in desperation. The police and ambulance luckily arrive in no time and Momo is brought to the hospital.
Tzuyu sits in the hospital room as Momo and her parents are arriving at the hospital. They shortly arrive and visit Momo but soon leave, giving the two girls privacy.
Once alone again, Tzuyu speaks up.
"Momo are you ok?" Tzuyu asks for the 100th time, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.
"Yes yes I'm fine Tzuyu, really, don't cry." Momo says with a small smile, bringing her hand up to brush off a couple of stray tears on Tzuyu's cheeks.
"But you could have died Momo!" Tzuyu exclaims with worry as she starts to fully cry.
"But you could have been kidnapped Tzuyu, I had to save you. You're precious to me ok?"
Momo gently brings Tzuyu into her warm embrace as she lets Tzuyu cry out the rest of her tears.
Just as Tzuyu's tears have subsided, Momo continues.
"Tzuyu, I'm sorry. I should have said this much earlier but I might as well say it now. Tzuyu, I love you. After all these years, I finally realized that the one who was meant for me, was you. I don't know if you have feelings for me since I'm a stupid, dense, moron who didn't even realize how precious you were to me. In all honesty, I dated around blindly trying to find the right one for me but she was right here all along. Kei broke up with me today and made me realize that I loved you and I needed you with me forever so I'm sorry again for not saying this earlier. I really love you Tzuyu so, will you go out with me?"
Momo confesses a bit awkwardly(she was never one to confess first anyway) and waits for Tzuyu's reply.
Tzuyu is stunned by the confession, never in a million years would she have ever thought that Momo had feeling for her. She comes to realize what Momo said and presses their lips together.
Once they separate, they're left breathless and blushing.
"I take that as a yes?" Momo jokes with a wide smile on her face.
Tzuyu scoffs a bit and playfully hits Momo's shoulder before being pulled into another breathless kiss.
—---—
The perfect one she was looking for was right beside her all along.
—---—
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