Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend

"Rin... did you hear me?" her voice cut into my mind.

"What?" I said, regaining my thoughts. I brushed two fingers over my eyelids, trying to recall what the conversation had just been about. I barely had enough sleep last night, and my lids felt heavy as I struggled to keep them open.

Lucy stood in front of me, a small notebook resting in her left arm, pushing up against her left breast. Her pale thighs glistened beneath her short pleated skirt, like she'd taken enough care to oil them.

For him, I guess.

"Didn't you hear me?" she repeated, her brows furrowing.

"Sorry," I replied, rather nonchalantly. "I wasn't paying attention."

How could I... When the only thing I could think about was my face resting in-between Fumiko's large breasts.

I spent the entire night with her, exploring every part of her body as she explored every part of mine. By the time we decided we were too tired to go further, it was already dawn.

"You look... exhausted," Lucy said, her eyes scanning me all over. She reached for my face, but I tilted my head away.

Students trudged all around us, their faces cheerful and smiling. It was the last day of exams, and we had just completed our last written exam for the semester.

For the first time, Lucy finished an exam before I did. I knew all the answers of course, but I had fallen asleep multiple times during the paper. By the time I completed mine, half the students were already done.

I had just turned in my paper and stepped out of the class when I found Lucy waiting for me outside the building, arms folded.

Kyro was nowhere in sight.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice a little deeper than I intended.

Lucy recoiled, surprised by my tone.

"I'm leaving school for the mid-session break," she said, throwing her gaze to the ground. "Kyro's taking me on a vacation to see his sister in Pentra."

"Okay."

She looked up, a slight frown appearing on her face.

"Is that... all you're going to say?"

"Yeah. You can take care of yourself, right?"

Lucy squeezed her face for a moment, confused by my nonchalant demeanor. Gradually, her gaze softened.

"I also wanted to apologise... for last night," she added, stepping closer. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Rin."

My heart skipped. I locked my gaze on Lucy, narrowing my eyes.

"That's... strange," I said.

"What's strange?"

"You... apologizing... to me."

Lucy tucked a lock of hair over her ear, her face reddening. "Seeing you last night made me feel angry, but I thought about it and I realized that you only spied on me because you wanted to make sure I was safe."

Except I wasn't even spying on her. I was spying on Kyro. She just happened to be the one with him.

"If I were in your shoes," she continued, "I might have done the same. So, I'm sorry for lashing out at you. I didn't mean the things I said about you, and I want you to know that."

I kept my gaze on her, unsure of how to respond. The Lucy I knew wouldn't apologise to me for anything, even if her life depended on it.

A few female students marched beside us, casting weird glances in our direction. One of them whispered something to her friends, and the rest giggled.

"Won't you say something?" Lucy's voice cut into my thoughts.

"I heard you," I said, staring into the distance behind her.

One of the girls who had walked past us was Ginny... Freya's sister. She kept her eyes on me as she walked past, her long green braids beating her back.

"Won't you accept my apology?" Lucy asked again.

I sighed, bringing my gaze back to her. She stared at me with puppy eyes, her fingers rubbing against an object beneath her tie.

"Did Kyro put you up to this?"

Lucy's eyes widened for a moment, then she turned away from me, focusing on the floor.

"We talked about it," she muttered. "He said it was the right thing to do."

"Of course he did."

Without another word, I walked past her, ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked, her voice rising a pitch higher. She reached out to grab me, but decided against it, returning her arm to her side.

"Come back when you have a genuine apology," I replied. "When you do, make sure that weird pendant isn't on your neck."

"It's just a gift," Lucy muttered, emphasizing each word. She clutched the object even tighter. "Kyro just gave it to me to make me happy. Why are you being like this?"

"Ugh..." I scoffed, slapping my forehead. "I'm not doing this with you again. Just do whatever you want."

Slipping my hands into my pockets, I turned to leave. At that moment, every feeling of concern I had toward her vanished into thin air.

"Kyro was right," she whispered behind me. "You're never going to change."

"Kyro's been saying a lot of things, huh?" I asked, not turning back. "For someone you met two weeks ago, his words really seem to be important to you."

"Yes, they are. He's been more of a friend to me than you'll ever be!"

I froze. Lucy's words struck a nerve I didn't realise still existed. Without another word, she stormed off, her footsteps thudding on the stone floor.

"Lucy..."

I sighed. Part of me wanted to chase after her, tell her how much I wanted to protect her, and convince her to yank that stupid pendant from her chest.

But the other part was willing to let her make her own decisions.

Fumiko's voice darted across my mind.

"...Trust that she can take care of herself if anything goes wrong..."

If anything went wrong...

That was the one thing I was most afraid of.

My chest tightened as my initial fears crept back into my heart. As I walked towards my dorm, I was overwhelmed with a feeling that something bad was about to happen.