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"No he's not," Junko continued to argue against Seiji being a douchebag. He wasn't. None of this was his fault. The only mistake he'd made was leaving right before their anniversary instead of waiting until after..right? Why was she so upset over this? It...it was just a day. A day that marked they'd been together for two years. Right? That's...that's all it was..

When told she looked awful she nodded in agreement, sniffing and rubbing one of her cheeks. "Thank you, Mac." She followed him to the dorms, not actually caring where she was taken to right now. Being out of public eye would be nice.

Ever obedient Junko moved to the chair pointed out for her and sat down, lifting all of her hair out of the way to do so. She looked around at where she was then, looking mildly surprised by her surroundings; Junko had only been in the reaper dorms one other time and she hadn't gone in all that far. It had also been a long time. This was Mac's room? It was nicer and cleaner than she ever would have assumed should Junko have ever cared about what Mac's room looked like.

His 'nickname' got him an irritated pout. It was almost comical the look on her face. "Please don't call me hairball." That was like an insult to her hair. Unacceptable. Soon after she shrugged and reached down to unbutton her boots and set them aside. Junko then lifted her feet off the floor and put them on the edge of the chair while she hugged her knees. "I already told you. I don't know. Seiji...he went off to see his parents and I was totally okay with it even though he assumed I would've gotten angry or something." He had even held her in a way that made her think she would be do angry she'd need to be held back from hitting him or something. It had been very unsettling. "But I was okay with it until I realized the other day he'd..left right before our anniversary." She frowned again. The initial anger of Mac prodding a brooding bear with a sharp, pointy stick had subsided for the moment. "That really was extra chocolate, by the way. Mot and I made too much and I do like to make sure everyone gets as equal a share as possible." Despite being an a** about it he had been right about her method of divvying up her gifts. "There were too few chocolates left for me to give anyone while still being fair so I was getting rid of them without wasting them." Mac was given a narrow-eyes glare after that. Jerk.

"Well, they're the same day.." Junko clarified gently, looking around Mac's room. He even made his bed! She usually did that kind of stuff for Seiji...though she volunteered for it since she loved doing chores and housework. She said nothing more on the fish and chocolate topic, it was getting old fast.

Mac reminded her that he didn't like her and she snorted, rolling her eyes a little. Great, what now? Was he going to tell her to suck it up or something? Stop being such a clingy, whiny little scareling?

...Oh.

Junko looked genuinely surprised by Mac's words. Was Seiji trying to avoid her? She frowned and looked away, thinking hard on this. "I...I don't..think so? If anything, since joining the student council I haven't really had time for him. And with Lizzy and I wanting to start our business..." Junko had no idea where she was going with this. "We text and talk all the time and stuff, but I don't see him much...and for a long time he kind of...I don't know.."

She made a face. "After that whole thing with Red, you know the first time? When she died? He just...locked himself away in his room."

"We do that sometimes, yeah. Usually if I'm making clothes that can be brought to his dorm. I couldn't really work on Student Council things around him, didn't want to spoil anything.." Was she defending herself or Seiji? Even Junko wasn't quite sure. She ducked her head at his words, giving a little nod. He really wasn't the only one who suffered. "I tried to get him to go out on like...walks and dates and stuff with me at first, but he'd either tell me no or find ways to distract me away from the subject for awhile." She scratched at her cheek and looked away, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. Pretty much every visit had been like that at a certain point.

Mac's question caught her by surprise. She'd never thought it before. Seiji made efforts, right? He was getting better about..not hiding away...and he did stop by for Student Council events. Though he was usually late..

But he tried! He really did try..

"You're making excuses." The Mistress grumbled, having been quiet up until this point. Junko hugged her knees tighter to her chest.

"Well I do...love him..he's been really good to me, and he loves me..." And he was her first, well, everything. Kiss, boilfriend, love..everything. Junko was quiet for a minute, thinking hard on her answer. "I...well it's...I.." Come on, Junko! This shouldn't be hard! Why were you still with him other than 'because I love him'? Why did she love him? Well, he was kind, and gentle, and sweet, and strong, and tolerable..the tolerable part was important. He wasn't repulsed by The Mistress, he could handle her, and that was important.

She did feel...neglected at times though. But was that entirely Seiji's fault? No, it wasn't. It took two to tango and she really couldn't shove all the blame for this entirely on Seiji; she also neglected him when she could have been making more of an effort to be around him. She could have done more. She could have put her dress forms in his room...

"I don't know what to do.." She finally admitted in a small voice. "I don't want to hurt him, because I do love him, but I...don't.." She didn't what? "I don't know anymore..." This was a weird feeling. Junko was getting only getting frustrated because she wasn't as upset about all this as she thought maybe she should be. This was hard.

"I'm not--I...well it's...complicated I.." Was it really so complicated? Maybe not...but..she couldn't just let him go, right? Especially not so suddenly.

..Was it suddenly? He'd thought she would be angry he was leaving, he anticipated their last talk would take longer than it had. Did he expect it..?

Mac's words hurt but not in a way that made her feel defensive. It was like a dull pain in her chest that had her heart racing and her eyes burning, but no tears actually fell. Man up and end it if he really loved her? Junko blinked and looked up to watch Mac again with a slightly perplexed look on her face. Was he...speaking personally now? Was that what had happened? He did it because he loved Lizzy? No, that didn't make sense. You didn't just give up someone you loved.

If you loved someone you did whatever you could to be with them, to want to be around them, to make them happy. You didn't lock yourself away, you didn't avoid them, you didn't leave them.

Did she not love Seiji because she was actually considering all this? No, no she did love him. She loved him with all her heart. Seiji was very important to her, very important...but..was her love for him still the same as before? Did she love him the way she would love any friend? The hand on her shoulder startled her and her breath caught in her throat. Was he serious? He was actually being nice to her. He wasn't being mean. Was this actually Mac? Was she sure this wasn't some kind of Hunter? Should she make him prove his identity? There was no way this could actually be Mac. No way.

"I..I.." She sniffed, rubbing her face. Her face felt hot and her chest felt tight and her eyes burned...but Junko didn't actually feel any tears. She'd never felt this way before. "What do you think I should do?" Junko lifted her face, eyes wide and almost fearful of what Mac was going to say. She had a feeling she knew the answer - end it if Seiji wouldn't.

Junko waited nervously for Mac's answer. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say. Did that mean..she was subconsciously considering it or something? The fact that she thought of it had to amount to something. But how could she even do this? Welcome home, honey! By the way I don't think this is working out for me anymore, but it's been great! Bye!

Yeah, that sounded like a b***h move.

She didn't want to be that kind of ghoul.

Mac's suggestion was what she expected. It confirmed it for her. "I thought you would say that.." Junko replied quietly, sinking in the chair and maneuvering herself until she was sitting with her legs over one arm of the chair and her head against the other arm. This was so hard. "I...I love him I just...I don't know if I can keep doing this.." Sighing, Junko closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Did you do it?" She finally asked after a few quiet moments, looking up at Mac with a small frown. "Because you loved her?" Did he and Lizzy break up because he loved her? Junko still didn't see the logic in it.

He still loved her. It just still didn't make sense to Junko...why leave someone you love? She could understand if you didn't care about them anymore but to bring that much heartache when you didn't want them hurt? Eventually they may get over it but...

She'd seen Lizzy after they broke up. How had she been better off? Junko's protectiveness for her best friend flared up then, looking skeptically at the boil in front of her.

He answered her question right as she had been about to ask it. To be fair Junko had disliked him before he had even dated Lizzy, really. She probably could have grown to like him if not for that intial disapproval. Junko liked to think herself a tolerant ghoul, but for some reason Mac had made it difficult. But seeing him now, upset like this, perhaps she had been right that Lizzy saw a Mac she never got to see. She frowned, sitting quietly in the armchair and just watching and listening very carefully. It killed him.

Junko stayed where she was, though she did sit up when by the time Mac was finished explaining what had happened. He was being so nice to her, so honest, when he didn't have to be. Was he perfect? No, he was pretty much an a** and had admitted to this through quite a few more words than necessary. But he had tried. Could he have tried harder? Maybe. But so could she. Lizzy had wanted her to approve of Mac, she'd been so desperate for it. Could she try harder with spending time with Seiji? Maybe...but she was just so tired.

Finally Junko got up off the chair to stand, walking up to where Mac was fiddling with his paper weight. She ignored any protest from him, batting at his hands should be try and make her leave him alone, and reached out to wrap her arms around the boil in a hug. It was a tight hug, a warm comforting hug. "I'm sorry." Junko said quietly, resting her head against the boil. It was one part pity, another part thank you, and another part a genuine apology for how she acted when he had been dating her best friend.