Well. This is it.
Not was she was expecting.
It was much...PINKER than she was expecting.
"Not that it looks bad," Kosuke thinks to herself. Well, SAYS to herself - she has the bad habit of saying her thoughts aloud. "Just different."
It really doesn't look bad at all - courtesy of being the most prestigious school in Japan. The entire campus wouldn't look out of place in the Victorian era, part for the pink spectrum of colors. A gargantuan brick clock tower here, fountains with marble statues of cherubs there. Most of the buildings have tall marble pillars supporting their roofs. Everything is lined in either gold or exquisitely carved and painted designs. Not to mention it was probably the cleanest place she'd ever been around - her face is reflecting on practically every surface. All things considered, this is a photographer's paradise, with images to take at every angle in every lighting.
She probably looks stupid. Standing in front of the infamous Ouran University by herself, staring up at it with her neck craned as if she's some awestruck child at the candy store. She's honestly surprised that some form of a security guard hadn't come out to shoo her away yet.
Oh, and it's raining. Hard. Water drops the size of bullets are coming down at all angles. Her dyed red hair is a wet mess, and her dress, the color of which she could only describe as 'muddy pink', was now looking just plain muddy. It was hanging off of her in some places and clinging in others like a wet rag.
So yeah, a single teenage girl is in the middle of the Ouran courtyard in the pouring rain. That doesn't look weird at all.
What is she doing here again? Nothing. Yeah, really, nothing. She saw the gate was open and walked in for some unknown reason. Not to go inside, either, despite the fact that the windows are all lit and there are figures passing by. She supposed she just wanted a look at the infamous academy, the one that students at school talked about as if it were an urban legend. Emphasis on the 'legend' part - the buildings are NOT tall enough to dwarf skyscrapers, something that she feels inclined to inform her classmates about.
She needs to get home, really. Her mother is probably worried sick, her aunt is probably furious, and her stepfather probably worriedly furious. She'll admit it: this was a stupid idea. A REALLY stupid idea. She's in an unfamiliar city, by herself, in the pouring rain, with no cellphone.
Kosuke Nakahara: Contender for the Nobel Prize.
So she goes home. She turns away from Ouran Academy and runs to the nearest gas station. She pulls out the few coins she has in her pocket and puts them into a payphone. She calls her mother, waits for her to stop her spiel of 'where are you/I was so worried/do you have any idea', and tells her where she is. The limousine comes to pick her up, and she is taken back home. She explains to her stepfather and her mother what happened. Then she gets ready for bed, bids her family goodnight, and tucks herself in. She goes back to school on Monday, goes all the way to exams, summer vacation comes, life goes on.
Maybe that's what would have happened.
In the one second that she turned her back on Ouran, her loafers squishing wet with every step, fate decides to play a wild card.
For the first time since she'd come to the campus, the door to the building before her opens wide, and yellow light spills into the gray wet world outside. At first, she just starts walking faster out of embarrassment. Just a girl by herself in the rain, folks. Nothing to see here.
But she stops when the person who opens the door calls out something. She stops when she realizes that they aren't coming out, they're opening the door so they can talk to her.
She stops when she realizes that she was so distracted that she didn't catch a word they just said. "What?"
The silhouetted figure removes their hands from the doors and approaches. Out of the bright light, Kosuke can tell that it's actually a rather tall boy, maybe a year or two older than her. He has messy (albeit somehow at the same time perfectly neat) hair the color of pale gold, and his eyes are an indigo color that she'd never seen before. Even with his brows furrowed and his lips pulled into a worried frown, he's beautiful. For some reason, Kosuke is given the image of a dashing fairy-tale prince.
He's also walking straight toward her, despite the pouring rain. He stops some three feet away from her and looks her up and down. It's not a judging look, however. It's a concerned one, full of worry. He repeats what he had said before. "I asked you what you're doing out here by yourself."
"Oh, I..." Kosuke waves a hand at no direction in particular. You know, to look like even more of an idiot. "I was just...passing by and I..." She stops and just continues to wave her hand at nothing.
"Come inside," he says when she doesn't continue speaking. He moves forward to stand beside her.
"What? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, I - "
He hovers his arm around her waist, just close enough not to be invading but enough to make it clear that he wasn't going to let her walk away.
"Come on. Let's get you inside."
The only sound she can make is a sort of wavering groan, but no protest. Her feet start moving forward, and he walks beside her, into Ouran Academy. She wonders if the rumors are true and the floors are actually made of solid gold.
Hoo boy...Well, here we go.
Sorry again that this took so long to get to. I can't schedule to save my life. I'm not sure how often chapters will come, but I'll work to it as fast as I can! And thanks to everyone who decided to stick around ;)
- iamconstantine