A Matter of Time
By warmsugar
Haruhi was cursing under her breath at the injustice of it all. "Damn rich bastards!" she thought to herself, extremely annoyed with how the day was turning out.
She had awakened this morning feeling strangely refreshed and exhilarated. No doubt it was because the weekend had finally arrived. Peace, blessed peace. She would mercifully be free from the clutches of the bizarre Ouran High School Host Club for a few days of much needed R&R.
Things however, had not gone according to her plans the minute their doorbell chimed. Her frown deepened considerably as she remembered the scene that ensued a few hours earlier.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
Who could be calling this early in the morning, she wondered curiously.
She moved to the door, and opened it. The cheerful greeting she was about to utter died a painful death as she gawked at the sight before her in dawning horror.
"Oha-yo, Haruhi!" Tamaki Suou said, beaming innocently at her.
She barely registered the chorus of "oha-yo's" as visions of her peaceful (Translation: Host Club-free) day were greedily being sucked into the black hole that had miraculously appeared at her feet.
"Noooo…" she groaned miserably.
"Yo." Hikaru said, giving her shoulder a quick poke.
Haruhi remained unmoving, staring blankly into space. Having her worst nightmare come to life had effectively brought on a catatonic state.
"Tono, looks like Haruhi has gone into a coma," Kaoru remarked blandly. "Shall we proceed with Plan B?"
"Hai, hai! You have my permission to implement Plan B. We'll have so much fun together my darling Haruhi!" he exclaimed excitedly.
Their lord was indulging in one of his stupid Haruhi-fantasies again. The twins looked at each other and shrugged.
"Daddy will take good care of you! We'll play all the games and eat all the commoner's food…" Tamaki rambled on happily as he started walking back to the car.
Mori and Honeyy trailed behind him, completely absorbed in an animated discussion that seemingly involved cakes and other sweet things...
The twins looked at Haruhi's still form, a mischievous smile spreading from ear to ear on both their faces.
"Yo, Kaoru— " Hikaru said grinning evilly. "You heard Tono, we can grab Haruhi and carry her off."
The words "grab" and "carry," snapped her out of her self-induced trance.
Without warning, a sinister and almost Kyouya-like aura started emanating from Haruhi's bowed head.
"Tamaki-senpai, Hikaru… Kaoru…" she intoned flatly.
"Nani?" they said in unison.
"GET LOST!!" she roared, and promptly slammed the door in their astonished faces.
She sighed heavily and risked a quick peek over her shoulder. As expected, the idiots were trailing a few blocks behind her. And in typical Tamaki fashion, they had on dark glasses and even darker trench coats. Although she had to repress a smile as she took in Hunny-senpai's get-up.
Haruhi shook her head. "What a bunch of fools. They stick out like sore thumbs in those ridiculous outfits," she thought irritably.
Well, it couldn't be helped. She straightened her spine and a glint of steely determination entered her eyes. She would enjoy this day— even if it killed her. If they wanted to follow her around like a group of stray animals, well then, that was their problem.
Her resolve strengthened, she upped her pace a fraction.
"Heading anywhere in particular, Haruhi?" a voice drawled lazily, somewhere in the vicinity of her left ear.
She nearly jumped out of her skin and was about to harangue the impertinent stranger with a barrage of angry words when his identity was revealed by the shifting light.
"Kyouya-senpai," she breathed in relief, which quickly turned to annoyance. "Really, lurking in the shadows like that…"
Ohtori Kyouya gracefully unfolded himself from wall he was leaning on. The mutinous expression on Haruhi's face was… amusing to say the least. The belligerent set of her jaw promised another exasperating encounter with her. He grinned inwardly. On the surface however, his mask was firmly in place and he was as composed as ever.
Pausing to adjust his glasses, he looked at her from the corner of his eyes and remarked casually, "I was on my way to a meeting when I noticed you and your… ah… predicament."
Haruhi continued to look at him dubiously. Yeah right, she thought sarcastically. As if Kyouya would have business in this part of town. She rolled her eyes heavenward at the blatant lie. If he thought for a second that she'd believe that preposterous claim, then he was just as moronic as the rest of their fellow club members!
Kyouya stared at her coolly, taking note of the suspicion in her cocoa-colored eyes. He would never openly admit it, but her obvious distrust in his motives (though he really couldn't blame her…) both charmed him; and at the same time, made him want to gnash his teeth in frustration.
"Well, I thought you needed assistance," he said smoothly. "But it seems I was mistaken."
Inclining his head, he continued with a fake smile on his face, "Give my best to Tamaki and the others then. I'll see you at school on Monday. Ja!"
He turned and started walking away. Now that he wasn't facing her, he grinned wickedly. It was all a matter of time. The others would be rounding the corner in one… two… three…
He heard Haruhi's gasp of dismay and stole a quick glance at her. He smirked as he saw the look of panic and wide-eyed alarm etched into her small pixie-like face as she realized the pickle she was in.
She bit her lip unconsciously, chocolate eyes giving away her indecision.
Checkmate.
He continued walking, confident that the situation had shifted significantly in his favor in a matter of those few seconds.
A small hand suddenly grabbed his wrist, and he looked down unperturbed; as though being accosted by a heavily breathing Haruhi was a normal occurrence.
"Kyouya-senpai…" she breathed jerkily.
He lifted a dark brow, "Yes, Haruhi?" he inquired silkily.
Still holding on to his wrist Haruhi quickly shot darting glances behind her, looking for a sign of the unholy trio. Finally, she spied a familiar golden head towering over the rest of the crowd, moving hurriedly towards their direction. She made her decision.
"Eh, Kyouya-senpai…" she muttered reluctantly, a flush slowly spreading across her cheeks. "It would seem that I DO need your help after all.