What if Kyon just started to ignore Haruhi?

I stayed in my seat, listening to the bell ring. behind me, someone launched from their chair and sprinted out the door. I slowly placed my books into my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and walked towards the door. When I reached the corridor, I glanced towards the direction Haruhi had gone. my body automatically twitched towards that direction, anticipating my moving in my usual rhythm, and going towards the clubroom. But this time, I turned and walked towards the school entrance, away from the SOS Brigade, away from Nagato, Koizumi, Miss Asahina and her amazing tea, and most important of all, away from Haruhi.

There was something surreal about the way I saw the world as I slipped on my loafers, tucked my slippers into my shoe locker, and walked out the door. Walking down the hill, I stopped for a moment, gazing back towards the Old Building, tucked off towards the side, where the other members would be sitting around the table, Miss Asahina serving out tea to those who sat. Would they be waiting for me?

' Not Likely,' muttered a bitter voice in my heart.

I spun around, and marched down the hill, a scowl plastered across my face.

-o-

I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. A shifting of the surface of the mattress told me that Shamisen had arrived, and he curled up next to me. I stroked his head absentmindedly, and realized that I had nothing to think about.

My phone vibrated on the table, clattering until it landed on the pillow beside my head. I picked it up, and looked at the caller ID. Koizumi. I grunted, and rolled over, leaving the phone behind. It started to vibrate again, but I ignored it, stroking the cat and wondering what I was going to do about class tomorrow.

-o-

Haruhi charged me as I entered the class room the next day. "Where were you??" she demanded, jabbing a finger in my face. I kept my face blank, stepped sideways, and kept walking. Haruhi stood and gaped, unable to believe that I had just snubbed her, then spun around, fuming. "Kyon!"

I walked calmly to my desk, deposited my bag, and turned and walked over to Taniguchi.

He, like many of my other classmates, was standing, stock still, gaping at me. "Hey!" I said to him, waving a hand. "You doing anything Saturday?"

He simply stared at my smile. "Wha-?"

From behind, I felt a jab between my shoulder blades. "Hey, Mister, you don't get to go around ignoring your Brigade Chief!"

I managed to ignore the pressure, and turned to Kunikida. "What about you?"

Kunikida was not gaping like a goldfish, and replied promptly. "Sure, why not?"

"Cool. Let's do something, then. Meet you at the train station around eleven? You too, Taniguchi, if you can."

Kunikida smiled and nodded, while Taniguchi managed a weak nod. I turned, never making eye contact with Haruhi, and walked back to my desk to start unpacking my books.

Haruhi stood where I had left her, her eyes wide and uncomprehending.

-o-

This is how I went on for the next couple days. I would not forgive Haruhi. Never. She had pushed her luck far too many times, and I had had it. For the next day, she tried to talk to me, some the anger still in her face, but I just brushed past her, and didn't acknowledge her attempts to catch my attention during class. The day after that, she looked angrier than before, rosy cheeked with fury, but again I just brushed past and went straight to my desk.

At one point, I must have realized that I was on a campaign to hurt her as much as I felt she had hurt me. I went and sought out Koizumi during break.

"Hey, how's club going?"

He spun around, shock in his eyes. "Kyon! Rather poorly, and it's all your fault, I'm afraid."

"I'm not surprised. Haruhi displeased that I'm not coming to meetings?"

"She's stopped coming."

"What?"

Haruhi, it turned out, had stopped coming to the clubroom during every waking moment. Instead, she had vanished.

"And that's not the worst of it. There's been a tremendous increase in the closed spaces ever since Sunday, when you first walked out."

"How many?"

"Within the last few days, the numbers have grown exponentially, all centered around the one location where you shouted at her and walked away. I've had to defend that train station in closed space so many times I know every pebble."

"Sorry about that. I'd try to fix it, but I feel what she's done is unforgivable."

Koizumi nodded. "So I see."

What exactly do you see?

"But I hope this lover's spat ends soon, okay?"

I scowled.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Koizumi waved a hand lazily.

-o-

I started to recognize a decline in Haruhi for the next two days left of school that week. She was sitting at her desk, defiantly staring at the board as though she wished that it would shatter into a million pieces. Her arms crossed and her lips pursed like a duck, I let it pass, and made as much of a show as usual of not paying her any attention.

The next day, she was still glaring at the board, but it felt more like an act this time. There wasn't quite the same pout or the glower that there was for real anger. Was I getting through to her?

Saturday came and left with little to remark. I went out with the guys, and wandered around town. At one point I thought I saw Haruhi across the street, but when I looked again, there was a flurry of activity, and she was gone. I told myself that I didn't care, but at the same time, I couldn't ignore the pounding my heart was making in my ears.

Out of anger with myself, I threw myself altogether far too eagerly into Taniguchi's suggestion that we try to 'pick up some hotties', and spent the rest of the day feeling hot, angry, and humiliated.

There was also the lurking feeling that someone was watching me fail miserably.

-o-

Sunday was dedicated to absolutely nothing, but that didn't stop my cell phone vibrating furiously for the entire day (or at least until the battery died). Most of the calls were from Koizumi, but one was from Nagato, and there was even one from Miss Asahina. I listened to two of Itsuki's, until I realized that it was all essentially the same message, and listened to the brief silence of Nagato's message, and treasured to stammered request of Miss Asahina that I come back the next day to club meetings. It tore at me that I had to disobey such wonderful request from the lovely girl, but I simply could not go back. That would be admitting that Haruhi was right, and there was no way that I was ever going to say or imply that.

And so, I didn't go back.

-o-

Monday morning, I was greeted with the sight of Haruhi, hunched in her seat, looking like a wet cat. The glower burned through the back of my skull, but I ignored it, focusing on taking notes and doodling. Haruhi was not going to win this.

During break Koizumi hunted me down in the courtyard.

"What have you done?" he hissed through his teeth, altogether looking more angry than I'd ever seen him before. He gripped my arm. "What on earth have you done?"

I stared at him, irritated and bemused. "Why? What's happened?"

"There was the biggest closed space I've ever seen last night, filled with more giants than I knew what to do with! These things were wreaking havoc over every square inch! And focused on that one train station!"

"Well, I might have gone and tried to hit on some girls with some friends-" I cut off when I saw the horror in Koizumi's eyes.

"You WHAT?"

"What does it matter? It's not she has any hold on me, and we've never been anywhere close to being anything like dating!"

"What do you know how she feels?" he retorted, his face inches from mine. "Why were you such a fool?"

I recoiled at the closeness and the word. A fool? Who was the one throwing temper tantrums?

Waving my arms wildly, I shouted heatedly "Then why doesn't she say something?"

Koizumi was near bellowing at me now, and I realized that we were making quite a scene. "Because you're being a bastard! How can any girl say anything to the guy she likes if he acts like such a prat? You've been giving her the cold shoulder since last week! How could she apologize, let alone tell you how she feels?"

"And how would you know how she feels?"

"I'm her stress relief, damn it! I know every time she's upset, angry, or frustrated! And those are hardly ever when she's with you!"

I had no retort for this, and stood there, panting, glowering at Koizumi, who did much the same. Around us, the students who had been enjoying the nice weather stared at the two angry intruders, puzzlement and shock in their eyes.

I turned away swiftly, and stalked away.

-o-

Haruhi was late getting to class during the afternoon. When she finally did show up, she looked miserable and embarrassed. Was that my and Koizumi's doing? She took her seat, and sighed a couple times, but I kept my back turned. After class, she was slow to put her things in her bag, and I left before she did, not even glancing back.

I felt like I could spit acid, and I don't know exactly whose fault it is, or why.

-o-

I was lying on my bed, spacing out. Haruhi loved me? I snorted. She was always bossing me around, telling me that I was less of a member than everyone else in the club. If that was love, then she was being really immature about it. And why would she think I'd forgive her after the way she behaved last week?

I glared at my school bag in a distracted way, then got up and wandered over to the door. There were other things to do than be angry all the time. Like chores, or something.

-o-

My dream that night was very strange, and felt strangely familiar. I was standing in the club room, and Haruhi was standing in the doorway. Behind me, the moon shone down on the both of us. The light threw a strong shadow of myself in front of me, and illuminated Haruhi. She stood, looking nervous, and I could see the light shining off her eyes, like she was about to cry.

She spoke just one word, "Kyon"

and then the dream ended.

Sitting up, I stared at the door of my bedroom. It wasn't a closed space. Closed spaces didn't have moons. There also weren't the giants that I remembered so well, or the eerie silence. I sighed, glanced at the clock, and went back to bed.

The rest of the night was filled with more of the strange dream fragments, and little sleep. By the time it was close enough to morning to bother getting up, I had flickered between the club room, the class room, the train station, and the cafe the brigade visited occasionally. Throughout these locations, I saw Haruhi, wearing different clothes in each scene, and uttering only one word.

Bags under my eyes, I stumbled from my bed and grabbed a sheet of paper and a random pen. The words had been these;

"Kyon," "I'm," "So," "Sorry," and "I."

I didn't think she had finished the message.

Irritated and curious, I prepared for school.

Haruhi wasn't in class today. Her desk stood empty and lonely, and there were a few curious looks shot my way when people thought I wasn't paying attention.

I tried to keep telling myself that I wasn't that concerned; perhaps she had come down with a stomach bug.

'But this is Haruhi. She doesn't get sick. Ever.'

When break came around, I was just leaving the classroom when I was accosted by an alien and an esper. Nagato lead the way as Koizumi bodily hauled me down to the club room and dumped me in a chair. As I sat and gaped at them, Nagato reached out swiftly, tapped my forehead, and murmured "Sleep."

I was out like a light.

-o-

This was different from that night's dreams. These didn't flicker, and I stood, staring around a dimly lit room I didn't recognize. There was a bed, where someone slept, though I couldn't tell who, because they were curled up into a ball with the blankets over their head. There was also a figure, which looked oddly like the same person, slouched in a desk chair, their head turned towards a window. The curtains were nearly fully drawn, with just a sliver of bright light showing through. In a corner was the same figure again, sitting in the fetal position, head resting on their knees, arms wrapped around their legs.

I walked towards the one in the bed, and ran on a hunch. "Hey, Haruhi?"

All three of the figures shifted to stare at me, the one in the chair with hostility, the one in the corner with shock, and the one in the bed with tear-reddened eyes.

"Kyon," whispered the one in the bed, staring at me with hope mixed with misery. Tears started to leak from her eyes, trickling down in either direction towards her ears. The one in the corner stood up, and stumbled a couple of steps toward me. The one in the chair, realizing that I wasn't giving her the cold shoulder, shifted to face me.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, I'm sorry for being so harsh to you. I should never have treated you like I have" I rushed the last part of it, and ended up bowing to hide my embarrassment.

I could feel the Haruhis staring at me, and kept bowed until I heard the clatter of the desk chair. I straightened, and saw all three Haruhis approaching me. As they got closer together, they seemed to overlap and blend back into one Haruhi, standing in front of me, tears trickling down her face. She gave a loud sob and fell forward, clinging to my chest, staining my blazer with tears. I had at first thrown my arms out to the sides in shock, but now I placed them on her back, and eased her down until we were sitting on her bed, her face still buried in my chest. I would have tried to do something, tried to help, but she clung so tightly that all I could do was stay still and keep quiet, holding her in my arms. Her frame rose and fell with gasps for breath, and I stroked her back a bit in what I hoped was a soothing motion. It seemed as though the flow would never end. Eventually, though, the sobs subsided, and she fell asleep against me. I couldn't get her to let go, even in her sleep, so I eased us further onto the bed, so that we could lie down. As I did this I tried not to think about how I was in a girl's room, with a sleeping girl in my arms, and that I was lying on a girl's bed. Every time the thought started to appear, my face would burn, and I would try to change my thoughts to something else.

What my thoughts turned to was this; Where the heck was I? Was I in Haruhi's dreams? Was I in a closed space, and if so, why no giants? How would I get out?

I tried to become more comfortable. Haruhi's arm was draped across my stomach, and I couldn't move without the risk of waking her. I closed my eyes. If I had gotten there via sleep, sleep would logically be the way back, right?

-o-

Unfortunately, dealing with Haruhi is not always as logical as we wish it were. When I woke, it was to the shifting and gasp of Haruhi, drawing back sharply and falling off the bed in shock.

"Kyon??"

I rubbed my eyes, and stared around. I was still in (what I assumed to be) Haruhi's bedroom. Had Yuki made a mistake? "Haruhi?" I answered, scratching the side of my head. The room seemed darker than I remembered. I peered over the side of the bed.

She gaped at me from the floor, a mixture of confusion and horror in her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know. One moment I'm asleep, the next I'm in your room" I wasn't so sure if I should mention the fact that she had been sobbing.

She stood up, and wandered over to the window. It was still light outside, but only just. It was that light you get when the sun is just about to go down. While she drew the curtains aside, I surreptitiously pinched myself. It hurt enough to tell me that I wasn't asleep. If I wasn't asleep, then I couldn't still be at the clubroom. If I wasn't at the clubroom, then had last night really happened?

I stretched, and shook my head a little to try to wake up faster.

Standing up, I went to the window and peered out. As I had suspected, the view was one that I did not recognize. I rummaged in my pockets, hoping for a cell phone, but there was nothing. All of my stuff had been in my school bag.

"I'm sorry"

The murmured sentence took me completely by surprise.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry that I pissed you off, okay?" Haruhi scowled up at me, irritated that I was making her repeat the apology.

I smiled slightly. So she was learning.

"Thanks."

I was thinking about what to do next when Haruhi reached up and grabbed the lapels of my blazer in her fists. She dragged me down so I was bent over her, then paused.

"I really like you" she whispered, her lips a centimeter from my own.

I was in shock. Koizumi had said that she liked me, but here I was, with her confessing to me. My brain had frozen, and I was having difficulty figuring out what to do next.

"Haruhi" I didn't get to say more before our lips met, and we were kissing. And electric shiver ran down my spine, and I wrapped my arms around Haruhi's waist, pulling her close. She let go of my lapels and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, running her fingers through the hair on the back of my neck. I opened my lips, she following my lead, and our tongues met, running against each other, dabbing, pressing against one another before moving to the side. I hoped it could go on forever, holding her in my arms, her holding onto me, kissing.

Finally we broke apart, and we smiled at each other, panting slightly.

She touched her lips with her finger tips, grinning amusedly. "Wow, my lips are tingling"

I laughed. "Mine too."

She turned and looked outside. "Wow, it's really dark"

"Mmmm," I agreed, looking down at her face. "Want to get something to eat? I'll have to stop by my place and change, of course." I could only hope that maybe Nagato spirited my bag to my place when she sent me here.

She looked up at me, looking mildly surprised, then smiled. "Sure."

We let go of each other, and headed outside, Haruhi leading me by the hand.

-o-

The next day after school, I again found myself accosted by Koizumi.

"What happened?"

I looked at him bemusedly. "What do you mean?"

"I want to know what you did that worked so well! There hasn't been any closed spaces since Miss Nagato sent you wherever that was."

I stared at him. Well, of course when confessing to someone, people like to be accepted, and I consider one heck of a make out session and a date as pretty damn good. Would I be telling Koizumi what happened?

I shrugged. "Nothing really. Just some damage control."

He wasn't satisfied with this, I knew, but there was nothing for it. I wasn't going to tell him anything.

He stared at me critically for a few seconds, hand on chin, then sighed. "I guess there's nothing for it. I'd like to thank you again for your efforts"

He grinned that annoying grin of his, and started to walk past me. Just as he was level with me, he murmured, "By the way, Haruhi's isn't the only mood that's obviously improved."

Damn you, Koizumi.

-o-o-o-o-o-

I got this idea while talking to one of the people who have commented on one of my prior Haruhi fanfics. This is by no means my own idea; merely my interpretation of her idea. I hope she doesn't mind. Besides, she actually has a different premise, but I felt that I should bring her up. Thankies, xXMethereaperXx!

This is fairly different for me. I've seen other variations on this idea, the Haruhi-goes-worse-than-normal, and Kyon having to remedy it with something more than a momentary peck on the lips. I'm not going to go lemon on you, or even lime, but a good kiss is always something to enjoy. I hope you agree. I like the trippyness of some of it, but other parts are not as . . . surreal as usual? Dunno. You tell me!