A Time and a Place

There is a time and a place for everything.

That's what I thought as I tried not to yell at my little sister as she jumped up and down on my bed for the millionth time to wake me up.

What a nice way to start the day.

It's the week before Golden Week and I just want to get this week over with.

I finally got ready for my great trek to climb MT. Everest Jr. on the walk to school.

I was tired enough.

The only thing that could make this any worse was –

"Kyon!"

Of course. Here comes the King of Annoying; the Master of Rudeness; the Lord of Loud. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Mr. Taniguchi!

"Hey Buddy." I can already feel the annoying flow out of him. "Did you get anywhere with Suzumiya over the weekend?"

"Are you kidding me? You're still on about that?"

"Of course! What sort of friend would I be if I wasn't?"

A smart one. I really need to clarify that we're not friends one of these days.

"Whatever. If you don't wanna tell me then I guess I'll just believe whatever I imagine happened. I can't wait to tell Kunikida!"

Idiot.

"Nothing happened between us. It was just an outing between friends."

Now, I'm sure you're confused about this whole conversation. Don't worry. I was as confused then as you are now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a nice Saturday morning. At least it was while I was asleep.

I was away in Dreamland when something disturbed my sweet slumber.

RRRRRRRIINNGG

The cellphone on my dresser rang as it rudely interrupted my dream with Miss Asahina… Don't worry this dream was quite dry if you know what I mean. You guys should really start getting your minds out of the gutter.

I picked up the phone wondering who would be calling me on a Saturday morning/

I looked at the caller ID. Who else?

"Hello? Haruhi?"

"Hey Kyon."

Wait… Haruhi was… calm?

"I thought the city search was tomorrow."

"It is, but…"

She seems to be trailing off. What's wrong?

"Then what are you calling me for?"

"Well, umm…"

She seems nervous; dare I say, cute?

"What is it, Haruhi?"

"Well… you see… I was hoping we would be able to umm, sort of… hang out today."

"Oh. Ok, I don't have any plans in particular today. Have you called the others yet?"

"No… I was hoping in could just be… well, just the two of us."

… Huh? Haruhi asking me to go out on a Saturday; just the two of us? I was stunned to say the least.

"Umm, sure. I'd be happy to go."

"Really! Oh Kyon, you're the best!"

Well she recovered quickly… Did Haruhi just praise me? Whatever, I'm sure it meant nothing. It's just Haruhi being Haruhi.

"Alright. Where and when should I meet you?"

"How about at noon by the usual spot?"

"Sounds like a plan. See ya there."

"Alright! See ya."

*Click*

… Did Haruhi Suzumiya just ask me out on a date… and did I just agree?

No, no… This can't be a date. The Great and Powerful Haruhi Suzumiya asking her lowly errand boy on a date? Never. I'd sooner see a donkey fly, but I shouldn't say that around Haruhi. Who knows what could happen?

Soon enough I found myself riding to the same old meeting place on my bike as per usual.

I chained up my bike and that's when I noticed that I was half an hour early.

Was I really that eager to see Haruhi… Nah. I probably knew subconsciously that I had nothing better to do at my house while waiting. It almost sounds like I'm just making excuses lately. Was I?

Haruhi arrived about fifteen minutes later.

"Kyon! Looks like you were actually early for once. Looks like I'm paying."

"Damn right you—… "

I took a good look at her. She was wearing blue jeans, a red blouse with white undershirt… and a ponytail. Damn!

I don't know if it was the reflection of the sun bouncing off her skin that was messing up m eyes, the ponytail, the million-watt smile she had spread across her face, or all three, but to me at that moment she was just radiating beauty.

I just stood there, slack-jawed, starring at the awe inspiring beauty that was Haruhi Suzumiiya.

"Kyon? Earth to Kyon, are you in there?"

"What? Oh. Sorry. Umm, why don't we go to the café?"

"Ok, but you better not have been thinking perverted thoughts about me while you were zoned out!"

She sounded angry, but I could swear I saw a little blush on her face.

As we walked into the café, I saw a face that I was terrified by in this kind of situation: Taniguchi.

Haruhi saw the look on my face and decided to look where I was gawking at. A smile crosses here face.

"Hey Kyon, isn't that one of your buddies from school? What was his name, Taniguchi? Let's say hello."

No! Haruhi, are you crazy! Of course you are.

"Hey! Taniguchi!"

Damn it, Haruhi.

Taniguchi turned to faced us and his eyes widened with excitement and a devious smile was instantly slapped on his face.

"Hey Suzumiya! Hey Kyon!"

Of course he had to put emphasis on my name.

Surprisingly, Taniguchi just waved and went back to his business.

"C'mon Haruhi, jets just take our seats."

We took our seats and ordered some drinks.

"So Haruhi, why did you invite me here?"

"Well, umm…" There she goes with the nervousness again. "You see, I wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, what about?"

"Well, this may seem a bit out of the blue, but hear me out… What am I to you?"

…What? I was stunned to say the least.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. How about I rephrase that to make you more comfortable… My question is: What is Haruhi Suzumiya to you?"

I could feel my face getting hot. How was I supposed to answer that? What is Haruhi to me? To me Haruhi isn't the potential for auto-evolution (whatever that is), she's not some anomaly in space-time, and she's definitely not God. To me, Haruhi is… Haruhi… but is she just Haruhi?

No… Haruhi is much more than that.

"Haruhi Suzumiya is the girl who picked me up out of the rut that I dug myself into. She gave my life flavor and meaning. She gave me my entire life back. She saved me once I had given up. I may just be her errand boy in her eyes… but to me she's more than just my Brigade Leader."

… Did I just say that?