Hallo! I haven't written something in FOREVER, so I'll do something now. I took a poll and everyone thinks Hota should be with Mori!!! So here's my first thingy dedicated to them w

~Otaku ^^

He loved the way she walked. One foot after another. Left, right, left, right. The way she walked down the hall was almost like a strut, but played down in a way where it didn't stand out to those not paying attention. With each step, one foot went directly in front of the other, the way you did when you started walking. Each step started a totally new walk. There was no looking back for her.

He loved the way she closed her eyes as she walked. The earbud cord ran down from her ears to the front of her shirt, and into her pocket. The ipod was surely in there, and her index finger was surely in there, tapping at the keypad, ready to press pause or play, rewind or fast forward. And when she went to the menu, she definitely wouldn't have to pull the music player out. She knew all the songs in order, by heart.

Her head bobbed slightly to the music as she strolled down the hall. Her bright red hair was easy to spot in the midst of all these people who seemed so plain compared to her. Whenever someone talked to her, she turned to them, looking them directly in the eyes and smiling. But it was obvious that she wasn't completely listening to them. Her head was still nodding to the music that already had her attention.

All the little things. Takashi Morinozuka noticed all the little things. Well no, he didn't notice them, he loved them. Every little thing about her, down to the last detail of this girl seemed perfect to him. But he wasn't just the wild type; he was the strong, silent type. Silent being the operative word. He'd never say anything about how his heart raced whenever she was near him. How he melted into her touch. How he caught his breath when she closed her eyes, just to hold her beauty. How her smile made him want to smile and laugh with her. And how whenever she looked into his dark eyes with her sweet, icy blue ones, everything was okay, and nothing could ever happen to either of them. He'd never say anything about it. So times like these, when he could just smile and look at her, were some of the best moments of his life.

But his moment was ruined by some unwelcome critics. "It's great that you're taking the time to stare at her, but it's pretty much useless." The first one whispered. Mori didn't even turn around, but his vision averted from Hotaru and up at the ceiling, as if he were praying that he wouldn't have to punch them. "Just staring isn't going to get you anywhere. You should do something." The second one said this. "At least you're living up to your title, Mr. Strong Silent Type." Both of them said this line, folding their arms.

Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin. The devil split in two. And yet somehow, the girls at this school found that attractive? "Hotaru Shizumi. Admittedly, one of the most eye-catching girls in school." Kaoru smiled and nodded as he leaned against the wall, watching her the same way Mori had been. Hikaru was obviously the more critical of the two. "At this rate, you don't have a chance with her. Some good-looking guy is just going to come in and sweep her off her feet."

Mori finally turned to glare at the two boys. Kaoru was next to him, Hikaru crouched down on his left. Hikaru smiled at this reaction. Something out of the big guy. "We all know it's true, that's why you're glaring at me like that." He laughed. Kaoru's face grew mischievous. "Hotaru is a nice girl and all, but looking like that, there isn't a very high chance of her spending the rest of her years at Ouran waiting on you. Besides, she has two years to go and this is your last." He turned to look at Mori. "In other words, this is your last chance." He finished smugly.

Mori clenched a fist before standing up and walking away. He turned the corner, thinking about what had just happened. There were few things Mori had taken the time to hate, but the twins had created most of them. He hated when the twins made sense. Even more than that, he hated when the twins made sense, and they were right. But worst of all was when they didn't seem to make sense, but he could still tell that every word they were saying was accurate.

He had never processed any of it in his mind. He only had one year left. Less than half a year was to be spared. That meant he had less than half a year to get Hotaru to fall for him, or at least tell her how he felt. Damn. The more he thought about that, he realized something else. He didn't even have half a year. All the guys would be all over her. As a matter of fact, they already were and it was just a matter of time before all the attention set in. They were right. Hotaru was nice, but she was too great a girl to waste her time waiting for a guy who couldn't even bring himself to talk to her, much less tell her how he felt. Much, much less ask her out.

Mori shook his head roughly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued down the hall. Dammit, dammit, dammit. He really didn't have a chance. Not a chance at all. They were completely incompatible anyway. He was tall, she was a little on the short side. He was quiet and a little cold, she was loud and one of the warmest, nicest people you'd ever meet. He did kendo, she played violin. He was calm, she was hyper-active. They were complete and total opposites in every way possible. In what universe could she ever find that attractive? Not even likable.

But before he could finish beating himself up, Mori bumped into someone. "Sorry…" He said quietly reaching down to pick up the girl's books. "It's no problem!" Her sweet voice had a smile all itself; there would definitely be a large one on her face. The bright red hair and boys uniform confirmed it, Mori had just run into the girl of his dreams.

Her long fingers picked up each book elegantly and took the few Mori had in his hands. Her head was still bobbing and he could hear the sounds of Paramore coming from the earbuds. As she stuffed the books under her arms she turned quickly, saying, "Thanks!" and continued on her way down the hall. She hadn't even noticed him, she hadn't even taken a second glance at a host. Girls in the hall started to whisper as Mori slowly stood up, looking after her. He couldn't help but smile, even though he had practically been rejected.

But then something surprising happened. Hotaru stopped walking. She stood there in the middle of the hallway, head still nodding to the music. She turned and walked back over to Mori. "Oh, hey! Sorry I kinda ignored you; music is my number one distraction." She smiled uncomfortably. Mori had never seen her uncomfortable smile. She really didn't want to be next to him if she couldn't even smile. "It's fine." He replied plainly. Hotaru did something completely shocking. She reached back down and pressed the pause button on her ipod, then pulled the earbuds out and stuffed them into her pocket. "So what's up?" She asked, smiling brightly this time and being one of the first people to have a fully immersed conversation with Takashi Morinozuka.

So maybe it'd take a while for him to build up the courage to tell her about his feelings. Even so, she took the time to talk to him and laugh with him, she even really wanted to get to know him, something most people didn't bother to do. And she still made him smile. And even though he wouldn't know that, he made her smile too.