A/N Chapter Two is up! Yeah, these first few updates will be pretty fast since I've already written them. I just had to make a few changes. So, again, onward with the story!

Chapter Two

'Cause I'm going to…

He lived in what appeared to be a modest home from the outside, a one story ranch, with barely a lawn to speak of. But looks can be deceiving. One step into the house and you knew the boy had money. Pop art and LP's hung on the walls, while the modern and retro furniture screamed 1960's. Except for the horrible colors. Thank God those stayed in the right era. While I was wrapped up in my musings, he grabbed blankets from the closet and laid them on the couch for my makeshift bed. Suddenly weariness took me, but I didn't want sleep to claim me yet. I wanted to find out more about him, more about this…did he tell me what his name was? I looked down upon myself, and realized what a mess I looked like.

"Um…is there any chance that I could take a shower?" I meekly asked, not wanting to overstay my welcome.

"Yeah, um, there, in the back," he pointed. "Just turn to your left, the bathroom's down that hallway."

"Thanks," I said, and I made my way quickly through his house. I switched on the light in the bathroom, and lo and behold, the sight that met me was horrendous. My eye makeup had run down my cheeks, and my hair was stringy as hell. It didn't look any better with the hot pink highlights at the ends growing out. And to top it all off, I was a stick. No, not even a stick. A skeleton. A walking talking real life skeleton. "Guess it has been a while since I last ate, eh?" I mused to myself, beginning to count my ribs in horror and fascination. I turned on the shower and quickly hopped in, washing myself of my past and all the sins that followed it. I used whatever I could find in his shower, and I probably smelled like a guy afterwards, but it was a whole lot better than smelling like cigarettes and beer. I grabbed a towel when I was finished and realized I didn't have any clothes to change into. Great. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and I jumped at the intrusion.

"I got you some clothes to change into," the man said. "I figured you'd need them."

I opened the door a crack and stuck my head through. "Thanks, um…"

"Hikaru," he supplied.

"Thanks, Hikaru," I said, gratefully accepting the clothes from him. I dressed in his flannel pants and oversized t-shirt, wondering what I would do the next day when I had to leave. "Maybe I could do my laundry," I thought, "at least then I'll have clean clothes." I stepped out of the bathroom into his house. "Here comes the awkward part," I mumbled.

He was sitting on a suede chair opposite the couch that was now a bed. He looked up expectantly when I entered the room, and I carefully perched myself on the couch. I found the clock and was surprised to see that it read 2:17. I woke up someone at two 'o clock in the morning and he still let me stay the night. Amazing.

"So, do you want anything to eat? It's no problem, really," he asked, looking me up and down. He was probably amazed at the results of my shower. It made my appearance look a hundred times better in the least.

"No, no thanks," I replied. "I'm more tired than hungry."

He eyed me once more, than said, "Alright." He walked to the end of the hallway, and entered a room to the right, which I presumed to be his bedroom. I knew he wasn't asleep, however, because I could see a tiny crack of light underneath the door. I crawled under the blankets and the next thing I knew, I was fast asleep.

xxx

I woke up the next morning confused and disoriented. Where the hell was I? Was I out drinking with Hiro and we crashed at some band member's house, totally wasted and I blacked out the whole time? Then it hit me. I spent the night at a stranger's house, who out of pure generosity opened his home to me. Hikaru, that's right. Then I smelled it. The most wonderful aroma in the whole world: food. I didn't even know what kind of food it was, and I didn't really care. I just knew I was on the edge of starvation. I got up from the couch too quickly, dizzying myself so I had to grab hold of the coffee table. "Damn lack of food," I muttered. I then made my way to the kitchen, where Hikaru waited with toast and coffee for me.

"Mornin'," he said, pulling out a chair for me and getting some toast. "Sorry I don't have more, I don't really cook that much," he admitted, placing the plate in front of me.

"Really, you don't have to go through all this trouble," I started.

"Of course I do!" he interrupted. "I can't let you starve," he insisted. If there ever was any time for the awkward turtle, it was now. There was nothing to do. I mean, yeah, the common sense thing was to eat, but he was staring at me. It was just so damn uncomfortable. I only could look at him, the clock above his refrigerator, or my toast. So I chose the most idiotic way out of the situation.

"What?" I said irritably. Yeah, that made a great impression on my part.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but I've never been in the situation before where some strange girl is in my kitchen eating toast after spending the night."

"Well, I'm sorry I bothered you," I replied coldly, sorry that I had said anything in the first place.

"No, wait. It's just that I don't know the first thing about you," he paused, and we sat in silence for what seemed like eternity. "Well this is awkward."

"Awkward turtle," I giggled quietly, while Hikaru looked at me like I had lost my mind. "What? You never heard of that before?" I asked, making the universal hand motion of discomfort.

"Awkward Turtle?"

"Yeah, there's also Uncomfortable Moose, um, shoot, there's another one, but I don't remember."

"And the point is…"

"It's funny, you know. You just do it when things get really awkward and it lightens up the mood." He smiled. And from then on things just weren't so awkward anymore.

xxx

We sat on his couch, and talked until the sun floated high in the sky. The thing was, we didn't talk about me or him or really our lives but of life in general. We discussed the philosophical meanings of Plato and his story of the cave, to the downright ridiculous notions of whether cherry or lemon Starbursts were better.

"That's disgusting. Who likes cherry?"

"I do. Why do you like things that are sour?"

"Lemon isn't sour. I mean, lemon flavored Starbursts aren't."

"Just admit that cherry is better and let's move on," he countered.

"No! That stuff tastes like medicine," I argued. "Like Dimetapp or some other nasty flu stuff."

"Dimetapp is for colds."

"Yeah, whatever, you're just angry at yourself for liking such a sickening flavor."

"Okay, Miss Sourhead."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Cherry…sicko…guy..."

"Heh heh."

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"Look at the time! We've been talking this whole time!" I looked at the clock, and it said it was already four in the afternoon. "That can't be right."

"It is."

"You're lying."

"I can assure you I'm not."

"God, what am I going to do? I was supposed to be out of here by now."

"What?"

"I can't overstay my welcome. You've done enough for me already, and I really appreciate it, but if I'm gonna get anything straightened out, I'd better get going." I started to gather my things and made my way for the front door.

"Where?"

"What?"

"Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know. I need to find a place to crash for a while, lay low, get some money, and then I'm out."

"Out?"

"Yeah, I don't know, out of the hellhole that I've dug myself into."

"And you couldn't stay here because…?"

"Hikaru, you've done too much for me already, I couldn't ask you for anything more," I said as I reached for the door handle.

"I'm not about to let you go wandering off in the streets with nowhere to go."

"You don't even know me."

"I know you well enough to care."

"Hikaru…"

"How much money do you have?"

"What?"

"How much money do you have?"

"Is that any of your damn business?"

"Just answer the question."

"5,000 yen, okay?"

"That's not going to get you anywhere."

"I can manage."

"That amount isn't worth shit."

"I can do this on my own okay? I know how to run my life. I've always lived like this and I don't need you to step in. You don't know me."

He looked me straight in the eyes, straight into the soul.

"Haruhi, just stay one more night."

Never pleading. Just asking. Sympathizing.

"You don't know how much better it would make me feel."

His damn charm. That damn smile. His persona. Did my heart just skip a beat?

"Please."

I had found a home.