When the last bell rang, I took my time getting to the Host Club. It was fun in its own right, but that didn't mean I wanted to go everyday. As I opened the door, I gasped, then began to choke on my laughter. The Hosts were all dressed in skater clothes.
Tamaki's face brightened when he saw me. "Mai! What do you think?" Through my giggles I spoke. "I think you're crazy. Did you do all this because of me"
Proudly, Tamaki nodded. "You inspired me! For this brilliant idea, I give you a kiss!" He grabbed me and dipped, his face only inches away. "Do you accept"
I looked around, at the quivering onlookers, and then to the Club members. Hunny was smiling cutely, on top of stoic Mori's soldiers; Haruhi was shaking his head in embarassment for Tamaki while the twins waited for my reaction. And then my eyes slid to Kyoya. His cool facade was flawless, but his eyes were hiding something that looked like fury. As my eyes stared into his, I thought of ice fire.
I thought it was beautiful.
Turning back to Tamaki, I smirked in an evil fashion.
"Let go of me, Tamaki, or my skateboard will be your worst nightmare"
He blanched and smiled at the same time.
"Excuse me for my unwelcome advances"
I didn't want Tamaki to think I was mad at him; I needed a friend like him. So I kissed the bunched together fingers of my right hand and placed it on his cheek. "I'm very flattered though. Thank you, Tamaki"
With that said, Tamaki grinned and scampered off to be the king.
I joked around with the twins the rest of the day. I have to say, they are the closest thing I had to home, and I didn't want to let that go. I showed them all of the pictures in my scrapbook-I had brought it in to school that day for this very reason-of my friends and I, skating and having a good time. Then, to tease them, I started bragging about the skateboarding competitions I've been in-which is only three, but still. Kaoru ran off to the back, and returned with a skateboard.
"Dude! You guys actually went and got one"
They grinned. "Yeah. We want you to do a trick!" Their request shocked me.
"Really? You aren't afraid I'll break something"
The twins stared at me. "We don't care." I nodded in agreement. "Let me go change, and I'll be right back." To get to the door, I either had to go the short way, through the biggest flock of girls, or the long way, around the smaller flocks. My choice was easy to make.
Wriggling my way through and around the smaller groups of girls, I made my way to the door. But my foot caught on the carpet. Of course.
Just as I braced myself for impact, an arm wrapped around me. It was strong, and the body it was attached to was so warm. I hadn't noticed, but I was shivering; my body had broken into a cold sweat in just a second.
Returning to my rattled senses, I realized I was holding on to someone's jacket as tight as physically possible, even though I had been straightened to stand on my own. The released jacket was now wrinkled considerably.
"Oops..." My eyes traveled the short distance to my rescuer's face.
One of the most awkward moments escalated faster than a bullet into absolute humiliation as Kyoya held me in his arms and stared into my eyes.
Entering the mansion, I stomped my way to the kitchen. A maid was there, on her break, apparently; she jumped as I slammed my bag down onto the marble counter. I stood there a moment, trying to slow my heart. Then I looked up to the bewildered maid's face.
"Do...do we have sandwich stuff?" My voice sounded weak and pathetic. I hate that.
Her smile was relieved as she nodded.
"Could you please make me one? I'm going upstairs to rest for a while"
"Turkey, lettuce, tomato, provolone"
"Yes, thank you." I felt bad for scaring her. I have a tendency to do that to people when I'm upset. To open my mouth, however, meant I would have to explain the situation to make it sincere, and I really didn't want to do that. So I turned away to plod up the stairs to my room.
My bed is amazing. It conforms to suit whatever is laying on it. When I flopped down on it, it felt the same as laying in a cradle.
I didn't begin my tantrum until the maid brought up my sandwich. The door clicked when she left, and I started screaming into my pillow, slamming my fists into the bed, kicking my feet like a five year old. Then I sat up and grabbed my journal.
Dear Journal I'm so embarassed.
At the Host Club, I tripped. Kyoya saved me from falling. I was so freaked out, and I wouldn't let go of him until I realized who it was.
How could that happen?! I mean, it's not that I minded being saved, but it was him! He looked so cute...and he was soo strong.
OH GOD WHAT AM I SAYING!
I've lost my mind.
Throwing my journal at the door wasn't the best idea at the time. Someone was knocking when the book hit the wood. A slight yelp reached my ears; I rushed to answer, and instantly regretted it.
In all his smirking glory, Kyoya stood there, smoothing away his surprise. Oh jeez.
We stood there a moment just staring. I was blushing like a cherry, my brain whirring at top speed, trying to find something semi-intelligent to say.
"Uh...uh..." I knew I looked ridiculous, but I could honestly not think of anything. When his eyes drifted down to my journal on the floor, I went red again. I was grateful for the distraction though, and quickly snatched the book from the carpet. Looking at Kyoya once more, I motioned for him to come in.
"To what higher being do I give praise for this visit?" I asked as sarcastically as I could. Instead of responding, though, he held up a book. My scrapbook.
"I believe this is yours? You ran from the Host Club so fast I couldn't catch up," he said.
"Oh my gosh, thank you!" My hands latched onto the old thing and clutched it to my chest. "You have no idea how upset I would be if I thought I lost it." I turned away as I blushed, and placed the album on my bed. I sighed. "Thank you so much, Kyoya. How can I repay you?" I turned again and stepped slightly toward him. "Answer me this: why do you come to the Host Club if you don't want to be there"
The question stunned me. I expected something way different, like to never come back or something.
"I, uh...have to. Go to the Club, I mean"
He leveled his gaze at me. "Why"
Breathing through my nose, I tried not to smack him to Friday. "My mother told me to." I felt stupid saying that.
Kyoya laughed quietly. He looks like a little boy when he laughs, as rare as that happens. "I didn't think you were the type of girl that listens to her mother." I looked him in eye. "I'm not." Sighing impatiently, I crossed my arms. "Is that all?" His smile faltered, which made me feel very triumphant.
"Yes, I suppose it is." He spun on his heel and almost made it out before my big mouth stopped him.
"I'll see you tomorrow." The words were out, I blushed, and he stopped. Craning his neck back to look at me, he gave me a small smile.
"I guess you will"
Then he was gone.
The whole week basically flew by. And as much as it pains me to say it, I loved just about every minute of it. Even though some days the thought of going to the Club made me sick, when I actually go there, I immediately felt great. From the twins' antics to Hunny's sweets to Tamaki's foolishness, I was always busy, and always having fun.
Unexpectedly, by the next Monday, I was looking forward to homeroom and Host Club. The homeroom part kinda freaked me out, but hey, I wasn't going to start complaining. Kyoya was being...tolerable...in the most gentlemanly way. And we didn't have any silent or verbal clashings of our personalities.
Happily I trounced to homeroom, only to discover Kyoya wasn't there. The gears in my mind just screeched to a halt; I couldn't believe this. He couldn't be absent. He's Kyoya.
For some reason I could not name, I felt lost.
"Fine. He's not here. Whatever," I muttered pointlessly.
For the rest of the day I was lazy. Trudging to my classes was like manual labor. After the last bell my steps picked up a bit. Kyoya or no, Host Club was still fun. But the fact that he might not be there still weighed on my mind. My entry into the Host Club crushed the rest of my hopes that he would show up. I was feeling very dejected. And apparently, it showed.
"Mai? What's wrong? Why are you all sad?" Hunny's cute voice interrupted my brooding. My eyes glanced at him, then back out the window.
"Nothing's wrong, Hunny. Just a little tired"
Hunny didn't leave. He moved Bun-Bun to his other arm, but he didn't leave.
"Oh, hi Kyoya"
My head spun around so fast I got whiplash. Darting my eyes around the room, I ran my fingers through my hair, checking for any knots. As my eyes came back to rest on Hunny, it dawned on me.
"You tricked me"
He giggled. "You like Kyoya, don't you." It wasn't a question. Luckily, I had learned to not blush in this kind of situation. It was, though, a little harder this time. "No, I don't"
"Yes you do"
"Hunny, please. Why would I like him"
That shut him up for a second. I didn't like to be mean to Hunny, but I didn't want to talk about this either, especially when I didn't really know that much about it either.
"You think he's handsome," he said, smiling. For a moment, I had forgotten my own question.
"Hunny, please." The little boy looked frustrated for a moment, then he skipped off to jump on Mori.
I saw my reflection in the window. The confusion I felt inside was evident on the outside as well.
Why was that question so hard to answer?
I stood to leave, grabbing my bag on the way up. The room blurred as I wobbled forward, making less sense than normal. My head felt hot, and my hands were clammy. Suddenly the world was upside down. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was Mori reaching for me.
