Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Ouran or its characters.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who read the last 3 chapters. A special thanks to all that reviewed as well, it makes me happy to see that you enjoy reading my story.
Love Me If You Dare
Ch. 4
Haruhi was awakened by the morning sun through her bedroom window. Not quite ready to get up, she laid in bed for a while thinking about recent events. She hadn't noticed a change in the hosts' behavior towards her since they discovered that she was developing a more womanly figure, but then again she was never really one to notice those types of things.
As Haruhi rose from the bed to go wash up, she heard a knock on her door. She walked over to the door to answer it and one of the many maids that were on duty informed her that breakfast would be served in 10 minutes. She thanked the maid and went to go get ready. All she had left to wear was the yellow eyelet dress her father had packed; reluctantly she put it on and went downstairs to eat. When she got to the dining room she noticed that one of the hosts was absent.
"Where's Kyoya-sempai?" Haruhi asked to no one in particular. When they all looked at her like she was crazy, she just sighed and said, "Nevermind, I forgot he doesn't wake up early."
She was happy to see a delicious looking western style breakfast on the table. There were pancakes, eggs made any way you could want them, crepes, bacon, and lots of fruit.
"Oh my beautiful daughter looks so happy to see all this delicious food she's been deprived of having!" Tamaki squealed as Haruhi took a bite of her pancakes and smiled at the taste.
"Sempai, I've had pancakes before," she replied slightly annoyed.
"Haru-chan, would you like to go to the beach one last time before we leave?" Hunny questioned as he took a large bite of strawberry shortcake.
"I thought we were going to leave early?" she asked.
"We are, but there's no sense in not enjoying the beach while waiting for Kyoya to wake up." Kaoru answered for Hunny.
"Well, I don't see why not," she agreed, "but I'm not gonna go swimming."
Once they finished their breakfast, they all headed down to the beach (minus Kyoya). Haruhi walked ahead with Mori and Hunny while Kaoru, Hikaru, and Tamaki trailed behind them.
"You know Tono, I'm surprised you're not jumping for joy that Haruhi is wearing a dress and walking on the beach." Kaoru teased Tamaki.
"Yeah Tono, by now you would be picking her up and spinning her around." Hikaru pushed further as Tamaki's cheeks started turning a healthy pink tinge.
"I guess he won't mind if we go play with her," the twins said in a sing song voice as they held hands and skipped towards their target.
Tamaki started running after the twins. "You two devils better not go near my precious Haruhi!" He yelled out. The twins stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face the nearing king. Tamaki halted as he noticed the evil smiles plastered on their identical faces.
"Your Haruhi?" Kaoru questioned as he stepped away from his brother and stood on Tamaki's left side and placed an arm around his shoulder.
"Don't you mean, your 'daughter'?" Hikaru asked, a hint of anger evident in his voice, as he followed his brothers actions but stood on Tamaki's right.
"That's what I meant; of course she's my daughter." Tamaki shakily replied to the twins.
Spotting Kyoya, Tamaki broke away from the twins and ran towards the Shadow King. Flailing his arms around Tamaki yelled, "Mommy! Your deviant sons are being mean to their father and threatening our daughter!"
It was too early and Kyoya was not in the mood for this. He didn't get to bed until just after 5am, and he would much rather still be in bed than dealing with this idiot's antics. Holding a hand out in an effort to halt the frantic host he sighed, "I really don't have the patience to deal with your idiocy so early in the morning."
Tamaki, stunned by Kyoya's hurtful words, tried to stop running. Instead, he ran straight into the Shadow King's extended arm and fell backwards. Tamaki stood up and started mumbling to himself, "No one in this family respects father, not even mother." He then preceded to find a secluded corner by a cliff in which to sulk.
Kyoya ignored the "King's" antics and walked over to where Haruhi sat. Haruhi was sitting on a beach towel under on oversized umbrella watching her friends. Hunny was walking along the beach collecting sea shells as Mori followed. The twins were teasing Tamaki and splashing water on him.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" Kyoya asked as he looked down at the doe-eyed girl.
"Hmm?" Haruhi questioned, caught off guard by the host's question. When she realized what he asked she looked up at him and smiled, "I don't mind, Sempai."
Kyoya sat next too the small girl who shifted so they could sit on the single beach towel comfortably.
"Thanks, Sempai." Haruhi said as she looked at Kyoya. She was caught off guard by the somewhat surprised look on his face.
"What are you thanking me for, Haruhi?" Kyoya asked, quickly suppressing any hint of emotion he accidentally let creep through.
Smiling up at him she said, "I had a better time than I thought I would, and it's thanks to you."
He couldn't help the genuine smile that came upon his lips as he heard those words, yet he didn't respond.
"You're the one who always arranges these trips. I'm sure things would not go as smoothly if someone else was in charge," Haruhi finished. She was looking down at her feet now as she dug her toes into the sand.
At that moment Kyoya could only look at her. Her smiling face; the way her eyes sparkled every time she smiled; the way her bangs lightly brushed the lids of her eyes. For the first time he managed to realize some of the feelings he had been suppressing. Did he love her? Maybe. He wasn't quite sure. He came from a life where people married for the sake of bettering business relationships or helping your social standing. Love was not something he had ever allowed to enter his mind. Plus, there were already two people in the host club that were in love with Haruhi; adding a third would make things far more complicated. He wasn't sure whether Tamaki or Hikaru even realized themselves that they had long ago fallen in love with the cross-dressing host, but it was up to them to figure things out for themselves.
Kyoya decided at that moment that he was no longer going to wait on the sidelines, he was going to play the game as well. He stood up rather quickly and startled Haruhi in the process. Haruhi looked up at him worriedly, wondering if she said something that bothered him. He extended an arm to her while looking forward at the ocean, "Would you like to take a walk before we leave?"
Somewhat stunned, but happy none the less that she hadn't angered him, Haruhi simply smiled and nodded as she took his hand. Kyoya helped her to her feet and made no effort to let go of her hand. Their fingers entwined, they walked along the shore in the shallow water.
"You should really smile more, Sempai." Haruhi said just above a whisper. She hadn't meant to say it aloud, and tried to act unfazed as the words slipped from her lips. She barely noticed that they were still holding hands as they walked along the length of the shore.
"What was that Haruhi?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her.
"Just that you should smile more. It looks good on you, Sempai." She replied, slightly embarrassed and suddenly feeling a bit flushed.
Kyoya smiled and turned his head to the water. "Maybe you should create opportunities for me to smile more," he replied without even thinking.
'What the hell did I just say? I didn't mean to say that out loud. Well I'll just act calm, like if it was nothing.' Kyoya thought to himself as he quickly put on a stoic face.
"Um…. I'll try Sempai, but I'm not really funny." Haruhi replied utterly serious.
'This girl really doesn't get it, huh? This is going to take a lot of work. Nevertheless, an Ootori does not shy away from a challenge.'
They continued to walk along the beach in a comfortable silence. Haruhi liked that they didn't need to talk; everyone in the host club (minus Kyoya and Mori) talked so much already. Their serene walk wouldn't last much longer. One by one, the other hosts began to notice the natural type and the cool type walking along the beach hand in hand.
A soft smile crept onto Hunny's mouth as he spoke to his cousin, "Takashi, it looks like Kyo-chan finally figured it out, huh?"
"Ah." Mori agreed as he patted the top of his cousin's head.
"M-m-mo Mommy is corrupting our daughter!" Tamaki wailed just before fainting on the beach sand.
Haruhi and Kyoya turned around at the sound of Tamaki's yell and both uttered under their breath, "Idiot." They started walking towards the unconscious Tamaki, still holding hands. Hunny and Mori kneeled at Tamaki's side and tried to revive him while Kaoru was busy holding back a very angry Hikaru.
Hikaru's eyes locked on the two intertwined hands. "What the hell are you playing at Ootori?" he growled through a clenched jaw. His eyes were slits.
"What are you talking about, Hitachiin?" Kyoya responded as he pinched the bridge of his nose in slight annoyance.
Kaoru answered for his twin as he pointed at the two hands, "Why are ya'll holding hands?"
"Eh?" Haruhi almost yelled, "Oh, I didn't even realize we were holding hands this entire time." She calmly removed her hand from Kyoya's and let it fall to her side. She let out a little laugh.
At that moment, everyone looked at the girl. Kyoya tried hard to look as indifferent as possible, and though no one noticed, his eye was twitching profusely. He only thought one thing at that moment, 'This girl can be so infuriating.'
"Sorry Kyoya-sempai, I didn't mean to hold on to your hand for so long," Haruhi genuinely apologized.
"No need for apologizes, I hardly realized it myself." He replied, quickly putting on his cold, calm demeanor. "Well everyone, shall we head back already? The cars should be ready by now." Kyoya turned away from Haruhi and started back to the mansion.
The time had finally come for them to leave the beach. They had arrived with a hint of tension, but then everything seemed to get better, until the ride home. Haruhi was sat between the twins, much to the protest of Tamaki. Haruhi fidgeted the whole way back as she kept taking quick glances at Hikaru and then Kyoya. She couldn't tell from the glare of Kyoya's glasses, but he seemed irritated. Hikaru was glaring at Kyoya the whole ride back. She couldn't wait to get back to the comfort, peace, and familiarity of her own home. She knew that whatever had happened between the two, eventually Hikaru and Kyoya would sort things out in their own way.
Haruhi sat on her bed finishing the last of her homework. She tried to focus on her work, but instead her thoughts drifted to a certain host. Much to her disarray the memory kept replaying in her mind. Her and Kyoya were walking along the beach, and holding hands! To make matters worse, she felt that she had really enjoyed herself.
What worried her was what Kyoya thought. He hadn't let go of her hand, nor had he acted annoyed. She sincerely thought that he might have enjoyed himself as well. Quickly, she shook her head at her own thought. Why would Kyoya Ootori find enjoyment in holding hands with her? What merit did it hold?
The more the memories flowed through her head, Haruhi couldn't shake herself from thinking that the tension between Hikaru and Kyoya was somehow caused by her. Did Hikaru really harbor feelings for her? The breaking of his dare and the anger and fury she had seen in his amber eyes when he confronted Kyoya told her that he really could. For the second time she shook her head. These guys were her friends, she couldn't allow herself to feel anything but friendship for them.
The guilty feeling suddenly crept up in the pit of her stomach. She knew that something was wrong. At that moment she knew that held more than feelings of friendship for one of them; but the host club was like a family. What would happen to all their friendships if she did have feelings for one of them? Would the Host Club disband? Would friendships end? Already witnessing the jealousy and anger between Kyoya and Hikaru, she came to one conclusion.
Yes, friendships might end.
That was scary. So, who does Haruhi have feelings for? What do you think is going to happen? Who do you think will get dared next? OH! The suspense!
As usual, please review!
