Chapter Seven.
"All present and accounted for!" Tamaki announced as we got into the limousine.
I smiled across at Hikaru, still feeling guilty that I hadn't told him but I knew that this definitely wasn't the place, not in front of everyone.
He grinned back. "Should be fun."
"Of course it will be!" Kaoru elbowed his twin. "Akane's going." He teased, causing both Hikaru and I to blush and the rest of the group – apart from Kyoya and Mori-sempai – to burst into fits of laughter.
Hikaru laughed nervously and glanced at me. I shook my head, doing my best not to join in the laughter but eventually I did join in.
It was only a short trip to the carnival, no more than ten minutes. When we arrived we got out and stood at the gate. It almost seemed as if Tamaki was actually trying to decide whether or not to go in.
"Is there a problem?" I whispered to Haruhi.
"All the boys are from incredibly rich families." She explained. "So coming here is mixing with commoners, something that they aren't used to."
"Why don't we just go?" I asked. "They'll catch up." I grabbed Haruhi's hand and dragged her through the gates. Sure enough, the boys followed almost instantly.
"A commoner carnival!" Tamaki looked around. "Very interesting."
I stared at him, both worried and confused but Haruhi just shook her head, hinting that I didn't need to say anything.
"Hey! Look at that!" Hani-sempai called out. "A Ferris wheel!"
"A commoner ride!" Tamaki grinned, dashing over to the ticket booth. "Eight tickets!"
I glanced up somewhat nervously as Tamaki handed everyone one of the small, golden tickets. I guess I was lucky they didn't have any roller coasters here.
"They say it's onto two per carriage so Haruhi..."
"Taken." Kaoru patted her on the head, grinning. "Sorry Boss."
I looked around, Kaoru and Haruhi were a pair, Tamaki had paired up with Kyoya and Mori and Hani-sempai were together, as usual. That only left me and Hikaru.
"Kaoru..."He said weakly, almost hurt, but it was too late; Kaoru and Haruhi had already gotten into a carriage and taken off. "Looks like it's us." He shrugged as we handed in our tickets and got ushered into one of the rickety carriages.
I bit my lip as the wheel started turning; it seemed so much higher now that I was trapped in the carriage.
"This is alright, I guess." Hikaru broke the silence as the wheel started its second ascent. "Could do with a bit of excitement though." He stood up, causing the carriage to sway.
"Sit down!" I exclaimed, failing at keeping calm.
"You're not scared are you?" He teased.
"Of course no..." The Ferris wheel stopped as our carriage reached the top. It swung violently at the sudden halt. "Just sit down!" I grabbed his arm and dragged him down onto the seat beside me.
"You're scared, aren't you?" His voice had lost its mocking tone.
I nodded. "A little, yeah." I said weakly. "Not so much scared as uncomfortable."
"I'm sorry." He said gently as the wheel started turning again.
"It's alright. I guess it's stupid to be scared of this anyway." I sighed.
Hikaru got up and moved to sit opposite me. "Do you want to stay scared?" He asked, being uncharacteristically kind.
I shook my head. "But I don't know what..."
He offered me both his hands. "You're gonna stand up."
"What?" I stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Hold on." He said, firmly taking hold of my hands. "You're standing up in this thing."
"I-I can't!" I tried to pull away but he held tight.
"Trust me." He said, reassuringly squeezing my hands.
"All...alright." I nodded and slowly stood up, moving my weight off the seat and onto my feet.
"You did it." He smiled up at me.
"It isn't all that...Hikaru!" I squealed and the Ferris wheel stopped, causing me to stumble backwards.
"I gotcha." He pulled me forward into his arms, my hands slipping from his. "It's okay."
I was shaking, my head on his shoulder, unable to move. "I...it...sorry." I stammered, trying to calm my nerves.
"Hey, c'mon, we're off next." He said, easing me away from him and onto the seat opposite.
"Thank god."
He shook his head, laughing. "'Fraidy cat."
"I'll give you that." I said as the wheel stopped and to carriage door opened.
"C'mon." He took hold of my hand as I stood up. "You don't seem too stable."
Kaoru grinned as we walked over to where he and Haruhi stood. "Gotta wait for the other...nice."
"Shut up." Hikaru blushed and went to let go of my hand but he must have changed his mind because he ended up squeezing harder. "She's just a bit nervous with heights."
"My little girl's afraid of heights?" Tamaki asked as he and Kyoya came over to us.
"A bit." I confessed.
"It's alright." He said, pulling me away from Hikaru and into a tight embrace.
"I don't think choking her is going to help." Haruhi commented dryly.
"Tama-chan, let Aka-chan go." Hani and Mori-sempai came over.
"You look pale." Mori-sempai observed as Tamaki released me from his stranglehold.
"Just a little shaky." I laughed. "That's all."
"Why's that?" He asked, his tone still totally even, as if he didn't really care if I told him or not.
"She's a 'fraidy cat." Kaoru answered on my behalf. "Scared of heights."
"Yeah, but she's my 'fraidy cat." Hikaru took hold of my hand again.
"Y-yours?" Tamaki and my two classmates stammered.
"Yeah." He said. "Mine."
Now I felt weak for a totally different reason. My stomach had tied itself into a knot and my heart was racing but I knew what I wanted to say. "I...uh..." Just like the earlier, when I had tried to tell Hikaru how I felt, I found myself unable to find the words.
"Well?" Kaoru urged, obviously annoyed by my inability to speak.
"Yeah." I squeezed Hikaru's hand and smiled up at him. "Yours."
"What?" He stared at me, a cross between a grin and an utterly dumbstruck look on his face.
"I'll be your 'fraidy cat."
"You will?"
I giggled; he was the one who had said I was his first. "Yeah, I will."
"That's...that's great." He grabbed my other hand and turned me to face him. "My girl. Sounds good."
"It does."
He smiled, his playful, almost teasing smile and pulled me in close to him. He pressed his lips lightly against mine.
Our agreement for me to be his 'friady cat, sealed with a kiss. I didn't have to struggle to tell him how I felt, and he didn't have to be embarrassed by Kaoru's every taunt; we were a couple so it didn't matter what anyone said. We were both happy now.
THE END.
