Chapter 7: A day in the life…
Haruhi stood in the shadow of the doorway watching Kyoya's retreating form, her hand still tingling where his lips had pressed against it and a blush steadily climbing her cheeks as his parting words echoed in her ears. She shook her head in dazed disbelief, a wave of embarrassment washing over her as she realised that she was just standing there, staring after him like an idiot when she really should be getting to class. She dragged her gaze reluctantly away from the dark haired figure, eyes skimming over the garden as she turned to leave, only to still once more as she realised that numerous pairs of eyes were looking back at her. Staring back at her in fact, she noted with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
A handful of students must have been lingering in the garden or passing through as she and Kyoya-senpai had been speaking, but she had passed no remarks on them at the time, too caught up in their own quiet conversation to notice that they may have been drawing any attention. She should have known better of course. Kyoya and the other hosts had eyes on them wherever they went in Ouran, and without even trying, they managed to be the centre of attention. Kyoya-senpai had, quite probably, been well aware of the fact that there had been a potential audience, after all something like that wouldn't have escaped the Shadow King's notice.
By kissing her hand in clear view of the other students, Kyoya-senpai had acknowledged her as a girl, and with the way the Ouran grapevine worked, the news would spread like wildfire and be common knowledge by lunch - so now there was no going back. In one swift move, he had made sure that she would be undeniably acknowledged as a female student, as well as making her transition today a little easier. As surely, if Kyoya Ootori, one of the most powerful and popular students to grace Ouran's halls, had known that Haruhi was a girl and had no issue with it, then who were the rest of them to question it.
She stood there for a moment, staring daggers at his back as he rounded the corner and out of sight, irritated at the way he had manipulated the situation. Yet she found a soft smile stealing back onto her face as she recognised Kyoya-Senpai's typically underhanded way of doing something nice for someone, while appearing only to act in his own best interests. Her smile faded an instant later as she felt an unexpected flash of disappointment at the thought that it had all just been an act on his part.
She shook her head at her own naiveté. He was a host after all; convincing a girl that she was the prettiest and the most delightful girl in the room was what they did, and yet, the thought that it had just been an act for the benefit of onlookers made her feel a little disappointed somehow. For a moment she had thought that she saw something in his eyes; some dark warmth that had drawn her in, reminding her of that same warmth she had fleetingly felt in his arms last night.
It must just have been just her imagination, she told herself forcefully, but she couldn't help but recall the quiet words he had said in parting, those certainly hadn't been for the onlooker's benefit. Yet she wondered why he had said it, there was surely no merit in it for him after all?
She pulled herself from those thoughts as she realised that the eyes of the loitering students were still fixed on her. She endeavoured to act as if nothing unusual had happened and fixed what she had begun to think of as her host club smile firmly in place as she forced herself to meet the eyes of the few students that stood staring at her. Then, as if she hadn't a care in the world, she turned and finally made her way to class, subconsciously rubbing the hand that Kyoya had kissed with her other as she hurried along.
OoOoOoO
Haruhi opened the door to the classroom quietly and glanced in. Some of the students were talking quietly amongst themselves, while others were flipping through their books as the teacher sorted though some notes that lay scattered on his desk. She tried to slip into the room unnoticed, but the click of the door closing betrayed her and she winced at the echoing sound.
"You're late." The teacher said irritably as he looked up, then he froze, staring at her.
"Yes, I apologise Sensei, it won't happen again." Haruhi replied steadily, eyes narrowing as she watched his gaze trail slowly down her figure, only to snap back up to meet her own once more, his eyes widening in acute disbelief as they met her annoyed gaze. Haruhi braced herself for the inevitable barrage of questions she was sure would follow, but amazingly, they didn't come. Teacher and student stared at each other for a moment, then he shook his head, muttering something under his breath, of which Haruhi only caught "….bloody teenagers today…"
He eyed her again and sighed in exasperation, "Just take your seat Fujioka."
Haruhi turned away gratefully and looked to the back of the class to where her usual seat between the Hitachiin twins sat empty and saw them enthusiastically beckoning her to join them. She smiled, embarrassed at their antics as she made her way there, trying to ignore the feeling that every eye in the class was now following her.
Pulling out her chair, she grimaced as the legs grated loudly against the floor, the sound reverberating loudly around the unusually silent room. She quickly took her seat, refusing to pull the chair forward to meet the desk, unwilling to repeat the screeching sound and draw any further attention to herself, but it was too late. She looked towards the front of the class only to be met by a sea of faces all staring directly back at her, the teacher included. She blanched under their scrutiny and ducked her head in embarrassment, willing the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
Then she heard Hikaru mutter loudly, "You'd think they've never seen a girl before."
"I know!" Renge chimed in, her voice laden with an air of superiority, "I mean it was completely obvious she was a girl. Only an idiot would have thought otherwise."
Haruhi glanced over to see Hikaru and Renge grinning at each other and then at her, she gave a small smile of thanks, even as Renge rolled her eyes as if to say 'Yes, I know I was one of those idiots too. But let me have my fun.'
Then from her other side she heard Kaoru speak up. "Sensei, I have a question about yesterday's class, can you explain..." And just like that, her three friends managed to turn the attention away from her. She sighed in relief as the teacher replied to Kaoru's question and the students turned away from her to focus on the class instead.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur. Three other classes followed the first, and between each one the twins and Renge would surround her desk in an almost defensive ring, chatting and laughing amongst themselves and drawing Haruhi into it as if it was a perfectly ordinary day, yet shielding her from all but the most determined prying eyes. She caught one or two of the derisive comments cast back at her by some of the more troublesome students, but while she studiously ignored them, the twin's quick wit and Renge's sharp tongue soon put an end to it all. And obviously the teacher's grapevine was as voracious as the student's, as each subsequent teacher only gave her the briefest of curious glances, before carrying on with class as normal.
Slowly as the hours passed, Haruhi began to relax, wondering if today might not be quite as nightmarish as she had thought.
OoOoOoO
Kyoya imagined that he could feel Haruhi watching him as he walked away from her. Part of him wanted to turn, to see if those dark brown eyes were truly fixed on him, or if it was just wishful thinking on his part. Instead he forced himself to walk nonchalantly until he had rounded the corner, then he stopped and leaned back against the wall for a moment, sighing as he shook his head at his own impulsiveness. For once in his life he had done something without thinking it through, without weighing the benefits or consequences of his actions, yet he found that he couldn't bring himself to regret it.
A soft smile reached his lips as he replayed the incredulous look on her face at his own quiet compliment, and the dark blush that had coloured her features as he had kissed her hand. He could only imagine the reactions of the others that had been loitering around the garden, as his eyes had only been focused on her, until he had forced himself to walk away.
Well, it would certainly have set the rumour mill turning and what better way to spread the word of Haruhi's transformation, than to resort to the most basic of host club tactics, a chivalrous kiss for the newly unveiled 'Princess'. Kyoya found his smile widening as he imagined how Haruhi would hate being thought of as one of the vacuous princesses that the host club had entertained.
He pushed himself away from the wall, smile still playing on his lips as he strolled towards his third form classroom, already wondering how he could arrange to have another conversation with Haruhi today. He pushed open the classroom door, barely acknowledging the teacher's reprimand for being late as various scenarios ran through his head, only to stop short as his eyes lit on Tamaki's troubled face. Guilt flooded through him as he realised that although he had spent almost an hour listening to Tamaki's issues and worries earlier, his friend hadn't crossed his mind once since Kyoya had laid eyes on Haruhi that morning.
Tamaki seemed completely lost in his own thoughts, but Kyoya could see the worry etched on his friend's features and it was easy to guess where his thoughts lay and who the cause of that worry was. He had always known that Tamaki cared for Haruhi, had suspected that it may go much deeper than that, they all had. It had been a subject of speculation and amusement amongst the other hosts, but Kyoya didn't find it quite as humorous anymore. Not when his own feelings seemed to be drawing him to Haruhi too.
He made his way slowly to his seat, watching as Tamaki frowned at a pen he was twirling through his fingers, but the blonde didn't seem to notice Kyoya's arrival or the fact that there was a blank physics exam lying before him. Kyoya sat, pulled his own exam towards him and retrieved a pen from his bag, all the while watching Tamaki from the corner of his eye.
He waited until the teacher had turned away to scrawl something on the whiteboard, before reaching out and waving his pen under Tamaki's nose, causing the blonde to startle. Kyoya met his friends questioning gaze, tapped his pen on his exam sheet pointedly and gave his friend a nudge to get started. Tamaki stared at the pages in front of him for a moment as if they had somehow appeared out of thin air, then rubbed his eyes and flashed Kyoya a grateful smile as he opened his own answer sheet and started scanning the questions.
Kyoya watched him for a moment longer, before turning back to his own exam. He began writing the answers automatically at first, but then became steadily distracted by thoughts of Haruhi, followed by flashes of guilt as he recalled Tamaki's worried expression, only for Haruhi to intrude on his thoughts once more. He dropped his pen in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose, silently berating himself for his inability to concentrate, and his selfishness for thinking that way about a girl that his best friend obviously cared deeply about.
Tamaki truly was his best friend and that was something that Kyoya did not take lightly, he would never intentionally hurt him. He glanced over at the blonde who was busily filling in his answer sheet, and realised that no matter how much he may want to talk to Haruhi, no matter how intrigued by her he had become, he should keep his distance. He couldn't allow himself to be interested in her, Tamaki deserved better than that.
He would just have to stop thinking about her. After all she was nothing more than a friend until yesterday, nothing had changed between them, not really. He picked up his pen once more and started filling in the sheet, determined to put all thoughts of Haruhi out of his mind; but somehow he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
OoOoOoO
When lunch hour came, Hikaru watched as Haruhi pulled out an obento, obviously planning on remaining in the classroom for her lunch as she normally did. He shook his head at her in disbelief as he grabbed it and held it out of her reach.
"Give it back Hikaru." Haruhi said impatiently.
"No, I don't think so. You're joining us for lunch today." He said, tossing the box to his brother as Haruhi made a lunge for it. "Isn't that right Kaoru?"
"Absolutely!" Kaoru replied, smiling broadly as Haruhi glared at him, "We're not leaving a defenceless maiden to eat alone in a classroom on the day of her big debut."
"Guys, I am not going to the dining hall with you, I think I've had quite enough staring for one day. Besides, I didn't bring any money with me today, not that I'd waste it there anyway." Haruhi reached out her hand to Kaoru, curling her fingers repeatedly in a demanding gesture. "Thanks for your concern, but I'll be fine here, so just hand it over."
Kaoru placed the box behind his back and shook his head in mock sadness. "I'm afraid I can't do that Haruhi. We want to have lunch with you today, so just come with us okay? It's our treat!" His voice took on a wheedling tone as he added, "It's the least you can do after all the help we gave you last night."
Haruhi eyed them both suspiciously, but they just smiled hopefully back at her with a determined glint in their eyes. They watched as Haruhi looked from one to the other and saw the realisation set in that they weren't going to back down. It also helped that Renge was standing nearby with a huge smile on her face as she jumped up and down, egging them on.
"Fine," Haruhi sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat even as she fixed each one of them with a dark glare, saving the severest for Kaoru as if she had expected better from him, but he just grinned insolently back at her. Renge squealed in delight, spinning round to dash from the room, calling back over her shoulder that she would grab them a table.
Kaoru shook his head exasperatedly as he went after her, "Renge wait! You don't have to..."
Haruhi looked at Hikaru questioningly as his twin left, but he just shrugged with a mischievous smile as he gestured to the door and gave an exaggerated bow, "Ladies first!"
She rolled her eyes at him again, but preceded him out the door into the now deserted hallway. As he joined her she asked, "What's going on Hikaru? Why are you all so determined for me to go to lunch with you?"
"What do you mean? Is it so wrong for us to want to have lunch with our friend?" he asked with a tone of injured innocence, but he was not quite able to keep the playful grin from his face.
"Fine, you can have your secrets, but if I don't like whatever you guys have up your sleeves, I'm leaving." Haruhi said, laughing softly, "I may have promised to go to lunch with you lot, but I never promised how long I'd stay."
He watched her for a moment, mesmerised by the sound of her laughter and how her eyes shone with amusement. Then he realised that she had obviously been expecting some retort to what she had said and was now staring at him worriedly.
"What?" She asked, puzzled by the way he was watching her so intently; she reached up patting at her cheeks tentatively, "Have I something on my face?"
"No, you're fine!" he answered quickly and then laughed embarrassedly, "I mean, you look great!"
She looked away slightly, a faint blush forming on her cheeks, "You guys have to stop complimenting me, or else I'll end up as vain as some of the host club guests we've had to deal with."
"I doubt that you'd ever end up like that, you're not really like them." He replied seriously and froze as she eyed him uncertainly. "I meant it as a compliment!" he said hurriedly, then grinned. "You're too nice to become conceited."
"And I'd always have you to bring me back down to earth, right?" She said, smiling as she bumped his shoulder playfully.
"Of course," he assured her, then offered her his arm. "Now, come on or we'll be late." She shook her head at his gentlemanly behaviour, but took his arm as he led her into the dining hall.
OoOoOoO
The moment they entered, Haruhi began scanning the dining hall hoping to see Renge or Kaoru somewhere nearby, but was distracted by a gaggle of smiling girls that were coming towards them, some of whom she recognised from the host club. She turned to step out of their way, only to be flanked on the other side by another group of girls that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. She cast a questioning look at Hikaru only to find that he looked just as astonished as she felt.
She eyed the girls warily for a moment as they closed in on her and then finally tried to back away, only to find that she and Hikaru were now surrounded. Then the veritable army of girls all seemed to start speaking at once as they pelted her endless questions, interspersed with compliments and jokes, but it quickly just became a wall of noise as Haruhi stood there trying to make sense of it all. She lost her grip on Hikaru as they were jostled by some of the more enthusiastic girls, she spun around to look for him but was now encircled by a ring of chattering faces. She tried to focus on their questions, but there were too many coming all at once and she held up her hands to ward them off, or ask them to stop, but with no success.
Then suddenly she felt herself pulled up and away from the group and gasped at the suddenness of the motion, her stomach swooping as her feet left the ground and she was gathered into a pair of strong arms. She clutched at a set of somewhat familiar broad shoulders as she was carried away from the rabble to a table at the back of the room, leaving a wave of complaining voices behind them.
When she was placed back on her feet, she looked up, smiling at her rescuer. "Hey Mori-senpai! Thanks for the help."
"No problem." He replied, as succinct as ever as he stared disapprovingly over at the group of girls that were now staring mutinously back, but they seemed unwilling to come any nearer for now and Haruhi heaved a sigh of relief. Hikaru finally made his way over to re-join them, offering Haruhi an apologetic shrug for the unexpected inquisition as he too eyed the girls with annoyance.
"Haru-chan!" a familiar voice called and Haruhi turned as a small blond streak flew towards her and leaped up to hug her.
"Hey Honey-senpai." She greeted him, slightly choked by the vice-like grip around her neck.
"Hikaru and Kaoru called us this morning to tell us about your big secret, and asked us to come for lunch today. Are you surprised?" he asked as he let her go and looked up at her grinning.
"I certainly am!" she said, eyeing the twins who were now looking exceptionally smug. She flashed them a wry grin before returning her attention to Honey. "Have you been here long?"
"Not very long; but Takashi wouldn't let me have cake until you got here." He replied glumly.
"We'll I'm here now, so let's eat!" she replied, and laughed brightly as his downtrodden expression changed to a beaming smile.
OoOoOoO
As Kyoya and Tamaki came into the dining hall their eyes were automatically drawn to the raucous group sitting at the back who were chatting and laughing amongst themselves, seemingly unaware of the stares they were drawing. Kyoya turned to his friend expecting him to be excited at the prospect of joining them, but Tamaki merely watched them with a sad smile, then turned to make his way to a free table on the opposite side of the room, Kyoya sighed as he moved to join him.
"I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we sat with them." Kyoya said quietly, disconcerted with Tamaki's subdued behaviour which had lasted throughout the morning.
"I know," Tamaki replied quickly, "It's just Grandmother wouldn't..."
"Oh for god sake Tamaki, how would she even know who you ate lunch with?" Kyoya asked irritably as he sat and flipped open a menu.
"You'd be surprised, she seems to know everything!" Tamaki said with a mock shudder, before turning to grin at the dark haired boy and reaching out to clutch his arm melodramatically. "Why Kyoya? Are you sick of me already?"
"Definitely," Kyoya said sardonically as he scanned the menu. His eyes drifted over the top of it, drawn to where Haruhi sat amongst the others, laughing softly at something that Honey was saying. His gaze followed her hand as it played with a stray lock of hair, before brushing it back behind her ear and his fingers itched to comb through those locks once more, as they had last night.
"Well I know what I want, how about you?" Tamaki asked suddenly and Kyoya quickly pulled his gaze away from Haruhi, worried that his friend had read his thoughts, but the blonde had just looked up from the menu and was now talking to a waiter that had appeared beside them. Kyoya pointed at a random item on the menu before snapping it shut and handing it to the waiter too.
As they waited for their food, Kyoya watched as Tamaki's attention drifted repeatedly to their friends that sat on the far side of the room, then away again as he toyed with his napkin.
"She seems happy." Tamaki said suddenly and Kyoya followed his friend's gaze to where Haruhi sat.
She was smiling again, this time at something that Hikaru was doing. Kyoya watched as the twin plucked something from a plate his chopsticks and then proceeded to wave it in front of her. They were both laughing and jealousy roiled through Kyoya as he watched her grasp Hikaru's hand and bring the morsel clasped between the chopsticks to her mouth and devour it. Her eyes, still full of laughter flicked up and met Kyoya's, they both froze, staring at each other until Haruhi blushed and looked down, toying with her own food. Kyoya pulled his gaze resolutely away again realising that Tamaki was watching them.
"Yeah, she does." He said, trying to keep the envy from his voice. The waiter arrived back with their food and silence fell between them as they began to eat.
"I'm glad." Tamaki said finally, "I was worried that people would give her a hard time today. But she has the twins and Renge looking out for her, and I'm happy that Mori and Honey came to support her today."
Kyoya eyed him curiously, "Don't you want to support her too?"
"Of course I do! As long as this is what she wants," Tamaki replied quickly as he glanced back over at their friends, but his eyes darkened with concern as he watched her. "I'm just worried that she did this because of me, or the host club."
"No. I'm sure it was…" Kyoya began, but paused as Tamaki looked at him sceptically. He sighed realising that Tamaki had always been able to see right through him and that it was pointless to lie.
"I spoke to Haruhi this morning," He began again and Tamaki stared at him intently, "She was concerned that your Grandmother was using the fact that she had been pretending to be a boy for the past year against you, or using it to keep the host club disbanded." Kyoya shrugged as he heard Tamaki inhale sharply at the news, "I tried to tell her that it wasn't her problem, but she's determined to try to help in any way she can."
Tamaki turned his gaze on Haruhi once again with a proud smile, "That's so like my daughter to be worried for others."
Kyoya's jaw tightened in anger, "You act like an idiot sometimes, Tamaki, but you and I both know that you're not half as oblivious as you let on." He dropped his chopsticks back on table as he glared at his friend. "She is not your daughter, and you don't have the Host Club Family to hide behind anymore, so why can't you just admit that you care about her?"
Tamaki looked over at Kyoya in surprise, "Of course I care about her. I care about all my friends."
"She's just a friend?" Kyoya asked, then gestured around the room, "So it doesn't bother you that there are a lot of guys here checking her out, or that Hikaru has been flirting with her for the past twenty minutes?"
Tamaki looked up in shock, casting his eyes around the room and noticing for the first time that a number of the male students seemed unduly interested in what was happening at Haruhi's table. Then his gaze zeroed in on Hikaru, who seemed to be regaling Haruhi with a story that had the girl almost doubled over in laughter. His eyes narrowed and he turned back to Kyoya.
"I don't want Hikaru flirting with Haruhi, he's a bad influence." Tamaki said quickly.
"No he's not, and you know that. Besides, he's a friend too, right?" Kyoya said darkly, "Surely you don't mind if he's interested in her, unless you are too?"
Tamaki's eyes widened in surprise at the sharp edge in his friends tone. He glanced at Haruhi, then looked back at Kyoya, his face reddening under his friend's scrutiny.
"Kyoya, I -" Tamaki paused, taking a deep breath, seeming to gather his nerve, "Kyoya, I don't feel that way about…"
"Tama-Chan!" a voice called loudly from the opposite side of the dining hall, interrupting him. Tamaki looked up to see Honey waving wildly at them and gesturing for Tamaki and Kyoya to join them at the larger table. Tamaki smiled back at the small blond and shook his head, gesturing that he and Kyoya were fine where they were, but Honey jumped down from the chair he was standing on and began making his way over to them.
"Kyoya, can I ask a favour?" Tamaki asked quickly as the smaller blonde made his way through the crowded dining hall, Kyoya looked back at him in surprise before nodding. "Can you check in on Haruhi from time to time?"
Kyoya rolled his eyes at him, "Tamaki, Haruhi is fine! She doesn't need anybody checking up on her…"
"Please Kyoya?" Tamaki said, "It would make me feel better. After all, it's our fault she got dragged into the host club and had to go through all this. I just want to make sure she's doing okay."
Kyoya eyed his friend for a moment, desperately seeking a way to refuse even though part of him wished to do just as Tamaki had asked. "Fine," he said eventually, "Is there some message you want me to pass on?"
"No, I just want to know she's okay." Tamaki said cheerfully, "Thanks Kyoya, I really appreciate it."
"Its fine" Kyoya replied, shaking his head resignedly, "It's not like I have anything better to do." Or would rather do, he thought to himself.
"Maybe you could come to school early on Monday, fill me in on how she's really doing?" Tamaki asked, then looked away as he added, "And there's something I need to talk to you about -" he swallowed tightly, resting his chopsticks back in place, before pushing his plate away, "- but it can wait till then."
Kyoya looked at him questioningly, but Tamaki waved it away, a smile falling back in place as Honey finally reached them, and the two blondes started chatting animatedly as Kyoya sat in silence.
OoOoOoO
Renge gave Haruhi one final enthusiastic hug goodbye, eliciting another promise that they would meet the next day. Then she stepped into the back of her town car and made herself comfortable as her driver pulled away from the school entrance to take her home. She searched in her bag for a moment before retrieving her tablet and opening it to the diary app, and began typing rapidly, a wide smile on her face.
Friday, April 19th
Exciting day today!
It turns out that Haruhi is a girl and a cute one too! Now that I've seen her in her new uniform I don't know how I missed it all along. Perhaps I've been spending too much time writing moè stories about them all, to realise that they might actually be more interesting in real life?
Note to self: Must be more observant!
Well whatever... if this is what Haruhi has been hiding, who knows what exciting secrets the others might be keeping! Although with the way some of the boys were looking at her today, maybe their secrets aren't actually that secret. The way the hosts have been acting, it's obvious that they have known all along that she was a girl, and now that it's out in the open I guess they don't have to hide their interest anymore. Kyoya's reaction was especially interesting. I thought I would be jealous if I saw him pay attention to another girl, but I wasn't, so yay me!
But he has competition! Mainly Hikaru, honestly, he couldn't keep his eyes off Haruhi, I found it kind of annoying actually. Tamaki kept his distance, which was odd, considering how close he and Haruhi have been in the past. Maybe Kaoru can find out why, he certainly seemed to be really concerned about Tamaki at lunch, and a little upset that he sat elsewhere…Ooohh…I wonder….
It will be great having Haruhi as a girlfriend though; think of all the shopping we can do! I get the impression that her wardrobe could do with a serious makeover and who better than me to help her with that... Although I have to give the twins their due, they haven't done too badly with her makeover so far, but now it's time for a true professional to step in.
Speaking of which, I wonder if she has a dress for the spring masquerade ball… I must ask her tomorrow. I wonder who'll ask me… oh never mind that… I wonder who she'll go with. I don't think she'll lack for people asking her. Hmmm, this could get very interesting indeed!
Renge finished typing and snapped the tablet cover shut, hugging it close to her chest as she grinned.
OoOoOoO
Haruhi stepped off the train into a light spring rain and again cursed her new uniform that didn't shield her arms from the spattering rain or her legs from the splashes of cars that seemed to purposely run into puddles just to spite her. She trudged down the street, tiredness washing over her and a headache setting in. She was looking forward to the comfort of her own home and for the longest day of her life to be finally over.
She had spent the day ignoring the stares and comments of the other students, worrying about Tamaki, trying to reassure the twin's and Renge that she was fine. She had even spent most of her lunch hour trying to act as if she hadn't a care in the world in an effort to stop Honey and Mori staring at her like she had lost her mind; and she spent the rest of the day, trying notto think about Kyoya-senpai and his actions that morning. The whole day had left her drained and confused, and now all she wanted was a hot bath and her bed. Monday would be easier, she hoped. People would surely have gotten over the novelty of her new appearance by then.
She finally reached her apartment complex, shivering now that her clothes were soaked through from the persistent rain. She climbed the steps and reached her apartment. She could hear her father's voice within and wondered who he was speaking to, shrugging it off, she searched for her key and opened the door.
Softly spoken voices reached her as she eased the apartment door closed behind her. She toed off her shoes and slipped on a pair of house slippers before making made her way down the narrow corridor and peeking into the kitchen. Her shoulders slumped as she caught sight of the visitor within and she sighed in frustration. There, sitting at her table, drinking her coffee, with her father, was one of the main causes of her headache.
Kyoya Ootori looked up as he heard her sigh, then turned to her father, smiling as he said, "Speak of the devil..."
