A/N: Sorry the romance has gone waaaaay too slow. I like to drag it out (: This chapter, however, has a little bit more pronounced romance, so enjoy!
7. The First Two
Work had gone without a hitch. I told Chi I had afterschool activities and, being the amazing individual she is, she told me I could work after I got home. Life was good in this shoujo anime/manga, but I needed to get home. I had become really homesick.
Only gone for a few days and I'm already missing it.
Luckily, my problem could be fixed today. The Host Club had been cancelled, but, despite this, the hosts gathered in the music room. It was out of habit, I suppose. Nevertheless, it worked out in my favor as I spotted Kyoya sitting down, typing away on his laptop. As usual, he was completely isolated while the other hosts conversed, except for Mori, of course.
We locked eyes and I shot him a nervous, grateful smile, subtly hinting at Kyoya.
His lips slightly curved upwards in encouragement; his dark grey eyes softening slightly.
I looked away immediately, feeling my face flush. I'm only here for a few more days. I'm sure. If I get Kyoya to believe me, I'll have three hosts to help me. On top of that, they're wickedly smart, so I'll probably be home in no time. Now, to convince Kyoya…
"Can we talk, Ootori-san?" I asked politely, feeling a tad bit guilty for interrupting him.
He snapped his laptop shut and gave me his undivided attention, awaiting my explanation.
Noticing we were now receiving curious stares from the twins and Tamaki, I requested we talked somewhere more private. He obliged and led me out of the club room. Honey shot me a huge grin and a big thumbs up while Mori, well, I had no idea what he did, but I did feel his piercing gaze on me. I was too much of a coward to look. Plus, having his gaze on me was enough. I did, however, wish Honey had been more subtle as the twins adopted their ridiculously attractive mischievous smiles, telling me trouble was brewing.
Having told my story twice, I was better composed this time around. I felt supremely proud I had only stopped once to make sure no tears escaped my eyes. I didn't feel comfortable crying in front of Kyoya.
Kyoya listened, never once interrupting. He offered his condolences, giving me his polite smile.
"Er, I know this is asking a lot from you, considering we don't know each other well and I broke an extremely vase out selfishness, but will you help me get back home?" I asked awkwardly. He stayed silent, probably deducing he would gain nothing significant from it, so I quickly added, "You'll gain the satisfaction of knowing your superior knowledge sent a girl into another dimension."
Kyoya pushed his glasses up. I could practically feel him roll his eyes at my pathetic attempt to bribe him, but he agreed.
"Honey and Mori know as well." Kyoya stated.
It wasn't a question, but I felt obliged to respond in some way. "Yeah, they found me after you raised their suspicions and I was taken to one of their houses where I broke down and told them."
He stood up from the bench we were sitting on and offered his hand to me. I graciously took it, thanking him.
As we made our way back, Kyoya kindly informed me that my maid services and job wage would be given to the club to help pay back for the vase.
I hung my head in understanding.
"Why'd you flash her a thumbs up, Honey?" the twins asked simultaneously, eyeing their senior with trouble written all over their faces. "Is she confessing?"
They did not wait for an answer, concluding that serious-faced Novoa-chan would need encouragement when confessing her love to boys, especially Kyoya.
Honey was going to defend Gigi-chan, but his stoic cousin beat him to it.
"No."
The twins eyed Mori and leaned forward, expecting to hear more, but he stayed silent, his eyes on the door.
Two light bulbs went off, knowing smirks spreading across their identical faces.
A second later, Gia and Kyoya walked through the doors.
Seeing an opportunity to test their theory, the twins began chanting, "Novoa-chan and Kyoya sitting in a tree~ K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
Gia gave them an odd look and Kyoya ignored them, going straight back to his laptop.
The twins, however, weren't focused on the duo anymore. Instead, they observed the silent giant, smirks widening and light bulbs burning brighter as they noticed Mori's jaw clench the tiniest bit.
After school and hosting on Saturday, the host club and Gia made their way towards one of the libraries under the pretense that Honey needed help looking for books that would aid him on his project. The project? Dimensions.
Real subtle, Honey.
Gia pushed her thoughts away. She wanted to be home. In this case, it didn't matter which home. She was perfectly content going to Chi's home or her real home. In any case, she did not want to be at Ouran.
"Why must you guys have classes on Saturday? God, how I miss the American education system. It's more relaxed and it gives you more vacation!"
"It's also the reason why you're in two first year classes," Kyoya quipped monotonously, scribbling away in his black notebook.
"It's also the reason why I'm in the third year English class," I replied, glaring at him for implying I was stupid. Okay, so Americans were a bit inferior when it came to education, but we made up for it with our involvement in sports and clubs.
Kyoya pointedly ignored my comment, not giving me a second thought as we arrived in the library. Everybody paired up and split up. I made my way towards Kyoya, seeing as we were an obvious pair, but I was pulled back by one of the twins and shoved backwards. Somebody's foot, probably belonging to the other twin, did not help my predicament and I prepared to fall flat on my ass, but strong arms steadied me.
My face automatically took on a lovely shade of red, knowing those strong arms could only belong to Mori.
"I'm going with Kyoya," Kaoru said, pulling the second year away. He quickly let him go, though, seeing his irritated expression.
"And, I'm going with Honey," Hikaru exclaimed, dragging the hyperactive third year, who was clearly excited at spending time with "Hika-chan."
"Take care of Gigi-chan, okay, Takashi?" Honey giggled, bouncing off with Hikaru in tow, who was desperately trying to switch their roles back.
"Serves him right," I muttered, before glancing up Mori. His eyes seemed to be studying, allowing another blush to bloom on my face. I shuffled awkwardly before moving around him to search for books that might aid me in returning home.
Although I didn't physically see him move to follow me, I felt his presence behind me, towering over me as I gathered books that might be useful. I spotted a book on the highest shelf titled Cosmic Journeys: A Beginner's Guide to Space and Time Travel. Vainly, I reached for it, knowing Mori was better off trying. Speaking of Mori, I turned around to ask him politely, but I was suddenly pressed against the bookshelf.
Holy, shit. This is not happening.
Mori had reached over me and grabbed the book, handing it to me. He raised an eyebrow at me as I was pressing myself into the bookshelf, hugging the pile of books I was carrying tightly to my chest.
How can you be so oblivious?!
"Thanks," I managed to squeak out, grabbing the book. I shielded my scarlet face, desperately trying to cool it off. Mori must've mistaken my motives, because next thing I knew, my collection of books was in his hands. He continued walking, his lips twitching with amusement at my ridiculously red and gaping face.
Ah, right, he's a gentleman.
I huffed loudly in annoyance, but made no move to take my books back. Eventually, neither of us could find any more useful books, so we found a secluded table – or as secluded and private a table could be when one is in one of Ouran's loud libraries and a host is sitting at one. The girls flocked us, watching the silent host and conveniently ignoring me.
Just the way I like it.
I blew a strand of my hair away from my face, initiating a war I was sure to lose. Sure enough, my hand angrily placed it behind my ear when my mouth could not blow it away.
I was bored. The girls had all left, leaving Mori and I alone. I shouldn't have been, though, considering we were looking for a way for me to get home, but it had been an hour or so and no other host was in view. Mori was quietly reading in front of me, but I was more focused on my surroundings. Despite their grandeur, my surrounding did not keep me occupied for long, so I settled for watching Mori read.
His lips move slightly, pronouncing each word as he went. His dark grey eyes were trained intensely on the book, soaking up every word. My heart melted a little at that thought. This was not his problem yet, he was giving it his all. Briefly, I wondered if this was how he looked practicing kendo, muttering words of encouragement to himself and focusing solely on his opponent.
"Ah."
His usual one word declaration surprised me, but I managed to busy myself with my book before he found me staring at him. When he did not say anything else, I looked up, curious to see what had prompted him to speak. Mori's gaze was already on me. He handed me the book, pointing to a sentence.
I blushed, embarrassed by my stupidity, but grabbed the book and read.
Gia, you're an idiot. Now, focus on your mission! Okay, let's see…blah, blah, blah, that's not important. Aha! Though many claim to have travelled to another dimension, science has not been able to prove it. This, of course, does not mean it isn't true. Many have claimed to done so, in fact. Surprisingly, a common factor in all these tal-
I looked up at Mori, locking eyes with him. The lower half of the page had been ripped out, along with several other pages. It wouldn't be a problem, expect my gut told me that whatever was on that page would help me get back home.
"What do you think the rest of the page says?" I inquired, breaking the silence.
Mori opened his mouth to voice his opinion, but the devil twins came hollering at us with Kyoya and Honey in tow, effectively drowning out his words. I saw Mori's face twist into the tiniest frown, so I shot him an apologetic smile, before openly glaring at the twins. Kyoya joined me in the glaring fest, shutting the twins up.
"Seriously, guys? We," I said, motioning to Mori and I, "were about to have a lovely conversation about Honey's project. Anyway, where are your books, exactly, and where have you been for the past hour? Where's everybody else?"
The twins dismissed me completely, monotonously informing me that they couldn't find any books about dimensions.
"More like couldn't be bothered," I mumbled under my breath, resting my head on the cool marble table.
Haruhi and Tamaki soon appeared, completing the Host Club once again. Tamaki, as I predicted, had no books, but Haruhi carried one. She deposited among the other books Mori and I found, telling Honey that there were no useful books about dimensions except that one.
Honey reassured her brightly that all was well. "I already finished my project. I just wanted to be sure about my sources, Haru-chan!"
Hearing this, the twins began badgering Haruhi about going home with her, seeing as they had nothing else to do. Tamaki and Honey perked up at the idea and joined in the twins' antics.
I rolled my eyes, feeling sympathy for Haruhi. If I was in her place, I don't think I'd handle it as well. "Er, well if I'm no longer needed, I'll be off…"
I trailed off, unsure if anybody had heard me. They were all focused on invading Haruhi's personal life.
"Bye."
I jumped. I was still not used to hearing Mori speak, much less to me. Nonetheless, I smiled shyly at him, waving goodbye as I sneaked past the other hosts.
Mori nor I noticed the twins' growing smirks.
