Wow, I haven't updated in a bit. Think of it as a really, really long intermission? I had some writers block I suppose. I was also reading through my story from the beginning and I couldn't help but think, "Gawd, I had some really retarded spelling mistakes, didn't I?" I'll have to go back and fix those eventually. Well anyway, it's back ... so, reviews?
Chibi-Kyuubi-Chan: Actually, technically it's not. I started a fanfic a looong time ago on a totally different account and a totally different fandom. But, it sucked, so I guess we can say this is my first instead. :D
ZomTatoZom: Rofl, that IS a dream I would have isn't it? And don't ask about the shorts ... it's Aden, who the hell knows why. Oh, and as for her last name, it just came to me randomly.
ColonKellyHigginsGoil304: Yes, I should definitively update more often shouldn't I? To bad there's no, "anti-lazyness" pile. I'd totally buy it. :l
Glowingsoul: Your review made me laugh just because I thought it was funny how you gave me a nice review without even reading the story, or even knowing what OHSHC is. Thanks ... I think? xD
Chapter Seven
WATER; THE ENEMY
(Complete with surprises, stuffed animals and a boy named Kandy)
"I told you it was going to rain."
Aden, with her hair dripping and her socks soaked, threw the dark haired boy a look somewhere between that of irritated and just plain tired, "Oh shut up." She grumbled, hastily rubbing her hands together in a grave attempt to revive the feeling.
Kaito, clad in his oh so fashionable yellow rain jacket and boots, just shrugged. He may have looked a little ridiculous (the coat was a bit to small for him after all) but at least he was dry, which was a lot more then he could say for his temperamental friend.
Teeth chattering loudly, Aden glowered out from beneath a soaked sweatshirt hood. Things would have been a lot faster going had her bike not acquired a very inconvenient, very flat tire. At any rate, she still saw absolutely no reason to be visiting Ouran, on a Saturday no less! She had enough to complain about being a part of the Host's oddities on regular school days, but now she was being summoned on the weekend? Thanks to them she was out in the cold, wet and grumpy instead of curled dry and comfortable amidst the warmth of her bed. The only one who seemed excited about the situation was Kaito.
Unconsciously she glanced at him, trying her best to ignore the rubbery squeaking sound his rain proof clothing made every-time he took a step. He was really looking forward to actually seeing the inside of the private school for whatever reason. No matter how much Aden tried her best to convince him he wasn't missing out on much, he still insisted he'd nothing better to do. Oh well, it wasn't like the overly social group of Ouran boys didn't like him or anything, in fact, they seemed to enjoy his company as far as she could tell, that was once they got over the fact that he wasn't exactly rolling in riches of course.
Soon enough they arrived at Ourans ornamental gates. Kaito, who'd unsurprisingly stopped to view the pink school, cut his sight seeing short in order to follow after Aden who'd tromped toward the front doors like a little kid in the middle of bad temper tantrum.
"Uh, hey, wait up!"
Inside sheltered from the pouring rain, Aden proceeded to squeeze the water out of her hair while Kaito spun in circles doing his best to remove the snug sleeve from his left arm. "A little help?" He sighed, waving his arm about wildly.
Taking hold of the end, Aden dug her heels into the carpet. "Okay ready, one ... two .. three ... pull!" She instructed. On the bright side together they managed to free him, however not before both teens went flying in either direction to land with a couple of loud thuds right on their butts.
"Kaito, the second we get out of here, we're buying you a new coat." Aden muttered, the wet, yellow eyesore draped over her head.
Hesitantly the boy lifted his dripping jacket away from her shoulders trying his best not to laugh, "It wouldn't hurt you to lighten up a little you know." He suggested carefully. It was true, there was hardly a day that went by in which Aden wasn't frustrated with even the tiniest of things. Seriously, she could probably make eating chocolate cake seem like a chore if she really wanted. Ultimately Kaito had learned to live with it ... but still, he was beginning to wonder if constant anger would have an effect on ones health.
Standing, Aden huffed loudly. It didn't appear she was planning on taking his advice anytime soon. "Come on." She sighed. Shaking his head, Kaito quickly caught up to her again.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, twisting and turning around random corners. Of course he couldn't be sure, but Kaito was beginning to think this was her version of stalling because he could have sworn they'd passed the same plant at least twice.
At last, just as he was preparing to ask when they'd ever get there, Aden stopped suddenly. So sudden in fact that Kaito bumped into her lightly, stepping away and rubbing his nose. "Here we are ... " She said non-enthusiastically. Peering upward, Kaito read the label hanging above the door. Apparently they were standing in front of 'Music Room #3'.
With both hands Aden turned the handle and shoved the doors aside, trudging forward like a reluctant dog on a trip to the vet.
The first thing noticed by Kaito when he walked in was the fact that, much unlike the outside world, the music room was bright and cheery looking. All the curtain's were closed masking the dreary, rainy day from view and the entire place was spotless. It was very homey.
However, the second thing Kaito noticed was a tiny blond figure running right for them, his arms stretched wide, "You came!" Honey cheered with great excitement. At first he was directed at Aden, but then seemed to think better of it and instead migrated toward Kaito greeting him with a large hug, which of course never reached past his waist.
"Um, hey Honey." Kaito replied with a friendly smile, patting the shorter boy on the head. It was still extremely hard to believe Honey was older then him for obvious reasons.
Positioned toward the center of the room, the rest of the hosts were lounging about on a group of plush furniture. As far as he could tell, everyone was there, and looking fairly bored too. Everyone except Tamaki that was.
Squashed into one armchair, Hikaru and Kaoru had their heads bent, silently fussing over a small object visible only to them. Noticing the new arrivals, they simply addressed them with one monotone "Hey," said in perfect unison before returning to their task. Climbing onto one couch, Honey took his place between the ever silent Mori and a sleepy Haruhi.
Seeing a smidgen of space left, Kaito sat down next to Haruhi. This forced Aden to take the only remaining spot on the opposite couch with Kyoya. For once he didn't have anything in hand and was instead staring placidly at who knows what, chin on his fist. Thankfully, Aden decided not to make a fuss for once in her life and took her seat, scooting as far away as possible.
As to be expected, the temporary peace didn't last very long.
Watching her for a second, Kyoya's calm expression broke into a small smirk, "Why, you look happy." He pointed out sarcastically. Aden crossed her arms, snorting loudly.
"Haha, very funny." She growled, making it clear she would rather have not started an argument at that time. Evidently Kyoya was in a much better mood then she was for he kept going.
"You're getting the couch wet."
"So?"
"It isn't cheap you know."
"Hmph."
"I'd suggest you get up."
"Well tough luck!"
"I wasn't kidding."
Aden's head snapped to the right, green eyes glaring at the speaker maliciously, "What, so you can have the whole thing to your stupid self? I don't think so!" She replied, sticking her tongue out like the mature person she was. Kyoya just chuckled softly irritating the touchy girl furthermore, however she forced herself to ignore him and instead tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.
"What the hell are we waiting for anyway? And where's Tamaki?"
Haruhi shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine." She replied. Hopefully Aden gazed around the group, but nobody seemed to have an answer. Sighing dramatically, she slumped against the back of the couch silently deciding that if Tamaki didn't show up anytime soon, she was going to leave.
As it turns out, they really didn't have to wait any more then five minutes before Tamaki burst through the door. Jumping, Aden watched as he strode toward the small group with a large, knowing grin plastered on his face. Obviously he knew something the rest of them did not.
Halting so that he was in full view, he puffed out his chest importantly, "Pleased you could all come." He stated happily, doing his best to hold in his excitement.
Aden rolled her eyes, "You made me come!"
Tamaki ignored her.
"I'm excited to announce that due to all are hard work as of late, I've set up a surprise."
Immediately Honey began bouncing gleefully in place, "A surprise? Yay!" He cheered, eyes sparkling. Mori blinked, the twins exchanged confused glances and Haruhi and Kaito stared on curiously. Kyoya showed no sign of shock whatsoever while Aden, being restless and all, leaned forward with a brow raised.
"Well?" She pressed. For the first time that day a very slim ray of hope managed to wedge itself into her overly pessimistic mind. She desperately longed for some good news.
After a long pause, Tamaki spoke up again, "I've decided that the Host Club will be taking a three day long trip out to sea!" He announced, striking a theatrical pose.
For several long seconds he received only silence and blank stares.
Finally Haruhi spoke up, "Only you would find entertainment in such things." She muttered.
"What are we suppose to do on a boat in the middle of fall?" Hikaru inquired. Tamaki seemed offended.
"Why, lots of things!" He exclaimed, "Breath the fresh air, enjoy the scenery and ... uh ... "
Honey looked thoughtful for a moment or two before breaking into his usual sunny smile, "Oh! We could go fishing!" He suggested, "I've never gone fishing before."
"Yeah! See, Honey's got the right idea. There's plenty to do."
Kaoru frowned before turning his attention to Kyoya, "You let him plan this?"
Pushing his glasses into their preferred position, he gave a shallow nod, "He insisted we take an 'enlightening' vacation. Besides, it was cheap."
"... Figures."
Realizing Kaito was sitting amongst them, Tamaki glanced at Aden's friend brightly, "You're welcome to come too of course, you did teach us all about that wonderful game of kick ball after all."
Kaito blinked, "Well, I don't see why not?" He replied with a shrug and a polite smile.
Strangely enough, Aden hadn't said one word, not a single protest or anything. It was strangely unlike her. As if it suddenly just occurred to everyone at once, the all turned their heads to watch her expectantly, waiting for some kind of outburst. Certainly their loudest female member would have something to complain about?
But Aden said nothing. Sitting frozen, she had paled considerably, eyes slightly widened. She looked almost spooked, oblivious to their presences.
"Aden," Kaito spoke worriedly, "Are you okay?"
Realizing she was now the center of attention, Aden broke from her trance blinking rapidly, "Y-yeah, I'm fine!" She replied immediately, unable to keep a notable tremble from her voice. Awkwardly she wrung her hands together before glancing at Tamaki, "Are you sure this is a good idea, we still have school don't we?"
"We're on fall break, don't you remember?"
"And since when do you care about school?" Kaito added.
"Uh, oh! That's right I ... I forgot."
Hastily she tried to appear relaxed, arms at her side, but Haruhi didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" She asked once more, obvious suspicion hinted in her tone.
Aden's eyes narrowed, her fists clenched tightly, "I said I was fine." She managed to reply between clenched teeth. Desperately she tried to hide her whitened face by brushing some of her loose hair forward, glaring out at everyone from behind messy golden bangs as if daring a single person to say otherwise. Fortunately nobody decided to question her further.
After that the conversation continued, most of it being endless questions for the host king that he tried to answer without sounding too flustered. Nevertheless, Aden kept her mouth shut, hardly able to hear a word as she sat with frantic thoughts. At one point she found herself daring a brief glance at the one person in the room who was bound to know why she seemed so bothered. To her surprise, Kyoya was already watching her thoughtfully, memories of a nearly drowned girl hoping to keep her strong fear of water a secret resurfacing.
Yes, the others may have been skeptical, but only Kyoya truly knew what was going on in Aden's head at that moment.
...
Much later that evening, now back at home, Aden sat in her room. She had the lights all turned off and the curtains drawn, the only source of light coming from the glow of her computer. Sitting at her desk, she watched the screen closely, biting her lip in deep concentration.
Shortly after the Host club's meeting and a long discussion going into more detail about their little trip, Aden proceeded to leave the second she saw the chance. In fact, she was so eager to depart that she nearly forgot all about Kaito who, despite wanting to stay a bit longer, followed after her. The entire walk back Kaito ended up doing most of the talking, expressing his enthusiasm for the coming weekend and going into a detailed narrative about an uncle of his who happened to own a fishing boat. Aden pretended to listen, nodding every great once in a while, but for the most part, her mind was elsewhere.
Now alone, she was attempting to immerse herself in a computer game to distract her from worry, but it wasn't really working.
"Oh come on ... " She moaned, having died for the umpteenth time since she started playing. It was no use, she couldn't focus for more then a minute.
Frustrated, she gave up, turning the game off and shutting the computer down before slinking over to her big bed. Falling forward, she flopped down face first on her many pillows and stuffed animals. Nobody in her family quite understood why she needed so many things on her bed, but as far as Aden was concerned, one could never have enough plush toys and pillows. Without them, her bed simply felt empty.
Rolling over, she stared at the ceiling. If she wasn't so terrified of drowning, a three day trip wouldn't seem so bad. But she couldn't help it, the thought of being surrounded by water on all sides, unable to put one toe on land sent her heart into a frantic flutter. She knew it wasn't true, but at that point she felt as if she was the only person in the world who didn't know how to swim. She simply sank, and being in the ocean ... well, she'd defiantly have a long way to sink. Eyes narrowed, she huffed angrily; why did she have to be so scared of it? It wasn't fair, she wasn't scared of anything, well, except for riding in vehicles, but she had a good reason for that!
Reaching out, she randomly grabbed at one of her plushies, a squishy black cat. Hugging it to her chest, she turned on her side. Well okay, maybe she wasn't as tough as she thought she was seeing as a little toy still managed to bring her comfort, even if just a little bit. Still, she couldn't have everyone else knowing that, she was far to stubborn and proud to admit being afraid, especially of something like water. She'd probably have to think up a really good excuse not to go.
In the silence of her room Aden was able to hear the sound of someone approaching her door before they even got the chance to knock. Thinking nothing of it, she waited to hear the voice of Chizue or one of the other maids beckoning her.
"Aden hon, are you in there?"
It turned out to be not the voice of a maid, but instead that of Mr. Eluekhart himself.
Surprised, Aden sat up just as her father opened the door, the hallway light flooding onto the carpet. Searching the wall, he muttered something about it being ridiculously dark in her room and flipped on the light switch illuminating everything.
Mr. Eluekhart, otherwise known as Eric, was a very tall, broad shouldered man. He was light skinned with the same honey colored hair as Aden and a bright pair of blue eyes. Somehow he managed to look a lot younger then he really was with little to no effort at all and always seemed to be smiling. Often Aden would joke around and tell him he had the teeth of a movie star, which was practically the truth. As usual he was clothed in a very clean, professional suit and tie.
"Ah, there you are." He murmured happily.
Seeing him, Aden blinked, "What are you doing up here?" She questioned. Honestly she was happy to see him, however it was very rarely that he'd actually take time from his busy schedule to speak with her for more then a few minutes.
Approaching the bed, he spread his arms wide, "What, I can't ever come see you?"
Smiling, Aden stood and greeted him with a hug, momentarily forgetting about her previous troubles in his warm embrace. It felt as though it'd been ages since she'd actually hugged him.
Pulling away, he placed his heavy hands on Aden's shoulders, gazing down at her kindly, "I got off of work early today, I thought I'd tell you we'll be eating dinner as a family tonight. It's almost ready."
Aden nodded, "Alright." Really, she wasn't particularly hungry, but eating dinner with her family was a rare event. Well, she could do without Ryota and his mother, however she would deal with them if it meant spending more time with her father.
Looking at her more closely, Mr. Eluekhart's jovial grin slowly dropped into a concerned frown, "Are you getting sick?" He asked suddenly, gently pressing the back of his hand to her forehead in search of a fever. Mentally Aden cursed, did she really still look that pale?
"I don't think so, I feel perfectly fine," She replied, lifting his hand away and putting on the brightest expression she could. He didn't look so sure, but he shrugged anyway.
"Okay, if you say so, wouldn't want you catching anything."
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly healthy."
Sighing, he ruffled her hair tenderly, "Yes, well, I wouldn't put it past you to keep things like that from me. You're not invincible, you don't have to act like it all the time you know. Nobody's going to be disappointed in you for being human." He prompted.
"Dad, I said I was okay, didn't I?"
Mr. Eluekhart shook his head, "Yes, yes I know. Now come on downstairs." He reminded her as he walked toward the hall. Pausing in the doorway, he glanced over his shoulder, "And you're going to eat something. You ride that bike everywhere on nothing but junk food, I doubt that's in any way healthy." And with those last words he disappeared from view.
Listening to the sound of his footsteps departing, Aden gave a deep sigh. Maybe food would do her good, anything to bring the color back to her face again. Opening a couple of the curtains before she left, Aden turned off the light again and made her way to the dining room.
Like every other area in the house, the Eluekhart's dining room was magnificently decorated with polished wooden floors and enough space to fit a few elephants. In the center directly underneath a wide, sparkling chandelier was a long oak table, big enough for her father to host meetings with his many colleagues.
When she arrived, Aden was instantly disappointed to see both Ryota and her stepmother, Nanami, were already seated waiting patiently to be served. Nanami was speaking with her father, but seeing Aden, she welcomed her with an empty, painfully superficial smile. Aden thought she looked a whole lot like her son, thin and smug, the difference between them being Nanami attempted to hide it.
Choosing a chair on the opposite end of the immense table, Aden settled herself down. Soon enough the small family was being served, the people who worked in their kitchen supplying them with a variety of choices. Despite her unwillingness to eat, Aden picked a whole steak for herself anyway.
"So Aden, how's school been? I see you've actually been attending for once." Nanami asked suddenly, her voice irritatingly sweet as usual. It truly sounded as if she would rather have spoken to anybody other then her presumptuous stepdaughter.
"Fine." Aden murmured through a huge mouthful of meat. She didn't feel like taking the time to cut it up, so instead she'd settled for a couple of rather large pieces.
"That's good. Oh, and Aden dear, take smaller bites would you?" Nanami chided. With much difficulty Aden swallowed, but said nothing.
Sipping her drink delicately, Nanami turned away just in time to miss Aden roll her eyes, "Eric, did you happen to see Ryota's report card? He got perfect marks again. Didn't you Ryota?"
"That's right."
Mr. Eluekhart raised a brow, though he didn't exactly seem surprised, "Did he really? Good work Ryota."
Aden gave a silent snort of disgust.
"Yes, I really think it'll pay off sending him to that private college, he's sure to make us proud." She practically purred. Aden resisted the urge to puke. Never once had she ever heard Nanami say one bad thing about her beloved child. And yet, she had no problem complaining about everything Aden did; this she typically proceeded to do behind her back of course. True, she wasn't exactly an angel, she knew that, but it didn't stop her from loathing the egotistical women.
Chewing silently, Aden simply blocked out her babbling, trying instead to think of a good reason she couldn't join everyone out on the boat that coming weekend. This was until she heard her name brought up in the conversation once again, or at least she thought she did.
"What was that?" She interrupted, glancing up from her dinner plate. Nanami seemed annoyed that Aden hadn't been paying even the slightest attention, but she repeated herself anyway.
"I said, I'm going to be hosting a party here for the women at work this weekend, I'd like you to help out."
Aden stiffened, "Guhhh ... " In a flash she felt panic rise in her chest. Stay at the house with Nanami? No way in hell was she going to endure such suffering! She could imagine the horrors already. A crowd of snobby women strutting about in fancy clothing, Nanami ordering her about like a slave, and of course, there was no doubt in her mind she'd be forced to wear some kind of gross dress while her step mother showed off her favored son like an award winning show dog.
"This will be an important event for me, I'll need you to be on your best behavior and for-"
"I ... I can't." Aden blurted out abruptly.
Lips pursed, Nanami crossed her arms, "And why not? You're not doing anything are you?"
"Actually I ... I'm ... I'm going to be gone."
"Where to?"
Hesitating, Aden took a deep breath as quietly as she could before continuing.
"Some kids at school, the invited me to come on a boat ride."
For the longest time Nanami stared at her as if she'd have liked nothing better then to say, "Why on earth would anyone invite you to anything?" But even if she wanted to, she didn't get the chance.
"Oh! That's right, you're apart of that ... that club!" Aden's father butted in without warning, "What was it called again?"
Aden shot him a very odd, shocked look. Not once did she remember mentioning anything about the Host club in front of him, she'd never even hinted at it for goodness sake. Had her dad acquired the ability to read minds?
"You're in a club?" She heard Ryota say. It sounded as if he were amusing himself with the idea that Aden might actually have friends. She pretended not to have heard him and instead faced her father.
"How ... how do you know that, who told you?"
Mr. Eluekhart reflected on the question thoughtfully, after some time he replied "Let's see, it was one of your friends I think, a boy I believe, but for the life of me I can't remember his name. Something with a 'k'? Kody ... Kyite ... Kandy perhaps?"
Aden had to stop herself from banging her head on the table.
"Eric, nobody names their son 'Kandy' ... " Nanami sighed. Ryota snickered.
"Huh? Well anyway, it was a while ago."
Aden's eye lid twitched, her brow furrowing deeply, "Kyoya, damn him! He could have at least told me for crying out loud." She thought sourly. Flexing her fingers, she forced herself to stay calm and cleared her throat. It was either help Nanami, or face one of her worst fears on a boat-full of wackos ...
Needless to say she choose the latter.
"Sorry Nanami, but I'm not going to be able to help you." She spoke confidently. There was no changing her mind now.
Huffing, Nanami smoothed her skirt roughly, "Very well then, Ryota will be glad to help me out."
Noticing the expression on her brother's face, Aden had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing. It didn't look like he was up to the task either. It then dawned on her that this whole time she'd never even thought about asking her fathers permission. She didn't give a flying fuck what Nanami thought, but, well seeing as he was sitting right there.
Meeting his amiable blue gaze, she let her head tip to the side innocently, "So Dad, I can go right?"
Instantly Mr. Eluekhart was smiling again, "Certainly, I don't see any harm in it." He chuckled.
Relieved, Aden stood, downing the rest of her water and wiping off her face with a napkin. Then, thanking her father and biding him goodnight, she made off toward the stairs. As she left she thought she could pick up the sound of Nanami protesting, no doubt something about her, but Aden didn't stick around to listen. She didn't care.
Reaching her bedroom, she closed the door and prepared herself for bed. After changing her clothing, brushing her teeth and the like, she finished up by washing her face before flicking off the light and sliding under the covers. Getting snug in-between her mounds of cloth creatures and fluffy pillows, she finally lay still.
Despite the unsettling feeling in her stomach, it appeared Aden would be joining the Host club's field-trip anyway, fear of drowning or not. Sighing, she rolled over to stare out the window where she noticed the bad weather had dispersed to leave way for a bright, full moon.
"This ... this is ridiculous," She brooded, "I can't be scared of water, it's everywhere!"
That settled, Aden closed her eyes, deciding then and there that over the next three days she'd get over her irrational fear, no matter how hard. This was her chance, one way or another Aden Eluekhart was going to face the dreaded ocean.
... Hopefully.
Yeeep. What a random, odd vacation right? But since Tamaki came up with it, I figured it'd be okay seeing as it's weird and all. Lul.
Almost drowning actually is some freaky stuff, it's almost happened to me once and I was little, but I can still remember it ...
I SHOULD be able to update faster because I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I'm also having internet issues at the moment so chances are I'll be doing plenty of writing.
... Trololol at "Kandy" by the way. x3
CHARACTER COMMENTARY
Aden: SBH, your sense of humor is dumb. And another thing, what's up with your name anyway? I mean ... who names themselves Salamander B. Hat!
SBH: You're suppose to be commenting on the story, not me!
Aden: Yes but, you wrote the story, therefore you're a part of it. Now ... tell me!
SBH: Erm ... -looks at Kyoya- Wanna help me out here?
Kyoya: Actually, I've been wondering the same thing myself.
Aden: Yeah, so spit it out already!
SBH: HA!
Aden: What's so funny?
SBH: Aden and Kyoya actually agreed on something for once! This is worthy of the history books, somebody record this!
Mori: -wheels in a chalk board-
Honey: Right! -climbs up on his shoulders to make a chalk mark-
Kyoya: ...
Aden: ...
SBH: LOOK, they did it again! Dot, dot, dotting counts as agreeing, doesn't it? Ah, mark it anyway.
Tamaki: A chalkboard! -starts doodling-
Kyoya: Time to leave.
Aden: Yep.
SBH: THEY DID IT AGAIN! -shoves Tamaki out of the way- We're gonna need all this space here to record now.
Tamaki: But ... but ... -teary eyed-
Hikaru&Kaoru: To the boat!
