Rain (part 7)
The lights were glittering…
They blinded my eyes…
I impatiently wave it all away…
To see you…
It was the night of the party and everything was set. It was held in the big plaza in front of the school. There was an elaborately decorated stage with a string quartet on it, playing mellow tunes that lulled the evening into its elegant splendor. The lights were dim and warm, all shades of yellow and red, and they played around the joyous faces of the students, who were all clad in their best dresses and jewelry. They were all talking and laughing on the sides of the dance floor, which was still empty. They were waiting for a speech from the Host Club. After all, it was their party, and in honor of their comrade. But no one from the Host Club was present yet and so the crowd cheerily waited, satisfying themselves with sparkling drinks and dainty finger foods.
The Host Club was still in the Third Music Room. All of them were wearing their best formal clothes. Tamaki, who always aimed to be the life of the party, wore a princely coat-and-tie ensemble, all white, with matching shoes and deliciously pulled together by a dramatic, single red rose pinned near his heart. The twins wore matching black suits, each artfully decorated by a characteristic, topsy-turvy tie that hinted some hidden mischief underneath the seriousness of the suit; and the only way to tell them apart was that Kaoru's hair was waved to the left while Hikaru's was to the right. Mitsukuni wore a black-and-white ensemble with a cute little bowtie that suited him far better than if he wore a tie. It heightened his childish charms, especially if he stood beside Takashi, who was wearing a black long-tailed suit with pinstriped pants. On Takashi's rugged hair was a top hat tilted to the side, which gave him a rather dangerous look. Though he was wearing formal clothes, he still gave the impression of a gangster, which was only softened by the presence of Mitsukuni, making him look more approachable and less frightening.
They were all looking their best that night; except for Haruhi, whom they were all trying to convince to put on a dress, and who refused point-blank.
"No! Everyone here thinks I'm a boy. They'll become suspicious," Haruhi protested, waving away the frilly white dress which Hikaru and Kaoru were pushing into her hands.
"That's why you're going to wear a wig. You'll be our mascot for the evening," Kaoru said.
Haruhi glared at him. "As enchanting as that sounds," she said sarcastically. "I have no wish of entertaining anyone tonight. I'm not sure I even want to go."
"But, but, but!" Tamaki pleaded. "You can't just leave us alone out there! Who will take care of us?"
"You all hardly need anyone to take care of you," Haruhi said. "I don't want to wear that dress."
Hikaru held it up for her to see it clearly. "But isn't it beautiful?" he asked with a sly expression.
Haruhi looked at the dress. It was beautiful. It was white, made with a light, silky material that floated instead of dropped, with frills in the hem and sparkly beads that heightened its allure to the eyes. She sighed. "Yes, it's beautiful," she said. "Where did you get it, anyway?"
"Kyouya-senpai sent it this morning," Kaoru said with an all-too-innocent expression.
Haruhi blushed. Kyouya sent her a dress?
After a few moments of silence and blushing, Haruhi grabbed the dress from Hikaru's hands and went out to change. The rest of them only smiled at each other.
XXX
"Shall I start?" Tamaki asked the other members of the Host Club.
The Hitachiin brothers gave twin "Ok!"s and Mitsukuni gave a peace sign, while Takashi only grunted in agreement. Tamaki smiled and nodded. He faced the glittering crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening!" he called out.
At once, the music stopped and the chattering died away. Everyone turned to the stately figure of Tamaki as he began his opening address to properly start the party.He made a proper little speech telling them of the Host Club's and especially Kyouya's gratitude for their warm reception of his return.
"Unfortunately, Kyouya will be arriving late tonight as he is still in recovery. Nonetheless, we all hope that you enjoy the party and make pleasant memories of this evening. Thank you."
The crowd applauded and Tamaki signaled the string quartet to start the music. He opened the dance floor with a tall, elegant girl of high status, followed suit by the other members of the club. Soon, everyone was dancing and the lights played around from high above as if eager to join the merriment.
Haruhi lightly walked inside the corridors, watching and waiting. She was wearing a wig that looked much like her hair in high school, before she had it cut and was feeling the nostalgia of her appearance. She was afraid to step out into the plaza, for some unknown reason.
Kyouya isn't here yet, she assured herself. So there's nothing to be shy about.
But she still couldn't brave the lights and the people of the plaza. She wanted to stay in hiding, so that if Kyouya does show up, she'll be able to at least prepare herself for their first meeting.
Why is he late, anyway? He wasn't sick at all to begin with. Or was he?
She sighed and pressed her back against the cold walls of the corridor. She couldn't tell what's what anymore. Between her anxiety and Kyouya's continued absence, her mind had found itself completely swamped. As for her heart, it was still holding on firmly to Kyouya, although she wasn't sure if it would keep on doing so when he seemed to be literally avoiding her.
Her hand involuntarily stroked the soft material of her dress and her cheeks softly reddened, remembering that Kyouya had bought it for her. She wondered why he did it. There must be some special reason, but for now it was all mystery and she was dying to have it solved. She was determined to make the party a night of revelation for her. Once Kyouya shows his face, she won't let anything about his recent actions, especially his disappearance, escape her knowledge.
Well…she thought. Nothing will happen if I stay here and mope.
She breathed in deeply and braced herself as she walked out of the dark corridor into the warmly lit plaza. She saw several heads turn into her direction but no one could recognize her and so she was safe from any approach. She walked around the edges of the spacious dance floor, and she caught glimpses of the others as they danced with their partners. She smiled; half-glad that no one was asking her to dance. She was a bad dancer, in her opinion, and if anyone tried to spin her, she would easily get dizzy, lose all conscious sight amidst the lights and would be a completely useless dancing partner for a few minutes, while she struggles to regain her composure.
Instead, she satisfied herself with watching the happy couples on the floor and keeping one eye on the main entrance, just in case Kyouya arrives.
"Haruhi!" a voice cried out to her.
She looked up and saw Tamaki waving at her from the center of the dance floor, beckoning her to come to him.
She shook her head violently, her eyes wide with fear. No, she will not dance.
Tamaki impatiently insisted and finally ran up to her and took her hand. "Come on, Haruhi, let's dance," he said.
Haruhi tried to pull her hand from his. "No, please," she said desperately. "I'm just fine standing here. I'll just watch you guys. Go on!"
Tamaki glared at her, like a father scolding a stubborn daughter. "I insist," he said. "It'll be ok. I'll take care of you. It's just dancing."
Haruhi knew then and there that any struggle on her part was already a lost cause. Tamaki wanted no other answer than "yes."
"All right," Haruhi muttered, defeated. With that, Tamaki led her to the middle of the dance floor and faced her, taking her hand and placing his other hand on her waist. They swayed gently in the mellow music.
"See? It's easy," Tamaki said. "I can't understand what you were afraid of. Sometimes you put too much stress on yourself. Relax a little."
Haruhi almost laughed at the honesty of his speech. "I know," she answered. "I was just being unreasonable, I guess."
Music of a faster beat cut off the soothing scenario and Tamaki's light expression suddenly became livelier. "Hey, they've picked it up!" he exclaimed, excitedly. And without warning, he grabbed Haruhi a little more strongly, swaying her here and there until she was half-faint.
"T-Tamaki-senpai, stop, you're making me dizzy—"
And then it all became worse. Tamaki, as he attempted to do a swing-style dance, spun Haruhi and let go of her hand.
Haruhi instantly felt the world turn upside down and her eyes became a bit blurry. "Wait—" she tried to say, but a hand that was different from the feel of Tamaki's grabbed hers. She looked up and saw the hazy image of Takashi.
"Mori-senpai? Oh, please, I'm feeling very—"
Another spin, stronger this time and Haruhi felt herself being thrown in space, only to be captured by someone who laughed a lot like Mitsukuni.
"Honey-senpai! Let go of—"
And he spun her again. The lights were beginning to look too bright and blinding to her eyes.
Someone pulled her hand and swayed her around.
"Having fun, Haruhi?"
"K-Kaoru—?"
"Wow, you're really becoming dizzy if you think I'm Kaoru."
"Hika—"
Spin!
"Stop this right—"
"Haruhi, it's Kaoru!"
"Kaoru—"
Spin!
Spin!
Spin!
She heard the faint laughter of the five cruel boys as they passed her around from one to another, teasing her, spinning her and making her more and more lightheaded and nearer to unconsciousness at every turn.
Spin!
Spin!
Spin!
"Stop it!" she cried helplessly and she suddenly found herself alone. Her world was still spinning and so she stopped where she was, giving herself time to recover and gain composure. The lights were still blinding, and the other students who were dancing around and bumping hard into her made the situation unbearable to her.
It was then that someone grabbed her by the waist and held her tightly against his body in a waltz position. She blinked at the lights and, narrowing her eyes, she tried to see the face of the person holding her.
"Tamaki-senpai?" she asked, hesitating.
She shook her head to wave away the blinding lights and slowly, her eyes began to clear and her dizziness faded. And she saw the face of her captor.
She gasped.
Kyouya.
