Hey guys! It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm sorry, I really don't have an excuse (again...)
But this chapter is twice as long as all the other ones, so that's good, right?
In a way, the party was not nearly as bad as Haruhi had expected.
She had taken approximately two steps into the house before she was attacked by a blond bullet.
Mitzkuni Haninozuka hit a growth spurt his first year of collage, propelling the petite boy to his current height of five seven. He was still, however, dwarfed by his cousin.
Despite their greatly varying fields of study, the two were still as inseparable as ever. Even now, as they were finding their places in the real world, starting up a business that was completely separate from their parents, they managed to be nearly the same people Haruhi had met in high school.
Though, thankfully, Honey had grown out of latching on to people as his way of saying hello.
"Ha-ruhi!" Honey dragged the first syllable of her name out, almost melodically, as he raced up and wrapped his arms around her. This time, she was the one off the ground and spinning around.
"Honey, it's so good to see you!" Haruhi gushed, almost giddy with relief at the promise that she wouldn't have to spend the entire evening listening to her husband fake being pleasant. The mere thought made her want to scream.
"Is something wrong, Haru-chan? You look..." Honey trailed off, not sure weather his friend looked sad, or angry. It was an equal combination of both emotions.
"I'm fine. Hello, Mori." She greeted her former classmate, trying to get the boy's attention onto another topic. She knew that her efforts would be fruitless in the long run, out of all her friends, Honey and Mori would be the two to pick up on her off behavior.
Haruhi was happy to sit and listen to Honey talk about the trivialities of starting a business. She didn't have to think to take a part in that conversation.
She didn't have to act like she was interested though, the starting up of a toy company was proving to be an intriguing process. She wasn't surprised at the way they had ended up. Maybe that's why she found her mind jumping from person to person, flitting about like a humming bird.
She glanced around the garden, taking in the people in their evening wear as they chatted about business and pleasure. Her gaze settled on a familiar blonde figure at the bar.
"Haruhi?" Honey asked, when he finally noticed her faraway gaze. His call snapped her back to the present, though she was still a little confused.
"Honey, is that Tamaki over there?" She asked, before thinking of the consequences. Usually there wouldn't be any, but her would was so topsy-turvy now she didn't know what to expect.
"Well what do you know? It is!" Honey turned to call out to their friend, but a hand on his arm stopped him.
"Please don't." Haruhi replied to his questioning look.
"Haruhi, is something wrong." Haruhi struggled to find the right words under her friend's concerned looks. She had never felt so out of control in her life. On one hand, it was her business to tell, it was practically all about her after all, but on the other hand, she didn't want to jeopardize anyone's reputation, and since she wasn't even really sure what was going on, she didn't want to make it worse by spreading around lies, as harmless as they may seem in theory.
Luckily, she was spared the awkward answer as the lights began to flash around the courtyard.
"Welcome, guests, to the Hitachiin Spring Gala!" The voice was blasted through the party by cleverly hidden speakers, and once every one's attention was focused on the announcement, the balcony doors burst open in a rain of glitter, flower petals, and streamers. It was almost like someone's toddler had been given the choice, and had chosen all of them. Haruhi couldn't help but think about how much of a mess it would be to clean up later.
Hikaru and Kaoru appeared through the haze, still as dashing, still equally identical. A murmur of surprise shot through the crowd, and Haruhi remembered that up until this very moment, she was the only one aware of Kaoru's return to the country. This must be the surprise he was talking about.
The twins continued to speak, much the same way they did at every party, and Haruhi found her gaze drawn back to the bar in distraction. This time, she found Tamaki staring back at her. His expression contained no joy, or excitement at seeing her again, something she automatically assumed would happen. Instead he just looked sad, as if she had done something to intentionally hurt him. That was impossible thought, she hadn't seen him in months.
Haruhi clapped, almost robotically, when the twins finished their speech, and made their way down an ornately decorated staircase. Music started wafting through the garden, and guests began to make their way to the pavilion for dancing.
It was a beautiful setting, Haruhi concluded from her seat at the table. She had no desire to move, let alone dance, and she was as content as she would ever get sitting at the table.
"Shall we dance?" The whisper that would have once made Haruhi melt in her seat now made her tense, and she turned to face Kyoya, to tell him that under no circumstances would she get up and dance with him tonight. But there was a dangerous edge to his expression, one Haruhi found herself unable to refuse. Instead, she let herself be led to the dance floor, and they whirled around mechanically, simply, though Kyoya was capable of doing far more.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" He asked pleasantly, throwing Haruhi off guard.
"I suppose." Was her curt reply. Why did he insist on talking? It only made things worse.
"Can we not?" Haruhi asked, before Kyoya could come up with another painfully trivial comment. "I don't know why you've even bothered with this."
"It's called keeping up appearances, or have you learned nothing in your years in the public eye." His voice was hard, the comment edged like a knife and aimed with perfect accuracy.
They danced in silence, ignoring the rest of the world, and ignoring each other, until the end of the set.
"Kyoya! Haruhi!" They turned to see who would interrupt them, and found the source of the beckoning standing on the edge of the dance floor, trying not to wave like an idiot.
"We should go." Haruhi said, happy to grab any excuse she could to get away from the situation. Kyoya nodded, and they left the dance floor.
"Kaoru, it's good to see you." It was the first time Kyoya sounded truly at ease in weeks.
"You too, you're both looking well. Haruhi, you look especially wonderful." Haruhi could feel her throat constrict, though she didn't really have a clue as to why his compliment would make her want to cry.
"Thank you," she murmured, "so this was your big plan?"
"Pretty much. It's a lot harder to shock people then it used to be." Kaoru shrugged. He had surprised his brother, so that was really all that mattered.
"Speaking of, ahem, surprises. Kyoya, has Haruhi mentioned hers? Congratulations, man, it's the start of a new life!" A heavy silence fell over the trio while they waited on Kyoya's reaction. His hands were clenched, the nails biting into the skin and leaving marks that he was sure wouldn't leave for a while.
"Kyoya, it's not what you think." Haruhi started. She figured now would be as good a time as any to debunk the rumors that were swirling around. But Kyoya turned away.
"I apologize, but I have to leave. I just remembered some work I need to finish." He managed not to growl, though inside he was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions, and walked away. Kaoru and Haruhi stood, silent with shock as they watched his retreating figure.
"Haruhi, are you alright?" Kaoru asked, "you're white."
"Maybe we should go inside, she's shaking." Hikaru suggested. He put an arm around Haruhi's shoulders and lead her to the house.
Haruhi felt like she was moving underwater. Everything was fuzzy, and muffled. She knew where to walk, thanks to the guiding hand on her shoulder, and she knew her friends were following her, because there was an incessant hum featuring her name that seemed to follow her where ever she went.
"Is she okay?"
"What happened?"
"Where's Kyoya, shouldn't he be here?"
A glass of something was put in her hand, and she was set on a couch. It took a minute for her to come back to reality, where she was literally bombarded with questions.
"Haruhi?" Kaoru knelt in front of her with the most concerned look on his face, "what's going on with you? Why did Kyoya get so mad? Are you sick? For gods sake don't drink that!" The glass was wrenched from her hand before she could think, and Haruhi began to cry.
"Everything is terrible." She said, and wiped away the tears that were beginning to trail down her face. "Kyoya thinks I'm cheating on him, and he won't even look at me." Haruhi glanced around, and saw that her friends were all hovering around, waiting to see what they would be needed for.
"That's ridiculous, why would he think that?" Honey asked, as he leaned over the back of the couch.
"Because Kaoru came over, and security didn't recognize his car."
Tamaki, who had been lounging in the corner uncharacteristically, perked up at this statement. He'd come in late, after he tried to chase down Kyoya.
"So you're not cheating on him?" Tamaki asked, sauntering over to the group. Haruhi looked up, surprised. It was the first time he'd spoken to her this evening, and it wasn't what she had expected.
"Tamaki?" Haruhi turned to face her friend, but he was already across the room, on his phone.
"But, Kyoya knows you-" Kaoru trailed off as Haruhi burst into a fresh wave of tears, and shook her head violently, making her earrings jangle.
"It's okay, it's gonna be okay Haru-chan." Honey put a hand on her shoulder, and tried to comfort her.
"Haruhi, I'll take you home. Come on." Kaoru helped a still-crying Haruhi off the couch. "You'll be fine without me, right Hikaru?" Hikaru opened his mouth to protest, but Honey and Mori chimed in the affirmative before he could say anything.
The car ride was silent, both passengers content to listen to the hum of the motor.
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Kaoru asked as they pulled up to the house. Haruhi looked at him, she didn't have to say anything, her expression clearly read that she had no choice at this point, she had to go in.
"I'll see you later." She muttered, opened the door and got out of the car.
Kaoru watched her walk up to the door and knock, he didn't leave until she was safely inside.
"Welcome home." Haruhi muttered sarcastically, and walked up the stairs.
So, let me know what you think? We're coming up on the end here, there's only two, three chapters left. But no worries! I already have another rather large project planned out, so you can be on the look out for that when this is done.
XOXO
Belle
