Why Me?
Chapter 8: I Learn New Stuff About Myself Everyday!
Melanie's Point Of View
"Wake up!" Liam yells as he shakes me violently. I, in return, fall out of bed in shock. "It took you long enough. School starts again today!" He says as he leaves the room. I didn't register it, but when l went into the kitchen to get coffee, I look at the calender and do indeed see that today is Monday. I groan. I didn't want to go to school. Not after the vacation I just had. I quickly drink the rest of my coffee, take a shower, and manage to finish all my other morning necessities before I am late to get out the door.
When I do get out, I see Liam already halfway down the street, talking to Haruhi.
"Liam, wait up!" I yell. He turns around for a second and then signals for me to start running, which I do. I am athletic, it didn't take much to blast myself down the street. What did take effort, is doing it in a dress. As l catch up I see Liam smile at something Haruhi said. Very suspicious coming from the guy who only smiles when he is truly happy. Wait... he only smiles when he is truly happy. That means he is happy with Haruhi! Liam has a crush on Haruhi! I let a smile show on my face, but quickly take it off before he sees.
When we finally arrive at school, l am sitting down in my usual seat in homeroom when I notice something unusual. Everyone is reading a newspaper, rather than gossiping. I am getting some evil glares thrown at me by a group of girls in the corner.
"Hey Melanie, Haruhi." Hikaru and Kaoru say as they enter homeroom. I wave to them, but don't direct my attention away from the girls in the corner.
"Do you guys notice anything different about the atmosphere today?" asks Hikaru. I nod. It is different. Just then we see Tamaki, Kyoya, Mori, and Hunny come rush through the door. They say something urgently to sensei before coming to the back of the room.
"All four of you get up and get to the club room now!" Tamaki yells at us. I follow orders and automatically get through the door with Haruhi and the twins right on my tail.
When we make it to the club room, Tamaki is freaking out, while Kyoya automatically writes down something on his infamous notepad. Hunny throws a newspaper at us. I catch it and my eyes get huge while l read the first article.
Fight Over Girl Lead To The Downfall Of The Brotherly Love Kings!
We all know the Hitachiin twins, and how they are a main attraction at the host club, but sources tell us that both of the brothers have an eye out for the new girl, Melanie Smallwood. For over a month, she has been spending time alone with each of the twins, from picking up a dress, to going on vacation with them! Although our sources say that she is currently dating Hikaru, she has been photographed numerous amounts of times with Kaoru! That is not the worst part either, we have had reports come in that the twins had a fight over her too! Why is she breaking up such a strong bond? How is she breaking up their bond? How cold must your heart be to try and break up a family?
I didn't even finish reading it before my attention was taken by the photos of me and the twins. Ones in Italy, and across the street from the clothing shop. They also had one of me and Kaoru at the restaurant. Shock spreads across my face. This is great, I have only been here for a month and a half and now I am the talk of the school. Hikaru snatches the paper from my hands and reads it for himself. After he finishes, his face turns as red as his hair. Kaoru sees his reaction and then reads the paper himself. His face drains of color and he throws the paper on the table.
"How the hell are people actually believing this?!" Asks an angry Hikaru.
"Well, they did have photos, which by the way can't we sue them over that? It is invasion of privacy." Said Kaoru. He was significantly calmer than Hikaru, but still seemed to be peeved by the article.
"Last time I checked you could." Kyoya answered. He looked very stressed, and had his face in his hands. Tamaki was opposite of him doing the same thing.
"You didn't read the other story, did you?" Tamaki said through his hands. I pick up the newspaper and then the twins get on each side of me as they read the article too.
Haruhi, What Are You Really?
Have you seen Haruhi, from the host club, lately? He is looks different, don't you think? A bit taller, and seems to be fed better than when he first came here, he is a commoner after all. But, with those big brown eyes, slender frame, attraction to cute things, and lack of height, we have suspected something is different about him. Especially when he didn't take the regular physical exam. He didn't show off like the rest of the guys. Now we have finally pieced together the clues, he is definitely a girl. Yes, a sugar, spice, and everything nice, girl. That's not all though. We have a strange suspicion she is also pregnant. She is much bigger around the belly lately. Now, if she is pregnant, there must also be a father right? She spends so much time with the hosts, chances are one of them is the father. We have ruled out Mori and Hunny, since they never spend time away from each other. We have also ruled out the twins, since they only have eyes out for Melanie. So that only leaves Kyoya and Tamaki. We all know Tamaki is a half-french ladies man, but Kyoya is also manipulative, he could have easily tricked Haruhi into something. How can such smart young men be stupid enough to mess around with a commoner? We, the newspaper club, are dedicated to finding out the truth, no matter what it takes.
My mouth drops open in surprise. That was harsh. If the twins were mad before, they didn't bother to show how mad they truly were. Now, they had the look of murder in their eyes.
"Before you even think of doing anything rash, stop and sit on the couch." Kyoya said, finally looking up from his hands. He had the exact same look as the twins, except it seemed more venomous and he seemed to have a dark shadow revolve around him.
"What are we going to do? If this gets to my dad, he is going to burst! And worse, if he doesn't believe me that I didn't do it, he is going to do a lot worse than just disowning me, he is going to take away my diamond studded kotatsu! Then my dream will never be complete!" Tamaki cried.
Kyoya lost his glow and then rolled his eyes for a moment before barking out orders.
"Kaoru, Tamaki, Hunny, Mori, Haruhi, follow me to headmaster Suou's office. We are not going to let them get away with this!"
"What about me? I want in on the action too!" Hikaru complained.
Kyoya gave him the death glare before replying, "Unlike Kaoru, who can control himself, you will probably kill the first member of the newspaper club you see." Hikaru look liked he was about to testify against that, but one glare from everyone in the room shut him up.
When the host club left, I was sitting there, thinking. I couldn't believe I got caught up in all this! I told myself to be more careful and I ignored myself. After a couple minutes, when Hikaru put the paper back on the table after reading it a second time, I started to speak again.
"This is all my fault." Hikaru stares at me blankly. "If I was just a little bit more careful, this wouldn't have happened. You can't have my name tearing up your image. Not because of this giant mess that I caused." I couldn't help when my voice got a little higher on that last sentence.
Hikaru shook his head before answering. "This isn't your fault, even if it was, Kaoru and I were in some of those pictures too. It is not like you forced us into them." I stared at him this time. That is true. I put my face into my hand. I was stressed out by this, I wanted to have something happen that will turn my life around. Everything was quiet, so different than what it was five minutes ago. It was so quiet that I caught every word that Hikaru said perfectly. "Well, now that I think about it, why don't we make one of these rumors true?" I snapped my head up and next thing I know, Hikaru's lips are smashed against mine. I enjoyed it, but at the same time my mind told me to reject it, not to like the kiss. Then another thing popped into my head. This is myfirst kiss. Not how I expected the moment to go, but I couldn't help trying to pull as much happiness as I could from it. I let myself sink into his embrace, fall deeper into this feeling I was trying to avoid, and let myself believe, that for one moment that I may be able to love again.
When I felt like my lungs were about to burst from lack of oxygen, we parted. Hikaru was smiling, almost like he felt proud of himself. My face was probably red, but I let a quick smile escape my lips.
"So, how did I do for your first kiss?" He asked, he still had his grin spread across his face while my eyes went large.
"How do you know that?" I ask suspiciously.
He put on his most innocent look and said, "Does it really matter how I know?" I looked at him. I was a tiny bit unhappy that he somehow dug his way into my personal life and managed to get that information.
I sighed before answering, "Well, since it was my first kiss, I don't really have anything to judge with." He let a mischievous smile on his face that only grew larger in size as he came closer to me.
"So, you don't have anything to compare with? I can change that you know." He whispered into my ear. I felt my face heat up, but that was Hikaru. Making me feel uncomfortable, but somehow sweet on the inside. I was the idiot that turned around though. The second I turned to my right, there was his face again, his eyes burning for more. Bad news for him though, more was something I couldn't deliver.
"Anyway, yea. I got nothing to compare with." I said as I got up and picked up the newspaper. I led it to the trash can with Hikaru sitting at the table, he had a disappointed look on his face. Did a girl never reject him? What I just did must have been a huge wake-up call then. Nevertheless, when l sat down on the couch he followed me.
I laid down, while he joined me on the other end. He propped my feet up on his thighs. I started to get oddly suspicious. He wasn't going to give up. "It isn't even lunch time and l felt like an entire day already passed by. I feel exhausted." I say. He smirks, I don't know why, but something tells me I don't want to know. "It could have been worse though." I add. His eyes get big in surprise before returning to normal size and scooting closer.
"Oh really?" He purrs. I did not have a good feeling about this, but my body didn't allow me to move an inch. I nod. He scoots even closer, now my knees are on his thighs.
"Well, I have been through worse situations." I say. Every word I say causes him to slowly creep closer. I knew Hikaru wasn't very good at controlling his emotions, but once he gets started, he won't stop.
"Really? I doubt it could have been that bad." He asked, genuinely curious. I haven't really, I just said that out of habit. He scooted closer again. This time I was almost laying in his lap. I dug my head in the pillow as he got closer. I wasn't ready. The last one caught me by surprise, but this time I know he likes me enough to kiss me.
When he was two inches away from my face he asked me something to catch me off guard, again.
"You know, you never answered my question from earlier." I was puzzled. "I asked if you wanted to make the rumors true." He said. The scene flew back into my mind. He did ask me that. I stuttered. He quickly got impatient flicking his eyes from mine to my lips repeatedly. "Well, allow me to help you speed up your decision." He says before once again, smashing his lips against mine. I didn't have time to stop him, and I quickly realize that I have had my first and second kiss in the same ten minutes. I couldn't help it, I wanted it to go on forever, no matter what the voice in my head told me. Before I knew it, he managed to get on top of me. I started to panic, and the voice started to nag me about how I should have listened to it. After he finally separated from me, I was shaking my head. Half of me wanted this, but the other half rejected it, told me to slap him and run away. I needed to get away from him, someplace where his scent can't mess with my head. But how was I going to get him off of me? He was stronger and taller than me. This was not going to be an easy task, but I thought of something.
"Wait Hikaru. I- I need to use the restroom." I say quietly. He looked confused, but then quickly got off of me. He looked like he understood that I needed space.
When I finally got out of the room, I saw the host club twenty feet away from me. I immediately turned the corner away from them, but they already saw me.
"Hey Melanie! We won! They are expelled and we get to burn the newspapers in victory!" I hear Tamaki call down the hall, but by the time they turned the corner, I was already in the bathroom.
Hikaru's Point Of View
"Wow, I feel like crap right now." I say as I lay on the couch, right where Melanie was. I let my feelings get carried away and forced Melanie into an uncomfortable situation. When she was looking at me, something told me she didn't need to use the restroom. I was rushing things, and she wasn't ready. She wanted to get away. Next thing l know, the host club bursts through the room. Everyone looks alerted, especially Tamaki.
"Hikaru, you wouldn't happen to know why Melanie just ran down the hall?" He asked suspiciously. I didn't answer, just ignored him and hoped he would go away. He came into the area with the sofas in it and sat down on the opposite end of my sofa, much to my discomfort. Something tells me Tamaki is about to interview me on everything that happened while they were gone. "So, you are trying to say nothing happened?" He asks with one eyebrow up in suspicion. I nod, right now I want to think, but Tamaki is stopping that from happening. He takes his finger and taps his lips. I touch mine and realize the have something shiny on them. Lip gloss. I quickly wipe it off on my sleeve, but that damn Tamaki is a hell of a lot smarter than he lets on.
When I look back up, Tamaki is smiling. "So, you did nothing, huh?" He asks with a mischievous grin on his face. I shook my head, let my guard down for five seconds and now I am going to have to pay for it.
"I can't wait until I tell Liam that his little sister had her first kiss taken by a certain red-headed twin!" Tamaki starts singing. My eyes get big.
"Don't do that Tamaki!" I say before I could stop myself.
He put on his most innocent face and says, "But it is her big brother Hikaru! Doesn't he have a right to know about his sisters life? Especially when her lips touched another's..." He is taking his revenge for all those times I messed with Haruhi, I always threatened to tell Ranka about Haruhi's first kiss.
"So, what did she do that made you kiss her?" Tamaki asks after a second. With Tamaki's threat lingering over my head, I decide against ignoring him.
"Well, we were sitting at the table, words were exchanged, then I kissed her. The end." I say.
Tamaki rolls his eyes, before saying, "There has to be more to the story than that." I take a deep breath and release it. I didn't exactly want to take that private moment and spill it out to, of all people, Tamaki.
"So you want me to quote the last couple seconds?" I ask. He nods and I speak again.
"Well, she had her face in her palms and she kept saying that it was all her fault. I told her that it wasn't her fault and that even if it was, Kaoru and I were in some of those pictures too. It wasn't like she forced us into them. Then when she put her head back into her palms, I said 'Well,now that I think about it, why don't we make one of these rumors true? Then when she lifted her head up, l kissed her." I purposely left out everything that happened on the couch, Tamaki would start a whole new conversation that I want to avoid at all costs.
Tamaki looked surprised before answering, "So, it was a complete surprise?" I nod.
A grin spreads across his face before he replies, "That is becoming quite common in the host club, first Haruhi, now Melanie. Nice one." I laugh. I never get this feeling when talking to Tamaki, only that one time at the ball. "So, did she say yes?" He asked. I sigh again.
"She didn't say anything." I admit.
Tamaki doesn't look surprised like I thought he would. Instead he mumbles, "She really is scarred that much." My ears perk up, what does he mean by that?
"Tamaki, what do you mean 'She really is scarred that much'?" I ask. He shakes his head.
"That is none of my business to tell you, Melanie will tell you when the time is right." He tells me.
"Why do you know then?" I ask suspiciously. He smiles, reminiscing a memory, then gets up and walks to the door before he answers.
"Well, that is for me to know, and for you to never find out." I ignore that.
"I need to find out! I like that girl a lot. How am I supposed to do anything to help her if I don't know what the problem is?" I say. I was starting to get angry at Tamaki for knowing and not telling me.
"How bad do you want to find out?" Tamaki asks me before leaving the room. I start to feel desperate.
"I will do anything." I admit.
He turns around and stands there, leaning on the door frame. "Before she moved here, her dad was cheating on her mom with the daughter of a wealthy CEO. Her mom was, scratch that, is so heartbroken, sometimes she just stares in a corner for hours crying about it. Melanie is affected by it too, she can't trust men anymore. She can't bring herself to love you. She wants to but as a result of trauma, is doubting her choices. When I talked to her, she admitted that she can't even trust Liam sometimes. Imagine trying to live without love, then you can try to put yourself into her shoes." Tamaki says.
I was sitting, frozen by shock. That is why she was so uncomfortable when I was sitting on the couch with her. She was wondering if I was going to hurt her like her dad did to her mom. She was trying to avoid heartbreak, no one could blame her though. The thought of my dad doing that to my mom sends hatred through my veins. When I look back at the door frame, Tamaki is gone. He left so I can think. I am not like her dad, cheating is not something a real man would do. I know I will do whatever it takes for her to change her mind, see that not everyone is like that, but something tells me that it is going to be more difficult than I imagine. That doesn't matter though, if I want her to go back on her decision I will do anything, no matter how immature, stupid, or illegal it may get.
