Chapter 10

Chemistry

Kyoya watched as Tamaki chatted away with Charlie, happy that she liked her gift, and trying to catch up with her on what she did over Winter Break. Kyoya couldn't help but crack a small smile at Charlie's very subtle blush, and how she acted slightly awkward around the boy.

He returned his attention to the front of the classroom as their science teacher addressed the class. "Good afternoon, students. Today, we will be conducting a lab. Please listen as I read aloud the partnerships and wait until after I'm done to get together with your partner and seat yourselves at a station in the back of the classroom. Make sure to put on your lab coats and goggles before beginning."

The professor began to read off the list of names, apparently partnered alphabetically. Kyoya was partnered with another boy, and he observed as Tamaki and Charlie were announced partners.

The groups began to move towards the back, Tamaki excitedly yipping along, Charlie smiling at the boy. Kyoya could tell something interesting was going to happen.

Class was over soon, leaving Charlie practically falling out of her chair laughing when the concoction blew up in Tamaki's face. He whined, "What did I do wrong?"

Charlie wiped away a laughing tear, grabbing the instructions printed on paper, telling him, "Well, I did all the pouring and mixing, and everything was fine then. It was probably when you were stirring and heating that something went wrong. Did you heat it to the right temperature?"

"Of course!" Tamaki pointed to the thermometer still sitting in the glass beaker that was now empty of the purple liquid, which Tamaki had wiped off his face. "It was heated to three degrees Celsius exactly!"

Charlie face-palmed. "Tamaki," she grumbled, "This says thirty degrees Celsius."

"Oh."

Charlie sighed, telling him, "Looks like you'll have to come over to my house later today to finish this lab and turn in tomorrow. How does five sound?"

Tamaki looked confused. "Five sounds like a good number…"

Charlie giggled, explaining, "I mean can you come over to my house at five?"

"Oh." A look of realization hit Tamaki, followed and replaced quickly by a look of what can only be described as what Hunny might look like if he heard he had just inherited every single cake ever made. "That means I get to go to your house again, Charlotte!"

Charlie shushed him, thankful that students were already pouring out to go home or to their extracurricular activities, and their teacher had forgotten his classroom keys in his car and went to fetch them. "Keep it down, someone might hear you." She squinted a bit, making Tamaki feel a little uncomfortable. "You have something on your cheek," she told him, pointing on her own right cheek.

Tamaki tried to wipe it off, Charlie laughing as he kept missing, Tamaki getting more and more annoyed by the minute. Finally Charlie sighed, shaking her head as she reached up with her thumb, mumbling, "Here, let me get it."

Charlie leaned closer to Tamaki's face, both of their hearts thudding as Charlie gently wiped Tamaki's cheek with her thumb, her face dangerously close to his. For a minute, they stayed that way, just gazing at each other. "Charlotte…" Tamaki muttered, gently leaning in even closer, Charlie following suit.

There was no stopping it now; their hearts thudded in their ears, the other one's breath equally sweet and enticing, and they had utterly lost their grip on reality. This sweet and passionate moment was inevitable, it was-

"Ohohohoho~!" Renge rose up on her platform, squealing, "KAWAII~!"

-Utterly ruined by the otaku.

Charlie and Tamaki's eyes widened to match saucers, and they quickly leaped to opposite sides of the science classroom.

"The passion, the delicateness, the girlish nickname!" Renge was off in her own world, standing on her platform with her opera binoculars raised to magnify her eyes.

Charlie let out a small breath of relief. At least Renge was idiotic enough to believe that Charlotte was a nickname… "Oh, I have always imagined moments like this between the Hitachiin brothers, but never have I imagined that Tamaki and Charlie would share such a taboo and romantic love!"

Charlie couldn't help but raise a brow. "You imagine yaoi situations in your free time?"

"Ah, Renge," Tamaki tried to think of a cover, trying to stay cool and keep his blush down. Had he really been so close to kissing his precious daughter…? He was at a loss for words, so he quickly mumbled, "How much did you see?"

"Oh, the doujinshi that could be written! I simply must tell the others!" And with that, her platform descended, Renge blathering on about simply having to get to the Host Club to spread the news ASAP.

"Oh… crap. We are busted." Charlie's brain had temporarily forgotten about the "doki doki" moment she had had with Tamaki, and was now imagining what would happen as soon as Kyoya heard. Heck, what would the others think?

Tamaki's mind was far off, as he kept thinking to himself, Why did I try to kiss Charlotte? Both of them simply stayed in the science classroom, their brains buzzing with thoughts.

"What are you two still doing here?" Both of their heads snapped up and back to reality as they saw their teacher standing in the doorway, holding his keys. He brushed the thought away and simply told them while he made his way to his desk, "Well, just remember to turn in that lab tomorrow for full credit. Now get going, you two."

The walk to the Host Club was quiet and awkward. Neither one said anything for fear that it might bring up the previous moment. Charlie laughed nervously, trying to break the awkward mood, "I wonder what the Shadow King is going to do when he finds out."

Tamaki said nothing in reply. Now Charlie was worried. This wasn't the normal Tamaki that she had fallen in love with… She mentally slapped herself, thankful that Tamaki couldn't read minds.

She looked over to the blond, who was suddenly pensive and lost in thought, a face she had never seen before. Still, she had to do something. Usually, Tamaki would be the one telling her not to be so serious; it felt strange to have it be the other way around. "Hey, Tamaki?" The boy looked over at her, a faraway look in his violet eyes.

"Yes, Charlotte?"

She couldn't help but smile. He always called her by her real name whenever he could, only calling her Charlie around the other students. At first it had annoyed her, but his velvety smooth voice and endearing ways had led her to love it.

Now Charlie was at a loss for words. She wanted to snap him out of this mood. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were, with them as friends. And yet, now that both their feelings were out there, it seemed like she still wanted something more. Charlie knew she had to say something, but she didn't know what.

"…Um, do you… uh, want to, um… talk about it?" The words weren't foreign or new to her, she had said them so many times when Alex and Riley had fought and she was trying to resolve everything. And yet, they felt like they had taken on a whole new meaning.

Tamaki bit his lip, turning back to look down the hallway, the familiar sign of the third music room coming into sight. "No thank you," he told her curtly, seeming to take another step away from her.

Charlie's face fell. Tamaki just wasn't going to revert to his old self anytime soon. And now he was pushing her away, like Riley and Alex sometimes did. She looked to the ground, rubbing her arm as if she was trying to comfort herself. She had to blink away a tear, cursing at herself for making Tamaki this way.

As the Host King opened the door, the others were already there, getting ready. Alex was with the other seniors, trying to get Mori to talk to her. Riley and Haruhi had become the unwilling subjects of the twins' newest game. Kyoya stood off to the corner, writing away.

As soon as Tamaki and Charlie entered the room, everyone stared, the tense and awkward mood enveloping the whole room. Riley and Alex unconsciously made their way towards their sister, simultaneously mumbling, "Charlie…"

The girl gave them a small smile, laughing it off and simply telling them, "I'm fine. But I need to speak to Kyoya." With that, she quickly made her way to the Shadow King.

Tamaki simply muttered, "I need to take a walk." He quickly left the room, the others staring after him, Charlie looking hurt.

The others slowly tried to go back to what they were doing, only more hesitant and quieter, Tamaki's new mood on their minds. Charlie cleared her throat, asking Kyoya, "Has Renge stopped by yet?"

"No…" Kyoya was puzzled, but didn't show it. He asked the girl curiously, "Why do you ask?"

Charlie took a deep breath, preparing for his wrath. "Here's the thing…" And with that, the whole story spewed out, Charlie carefully leaving out her emotions and feelings.

Kyoya nodded, slightly surprised. "I feel that we should probably cancel the club and meeting today," he told the others, putting his pen away. He reached into his pocket, taking out his keys.

The others left, all sad and confused. All of them asked Charlie, "Is Tamaki all right?"

She bit her lip, each time replying, "I don't know…" She wasn't going to plan on telling them what had happened, but from the looks on Riley and Alex's faces, she would have a lot of explaining to do at home.

Charlie began making her way to her limo, walking down the hallway, a mixture of hurt, sadness, and anger bubbling inside of her. She was mad at herself, not just because she had caused such a drastic change for the club members who were almost like family now, but for not knowing how to fix things with Tamaki. And he was coming over later, too…

"Charlie! Wait up!" She turned around to find Riley, Alex, Hunny, and Mori running after her, and she raised a brow.

"Yes?"

Riley caught her breath, holding up a finger signaling to give her and Alex a minute. However, Hunny and Mori were used to the exercise, so Hunny went up to the girl, a sad smile on his face. Charlie crouched down a bit so Hunny could whisper in her ear, hugging Usachan, "If you really like Tamaki, you'll find a way to make things right."

Charlie stared at the small boy in disbelief, watching as he waved goodbye, a huge grin on his face. She stood, stunned, as the two seniors made their way down the hallway, heading home.

"Okay… Whew, remind me to work out more…" Riley had finally caught her breath, and looked at Charlie with a huge, goofy grin on her face. "Alex and I wanna ride home together! So that automatically includes you!"

Charlie was only pushed into shock a little more. Finally, after an agonizing minute, her face cracked into a smile, and she told them, "Okay, let's go."

At least things were starting to work out between her and her sisters. And Hunny was right; everything would work out in the end. It always did…

Charlie straightened out her shirt for the fifth time, waiting for the doorbell to ring. She had set up the lab in the living room, and was patiently waiting for Tamaki to come.

Minutes ticked by, until finally Charlie was convinced that he just wasn't coming. Just as she was about to do the experiment over alone, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" She was at the door in record time, opening it and finding Tamaki standing outside. "Come in." She gestured indoors, closing the door slowly behind him. She took a final deep breath before she made her way to the living room, where Tamaki was in pure business mode.

"Let's finish this quickly," he told her curtly. Charlie flinched at his blunt comment, hurt. Something was definitely wrong with Tamaki; he would never act this way before.

After only a few minutes, it was like she didn't even know him anymore. He was still polite, and at least he wasn't being too harsh. However, the only guarantee Charlie had that he hadn't been replaced by a clone was that he still called her Charlotte.

Once the experiment was done, Tamaki quickly packed up. "I'll hand this in to our professor tomorrow." With that, he was already standing up, merely telling Charlie, "Thank you for allowing me to come over, Charlotte."

"Wait, Tamaki!" The boy froze, turning back around to face the girl, who was also standing. Charlie took a deep breath, closing her eyes and blurting out, "Do you hate me?"

When she opened her eyes, Tamaki simply looked stunned. "Hate you?" he repeated, his face growing more and more shocked.

Charlie was shaking now, nodding as tears began to slide down her face, sobbing, "You push me away, and treat me coldly, and it's like I don't know you anymore! I'm sorry I ruined our friendship; just tell me how I can fix it! Please, Tamaki! I can't stand the thought that you hate me, and, and…" She trailed off, crying into her hands. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry, not this soon, but she couldn't help it.

Charlie sniffled, and was stunned as Tamaki dropped his bag and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I could never hate you, Charlotte," he soothed, rubbing her back. She snuggled deeper into the hug, enjoying his warmth. It was safe and secure in his arms, and his voice calmed her. "I'm just… in a situation, right now."

"Situation?" She looked up at his violet eyes, asking, "What do you mean? Because if you want to forget what happened before and just be friends, then-"

"No, Charlotte," he cut her off, a sad smile on his face. He told her, "I had just found out this morning that my father and grandmother had picked a fiancée for me. And then the incident in science class happened…"

She just stood in his arms, taking it all in. She told him, "Tamaki, I'm engaged, too. But, I mean, we're still young, and…"

Tamaki shook his head, telling her, "I'm sorry, Charlotte, but I just can't think of you that way… I'm sorry."

She mustered up a fake smile, laughing, "I guess that means the whole yaoi moment was a one time thing, then."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Charlotte." Without warning, and before even Tamaki himself could realize what he was doing, Tamaki had gently kissed her hair, breathing in her scent. She always smelled like a bakery, and he loved that about her…

Charlie silently followed a few feet behind him as he made his way to the door, a slight blush on his face, realizing that he had just kissed his "daughter". She smiled sadly after him, waving as his limo pulled out of the driveway.

She leaned against the door for support, her smile disappearing without a trace. She just couldn't believe that after all these months, all this time, she had loved him. And now what? Tamaki didn't even want to imagine a relationship with her. It was probably because he was engaged.

Charlie was filled with a new anger. Why did parents have to decide whom they married? She was engaged, and Tamaki had a fiancée, and- Her mind stopped as a thought occurred to her. She ran back to the living room, picking up the home phone and punching the familiar number, growing impatient as the phone kept ringing and ringing. It was a long shot, but she had to know. She just didn't know how she would react either way...

"Hello, Dad… Yes, dinner is ready… I need to ask you something… Whom am I engaged to?"

Disclaimer: I only own my ocs.

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN! Cliffhanger!

So, talk about drama! Don't worry, I'll try to balance it out by lightening the next chapter up a little. In conclusion, the Davidson sisters are starting to get along, Tamaki and Charlie realize they love each other, both are already engaged, gosh this sounds more and more like Romeo and Juliet... :P Anyways, I'm just gonna shut up and leave you hanging until later! XD

Every time you push this button,

Riley is rewarded with a Charlie-made sugar cookie.

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