I think I fixed the last chapter! I didn't even know anything was wrong, thank you for the comments asking me to go back and look!
I took my normal route home from school, walking to the beat of the music blasting from my headphones. While I was in America, I developed a love for rock music. Anything loud and vaguely agressive I adored.
Such a lonely day, should be banned.
I mouthed the words to a System of a Down song, padding down an oddly barren sidewalk. Well, this is accurate.
My thoughts (and music) were interrupted by a loud honk. I glanced up from my feet and noticed a familar black car pulling up beside me. The driver rolled down his window, and I grinned.
"Raiden!"
He smiled. "Hey, I saw you walking down this way and I thought I might offer you a ride," blushing, he added, "I hope this isn't creepy or stalker-like."
I let out a laugh. "I'd actually love a ride, it looks like the sky is going to fall any minute." We both looked up at the heavy clouds hanging over us.
The ride was pleasant. We chatted about everything from school to my time in America, and by the time we reached my home, I'd made myself comfortable in the passenger seat.
"Well, looks like this is where I get out." I said, opening the car door. The first few drops of rain began to splatter the ground.
"It was nice talking to you, Mizuki. Maybe I could drive you home again sometime?" He smiled shyly.
"Of course! I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully." I waved my fingers in a goodbye as he pulled out of my driveway.
I swung open the front door and strode inside, a bounce in my step. I opened my mouth to announce my arrival, but I was cut off by an unexpected voice.
"Koneko, I'm ho-"
"Where have you been?" I blinked and looked up, staring directly at Hikaru. I took a step back, leaning up against the door.
"What are you doing here? When I said to come by later I didn't mean right after schoo-"
"I thought it'd be a good idea to come early so we had more time to practice; one of your sisters let me in. Now, where have you been, and who was that boy who dropped you off?" His eyes were dark.
Is Hikaru jealous?
I moved so that I was no longer trapped between him and the door. "Not that it's any of your business, but that was Raiden. He's a friend from school, and he was driving me home, because it looked like it was going to rain."
"Why didn't you just leave in your family vehicle with the rest of your sisters?"
"I like walking- you know what? That's none of your concern."
He scoffed, looking a little hurt.
I sighed. "Let's just go run lines, ok?"
Hikaru nodded, and I grabbed his hand to lead him to our library.
As we walked into the large room, I noticed something off with Hikaru.
"What's wrong?" I peered up at him.
He made a pointed glance at my, well, our hands.
Blood rushing to my face, I dropped his hand like it was burning. I forced myself to turn back around. "Come on," I said stiffly, "we can sit over here." I plopped down on the worn, old sofa that had been my favorite seat in the library since my childhood. Hikaru sat down next to me, staring down at his shoes.
After a few moments of silence, he cleared his throat. "Let's start, I came here to run lines, not sit in awkward silence." I nodded and reached to the low coffee table sat in front of the sofa, snatching a book off of it.
"I found out we had a copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream right here in the library, and I left it here so I'd be able to find it." I flipped to a dog-eared page; it was where our scene began.
After a good two hours of reading and rereading our lines, Hikaru let out a long sigh. "Oh, this is so boring! Can we take a break?"
I slumped into my seat. "Absolutely. If I have to look at this book a second longer, my eyes will explode!"
Surprisingly, Hikaru chuckled. He stood up and began to wander around the room, staring at the various portraits and photographs that litered the walls. He tapped the frame of one painting, staring up at it. "Is this you and your sisters?"
I joined him in front of the image to get a better look. The work of art featured four identical young girls, all wearing the same bright pink dress and white smile.
"Yep, that's us. I'm that one." I pointed to the girl furthest to the right.
A faint smile graced Hikaru's face, before he ambled away from the piece. "So, you lived in America for the last two years?" He questioned, his eyes glancing over other works of art.
"Yeah, the move was really sudden. My dad had signed a contract with a business in America, and we had to pack up and leave Japan as soon as humanly possible. I was at Ouran one day, and the very next I was on a plane to the U.S." I found my way back to the sofa and plopped down.
A moment of silence followed. Suddenly, Hikaru spoke; his voice was a near whisper. "I'm sorry."
I blinked, standing up once more. "What do you mean?"
He whipped around toward me, his eyes piercing mine. "I said I was sorry. That trick Kaoru and I tried to pull on you was absolutely disgusting and I'm sorry. We, no, I shouldn't have done what I did." Then, he did something I would have never thought he'd do. Hikaru quickly closed the distance between us and enveloped me in a hug.
"I really am sorry."