REVISED 13/09/17

CHAPTER TEN - CYNICAL TIMES

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the stars refuse to shine

Out of the back you fall in time

I somehow find

You and I collide

Collide ~ Howie Day

…

NALI

There are moments in your life, when there are no sane words to describe the things that are happening to you. You know the kind I'm talking about: moments that literally take your breath away or cut-off your oxygen like a punch to the gut.

Watching my friend plummet off of a cliff wrapped in the arms of a blonde idiot, seemed to be one of those moments. Of course, even now as I stood in the grand reception of the hotel that the club's fangirls had been staying in, the only thing I could do was curse the idiots that had caused the whole escapade in the first place, despite the fact that I knew that Haruhi was fine and that she had already assuaged my fears and I had berated her for creating those fears in the first place.

The sun had long ago faded to a dull red, settling on the edge of the horizon and it seemed like hours had passed since Tamaki had pulled a rather sopping and frankly disgruntled Haruhi from the water much to the great delight of his many fans and relief to Mei and I. Unsurprisingly, the Hosts hadn't let us linger once Haruhi had been safely retrieved and despite some protests from the more ahem hard-core fans, we were led away by the commanding, intimidating, looming and incredibly tall officers of Ootori's very own police force.

Well, they were tall to me, maybe not to everyone else.

"So what you're saying is that your new best friend provoked a bunch of stupid, idiotic, drunken imbéciles and then fell off a cliff."

"Well not necessarily…" I trailed off slowly, wondering how exactly to tell my sister about the events that had transpired today.

"She didn't die, did she?"

"Mika! Of course not! How could you…urgh!" I slapped a palm to my forehead, my gaze turning towards the open window of the hotel reception where gauze curtains billowed softly in the breeze. Storm clouds were visible in the distance, but I wasn't too preoccupied by them, too busy trying to squash my sister's wild imagination.

"Chill, Oneesan, I was just asking," I could almost see her rolling her eyes on the opposite end of the phone, "So is she ok?"

"She's fine. The idiots sent a messenger over with flowers not that long ago to calm the antics of Fujioka-san's many fangirls," I muttered, leaning back against the desk behind me.

My mind briefly fluttered back to the encompassing relief that had filled me when the news of Haruhi's good health reached the ears of the Host Club girls. Although I still thought the rather flamboyant and expensive flowers were a tad too much, but they seemed to calm the fangirls down to some extent, thus a semi-happy Nali answering the monthly phone call with Mika.

"The idiots? You mean the same ones she provoked?" Mika questioned confused, breaking into my reverie.

"Uh no, these are other idiots, Mika-chan. Not completely unrelated, but not fully involved in this certain situation either," I replied, squinting at the desk like it would offer some sort of divine advice while studiously ignoring the curious look the receptionist was sending me over the top of the book perched on her lap.

My dad used to say that first impressions always count, and the reception certainly reflected the air of grandeur that the hotel we were currently residing in exuded. It was all marble floors, golden trims, large glass-stained windows and fancy sofas. The Host Club's entourage milled about, feeling right at home in the splendour of the building and moving with ease between their assigned rooms, the lavish lounge and the open kitchen, which I knew for a fact was stocked full of a variety of different ice creams. The only thing that didn't appear to fit in with the majesty of the building was the reception desk, and boy was it a sight to behold.

To be frank, it looked a bomb had hit it.

Papers lay strewn across the desk in haphazard piles, decorated by messy rainbow coloured ink spills and the occasional opened pen, and I swore I could see the corners of popular tabloid magazines peaking from underneath the keyboard of the fancy computer system. And the receptionist herself appeared to be more than frazzled, albeit a bit nosy.

The prickly feeling of being watched flared up on my neck once again and I turned just in time to catch the curious gaze of the receptionist; I raised an eyebrow, a sense of satisfaction filling me as her face coloured red and her gaze almost immediately dropped back down to her book.

"I don't think that was even Japanese," Mika's voice drifted over the receiver, causing me to snort, "Could you repeat that slowly, so us village idiots may understand the language of the artsy geniuses?"

Floundering, my mouth opened before closing again with a hesitant snap. I so was not in the mood to even attempt a conversation about the Host Club with my sister right now. Even the few hours I had spent near their presence was now considered prolonged exposure to idiocy and I wasn't sure my heart, or my poor sick disease-riddled head for that matter, could take any more.

"I-"

"Wait, is geniuses the plural of genius? Or is it geni?" Mika thought aloud, "No that sounds too much like genie."

"Mika,"

"Uh yeah?"

"You're rambling again." I said bluntly. Spluttering began to echo down the phone and the corners of my lips tugged up into a grin.

Mission-Avoid-Talk-Of-Host-Club: Accomplished. Inner Nali cheered.

Well kinda.

A smothered chuckle rang out and my gaze landed on Mei, who was currently sitting upside on one of the reception's red sofa, her brown hair hanging around her head like a frizzy halo and her gaze glued on an upside down copy of Naruto Manga, drowning her sorrows in a box of…wait a second.

Are those the brownies that were in my suitcase?

"…just because you're smarter than me with your fancy-shmancy art course…"

My eyes narrowed, focusing on the tupperware that was clutched in one of Mei's hands and the suspected brownie she was holding in the other, effectively drowning out my sister's seemingly endless rambling.

"…and your cute rich club boys and…you're not listening to me, are you?"

They did look suspiciously like my brownies.

I bet you she snuck them out when you were in the shower. Inner Nali pouted, her victory dance coming to an abrupt halt as she began whispering conspiratorially in the back of my mind.

"…you're not listening."

My eyes screwed to slits, and now totally focused on the brownie my unsuspecting friend was happily munching on. They were definitely my brownies. No doubt about it. All previous concerns for my friend's apparent worry for Haruhi had flown out of the window and I…ergh…Inner Nali was planning all the painful ways in which my friend was going to die.

Or you know, there's always Mori. Inner Nali smirked evilly, rubbing her hands together gleefully.

A smirk graced my face and I knew I was going to enjoy this.

"Well drastic times…NALI!"

I let out a sharp shriek, jumping in surprise, effectively tripping over my own feet and startling a few of the nearby girls and Mei, who fell from her precarious position on the sofa and onto the floor, simultaneously. Silence echoed throughout the foyer for a moment before laughter began to drift out of the ruby red receiver which lay discarded on the desk.

Rising from the ground, I eyed the receiver distastefully before picking it up, studiously ignoring the bewildered gazes of the girls I had startled. Mei giggled at my expression as she picked herself up and plopped herself onto the window seat.

"Mi-chan got you again, huh?" she grinned manically, brushing back a piece of wayward hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, she did," I nodded ignoring the burst of giggles from Mei as I placed the receiver next to my ear.

"That's what you get for not listening!" Mei sang, shifting about on her seat to get comfortable.

"Yeah yeah…hey hang on! Are those my brownies?!" I accused, pointing a finger at my friend, who only smiled sheepishly as she shoved another brownie into her mouth.

Charming.

"NALI!" A distant cry came from the phone and I reluctantly raised it to my ear, keeping my unamused glare on my friend, "You're still not paying attention to me!"

"Sorry, Mika-chan, Mei nicked my brownies again," Mei smirked at my words, sticking her tongue out immaturely to which I replied by sticking my tongue out at her childishly.

"Are you really surprised?" My little sister's voice echoed over the phone, "Those brownies are like drugs to her, she's completely addicted."

"I don't think she would be so addicted if Kito didn't keep sneaking confectionary into my suitcase when I'm not looking," I muttered, wiping my hands down my face exasperatedly.

Mika giggled, and a grin broke out on my face. It had been a while since I had last seen her, as the kid (or 'Almost Teen' as she liked to call herself) mostly lived with my Uncle in his home in Karuizawa and more often than not travelled with him on his business trips all over the country. Kami knows what kind of trouble Uncle Yori would get into if she didn't.

As much as I loved my sister and missed her company, I knew she thrived better with my uncle than here in Bunkyō. Or rather in the ghost house in Bunkyō.

A cheery exclamation from Mika's end of the phone broke through her giggles, and my sister began a conversation I could neither see nor understand. A soft sigh ended the exchange and Mika's voice drifted down receiver.

"I've got to go, Uncle's got himself into a spot of bother in the kitchen and it looks like I'm going to have to rescue him," She told me dryly, "Again."

A pang of disappointment ran through me, but I pushed it away quickly.

"Well, you better go save his ass, my dearest Imouto," I sang down the phone, "Better you than me."

"Yeah, but next time it's your turn."

"Right. By the by, I don't want to hear any more of this 'cool uncle' stuff," I said teasingly, my mind flashing back to what Yori had said the last time I had talked to him over the phone, "Yori may not be able to resist your pretty kid face, but don't think I will be so easily swayed. I've been there, done that and have the photos to prove it."

Mika spluttered down the phone and a smug grin split my face.

Score for the Oldest Tanaka! Inner Nali cheered.

"Hey, I am not the one who said they were going to quit working and then continued to work," Mika huffed, and I winced at my sister's harsh tone. Ouch.

Or not.

"Hhhoww…I…Mika-chan…How did you find out?" I stuttered, quickly trying to string together an excuse.

"You really think Yori doesn't tell me everything?" I could her scowling down the phone, "I'm old enough to know about these things now, you know!"

I dropped down into the chair beside the reception desk, stretching the cord of the phone to its limit as I stared down at the swirling marble patterned ground. Cursing underneath my breath, I wondered why Yori couldn't have just told me about Mika knowing on my mobile like a normal person.

Seriously, did my relatives just have an aversion to mobile phones or something?

"I know that, but Mika, you shouldn't have to deal with it."

"Pish Nali, I was going to worry anyway."

I sighed deeply.

The number of Host Club girls had begun to thin within the reception, the red sky darkening to a rich purple beyond the transparent window panes. Mei was lost in her story, still clutching her bounty in a tight grasp and seemingly oblivious to the world around her; the receptionist too seemed to have lost interest in the conversation I was having, her gaze glued to the book which lay open on her lap.

"Do you remember that time Ki attempted to climb the counters in the kitchen to try and find the brownies I hid and slipped and broke his leg?" I asked softly, knowing this would be one of the many accidents that Ki had had that Mika would have the most chance of remembering.

"And dad tried to get him to stay still all those months, but Ki refused -" She spoke up, a humorous lilt to her words.

"Because he literally could not sit still and claimed that he felt like he had to be doing something,"

There was a heavy pause on the other end of the phone, before Mika spoke again.

"You feel the need to distract yourself," She sighed, "I get that, but you should still have told me."

"I feel the need to be doing something worthwhile," I told her quietly, fidgeting slightly with the embroidered edge of the armchair, "I want to spend my days being daring or being positive or just being myself and not attempting to impersonate a vegetable. You know me, Imouto, I'd go stir crazy eventually. And the last thing I needed was to make these last months all about worrying about me."

I ran a hair through my hair as a pregnant silence descended upon the line, knowing that the shorter strands were probably sticking up at odd angles.

"I think I get it," Mika's voice was timid and it tore at my heart and made my chest tighten uncomfortably, "I'm not saying that I agree with it, but I understand."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, sometimes life just likes to throw us curveballs, right?" She said thickly and I laughed hoarsely at the familiar phrase.

"But don't let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game," I quoted, a wide smile splitting my face.

Mika's laugh echoed down the phone and I couldn't stop the giggles that escaped me. Mika's laugh was infectious and it seemed to counteract the cynicism I seemed to ooze some days. I never claimed to be the most optimistic of people but when you've lived through what I have, what we have, I figured that the universe can't begrudge you a little negativity here or there.

"Dad did like his proverbs, didn't he?" Mika said as our giggles slowed to breathy laughter.

"He did, but then again so did Hideaki," I smiled gently, "Kami that boy had such a big head some days."

"But we wouldn't have had them any other way. I miss them, Nali."

"I know, Mi, so do I. So, so much."

A sigh echoed down the phone as if Mika was about to speak again when another voice spoke up, somewhat muffled, from her side of the phone. There was a short conversation before Mika's voice drifted down the phone once again.

"I really have to go, Oneesan. Seems like Uncle was causing more trouble than I thought."

Sadness settled on my shoulders, but I forced a grin on my face and a cheery tone.

"Ah, you better go save Yori before he burns down your hotel. I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Yeah, I'm going. I miss you," Her tone was cheery but I hear the sadness that lingered under the façade. It seemed like I wasn't the only one pulling up walls, "And I want to hear more about these so-called idiots next time we talk."

Inner Nali mentally groaned. Damn it, I'd thought I had got away with that.

"Ok, right, fine, whatever you wish," I muttered as she giggled away, "Now, go forth and save Yori."

The resounding click of the phone hanging up echoed down the vacant line as my sister muttered the last of her hasty goodbyes.

The receptionist cautiously looked up from her book, and I held the red receiver out for her to take. She took it from my grip with a blinding smile, placing it back where it seemed to belong on the decimated desk, before settling back down in her chair.

"A family member?" She questioned curiously, flicking her book back open to her last page.

"Yeah, my little sister," I replied quietly, dropping my gaze to the glimpses of wood underneath strewn papers.

"It sounds like you miss her."

I looked up from the desk, a sad smile tugging at my lips as I faced the receptionist. I did miss her, there was no denying it. But I knew that I was doing was for the best.

"So I am guessing, and this is just my humble opinion, that your dearest little Imouto rumbled you," Mei spoke up smugly from her window seat, interrupting my pity party.

And there goes any positivity I had.

"Oh shush you," I grumbled walking towards her with a grim expression.

"Hey, I was just stating what I was seeing, Nali-Bali," Mei replied, waving her brownie in the air with wide gestures, "I did tell you that she would find out eventually."

I rolled my eyes, nabbing a leftover slice of brownie from the box while not so gracefully leaning against the wall beside her.

"Yeah, yeah I know," I muttered through bites of brownie, "You know everything, I should bow before your wisdom blah blah."

"And don't you know it," she said proudly, while I rolled my eyes, smacking her shoulder in protest.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and sleep. I'm exhausted and this day has been…well definitely not what I was expecting," I muttered, dragging a hand down my face tiredly.

"Worth it though, right?" Mei smirked teasingly, to which I scowled and shook my head.

"Well let's see, first off I get dragged down the beach by someone whose mental state is in question," I grinned, ignoring Mei's indignant cry, "Then the devil appears, I punched said devil which I'm pretty sure is going to come back and bite me, but was totally worth it. And then one of my friends fell off of a cliff, possibly to her doom before being saved by the King of Idiots, and to top it all off, we were gifted with gaudy flowers as recompense for the days troubles, so yeah, the trip…was just great."

"You're so cynical sometimes, Nali," Mei sighed, shaking her head mockingly, "You should learn to look on the positive side of things. You know silver lining."

I shot her a disbelieving look. I had promised myself to be more positive but exactly where were the silver linings in this situation.

"What positives. The only one I can think of is Mika's phone call and that was due to happen anyway and thus not the result of this trip thingy and therefore not a silver lining."

Mei just blinked at me before throwing her hands up in surrender.

"I give up, you will forever be cursed with cynicism."

"It's a talent," I told her, before swiping a tub from her grasp and heading towards the stairs.

Mei cried out after me, but I paid no heed to her complaints, snickering into my hand quietly, my mind already beginning to bubble with ideas. I drifted back to the pictures I had drawn at the beach earlier, absently musing if they would work for what I was planning.

And then it hit me, like a punch to the stomach. I froze, my eyes widening as abject horror washed through me, the tub of sweets tumbling from my hand and onto the floor.

Shit.

I spun around quickly, and began to tear my way through the reception towards the exit, slipping and sliding over the smooth floor. Inner Nali was slumped in a depressive state and a horrible nauseous feeling had washed over me.

"Nali? Where are you going?" Mei asked as I stopped mid-step beside her, wobbling slightly as I attempted to stop myself from tumbling over my own two feet.

"I left my sketchbook on the beach," I told her horror colouring my desperate tone, "I can't…I left it on the beach and I have to go get it."

Mei's eyes widened too as she clamped her hands on my shoulders keeping me in place. She knew how much the book meant to me. My mind swirled with fret and worry, what if I never saw it again? What if?

"And look at this," Makiko glanced up from the worn pages, a dark glint in her icy eyes, "It seems Miss Tanaka got this book from her dearest mother. See it says right here, "To my darling Nali, for all the memories you want to remember and for the people you are yet to meet, love mere." How sweet."

Art had always been a way for me to escape. When I was drawing nothing else mattered, plus it was fun. It had been my mum that had taught me all the tricks of the trade.

"Nali, you need to breathe, ok? Fretting will not help," She told me, "We'll go and get it quickly, I am sure it will be right where you left it."

I nodded quickly before turning and sprinting out of the exit with Mei hot on my heels.

…

The sketchbook was nowhere to be found.

The sky was now encompassed by thunderous clouds, the waves crashing heavily down on the beach while the wind blew relentlessly, pulling at my clothing and nipping my cheeks. Mei and I had been up and down that beach for what seemed like hours now, searching every nook and cranny for the book, but it refused to be found.

I felt like crying, and with every minute that passed without so much as a glimpse of my book, the feeling intensified. The whole day had been tiring enough, I'd missed the time for taking my medication, I just wanted to sleep and now I couldn't find my book. My whole life was documented in that thing, losing it was like losing a limb.

Well maybe not, because it would be hard to function without a limb and I'm sure I could get by without the sketchpad, but it had been a huge part of my life for so many years now and the thought of never seeing it again made my stomach clench unbearably.

It had been the only thing my mother had left me before she had disappeared. It was another treasure in a small line of items that were left to remind me of what my family was like before all of this madness. When there was five and not two.

The notebook had been hers, she had bought it when she had begun university after she had left her home to come to Japan. Her sketches decorated the first third of the book, documenting everything in her life from meeting my father to getting married, from having Hideaki to a family picnic just after Mika had been born. It wasn't just sketches, it was a story. Her story and now…mine.

And now I couldn't find it.

What was I going to do?

"Miss Tanaka," a voice spoke up from behind causing me to jump with a squeal.

I whipped around, clutching at my chest to glare at the person, only to freeze as my hazel eyes met cool grey.

Ootori stood in front of me in smart trousers and a sleeveless shirt thing, his hair combed to perfection despite the abusive wind that was battering the beach with the threat of the oncoming storm. Inner Nali groaned at the sight of him, cursing my inability to recognise his voice before turning around. It was now impossible for me to sneak off. Which of course was not what I was planning to do at all, in fact the thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

Not.

I blinked in surprise, sifting through my tumultuous thoughts before a scowl was etched onto my face, faint irritation causing my eyebrow twitch.

"What are you doing here, Ootori-san?" I asked accusingly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I believe I could ask you the same, Miss Tanaka," He replied coolly, with a raised eyebrow, "I was sure you were told to stay in the hotel, were you not?"

Sheepishness washed over me, and my shoulder slumped in defeat as the very memory of the giant soldiers saying that came to the forefront of mind.

Oh, I may have forgotten about that.

"They may have said something like that," I mumbled, avoiding his heavy gaze.

Damn it, how on earth was I going to find my sketchpad now?

"May I inquire as to why you are out here then?"

"No, you may not," I replied tartly, my frown deepening as I turned to make my way down the other end of the beach and to put as much distance between us as humanly possible.

I had still not forgiven Ootori for sneaking those bloody tickets into my book, instead of handing them to me like a normal person. Besides look where they had gotten me! Depressed with a pounding headache coming on and a lost sketchpad.

It didn't matter that his grey eyes were unfathomable pools that I'm sure I could stare at all day or that his arms looked very nice in that shirt or…hang on a second. Oh kami, what was wrong with me. Please tell me that I didn't just think that about Ootori.

I am sorry to say that we did, Inner Nali grinned, while I mentally groaned. Urgh, why did he have to be so irritatingly perfect, with his hair and his smirk and his know-it-all attitude? I hated it, I despised it and somehow was simultaneously jealous of the perfection he appeared to achieve without much effort. I knew girls that would kill to perfect that with so little work.

"Miss Tanaka?" His voice echoed out from behind me and I grumbled, turning to face him once more.

I froze when my eyes landed on his outstretched hand. A familiar leather bound pad was in his loose grasp, slightly covered in sand but otherwise fine. Relief clouded me and I lurched forward, grabbing it from his hand, dusting it off and quickly inspecting the pages to ensure that it was all in one piece.

"I believe this is what you were looking for, was it not?"

"Where…where did you find this?" I asked, glancing up at him curiously. All previous thoughts of hate for the boy seeming to dissipate at the sight of the retrieved sketchbook.

"It was on the beach, not far from the cliffs." He told me bluntly, pushing his glasses up his nose as he watched me carefully.

"Oh," I was such an idiot, that had to be one of the few places I had not checked. While I was preoccupied with this development, my mouth was running ahead of me, words tumbling out before I could stop them, "Why do you keep on helping me?"

There was lapse of conversation between us, Ootori quietly contemplating his next answer while I could feel the familiar heat of a fire engine red blush creeping up my face.

"We have been over this before, I'm sure," he finally spoke, a mildly infuriating smirk played on his lips and my mind flashed back to the last time we had met.

"Do I need a reason to escort a beautiful young woman to her locker?"

"Yes, well it may have been clarified for you, but I'm still confused," I found myself saying sincerely, "I'm not like those other girls and I'm certainly not going to fall at your feet because you flash a smirk my way. I have nothing to give you in return for your help, so that begs the question what do you have to gain?"

"The Host Club's policy is to make sure that every girl is happy and I am correct in saying that you fall into the category, Miss Tanaka," He said simply, but the answer did not satisfy me completely. There was still something not quite right, and I felt as if I was missing something.

"You and I both know that that isn't true. I am not a Host Club girl by anyone's account, I'm just someone who was forced to misuse some tickets that I didn't really want in the first place by deranged people who I really shouldn't have listened to. So putting the time and effort in is a waste of money," I summed up, nodding more to myself than to Ootori.

I knew he didn't do anything without some purpose, so I maybe almost foolishly believed that he would see the validity in the point I was making.

"Do you believe that?"

I blinked at him owlishly at his abrupt statement, opening my mouth to reply but finding no words to say. Inner Nali sighed, facepalming. Just when I thought I finally had him pegged, he goes and manages to baffle me again.

Silence crashed around us and I couldn't help wonder, as the winds screamed in my ears and the first drops of rain began to fall, if I would ever see the full puzzle that made up one Kyoya Ootori, or if I would be forever solving one side only to uncover another.

"I've got to go, Mei will be panicking," I spoke up slightly, trying to suppress the shivers that crept up my spine as the cold rain slid down my bare skin.

"Miss Tanaka."

I turned to face him once more, trying to smother the strange satisfaction that filled me at the sight of his wet, ruffled hair and rain soaked clothes which dispelled the perfect image he always seemed to carry. Like destroying a perception filter from Doctor Who.

Ohh David Tenant, now he is one hunk I wouldn't mind meeting, hee hee. Inner Nali squealed, fangirling.

"My name is Nali, not Miss Tanaka. Say it with me, NA-LI," I spoke without thinking, "It's two syllables shorter than 'Miss Tanaka' so there's no reason not to be using it."

"I was under the impression we were not on a first name basis," Ootori smirked, and I had the sudden urge to retract what I had just said, just to wipe that smirk off his face.

"Yeah, well, you always seem to finding the stuff I lose and showing up like a bad smell," I muttered, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly as the rain continued to fall, "Besides Miss Tanaka sounds like my grandmother."

And as much as I had loved the woman, she had had her days of being a bit of a stick in the mud. A bit Old School I would say.

"Nali-san."

"Just Nali. No miss, no san, just Nali."

"Nali, Fujioka wanted me to inquire as to when she was to meet you tomorrow."

Well that was an abrupt change in conversation if I've seen one. Maybe Ootori was bipolar, or experienced extreme needs to change subjects rather suddenly. Or maybe he just enjoyed being genuinely baffling to all those around him.

"Uh, how did…I mean…uh?" I gaped for a minute, "I guess um tell her that I'll meet her at the back door to the school. When we get back, I mean."

He nodded, and I watched silently as the rain slid from his hair and down his face. There was a pause and my eyes met his.

There really was no real way to describe what happened next, it was like the world melted away under his gaze. It was like communicating in another language, like peeling away the layers of an onion to reach that really eye stinging middle. It was equivalent to solving another one of his irritating sides. It was just plain weird, awkward but somehow strangely comforting.

"NALI!"

Mei's voice shattered whatever bubble had surrounded us, and I was back on the beach as the rain pounded on the sands, no longer melting under Ootori's icy gaze.

I glanced over my shoulder to see her faint approaching figure, racing across the sands towards us. Wiping the falling rain water from my face, I faced Ootori with a sheepish smile.

"I guess that's my cue."

"Of course," He pushed his glasses up his nose, the moonlight catching on the glass causing a glare to flash across the panes.

"Well, uh bye."

I abruptly swung round and began to head towards my friend, not even daring to so much as peek over my shoulder at Ootori, who I knew was still there because I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck.

That was so awkward. I buried my burning face in my hands, hastening my pace so as to escape from Ootori.

Mei drew to a stop in front of me, her hair springing around her face in crazy curls, a wide grin splitting her face as she caught sight of the leather bound book wrapped tightly in my arms. A grin which melted away to a baffled look when she caught sight of Ootori.

"What's he doing here?"

"He found my book," I explained abruptly, grabbing her arm and then proceeding to drag her down the beach.

GET AWAY! Inner Nali screeched, flapping her arms wildly, RUN AWAY FROM OOTORI AND HIS MANY BAFFLING WAYS! RUN I TELL YOU! RUN!

"Kyoya-san found your book?" She questioned, trying to keep up with my pace, "So if he uh found it, why are we running like hell is on our heels?"

A sigh burst from my lips, my eyes slipping to behind my shoulder, where Ootori's figure was just visible beyond the rain.

"I'll explain later, just keep walking."

"Oh kami, you had an awkward moment, didn't you?" She muttered, and I shot her a sharp glare, "You know, your face is kind of red."

I scowled, dropping my friend's arm and speeding forward to walk ahead of her. Pulling my cardigan tighter around my frame, I skipped up the steps that lead to the hotel. So maybe sometimes Ootori and I didn't always see eye to eye and sometimes I deemed him incredibly infuriating, but maybe…just maybe, we could actually have a somewhat friendship. Or maybe an acquaintance, that would describe us better I think.

SPLASH.

Jumping, I shrieked as cold water drenched me. Mei snickered as she raced past, darting towards the warmth of the hotel reception. With a furious cry, I rushed after her, cursing loudly despite the wide smile that spread across my lips, forgetting the cool eyes that were glued to our fading figures and the smile that played on his lips at the sight of our antics.

When it all comes down to the end, despite the monsters of the day and the mistakes we make, we all have that sanctuary, a good light-heartedness to return to. The day may have had its ups and downs and its fair share of awkward moments but maybe, maybe it was worth it all.

Maybe, I thought as Mei and I tumbled, laughing and cursing, into the reception, maybe I should take my Uncle's advice more often.