The next few weeks at school Mori didn't speak to me at all; even when I visited the Host Club, it felt like I didn't exist to him. Even when I spoke to Honey, Mori would seem distant, only acknowledge that I was there and nothing more. My heart grew heavy with sadness as every day drew wearily on; even Aiko, Shina, and Jinga noticed my change in attitude no matter how hard I tried to stay happy otherwise.
"What happened that night after you fell?" They approached me about five weeks after that night, while I was sitting with them after school one day; we had decided to skip out on our usual trip to the Host Club and were gathered around a pair of benches facing each other. Aiko and Jinga sat across from me and Shina, and I was suprised that Jinga was the one to mention it. She hadn't been there that day, and whatever news she received from other students seemed to be very lacking.
"Nothing," I replied automatically; I had trained myself to forget what Mori had almost done. "They called some paramedics and my mom, I was checked out and deemed alright, I went home. End of story."
"No, something else had to have happened," Aiko pressed, literally wiggling on the edge of her seat. "You've been out of it ever since the day after it; we've all noticed. Something happened that changed you, and we want - no, we need to know."
"We're your friends, aren't we?" Shina pointed out. "We only want to help."
"That's the problem," I mumbled, burying my face into my hands. "There's no possible way that you guys could help."
"Why don't you try telling us first," Jinga suggested gently, "and then we'll decide - as a group - whether we can or cannot help." I glanced through my fingers as they all nodded in unison, and sat up, exhaling heavily.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," I caved in to their request quietly, and Shina placed a reassuring arm around my shoulders.
"Start with when you woke up," she encouraged softly. "You were unconscious when they sent us home; was there anyone around when you woke?"
"Only the Host Club," I answered. "No one else was around."
"Who did you speak to first?" Aiko chimed in, leaning forward to rest her arms on her legs, wanting to get closer but not scare me.
"I . . ." I closed my eyes, trying to remember. "They all crowded over me when they realized I was awake; the first to notice was Haruhi." I thought back to seeing the silhouettes above me, and then them all disappearing. "Honey sounded awfully frightened, so I talked to him first. I told him to be brave and to be there for Mori." My eyes opened, the memory playing freely now. "Then Kyoya . . . or was it Tamaki? Anyway, one of them informed me that my mom was coming, and when she got there she attacked Tamaki she was so scared." I smiled at the vision of my mom - not much taller than my 5'5 build - raging at the Host King, and the girls laughed as well. "Not long after she appeared, the paramedics arrived and checked me out. I only had a sprained wrist, thankfully, and once they were gone, it seemed as though everyone had left." I sighed again, looking down at my shoes. Here came the hard part. "That was, until I heard Mori."
"Yes; what happened then?" I had their attention now, and they were all silently begging for more information; it was plain on their faces. Aiko was the one who spoke up, leaning even closer towards me. I stifled a laugh, thinking she was going to fall off of her bench sitting the way she was, but I took a deep breath, reminding myself to focus.
"Well, he basically apologized for the whole thing; he felt it was his fault that I got hurt."
"But he couldn't have known what was happening," Shina frowned slightly. "That would be silly to blame him."
"That's what I told him!" I threw my arms up in the air, my frustration getting the better of me. "But he felt that if he had stayed with me instead of Honey, the whole thing could have been avoided." My arms landed suddenly and I shook my head. "I tried to explain to him that if it was anyone's fault, it was yours and mine." I pointed to Shina and then back at myself. "We were the ones who wanted to explore; if anyone is to be blamed, it should be us."
"I agree," Shina nodded as I continued my tale.
"Well, we got interrupted - Haruhi had kindly brought my regular clothes back and I changed - and then I went back to where Mori was. I told him that he had saved me; Jinga, you weren't here for this, but Chie and her friends weren't being very pleasant, so Mori offered to hang out with me so that she wouldn't pull any funny business."
"Oh, how sweet!" Jinga smiled, and I nodded in agreement.
"That's how I felt; he wanted to protect me. Me, some girl he barely knows." I smiled, and the dull fire in me that desperately flickered every time Mori was around grew some. "He told me that he wanted to make mehappy, and he felt that he had failed. But the thing is, he didn't fail," I smiled wistfully. "He made me the happiest girl in the world that day; I didn't tell you guys this, but do you remember that story going around about the lawn chairs falling from that balcony?"
"Yeah," Aiko nodded with Shina while Jinga listened with interest. "I wondered who that happened to, but we never found out. They never told us."
"It was Mori and I; we were almost crushed by those chairs." I revealed, and instant gasps arose from my friends. "He saved me then, and he also came when I screamed; he doesn't seem to realize that, in my eyes, what he did was heroic." I shook my head, trying to shove the fire back down to the controlled level it had been at. "Anyway, I told him that. That I felt he was a hero for what he did, even if no one saw the first act. And then . . ."
"What?!" Jinga encouraged, voicing the other girls' thoughts. "What happened?!"
"We sat down on the couch," I closed my eyes, seeing the same haunting memory, "and he leaned in to kiss me. I closed my eyes, and . . ." I was surprised at the tear that fell down my face, but continued, "the kiss never came."
"No!" Shina's expression was instantly saddened, and the other girls' heads began to swing slowly back and forth.
"Yes," I nodded, and Shina's arms wrapped around me in a hug. "He got up, saying he wouldn't get me into any more trouble, told me 'good night,' and I haven't spoken to him since."
"Oh, Talia," Jinga whispered, seeming to be at a loss for words. "That's terrible."
"He really did that to you?" Aiko, on the other hand, was up off her side of the bench and ready to rumble. "That good-for-nothing . . . If I was there, I would have given him a piece of my mind! No one treats my friends like that, not ever!"
"Please, Aiko," I protested, sitting up and prying loose of Shina's arms. "It's me that's the issue; I was silly to think that I ever had a chance. You said so yourself: no one's ever been able to reach him."
"But you did reach him!" Aiko shot right back, beginning to move back and forth quickly in an odd circle. "You said so yourself! He almost kissed you! Nobody's ever gotten him to look at them, let alone almost-kiss them!"
"But that's the point!" I laughed miserably. "I thought he was going to kiss me, but he didn't. I'm just being selfish and childish." I stood up quickly, wiping away the few tears that managed to escape with the first. "If he didn't want to kiss me, then I shouldn't be moping around about it. I don't need him to be happy; I have you guys, my mom, manga and my music." I looked at the three of them individually before gathering up my bag and exhaling sharply. "I have homework to go do; I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Talia," all three of them attempted to catch my attention, keep me there longer, but I ignored them. I kept on walking to the front of the school, borrowed a kid's cell phone to call my driver, and then I was off home, staring out the window and not daring to think about what could have happened that night.
"Are you alright, miss?" I glanced up, drawn out of my thinking by a thickly accented voice. The driver was occasionally glancing up at me through the rear-view mirror, concern clouding his face. "You seem rather upset."
"I'm fine, thank you," I shook my head, attempting to smile. In the mirror, however, I really did look pitiful. "It's nothing major."
"Of course," he nodded, not really seeming to believe me. "As you wish." Without another word, he turned back to the road and I to my window. I forced back the tears threatening to spill over; why was I acting this way? Especially in front of someone else? I was perfectly fine; I didn't need a boy to be happy, and the fact that yet another boy didn't like me as I liked him shouldn't be so upsetting. I had been through this several times, yet none of the other times had ever evoked such a reaction out of me.
"Miss, we're here," the same voice drew me out of thinking, my head snapping around to see my house.
"Thank you," I answered. "I hope you have a nice day, sir."
"You too, miss," he smiled at me. "Whatever seems to be troubling you, I do hope it works out in your favor. You are a very kind person, and shouldn't be so miserable."
His statement took me aback for a moment, but I smiled at him. "Thank you. I hope it works out soon too." I turned towards my house, and after I was halfway there I heard the car head off, and once the sound of the engine disappeared, I rushed into my house. I threw my bag into its usual corner and dropped my books beside it. I hurried to my room, not knowing what else to do. I flopped onto my bed and cried. Not loud, obnoxious sobs, but simply letting all my pent-up feeling escape through my tears.
Something inside me still kept telling me to suck it up and move on, but there was a small, unwavering part that rebelled against the thought of moving on. I had moved to Japan against all odds of fitting in and managed to acquire three best friends, a menagerie of other friends and met the Host Club. One of those boys just so happened to show a liking for me, one that I almost instantly returned, and a few weeks ago I felt nothing could go wrong. I felt that this was where I did belong; I'd never been so welcomed or liked in America; not ever. Yet, here I was, crying like a little kid because something didn't go my way.
Eventually I stopped crying, and I dried my face off with my limp pillow. I sat up, just thinking about what I could possibly be thinking when my doorbell rang.
"No thank you," I called out in Japanese; there was this annoying kid who kept coming to our door to sell us these candied things – I didn't even know what they were – but we didn't have the spare money to buy extra stuff. All the same, the same adorable, seven year old girl kept coming to our door, but we had no choice but to send her away. "We can't buy any; I told you last week."
"You don't have to buy anything!" A familiar female voice called back, and I almost crawled under my covers. Not now! "We're here on a special mission!"
"Go away, Aiko," I called back. "I don't want to see anyone right now."
"Um, our best friend is heartbroken, and last I checked it was the job of best friends to make their best friends happy." Aiko called back, and I ultimately decided there was no way of making her go; by what she said, Jinga and Shina must have been in on this too.
"If I at least open the door, will you leave?"
"No!" The three musketeers cried out in unison, and I groaned, reluctantly getting off my bed and trudged down the hall to my front door. I slowly opened the door and almost slammed it shut. But the girls moved in, each carrying at least three boxes of who-knew-what.
"What is all that?" I asked, almost regretting the question once it came out of my mouth.
"This is our 'Make Talia Happy Again' equipment," Jinga explained briefly before plunging into the box on top of her pile. Aiko and Shina did the same, and I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples in attempt to will away my friends. Go away, I thought over and over.
"Here." When I opened my eyes, I saw that I had failed. Shina was holding out a box of chocolate Pocky, her smile wide. "A little birdy told me that you love Pocky." I reluctantly took the box and opened it, eating three sticks within 20 seconds.
"Maybe," I mumbled around the chocolate biscuit treat. "What else did your 'little' birdy tell you?"
"That you enjoy playing Mario Kart on GameCube, enjoy watching the 13th episode of Fullmetal Alchemist and any form of Pokémon, and also enjoy playing Trash-ketball." Aiko revealed, pulling out the first season of FMA and several Pokémon videos. Jinga pulled out a stack of GameCube games – Mario Kart being on top – followed by extra controllers.
"How did you know I had a system already?" I questioned, looking at the stuff.
"We called your mom about a week ago, asking what we could have done to help once you did tell us what was going on." Shina revealed, adjusting her glasses slightly. "She gave us some of your basic likes, and we compiled our resources."
"You guys didn't have to do all this," I shook my head, smiling.
"Would you have done it for us? Even if we protested?" Aiko asked, her arms crossing and a smug smile spreading her face.
"If I had 'resources', then yes," I nodded, air quoting with my fingers. "You guys don't have to . . ." I trailed off as I spotted a bottle of nail polish in one of Jinga's boxes. "No," I immediately stated, backing away from the box like a vampire would back away from garlic or holy water.
"What?" Jinga asked, confused.
"There is no way on earth you are going to put makeup on me. No thank you," I continued to back away.
"It's not like we're giving you a total makeover," Aiko whined. "We're only planning on doing your face! We promise!"
"No!" I shouted, and then proceeded to run away from my three best friends, laughing while continuing to protest: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
Well, eventually they caught me, and I reluctantly gave in; they went to all this trouble to try and cheer me up. The least I could do was to play along. Oh, and when Aiko said 'face', she really meant 'from the neck up.' Aiko did my hair while Shina and Jinga alternated on my face, changing every so often to swipe some brush or dab some sponge with makeup on me. I endured it silently, though I did laugh when Jinga attempted to put eyeliner on my spazzy eyelids.
When they finished, they shoved a mirror at me, and I have to admit that they did a great job. I'd never though I'd look this nice; maybe for homecoming or something, but not just for fun.
"Wow, you guys," I smiled, not wanting to touch my face in any way, shape, or form in fear of ruining their work well done. "I look great. I'd never dream of doing this myself."
"Well, that's what we're for!" Aiko exclaimed, and we all laughed in agreement. After the whole makeup deal, we played some GameCube and ate Pocky; Shina had brought, like, 30 boxes of chocolate Pocky for us to munch on. I also womaned-up and made Ramen for dinner, which my friends graciously ate. To be honest, I don't think that they'd ever had 'commoner's Ramen' before. But their expressions told me that at least they thought it was more than edible, which gave me satisfaction.
We goofed off the whole entire rest of the day; my mom had apparently given them permission to hang out until ten – since it was the weekend – and then they could come over tomorrow if they wanted. We did a whole bunch of girly stuff; we ended up painting each other's nails (thank goodness they had black in there), playing Truth or Dare, and we even showed each other how to play different games; the girls taught me how to play Ohajiki (which was basically marbles with added flat pieces of wood) and Shiritori (which was basically "First and Last" with the Japanese alphabet). We went outside for a little while where we played Tag and Hide-and-Seek, and once we grew tired we came back in, flopping down in my room on the floor.
"That was so much fun!" Aiko exclaimed, laughing with Shina, Jinga, and I.
"Yeah, that was," I agreed, attempting to breathe slower to return my heartbeat to normal.
"So, did we succeed?" Shina asked me, smiling.
"Succeed in what?" I looked to her, confused.
"In making you feel better; did we do a good job?"
"Yeah, you guys did," I nodded, getting victorious looks from all three of them. "Thank you so much; I don't know what I'd do if you guys weren't around."
"So, you do realize that we'd do anything for you?" Jinga asked shyly. "Even though you were upset, we still wanted to help you."
"I know," I nodded. "I was just upset earlier, and I've never really had anyone at home to hang out with. I didn't want you to feel . . . obligated to help me, I guess."
"You're so dense, Talia," Aiko sighed, shoving me playfully. We all laughed and I shook my head.
"Well, now that we've perked you up, we need to decide what we're going to do about you-know-who." Shina stated. "You can't just do nothing; the issue won't go away by itself."
"You said you've already tried talking to him, right?" Jinga asked, and I nodded.
"I've tried, but it's like I'm not even there. He just ignores me."
"Have you tried talking to Honey?" Shina suggested. "If you ask Honey to talk to Mori for you, you might get a better idea of what Mori's thinking."
"Would Honey be willing to do that?"
"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Aiko piped up, shrugging. "You could even ask the other Hosts; I don't think Haruhi would object to helping. He's really sweet." I almost spoke up to correct Aiko, but I remembered that she didn't know that Haruhi was really a girl. So my mouth stayed shut.
"On Monday, I think you can pull Honey aside real quick and ask him to talk to Mori," Shina spoke, saying aloud what she was thinking. "You can still go to the Host Club, but request Haruhi instead; that way, you can still see Mori but be able to enjoy yourself all the same." She looked to me for approval. "What do you think, Talia? Do you think that could possibly help."
"It's definitely worth a try," I nodded. "I'll ask him on Monday if I don't see him sooner."
"Alright, ladies, group hug," Aiko ordered, gesturing for us to come to her. We all complied, and Aiko spoke over our heads. "We're going to get through this together, no matter what happens!"
"Yeah! Alright!" We all whooped in agreement, and as our get-together drew to an end and I waved goodbye to my friends as they rode off home, the thought of Mori didn't bother me. I had the greatest friends in the world, and with them, everything would turn out for the better; that I was absolutely certain of.
I headed back to my room, ready for a good night's sleep. I would speak with Honey in a few days, and hopefully this whole thing would be resolved easily. As I turned off my light and curled up under my covers, I smiled to myself, the memories of this afternoon playing more prominent over the one from a month ago. I closed my eyes and slept, nothing but happy dreams keeping me the whole night through. And, not once, did Mori's face penetrate my happy little bubble.