Chapter 12: Reunion.
Zero's POV
I hugged her tightly as I spoke. "I'm telling you this because I don't want you to get the wrong idea... Do you believe me?"
She closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against my chest. "...I believe you." She whispered. Just as she said that, she pulled away and stared up at me with her glassy grey eyes. "But I don't want you to get the wrong idea either."
I furrowed my brows as my eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"
She wiped away her tears as she spoke. "I wasn't sad, I was mad. Mad because I know how Kaname feels about Yuuki and seeing her and you like that... I was so scared that he would find out, and if that were to happen, it'd definitely break his heart. Knowing that started a rage inside me that made my heartbeat race like the devil himself was at its fucking feet."
A bitter chuckle exited my lips as I shifted my gaze away from the girl. "Heh. Even after all that's happened, you still have feelings for that monster..."
She tilted her head as she placed her hands in her jacket pockets. "And? What if I do? It doesn't really matter if I do or don't still like him, 'cause I already told him I didn't!" She then laughed as she shook her head. "Are we seriously arguing about this? Maybe I was wrong..."
"Wrong about what?" I asked.
She rose both of her brows as she spoke. "Wrong about wanting to believe you... You like Yuuki too, don't you? That could explain why Kaname and you seem to hate each other... It makes sense, don't you think?"
Just as I was about to say something, she turned her back to me.
"Maybe I'm just being selfish, but I thought friends were supposed to stick together. Right now, I kinda feel like I'm alone." She spoke in a hushed tone as she then proceeded to walk towards the Moon Dormitory.
With every step she took, my heart grew heavier and heavier.
"Damn it!" I cursed under my breath as I punched one of the bars on the gate.
Haru's POV
Days had passed since my argument with Zero and things only became more and more distant between us. During this time, I found myself becoming closer to Kaname.
As strange as it may seem, I actually wanted him to be by my side. I didn't feel intimidated or annoyed by his presence anymore. Upon realizing this, I thought that maybe spending a few days away from him to catch my breath was what I needed this whole time.
Zero watched as Hanabusa and I walked by him and I looked away awkwardly.
He noticed this and let out a deep breath. He then made his way over to me with a look of determination on his face. "Haru."
I sighed silently as I turned to face him. "What is it?"
"Can I talk to you?" He asked. He then shot a glare towards Aidou as he spoke with a stern voice, "Alone."
My chest tightened and I wanted to say yes so badly, but I resisted the urge and looked away from the silver-haired boy. "Maybe later." I uttered as I walked away.
"Wai-" He reached out to stop me, but Aidou had grabbed him by his wrist before he could.
"She said she doesn't want to talk right now, Kiryuu. Don't you think you should listen to her?" Hanabusa spoke, narrowing his eyes at him.
"I heard her loud and clear." Zero spat, jerking his hand away from the blonde. "Besides, this doesn't concern you."
Hanabusa's brows rose and just as he was about to say something, I stopped him.
"Let it go, Aidou. I'll deal with him later." I mumbled, walking away.
He nodded as he followed behind me. "As you wish, Lady Haru."
I walked in circles around my room as I quietly sang a song.
Just then, Takuma appeared in the doorway. "Lady Haru, there's something I need to ask you."
I nearly jumped upon hearing his voice. A wave of embarrassment washed over me as I realized that he could have heard me singing. "H-How long were you standing there?"
He smiled his usual charming smile. "Not long at all."
"Oh, okay... Well, what was it that you had to ask me?" I asked, walking over to where he was.
"I was wondering if you would attend my birthday party." He said, handing me an invitation.
I smiled warmly as I accepted the invitation. "It'd be my pleasure."
I brushed through my long ebony hair as I stared at myself in the mirror.
I wasn't going to bother getting all dressed up because the invitation says to just wear casual attire. And so, I decided to wear a short black skirt with a simple black corset that had midnight blue lace going down the back of it.
I placed the brush down on the vanity and picked up a navy headband. I put it on my head and fixed my bangs so they would still frame my face.
Once that was done, I left my room and made my way to where the party was being held. When I had finally got there, I saw that there were several vampires there, and not just the ones from the Night Class.
From what I could tell, most of the vampires were aristocrats.
I awkwardly made my way towards the buffet table where I could see Takuma, Akatsuki, Hanabusa, and Senri standing.
I was stopped in my tracks by a familiar voice. "Haru."
"What do you want?" I asked, turning around to face him.
He stared into my eyes with a solemn expression on his face. "I'm sorry." He spoke softly, "I'm sorry for what I did..."
I let out a sigh of relief as a small smile pulled at my lips. "You scared the shit out of me, you know that? I thought you wanted to talk to me so that you could tell me you didn't want to be my friend anymore, haha."
"Why would that scare you? Besides, I wouldn't do anything like that anyways." He spoke, a grin claiming his lips.
I shrugged, "Just 'cause.. I'm glad things don't have to be weird between us now."
He nodded as he spoke. "I agree." He then looked down at my clothes and his smirk widened. "I was always curious to see what kind of clothes you wear regularly, but I never expected you to wear stuff like this."
I rose a brow, "Oh? Is there something wrong with the clothes I wear?"
He chuckled as he shook his head. "Nope, not at all. You look alright."
"Tch. 'Alright'?" I scoffed, "At the very least, you could say that I look pretty, you know."
"You look absolutely beautiful." He spoke, his smirk turning into a sincere smile.
Heat spread across my face as I looked away. "You didn't have to go that far... Anyways~" I said, changing the subject, "I'm surprised you came here. I thought you hated us 'bloodthirsty beats'."
"I didn't come here willingly." He muttered, "Yuuki dragged me here."
"Yuuki's here?" I asked, a hint of annoyance in my tone.
"She's here somewhere." He said, looking around for the brunette.
I looked around too, and my gaze landed on Kaname. Yuuki was right beside him, talking.
"Found her." I spoke through clenched teeth.
Zero grunted as he followed my line of sight. "Of course she's with him."
I took a deep breath as I then started walking towards the two.
I have no reason to be jealous, he's not even mine. Besides, I've already moved on.
"Zero!" Yuuki exclaimed, "I've been looking for you! Why did you ditch me?"
He shrugged casually as he spoke. "I wanted to talk to Haru."
She pouted her lip as she hit him repeatedly in the chest. "That's no reason to leave me all by myself! What if someone bit me?"
"Are you saying you don't trust the vampires here?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the girl.
She shook her head as she took a step away from Zero. "N-No! That's not at all wha-"
"Then I don't see the problem." I uttered, cutting her off.
She pursed her lips together as she shrunk behind Kaname.
"Haru." Kaname spoke up, "Calm down."
"Don't tell me what to do!" I snapped, clenching my fists.
Some of the nearby aristocrats gasped as they watched us.
"Excuse us." Kaname spoke politely as he pulled me off to the side with him.
I sighed heavily, "If you're going to lecture me, I don't want to hear-"
"I'm not." He interrupted, "I just wanted to get away from everyone."
"Why?" I asked.
"It was too crowded." He stated simply.
I scrunched my brows and tilted my head as I spoke. "Why did you bring me with you then?"
"The music sounds lovely from here, doesn't it?" He spoke, avoiding the question.
I shrugged, "I guess..."
"Dance with me." He said, smiling down at me.
"Dance with you?" I questioned, "W-Why?"
"Come on." He wrapped his arms around my waist as he spoke, "It's just a dance. Nothing more, nothing less."
I placed my arms around his neck as I shifted my gaze in the other direction. "Fine..." I mumbled.
After a few seconds of silence, Kaname finally spoke up. "You said you wouldn't go into detail about your feelings, but... could you please explain them to me? I apologize if I'm asking for too much."
"Why?"
He stared at me intently as he spoke. "I just want to know what you're thinking... Maybe if I know that much, I'll be able to change whatever it is that makes you hate me."
I sighed as I gazed off into the distance. "I don't hate you, though."
"You don't?" He questioned, sounding utterly shocked.
"What's with that face? I said that I didn't hate you, you should be relieved, not surprised." I then lowered my gaze as I spoke. "It wasn't you who I hated... it was me. I started to hate myself for even thinking that I could be with you, and so I felt like I needed to distance myself from you. When you said you liked me too, I thought that you were merely saying that out of pity for me. I felt so pathetic after that, and it only made me hate myself even more..."
He let out a small chuckle as he then kissed my forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment as he whispered, "I love you. Nothing will ever change that, understand?"
I mentally sighed as I took a step back, "Kaname-"
"It's time for cake everyone!" Takuma called. I could see him smiling like a child as he cut the large cake that sat on the center of the table.
"Are you going to eat some cake?" Kaname asked.
I shook my head, "No, I'm just gonna walk around the campus for a bit... Tell Takuma that I hope he has a great birthday, okay?"
"Of course." He said as he walked towards the group of people.
I walked off in the opposite direction by myself.
"Haru!" Zero called out, following behind me.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Nowhere specifically; I'm just walking around. It's suffocating being around so many people, I need to catch my breath." I explained.
Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Kaminari?"
I immediately turned around to see who had called me by that name, and the moment I saw his violet hair and piercing blue eyes, my heart had skipped a beat. "Shuya." My voice was hardly audible and I could just feel the transparent tears roll down my face as I stared at him.
He wrapped his arms around me as he spoke in a soft voice. "I missed you so much... I thought you were dead..."
I hugged him back tightly as his heavenly aroma enveloped me. "I missed you too..." I whispered, "How did you find me?"
"I saw you earlier and thought you looked familiar, but when I tried to walk over to where you were, you disappeared. I was stuck over by the buffet table when I had finally spotted you again, and I was gonna be pissed if those motherfuckers kept me from getting to you. I literally knocked down three people just to get out of the crowd." He pulled away as he rested his hand on my cheek, wiping away the tears as he bore his cerulean eyes into my grey ones. "As gorgeous as ever, I see. You better not have a boyfriend, otherwise I'd have to kill him."
I laughed as I placed my hand over his. "You have so much to catch up on."
"Ahem." Zero huffed, glaring at the guy in front of me.
Shuya pulled his hand away as he looked over at Zero. "I'm sorry, are you a fan?"
"A fan?" Zero questioned, furrowing his brows.
Shuya's eyes widened, "You don't know who I am?!"
"Why does it seem like this has happened before?" I asked, trying to hold in a laugh.
He shot a glare at me, "Shut up."
"Don't be a bitch." I mumbled, folding my arms over my chest.
"Anyways, are you a student here? Or are you only here for Ichijo's birthday?" He asked.
"I'm a student here, why?"
He gave me a closed-eye smile as he spoke. "Because I will officially be transferring into Cross Academy starting tomorrow."
