Chapter Twelve

Haruhi blinked. "Who's Jake?"

"He's…he's someone my father so desperately wants me to forget about for Kyoya's sake. And he's the reason why I hate this engagement."

Haruhi pressed her lips together. "So, Jake was your boyfriend?"

It was so odd to refer to him as something so trivial, but Chikako nodded. "Yes he was." She chuckled, meekly. "You're more intuitive than you look."

"Thanks."

Chikako rolled onto her stomach and played with her hair when it fell in front of her face. "Do you… wanna hear about him?"

Haruhi tucked her legs underneath her and smiled, softly. "Sure. Do you have a picture?"

Chikako looked up, surprised, and grinned. "Y-Yes I do! On my phone. It doesn't do him justice, though."

She scrambled off the ground and scurried into Haruhi's room, her friend lagging behind her. Chikako rummaged through her bag again, feeling for her cell phone. Haruhi leaned against the doorframe. "Hey, how could you tell I was a girl?" she asked in the darkness.

Chikako glanced behind her right as her hand touched the smooth cell. She wrapped her fingers around it and muttered, "What do you mean?" Her fingers danced across the keypad and the screen lit up.

"Your first day of school, you came into the club and acted like it was so obvious I was a girl."

Chikako shrugged. "Well, it was when I heard you speak."

"Why?"

"Your mannerisms, kindness, tone of voice, touch," she listed out, scrolled through her pictures on her phone.

"No, that can't be it. I'm pretty careful about what I say and I didn't say anything remarkably feminine," Harhui said. "I just wanted to know because Kyoya-sempai caught on quickly, too, but I never knew how. Everyone else says it's just because he's smart and highly observant, but there had to be something that gave it away."

Chikako finally found her photo of Jake, wedged in her phone's gallery between her U.K. bedroom picture and her plane ticket back to Japan. She enlarged the picture to full-screen and stared into his warm blue gaze, pulled back into his world by his natural smile. "Your eyes," she whispered. "I don't know about Kyoya, but that's how I knew. You can tell so much because of someone's eyes."

Haruhi walked over and looked at the picture from behind Chikako's shoulder. "He's handsome."

Chikako smiled, proudly. "Yeah, he is," she said, as if he was still hers. He was grinning at her, his dreams of forever in the distance, back when the sky was clear and bright. The sun and blue made "forever" seem closer, but here in Japan, her constant typhoon made it seem near impossible.

"How long were you in England?" Haruhi wondered aloud.

"A couple years. I attended a school much like Ouran Academy, except the people were not as kind and carefree, and it was an all-girls school. The majority of the students were not in my aristocratic position like so many here are. Their parents had spent all their money on a quality education, putting the girls in economic peril for necessities like food and plans for their futures. So a lot of them got jobs and I was alienated for being unemployed. They called me the 'spoiled little rich girl.' I wanted to be just like those awful, poorly dressed girls, for some reason… I mean, they were all so confident and independent with their wages, uniforms, and cars they paid for on their own," Chikako explained..

"So you got a job?" Haruhi guessed.

Chikako smiled, ruefully. "Yeah, I got a job. Barneby's Books under the name Starla Winslow."

"Why not your real name?" Haruhi asked, gingerly.

"So my parents wouldn't find me. They would have been scandalized to find me working for a commoner's wage."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Of course," she muttered, dryly. "So, did you meet Jake at the store?"

Chikako nodded. "He thought it was a nostalgia store because of our window decorations. He wanted to buy his mom some record, but I told him that we only sold books…"

"Then I'll buy a book," Jake purred with a cocky grin. "Lead the way, gorgeous."

Walking out to the bookshelves, Chikako glanced back at him. "You're very sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he teased.

She stopped in the cooking/lifestyle section. Her eyes lingered on the best seller's shelf where the famous Mitzu's How-To's was proudly displayed. "Is the book still for your mother?"

"Yeah it's mum's birthday tomorrow. She says she'll be thirty three, but I'm pretty sure it's more like forty something. I know, I know, it's sad that I don't know her age, but I swear, he doesn't look a day over thirty. Damn, I was hoping to get her that Sheryl Crow record. God knows she's got an odd taste in music, but I respect it," he rambled.

Chikako had only been in the U.K. for a few months, so she still had trouble keeping up with his accent. But she liked his voice, his tone, his smile. Once he dropped his flirtatious act at the mention of his mother, he was brighter, happier, warmer—like the summer sun. She heard the mention of Sheryl Crow and knew they had a biography about her. Chikako walked into the music section, Jake hot on her heels, still babbling.

She chuckled, pleasantly. "You realize I'm not keeping up with your chatter, right?"

"Huh?"

She skimmed the shelves, not looking back at him. "I'm Japanese."

"Yeah, so?"

She sighed. "I mean, I'm directly from Japan, so my English isn't that great."

"Sure it is," Jake said, standing closer to her while she rummaged around. His hand skimmed over hers and pulled out the Sheryl Crow biography. "You can use articles and verb conjugations and understand my accent. Did you learn English here in the U.K.?"

She nodded. "Your accent is not very difficult to understand," she lied.

"Yours is beautiful. With a little more practice, I would have never known you weren't born here," he said with a smile.

She blushed and leaned back on her heels. "Oh really?"

He nodded, cracking open the paperback. He flipped the pages as he spoke. "Really. How long have you been learning?"

"I've been taught since I was in grade school, but I haven't been able to actively learn until I moved here."

"Which was when?"

"Couple months ago."

Jake smiled. "How old are you?"

She blinked, cautiously, and took a step back. "High school," was all she let him know.

"No kidding. I just graduated myself. Where do you go?"

"Don't you have a book to buy?" she asked, politely switching topics. She made her way to the cash register. "I can ring you up now if you'd like."

"Yes please," he answered, following her to the counter. "Thank you."

She took the paperback from him and ran it under the scanner. "That will be eight pounds."

"And how much in euros?" he teased.

She tensed up. "Uh, I…I don't…"

He laughed, disarming her defenses. "Don't hurt yourself, I was only joking," he said, getting out his wallet. "It was about ten euros, in case you were interested," he added with a wink.

She frowned, trying desperately to put back up her walls. He was cocky and rude, but oh-so-handsome and sweet. She didn't like him and yet she adored him. She couldn't make up her own mind, but she stopped trying to after a moment of crushing realization. It didn't matter—he was a fleeting memory. They all were. They had to be, according to her father, but she never quite knew why. All she knew was that dating was never an option.

"What's your name, sweet?" he asked, handing her a few pounds. He gave her a warm and honest grin.

She opened the register, sorted the bills, and answered, "Starla Winslow."

He laughed, surprised. "Oh wow, now that's a name!"

"What do you mean?"

"It's too original to be real," he teased. A more serious expression tinted his face as he leaned over the counter and lowered his voice. "Isn't very Japanese either. Who are you hiding from?"

Surprised by his intuition, she took the jump and decided to trust this strange, beautiful boy. "My parents," she admitted. "They'd kill me if they discovered that I work."

"That you work? Like, in general? Why?" he asked, carefully letting his fingers brush her hand as she handed over his purchase.

She blushed a bit and looked away. "They just would."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. So, what your real name?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What's yours?"

"I asked you first," he pointed out, amusement shimmering in his stare.

"Chikako."

"No last name?"

She smirked, but didn't answer him.

He laughed at her aloofness. "Can I shorten it?"

"Are you planning on using it often?" she asked with a giggle.

His eyes softened. "I hope so."

She sighed, looking down at the cash register. "Well, you can say or do whatever you like, I don't mind." Like she thought, he was a fleeting memory. She would not let herself get all worked up over some British flirt.

"Alright, I will," he answered. "So, you work every day?"

She nodded. "Yes. Monday through Saturday, three p.m. to closing."

"Sunday's free, then?"

"Yes, I'm usually in my dorm at the Academy," she mumbled, thoughtlessly.

"Academy?" he echoed. "You mean St. Martha's? That's just down the street."

She looked up. "You're not going to stalk me or anything, are you?"

An amiable, robust laugh erupted in his throat, lightening the atmosphere of the shadowed store. "Honestly, I just wanted to ask you out. You know, on a date? Not stalk. I promise. That's too much work," he added with a wink.

"Oh," Chikako looked down, blushing, a stupid grin on her face that she couldn't dismiss. "Well, I-I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Sure it is, Chi-Chi," he said with a smirk.

"Chi-Chi?" she echoed, seeing how the name tasted in her mouth. It was sweeter, like honey when he said it, but she didn't know why.

"Chikki, Kako, Koko, I don't mind. What do you prefer?"

"I like Chi-Chi," Chikako murmured.

He started to walk backwards, plastic bag hanging off his wrist, hands in his pockets, and eyes never leaving hers, like he was captivated by her. She knew she was. She was entranced by his smile. "I'll pick you up Sunday at five, eh Chi-Chi?"

She wanted so badly for him to say it again. Chi-Chi…Chi-Chi… She nodded, but before he got away, she called out, "What's your name?"

He grinned back at her, foot half-way out the door. "Jake. Jake Lawrence."

Chikako smiled at Haruhi. "Thinking back, he would have been a prince at the Host Club. He was a natural charmer. I never stood a chance."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Haruhi wondered aloud.

Chikako sighed, preparing to spill her guts. "I fell in love. In every sense of the word."

A/N: Sorry for those who wanted more Kyoya, but I felt that there needed to be more background to Chikako's previous love interest. I promise you that it's about to get super interesting and I hope you like what's to come! So, tell me what you thought! Whose side are you on? Kyoya's or Jake's? And why? And what do you think Kyoya will do when he finds out about Jake? I wanna know it all! I love hearing your opinions! Click that lovely REVIEW button and go to town, my lovelies! 3

~Kit Koko