Chapter Thirteen: Calm Before a Storm
When Saelind wearily arrived back at her apartment, there was a note taped onto her door from Ranka.
We didn't have dinner tonight, so I'll ask Haruhi later. I hope you had fun! Haruhi sounded enthusiastic about spending time with you! -Ranka
Furrowing her brow, the girl crumpled it up and tossed it over her shoulder.
Then she unlocked the entrance to her home, hurrying inside before shakily taking her hood off. Once she'd removed her sweatshirt, the girl slowly hung it up before turning around and examining her temporary residence. There wasn't a single photograph or painting on the walls, and the room itself was empty and neat like a hotel room. The only sign of residence was the black duffel bag that had been thrown haphazardly into the corner after she'd moved in, the clothes in her closet, and the teddy bear lying on top of her bag.
The bear had been a gift from her brother, Saelvan... and she hadn't touched it once since she'd arrived.
In fact, she hadn't even so much as checked her cell phone: probably the main reason why her mother had chosen to send a formal letter of apology. After a moment, a feeling of intense loneliness swept over her and she quietly walked into her room, small, shoe-clad feet padding silently against the seemingly ancient hardwood floors. After picking up the teddy bear, she kicked off her red and white tennis shoes and collapsed onto her dusty floor, hugging the stuffed animal close to her chest.
The week had dragged through almost agonizingly for Saelind, seeing as she'd originally had no intentions of socializing with anyone.
Then the Host Club had come along and ruined everything: her hopes of surviving high school in the shadows had been destroyed thanks to them.
"They piss me off," she muttered weakly, hugging her bear with an angry teal eye. "Inconsiderately telling people what to do... blackmailing... I hate them."
It was true: she hated them.
However, she did feel attached to one person, although how it had happened was a mystery to her.
Ami Kikiroshi was probably the only person at Ouran Academy who didn't act spoiled aside from Haruhi Fujioka, whom Saelind only put up with because she was in the same situation as herself: owing a debt and being blackmailed into posing as a guy. In spite of that, though... there was a part of Saelind that actually hated Haruhi the most, because the girl was good-looking enough to fit in with the Host Club. Then again, she was constantly reminded that since the club itself was meant for showing off beautiful people.
It wasn't Haruhi's fault that Tamaki was such a dope.
All in all, the Host Club was a headache.
Just because they're rich and have everything they've ever wanted, they get to boss people around, Saelind silently muttered, rolling on her back and staring at the ceiling with a tired expression. Plus, if what Ami said is true... that giant guy, Takeshi Morinozuka, has been acting like a perverted creeper—and since he was acting freaky earlier, I don't doubt it.
Averting her teal eye from the bland ceiling and turning her head, the girl winced when her long hair slid across her burned flesh.
Her face was exposed now... but since nobody could see, she merely stared at the wall with solemn eyes.
After the day she'd had, Saelind didn't even have any energy left to feel angry... and in truth, her anger and bitterness was nothing more than a shield. When she'd been left alone in the hospital... when she'd been locked inside her room for months... she'd cried so much that it had damaged her already-blind eye to the point where her tear-ducts no longer formed saline. During those long days, she had been crying for someone... anyone... one person who would hold her and tell her everything would be all right... but her constant tears had been meaningless.
It didn't matter how much she'd cried.
It didn't matter how much she'd called for her mother, her father, her brother.
Her fear, her anguish, her pain... it was worthless: her family hadn't cared, and nobody who'd called themselves her friends had given her a second glance until they'd needed something. When she'd realized it, however, she'd become angry inside... so horribly angry that it made her see red... but, in turn, the anger had almost completely blotted out the anguish and suffering she'd been enduring.
It had halted the tears.
And for someone who was as emotionally frail as Saelind... being angry was much better than being broken: that's why she'd used her own anger as a shield... because it had protected her from her own pain. In fact, whenever she got the urge to cry, she refused to let herself do it normally because she needed to stay angry: so, she howled.
She howled out the pain.
And because of her messed up genetics, sometimes... wild wolves howled back.
After a moment, Saelind slowly lifted her small, puckered hand and held it in front of her eye.
She looked at the horribly wrinkled flesh and shivered a little, trying not to think too much.
She was ugly, and nothing would ever change that.
When the girl finally set her hand back down, she slowly sat up and looked at her duffel bag, where her phone and charger had been left unattended to since she'd arrived. She knew she was being stupid... nobody in her family would ever leave her messages aside from Saelvan, but he was also kind of homesick. As much as she hated her mother, she kind of missed being around the bad-tempered duchess.
So... almost hesitantly, she slid over to the bag and unzipped it before pulling the phone out.
She held it in her right hand, staring at the angry birds case with a disheveled expression.
Then, closing both of her eyes, the girl threw the phone across the room and turned her face away from it.
She knew why she was doubting herself.
Seeing Ranka and Haruhi acting so close to each other was yet another reminder of things she would never have.
Feeling bitter and depressed, the tiny girl flopped back down on the tatami mats. Rolling over with her teddy bear, she closed her eyes, planning on sleeping away the thoughts troubling her mind. If things went well, she figured that she could slowly wriggle her way out of the Host Club and transfer schools. Saelind's mind slowly faded out as sleep washed over her: tomorrow, she was hoping Ami would request to sit with her, since the girl was the only person at Ouran that she didn't completely hate.
Right around the moment that she fell asleep, Haruhi arrived home.
"Dad? I'm home!" Haruhi called, letting out a sigh as she loosened the tie around her neck. "I'll get dinner started in a few minutes."
"Welcome back, Haru-chan!" Ranka called, welcoming her with a smile. "So, how did it go?!"
"I'll tell you about it tomorrow," the girl yawned, heading off into the kitchen and pulling her apron on. "It's been a long day, so let me make dinner."
"It's only eight o'clock!" the tranny called, frowning at her when she pulled out everything she needed. "Did something happen?"
"Kind of, but it's not important," Haruhi sighed, turning the stove on and chopping up some fresh vegetables in a flurry of action. "Like I said, I'll tell you tomorrow. I need some time to think about it myself."
"If you say so, dear," Ranka murmured, giving a shrug; not long after, the hiss of cooking food filled the air, and an hour later, everything was ready, Haruhi tiredly set some plates out before glancing at an empty spot at their table. Ranka took her pause as his cue to sit down. "Thank you for the food! Oh, that reminds me... why don't you go invite Saelind-chan for dinner, too?"
"I'd be happy to go get her," Haruhi stated, turning around and heading for the front door. "I was going to do it just now, anyway."
Once she was outside, Haruhi headed down the stairs and walked over to Saelind's apartment, humming a little tune under her breath. The Japanese girl wanted to make Saelind feel genuinely welcome at Ouran Academy since nobody else seemed smart enough to breach her walls, and in spite of her bad attitude, she knew that things like this were good opportunities.
However, the brunette also knew that if Ranka had been the one to go get her—considering how oblivious her father tended to be with other people—Saelind would have probably flat-out refused the offer. When she arrived at the entrance to the black-haired girl's room, Haruhi listened for any noise on the other side of the door—but upon hearing none, she rapped gently on the wood.
"Saelind? Are you in there?" she quietly called, slowly twisting the metal knob. "Moshi Mooooshi?"
The old door hinges creaked when Haruhi applied some gentle pressure to push it open.
However, when her beautifully large eyes adjusted, the brunette blinked since the room had been washed in the silver light of the moon, which was shining through the curtains of her bathroom window. However, Haruhi's already gentle brown eyes practically melted into a puddle with empathetic warmth when she saw Saelind's sleeping form. The smaller girl's moon-washed skin had been bleached a pure white, and her shimmering black hair was sprawled haphazardly around her head and upper torso like a pillow of glossy satin.
She looked young, innocent, and peaceful for the first time since she'd come to Japan.
In truth, Haruhi had never seen a shred of such bliss on the small girl's face until that particular moment.
Even her smiles with Ami had seemed somewhat forced.
In an effort to preserve this image of innocence, the brunette quietly tiptoed towards the door, planning to leave Saelind to her dreams.
She didn't realize that those dreams were nightmares until the girl's voice split the air.
"No... wait…" Saelind mumbled incoherently, small hand twitching towards Haruhi. "Please... come back..."
At first, the girl froze, thinking she'd been caught... but when she finally gathered enough courage to turn around and look at her face, she saw that Saelind was still fast asleep. Haruhi blinked several times since she could hear the girl mumbling something else, but she couldn't quite understand what Saelind was saying. So, with curiosity getting the best of her, the brunette returned to her side and leaned in close to her face in the hopes of fully hearing what she was saying.
"Alex… cold…" Saelind whispered faintly, mouth trembling a little before her face relaxed. "Wet... but... and all the... no... I can't! Windows..."
She was having a dream, but from the sound of it, Haruhi doubted it was a good one. That's when Saelind twitched in her sleep and a slight moan escaped her lips. Perspiration appeared on her pale skin when she twitched a second time... but then, she slowly started to toss and turn. Haruhi's eyes widened and she covered her mouth to muffle a yelp when the smaller girl's hands abruptly flew forward and locked around her ankles. Her eyes widened when Saelind clung to her, fingers squeezing so tightly that it hurt.
Her grip was practically crushing the bones in her legs.
Ow, ow, ow! Haruhi silently chanted, staring down at Saelind with frightened eyes. What the heck is she doing?! Is she really asleep?!
"Alex! P-Please! No, no, no! I won't let go this time, I promise!" Saelind whimpered, rapidly turning her head from side to side and tightening her finger's on Haruhi's ankles. Her anguished cries startled the brunette, and she jumped in fright when the girl tried to drag her feet out from underneath her body. When she tried to pull away, Saelind shrieked as though she were being murdered and thrashed violently. "NO! NO!"
Not knowing what to do, Haruhi tried to keep her balance while attempting to wake the girl from her nightmare.
Taking a wild look around the room as her mind scrambled for a solution that didn't involve screaming for her father, Haruhi did the unthinkable.
"Well, this is just perfect," she groaned, closing her eyes and letting the girl jerk her legs out. Saelind's muscles started shaking violently the moment she was down: however, Haruhi's eyes widened and she locked up like a stiff wooden board when the girl began dragging her across the tatami mats by the legs, grip progressively moving higher. "Uhhhh... she's probably gonna kill me!"
However, even though Haruhi prepared herself to be strangled or at the very least, murdered... what came instead was a soft embrace.
She jumped when Saelind clamped down on her and pulled her large frame close enough to snuggle with, still shivering violently.
"Let's... go... together..." Saelind whimpered, making Haruhi slowly turn her head: she froze when she saw the expression on the smaller girl's face. Tears were spilling out from beneath her closed eyelids, and her entire face was contorted with pain. "We made it..."
It was in that moment that Haruhi realized with a jolt that she was witnessing the most emotion she'd ever seen on Saelind's face.
While she was awake, the girl acted angry, indifferent, and sarcastic; this was completely the opposite.
After a moment, the brunette tried to dislodge herself, but Saelind's arms tightened around her even further. When she tried again, the smaller girl's body was suddenly wracked by a small, catlike mew and tears once again began forming at the corners of her eyes; Haruhi went rigid when they began cascading down her cheeks, and suddenly, she felt an odd panic float through her.
She had absolutely no idea what to do until a mental flash of her own mother came to mind.
"Shh…" Haruhi whispered softly, trying to soothe the girl without waking her up. "Saelind, it's okay... everything is going to be all right."
The flow of crystalline droplets didn't stop.
"No…" Saelind whispered back. "Together..."
However, her violent thrashing began to cease, and she slowly curled into Haruhi's side.
"Shh… it's okay. It's okay…" Haruhi whispered, shakily lifting a hand and brushing the girl's hair away from her face; her eyes instantly widened. "Whoa..."
Saelind's hair didn't even feel like hair: some hair was soft if it was treated properly... but this girl's hair felt more like liquid satin than anything else. After a moment, she shook her head and touched her own hair before wincing internally, wondering if she should ask what conditioning products she'd used on her ebony tresses. Even though Saelind couldn't hear her, she seemed to be responding to her touch: she even leaned into the hand Haruhi was touching her with.
Which was weird, because normally, Saelind absolutely hated being touched by people.
Feeling extremely uncomfortable, Haruhi continued to stroke the girl's head since the simple motion seemed to have a weird calming effect on her night terrors: her heavy breathing slowly subsided and the tears finally stopped. When the girl seemed to be sleeping calmly, Haruhi nearly groaned in relief and slowly tried to slide free of the girl's grasp—but as soon as the touch was lost, she let out a small noise of protest.
Sighing, Haruhi placed her hand back where it was.
But this time, Saelind's own hand came up and she placed it atop hers in order to keep her from taking it.
"What the heck am I doing here?" Haruhi deadpanned, closing her eyes in dismay. "I have to get back to Dad."
However, feeling almost as though she were abandoning Saelind, the brunette jerked her hand away from the pale girl's scarred face and stood up.
With one last glance at the sleeping girl, she headed out the door and carefully closed it, guilt riding her conscience.
When she returned to her own apartment alone, Ranka seemed to have understood that something had happened by the look on her face. When they sat down and started eating, the heavy atmosphere hung above the dining table like a dark storm cloud ready to burst and rain down: only the wooden clicks of the chopsticks filled the silence of the room.
"So…" Ranka began after he'd swallowed the majority of his food. "How's school, Haruhi?"
"Alwight," Haruhi deadpanned, calmly speaking around a mouthful of food.
"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Ranka scolded, holding his chopsticks up and waving them with a stern demeanor. "Use your manners!"
The girl glanced off to the side with sarcastic eyes and swallowed her food before looking at him normally.
"Sorry, Dad," Haruhi apologized, giving him a firm stare. "I won't do it again."
"Hey, Haru-chan, how's Saelind-chan doing?" Ranka asked after a moment, not looking up from his plate. Haruhi tensed at the question and sighed in dismay, since her father had frequently been asking about the girl's well-being. "Didn't she want to eat with us?"
"She was sleeping when I went over there," Haruhi stated, taking a drink of her water. "She looked really tired. I didn't want to wake her up."
"Ah, I see..." Ranka sighed, shaking his head. "Well, what about at school? Do you think she's fitting in?"
"Well, considering she's now a member of the Host Club... she's actually doing okay," Haruhi murmured after swallowing her food. "Although, she's still extremely antisocial: I haven't seen Saelind really talk to anyone in school aside from the teachers, and even then she only gives them a one or two-worded response. Aside from when she's answering questions and talking with the girls who request to sit with her, she really doesn't talk at all."
"I see… well," Ranka uneasily mumbled, scratching at his neck, "let's just do our best to help her open up. Deep down, I think she's a very sweet girl who deserves much better than what she was given."
"I already plan on it," Haruhi sighed, shrugging nonchalantly before she paused. "Tomorrow, the Host Club is going to be having a pool party."
"Oh?! Is that so?!" Ranka gushed, eyes lighting up with this news. "Wow, that's great, Haru-chan! I hope you have a good time!"
"I'm not very good at swimming, but I'm planning on trying my best, at the very least," she sighed, giving a shrug as she finished her plate and grabbed her father's empty one. "I'm really, really tired, Dad... once I'm done doing the dishes, I think I'm gonna head to bed."
"Don't worry about it," Ranka sighed, getting up and planting a kiss on her cheek. "I'll take care of it, so you just go get some rest."
For a long moment, Haruhi merely stared at her father with a frown... but then her expression softened and she nodded.
After all, even with his previous mishaps concerning doing the dishes, she was too tired to care if her ended up melting the glass plates again.
Somehow, though, she had a bad feeling about the pool party Tamaki was planning on Hosting.
A feeling that she was sure involved Saelind.