A/N: He he, it's mee... *avoids multiple sharp objects* I know I know! But, I went on a church trip that banned any electronics so I couldn't write or update for a whole week, then I had to deal with the second degree burns I got from that trip which was a pain. I know what you're thinking, "Excuses excuses". But! This chapter is a bit longer than normal as an apology! And 70 REVIEWS?! You guys are so AWESOME! *faint sound of Prussia laughing in the distance* Special thanks go to Freed0m2a11, AngelInTheSky26, WickedLove01, DanyShake, KazuTakahashi, Rose527, Ninja Cucumbers, FiftyLyricsInAMiracle, Sweet baba, 6jayc6, KarutaPlayer96, lek99, 15samcre, kadeestephens, FrankSinatra24, sharksandsoccer, and Infinity69 for following and faving!
NightHunterDeath: Here you go! Sorry it took so long!
KazuTakahashi(reviewed on chapter 4): Thank you so much! You're so nice!
YuYuHakushoObsessor: Here you go! Again, sorry it took so long!
Gottaloveastory: Yep! (Supernatural references everywhere~~~!)
Zstar1: Haha, here it is! Sorry it took so long!
Disclaimer: I no own Ouran. :)
Lorena stood there, just looking out at the beautiful blue ocean, the hot sand burning her feet. She saw Tamaki sitting on a rock with a customer, the twins were playing volleyball with some girls when they started to chase each other, and Haruhi was sitting under an umbrella on a beach towel. She had pulled her legs up to her chest and looked like she was questioning her life choices. Michael was off talking to some girls and the rest of the Host Club was doing God knows what. Lorena decided to join Haruhi under the umbrella, she had no intention to swim or do anything. She really just wanted to curl up in bed and die, but the world was not so merciful.
"Hey Haruhi." Lorena greeted, sitting down under the umbrella with her.
"Hey Rena-chan, enjoying your birthday?" Haruhi inquired, giving her full attention to Lorena. Lorena just shrugged and made a 'Meh' sound. Haruhi was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of tan cargo shorts while Lorena was wearing the same swimsuit from the water park and a gray shirt that had the 'Hogwarts' logo on it that was two sizes too big for her. Haruhi just assumed it was Michael's. They sat in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the peace while they could. Mori and Honey were nearby doing something, they honestly couldn't figure out what. The best thing they could come up with was stretching, but it was the weirdest stretching they've seen.
"Why are we doing Host Club activities at the beach?" Haruhi questioned, not really expecting an answer from anyone.
They heard a feminine voice from behind them, "Haruhi-kun? Rena-chan?" They turned around to find three brunette girls standing behind them. One was wearing a white bikini, another was wearing a blue bikini with a skirt over her bottoms, and the last one was wearing an orange bikini. "Aren't you going to go swimming with us?"
"No, I like looking at the sea from a safe distance." Haruhi answered politely.
"Well if you're not going to swim would you mind if we sat here and talked with you?" The second girl stated, her voice was grating in Lorena's opinion.
"But why? You girls should go swim, you've got cute swimsuits on, why not go show them off?" The girls swooned. They had hearts revolving around their heads as they blushed. They eventually wandered off to go swim, leaving the two girls alone once again.
Lorena chuckled at Haruhi, "Haruhi-kun you sly dog, stealing everyone's hearts."
"What?" Haruhi was genuinely confused.
"I'm just teasing." Lorena explained, playfully pushing Haruhi's arm.
About 40 feet away, Michael was having a very interesting conversation with a group of girls. "So, you're gay, Michael-san?" a pretty red head asked.
"Bi actually, I currently have a boyfriend if that's what you mean." He replied, internally worrying about whether or not it was a good idea to tell them, though it's not like it was a secret.
"Oh..." The same girl trailed off, thinking for a second before all of the girls chorused, "Is he handsome?"
Michael laughed, this was definitely not the usual reaction he would get back in 'Murica. "Yes, he is very handsome."
"That's sooo sweet! ~" they sang with blushes on their faces.
"Um, Michael-san, how did you meet Rena-chan?" a timid brunette stuttered, she quickly added, "Oh! That is, if you don't mind telling us, it's okay if you don't want to..."
He rubbed his chin, carefully selecting his words, "Well, I can't really tell you the whole story without Lorena's agreement..." The girls looked down in disappointment. "But," they lifted their heads, "I can tell you part of it." They brightened up at this and gave the man before them their full attention.
"At the time, I was working as a part-time nurse temp in a hospital in LA. I wasn't finished with school yet, so I didn't have the qualifications to be an army doctor. Anyways, I was working like normal when I was assigned the care of a particularly uncooperative patient. She had come in just a few days prior and refused to eat or sleep or take her medications or even talk. Thinking I was up to the challenge, I accepted. Usually you don't get a choice to take care of a person or not, but this one was different considering nobody wanted to take care of her. I can't tell you why she was in the hospital or why she was so uncooperative, just that she changed my life, and I'd like to think I changed hers. As you've probably guessed by now, that uncooperative patient was Lorena Darrow."
~Flashback Time!~
A young man with bright green eyes and dirty blonde hair watched the TV screen with a look of disgust and horror painted across his face.
"Police are still investigating the mall shooting that occurred yesterday, around noon. 4 dead and 12 injured, the city has been shaken by this horrible ordeal. A memorial has been made at the west side of the mall, honoring those who died, and those who were left behind to mourn them."
The young man shook his head, thinking, "How can someone be so twisted as to do something so horrible? And the fact that the reporters aren't even surprised by this is disgusting." He walked down the hallway to the room that housed the person he was supposed to take care of.
The fake-wood door creaked open, filling the previously dead-silent room with noise. A young Michael Graves walked into the room, looking down at the cheap clipboard in his hands. "All-righty Lorena Darrow, how are you feeli-" His sentence cut off when he looked up at the patient lying in the hospital bed, various wires and tubes connected to her arms and torso, a monitor beeping off to the side indicating her steady heartbeat.
The first thing he noticed was the standard hospital restraints tying down her arms and legs. They were usually only used on the particularly violent patients in the psych ward.
The second thing he noticed was her age. She was just a little girl. He looked down at the clipboard again, sure enough, it read, "Age: 13 years old." He was only three years older than her. Damn.
The third thing he noticed were her eyes. They were blank and lifeless. Yet, they were also overflowing with sorrow and agony, as if the sun itself had been ripped from her world and there was no light left. No hope. However, the laughing lines on her face gave away that they had not always been this way. The pure blue of her eyes contrasted perfectly with her blonde hair.
The fourth and final thing he noticed were her wrists. She was tugging at the restraints, already they had been rubbed raw. "Hey stop! You're hurting yourself!" He exclaimed, immediately holding down her wrists to prevent her from continuing. She turned her eyes to him. She said nothing, just stared him straight in the face. It was pretty creepy. After another minute or so of the unnerving staring contest, she turned her head back to where she was looking before. Michael also looked where she was looking. On the windowsill sat an old stuffed leopard. It was well worn, the obvious use showed the most in the patch sewn on the side of it and the sloppy reattachment of the right ear.
Over time, Michael gained the trust of little Lorena, bestowing upon her the nick-name "Little Cub." She wouldn't talk to him, or anyone else for that matter. Not her father, her sister, or her step-mother-which be quickly found out were very rich; considering her father owned the biggest car company in North America. She barely ate, which was seriously stinting her health and recovery, and when she slept she always woke up crying. In order to communicate with her, Michael was asked by her father to convince her to take ASL (American Sign Language) lessons. He did, but she would not cooperate with the tutor unless he was there, so he learned it with her.
Once she was able to return home-something she was very reluctant to do-Michael practically moved in with them. He was the only one who could convince her to eat or sleep, the only one who could communicate with her easily, and he was the only one she opened up to. She told him through sign language all about her life and what had happened to her to get her into the hospital. In return, he told her about how he was an only child, growing up in a home with only his mother. His father had died on the battlefield, fighting for this country's freedom. He told her about the fight he got in at school when he saw some jerk harassing some poor kid. They told each other everything, and soon enough Michael was her best friend. He helped her through the next two years, recovering from the severe loss she had suffered.
One day, while the two were sitting outside and remarking on the shapes of the clouds, Michael suddenly asked Lorena, "Why did you place your trust in me?" Lorena looked confused. "I mean, you had other nurses helping you, why was I any different?" He elaborated.
Because you were concerned for my safety. Lorena signed to him, now it was his turn to look confused. When you first came in, the first thing you said to me was 'Stop, you're hurting yourself.' Nobody else noticed or cared enough to stop me from doing it. Except you. That's one of the things that convinced me you would be a good friend.
"One of the things?" He questioned, a teasing tone to his voice. She just rolled her eyes at him, looking back up at the sky.
It wasn't until two years after he met Lorena that he heard her speak, it was his birthday. She had come to his house to have cake with him and his mother. They were celebrating now before he went off to the army to become an army doctor. "What? No present for your best friend?" He asked teasingly, hand clutched over his heart, feigning hurt.
You'll just have to be patient and wait. She signed back, eyes twinkling with mirth. He huffed indignantly and led her over to the dining room table.
"You can sit next to me Little Cub." He declared jokingly, it was a four-person table and his mother had already claimed the seat across from him. Therefore, the only place Lorena could sit was next to him.
I'm gonna go help your mom with the cake. She signed, heading towards the kitchen. His mother, a strong woman with dirty blonde hair like Michael walked into the room with a camera, recording the birthday boy.
"Really? A camera? What am I, nine?" He questioned his mom, while she just grinned at him. She turned to the doorway Lorena had just exited through, showing Lorena holding a medium-sized cake made into the shape of the bat-man symbol. Two candles that said "18" were alight in the middle of it.
Once Lorena set the cake on the table in front of him, she grinned a little and spoke in a shaky voice, scratchy from disuse, "Hap..py Birthday, Michael."
Immediately, Michael stood up and gave her a bear hug, laughing the whole time. "I always wondered what your voice sounded like!" He exclaimed, lifting her from the ground a couple of inches before setting her back down. Then he went back to his seat, and blew out the candles.
A/N: So? Answer some questions? Raise more questions? Good. Thanks guys for being so patient with me! Have a wonderful fourth of July!