Chapter 21 ~

"Ne, whose that girl?"

"No idea. She's really….pretty." He whispered, at a loss for words.

"Eh. I don't know about pretty. I mean, you do want to take a second look at her, cause she looks…kind of odd. " The girl disagreed, obviously very envious for the attention.

"Well, look at those eyelashes. And those eyes! They look kinda green. Think she's a model?"

"Tsk! Maybe for some low class company. Forget her, let's go." She dragged the boy away, who glanced back a few times as they went.

Maya tapped her watch, mentally willing it to go faster.

'Com'on already. Where is he?'

She was wearing a calf length trench and a teal belted dress underneath.

'Yeesh, it's cold.' She rubbed her leather clad hands together, blowing at them.

"Maya!" Maya turned, and rolled her eyes.

"Will you forgive me for making you wait?" Tamaki asked, an anxious smile donned his face.

"Eh, it's not like I waited that long." She shrugged, her pink cheeks glinting with a cluster of snowflakes.

"Well then, off we go!" He grabbed her hand and rushed off.

Kyoya stepped out from behind the street light and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose with one finger.

xXxXxXx

"Okay, so all I have to do is walk around and smile right?" Maya asked, handing her coat to the awaiting butler.

"Yes. Well, you can nod too whenever I say something. Oh, and don't forget to hold on to my arm, not that you wouldn't want to." Tamaki smiled his smile that made his designators squeal, and faint with hearts instead of eyes.

Maya sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Tamaki nodded and grinned. "It'll be over before you know it, just walk in with me, let me introduce you to some people, we can eat a little and then you can leave."

"There's food?" Maya's eyes darted back and forth with a silent yearning in them. She had not eaten anything since the morning, for Tamaki had dragged her out to get her all dressed up

Tamaki laughed and nodded again.

"Sounds like fun." Maya smiled and eagerly reached for his arm.

Now, all Kyoya had seen was Maya smile while reaching for Tamaki's arm. He rubbed his temple with his forefinger and glared with black eyes at his "best friend's" retreating back. He felt so... hurt.

There was no other way to put it.

Kyoya had never felt his insides churn so hard or his heart slowly shred inside of him before. When his eyes turned towards Maya's teal colored back, they were filled with pain. The pain flickered in his eyes only for a second, and then his eyes turned into the dark void they had always been.

'Who am I kidding. Maybe this is not what I think at all...Yes, that's probably it.' He nodded, reassuring himself silently.

xXxXxXx

"And who is this lovely young lady?" The CEO of some major business company addressed Tamaki as polite chatter hummed around them.

"This is Maya Tateishi. She is lovely, isn't she?"

"Yes, yes! You did well Tamaki-san! You are very lucky to have a lady such as this." The pleasant looking man said. He wore an old fashioned tuxedo, and he looked very grandfatherly; wise and kind at the same time.

"Err, I don't mean to confuse you, but I am just Tamaki's classmate." Maya smiled awkwardly.

"Oho! Tamaki-san, you must try harder if you are to earn Maya-san's heart." He chuckled.

"Ahaha, indeed."

As their conversation ensued, Maya glanced around and wondered, 'Where's the food already?'

Just as she wondered, the music began to play.

"Shall we?" Tamaki smiled dazzlingly, nearly blinding Maya. He held out his arm to her.

She took it, seeing as there was no food around. They swirled around gracefully till the song changed to another tune.

At this mark, someone tapped Tamaki in the back. A very familiar voice said, "May I?"

Maya's head snapped towards the voice, and as the speaker came into view her answering smile was so genuine, Tamaki couldn't help but to let go.

Maya reached for Kyoya's outstretched arms, and as she was pulled into his embrace; they fit together perfectly, exactly like puzzle pieces.

His answering smile was just as brilliant.

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked, clearly very surprised and confused but very happy at the same time.

"I was invited to this event as well." He seemed to be very pleased with her reaction.

"What about you?"

"Oh, well, Tamaki dragged me here saying he needed something to show all these important people." She rolled her eyes . As she said so, he internally sighed in relief. 'So they weren't going behind my back.'

He held her out at his arm's length, looked her up and down, and smirked.

"I can see what he meant."

Maya's cheeks became rosy and her heart rate increased.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She stuttered and looked down.

Right then, her stomach chose to growl. The growl was pretty low, but loud enough for both to hear.

Maya's blush expanded over her face as she put her arms around her stomach protectively.

Kyoya chuckled. "Hungry?"

"No." Maya looked down.

Kyoya laughed again. "Let's go."

He took her hand and led her out of the building as conspicuously as possible.

xXxXxXx

The pair were sitting on top of the steps in front of the grand building they just exited. Kyoya somehow managed to maneuver his way into getting a plate of food for Maya.

"Enjoying that?" Maya nodded, the plate resting on top of her knees was overflowing with hors d'oeuvres.

He chuckled.

"Open wide." In a few seconds, a piece of food between her fingers was right before his mouth.

"No, thank you."

She glanced at him wearily. "I said open wide."

He looked at her for a long moment, calculating whether or not she would back down. After a minute, he sighed and opened his mouth.

She popped the food in and grinned.

"You should eat too, you know."

He held her close and kissed her cheek.

"I know."

xXxXxXx

"Oh? What happened to your young lady friend?" That same CEO from before asked Tamaki.

"She is where she wants to be."

Tamaki smiled to the elderly man, and for a spare moment, envy flickered in his eyes.

"Now where were we?" And so they resumed their business talk.