Haruhi
I could not have been more thankful for Hikaru showing up when he did. That stupid Kyouya... because of that kiss- the feel of his lips pressed against mine- my head was still spinning and my pounding heart wasn't slowing down fast enough.
The night needed to end sooner. That much was clear.
"Are you alright?"
"Huh?" I shot my head towards Hikaru, startled by his voice interrupting my train of thought. I had almost completely forgotten I was with him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Hikaru's eyes filled with a bit of disappointment. I think he could tell that my mind was occupied with other things. He flashed me an empty smile and told me it would be best for me to rest after my exhausting day of socializing.
As if I couldn't feel any more guilty that I used him to get away from Kyouya, the fact that it was obvious to him made it worse.
"Hikaru. I apologize."
He stared at me for a moment before brushing away a few stray hairs from my face. "No need to worry, Princess. I understand."
I caught his sleeve before he could turn around to walk away. I smiled at him. "If you don't mind I'd like to see you again." A little embarrassed I let go of his sleeve and tried to play it cool. "That is to make up for tonight."
A glimmer of excitement shone through him. Hikaru looked genuinely pleased. "I'll be sure to hold you up on your offer." With another slight bow of his head he walked off to reunite with his twin.
Once he was out of sight, I went to look for my father. It was definitely getting late and at least half the crowd was gone from when the night started.
It was about time that the ball should end.
. . . .
The ball was finally over. All the guests had left but never once did I see Kyouya the rest of the night. He just sort of disappeared... Not that I really cared.
It was about ten minutes after midnight and everyone in the palace was working hard to clean the rest of the palace. Father said to leave it for the morning but Celia wanted to minimize the work they all had to do for the next day.
Celia came into my room shortly after she had finished whatever she was doing. I was sitting at the vanity table and she took the brush I was holding out of my hand when she came up to me. She started to run the brush through my hair as she made small talk.
I was only half listening to her and when she had mentioned something about my father, it sparked a flame to burn inside me. I remembered that I wanted to speak to my father. I whirled around in my chair- frightened by my sudden movement, Celia jumped backwards. "Father had something to do with Prince Kyouya's presence here. I just know it."
"Princess..."
I was still mad and I wanted to confront my father. I had to know why he would go behind my back. Without much delay I stormed out of my room. Celia had shouted my name from the hall in hopes that I would just wait to talk to him later, but I ignored her.
When my father's bedroom was in sight, I barged right in. "Why did you invite Prince Kyouya to the ball?"
"Haruhi." He said after letting out a breath. He had his hand placed upon his chest as if to try to calm his beating heart. "Please don't scare me like that."
I walked over to his bed where he was sitting. "I saw Prince Kyouya."
"Oh. And? How did it go?" He calmly asked.
"Not well." I said. "Why did you let him come? I told you I didn't want to see him again."
"Haruhi, it's been five years. You can't keep blaming Kyouya for King Yoshio's decision to leave."
"That's not the point. Plus, Prince Kyouya decided that all on his own. It was his fault we drifted apart." After pacing the floor a few times, I sat down next to father and looked him in the eyes. "You had no right to invite him here without me knowing and especially after I specifically said not to."
"You wouldn't have agreed to it even if I told you." He smirked.
Father placed his hand on the back of my head and pulled me in for a hug. I was still mad as he held me. "Haruhi... you must understand that I love that boy like family. I have watched the both of you grow together and I have seen how much of a better person he is when you were around. Kyouya has been through too much for him to lose this happiness. If it were lost to him now... he may just end up the way he used to be."
Knitting my eyebrows together, I slowly pushed myself away from my father to look at him. I was puzzled by his words. "What are you talking about? Was he troubled?"
"Hm?" His face turned white.
"Do you know something that I don't, Father?"
After brief moment of silence, Father started to laugh. "Oh, don't be silly! I don't know anything-"
"Father." I said sternly.
He let out a sigh and scratched his head in quick defeat. "It is not my place to say anything concerning Kyouya's past."
"So then what?" I folded my arms against my chest.
"So then nothing." Father stood up. Taking me by the hand, he forced me to stand and shoved me out of his room. "Goodnight Haruhi. You need your rest."
He pushed into the hallway. I turned to look through the door. "Father, wait!"
"Sleep well, darling." He said through the now closed door. "We'll talk... some other time."
I pressed my hand against the wall next to the door frame. I almost didn't care if I was tired. I probably wouldn't be able to sleep now that my mind was laced with even more questions than before.
What kind of things did Kyouya have to bear growing up? Were they really that bad? I didn't know much of anything about Kyouya's family now that I really think about it. Was I being too presumptive in that everything was his fault?
It was possible but it's too late now. This happened and it happened for a reason. We both have to move on... right?
Seeing Kyouya again has spurred doubt into Haruhi's mind! But can the same be said for Kyouya?
Hey all, sorry for the wait! I was actually ready to update last night but the site was down for logging in, lol. I was so upset.
So this chapter is also a lot of dialogue; a little fast paced as well. Or at least that's how it felt when I typed it out. I think maybe the next few chapters will be like this (having more talking that is). Yeah. I still have a ways to go before the end and there will be some more complications for our duo to overcome. Hopefully it will still be a hit until then! Thank you all for your support! I appreciate it so much!
~Bliss