Kaoru awoke with a start on Wednesday morning, breathing hard and staring unseeingly at the ceiling. His breathless pants matched his thumping heart and sweat lined his brow. He moved his sweaty palm from under the heavy comforter and pressed it to his chest. Morning light glittered through his brand new curtains, shining on the edge of bed. But it was too bright for Kaoru's eyes as he stared sightlessly at the white ceiling.
He'd had the dream again. The one full of fire and screams and… Kaoru scrunched his eyes shut and turned his head to the side to check the time on the clock radio. It was early morning, 7 AM, and almost time to get up and ready for school.
Straightening and pulling himself into a sitting position, Kaoru rubbed a hand across his eyes and turned off the still-silent alarm. He then promptly reached past his clock for his cell phone, the one thing that had survived the deathly fire that haunted his dreams. Shakily, Kaoru snapped open the phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" A low monotone voice answered coolly through the speaker.
"Kyoya," Kaoru uttered, his voice breaking on the last syllable.
"You had the dream again didn't you?" Kyoya was the one person Kaoru called about these things: his horrid dreams, his endless paranoia, and everything in between. He knew Kyoya would never betray his feelings and tell another soul because they were alike in so many ways. Kaoru had enough blackmail to ensure Kyoya would never repeat Kaoru's words.
"Yeah, the same one," Kaoru sighed, cupping a hand over his tired eyes.
"It's in the past, Kaoru. You're free and you have nothing to worry about. You'll be fine," Kyoya reminded him as he had done every day since the incident.
Kaoru let out a slow breath. "But it doesn't stop the dreams, Kyoya."
Silence enveloped them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; in fact, this was the quiet Kaoru sought. Kaoru bowed his head and let it wash over him for a moment.
"Feeling better?" Kyoya inquired after a while.
"Yeah," Kaoru said softly, cracking a smile.
"Good. I have to get ready for school. And remember Kaoru, you can call me any time."
"I wish you could get out of the drug ring too," Kaoru burst suddenly, full of emotion. "I wish I wasn't the only one free."
Kyoya paused for a second. "My situation isn't so bad," he stated. "I'm not in a position to sell drugs, you know that."
Kaoru nodded to himself. He did know that. Kyoya was considered maybe a supervisor of some sort because he only attended the meetings. In that way, Kaoru thought maybe Akito did care for his younger brother.
"Besides," Kyoya said, interrupting Kaoru's thoughts, "I'll get out eventually. It's all about timing. Anyways, I really should go now. You're okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Kyoya." And they both hung up.
For a few more minutes, Kaoru took some time to breathe, letting himself calm. He stared at his white walls and waited as his heart slowed, and finally, he no longer felt a trace of the terror in his dream.
There was a soft knock on the door. "Kaoru, are you awake?" his father's voice called through. Regardless, he swung the door open. "Oh good, you are up. I made pancakes if you want some."
Kaoru's face lightened immediately. "I love pancakes!"
"Chocolate chip pancakes okay?"
"Are you kidding?" Kaoru exclaimed, jumping out of bed. "They're my favorite."
The two moved into the dining room that connected to the kitchen in an open concept. Kaoru always marveled at the sheer grandeur of this area alone. The counters were of sleek black granite and the dining room set was made of mahogany. Kaoru still couldn't even get over the fact that he didn't have to cook anymore.
Kaoru slid into his seat in the middle of the rectangular table and pulled the plate of pancakes toward him, dumping three cakes onto his own plate. "Got quite an appetite there, don't you?" Dad asked, looking amused.
"It's been a while since I've had these," Kaoru explained, dumping syrup onto his cakes.
His father nudged a plate of sausage towards Kaoru before sipping lightly on his orange juice. "So what are you doing after school Kaoru? I was thinking we could go out driving before your test on Friday."
"Actually, I go back to work today. Kamaza was kind enough to give me so much time off since everything happened."
Father set his glass down, looking at Kaoru funny. "You work at a diner right?"
"Yeah," Kaoru said slowly.
"Kaoru, you don't have to work you know," he said, completely serious.
Kaoru paused with his fork hovering above his pancakes. "What?"
"Well, I make enough for the both of us. So all I'm really saying is that maybe you don't need a job right now. You're a teenager. You have your whole life ahead of you to work. Why not enjoy things while you're young?"
Kaoru set his fork down, speechless. He never even considered giving up his job; he'd never given it a thought. It just seemed so natural to go back to work… Not a having a job would be a nice. Kaoru looked steadily at his father, gaging the situation. "You would be okay with that?"
"I wouldn't suggest it if I wasn't," Dad said with a smile.
Kaoru grinned. "Great. Then I'll tell Kamaza that today will be my last day," Kaoru said with growing excitement. The idea of extra free time was almost a dream come true.
School that day flowed the same as always. Kaoru was an average student with average grades and an average interest in the subjects. But what had changed was that Kaoru was starting to enjoy school, little by little. Today was proof of that.
In home economics, Hikaru had thrown mini marshmallows at Kaoru's head all through the lecture. During lunch, Kaoru had sat with his new big group of friends and laughed as they teased Tamaki just to see him squirm. And in history class, which Kaoru shared with Haruhi, they had laughed over how Kaoru's horrible essay had received an 'A.'
But after school, it was time to work and Kaoru was eager to break the news to Kamaza. He caught a ride with Tamaki down to the diner. "You're in a good mood," Tamaki said as Kaoru hummed with the tune on the radio.
"There's a lot to be happy about," Kaoru replied, tapping his finger to the beat.
"Like what?" Tamaki pressed.
Kaoru shrugged. "I'm quitting today."
Tamaki almost swerved off the road in shock. "What? Who is going to take my shifts now?"
Kaoru laughed. "Just ask Kari. Maybe she'll take them," Kaoru said, mentioning the new girl.
"But she hates me!" Tamaki whined as they pulled into the diner parking lot. Tamaki parked and opened his door. "But good for you, I suppose. Did you get a new job?"
Kaoru slammed his door shut. "Nah, I'm just taking a break from the work force," Kaoru said happily.
The door chimed as they entered the front door. They went straight to the supply closet, grabbing their selves an apron. Kaoru tied his on hurriedly before clocking in to the computer. Kari rushed by, looking down at her notepad. She stopped when she saw them. "Oh good the two of you are here. People just got sat at booth 12. Someone get to it." And she whisked away.
"I'll take it," Tamaki said, snapping on his name tag. "You go talk to Kamaza." He stepped out onto the dining floor, switching into his happy-to-serve-you smile before approaching the table.
Kaoru straightened his own name tag and grabbed a notepad before following Tamaki out. Kaoru made a beeline to Kamaza, who was once again working the counter. "Hi, Kamaza," Kaoru greeted.
The counter area was completely empty and she was slowly washing off the surface with a sani-towel. "Thank God you two are here. Kari has been driving me up the walls! There have only been a few tables in today and she insists on acting as if the whole restaurant is full. Did you see how she was flying around?"
"Hey, you hired her. You can't complain," Kaoru snorted.
The woman hung her head, groaning. "Don't remind me."
Kaoru laughed, glancing around the almost empty restaurant, and then lowered his voice. "Kamaza, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
She lifted her head and picked up a glass, inspecting it closely before wiping the dirty rim with the towel. "Yeah and what's that?"
"I'm quitting today."
Kamaza gasped, almost dropping the glass. "What did you just say?"
"I'm-"
"Oh no, I heard you. I'm just horrified! No, Kaoru, you have to stay. I don't want to be stuck here with Kari!" She exclaimed, setting the glass down harshly.
Kaoru smiled, leaning onto the counter. "I promise I will visit."
"No, I won't allow you to leave."
Kaoru just smiled at her sweetly. She groaned. "Why did you have to make a good day a bad one?"
Wow, I actually had a life the last few days. But unfortunately, that meant less writing. I feel deprived! Alright, let's get back on track with these updates... if my homework allows it.