~Chapter Fifty One~

Best Friends Forever

He's my best friend,
Best of all best friends.
Do you have a best friend, too?

Lately, everyone is making fun…

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na!

No, friends are never alone.

~Best Friend, by Toy Box

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

"When are you planning to tell him, then?"

"Tomorrow!" I bit out through clenched teeth, feeling skittish, cornered by the taller teenager leaning down and practically breathing down my neck – figuratively and literally. My skin was crawling beneath the guilt that started to eat at my resolve. We stonily stared each other down, and then – I caved.

"Okay, okay, okay!" I finally exclaimed, lifting both hands in the air in exasperation, much like my imaginary counterpart had earlier. There was just something about Tamaki that made a girl want to bash her head in against the nearest brick wall. How Haruhi could be in love with idiot was a mystery to me! Sheesh!

Wait.

…Haruhi?

A wicked smile suddenly whispered to life, and I deviously said, "Here's what we're going to do…"

Sammy's P.O.V.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

Heart hammering, I shifted nervously in my seat, before quietly chewing on my nails like Scooby Doo might if faced with the Creeper. I knew it would piss Hikaru and Kaoru off if I ruined them, but I honestly couldn't help it! My eyes quickly flickered to the old cuckoo clock, something that Haruhi bought her father almost five years ago as a present for Father's Day. I stared at the clock, glanced to the door, and then back again. Something that looked kinda like Tweety Bird shot out and began to chirp – repeatedly.

Nine o' clock, but the Host Club had yet to show up. Haruhi hadn't returned from her impromptu shopping trip, either. Granted, Haruhi visited the supermarket like clockwork, cutting coupons and searching for the best sales to keep her small family in good food from paycheck to paycheck. She refused the cash that I offered her, too, which meant that there wasn't much in her wallet to spend for groceries. So…

Where could everybody be?

"Stop worrying so much!" Caleb chuckled, his voice higher than what most males would deem socially acceptable. Sounded almost girlish, which always freaked people out because, really, who would imagine someone so muscular sounding so…sweet? Like Froot Loops! Yummy!

"What if something happened to them, though?" I worried, admittedly quite panicked because I'd trusted Tamaki, the Clueless King, to handle something so serious and important and – oh, God. What had I done?!

"Your hair is going to start to go gray," Caleb dryly offered. He slowly opened his left eye – green, with flecks of brown and gold shining in its emerald depths – and lifted his lanky form into a sitting position. His arms were now wrapped around his knees, his chin resting there.

Turning to glare at him, I paused long enough to take note of the changes in the older teenager, who I'd not seen up close and personal in almost a year. Red hair had darkened again in the Fall months because of the lack of sunshine. Its color closely resembled old pennies now – copper, with the occasional brown and reddish highlights – but although it looked liked metal, I could tell that it was still soft to the touch. My hands gently carded through his (yes, soft) red hair. And Caleb smiled.

"You know I can't help it," I grumbled, hands continually weaving in and out of his bangs, which curled around his face and framed it nicely. "Somewhere along the line, something changed, and I miss them like I miss you – so, so much that it hurts sometimes."

Green eyes were closed, but Caleb often did that when lost deep in his thoughts. He hummed softly to himself, though his thoughts remained secret, the only sound the soft notes from All Of Your Love, by Hellogoodbye, escaping from his full lips. My own eyes curiously memorized his facial features, from his broad forehead to his strong, high cheekbones, his freckled cheeks to his nose, and his chin. Stubborn described Caleb perfectly. Never could let me win. Damn Irishman!

Maybe I should call him Lucky? What does that make me, then? Toucan Sam? My stomach growled faintly in protest, and I rubbed the soft flesh absentmindedly, wrinkling the white tank top worn over it. Verdammt, I really wanna eat cereal right about now…

Suddenly, Caleb opened his eyes again to stare at me. My childhood friend laughed sweetly and stretched his arms out to hug me. He admitted, "You know, I feel like I should be jealous, but in the end, I'm just happy that you're happy."

Eyeing him doubtfully, I hugged him back around his waist (which, I mentally glowered, turned out to be must, much, much smaller than mine) and slowly asked, "You really mean it, Caleb?"

"'Course I do!" Caleb declared, playfully pretending to be wounded by this lack of trust, eyes wide and hand to his chest. A slow, sly smirk claimed his lips. He shrugged carelessly. "It doesn't mean that I'm not going to make their lives Hell, though…"

A groan escaped from within, and I flopped backwards, landing just behind the table. My breath whooshed out from between parted lips. I stared at the ceiling with interest, easily connecting the dots in the popcorn tiles to make several different animals. Puppies, unicorns, and other adorable creatures that Takashi would probably cuddle. My heart warmed at the thought of Takashi. He made me warm and happy inside, like I might spontaneously combust, like a s'more, or a rocket, or –

"Go home!" Haruhi barked. She slammed the wooden door behind her but, unfortunately, forgot to lock it in her moment of frustration. It opened almost immediately afterward, albeit slowly, to reveal the sheepish faces of the Hosts.

– Haruhi, apparently.

Violet eyes were wide with (feigned) innocence. "Oh! Your friends aren't permitted to visit for a couple of hours, Haruhi-chan?" Tamaki wheedled, his lip trembling faintly from the weight of his words. He sniffled dramatically for effect.

"Shut up!" Haruhi blandly answered her classmate, refusing to fall for his act; instead, the small brunette continued to remove a couple of apples and bananas from her shopping bags, storing them in various cabinets in her small kitchen. "Go away!"

"Gasp! Foul language!" Tamaki exclaimed in horror, his hand covering his cheeks to hide the fact that while the words horrified him, her cute appearance still made him blush. "Mommy, I must blame the Twins for this one!"

"It wasn't us," Hikaru and Kaoru chimed their protest, easily relaxing into the perfect picture of innocence, with their arms crossed behind their heads and legs propped at the ankle. Faces carefree and smiles innocent…

Ha! Cough, cough, cough, cough! Please excuse me. I'm just choking with laughter here…

Apparently unaware that Caleb and I'd been here for awhile, Hikaru decided to place the blame on poor, innocent moi. He glanced at the Host King from one open eye and added, "Blame Sammy-nee-chan!"

A Jack-in-the-Box, I jumped quickly from behind the kotatsu and leapt at him, fiercely glaring at the devious prankster. My brother yelped, his surprise evident in his sudden desire to jump back ten feet and stare at me, mouth wide open and hands in the air. Mein Gott, I'm not mugging him! Although observant, Kaoru did not notice me, either. He squeaked out and ducked behind his older brother. I cheerfully smiled at them and pushed their jaws back to its upright position, a snort of laughter escaping from within my nose.

"Blame your…" Here, I paused, attempting to think of the most suitable insult. "…face!"

"Lame," Caleb coughed into his closed fist, his face set in stone; then, the redhead succumbed to his almost overwhelming desire to quote Kratos. He pointed his imaginary sword at me and cried, "'Blame your fate!'"

We pretended to be Kratos and Mithos from Tales of Symphonia. In other words, Caleb happily continued slashing his sword through the air, while I pretended to die dramatically, eyes crossed and tongue lolling out to the side. Haruhi chucked her last apple at Caleb, her expression one of amusement when the American tried to juggle it back and forth, before accidentally dropping it on my nose. The Host Club gaped at us.

"…C-C-Caleb?!" Hikaru and Kaoru finally croaked, obviously having regained their (in)ability to speak, though not fluently. One Twin pointed at Caleb, whilst the other quietly opened and closed his mouth around the formation of his questions. Nothing followed, though! Nada! Zilch! Zero!

A pair of long arms wrapped around their shoulders, separating the Twins from each other, and Caleb easily wormed himself in between the lankier teenagers. "'Sup, Thing 1 and Thing 2!" Caleb cooed, his cheeks rubbing against theirs in a very catlike fashion.

"What are you doing here?" Hikaru demanded, his voice high with panic, and jerked out of his hold. It was a struggle to accomplish this feat, and Hikaru blushed because the taller redhead made it difficult for him to escape. "You're supposed to be in…New York!"

Flustered, Kaoru frantically nodded his head in agreement and quickly continued, "You weren't supposed to be visiting until Christmas Break which, I might add, is not for another three months!" Glass twinkled in his voice and shattered at the end of his sentence.

"Yeah, I know," Caleb admitted and carelessly shrugged his broad shoulders to show how little their observations mattered to him. "But I miss Sammy, and Sammy misses me, and –" Green eyes glinted evilly in the natural light streaming through the windows. "– I wanted to spend quality time with my sweet, beautiful Twins."

My brothers whimpered in fear, shamelessly clutching at the other in the hopes of remaining conscious in the face of Caleb the Creeper. Kaoru tried to hide behind the trembling form of his slightly taller older brother. "Oh, Kami…"

Everyone looked unnerved by their fear but refused to ask for the explanation behind their uncharacteristic uneasiness. The Twins might be socially constipated, but neither would back off if harassed by somebody else. (Of course, Hikaru and Kaoru usually did the harassing part, but I digress!) The Hosts slowly edged further away. Also socially constipated, however, Haruhi did not notice the change in atmosphere and decided to be blunt and bite the bullet. She did not mind asking questions with answers that would have been, uh…better left unsaid.

"Why are you two – the Terrible Twins, Sammy-chan sometimes calls you – afraid of him, anyway?" Haruhi curiously asked, but Hikaru and Kaoru only shivered in repulsion, apparently remembering something terrible that scarred them for life. She sighed, "Caleb-san is harmless!"

"'Harmless?!'" The Twins chorused immediately, their expressions of terror clearly speaking volumes in that moment. If I could, I would predict that Hikaru and Kaoru were still afraid of the fact that Caleb proposed marriage ten seconds after meeting them, about four years ago. He'd just turned fifteen. The Twins had been eleven.

"You don't know him like Hikaru and I do, Haruhi-chan," Kaoru assured her, his smile strained and left eye a mess of twitching nerves. He slowly edged farther from Caleb, who waved cheerfully at him even now.

"We've been dealing with him for years," Hikaru said in an undertone and shuddered at yet another memory – or nightmare – of Caleb the Creeper.

"What's so incredibly awful about him, then?" Haruhi demanded, hands to her hips and maternal frown in place. Years of dealing with her overdramatic father and another of dealing with Tamaki the Tick made it an easy expression to pick up. Ranka said so!

Eyes wide with terror, Hikaru and Kaoru leaned down to put their lips next to her ears and hoarsely whispered, "He…is…a…stalker!"

Quietly, Kyoya recorded their conversation in his diary – uh, notebook – and nodded politely at Caleb, who raised his eyebrow at his continued writing of notes. "Good morning, Caleb. You have red hair, green eyes, a scar on your nose, and soft spots for Sammy, skateboarding, music, dancing, boy bands, photography, potato salad, pizza, kiwis, beer, and whiskey."

Face scrunched in confusion, Caleb blinked at him, clearly questioning his sanity and the sanity of the rest of the Hosts, too. He glanced to me with eyebrows raised in disbelief. "And I'm the stalker here?"

Tamaki smiled from his seat at the short, wooden table and lifted his head to face Caleb. He appraised the redhead for another moment, pointed to the ceiling, and brightly declared, "I believe that you and I will get along just fine, Jenkins-san!"

Blankly, Caleb stared at the younger man, an expression of dark mischief slowing making itself known through the tilt of his lips and gleam in his eyes. "I don't like French Fries," Caleb blandly said in response.

To the Emo Corner Tamaki went! Mushrooms, toadstools, and other items began to crop up along the shelves of the storage closet Tamaki huddled inside, and I reminisced about all of the years spent playing Harvest Moon. My smile brightened considerably. In fact, Tamaki looked like the perfect combination of Mark and Vaughn from Island of Happiness! Blonde hair and violet eyes. Sweet!

"Quick cultivating mushrooms in my storage closet!" Haruhi snarled. Our classmate squared her shoulders and stomped her feet while storming forward to pull the (overly) emotional blonde from between the towel rack and the washing machine. "Why must you continue with the fungi?"

"Oh! I know this one!" I declared, excitedly jumping up and down with left hand raised in the air, hoping to be picked by the teacher; Haruhi sighed, but I continued, "Maybe it's because Tamaki-san really is a..." Here, I paused for dramatic effect. "…Fun Guy!"

"OMG IKR LOL," Caleb chimed in, his thumbs up in approval for the totally tacky twist on my words. Against their better judgment, Hikaru and Kaoru believed this to be pretty funny and laughed at his antics. Caleb preened like Draco Malfoy. …Or Naru the Narcissist!

Yeah, I love Ghost Hunt, I sighed happily in my crazy and misunderstood mind. Lin is so very mysterious. Tall, dark, and handsome fits him well, too. Just like Takashi! Yay for the Strong and Silent Type!

Haruhi, however, did not appreciate our sense of humor and facepalmed. She peeked out from between her fingers of her right hand and pointed the first finger of her left at me, an accusing note in her voice. "That wasn't funny, Sammy-chan!"

"You're right," I wholeheartedly agreed with her assessment and, knowing that I did not need to continue, leaned back to dig around in my pants pocket for the pack of bubblegum Ellen handed to me earlier. As expected, Caleb jumped right into the fray and crowed, "It was punny!"

"You deserved to be shot for that one," Haruhi mumbled, her words used to voice the opinion of the rest of the Hosts, who merely groaned and flopped to the floor in misery. The Shadow King busied himself with writing down something – his amended Hit List, maybe – in his Handy Dandy Notebook.

Pleased with ourselves, Caleb and I exchanged high fives. Silence ensued afterwards, though, at least until Mitsukuni hastily cleared his throat and announced, "I brought cake for everybody to eat."

"'THE CAKE IS A LIE!'" Caleb and I screamed at him, almost at the same moment, and burst into hysterical laughter at the complete confusion – and betrayal – that plastered itself to his childlike face. Somebody give him the box of tissues! Cue: Waterworks.

"What?" Mitsukuni cried, his heart audibly breaking in half, and promptly clutched at the nearest person, an unsuspecting victim that happened to be Kyoya and not, oddly enough, Takashi.

Somewhere, in the back of my mind, Chibi Sammy cackled wildly at the scene presented in front of me. The Schatten König tried to pry my classmate from his pants, but the small ninja refused to release him from his grip and used his kickass skills to keep his arms wrapped around his leg. Haruhi had to lure him away with the temptation of lemon bars. He nibbled happily at the tart treats, his lips smacking and face scrunched faintly at the bite of lemon. Huh. If Mitsukuni didn't know fifteen methods of killing me with that lemon bar, I might find him kinda cute…

Chocolate eyes were now on the second, unopened box of lemon bars that Haruhi, Kiki, and I bought last week. "Can I have another one?" Mitsukuni chirped sweetly at her, his voice pleading for her to give in to his cuteness. She sighed and handed him the entire box.

If Takashi were right here, I dryly noted, Mitsukuni would not – in a million years of pleading – have been given the entire box of sweets!

A little voice slowly emerged in the darkness and whispered: But Takashi isn't here right now…

Distraction gone, my worried heart skipped several beats; however, I managed to stay quiet, too stunned to speak up and demand to know why Takashi wasn't standing beside Mitsukuni. Like always.

The Host Club started to move around the small apartment and seated themselves by the short kotatsu, to which Caleb and I had returned to after another moment of indecision. We squished ourselves together, chin to knee, hands around legs, until it looked like we'd started Gym Class. In order from left to right, Hikaru, Kaoru, Caleb, Sammy the Stupendous (me), Mitsukuni, and Tamaki crowded around the table. Someone unfamiliar with the stupidity of the Host Club would probably have laughed themselves silly at the picture presented. Think: Sardines!

Only Kyoya could not find anywhere to be seated. My childhood friend begrudgingly sidled off to the right to make extra room as my eyes met his and I stared right at him. His dark expression brightened, however, when this movement placed him closer to Hikaru and Kaoru, who appeared far from pleased with this seating arrangement. A lecherous grin claimed his lips, to which both Hikaru and Kaoru paled dramatically, their dainty teacups trembling in their hands. Darth Vader Mitsukuni laughed at them, his Dark Side coming out to play. 'Cuz Mitsukuni likes cookies!

I waited patiently for his voice to speak up. "You shouldn't eat so many sweet, Mitsukuni."

…Nobody scolded Mitsukuni, though.

Sighing, I leaned heavily against Caleb, less interested in the conversation withouthim here, with me. He frowned faintly down at me, uncertain what could be bothering me. I sadly whispered, "Takashi-kun isn't here yet…"

Caleb, knowing how much Takashi meant to me, smiled softly and placed his head against mine, as a girl might do with her friend. He brushed the skin at my ear with his lips and murmured, "If this boy is as crazy over you as you've said, Sammy, then I'm certain we'll be seeing him soon."

"He's a man," I dryly responded, though I used to refer to him and the others with that word; it had become increasingly difficult to refer to him in that way. Now, I could only think of his hands on my naked skin, and his lips trailing the skin from neck to bellybutton, and –

"I'm almost two years older than you," Caleb drawled in boredom, but his green eyes were now suspiciously trained to the blush that stained pale cheeks bright red, "which makes him a year younger than me and thus not old enough to be a man."

Fearing that Caleb might telepathically hear my embarrassing thoughts because stranger things really had happened with him involved, I started to recite the Periodic Table in my mind and sighed, "Whatever's clever."

"What's not clever," Kaoru sighed lowly from between his fingers since his hand rested in his palm, eyes empty of all but his boredom, "is the size of this apartment."

At this point, Kyoya accidentally bumped his brother with the book in his lap, nearly making him spill tea down his front, and Hikaru snapped, "How is anybody supposed to breathe in here?"

"Hush!" Tamaki scolded him for his use of the Forbidden Word, before explaining, "We must sit like this, in our gym positions, because it is a method that the commoners invented to save space! Show respect for other cultures, Kaoru-kun!"

My brother slammed his head down, hitting the table with his forehead, and groaned, "For the love of – I'm Hikaru, Tono!" Kaoru smiled quietly and sympathetically patted his back.

"Of course you are, Kaoru!" Tamaki cried, practically knocking him out with his arms, which whipped around like the blades of the air conditioner fans whirring just outside the apartment unit. "How could I not know how to tell the neighbors apart?"

Slowly, Caleb turned to stare at him and, with his hand around his mouth to keep the others from reading his lips, whispered, "What the fuck has this idiot been smoking and where could I get some…?"

"Watch the language," I mumbled back, hitchhiker thumb pointed at Mitsukuni, who listened to – and repeated – almost everything that the Hosts and I said. He also reported everything back to Takashi.

"It's Japanese right now," Caleb joked playfully, his thick red eyebrows jumping up and down in laughter, "but I could switch back to English if you'd prefer, Sammy! Perhaps German for the Nazi in you?"

Annoyed, I started to respond that nobody wanted to listen to drunken leprechauns anyhow, but Mitsukuni started to jump around in excitement, nearly knocking me over as a result. He clapped his small hands together and happily exclaimed, "Commoners are so smart!"

"Yes, I have also heard –" Tamaki started, his finger poised in the air, eyes closed to show how tremendously intelligent his next words would be.

"Would anybody like tea?" Haruhi interrupted through her gritted teeth, hands clenched tightly in fists and cheeks taut beneath her deceptively cheerful smile. My best friend seemed to be trying to appear sweet and angelic, like Castiel from Supernatural. But…

She looked like Freddy Krueger.

Shudder.

After everybody at the table chimed in the affirmative, Hikaru rummaged through his jacket, searching for something in particular. He perked upward in success, a small bag in his hands, and thoughtfully said, "If you're making tea, I have some red tea that Otou-san brought back from Africa!"

"Thank you, Hikaru-kun," Haruhi said, clearly surprised by his gesture of kindness, and then turned to me, a wary expression glued to her pretty face. She suspected him of something, which I found funny – realistic, but funny all the same. "I know that you prefer sweet tea, but how does this tea taste?"

"Pretty good, but it is rather strong," I brightly said, though I shrugged to show that I personally did not care too much for it. Hot tea tasted fuzzy! Sweet tea, however, brought back memories of playing in the sunshine with Caleb and Sarah. "Would it be too much trouble if I grabbed another glass of that lemonade that Ranka-san made?"

"Of course not! In fact, Otou-san made it fresh this morning since I told him you'd be visiting sometime today, Sammy-chan," Haruhi responded with a grin, her head tilted to the side in an expression of amusement; her Dad liked to coddle me. It tickled her funny bone that I let him.

"Awesome Possum!" I cheered, lifting both hands in the air and starting to swim through the sea of teenage boys seated beside me. I crawled around Hikaru and Kaoru, since the two would not mess with me, and then tried to make it around Kyoya, too. Unfortunately, I landed in his lap, face buried in his (surprisingly) muscular chest. "Sorry, Kyo-kun!"

Note to Self: Report to Kiki with the details about how totally muscular Kyoya is under his glasses and nerdy clothing! Like Clark Kent to Superman! Perverted girl will probably have an aneurism…

"Senpai, I know that I am completely irresistible, but please refrain from falling for me," Kyoya drawled, his silver glasses shining brightly in the sunlight, but not bright enough to hide the mischief in his gray eyes. Damn him!

"Du Arschloch! I'm falling on you," I growled darkly at him, hands already reaching for his neck to strangle the living stuffing out of him because – well, that would wipe that stupid smirk off of his face, would it not? "Not for you!"

"Oh! Hello, Mori-senpai!" My youngest brother cheerfully greeted, his voice carrying from the other side of the apartment. Apparently, Kaoru disappeared from the table and reappeared at the front entrance to hold the door open as a new person asked for permission to enter; been taking ninja lessons from Mitsukuni, apparently!

"You're just in time for the show!" Hikaru exclaimed in laughter, lifting his left hand in a wave, before slowly fixing his Cheshire Cat Grin on my pale and panicked face. "Sammy-nee-chan is giving Kyoya-senpai free lap dances!"

"WHAT?!" Takashi sharply demanded, his normally stoic expression darkening with shades of black anger, and turned to glower at the abnormally pale Shadow King. He opened his mouth, started forward to move my smaller form from his lap, and then –

BAM!

***Author's Note***

Oh, Gosh! I'm sorry! I struggled with this one. I tried writing it in Mori's POV, since it's been forever since his last chapter, but I couldn't get it done the way it needed to be done. I scrapped this chapter about five times before I switched back to Sammy. Takashi will star in the next two chapters, though! I promise!

Anyway, I have to get to sleep 'cuz I work early tomorrow. Not much time for chit chatty stuff, except...

Question: Caleb is homosexual. Do you want to pair him with someone? Yes or no? If yes, who?

Please Read and Review! :D

(Update = 668 Reviews)

'Night! :)