First off, uyay is an amazing beta. Go look her up. Like right now. She's awesome.

Now on to the chapter!

Haruhi sprinted down the corridor looking for a way out. She felt her tight shirt tug at her sides and start to ride up but she ignored it and kept sprinting. Her shorts pulled at the extension of her legs, but yet again, Haruhi didn't worry about stretching or tearing her pants, focusing entirely on the empty hallway before her. Behind her, she heard heavy footsteps getting closer. The footsteps echoed off the walls, frightening Haruhi to her very core. She ran faster, trying to get away.

"Oh come on, Haruhi!" he called. "Stay with me!"

Haruhi didn't reply. Instead, she tried to run faster but her thighs started to burn and her side started to protest. No, she screamed at herself when she slowed down. Faster! Faster! Her body failed to listen to her. Her feet were slowing down against her will.

"Haruhi!" the stalker called again.

Haruhi had no recollection of how she got in this position, running from this man. She just woke up, saw the stalker, and ran out the door and now down the hallway. She saw no end in sight, and there were no doors to slip into. She had no idea where she was or how to get out of there.

"Haruhi!" The man was getting closer.

Panic caused adrenaline to spread through Haruhi's body, making her run even faster. Her pace sped up and she shouted, "Leave me alone!"

The stalker didn't reply. They raced for several long moments in silence until Haruhi felt his presence right behind her. She tried to increase her speed but had no energy left. A body crashed into Haruhi's back, sending both of them to the floor.

Haruhi struggled to get up but the body on top of her kept her pinned to the floor. "Let me up!" she demanded.

The stalker straddled Haruhi's waist and forced her hands above her head. Haruhi felt the overwhelming anxiety flare up at the fact she was caught and in complete submission to the stalker. Her worst nightmare just came true. She looked up at her attacker, dreading what was to come, and was shocked to find he had no facial features. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. Just a blank face. Haruhi opened her mouth to scream and…

She woke up, gasping for breath. Haruhi sat straight up in bed, the blankets wound around her body. A cold sweat covered Haruhi as she remembered that she was fine and was safe inside the Haninozuka mansion. Haruhi flopped back down and took several deep breaths, her eyes shut tight trying to force herself to calm down. After a couple moments of the blank face of her mind, she sat up and turned on the lamp beside her bed. She reached for the novel on her night side table and opened it up to her bookmark.

It would be another sleepless night.

Mori and Honey were in Honey's room after school. The host club had been cancelled due to 'unforeseeable circumstances', or however Kyoya had put it. The club had all gone to their own homes to think of possible threats to Haruhi and possible stalkers. Said girl was downstairs eating dinner while Honey packed for his brief outing with his father and mother.

"Mitsukuni, how long will you be gone?" Mori asked his cousin as Honey gathered his bags.

Honey shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I'll be back before midnight."

"I should come with you," Mori repeated as Honey walked out the door of his room and started down the hall. They had gone over this point a multitude of times, ever since Honey had informed Mori of the time he would be gone. Mori ran to catch up with his cousin.

"We've been over this!" Honey said. "You need to stay here and protect Haru-chan. I can take care of myself."

Mori sighed. "Mitsukuni-"

"No Takashi!" Honey insisted, coming to a halt in the middle of the hallway. "Every year, the Haninozuka's meet as a family. We do not need the Morinozuka's to follow us everywhere."

"What about Usa-chan?" Mori tried.

Honey started walking again. "She's in my bag."

"What about-"

"Takashi! Enough!" Honey ordered in his serious voice.

Mori, unable to refuse Honey, kept silent and followed Honey downstairs. Honey walked into the kitchen and greeted Haruhi, "Haru-chan! How are you?"

Haruhi started and raised her head from the table. She had almost fallen asleep with her head laying on the kitchen table. "Great," she muttered. "And you?"

Honey grinned. "I'm doing great." He donned his innocent face. "Haru-chan, I have to leave to take care of some family business. Takashi will stay with you though."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "Family business?"

"It's about the family heirs and whatnot. They are always boring but as current heir, I am required to go, sadly," Honey moped. After a moment of thought, he brightened considerably and said, "But I'll be back before midnight so you and Takashi will have the mansion to yourselves!"

Haruhi looked at the ground hoping to hide her blush. "Sounds great!"

Honey nodded and checked his watch. "I have to leave but since it's already after dinner, the servants have gone home. If you get hungry, then you'll have to fix something yourselves."

Mori nodded and Haruhi bowed. Honey grinned and left, praying that his plan would work.

…..~…..

Mori watched as Haruhi nearly fell asleep at the table. It had barely been five minutes since Honey had left and Haruhi was struggling to stay awake. Just as her head started to droop, he worked up the courage to ask, "Would you like to watch a movie?"

Haruhi opened her eyes sleepily to gaze at Mori. Mori willed himself not to blush or cower at her adorable gaze. Luckily, Haruhi nodded quickly and said, "Sure, Mori-senpai."

Mori turned around and left the kitchen quickly, heading for the movie room. Haruhi followed close behind, but had to jog at frequent intervals to keep up with Mori's long strides. The walk (and intermittent jogging) took less than a minute and soon, they found themselves inside the familiar movie room.

Mori immediately walked to the back of the room and skimmed over the movies. Haruhi remained at the door as the memories came flooding back to her.

Waking up with a hand clamped over her mouth…

The rough, strong hands slowly removing her from Mori and Honey's touch and dragging her towards the door….

And Haruhi helpless to stop him.

"Mori-senpai," Haruhi started uncertainly. She hated to sound weak and pathetic but there was no way she could spend more than ten minutes in that cursed room.

Mori's head snapped up at his name and he made eye contact with Haruhi. At her uneasy gaze, he immediately pieced together what was happening and strode quickly to the door. "Come on," he instructed placing a guiding hand on Haruhi's shoulder.

"Where are we going?" Haruhi asked as Mori led her down the hallway.

Mori looked ahead, avoiding eye contact. "The living room. It has a nice TV and an online movie selection."

Haruhi nodded and followed Mori silently for a moment. Just before they reached the living room, Haruhi murmured, "Thank you."

Mori nodded mutely and led Haruhi to the couch. Once he had her properly seated with her feet up, he walked to the TV and turned it on. "What movie were you thinking?"

Haruhi shifted on the couch and pulled a soft blanket off the arm of the couch. She spread it over her legs and torso and said, "It doesn't matter to me. You pick."

Mori looked back at Haruhi with a raised eyebrow. "Um, are you sure?"

"Of course," Haruhi said. "I trust you."

Mori turned around to her, looking startled. Haruhi never admitted to trusting anyone.

At Mori's startled look, Haruhi continued embarrassingly, "I mean, I trust your opinion." Haruhi thought over her words and continued in a rush, "Not that I don't trust you, because I do. A lot more than any of the other club members but they can't really be trusted with anything. But-"

"Thanks," Mori said with a smile, cutting off Haruhi's ramblings.

Haruhi blushed and turned away from Mori's knowing smile. She knew whenever she got nervous (mainly around her crush), she started to ramble. It was completely out of character and no matter how hard she tried, she still always rambled. Luckily for her, it was very rare when she got nervous.

Mori scanned through movie titles before stopping on one of the last. "This one is pretty good. I watched it with Mitsukuni last weekend."

The movie started to load and Mori sat on the couch. He made sure to put a respectful distance between him and Mori. "What's the movie?" Haruhi asked curiously as the loading bar passed 50%.

"An American movie called Men in Black."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "English?"

"Just give it a chance. It's pretty good," Mori answered as the loading finished.

Haruhi nodded. "Okay," she agreed.

….~…..

Despite Mori's greatest efforts, he found himself moving closer and closer to Haruhi as the credits started to roll. Haruhi didn't seem to notice so Mori moved until their sides were almost touching.

Haruhi didn't even glance towards him.

Relieved, Mori settled back into the couch, stretching his legs and extending his arms behind him. With the inhale, he brought his arms back in and put his feet up on the leg stand in front of the couch. Mori watched the opening scene play and a thought resounded through his head: you are watching a movie with Haruhi! Mori's breath caught. His crush. The only girl that had ever brought the kendo champion to his knees (figuratively of course) was sitting right beside him.

Mori's heart rate increase exponentially and he had to bite his lip to keep from losing control completely. I should not be affected so much by her! Mori thought to himself. She's only a girl, just a girl. But somehow, Mori knew Haruhi just wasn't a girl. She was 'the' girl.

Great, now he was getting sentimental. Just what he needed.

Mori took a deep breath and glanced at Haruhi, trying to sneak a glance. To his surprise, Haruhi was already looking at him. When he made eye contact, her eyes widened and she looked away quickly.

This did nothing to help Mori.

He was so nervous and now he had no idea if Haruhi had been staring at him. And if she had, was it because she had noticed his panic? Oh no… Mori's heart sank. Maybe she doesn't even want to watch a movie with me…

With this depressing thought on mind, Mori said quietly, "You know, you don't have to watch a movie with me."

"No!" Haruhi said firmly, turning to look at him. Her eyes were filled with indignant wonder. Mori gawked openly at her firm response. At his look, Haruhi's indignation faded into partial embarrassment and partial wonder. Mori thought he saw a hint of blush on her cheeks. "I want to watch a movie with you," she added, relaxed and composed.

Mori nodded and turned back to the screen, unable to look at Haruhi any longer. Just one more moment and he felt like he would self-combust.

…~…

Even after Haruhi had been caught staring at Mori, she felt her gaze drifting back to him again and again. Each time she forced it away and back to the screen. After the tenth time, she rested her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

Even with the voices on screen, she felt the sleepless night catch up with her and before she knew it, she was drifting off to sleep.

…..~…

Mori felt a familiar body fall against his side. He looked down and saw a peaceful, sleeping Haruhi leaning on him. She must be tired, Mori thought. After all, she almost fell asleep at the table. A voice deep down inside him hinted that he secretly wanted her to fall asleep on him but he shook it off as being tired.

Mori took a moment to admire her before putting his arm around her and pulling her closer towards him, adjusting both of their body positions. Mori extended Haruhi's blanket to cover his legs and felt Haruhi shift under his touch.

Don't wake up, don't wake up, please don't wake up, Mori chanted to himself, holding his breath.

Haruhi merely stretched her arm across Mori's waist and buried her face into his side before becoming motionless once more.

Mori let go of the breath he had been holding and felt his body relax. Haruhi's touch seemed to relax Mori's senses and he felt himself adjust their positions so he was protecting Haruhi with his arm. By 'protecting,' Mori tightened his arm around Haruhi, bringing her closer to his chest.

Haruhi settled into the tighter embrace and sighed in what Mori hoped was contentment. Mori looked at her once more before turning his gaze back to the movie.

He made a promise to himself not to fall asleep and to wait for Honey to get home. Intently, Mori watched the screen for the next two hours with the comforting warmth of Haruhi at his side. Just when the movie had reached its climax, Mori heard the door open and close, followed by small footsteps which Mori immediately recognized to be Honey's.

Haruhi was still in his arms and he thought quickly of how to explain it to Honey. Sadly, he came up with nothing and Honey appeared at the doorway with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Whatcha doing, Takashi?" Honey said with a fake innocence.

Mori blushed and hoped it didn't show in the dim light. "Um…"

"Is Haru-chan sleeping?" Honey continued.

Mori looked down at the sleeping girl and smiled subtly. "Yeah."

Honey hid a grin and checked his watch. "Well, it's past midnight. You should take her to bed."

Mori's eyes widened. "What?" he asked, partially horrified. "Wake her up?"

Honey rolled his eyes. "Of course not! Carry her up to her bedroom!"

Mori nearly choked. "Huh?" he managed.

"Carry her! It's not like you haven't before." Honey yawned. "I'm going to bed with Usa-chan. I'll see you tomorrow."

Before Mori could form a response, Honey shuffled out of the room, dragging Usa-chan behind him. Mori watched where Honey had disappeared and scoffed silently to himself. "Carry Haruhi?" he mumbled quietly to himself. He had carried her before, like Honey said, but that was when he was still unaware of his feelings for her. Now that he knew he liked her, it had taken on a whole new meaning.

Haruhi sighed in her sleep and Mori looked down at her, smiling despite himself. Mori turned towards Haruhi so he could fit his other arm under Haruhi's legs. With a great deal of care, he stood and shifted Haruhi in his arms. Haruhi was barely heavier than Honey and was no problem for Mori to lift and carry through the hallways. Haruhi laid limp in his arms and Mori headed towards the stairs.

Mori moved sideways through the door, careful not to bump either Haruhi's head or feet on the door. He continued to and up the stairs until finally reaching Haruhi's door. Twisting his body, Mori opened the door and entered backwards. Turning around he reached Haruhi's bed and lowered Haruhi carefully.

Straightening up, Mori looked down at Haruhi and smiled. She's so beautiful…

Snapping out of his trance, Mori pulled the blanket up over Haruhi and pet her hair down. "I love you," he murmured. Before he could think over the idea, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Haruhi's forehead. He stood and started to walk towards the door.

Haruhi sighed and rolled over. She murmured in her sleep.

Mori stopped and turned around, reluctant to believe what he heard. His eyes followed Haruhi as she turned back over.

Again, she murmured, "Mori…"

Mori turned back around with a large smile on his face. He left the room, shutting the door gently and walked to his room, the grin still on face.