Speak Now

Prologue

Hikaru fell in love.

The depressing thing was, is that the very moment he realized it, his heart that suddenly felt so full, was quickly ripped away from him and torn in two.

It'd happened so fast he barely had time to relish in that sweet, fleeting feeling that almost made him light on his feet, before he was knocked over on his hands and kicked while he was down.

It'd happened so fast, that he'd laid his chin on her shoulder and inhaled with a smile, then exhaled the same breath with a sigh.

He urged her forward, hands on her shoulders, shoving her towards the direction of that blubbering blonde idiot he unfortunately called his best friend.

He fell in love, the same moment Mrs. Anne-Sophie's plane happened to fly over their heads and muffle the single painful sob that escaped him, before he could muffle it behind his sleeve.

When the dust from the pavement settled and he watched from the window of the lobby as they held each other and confessed every ounce of buried feelings to each other, Hikaru knew he was in love, because Haruhi Fujioka broke his heart.

Then the feeling slowly started to come back to his knees when Kaoru gave a hearty pat to his shoulder that almost sent him bundling forward and whispered in his ear that it was over. "It's over. It's over, Hikaru. Your work paid off. You did it."

I did it.

The irony of that.

And just a day passed before he was forced back into their normal. What was supposed to be his normal. When the Host Club's doors opened after surviving disbandment, and they had to host together, smile together, laugh together, while he had to bury his feelings by himself. While he was stuck at a crossroad, struggling between feeling sorry for himself, and being happy for his friends, who were so obviously in love.

It was like a tiny man was doing somersaults in the pit of his stomach, threatening to make him sick. He was lucky that his primary job was keeping all eyes on his brother, and he could milk him of all the distraction he could until the bell rang and they could go home.

Is what he hoped, before Haruhi suddenly took his hand and made him face her, rosy cheeks cupped with white silk and pearls. Eyes bursting with something he'd never quite seem on her before. Something of warmth and fondness. Complete and utter adoration.

"What's that girly look for?" he teased.

Haruhi ignored that, dimples appearing at each end of her glossy lips. That shade of pink suited her.

"There's this really weird feeling in my chest," she said, as her fingers touched the place just above her heart. "I feel weirdly at peace."

"I had no idea it could feel like this," she added after he turned away, lips tightening, but her expression didn't falter. "And it's all because of you that I was able to tell him how I felt. I don't what I would have done without you."

Hikaru scoffed, wishing his dumb cosplay had pockets so he had something to do with his hands. A distraction. "Obviously. I'm the best."

Then she looked on somewhere, looking at nothing in particular as she let out a soft, sort of sad sigh.

He tweaked his brow, looking away from Tamaki as he looked into the eyes of some gushing fangirl, telling his exaggerated, more romantic version of how he and Haruhi confessed, and that, despite the popular belief within the host club, he was actually the one who confessed first.

Liar.

"So." She breathed.

"...So?"

"You're going to Spain?" She said. It was kind of sudden that he and Kaoru decided that. Especially right after declaring they'd all go to Boston with her.

"Seems so," he nodded thoughtfully. "What's with that tone? You're not going to - dare I say - miss me, will you?"

She smirked, directing her eyes to the buffet table, where they'd laid a gourmet of food made by a chef Kyoya had hired straight from Greece. She had yet to try any. "I was just thinking. It's hard to believe that a month from now, we'll all be thousands of miles away."

Truly. They'd all tried to so hard to keep the Host Club, and now they were breaking up and going abroad.

"You're so going to miss me." He decided.

She hesitated. "I guess I will... What will you do?"

"You're not the only one with dreams and ambitions," she flinched when he jabbed his finger between her eyes, and stuck out his tongue. "Sure, we can't all be top notch lawyers, but I'll try to keep up with you."

She nodded slowly, seeming to be in deep thought once something over took her mind. Then she looked back at him, brow furrowed, and her tiny hand clenched in such a tight fist. Suddenly bursting with so much serious determination he almost couldn't laugh.

"Let's do our best then," She said. "No matter what. Even if things don't go the way we plan, let's make the most of it."

He was quiet for a moment, watching her eyes, unmoving, her shimmer of her lips, every dimple twitch. He almost forgot what she was saying. But then he grinned, mimicking her stance and bumped the side of his fist against her's.

"I'll hold you to it." He said. "Fujioka."

Then she smiled the kind of smile he could drown in. So simple. So, so beautiful.

"Don't be stupid while I'm gone, Hitachiin."

"You drive a hard bargain."

Then they were silent. As noise arouse within the club and they were left in the background, their hands slowly coming entwined. Unspoken feelings and fears mutual between them. But neither admitting. That growing up was right around the corner. That leaving was scary. The shared, sad realization that they were going to be okay without them but being not so sure that they'd be okay without them.

And the feeling of her small hand slipping away from him, as she pulled away to be closer to Tamaki as he gestured to her from a distance told Hikaru that he'd have to go much further than Spain to truly let go.

A\N Welcome to the freshly rewritten version of Speak Now ! After the first version was posted in 2016 I'm very excited to share this story with everyone again! Now in 2020. I feel strongly about it this time and I hope this newfound inspiration will finally show a finished outcome. This time around I want to bring more authentic characters. And a more authentic Host Club, and I hope you enjoy this new journey with me. - Thank you for reading! And again, all constructive criticism is appreciated.