Lina and Skip have not spoken to me for several days, and honestly, it has become quite annoying. Who are they to ignore me? I didn't even do anything wrong. Skip was the one who touched me without my permission, who cares if I raised my voice at her. She deserved it. Also what gives Lina the right to not even speak to me? I see where her loyalty lies. I thought subjects were supposed to be loyal to their royalty? Then I couldn't help giggling under my breath. I didn't really just think that.

Oh well, it is nice to get some privacy for once. Even Kyoya was leaving me alone and it was a breath of fresh air. These past few days were quiet and peaceful. I wonder if I could be my true self, would every day be like this? The idea was a comforting one, but that's all it was a simple idea. Sighing, I pulled out my bento box. Again, I was eating outside in the garden alone. I didn't dare sit at the cafeteria and be seen like this. Lina and Skip would be there and I didn't need to be reminded by their harsh glares. Having lunch outdoors was relaxing and I should be doing this much more often. Today I was having shrimp rice balls with pickled fruit slices. Anyone would think my lunch was rather small but Mother always said small meals meant small figures.

Midway through my lunch, I heard students coming this way. I wasn't bothered by it as many couples come by here during lunch to get away. It was best to ignore them and continue eating. Not bothering to look up, I picked up a pickled orange slice and slipped it into my mouth, letting the sweet and bitter juices fill me. Then a shadow overcast me, forcing me to look up what blocked the light. Standing in front of me was Haruhi, a soft smile on her face. She was wearing her male uniform. Ever since that day in the locker room, I've noticed she always looked like a Host member. No wonder people confused her for being a guy, I did. Haruhi always chose to wear the male uniform over the yellow dress females had to wear. If I could choose, I would be in the male uniform.

"Hello," She gave me a soft smile.

Avoiding her gaze, "Hello."

Ever since the locker room incident, it was hard to meet her gaze. She saw a very vulnerable part of me, even though she bought the lie I provided to her. Haruhi had no idea what my true identity was, she simply thought I was just trying to have a huge chest to please others. That part could be true. The persona I showed everyone was trying to please everyone, my chest was a factor in it. The very thought of Haruhi seeing me that evening shook me to my core. What if she didn't believe me and just kept her mouth shut to my truth. What was she trying to gain?

"You like oranges?" Haruhi commented, pointing her slender finger towards my bento box.

Looking closer at her features, I wanted to slap myself for ignoring the obvious. If you looked at her, you could see she had a rather feminine face and figure. Gazing at her face, her long lashes hooded her chocolate eyes. Her skin was smooth and had a slightly dewy touch, complementing her white complexion. Even her hair was silky and shined from the sun above us. Everything about her screamed she was a girl underneath the uniform. How could I have been so blind?

Going back to her question, trying to hide the fact I was looking at her face for longer than I would have liked. I picked an orange up with my chopsticks, bringing them to my lips. "Yes, I am a fan of fruit." popping the small slice into my mouth, I sighed.

Haruhi opened her bento box, it was rather simple. It was an egg sandwich, perfectly cut and packed into the box. Around it was some cabbage and on the side was sliced melon. She picked up a piece of melon, taking a bite. This brought a delighted smile to her face. "Fruit is tasty."

We continued to eat our lunches in silence, but it was a peaceful one. Watching the petals around us fall from the trees only aided in the beauty around us. This was nice if only every day could be like this. Without realizing it my eyes observed as a small pink petal landed on top of Haruhi's hair. She didn't notice as she took a bite out of her sandwich. My hands moved on their own as I plucked the petal from her soft locks. Her deep brown eyes landed on mine and she laughed.

"Thank you." Her voice trailed as my mind went somewhere else.

What if every day could be like this?

In the garden, surrounded by the trees and flowers. To eat lunch without a worry in the world. To sit here and enjoy the silence of the world around us. Us? Perhaps, the piece missing in this perfect little dream was her, Haruhi. Is this what it felt like to have someone near you, that maybe, you could call a friend? It was nice, the feeling it filled me was like I was floating. I never wanted to come down.

"Yuki?" She tilted her head.

Coming back into reality I blushed profusely, instantly looking away from her. "I'm sorry, my mind is elsewhere."

"Thinking about the test later?" She added in.

We had a test in a class we shared this afternoon. It was the class I shared with Skip and Lina. I did not look forward to seeing them over everything else, the test would be a breeze as I always stayed on top of my academics. The looks I was going to receive from the two girls would be worse than any test I could take. Their eyes were full of malice and disgust of what I had done to Skip was unforgivable to them.

However, I would not let Haruhi know my true thoughts. "Yes, how did you know." I lied.

"You always have a serious face when you take your test." She laughed, "I assume you take them very seriously."

I had to take them seriously. Mother would have it no other way. If I was to fail my classes, then her image of the perfect princess would fall apart. Not only are princesses beautiful but they must also be intelligent. Luckily, sticking to my studies was never an issue. I caught onto the material with ease and rarely had to question the teacher. Mother also made me study quite often, even if I didn't need to. Then the thought of Haruhi watching me during class made a blush creep onto my cheeks. Why would she be watching me?

I felt her soft touch against my cheeks, causing me to flinch back. "Are you alright?" She asked with concern, "Your face is getting red."

I couldn't hold my tongue, "You touching me isn't helping!" This caused me to cover my mouth. It was not like me to speak out of character. What is it with Host members making me act up? I quickly recovered, clearing my throat. "I apologize for raising my tone."

Haruhi wasn't upset at all, "You're fine. I should have asked instead of just touching you."

"No, I shouldn't have acted out like that. It was very unladylike of me. I have always had an issue with others touching me. It makes me uncomfortable." I spoke, my gaze towards my shoes. She gave me an understanding gaze. "Maybe I should have reacted differently also when Skip touched me in the locker room." Haruhi's silence was like a cue for me to continue. "I know you heard me yell, everyone in the locker room did. Skip was just playing around like she always does but I took it too seriously. I lashed out at her and now she hasn't spoken a word to me."

"I didn't see what she did to you," Haruhi spoke up. "However, I didn't need to, to understand that you must have been uncomfortable. No matter what the situation is, it's not your fault you were upset. Everyone is allowed to have boundaries."

I shot my eyes at her, speechless on what she said. In my head, I continued to think that my lashing out was not my fault and in a way, Haruhi was agreeing with that. She was saying that me getting upset was okay, Skip crossed the line, by doing that I had every right to be upset. A few more moments of me spewing my worries, I would have thought I was in the wrong and would have felt guilty.

"Nice to know I had a right to yell at her," I sighed with relief.

Haruhi furrowed her brow, "Now I wouldn't say yelling was the right thing to do either. Getting upset is understandable but she is your friend, right? Perhaps, you could have handled the situation differently."

Would I call Skip my friend? I've known her for quite some time but I feel like our friendship is more for our personal gain. Being around her gives me a following and boosts my image, Skip being around me allows her to be a part of the popular crowd. Thinking over our current relationship, have we ever done anything together that could be described as friends? At school, she and I are always around each other and do everything, along with Lina. Part of me wondered what it would be like if we three were actually close. Not just around one another to gain something. Then I remember how they actually are, they don't let it slip often. Skip is a rather aggressive person who often likes to push boundaries. Lina is actually a coward who runs at the first sign of conflict, she has no loyalty to anyone and follows who is least likely to lose. Would I truly want to be friends with people like that? Then I remembered I'm not any better.

"You're right. I will think this over." I decided I was done talking about this subject.

Haruhi got the message and we started talking about other things.

Before I knew it this afternoon test was over. Sitting at my desk, I watched as another student gathered up the papers and returned them to the professor. Behind me was Skip and to my left was Lina. Neither of them gazed in my direction this whole class period and I the same. Lina and Skip tried talking to one another like I didn't even exist. At the back of the class was Haruhi who was staring out the window, her brown eyes reflecting the blue sky. At the back of the class but on the opposite end was Rin. The professor looked other the test and excused himself for a minute. This allowed the class to talk freely and roam around.

Lina fleed to Skip's desk like the coward she was, not wanting to be so close to me. The two then went to the back of the classroom. Remaining at my desk, not bothering to see what they were up to, my gaze returned to Haruhi. She was looking over some book she had pulled out from her desk. It was small and blue, I was too far away to read the title in small gold print. Then from Rin's direction, I could hear her small pathetic voice.

"I didn't bring any." She spoke.

Skip sighed, "How many times do we have to remind you that I have to eat too."

Lina joined in, "We are your friends, right?"

Trying to ignore the scene that was playing out, I remained to stare at Haruhi. She was silent, her eyes still on her book. This was okay, just looking at her was peaceful and made it easier to not witness the obvious bullying from the two girls.

"I need it to pick up the laundry after school," Rin replied.

Skip didn't like her answer and reached towards her small school bag next to her seat. "Let us just see how much you have then."

I was content on letting the situation play out, I was not a part of it this time. Then Haruhi did something that shook me. She looked directly at me, into my blue eyes. Staring into her deep brown irises made me pale. I knew what message she was sending me. Haruhi was telling me to do something, to end the bullying. In her mind, they were my friends, surely I could get them to stop.

However, I didn't stop them. I didn't do anything. I looked away from Haruhi and returned my sight to the front of the classroom. I could hear her rise from her desk and walk to the end where Rin and the two girls were. I blocked their voices as I close my eyes, trying to ignore everything. I was trying to drown out the voice in my own head reminding me.

I was not any better.