Chapter 10: Oh, No
A few days after dress shopping, Kira found herself fending off that Benio person. Whenever she opened her email, her inbox was full of mail from the Lobelia girls. She had voicemails from them. Kira was a bit suspicious of how they got her email address and cell phone number. She didn't advertise that stuff, especially on social media. One day, she decided to confront them via phone call. Biting her lower lip, she waited as she heard the dial tone. A few rings later, Benio answered.
"Hello, Kira," the girl on the other end said in that deep voice of hers.
"Why do you keep calling me and spamming my inbox?" demanded Kira, trying to keep a lid on her anger.
"My dear girl," said Benio in a seductive tone, "I want to know if you want to transfer to Lobelia's Academy. You would fit right in with the Zuka Club."
"No," answered Kira tightly, clenching her fist. "I do not wish to transfer schools or join your misandrist club. I am perfectly happy in Ouran."
"You poor girl," sighed Benio, and Kira could imagine the girl shaking her head. "You have been brain-washed that men are superior to you. And I thought America was more evolved than that."
Kira grinded her teeth a bit before replying. "America is rather evolved, and no, I don't believe men are superior to women. No gender is better than the other. I thought I made that point a few days ago when we met in the store."
"You are so set in your ideas," remarked Benio like she never heard Kira's openly hostile tone. "I love women like you. Would you like to go out sometimes?"
Kira's eyes widened at the question. "No, I'm in a committed relationship," she replied. "I'm in love with my boyfriend. It would be cheating."
"Not if the parts are different," reasoned Benio, sounding mischievous.
"Cheating is cheating," retorted Kira before Benio could say another word. "By the way, stop calling me." With that, she hung up and threw her phone on the bed.
Kira could feel the start of a headache coming on. She rubbed her temples and took cleansing breaths. Tears of frustration burned her eyelids but she didn't let them fall. God, she was so tired of this. She loved Kyoya, but Japan was becoming too much for her. She was now a targeted by a lesbian stalker. Kira was friends with lesbians and gays at home but they respected that she was straight and had no desire for women. Benio, on the other hand, seemed to ignore that fact altogether. It was emotionally and mentally taxing.
Suddenly, her phone rang and she was jolted out of her train of thought. She picked up the device, saw that it was Kyoya, and decided to answer it.
"Hello?" she whispered wearily.
"Kira, you sound sad," remarked Kyoya, sounding a bit concerned. "What's wrong? It sounds like you've been crying."
Kira sighed as a tear trickled down her cheek. "Kyoya, can you come over?" she asked, willing her voice not to break.
"I'll come as fast as I can," he answered. "Just sit tight. Good-bye."
"Bye," she whispered, hanging up before letting her tears fall.
Kira laid on her stomach and wept into a pillow to muffle her cries. She was so tired of Benio bugging her. She was going to change her phone number when she got the chance. It was one way to resolve her issues with Benio without facing the other girl. Maybe Kyoya could help her with that. He was the tech guy in the Host Club. Hopefully, he knew about phones as much as he knew about computers.
…
A knock on the front door roused Kira and she found practically falling out of bed to answer it. She tripped down the stairs and caught herself on the door. Taking a few breaths to steady herself, she opened the door and saw Kyoya standing in front of her. She could see the look of mild shock on his face as he stared at her. She wondered how she looked to make him stare at her like that. Was her hair a complete mess? Were her clothes ruffled? Maybe he heard fall into the door.
"Hey, Kyoya," she breathed out, hurriedly brushing her hair with her fingers. "Sorry. I must have fallen asleep."
"It's no problem, Kira," he said as soft smile spread across his face. "It must be the stress of the Zuka Club." When he mentioned the Zuka Club, a shadow crossed his face, making him look a bit evil. "I have been trying to contact them, but I think they're ignoring me."
Kira took his hand in hers and led him into her house. "I've been thinking about what to do," she told him as they walked up the stairs to her bedroom. "I'm thinking of changing my phone number. Since you're the tech guy, I was wondering if there was an easy way to do it without losing all my contacts."
"Well, what is your mobile provider, Kira?" asked Kyoya, trying to sound as cool as usual. It was hard for him to do it around her because she broke through his walls, like Tamaki did.
"GTN Mobile," she replied, leading him through her open bedroom door. "Mom and Dad selected that one because the company is geared towards people who don't speak Japanese and are not natives to this country."
"The Ootori family does close work with GTN," remarked Kyoya, sitting on her bed. "GTN is primarily used by foreigners who visit Japan for a working holiday or study abroad programs."
"I thought your family worked in medicine." Kira quirked an eyebrow at him and gave him a small smile.
"The Ootoris also run health resorts," explained Kyoya, reclining on her bed. Kira couldn't but blush as she looked at him. He looked so sexy in a relaxed, casual environment. "Foreigners come to our resorts and use GTN as a mobile carrier while they are on holiday here. GTN is cheap and the plans do not have contract periods. Foreigners can also pay for the bills easily at any commoner convenient store. I'll contact GTN and have them change your number." As he said that last sentence, he pulled out his cell phone and began dialing a number.
Kira was amazed and surprised that Kyoya could contact GTN so easily. He was a fascinating boy. Was there anything he wasn't good at? He was perfection in human form. She listened as Kyoya spoke to them in Japanese and then in English. When he spoke in Japanese, he was speaking too rapidly for her to understand. It wasn't out of rudeness, per se. Japanese was Kyoya's native language. It was only natural that he would speak in such a manner.
"Kira," his voice broke her out of her thoughts, "they wish to speak to you and confirm that you want to change your phone number. You can choose which number you want."
Kira took his phone from him and held it to her ear. "Hello?" She tried not to sound shy but failed.
"Miss Grey," said the female representative on the other line in perfect English. "From the information I have received from Mr. Ootori, I am to assume to that you wish to change your mobile number."
"Yes," replied Kira, nodding even though the person on the other end couldn't see it. "I wish to change my number to—" Then, she gave the representative a number similar to the one she had now. The last two digits were 78 rather than 66.
"Very well, Miss Grey," said the representative, typing on a keyboard on the other line. "I shall alert your parents of the number change. The change is effective immediately."
Relief filled Kira and she smiled. "Thank you, ma'am," she said in a grateful tone.
"It is no trouble, Miss Grey," replied the representative, kindly. "Any friend of Kyoya Ootori is a friend of ours."
After saying the customary farewells, Kira disconnected the call and handed the phone back to Kyoya. The look she gave him made his heart skip a beat. She looked so happy and relieved. Maybe she would kiss him. He wouldn't press his advantage, though. He was a gentleman, through and through. Before he could speak, he found himself in her embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you so much, Kyoya," she said in a joyful tone. "You are a lifesaver."
Kyoya wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled warmly. His dark eyes were loving and gentle as he stared down at her. "You are very welcome, Kira," he replied softly, stroking her hair. "You can always count on me."
Kira pulled back a bit to look him in the eyes. Her face was so close to his that he could feel her breath on his lips. He ached to kiss her but restrained himself. He had to keep his composure and control. After what Kira's ex did to her, Kyoya didn't want to reopen emotional wounds. She already suffered from the loss of her unborn child. He didn't want her to experience the emotional wound she suffered during the event that conceived that doomed unborn child.
Kira flinched when Kyoya pulled away from her and schooled his face into a cool expression. "I would like to discuss the music choices for the ball," he said matter-of-factly, changing the subject.
"O-oh," stammered Kira, trying to hide that his sudden detachment hurt her feelings. "Sure. I can think of a few songs. All Through the Night by Cyndi Lauper, Never Gonna Let You Go by Sergio Mendes, and some ABBA songs like Dancing Queen, Voulez-Vous, and Man After Midnight."
Kyoya was rapidly writing down the titles and artists in his little black notebook. "Those songs are considered yesterday's hits," he remarked, tapping his pen against his chin. "Are you sure they will entice the guests?"
"Absolutely," answered Kira with a nod. "They may be old songs. However, you can never go wrong with the classic hits. Despite everyone at Ouran being Japanese, their parents heard these songs one way or another and might have exposed them to their kids. You can never fail with Journey either. Write that one down as well, Kyoya. Journey has good dancing songs like Don't Stop Believing, Anyway You Want It, and Faithfully."
Kyoya couldn't help but smile when he saw Kira speaking with such enthusiasm and animation. She had a sparkle in her eyes that he loved seeing. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she continued speaking. He wasn't entirely listening because his gaze was focused on her lips. He loved seeing them curved up in a smile, which made her cheeks flush in an enticing way.
"…Are you listening to me, Kyoya?" she asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, sorry, Kira," he replied, shaking his head as if to get the fluff out of his brain. "I was simply speechless at your beauty." He usually used that line on the Host Club girls to make them melt and fangirl.
Instead of blushing and melting, Kira began laughing. He could tell it was genuinely happy laugh and not a mocking one. "Does that line ever work?" she asked between giggles, placing her hand over her mouth to muffle her chuckles. "Don't get me wrong, Kyoya, it is charming, but please."
Kyoya had to admit that she was right. He should have been forthright with her rather than act cute. He chuckled at her and shook his head in concession. "You're right," he replied, his smile soft and loving. "I should know better than try to fool you. You are beautiful, Kira, but I was making excuses. I couldn't stop staring at your lips."
Kira's brow crinkled in bemusement. "You were staring at my lips?" she repeated, cocking her head a bit. "That explains why you looked distracted. As I was saying, we need to keep the dance tasteful and elegant but fun too. After all, our classmates are children of prestigious people. Acting like a bunch of hormone-addled brain-dead zombies won't make us look good and would reflect poorly on the school and our parents. I love my mom and dad too much to embarrass them."
"Very good points, Kira," remarked Kyoya as the two walked to sit down on the couch in the living room. "My father and I may be…strained, but I respect him too much to embarrass him. It is important to keep our ball classy. Thankfully, our classmates have been trained from birth to be classy and respectful, so we won't have any issues. They will adhere to all the rules."
Despite how catty the girls acted towards her, Kira had to agree with him. It was obvious that they were raised differently compared to her American peers. Nowadays, the mean girls stayed away from her because the Host Club took it upon themselves by acting as her bodyguards, much to her amusement. Mori intimidated them the most, she recalled with a humorous quirk of her lips, but they did leave her alone and didn't try to contact her on social media. Getting in trouble seemed to chasten them enough to keep them away from her.
"I'm looking forward to dancing with you," she said softly, smiling at Kyoya.
"Me too, my dear," replied Kyoya, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It'll be fun."
Kira nodded and snuggled against him, closing her eyes. He was right. It would be very fun, indeed.