Chapter Seventy-Two: Trouble in Candyland

Yuki's POV

"So then he's a friend of Haruhi's from middle school, huh?" Kyoya asked. We were sitting with Takashi, Reiko, and Hunny. Hana was still sleeping and Sumi was working. Tamaki was ripping up paper in the corner. We kind of had nothing to do at the moment.

"They've had no contact since middle school, so in my opinion, they're not friends, just former classmates." Hikaru scoffed.

"If I didn't know you better Hikaru, I'd say you were jealous." I commented

Hikaru turned around peeved, "Say that again."

"You're jealous." I repeated in simpler terms, "Green with envy. You like her, so you don't like him."

"Don't make the situation worse." Kyoya warned.

"Someone should tell him, he's been acting like an ass since the dude and Haruhi started talking." Reiko replied.

Instead of replying to me, Hikaru called out to Haruhi and said she should be working instead of talking to the produce guy.

"What's with him?" Hikaru asked, "He's trying to use the refreshing innocence approach."

"He's not trying anything." I replied, "He's acting like he likes her."

"He is trying to be refreshing." He retorted, "And someone should tell him we already had a refreshment contest."

"You're being unusually critical." Kyoya commented.

"I'm just saying it's obvious this guy has a thing for Haruhi." He replied loud enough for them to hear him. "It's sickening to watch him try to flirt."

"Hikaru, what's wrong with you?" Haruhi demanded, "Quit acting like such a jerk!"

"It's alright." The produce guy laughed it off, "It's no big deal, he's right I did have a thing for you once."

Hikaru and Tamaki looked at him shocked. Two guys who are after one girl and have been for a while meeting a dude who used to have a crush on her, this was going to end well.

"But who cares?" The produce guy continued, "You already turned me down, right?"

Tamaki, Hunny, and Haruhi looked at him shocked. Takashi and Kyoya looked at him blankly.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Kyoya asked her.

"You're the one who turned him down, you shouldn't be surprised." I told her.

"Well, I didn't know." Haruhi replied.

"How would you not know?" Reiko asked her.

"Actually, it's possible." I replied, remembering one dude I had turned down and I thought he was asking me as a friend and he wanted to be more, and well long story short, I haven't heard from him since, not that I really liked him anyway.

"You have to fill us in on this story, Arai, now when did this happen?" Tamaki asked him. Arai, the produce guy, told him what happened. I started laughing, the more I thought about it the funnier it got. The guys looked at her as if she were serious. Haruhi looked shocked.

"Haruhi…" Kyoya said to get her attention, "You broke this innocent man's heart, just to get a laugh from some sick joke?"

Kyoya, Takashi, and Hunny started to interrogate her.

"No…" She replied.

"This crime was pretty serious huh?" Hunny asked as Haruhi tried to explain. Takashi nodded. If I didn't find this situation funny, I probably would have helped her. I'm happy just to let it play out. She apologized to Arai, the produce guy.

"So you're turning me down again a whole year later?" He laughed and told her not to worry about it. He was over it. He started to talk about how he was drawn to her and I started to find boring.

"So, we still on for that movie tomorrow?" I asked Reiko.

"Yeah, you, me, Sumi, and Kimi; Haruhi didn't want to see it." Reiko replied.

"I still don't get how she could not like Marvel." I replied, shaking my head, "Now better question, what do you want to do for your bachelorette party?"

"Um, you remember the scene from Princess Diaries 2?"

"I know I'm amazing, but I don't think I will be able to get mattress surfing, as fun as it would be."

"I just want the sleepover."

"Oh, that I can do, how epic a sleepover?" I asked her, "Just movies and talking, pick and choose, or anything and everything?"

"Pick and choose."

"Okay." I took out my phone and started to make a list, "Um, movies?"

"A couple."

"Truth or dare?"

"I've actually never played that."

"Okay, that's going on the list." I typed it in, "Cards Against Humanity?"

"I like that game."

"It would take up most of our night, but what about a scavenger hunt?"

"Yes." She smiled, "But wait, how do we do the list?"

"How crazy do you want it?"

"I want crazy."

"Then Hikaru and Kaoru are writing the list, they owe me a favor, well two, but they'll do it." I replied, before seeing Haruhi slap Hikaru, "Do you know why she did that?"

"I think she got tired of him insulting her friend."

"The produce guy?"

"Yeah." Reiko nodded. Haruhi and Hikaru yelled at each other, Hikaru ran upstairs upset, and Kaoru chased after him. Haruhi watched them surprised.

"Their world is still so small." Tamaki commented, "It's such a shame."

When Arai, the produce guy, left, Haruhi and most of the guys saw him off; Kaoru dressed as Hikaru came downstairs.

"Kaoru, why are you dressed as Hikaru?" I asked.

"I'm gonna go apologize to Arai for Hikaru."

"You mean as Hikaru?"

"Yeah."

"Does Hikaru know why he did that?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Was I right earlier why?"

"Yeah." He nodded and went out to go apologize.

When Kimi came back from the errands she had been running, she was pissed.

"What happened to you?" I asked her.

"Kaoru asked Haruhi out and she said yes." Kimi replied angrily, "He's dating me. He's my boyfriend! He shouldn't be asking anyone out, especially her!"

"Kimi, I only ask this because I love you and I care, does he know that you're mutually exclusive?" I asked her, "Have you two talked about that?"

"No." She shook her head crying.

"So what'd you do?" I asked her.

"I told him if he was going to date other girls he wasn't going to date me."

"You broke up with him?" I asked shocked, usually she listens to what he has to say, "What did he say?"

"I didn't give him the chance to say anything." She replied.

When Kaoru and everyone else came in, she went upstairs.

"You're an idiot." I told Kaoru, before looking at Haruhi, "And you, what the hell is wrong with you? You don't agree to date your friends' boyfriends, that goes against everything in girl code. I know the guys put you up on a pedestal which frankly you don't deserve, but every one of the guys do it, and when you're around, they barely know the rest of us exist. And because of you now, I have to go help Kimiko, you remember her right? She got her heart broken because of you." I looked to Kaoru, "And you, I have not forgotten about you, I am still beyond pissed at you," I looked back to Haruhi, "but angrier with you. You don't do that to someone, especially not someone you call a friend." I ran upstairs after Kimi.

Reiko's POV

"I didn't know she still felt that way." Kyoya sighed.

"We all do from time to time, even Sumi and I do once in a while, and our relationships are more solid than theirs are, Kimi had no clue where she and Kaoru were at in there relationship and Yuki can't stay, she leaves in a year, she only has one more year before she has to say goodbye to all of you, and she can't come back, so that does affect how she thinks about her relationship not only with Kyoya, but Tamaki and her friends as well. So when they see the way Haruhi is treated, it hurts. It's like a dull pain you get used to after a while and I don't think you guys notice you do it and Haruhi's so used to it, she probably doesn't notice she's still treated differently than we are when we're all together, and that's okay. Sometimes people we love, through no fault of their own, can't see past the ends of their noses." I explained, "I'm not going to pretend to know what just happened, and I'm not going to take sides, but I do know that because of whatever just happened, two people are hurting, one more out of sympathy, but still they're both upset. I don't know what's really going on, but I do know that if it genuinely hurts the people you care about, it can't be any good." I went to check on Yuki and Kimi. With Yuki's temper and Kimi's heartache, they would probably need something rational.

Sumi's POV

'Did I miss something?' I thought when I came into the dining room.

"Hey, there's Sumi, we could ask her." Tamaki stated.

'I think I might have walked in at the wrong time.'

"Ask me what?" I asked him.

"Do we treat Haruhi differently from the rest of you girls?" Tamaki asked.

"I'm not there every day anymore, I don't know." I replied.

"Did we when you were?"

"Yeah, even she knows that." I gestured to Haruhi, "Why?"

They all started to explain what happened. I just looked down, shaking my head.

"Wow." I replied after they finished, I didn't know what else to say that hadn't already been said, "I'm just wondering, if all of you were caught up in this, who's been watching Hana while I've been gone?"

` They all looked at me blankly.

"Seriously?" I groaned and went to find Hana.

When I found her, she was fine. She was playing Candyland by herself.

"Want someone to play with?" I asked her. She looked up at me surprised and ran over to me smiling. I picked her up. "How long have you been in here?"

"A couple of hours."

"I have the rest of the day off, how about we go get some pizza, and maybe some ice cream, and then we do whatever you want for the rest of the day, whether it be staying here and playing Candyland, or going to see a movie, or whatever." I suggested.

"Can Kashi come to?"

"If you want him to." I replied, "Go ask him." I set her down and she went to ask Takashi. I picked up the game and went to join her. Takashi agreed to come and we left.