.

Coffee Shops and Cameras

Chapter 8

Hikaru

The way she stared at him made Hikaru's stomach hurt. His chest tightened, his fists balled at his sides and his lips dried from the heavy way his breaths came and went. She looked so painfully tantalising in front of him, staring right into his eyes, with more intensity than any other person had dared before her. He found himself becoming angry just because of how much he had to control his urge to simply throw her down onto that table behind her and fuck her senseless. She filled him with the most twisted sense of arousal, partnered with his usual anger. Her body, her scent, her voice, her attitude, each and every aspect of her being ignited something so wickedly sick inside him, a combination of lust and hate. Pleasure and torture. Writhing bodies and hateful words...

But amongst the heated rage he felt, he also experienced a strange sense of enjoyment and amusement from the challenging stare Haruhi always came prepared with whenever they fought. But he knew he'd never get used to the way this woman refused to back down, the way she refused to be controlled by him. He wanted to dominate every aspect of their relationship, every conversation, every schedule. But with Haruhi, it was practically an impossibility.

When the doorbell rang, she shrugged him off, leaving him stood there against the table, staring at the empty space she had occupied. With a balled fist he slammed it down on the wooden surface. Punching away the same weakness he felt whenever Haruhi resisted his dominance. In his life he'd known many women, and never had he met one who practically matched his fight for control. Her stubbornness was starting to eat away at him. He growled low, forcing the mixture of frustration, anger and arousal out of his trembling body, until he could take a calm breath that didn't pass through clenched teeth.

The sound of voices in the hallway alerted him to the new arrivals, and he knew instantly that the group was here. Just as Kaoru and Haruhi had said. With a rough hand he rubbed his stubbled jaw, and slowly began the mental acrobats it took to prepare him for social interaction.

They entered the room just a few moments later, one by one with hesitant looks on their polished faces. Haruhi came up behind them, arms crossed, avoiding Hikaru's stare, as if she couldn't bare to look at him. Tamaki was the first to approach, his blonde hair in an uncharacteristic tangled mess, which told Hikaru that he'd obviously been stressing over this meeting all day. And rightly so. The two men weren't strangers when it came to heated arguments, and even on occasion - physical fights. But Tamaki Suoh was sensible enough, a little too 'glass half full' for Hikaru's liking, but at least he could string an intelligent sentence together.

"How are you doing?" He said, hesitance evident in his voice.

Hikaru chuckled darkly, "A little fucking pissed off"

"Look, we know what's happening and we want to help. It doesn't mean anything is different" Tamaki explained.

"This feels like a goddamn intervention. I already agreed to this bullshit with her" - Hikaru pointed over to Haruhi - "I'm making no such promise to anyone else. So back the fuck off" He could feel the anger beginning to resurface, but the words Haruhi had spoken beforehand replayed in his head - "We're doing this for your Mom". For Mom...he thought. Thinking of her made him calm down somewhat, he didn't want to bring a fight into the family house. It would kill her if she had to claw him off his friends in her own dining room.

"This isn't an intervention Hika-chan" Hani spoke up from across the room. His big brown eyes glazed over with sadness, "We want to help. Whatever Haru-chan has planned, we want to play a part in supporting that. We want you to be happy and right now we know you're not"

Hikaru grumbled and shook his head, "This is an intervention"

"Will you stop being a total asshole and listen?!" Haruhi snapped, "They're not here to make you feel bad, they're here to fucking help you" at the sound of her voice the room went uncomfortably silent. None of the men in that room aside from the twins had heard someone speak to Hikaru like that before, let alone call him an asshole to his face.

Hikaru grit his teeth, once again feeling that nag of frustration at Haruhi's enraging battle against his control, "Why? Why would you want to help me?!"

"Because we're your friends" Tamaki threw up his hands in frustration, "Does there need to be any other reason?"

"Can't we just have a civilised talk about this?" Haruhi huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. The action caused her rounded bust to lift slightly, swelling up beneath her black tank top. Hikaru tightened his jaw, gathering every ounce of strength to divert his eyes from the tantalising view.

He knew a 'civilised talk' wasn't going to be easy with a sight like that in front of him. He found himself tuning out his surroundings, leaving only Haruhi in his sights. He became bewitched by the creamy colour of her soft skin, the light dusting of freckles on her nose, the deep rich chocolate brown of her mused shoulder length hair, and the defensive strong stance she challenged him with.

With a gulp Hikaru shifted from one foot to the other, painfully ripping his gaze away from the tempting treat just 2 feet in front of him.

This wasn't going to be easy. This wasn't going to be easy at all.

Haruhi

As the men regarded Hikaru with hesitance and borderline fear, my eyes scanned the room - studying each man individually. They were nothing like I'd expected, they were too...normal, considering how Hikaru was I'd assumed they would be pretty similar to him. But instead, they were a pretty diverse bunch of 20 something year old men.

Tamaki seemed to be the leader, holding himself in the position of 'boss'. He'd greeted himself to me first, holding his hand out to shake my hand with a firm grip. He wasn't as tall as the twins, probably an inch and a half shorter, and his appearance was far less rugged and more polished and professional. He had unusually bright blue eyes and almost golden blonde hair, wearing a neat and expensive suit with a navy blue tie. He also seemed to have a permanent grin on his face, and his gaze remained fixed to mine as if he were fascinated by each and every word that left my lips.

The 3 other men introduced themselves as Kyoya, Mori and Hani. Kyoya was less enthusiastic in comparison to their group leader, he was the more serious of the bunch. Cool and collected, with dark framed glasses that only added to the mystery. And Mori and Hani were more like little and large. Mori was 7 feet of solid statuesque male, with an expressionless face that didn't give away any secrets, and Hani was a whole 5ft 8 of sugary sweetness, like a creamy sponge cake or a toffee filled lolly pop.

They seemed comfortable enough alongside the twins, which told me they weren't strangers to Hikaru's...Hikaru-ness. But the tension in the room was smothering, they stood fully guarded and spoke to Hikaru with conditioned reluctance as if they feared his savage bite. So much so that when I loudly declared him an asshole, each of the 4 men practically turned to stone - anticipating an explosion of uncontrollable rage from the older twin, who's face contorted into an expression of pure hatred and disgust at the sound of my voice.

"Hikaru, sit down" I breathed calmly, pinching the bridge of my nose. He didn't answer me, he just averted his eyes, retreating into himself as if he were trying to escape into thin air. "Okay then" I sighed, "Don't sit down. But we're not having this talk again, we've had it so many times, if it hasn't sunk in yet then I doubt it ever will. I know you don't want your friends here but they wouldn't be friends if they didn't try to help. You brought me here to lead this, now let me make the decisions that will help you"

Hikaru grit his teeth, "Fujioka-"

"From this moment onwards, you will treat your friends and me with respect, no more bullshit, no more whining like a spoilt child. If you can't bring yourself to give a shit about your family or friends then think about your career. When you sit in that interview and make a complete jackass out of yourself you'll have no one to blame but yourself for not listening to the people around you. Do you really think you'll excell if you treat the interviewer like this? Can you imagine the headlines? They will destroy you faster than you can destroy yourself – and right now, that's all you're doing, and you're too blind to see the people who care about you trying to help. Like it or not, this is happening. Now, you're going to apologise to your brother, then apologise to your friends, and then you're going to march your ungrateful ass upstairs and apologise to your mother"

As my voice faded out, echoing from the walls, the room went dead silent. Eyes bolting to me in disbelief. I stared at Hikaru, watching the rise and fall of his chest and the intense way his darkening eyes bore into mine. For a moment, he was the only person I felt in the room, connected to him by nothing more than a gaze. For a moment I could feel my heart skip a beat, and goosebumps peak every hair on my arms and the back of my neck. I shuddered, struggling to look away.

Huh, weird.

Many uncomfortable, silent seconds passed, before a sigh of defeat met my ears.

"Kao..." Hikaru palmed his jaw, "I'm sorry. I've been...a dick...of a brother"

I watched as Kaoru's mouth bobbed open silently, which told me it must have been a rarity to hear Hikaru apologise for something.

"Really?" Kaoru breathed.

Hikaru nodded, "And guys..." he trailed off, but we knew he was being sincere. The group took turns muttering their acceptance of the apology, shuffling on the spot – clearly not sure how to properly respond. Hikaru then cleared his throat and tucked his hands in his jean pockets, lowering his eyes to his feet, then finally said, "Haruhi. Thank you for...being here...to help..."

"Wow" I beamed, staring down at the portfolio in my hands, "Yuzuha these are stunning"

It was the morning after our confrontation with Hikaru, and I found myself sat with Mrs Hitachiin on the living room floor, surrounded by designs from years past to now. Some drawn by herself from back when she first began designing, but it was clear that most of the designs had been recorded by her previous artist. They were beautiful, vibrant, and captured every detail of the resulting garment, but lacked the connection Yuzuha's designs seemed to have with her work.

After the evening before, I'd left Hikaru to his own devices, hoping that the space might help him absorb all the new changes to come. I'd yet to step foot into Yuzuha's world, and decided now was a good a time as any to begin learning the ropes. So far Yuzuha had gone through previous designs with me, and guided me through drawing the style models to dress with her ideas, I thanked my lucky stars that I'd focused on proportions so much at school, the skill came in handy when putting the bodies together in so many different poses. The only thing I was struggling with however was the ability to see Yuzuha's vision detail by detail, and draw it down on paper – capturing every element she saw in her head. Apparently mind reading was required for a job like this one. Obviously.

"This is stunning" I said, focusing on a design among the piles of sketchbooks. It was a drawing of an understated scarlet red chiffon dress, floor length with a slit up the sides of each leg, and a neckline that fell over the model's shoulders, showing off the diamond jewelry Yuzuha had paired with the outfit.

"That was one of my first designs" Yuzuha smiled to herself, "In fact I don't think we even made that dress, I think we turned it into a jumpsuit"

"That's a shame" I replied, "It's breathtaking"

"We made those shoes though" She chuckled.

We remained transfixed to the designs for what felt like hours, until the sound of footsteps interrupted our trains of thought. When I glanced up from the carpet up to the door, I met the curious eyes of two identical men. For a moment I couldn't tell them apart, but the more I studied them, the clearer they became. Kaoru, who stood slightly behind Hikaru, gave a wave, then trotted inside to sit beside his mother. I smiled politely, looking from Kaoru to Hikaru – who remained motionless in the doorway. When he caught my eye, he tilted his head, almost gesturing me to approach him.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. In reply, he widened his eyes and repeated the action, nodding his head out the room towards the hallway.

Yuzuha and Kaoru were already sparking up a new conversation, so I quietly excused myself and walked out of the room down the hall away from the room, Hikaru leading the way.

"I think we need to talk" He grumbled, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Honestly Hikaru, I think we said all that needed to be said last night. I'm tired of all this fighting" I sighed.

"Me too" he sucked in a breath, "I didn't apologise last night..." he trailed off.

"And you won't" I shrugged, "I know. You're entitled to feel angry at me, you're even entitled to hate me. So lets just start again. Get to know each other first, and work on the anger issues as we go along"

He stared at me silently, then nodded his head. I could see the internal struggle he was trying to hide as he ran his hand into his unbrushed hair, it was obvious that he'd never been in a situation like this before – where he had to put practicality ahead of his anger or distaste. I could recognise the conflict he was feeling, and found myself admiring him for his efforts.

We exchanged the most meaningless and awkward small talk imaginable for all of 3 minutes, until Kaoru emerged, saving us from the uncomfortable conversation, and announced his plan for the day. He declared that today we would be meeting with their friends, the purpose being nothing more than to just welcome me into the group - to which I was somewhat surprised. This agreement didn't require me to join their buddy clique, the only person I really needed to be close to was Hikaru.

After hurriedly throwing on my sneakers, Kaoru ushered us into the waiting Maserari in a horrifying shade of orange. The car even smelled expensive, I felt as if I should have been wearing gloves to shield it from my unworthy hands. But after discovering about half a dozen empty bags of drive-thru take out strewn across the backseat, I decided that maybe my worn sneakers weren't as dirty as I'd thought.

We arrived at a domineering hotel soon after, I imagined the distance should have taken 45 minutes at the regular speed limit, but the way Kaoru sped down the highway – it felt like we'd barely been out of the estate for more than 10 minutes. I stared up at the hotel as the valet approached to take care of the car. I'd never been in this part of the city, I'd never had a reason to. Surrounding me from all angles were business men and successful career women, all dressed to the 9's in designer outfits and shoes that might as well have been made out of pure gold. I felt like a mutt among pedigrees in my blue jeans and plain white t-shirt. I swear, these people were offended just by glancing at me, and that feeling of judgement made my blood boil. I shot a dirty look at a grey haired man who grimaced at me from the sidewalk resisting the urge to flip him off. Instead, I looked up at the hotel towering overhead, it seemed to be made of pure mirrored glass, reflecting the sunshine down on the street filled with sports cars and the elite who drove them.

Kaoru appeared at my side moments later, smiling at me as if I wasn't as out of place as I felt.

"They're meeting us in the bar" he said.

"In there?" I questioned, pointing to the glass doors where a man dressed in uniform stood like a member of the royal guard.

"You have a problem with that?" Hikaru spoke up.

"Of course not, I come here all the time" I grumbled sarcastically.

We took the elevator to the 10th floor, where the entire level was dominated by the bar and restaurant. As the doors slid open, beautiful piano music met my ears. There were no walls, only windows, which gave us the most stunning view of the city below, and the tables and booths were spread evenly across the room, making the restaurant feel a mile long but still comfortable and social. I received many confused looks as I trailed inside behind Hikaru and Kaoru, who were both dressed casually but in designer brands, neat and tidy, fashionable and stylish.

"What's your poison?" Kaoru smiled, leaning over to me in the booth.

"Uh...whiskey, no ice" I replied.

"Same as Hika" he chuckled.

Kaoru excused himself to the bar, leaving Hikaru and I sat beside each other staring down at the table top in silence. I could feel the heat from his body radiating through his sweater, his arm close enough to reach out and touch. I swallowed back the unwelcomed feeling of desire and lifted my eyes to him.

"How long have you know these guys?" I asked.

He stared over at his brother, who was leaning against the bar across the room, "Since school, we were all part of an extra circular club" he replied, "Kaoru and I were the youngest, but Suoh invited us into their group anyway"

"Sounds nice" I said, "What school did you go to?"

"Ouran Academy"

I shot him an impressed look.

Of course he went to Ouran Academy, it was the most prestige school this side of Japan.

I'd dreamed of going to Ouran Academy since I'd first known about it. I remembered during the last semester of middle school I fought to the nail to seal my scholarship at Ouran, and I was so so close. But as Mom got more and more sick, my grades began slipping, and by the end of the year my application had been unsuccessful. But by then I didn't care. I went to a public high school, kept my head down, studied, then got a job the moment I left. I often wondered what might have happened if I'd managed to get a space at Ouran Academy. Where would I be now?

"And you've stuck by each other all this time?" I questioned.

Hikaru nodded, finally turning his head to face me. His eyes studied my face, no doubt resenting the fact that I was sat beside him in such a fancy setting. But even if that's what he was thinking, he didn't say anything. It wasn't too long before Kaoru made a reappearance, returning with drinks in hand, and before we knew it, our booth began to fill as their friends poured in one by one. I could feel the blush heating my cheeks as I admired each man in their perfectly tailored outfits and pristine styled hair. They looked like models. I was having drinks with fucking models.

A mutt among pedigrees...

"Haruhi" Tamaki beamed as he approached the table, the last man to arrive, completely disregarding the twins who sat either side of me. I smiled back reaching my hand towards him, he squeezed it sweetly, "Keeping them under control I see?"

I chuckled, "I do love a challenge"

He grinned broadly at me, seating himself in the last remaining space in the booth. It was that moment I became vaguely aware of Hikaru's change in body langauge. He was tensed like marble and his hand had balled into a fist under the table. I remembered him accusing us of setting up an intervention, and felt the need to reassure him suddenly.

"I like your jacket Haru-chan" Haninozuka blurted, disturbing the awkward silence that shrouded the table.

"Oh?" I glanced down at my jacket. It was a leather one from Dad's Def Leppard phase during the 1980's, it was worn, scuffed, and unflattering, "I'm surprised I haven't been kicked out for a breach of dress code yet" I remarked.

The men around the table laughed.

"So, how did you meet?" Tamaki asked, cupping his hand around his glass on the table. He fixed his bright blue eyes on me, almost tuning out the twins who sat either side of me.

"My Dad" I replied awkwardly, "He won the CAST contest"

"Contest?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow questionably.

"Mom wanted to do something special for the fans" Kaoru answered, "She set up a contest in CAST magazine, to write a letter about the most beautiful outfit you'd ever seen and how it made you feel. Haruhi's Dad won, so they got tickets to Mom's show and backstage passes"

"Wow" Tamaki smiled.

"It was...an experience" I shrugged.

"Not a fashion girl?"

I shook my head with a smirk, "But still, it was a nice time"

"I'll bet" Tamaki smiled crookedly. I smiled back, then finally, I lowered my eyes. I took a long sip of my drink, only resting the glass back onto the table top when I heard the conversation move on to someone else.

Hikaru

Hikaru's fingers clawed into his knee under the table as he watched the exchange between his life long friends and the women who'd invaded her way into every aspect of his existence. She'd taken his home, his family, his routine, and now his friends. Was nothing safe? Surely there was something in his life she wouldn't touch...

He'd watched her politely answer every question out the corner of his eye, smiling on cue, and nodding when necessary. But something told Hikaru that her heart wasn't in it, it didn't take a genius to sense that Haruhi didn't feel exactly comfortable in the setting they were in. A 5 star hotel bar, surrounded by aristocrats and celebrities, drinking down the most expensive scotch whiskey available. It was a different world to Haruhi, and for some reason that made him feel almost sorry for her.

"I've got a serious craving for cheesy fries" Haruhi yawned from the backseat of Kaoru's car, as they pulled up outside the Hitachiin estate. Kaoru chuckled beside Hikaru as he killed the engine. They'd left the bar after a couple of hours, leaving with promises of another meet up soon, the sky was beginning to darken and the air was turning cold. Usually Hikaru enjoyed catching up with his friends, having a few drinks and telling some jokes as guys did, but he couldn't say he'd enjoyed that afternoon as much as he usually would. He didn't like sharing things with Haruhi whom he hardly knew, he didn't enjoy the others pining over her like a shiny new toy, and he especially hated the way Suoh seemed to hang on her every word and stare at her with claiming intent. For some reason, that bugged him more than anything. He couldn't pin point why, but his fists balled and his jaw tensed whenever Tamaki leaned close to her and smirked his signature dreamy smile her way, as Hikaru had seen him do with countless other women. Haruhi was here for Hikaru, and as much as he hated that, that made her his. And besides, if she got too close to any of the guys, she might stick around even longer. And he couldn't wait for the day he would no longer need her lingering around the hallways of his childhood home.

Hikaru leaned against the car door, lighting up a cigarette as Kaoru and Haruhi made their way towards the house. Just as Kaoru ascended the stairs, Haruhi slowly turned to watch Hikaru with a smirk, who was struggling to get a flame.

She chuckled and tucked her hands into her pockets, "You're not very good at that are you?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes, watching as she pulled a familiar lighter out of her leather jacket and offered it to him, "You're not having one?" Hikaru asked, lifting an eyebrow.

She shrugged, "I'm trying to quit"

"Bullshit" He smirked, taking the lighter from her.

Haruhi gave a small smile and walked up to him, settling beside him against the car, "It was fun tonight" she said.

Hikaru shrugged, "I guess"

"Your friends are nice"

"I know"

Hikaru peered at her out the corner of his eye. She was staring ahead at the house, admiring the tall windows and the glow of the lights inside. As she stared, Hikaru's eyes trailed over the creamy surface of her heart shape of her face, the point of her nose, the curve and swell of her full lips and the way her long dark lashes framed her big curious eyes. Hikaru had worked with a lot of models in his life, walked the runway with the most beautiful women in the world, but for some reason he'd never laid eyes on a woman like Haruhi, a woman who somehow made him stop in his tracks. How was it possible that someone could look so breathtaking, but make him feel about 2 inches tall? Looking at her made him feel both angry and dazzled at the same time. It was painful.

"So" Hikaru cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away from her, "What's the plan from here?"

"The plan?" She questioned.

"We need a plan don't we?"

"I mean...I guess..." Haruhi seemed surprised, "I thought you wanted to play it by ear...or...not play at all"

Hikaru took a long drag of his cigarette and turned to face her, resting his arm on the roof of the car, "I just want to get this thing done. And now that my friends are involved and my family are invested, I want it done even faster"

"It's not like I have a programme Hikaru" Haruhi raised one arched eyebrow and crossed her arms, "There is no step by step plan"

"Then make one"

"Then I need you to work with me to do so"

"In case you haven't realised by now Haruhi...I don't work with people, people work for me"

"Maybe that's problem number one" she breathed, "Maybe you need to start cooperating"

"Cooperating?"

"Well" she shrugged, "How can I decide what's best if I don't know what you're thinking?"

Hikaru chewed his lip. She had a point, not that he would tell her that. He sighed reluctantly, "Tomorrow morning, 9am, breakfast table?"

Once again, Haruhi looked almost stunned, "So...you're giving this a chance? A real one?"

He nodded, "Why the fuck not? Can't get any worse from here"

Then Haruhi did something Hikaru hadn't seen before, something that made him completely forget himself, and freeze him to the spot, staring in awe.

She smiled at him. A real, wide, genuine smile. One that reached her eyes and made her entire face light up. It was a change from the usual scowl they'd always greeted each other with, or the defiant smirk she gave him during every exchange.

"Tomorrow morning then" she said, "Don't be late"

And before Hikaru could quip back, she was trotting out of the cold towards the front door of the estate. Leaving him stood there watching the petite brunette sway her hips as she disappeared through the doorway.

He had to admit.

His mother had good taste in life coaches.

Chapter 8 is finally here! Thank you for all the on going support recently, I know I've been terrible with updates but I'm so grateful for those of you who have continued to send lots of love and support my way! It's very motivating and I'm going to do all I can to keep the updates coming!

Yuli xxx