It's been a few weeks since Hikaru told me how he felt, and, though I'm ashamed to admit it, we've been avoiding each-other like the plague. When he told me, I didn't even know what to say. I was so shocked that it took me a second to process what he said. Before I could respond- not that I knew how- he was out the door. Part of me wanted to run after him, but, what would be the point in that? What could I say? I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about him. I never gave much thought to these things.
The others noticed we weren't talking, of course. How couldn't they? At first, they didn't say anything about it. But since Kaoru cared about the two of us so much, it started to really bother him. (Or maybe it was just that he spent a lot of time with Hikaru so I was basically avoiding him, too?)
The moment Kaoru had the opportunity to catch me alone, he did. I was minding my own business when he plopped down on the couch, startling me.
"Okay, Haruhi. What the hell is up with you and Hikaru?" He interrogated.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, though I'm not sure why I thought I could play dumb.
"Oh, come on, I might not be very smart, but I'm not Tamaki."
Tamaki-senpai, who was apparently eavesdropping, was visibly hurt by this. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He questioned before sulking in the corner.
"...Anyway," continued Kaoru, "Spill the beans, Fujioka. What happened with you two?"
"Why don't you ask him? You don't have to bother me, you know."
"He won't talk about it," he explained, "But I guess you don't want to either, so, whatever, that's fine. But he seems really upset, so I think you should try to work this out," he finished, standing up.
"...Wait, Kaoru!"
He turned to me.
"I'm sorry. Please, can we talk about this?" I didn't even realize it until I felt the tears roll down my cheeks, but I guess I was crying?
This really seemed to take Kaoru off-guard, and he hurried back to me, "Oh, Haruhi, please don't cry..." I could tell he honestly didn't know what to do. I couldn't blame him, frankly.
He wiped the tears away, turning my face towards his. "I'm sorry. I could have been nicer about this. I didn't mean to make you upset. I just can't stand seeing Hikaru like this."
"It's not your fault, don't worry abou-"
Suddenly, Tamaki-senpai's voice rang throughout the room, completely cutting me off, "What did you do to my poor little Haruhi?" ...I guess he was done sulking.
"Maybe we should go somewhere more private..." I suggested, laughing nervously.