Even after the storm stopped, I lay there with Tamaki-senpai for a while. It was kind of nice. He was pleasant to be around when he shut his mouth for once.
I looked up at him. He looked kinda sad.
"Hey, senpai, you okay?"
"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine, Haruhi."
"You sure?"
"Yes," he let go of me, "Honestly, I'm still just worried about you. I wish I could help."
"Oh. I'm sorry. But for what it's worth, just being here kinda helps. It's nice to have someone around."
He shrugged.
I sighed, "You're really going to pout until I tell you what's going on, aren't you?"
He looked at me with his puppy dog eyes.
"Fine. You asked for it. Just don't freak out, please."
He looked like he felt so accomplished for getting me to talk. How annoying.
"A little while back, Hikaru told me he loves me. I've been thinking about it constantly ever since, and I still don't know what to make of it. I don't even know how I feel about him and I haven't come any closer to figuring it out."
Tamaki stared blankly for a moment before responding. It was clearly hard for him to keep his composure, but I guess he wanted to prove something. "...Well, Haruhi, maybe you should give him a chance. Go on another date or two, see how you feel then."
"Wow, senpai, that's actually some pretty solid advice. I'm surprised."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I just didn't think you'd encourage the idea of me dating someone."
"What? If I'm not your daddy, I guess it shouldn't matter to me."
"Right. Unless you were totally obsessed with me, but since you're not..." I said sarcastically.
He stood up. "Of course I'm not obsessed! I just deeply care about you, you're my friend after all. Above all else, I just want you to be happy."
"That's really sweet of you. Thank you. I hope you know that I appreciate all that you do."
"I do now," he said, smiling softly.