Mori's head jerked and he looked quickly over his shoulder through the French doors. Towards the rose garden.
Mori frowned uneasily and shook his head like a man trying to rid himself of a bad dream. Haruhi hadn't come back yet. Maybe he should go check on her…
"Mori-kun?"
Startled back to reality, Mori looked down into the concerned face of the young blonde he was dancing with.
"Are, you alright?"
He nodded seriously and favoured her with a slight smile. "Yes"
She blushed prettily and averted her eyes. Brown eyes… Brown like Haruhi's, although not as pretty as Haruhi's…
Stop it! he scolded himself.
Still, he thought with a smile, he would sometimes look at her when he could, during club hours. It was nice to just watch her; she seemed so at ease talking with the customers. The others all put on acts and displays to try and charm the ladies but Haruhi... Haruhi was always just herself, he liked that.
Sometimes she would look up and catch him looking at her. He would always look away, of course, what on earth would she think if she knew…
He could imagine…
She frowned again trying to chase echoes of Haruhi's
("You!? You're kidding me!")
voice from his head, her
("As is I'd ever like you! Ahahahahaa!")
laughter….
He grimaced just thinking about it. He wouldn't be able to stand it if she ever knew...
If she ever found out…
If she laughed…
But sometimes, when she caught him looking at her, she would smile at him. That smile would light up her face and make her eyes shine, just for him, and he would walk around all day basking in the warmth of that one smile.
But still… She had been gone quite a long time… Maybe he should check on her…
No. Haruhi was independent and self-reliant. The last thing she would was an idiot like him trailing around after her and hanging over her all the time.
Besides, suppose he went out and found her, what would he say? He had never been that good at expressing himself, she would just think he was an idiot.
She would just laugh at him…
He cast his eyes dejectedly to the floor, in his mind's eye seeing Haruhi looking irritatedly at him over her shoulder.
(For God's sake leave me alone already!)
Startled back to reality once again by the last lingering notes of the song, he bowed to his dance partner and took the hand of the next from the waiting line.
Haruhi…
"Now what's a pretty girl like you doing sitting here by herself?"
Haruhi's shoulders jerked as she spun around, eyes wide. When she'd heard footsteps behind her she'd thought
(hoped)
it might be Mori-senpai come to check on her. But this definitely wasn't Mori.
She looked, alarmed, at the greasy hand on her shoulder; the dirty fingernails digging into her skin. She swung her gaze up to meet a pair of mud brown eyes which were leering at her through a curtain of unwashed hair.
"What's your name then darlin'?"
She screwed up her face with disgust as a wave of stale, beer tainted breath hit her and turned, meaning to run. But there were two more of them, blocking her only route of escape, both sneering at her.
Panic-stricken, she started backing away. It wasn't until her ankle twisted painfully beneath her that she realised she stepped backwards straight onto one of her neglected high heels. She cried out, more from surprise than from the flower of pain blooming in her ankle and fell backwards.
She just had time to think hysterically, next time I see Kyouya I'm going to brain him with one of these shoes…, before she was seized by the first boy, who pinned her arms painfully to her sides.
"Come on, tell us your name. I'm Iku. You must be lonely here all by yourself, good thing we're here eh boys?"
The other two sniggered obediently. Iku, if that was he was called, had his mouth against her ear. She could feel the stubble on his face grate against her cheek and hear his breath hitching in his chest as he laughed.
They're drunk she thought, her eyes widening in fear.
"Let me go!" she cried, struggling fitfully in Iku's grasp. Drunk as he may be, he was still stronger than her and he laughed harder at her useless attempts to get free. She felt tears stings the corners of her eyes and hated herself for it. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction.
"This ones a fighters boys!" Iku cried gleefully, spinning Haruhi around so they were face to face. More dutiful sniggering.
"Please." Haruhi whispered, "Please don't…"
The boy Iku flicked his dirty hair out of his eyes and leered down at her.
"It's only a bit of fun darlin'. Loosen up."
One of his hands up her arm and grasped at the top of her dress. Haruhi shuddered at his touch; it felt as if her flesh was trying to crawl off her arm.
"Just a little fun…" he breathed in her ear.
"GET OFF!" she shouted, finally managing to twist out of his grasp. The top of her dress ripped along the seam and she stumbled backwards, one hand clutching the top of dress to hold it in place. Reeling blindly backwards she tripped over the stone bench she had been sitting and went sprawling on the grass with a small scream.
She crawled desperately over the grass, trying to get away as she felt Iku, grab a handful of her skirt and try to pull her back. The sound of the expensive material ripping was loud in the quiet of the garden. Before she knew it Iku, still laughing had staggered over to her and had pinned her to the ground. Her head spinning with their laughter, her fear, and her blind panic she tossed her head back and forward trying to escape his lips. Tears of shame and anger spilled down her cheeks, leaving shining moonlit tracks on her cheeks.
Finally she managed to twist one hand free from his grip and without even realising what she was doing she drew her fist back and slammed it into Iku's face with all the force she could muster.
Iku reeled backwards, eyes widening in pain and shock. He raised a hand to his face and looked at the blood on his fingertips with almost comical disbelief.
He looked back down at Haruhi, frozen with fear in the grass.
His expression had changed. The leering, drunken grin was gone, replaced by a look of thunderous anger.
Iku glared down at the frightened girl.
(Stupid bitch. Thinks she's too good for me. I'll teach her a lesson…)
"You little whoare…" he growled menacingly. "You filthy whoare!!!" He pulled back his fist and roaring with rage brought his hand down on her face.
Haruhi cried out in pain and tried to squirm away. Before she'd been too scared to even scream but now she'd found her voice. She screamed at the star-filled sky, hoping, praying that someone
(Mori)
would hear her and come help her.
"Oh no you don't…" came the voice from behind her.
She looked over her shoulder and her eyes widening in terror when she saw what Iku held in his hand.
A knife, silver bright in the moonlight glinted in his hand. His two friends had panicked and ran away at some point but this barely registered in Haruhi's consciousness at all; her eyes were trained on the knife.
He's insane! she thought
Iku looked insane; eyes fever bright in his blood-stained face, grinning madly at her.
She screwed her eyes tight shut as he leapt at her, laughing again and screamed as she felt a shard of fire pierce her side and a bright lance of pain shoot through her body.
Her last thought before she lost consciousness was those eyes.
Those calm grey eyes.
Mori…
Mori was standing beside the buffet table, smiling with quiet amusement as his cousin pretended to jump for the sweet snacks that the giggling girls were feeding him.
(Would you like some more of this cake Honey-chan?)
(Only if you feed it to me! Look!)
Honey opened his mouth wide as the girls screamed with delight and delicately placed pieces of cake in his mouth. Honey munched happily.
One of the girls looked at Mori shyly.
"Would….would Mori-kun like some cake too?"
Mori was about to politely refuse when he heard Tamaki shout.
"HARUHI!!!"
Mori snapped his head round just in time to see the blonde hurtle out the French doors and into the rose garden, leaving a group of scared looking girls, some of them in tears.
"What happened?! Is Haru-chan alright?" Honey asked, his eyes widening with adorable anxiety.
But Mori had already raced across the dance floor and out into the garden
Mori ran over the moonlit grass thinking,
(please let her be ok)
praying,
(oh God please please please)
a million scenarios racing through his head; Haruhi crying, Haruhi hurt, Haruhi
(oh no please God no)
dead…
(Haruhi…)
He ran faster.
He rounded the corner at high speed, into the little clearing with the bench and stopped in his tracks.
He felt disconnected, like he wasn't really there but at the same time, everything seemed much realer.
He could feel the blood pounding through his head, the moonlight seemed blinding, he could hear shouting and girls crying and most clearly he could smell
(blood)
the roses.
But he couldn't move his eyes from the scene in front of him.
A crowd had gathered in the rose garden; weeping girls burying their faces in their hands, ashen faced boys staring dumbly, school security staff. One of this staff was talking into a walky talky about an ambulance, another two had pinned a dirty looking boy to the ground where he was struggling and swearing loudly.
On the grass, a knife winked malevolently up at him.
And Haruhi…
Haruhi lay in the middle of the crowd, cradled in Tamaki's arms. The blonde boy was talking to her frantically
(please Haruhi please open your eyes!)
on the verge of hysteria. Kyouya stood behind him, hand on his shoulder. He was deathly pale and seemingly, for the first time since Mori had met him, without a suitably dry sarcastic comment.
Haruhi's head lolled against Tamaki's chest as he rocked her and Mori could see a yellow bruise already beginning to flower on her cheek. Her eyes fluttered slightly and a slight groan escaped her lips but she didn't open her eyes,
Her dress was ripped in several places and smeared with grass and mud.
And blood.
The fabric near a slash on her side was a dark crimson, even though a quick thinking security guard was pressing his folded jacket against her side.
Blood dripped serenely onto the grass, staining it red.
Mori didn't move. Couldn't move
(my fault)
He heard the twins arrive as Hikaru let out a wail of despair at his shoulder
(it's all my fault)
and both boys rushed to Haruhi's side.
(how could I have been so stupid?)
He was vaguely aware of his cousin tugging frantically at his hand
(so much blood)
begging him to please answer him.
(Haruhi…)
Mori turned his face away.