"Why is there a girl in your club?"
Kyoya blinked, snapping his head in the direction of the voice. Natsume's tawny eyes were blazing with suspicion as she eyed him, her arms crossed over her chest. For a second, he was stunned. Mainly because two months ago, she wouldn't even be seen near him. And yet, she was in his Bentley, glaring at him like he had done something wrong.
(For a second, he actually thought he had.)
"A girl?" he echoed, setting his bag down by his feet and pulling his binder out.
She rolled her eyes, and spoke in a voice that suggested he was mentally challenged instead of confused. "Yes, a girl, Kyoya. I'm not stupid, like your other customers."
He blinked again. How did she know about that? Haruhi may have looked feminine, but surely she couldn't have guessed. Then again, Natsume wasn't Natsume for nothing. Practically nothing got past her. Still . . .
Her eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth to speak. "Don't lie to me, Kyoya. I can see right through you, son."
He closed his mouth again. She didn't even smirk. He was sure she would have pleased with herself for having caught him. Instead, she looked pissed. Ready to scratch his lips off if he even dared to say something that would displease her.
"Well," he sighed, tapping his blue mechanical pencil against his binder. "You were bound to find out sooner or later."
"What does that mean?" she snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. And then he remembered that she wasn't above scratching his lips off for lying or saying something "smart."
He cleared his throat, choosing his words wisely. "Haruhi-san is a girl-"
"I know that, Kyoya."
Her eyes flashed again and he decided getting right to the point would be the best course of action. "She broke an expensive antique vase at the beginning of the school year that was to be in the club's auction. The only way she could pay us back was to join the club-"
"And with every customer, she earned an amount of money and it went to paying off the vase," Natsume finished for him and he nodded. "Yes, that's about it."
"So she's been here from the beginning?" She arched an eyebrow at him.
"Yes."
She sat back, pursing her lips. "So what is she to you?"
"What?" He looked to her, caught completely off guard. That was something he hadn't been expecting. Suddenly, a thought hit him and he smirked, which made her glare at him. "What? What's that smirk for?"
"You're jealous."
Her eyes practically turned orange with anger as she growled. "You take that back. Right now."
He shook his head. "What do you have to be jealous of, Natsume-san?"
"I'm not!" Her face turned bright red as she crossed her arms and looked the other way. "Just answer the question, Kyoya!"
He eyed her before chuckling. "I'd never thought I'd see you blush, Natsume-san. This is quite an achievement."
"Oh shut up, Four-Eyes." She scowled darkly. "Can you just answer my question so I don't have to punch you?"
"She's just a," he paused, realizing he didn't know what Haruhi was. A frown crossed his face as he looked to his lap. He hadn't really thought about it before. What was Haruhi? A friend? An acquaintance?
"Well?" she snapped, glaring up at him. "An answer in this day and age would be nice, Kyoya."
"I don't know," he finally admitted. He crossed his legs as her head snapped back, surprise etched all over her face.
"You don't know?" She threw her arms in the air, her eyes blazing. "What do you mean by you don't know?" She huffed and shook her head, muttering under her breath. "Whatever. I'll be staying with you anyways so it doesn't matter. I'll find out sooner or later."
He furrowed his brow. "'Staying with me'?"
"Yes, Kyoya, I'm going to be living in your house." She rolled her eyes, pushing back her cuticles. "Reiji's dumbass idea. He believes that if we live together, we'll become closer and the wedding will actually seem like our idea."
A tense silence filled the car as Kyoya processed this interesting piece of information. Natsume was going to be moving into the Ootori household, all because her father believed they weren't close enough?
"It's like, so unfair!" she ranted, kicking off her flats. He watched as she dug her heels into the floor of the car and arched her back so that her body came off the seat. She reached under her dress and shimmied out of her tights before balling them up and shoving them into the bottom of her big black leather Fendi satchel with a sigh. "He's like the most idiotic man ever." She pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged on the seat, frowning at the back of the driver's head.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I going to have to agree with you on that one. Though, I do see his point."
"Point or nawt," she continued, glaring at him. "I still don't see the point in why he would do that. I mean, we're getting married already because of his selfish ways. Why do we have to live together before that?" She took down her ponytail and shook out her hair. "Whatever. Yoko and your mama are picking out wallpaper as we speak, so I no longer have a say."
He raised an eyebrow as she slid on her headphones and stared angrily at the screen at her purple I-pod. Obviously, this didn't appeal to her too much. But what could he do? It wasn't like his parents were opened to his opinions either.
-
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Yoko clapped her hands happily. Natsume rolled her eyes, tucking a leg under her as she sat on the chaise lounge in her room. Yoko held up an 8 x 8 square of turquoise wallpaper with a black chandelier pattern. "I really liked the pattern on this, but I didn't know if you would like the color."
Natsume sighed. "Do we have to do this?"
"Oh, yes!" Yoko chirped, sitting beside her. "It'll make it seem more like home. Megumi-chan and I spent all day looking at fabrics and wallpaper for your room. We want you to feel comfortable."
"So why don't I just stay home?" Natsume said blandly, checking out her French-tips. "It would be a lot simpler on everybody."
Yoko smiled warmly, patting the thigh of Natsume's dark wash True Religion skinny jeans. "This is for the best."
Natsume glared at her and Yoko held up another sample of wallpaper. It had the same patter, but was an emerald green. "I thought you might like this one best."
Natsume snapped her head in different direction, muttering, "It's fine. I don't even care any more." She stood up and stalked away, clenching her fists at her side.
Yoko sighed softly. "Please, Natsume, don't act this way. We're just trying to make this period more comfortable for you."
"What-the-fuck-ever!" she snapped back, flopping back on her bed. "Why do we have to do this anyways? Why can't I just stay here and forget that I'm even supposed to get married until I'm done with college?"
When Yoko didn't answer, Natsume rolled her eyes at the ceiling, crossing her arms over her red hoodie vest and white tank top. "I rest my case."
Yoko sighed again. "Natsume, sweetie, I don't know why your father won't leave you alone. All I know is that this is supposed to be for the best. We're trying to make your life more comfortable. Your sisters have already decided on what they want to do with their lives. We're only trying-"
"To help?" She snorted. "Yeah, right, Yoko. Reiji wants to control my life. Since Kaede and Karin were perfect, he had to make sure I didn't tarnish their precious reputation." Her face scrunched up with anger. "Gawd, he's a fucking idiot. I can't stand his stupid ass."
"Don't say that, Natsume," Yoko said softly. "He's your father."
"So?" She sat up, glaring at Yoko. "And I'm his daughter, but I didn't ask him to hand the company over to me, did I? No! I worked my ass off and showed him that I was better than Kaede and Karin." She flopped back, closing her eyes. "But he can't accept that about me, so why do I even bother?"
"Oh, sweetie," Yoko sighed, shaking her head. "He really does think you have talent, Natsume. But your attitude-"
"What about my damn attitude!" Natsume retorted harshly. "My attitude has nothing to do with my skills. He can't handle the fact that when my shit hits the market, it'll be worth a lot more than what he's cracking out. Gawd!" She sat up and stormed around the room. "He can't accept that my ideas are going to help him! He believes that I have no future as a business owner! That all I'm good for is making babies and throwing dinner parties!" She placed her hands on her hips. "Well fuck him too!"
Yoko cringed at her choice of words. "Natsume, you don't mean that. You know full well he cares for you-"
"Right!" Natsume laughed bitterly, flopping down on her stomach on the chaise lounge. "The day I believe that is the day he calls off this marriage." She pulled out her cell phone and stretched out along the sea green quilted material of the chair. "Can you leave me alone for a moment?"
Yoko nodded and as soon as the door closed, Natsume dialed quickly and rolled on her side, closing her eyes.
"Hello?"
Her eyes snapped open and she ignored the thumping in her chest. "Kyoya. Are you free?"
"Yes."
"Good." She sat up and slid her feet into a pair of brown Uggs. "I'll meet you at your place. I'm bored and need something do."
What a twist! Natsume's moving into the Ootori household!
I wonder what will happen . . . XD
I'm outtie ~CocoaAngel95 :]