Chapter Nine

I creep quietly down the empty halls of Ouran. The only reason it's empty is because of that stupid snowball fight outside. I sneak into one of the empty, never-used classrooms.

I open my violin case, and position the instrument on my shoulder, the bow hovering just above the strings.

And then I'm gone. It's not possible that my feet are on the ground anymore. I'm in my music. I let the music consume me. My eyes fall closed, and there's no way I'm still on earth. Too soon, though, I have to come back down to earth.

As I'm packing up, I notice the figure standing in the doorway. I can't stop my scream. Well I guess it's not really a scream. It's more like a yelp mixed with a high-pitched gasp. But only one question remains:

WHERE THE FUCK DID HE COME FROM?!

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I whisper-yell...ish to Kyoya, my voice probably the loudest it's been around him.

"I heard you playing," he replies. "It was beautiful."He holds my gaze as he says, "Not quite as much as you, though."

Why does he have to go and say stuff like that?

"Don't be stupid," I say, even though I'm blushing like Hell just caught my face on fire. Crap.

When I look back up again, Kyoya's less than a foot away from me.

HOW THE HELL DOES HE DO THAT?!

"I mean it," he says simply.

My words ran away again.

"Are you scared?" Kyoya asks suddenly. What kind of a fucking question is that?

My words are back.

"Of course not," I lie, willing my voice not to crack. It does.

I can tell by the ghost of a smile on his lips that he doesn't believe me.

For some reason, when my words came back, they came back at full force.

"Not of you," I blurt out. Damn it. "Just of… of…"

SHIT.

I was just about to say 'of what you do to me' and I was about to mean it.

"Of…?" Kyoya asks.

I just stand there with my mouth open, willing myself not to say the words. I decide to focus on something else.

Too late.

Before I know it, there's no space between us, and my heart keeps skipping.

I try to take a step back, but my back hits a desk and I find myself trapped. The second I look up at Kyoya, I regret it (I've been regretting a lot of things lately). He clearly finds my situation and discomfort amusing. But there's something like a hunger burning beneath his gaze.

"You have know idea how you make me feel," he breathes, his face not even an inch from my own.

In the next second, his lips are on mine, and the world stops.

He wraps an arm around my waist, moving us impossibly close together. My chest rubs against his and I bite back a moan at the feeling. He lifts me off the ground and sits me on the desk, my legs straddling his hips. Even now, I'm still only the same height as him. One of his hands travels up and down my thigh, and I can't stop the shiver that runs up my spine at the sensation. Then we both need air, so we pull apart. My forehead rests on his chest.

"Are you okay?" Kyoya asks. Sure, now he asks.

I close my eyes, and then nod.

"Sakura, will you look at me?" he asks.

But what if I don't fucking want to? I bring my head up.

"Is this what you want?"

Out of habit, I bite my lip. Not a great habit, I know. How am I supposed to answer that question?

"That's a bad habit, you know." He uses his thumb to gently pull my lip from in between my teeth. Like I didn't already know.

"It's better than the alternative," I reply without thinking. I immediately regret it.

"And what's the alternative?" Kyoya asks with a curious but amused look.

That look. THE look. My stomach churns when he fixes me with that look. The fucking god damn look that I love and hate at the same time. But it's more than just that. It's a look that tells me

HE KNOWS.

When I don't respond, he tilts his head down and is so close that he almost nuzzles my neck. My breath hitches, and I'm half-tempted to kiss him again. I quickly squash that urge down.

CRAP.

"Just tell me what's wrong, Sakura." His voice is low and gentle, and when he says my name, something below my stomach begins to burn. It's a feeling I've never experienced before, and I try not to sigh at how comfortable his closeness makes me feel.

"I can't," I reply quietly. "Besides, you already know."

His nose brushes my collarbone, causing me to shiver. The next second, his lips gently touch my neck. I jump in surprise, giving another high-pitched gasp/yelp thing.

"I want to hear you say it. Please. I need to hear the words from your mouth." He almost sounds pleading. He wants me to admit that I self-harm. He wants to hear me confess that I don't feel worthy.

I shake my head, his lips still at my neck, moving up to the place when my neck meets my chin. I grasp his arm, trying not to fall off of the desk. In my daze, I don't even notice when Kyoya gently pushes up the sleeve on my right arm.

I realize too late. He pulls away from my neck and holds my half-bare arm so we both can see it. I avert my gaze to the floor. The marks are healed, but they're clear as day. Anyone who comes within ten feet of me will instantly know what they are and what they mean.

As he examines my arm, I feel a blush rising when I notice that one of his legs is still in between mine, pressing against the insides of my thighs. Crap.

Before I can comment, Kyoya rests his forehead against mine, dropping my arm. "I'm not going to ask why. You can tell me when you're ready. If you're ready. I won't pry. But I need you to remember one thing: Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it."

I can't word today. He really does care. He cares in his own way… which is apparently a very, very physical way, because my face still feels like it's on fire. Part of me wants to give a verbal answer. I just can't because his fucking god damn leg is still between my thighs, and I really want to say something about that BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE OH MY GOD WHAT IF I SAY SOMETHING STUPID?!

I don't get the chance to nod my head to show that I understand him. He leans his head down and kisses me again, pulling my body off the desk and flush up against his own. My arms instantly go around his neck, pulling him down so I don't have to struggle reaching him as I kiss him deeper, biting his lip in the process.

He pulls back just enough to breathlessly whisper, "I never would have thought you had that in you."

I pull back further and ask in confusion, "What do you mean?"

He smiles a bit. "I didn't think you would kiss me like that."

My face turns red and I look to the ground once more.

And for some bullshit reason, the Universe doesn't want to give me a chance to explain myself, because HIS PHONE STARTS RINGING.

He doesn't hesitate to answer it. "What do you want, you dolt?"

Tamaki.

"Have Mori-senpai take care of whatever it is, I'm busy."

I hear muffled yelling from the other end, and it ends in a very loud "Please! We need your help!"

Kyoya rolls his eyes. "FIne. I'll be there in five minutes." He hangs up when Tamaki begins yelling his thanks, facing me once again.

For some reason, I feel ashamed. I don't want to come between him and his friends or distract him.

"Care to tag along?"

I raise my head once again and meet his gaze. Is seriously asking me if I want to go with him to spend time with the rest of those fools?

"Eh, why the hell not?"

A/N: So... I guess they get together in this chapter? I don't know. It's never really said, but then again, Sakura has never had a way with words.