Only ten minutes before the dismissal bell rings, everyone starts to pack up. I ignore the shuffling; they're all too excited to leave. Me, on the other hand, I have my priorities straight. I remain focused on the blackboard covered in white script. English is definitely not my favorite subject, but a little struggle never hurt anybody.
I don't even pay attention to the numerous gasps that come from the students. I just assumed it was some piece of useless gossip. However, I did notice my teacher's stern voice and the whispers that accompanied it.
"Morinozuka, can I help you?"
Heads turn, including mine. When I meet eyes with Mori, I mentally groan. I immediately cover my face with my hands, embarrassed. Are you kidding me? I know Kaoru said he'd pick me up when school ended, but right now?
"I'm here for Haruhi."
My face reddens beneath my hands as I hear the crowd whisper. They're all in shock. Isn't that Takashi Morinozuka, the third year? What's he want with some commoner? She was probably caught stealing from him, and now she's going to pay! Are they dating? Maybe he's doing some sort of charity project.
The teacher takes a glance at me and pushes up his glasses. Much to my relief, he says to Mori, "Ah, yes, Fujioka. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until class is over. There is no special treatment here."
Flatly, Mori replies, "I'll be here, then."
I suppose this is a huge scandal for my classmates to witness because the quiet voices and stolen looks continue. When I peek behind my fingers, I see Mori leaning against the door frame, arms crossed.
The bell rings all too soon.
A flock of girls immediately swarms over the tall figure in the doorway, completely surrounding him. They bombard him with love notes, adoring squeals, and girlish compliments. Despite the hoard of girls at his feet, he remains uninterested.
"Come on, let's go." Mori says. The flock swoons, and each girl begins to point at herself. I roll my eyes.
These girls have no self-respect. Come on, ladies. Get it together.
Mori pushes through his admirers and walks towards me, stopping at my desk. He looks down at me and repeats, "Let's go."
I put the last of my things in my backpack and stand up. As I face the raven-haired boy, my face remains expressionless. Without hesitation, my hand strikes his cheek and a resounding crack fills the air, inadvertently pulling today's second scandal into effect.
The room falls immediately silent. The girls stare at me, half out of confusion and half out of pure anger, but overall confusion plagues them.
Keeping my head down, I walk past Mori, past the incredulous group of suitresses, and through the classroom door.
He pauses for a moment, then quickly turns on his heels to follow me. I wait for him outside, saving him the run down the hall.
"I may not be as rich as you all, but don't treat me as if you own me, senpai. Respect my boundaries, and I'll respect yours."
Mori nods. "Forgive me for making a scene, and for anything I've done to inconvenience you."
When I steal a glance, he looks genuinely sorry. Not entirely sure what for, but sorry nonetheless. I take what I can get, and exhale.
"Well, okay then. We're good. Sorry for slapping you, by the way. Are you alright?"
He shrugs. "It didn't hurt. You have tiny hands."
"You can put me down now. It's probably only bruised." I say. I've been carried for the past fifteen minutes and although Mori seems to be at no discomfort (not to mention I'm enjoying the luxury of not walking), the weird stares from other people are starting to creep me out.
Mori, however, doesn't agree. He continues to hold me in his arms and pushes onward. Midway through our date, I accidentally slipped walking down some steps and completely ate it, tumbling down the remainder of the stairs. Mori instantly ran down the flight and inspected my foot. When he touched it, I groaned out in pain. I tried playing it off, but he didn't buy the lame attempt and proceeded to lift me up and carry me home, cutting our time together short.
"Uh, Mori-senpai? I said you can let me down. I'm fine."
He turns his head to face me and blinks. "You fell down the stairs. You're not fine."
I roll my eyes. "Oh, please. I can walk. I'm not completely helpless, you know." Then, I smile earnestly to show my recovery. "Seriously. Let me walk."
He reluctantly lowers me, making sure my feet make full contact with the ground first. When I land on the pavement, I sigh.
"Sorry the date got cut short. Thanks for taking me around the city, though. I think we landed some good pictures." I pull out my phone and scroll through the feed. "Wait..." I say, looking at the photos closer.
I hold out the phone and show him the screen. "Why aren't you smiling in any of these? You look miserable."
He bends down and checks. "I smiled."
"What? That's such a lie! Smiling means that you look happy," I stare again, then notice the slight upturn of his mouth. "Okay, fine. I guess you smiled. Still, that's not a real smile, so it doesn't count."
When he shrugs, I throw my hands up in exasperation. "Well, whatever. I suppose it doesn't really matter. Even if you didn't show it, I know you had fun. I certainly did."
Minutes later, we reach the apartment complexes. I already see my neighbors gathering, shocked that a Morinozuka is even in my presence.
Quickly, I mumble, "This is me. Thanks for walking me home, senpai." I look up at him and smile.
"No problem, it was fun."
I stand there awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. Why's he just standing there? Why isn't he going home? Is he waiting for me to go inside?
Before I can ask myself another question, Mori bends down and kisses my cheek. Nothing special, just a little peck. My nose is flooded with the faint scent of mint and aftershave.
"Have a good night, Haruhi."
He waves a little salute goodbye, turns on his heels, and leaves. My hand instantly goes to my cheek. Well, that was unexpected.
As I stick my apartment key into the lock, I can't hide the incredibly stupid (and cliche) grin on my face.