Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. There would have been romance by now and I would have been rolling in money instead of typing a story on FF.

The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

"It just takes some time,
little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright. (alright)"

Chapter 9:

After discovering Hikaru's anger, Halley had decided to avoid him for the rest of the day to let him cool off. This was difficult, since they lived together. As a result of this fact, Halley had no other choice but to stay in her room for the rest of the day. She was left with only her IPod and a book she found at one of the Hitachiin libraries (Yes, they do have multiple libraries. The reason is unclear, though, seeing as how the twins rarely, if ever, read for pleasure.)

Halley noticed that the sun began to set, and she couldn't help but stop reading her book to see the beautiful sunset across the sky. Her room became dim, and the sky began to become multiple shades of warm colors. Halley needed to squint to see it.

I wish mom and dad could see this, she thought. They would love this...

Halley shook her head, trying to make the thoughts go away. She turned on a nearby lamp on the nightstand and resumed her reading.

The novel was a tragedy, so it didn't help her at all. The chapter she just read made her eyes water, so Halley closed the book and wiped her eyes. Halley could not help but empathize with the people. They both suddenly couldn't be with their family. They were there one day and gone the next. The difference between their stories, though, is that the man's family was gone forever.I'm going to see them again... Right?

"Yo!" Hikaru said loudly as he entered her room without knocking. Halley jumped and then hid her face under her covers. "Dinner's ready!" There was a hint of annoyance in his voice when he spoke.

"Alright, I'll be there." Her answer was short. "I know the way to the dining room."

"'Kay," Hikaru responded, not really caring either way, as he walked out.

Halley shook her head to try to gain back her senses. She got up and fixed herself before she walked down.

AT DINNER...

It was no surprise that Hikaru and Kaoru had professional cooks to make their meals for them. That day, there was enough lobster to go around.

Kaoru was happy to see that Hikaru was no longer upset with him for letting Halley live with them. It looked like he was bothered by something else, though. He watched as his brother tapped his fingers on the table and bounced his left leg up and down.

They were seated in the dining room. The dinner table had 12 seats, though most of them were unnecessary. There were hard wood floors and white walls and a red rug under the fancy table.

Halley entered the dining room after her eyes weren't puffy anymore. She was staring at her plate, and had the look of defeat on her face as she slouched in her chair. First Kyouya, and now this? It really was not her day.

Hikaru didn't even look at Halley. Instead, he found his lobster much more interesting. He began feasting on his meal, but he glanced at Halley first, who was directly across from him. He immediately stopped moving the hand that was about to feed his mouth. She looks just like she did the night before. He just had to wonder, what the hell was going on with her?

Before he could voice his thoughts, though, his brother Kaoru spoke up. He always was the one to notice people's feelings first. "Hey, are you okay?"

Halley lifted her gaze slightly so that she could see Kaoru. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Hikaru and Kaoru were still unsure, but neither of them decided to ask her about it.

They ate in almost complete silence the remainder of dinner. The only sounds audible were the clangs of metal from the plates and silverware and a short conversation between the two twins about a new TV show they saw the other day. Halley avoided eye contact the whole time, and she was the first to leave the table.

NINE P.M. - HALLEY'S ROOM...

Halley was sitting on her bed under the covers. The door to her balcony was left open, letting the cool breeze brush her face. Her IPod was, oddly enough, playing the song Nine in the Afternoon by Panic! At the Disco. She smiled wryly at the irony.

Halley had been doing a lot of thinking lately. The sudden memory of her family earlier brought up an interesting question: When was the last time she saw her parents?

In the Ouran universe, it was July. Summer vacation for them would be starting soon. Thinking back, Halley realized that her last memory was of her leaving her house. It was after the first day of school. It was all blurry after that. Wait, how is that even possible? Halley was confused. Did I just skip my entire Junior year? That's so crazy!

She had come under the conclusion that she cannot remember the last thing that happened before she got transported to Ouran. It was all so fuzzy in her mind. It was odd how she could not remember the details.

Halley gasped at the thought that she would not be able to go back. Immediately afterwards, though, she rejected the thought and shook her head. Her faith rested in research. She and Kaoru would be spending some of their free time looking for information that might help. If there was any chance of finding someone in the same predicament, or any chance of her finding her way back, it would be best to find it. It is not like they had any other options, anyway.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard an intruder open her bedroom door. To her surprise, she saw Hikaru barge into her room. His black T-Shirt fit him perfectly, but his blue pajama pants were too long, so they were being dragged on the floor.

When he saw Halley, Hikaru's thoughts drifted to the previous conversation he had with Kaoru.

FLASHBACK...

Hikaru and Kaoru watched Halley clean up her mess at dinner and proceed to the kitchen. "Thanks," she said, emotionlessly. "I'm going to be in my room."

A few moments later, Kaoru turned to Hikaru. "Okay, she is not okay."

"No shit, Mr. Detective." Hikaru took another bite of his lobster. Annoyed at Hikaru's blaze' attitude, Kaoru furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.

"I know that you forgave me and everything, but can't you stop hating her, too?" Kaoru asked. He couldn't help but feel partially responsible for Hikaru's behavior.

"I never really forgave you, and I never said I hated her. I just forgot about your mistake and stopped caring about her. There's a difference." Hikaru's logic was simple, but it bothered Kaoru to no end. Suddenly, a question came to mind.

"Wait, so you're okay living with her now?" His face had a glimmer of hope, but it was quickly wiped away.

"Who said that? I still don't think she should be here. Something about her bugs me. And I don't trust her with anything. You know, I caught her wandering the halls yesterday?"

Kaoru was intrigued. "Really? Did she steal anything? 'cause I highly doubt that would happen."

A picture of Halley's upset face came to Hikaru's mind. "Actually, no. She wasn't stealing anything. But she had this weird look on her face, like the one she had during dinner. I caught her completely off guard, but she still tried to pass it off like she was okay."

Kaoru thought for a moment. "Well, maybe you can figure it out, then. Who knows, maybe she'll tell you why she's upset."

"Why can't you?" He questioned.

"I have some stuff to do. Besides, you've got to tell her you don't hate her and stuff. Just talk it out. Have you even welcomed her yet?"

Hikaru gave up trying to argue about it. While signaling for his brother to stop talking, he said, "Alright, whatever floats your boat, bro."

PRESENT TIME...

"Let's talk." Hikaru started, not bothering to explain why he didn't knock.

Halley questioned his actions while beginning to sit up in her bed. "You know, that's the second time you've done that. What if I was changing?"

"Who cares? My house, my rules." Halley rolled her eyes, forgetting her problems for a short moment. "Anyways, Kaoru said for us to talk. What's up with that?" Hikaru asked, pointing in Halley's direction.

She turned around, looking for what had grabbed his attention. Seeing nothing, she asked, "What, is something on my face?"

"It's not on your face, it is your face."

"I didn't know I was so ugly." Halley frowned, insulted.

"Not that!"Hikaru was slightly angered that she took it as an insult. "It's like all the life has been sucked out of you. You were like this yesterday, too. The sooner you talk, the sooner I'm off your case."

"It's nothing." Halley replied. "Why would you care, anyways?"

Hikaru didn't know how to respond. "Uh, I need to know what's up, so that I know you didn't steal anything, of course."

Halley became frustrated. "Did that even make sense?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Of course. For all I know, you could be upset that you didn't find a gold mine here."

Halley sighed. She got out of bed and stood up a few feet away from Hikaru. "I promise you, I didn't steal anything." Her voice and face showed complete honesty. Hikaru started to believe her story. "Do I look that menacing, to you? And to answer your question, yes, I'm upset. But you don't need to know why."

Hikaru snickered at this. "Why? You don't think I'm trustworthy? Or is it about me?" Hikaru had a smirk on his face, and it didn't look like it was ready to leave just yet.

Halley smiled at this, but there was nothing funny about it. "To be honest, part of it's about you. The small part. Like .1% of it."

His smirked slowly faded. An angered expression took its place. "What did I do?"

She scoffed at this. "The better question is, what did I do? I know you're not crazy about me living here, I'm not stupid. I actually felt bad about leeching off you guys. But now that I know you thought I would steal something, I'm pissed."

Hikaru started to feel bad for his behavior the past day. His face looked apologetic. "Alright, I see your point. The truth is, I didn't know what to think of you, and knowing that you convinced my brother to live with us didn't help much either. I hate it when someone can tell us apart, sometimes, too. I guess I just made up reasons to not trust you. I'm sorry."

Halley smiled at this. "Apology accepted. I guess we're starting over?"

Hikaru smiled slightly. "Yeah."

Halley moved forward and wrapped him in a warm embrace. Hikaru blushed at the sudden contact.

"H-how did you figure out who I was, anyway?"

She pulled away from him and sat on her bed. "I have my ways." She smirked, before adding, "But I don't know if it'll work, anymore."