Choose a Special Song

Hikaru could be rude, loudmouthed and have absolutely no sense of appropriateness. Tamaki didn't really have any sense for that either, but he was sweet and caring.

Hikaru could be jealous and possessive, while Tamaki accepted and welcomed everyone.

Haruhi shouted at them both, but only Hikaru shouted back; she count on one hand the number of times Tamaki had gotten truly angry at her.

Really, it should be obvious who she should fall in love with. Really, it was obvious that she was expected to fall for the king.

She was expected to.

It was almost logical.

"Haruhiiii!"

Haruhi blinked and looked up to see the oldest Hitachiin swaggering towards her, chunky headphones looped around his neck and a lop-sided grin on his face.

"Haru, I've got a song you'll like!" He announced, an almost daring aura taking over him, despite the flustered pink flush to his ears. "Look, I picked it out; you've got to listen to it."

He proudly displayed the tiny I-pod screen to her but she merely glanced at it, not even taking in the song. It was near the end of lunch, on one of those rare days the twins didn't drag her to the canteen with them; she had finished her packed lunch early, so she had just been waiting idly for class to start, lost in her own thoughts.

Until Hikaru arrived.

"Do I have to?" She sighed, to which he stuck out his lip in a dramatic pout.

"Yes. You do." He replied firmly, swinging the headphones from around his neck so they balanced on his finger.

Showing off her total lack of interest in the song, Haruhi glanced at his huge headphones. They were black and red and had a weird, metallic design on each earpiece; not the same ones she remembered him wearing before.

"Did you get new headphones?"

For a second, Hikaru just blinked, surprised she even noticed; and then a beam broke out again and held them out proudly. "Yeah. From America. Cool, aren't they?"

"Did your old ones break?"

"Huh? No, they're at home."

"…Then why a new pair?"

Hikaru sighed, shaking his head at Haruhi's alien, money-managing ways. "'Cause, stupid, I'm not a commoner like you. And these look cooler. Duh."

Haruhi paused to frown and Hikaru instantly jumped on the opportunity and quickly slung the heavy earpieces around her neck, holding them in place so they completely covered her ears. He grinned at her for a second, totally pleased with himself, but confusion began to flicker across his golden eyes when Haruhi simply blinked at him.

"Well…" She paused again, resigned. "Are you going to play it?"

"Eh?"

Hikaru frowned and looked down at his I-pod, letting the headphones slide so they were hanging heavily around the girl's neck (How the heck does he walk round with these?! Haruhi thought madly to herself, her neck practically bending with their no doubt expensive weight).

"Oh…" he grumbled, glaring at the device. "…stupid touch screen…" He began to flick his thumb against the screen, a determined look coming across his face as he hunted for the song again. "One…second…" he murmured, distracted.

For a second, she just watched.

What was wrong with her?

Haruhi blinked and forced her eyes to wander over the classroom, trying to take in what time it was from the huge platinum clock, mounted high in the wall. She tried so desperately to turn her thoughts to something else that she almost felt her eyes well up, but her train of thought was as stubborn as she was. She couldn't stop thinking about it.

And it was so foreign, it hurt.

Hikaru could be rude, loudmouthed and have absolutely no sense of appropriateness. But he always spoke his mind and wouldn't rest until he made her laugh if she looked down.

What're you frowning about? I can't have our toy looking depressed!

Hikaru could be jealous and possessive, but, to the people he had let through his emotional barrier, he was amazingly loyal and devoted.

Kaoru's the best at it. And you Haruhi, you'll be an amazing lawyer. I'll give you a hug before every case, for good luck!

When Haruhi shouted, Hikaru shouted back, even when no-one else did. And she wouldn't want it any other way.

Forget studies, Haruhi. Just for a little while. You have freaking friends too.

Haruhi miserably felt her eyes being pulled to look at the oldest Hitachiin again, using all her determination to keep her face looking bored. But she had a horrible feeling she failed, and just looking unbearably blank instead.

She had to blink furiously when Hikaru suddenly looked up, beaming and catching her eye.

His grin widened impishly as he reached over and pulled the headphones over her ears again, apparently deciding she couldn't do it herself. A quick beat began to dance inside her head, blocking out all but Hikaru's faint voice.

"It's halfway through… but if you like it, I'll play it again." She heard him say, smiling sheepishly, like a child wanting to be praised but not sure whether he was going the right way about it.

Haruhi felt her eyelids involuntarily begin to flicker as she let the lyrics wash over her.

Forgive me if I st-stutter
From all of the clutter in my head
Cause I could fall asleep in those eyes
Like a water bed

It wasn't logical. Not at all. She almost regretted feeling so irrationally.

So needing.

"Do you like it?"

What?

Her eyelids flickered again and she saw Hikaru watching her almost nervously, his eyes soft with nerves and hope and something she didn't understand.

She didn't want to. But she couldn't help it.

She already had.

Oh I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
And cannonball into the water
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will

Haruhi felt her eyes close again, if only to stop looking at the oldest Hitachiin, who seemed to play in her mind again and again, like a much-loved song.

Because, it seemed, she had quietly yet indefinitely fell for him.

"Yeah," she managed to murmur in response. "I… like it."

The way she could illogically but unquestionably see the delighted grin that would be spreading over his face without even looking almost killed her.

Haruhi Fujioka had fallen in love.

Whether she liked it or not.

You always want what you can't have
But I've got to try
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will, for you I will, for you I will
For you I will

I hope Haruhi's realisation wasn't too sudden (though it did take her eleven chapters to work it out...), I'm trying to build up their emotions instead of making them like... instant. O.o (Haruhi's affection, Kaoru's confusion, Hikaru's boldness...)

So, I'm concerned about how I wrote this chapter :S Please review and tell me how I did!

Thankyou to everyone who reads this! :D