I see I am actually getting a few follows, not many (yet?), but still, it's more than I expected! I've never published anything before, on any site, so for people to actually follow my work was a bit surprising. I want to thank you who have followed me, and the readers as well. Remember to comment if you have the time, if you enjoy my work I would love hearing from you; if you have something to critique, or more likely several somethings, please comment as well. You guys are my teachers, so I appreciate any suggestions, please be nice though!
The next day as Haruhi awakened from her restless sleep that early Friday morning, half remembered dreams still floating around her head, she felt a pang of guilt for leaving the host club the way she did the day before. I should have stayed, even though I was so embarrassed, I have a debt to pay after all. I hope the guys aren't pissed off at me for running out like that, I should have at least said goodbye. Well there is nothing to do for it now except to get ready for school and be prepared to make some apologies, excluding the twins, those two pervs only made the situation more embarrassing! As she started her morning routine, she realized she had so much more than usual she needed to do to prepare for school if she was going to keep the new look the guys worked so hard to create for her. By the time she figured it all out, and got dressed in the school uniform she had changed into when her shirt got torn she was running late. As she rushed out the door, dragging her father behind her, she thought about what the new day would bring.
As she quietly sat down at the back of the classroom, not her customary seat at the front since she was late and didn't want to be disruptive, she looked around and realized she was sitting next to Kaoru, with Hikaru sitting to his left. They both turned to her and smiled; for once they didn't seem to have wickedness at the forefront of their minds.
"Good morning" they both whispered in unison.
"Morning guys" Haruhi responded, turning away to try to hide her blush. Their whispered greeting invoking her memory of the last time she had heard them whisper. Seeing her turning away from them the twins figured she must still be angry and embarrassed about yesterday's events. Hikaru, with a chagrined look on his face looked quickly switched seats to sit next to Haruhi, so that they now bookended her.
"I am really sorry about yesterday Haruhi. I didn't mean to tear your shirt like that, I was just so surprised. Can you forgive me?" Haruhi looked at him, a little shocked at the unexpected apology, they didn't seem to apologize for their mischief very often, whether planned or accidental. Hikaru quickly looked down at his desk, not seeming to enjoy being the object of her continued scrutiny.
"It's fine Hikaru, really. I mean yeah, I was really embarrassed, but I know you wouldn't do something like that intentionally." She sighed, knowing they weren't the type of guys to attack a girl like that; tease unmercifully sure, but not assault. Kaoru listening to all of this attentively, released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He had never heard his brother apologize for something like that; usually he was the one who apologized for their joint shenanigans. Even though Kaoru was the younger of the duo, he had matured faster than his brother, and was always trying to balance out his brother's more rebellious nature. Hikaru, realizing he was no longer in trouble, rapidly relapsed back into his normal character; mainly that of a troublemaker.
"Although I didn't mind the view, in fact it was quite stunning. This school uniform really doesn't do you justice," he said audaciously, ghosting his fingers over the collar of the uniform in question. This time, Haruhi thought her whole face must have looked like a tomato! "Mmmmm," he hummed leaning in closer, "you are so cute when you blush." As Haruhi stared down at her desk in defeat, her blush darkening further, although she hadn't thought that had been possible, Hikaru leaned back and smirked. Why does he tease me like this? How am I supposed to work with him all the time if he keeps embarrassing me like this? I'm going to need thicker skin if I'm ever going to pay off my debt. Her thoughts racing along, Haruhi didn't even notice when the bell rang. When Kaoru tapped her on the shoulder to snap her out of her spell, she looked up at him in surprise, belatedly realizing she hadn't heard a single word of the lecture.
For the rest of the day she resumed her customary seat at the front of the classroom, away from the boys. She wasn't mad, but she couldn't have her grades slipping due to her lack of focus either. As she exited her last class she started walking directly to the host club, she hoped everyone would understand her leaving early yesterday, but she didn't want to push it by being late today as well.
When she opened the door to the host club she found herself staring into a lush tropical paradise. She did a double take as she rechecked to make sure she was peering into the right room. Did I just find the portal to Narnia. This can't be real, they couldn't have possibly done all of this in a single day, but they had. She now felt even guiltier for leaving yesterday they must have done all of this after the clients left. How though? This must have costed a small fortune! As she tried to come to grips with the amount of money these boys must have to throw around she was greeted by an excited Honey and his usual companion Mori.
What do you think Haruhi, isn't it spectacular," Honey gushed, smiling exuberantly as he waited for her response. Still a little shell-shocked, it took Haruhi a few moments to realize he was staring at her expectantly.
"It is amazing sempai, I honestly thought I had gotten lost and stumbled upon some conservatory or something I hadn't heard about," Haruhi admitted. Kyoya having overheard their conversation, decided to join in the conversation.
"Well, when Tamaki gets his heart set on something, nothing can stand in his way"
"This was all his idea?" Haruhi asked, wondering where the Host King had come up with such an idea.
"I might have helped a bit," Kyoya acknowledged, "I may have casually mentioned how wonderful it would be to visit a tropical paradise, instead of having to deal with our current, unpredictable spring weather; I just happened to voice this desire right before we started planning our themes." Kyoya sighed. He may have wanted a tropical paradise to please the clients, and therefore take more of their money, but Tamaki had really gone overboard, going way over budget as usual. In fact, thinking back on it, it may have been more cost efficient to fly their clients out to see the real thing. Just as Kyoya finished this thought the Host King himself sauntered over,
"Isn't this great Haruhi!" he enthused. "We were in the middle of a meeting to discuss what the theme would be today when suddenly the idea you see before you just popped into my head," he rambled on, seeming to think himself a genius for coming up with it. Haruhi just shook her head and giggled,
"It's wonderful sempai, I don't know how you came up with it," she praised, with just a touch of sarcasm. Unmindful to her sarcasm, Tamaki just continued rambling on about the types of flowers and how much the princesses were going to enjoy it. The rest of the host club, since Hikaru and Kaoru had strolled in at some point and were eavesdropping from a distance, just rolled their eyes and chuckled a bit. When the twins walked over, just as Tamaki finished his long-winded speech, Haruhi realized now was as good a time as any to get her apology over with. "Everyone, I just wanted to say I am sorry about leaving early yesterday and not pulling my weight with all the work that must have been done to create this," Haruhi gestured to the entire room. "If I had known how much work needed to be done, I would have stayed to help out."
"It's ok Haruhi, I understand why you felt the need to leave," Tamaki spoke gently, a slight flush rising to his cheeks as he recalled what he had seen the day before.
"Mmm" Mori agreed, giving her a reassuring smile. Honey just giggled, as the twins nodded their acceptance. The one person who had not given his understanding was Kyoya, as she and the rest of the hosts turned toward him, his glasses took on a gleam allowing nobody to see his eyes,
"Well, while I do understand, I am going to have to raise your debt accordingly for the extra hours we all had to put in because of your absence," he replied frostily. Everyone just stared as Haruhi paled before the look on the Shadow King's face. As she started attempting to stammer out her acceptance, the brunette finally took pity on her, and smiled releasing a quiet snort of amusement. And after a moment of stunned silence "You should have seen your face, priceless," he spoke, a hint of amusement still in his voice. Silence washed over the group, still in shock at seeing the frugal Kyoya make a joke, especially where finances were concerned. Haruhi was the one who finally broke the spell that had fallen over the group,
"More priceless than the vase I broke?" she asked, looking up at him with large eyes, an innocent smile on her face. The Shadow King, unflappable though he was, felt a small shiver go down his spine at seeing her looking up at him like that, staring into his eyes. To cover up his, hopefully unnoticed, reaction he quickly looked away, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose again,
"I am afraid not even close," he said a small smile on his face to soften the statement. Haruhi just snickered,
"You can't blame a girl for trying," she mock grumbled, causing the doppelgängers of the group to gasp playfully.
"Oh no," Kaoru stated as him and Hikaru walked over and squeezed her goofily in between themselves. As they rubbed their faces against hers, in a catlike behavior "you can't get rid of us that easily," Hikaru purred. As they released her to put an arm over either shoulder Honey-sempai leaped into her arms shrieking with delight as Mori walked over calmly to pat her on the head, a great show of affection for him. Tamaki, being well Tamaki, and not to be outdone gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Kyoya just smiled at the relaxing group dynamic, thinking happily that it would be good for business; happy hosts made for happy clients, and happy clients would be what fixed the budget.
Haruhi stood in the middle of the cluster thinking of what an unlikely group they were. Each one of us is so different, yet together we just… click. I never thought I would be almost happy to have gotten into debt, but here I am. I wonder what the rest of the day will bring. Well, no matter what, I think I've made a few friends!
Thanks for reading! I originally had a drastically different idea on where I wanted this chapter to go, but I when I tried to write it, it just came out wrong. It felt like I was trying to jam a puzzle piece into a spot where it didn't belong; it didn't look right, and it just ended up being a big mess. I scrapped it and decided to just let the story unfold, and it ended up turning out better than the original. I had always read other authors saying the story just writes itself, but just wow it is so true! I honestly have no idea where I'm headed, but I'm still hoping for Haruhi/Hikaru pairing, I'm not gonna force it though, so no promises. The rated M smut will come to those waiting, but since I decided to start from the beginning I couldn't just jump right into it (as much as I may want to); I don't think Haruhi is that kind of girl! Sorry for rambling like this *blushes*. But yeah... please review! ^_^ (Oh, and sorry for the short chapters, I could write longer ones, but then it wouldn't get updated as often).
Another little tidbit, the spellchecker on here looks for some interesting things. Apparently using the phrase "to be" is considered passive writing no matter the context and "review," "accordingly," "desire,"and "prepared" are all complex words, apparently I should replace them with simple ones to cater to your small brains *sarcasm* Unless your 7 I think you'll be able to figure it out on your own, if you are 7 please stop reading rated M fanfics!