Well, it's been awhile! Gomen~! Next update will be quicker, I promise. (But I'm not good with promises :( You reader will forgive me, right? Right?)

CHAPTER 5

To say the least, Haruhi was having a really bad day. Her dad left early and she made breakfast on her own, only to realize she was late and they were out of toast. She ran to school, but it started to rain halfway there, and she was soaking wet by the time the bell rang. She almost got in trouble for being late, and the Hitachiin twins were only making her feel worse.

The sun peaked out from behind the clouds later in the morning, and she felt a little happier, until she realized she left her bag in a different classroom and had to go get it. Upon arriving in said classroom, she saw that her bag was nowhere to be found. She grumbled around looking for it, because she couldn't go to lunch until she found her money. Running through the hallways, she frantically looked for it until she ran headlong into Tamaki as she turned a corner.

"I'm so sorry!" she squeaked as the blonde helped her up from the ground.

"Are you alright? Where are you running to, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked.

She slumped. "I lost my bag, and I need to find it. All my lunch money is in there, so I can't go eat until I find it."

"Oh, that's awful! Why don't I buy you lunch then?"

"No thanks," she mumbled, remembering the way he over exaggerated everything. He would probably use the fact he bought her lunch to make her visit him more often. She shuddered. "I just can't remember where I left it."

Tamaki leaned to the side and looked out the window. It had started to rain again, and the courtyard was empty, all except for one person. They had a black raincoat on, and their back was to Tamaki, so he could not see who it was. The person ran across the courtyard, but they dropped their backpack in the fountain. Tamaki looked closer. It seemed suspicious, because the person didn't look like they dropped it merely by accident.

"Hey, that couldn't possibly be it, could it?" He pointed down into the fountain.

Haruhi ran over to the window and peered out. She grumbled under her breath. "Yeah, that would be mine."

Tamaki led her down into the courtyard to retrieve her bag, and he chased after the hooded person who purposely threw it in there. Haruhi wrung out the soaking cloth, but all her books and money had fallen out. They were completely ruined. She proceeded to gather them in her arms, but there were so many that she couldn't hold them all. She dropped them back into the fountain right as a huge bolt of lightning illuminated the dark sky. Thunder cracked and she froze, terrified.

Haruhi was able to move out of the fountain, but she couldn't get farther than that before falling down in fear. More thunder boomed overhead, and covering her ears didn't do any good. She shook, and she heard herself scream and whimper at every strike.

Suddenly, she felt a thick blanket being draped over her. She opened her eyes and looked up at Tamaki and Kyoya helping her pick up her wet books and money from the fountain. Kyoya carried her bag, and Tamaki wrapped one arm around her to keep her warm. They walked back up to the school, and Haruhi thanked them for helping.

"It was no trouble, my dearest!" Tamaki practically sang. Kyoya stood there motionless, avoiding eye contact with Haruhi. She tried to smile to show her gratitude, but he just looked away. She took one last glance at the distant figure, turned and left the two in the hallway. She put the soaking money in her pocket, and dumped the ruined loose papers in the nearest garbage bin.

At home later that afternoon, her father was still not home, and the rain came down harder than ever. She collapsed on the floor again, but she was kept awake by the thought of the approaching party. Abruptly, she bolt upright, remembering something that made her shiver. The invitation, she thought, where did I leave it? She dug through her bag twice, horrified that she might've thrown it away. Did it get ruined? Did I lose it? Where did it go? She frantically searched the room, in case she left it here, but she saw nothing. Did it fall out in the fountain, and I didn't see it? Or did that hooded person take it?

After twenty minutes of searching, she gave up and collapsed back on the floor. The steady sound of raindrops on the window calmed her down, but a tear fell from her eye. Almost asleep, she rolled over, but a huge bolt of lightning cracked and the whole building shook with rolling thunder.

Gasping for breath, Haruhi covered herself with blankets and tried to forget the storm outside, but there was no hope of blocking it out. If she couldn't hear the thunder, she could feel it. Slowly, she inched under the table where she quivered under her blankets. Her hand brushed against something rough, and she looked to see what it was. She peered out from under her blanket canopy and saw the pink paper that she'd been looking for just a few minutes earlier. Tucking it close to her chest, she covered herself once again and, even for just a moment, forgot about the thunder and the brewing storm outside.

About a month later

February 4th. Haruhi's birthday.

She woke up later than usual, and she trudged to the kitchen to make breakfast. She'd forgotten what day it was, and she was a little surprised to see strawberry waffles on the table already set out. She peered over at them and saw a note and two boxes. The note read:

Dearest Haruhi,

I'm so very sorry I couldn't be with you on your birthday,

but duty calls, and I have to fill in for a coworker today. Please forgive me.

Since I could not spend the day with you, I made your favorite breakfast for you!

Hopefully we can have an amazing party tomorrow. Call a friend or two over today.

I'm sorry again, and I love you!

Love, Dad

PS, the small box was a gift from your mother for your 16 birthday. The big one is from me. I always wished you could be my cute little daughter forever.

Tears welled up in Haruhi's eyes. She knew he would probably be busy, she told herself that, so why did she feel so upset? The tears kept falling, but she loaded up her waffles with as much Redi-Whip as she could and stuffed her face for the next half hour. She clicked on the television and flipped through the channels, but nothing she found was good. She sank to the floor and decided to open her birthday gifts.

She took the small box in her hands and pulled off the large silver ribbon slowly. It was a cute box, with pink paper and little white bunnies that reminded Haruhi of Usa-chan. She smiled, thinking of the host club, but her smile quickly faded to a frown.

"They probably all have plans for this weekend," she said aloud. She carefully tore off the paper and folded it so she could keep it. Inside was a small white box, fitting squarely in Haruhi's palm. She took off the lid and gasped.

Inside, she saw a beautiful bracelet. She held it up to the lamp, and the diamonds embedded in the silver shimmered in the light. It sparkled, and it fit Haruhi perfectly. It felt like it belonged on her wrist. She looked back inside the box and saw a small, folded piece of paper. It looked old and tattered, so she handled it cautiously and unfolded it. Tears dripped down her face as she read the loopy handwriting.

To my precious daughter,

Happy 16th birthday! I hope you will come to love this present.

This bracelet was a gift from my mother, and now I pass it on to you.

If, by some chance I'm not there to give you this gift myself, I want you to know how much I love you and miss you. I hope you can forgive me.

It was always my wish to be able to give you this, and I'm sure you will know what to do with it when the time comes.

Try to keep your father in line. :)

Love, Mama

Haruhi sobbed. She clutched the small note in her hand and cried until she couldn't anymore. She was so happy, so grateful to her mother, but also very sad. She never missed anyone else this much. Not even when her parents took a month long vacation when she was younger and left her with a family friend for the whole time. She got used to change, but she hated the fact she couldn't get over her mother. Ranka said it was a normal thing, to miss someone for so long, and he did too. Although, Haruhi didn't think he understood her feelings.

She finally was able to wipe her tears away and look at the other gift. This was a much larger box, reached to her knees while standing. This one was wrapped in pink paper as well, but without the bunnies. She ripped it off and opened a large brown box, like the ones that came when they ordered something. Inside she found books, lots of books. Books about everything she ever wondered about, and tons of books about law and lawyers.

She took all the books out and lined them up on the floor. She looked them over and was about to open one when something in the box caught her eye. There was a white paper covering the bottom, but it looked out of place. She pulled it out and what lay underneath surprised her even more than the bracelet. She stood and unfolded a pale blue dress; brand new, silky cloth falling through her fingers. She ran her hand over it, feeling the cool fabric against her skin. She couldn't wait to put it on, to see what it felt like.

In her room, she slipped off her pajamas and pulled the dress over her head. The baby blue material fell just past her knees, but it gradually darkened into a royal blue at the hem. It waved and shimmered as she moved, giving an image of the ocean. The neckline and cuffs above her elbows had small, silvery pearls. Around her waist was a large silver bow decorated with an off-white lace. The whole thing flowed beautifully, and she couldn't have found a more perfect dress.

Haruhi silently thanked her father for finding her perfect dress for the party tonight, although she wished she could have spent the day with him. She carefully slipped it off and hung it in her armory. Smiling to herself, she went back into her living room, sat down on the floor, and opening one of her brand new law books, pondering on the night ahead, and asking herself many excited questions.

mtnikolle: about that little fact, I don't know! ;) Was it Kyoya's or Tamaki's doing? I'm not even sure myself :P (but it was probably Kyoya)

Kitty & QuietKills: Aww, thank you!

I'm sorry guys, I'm bad at updating! I really am... I try to write when I have time, but I don't really have time. I can't make excuses, and I hope you forgive me!