IT'S THE FINAL CHAPTER (dun dun dun dun... dun na na dun dun...)
I apologize for the rushed feeling of last chapter… I started writing that chapter almost a year ago and just finished it the day I posted it, so my writing style may have changed and the direction I was planning on going. It wasn't my best chapter, I know, so bear with me for one more here. I took my time on this one, because it is the last chapter, and I want this story to end on a good note for all my fabulous readers :)
Tamaki was silent. Which was unlike him. No one in the host club spoke. The abandoned music room felt like a vacuum when no one was laughing or talking. Honey wasn't even eating any sweets, causing Mori to worry and check his temperature every few minutes, to which Honey would reply, "I'm fine, Takashi." But he didn't sound alright.
Even the twins weren't goofing off today. They could tell something was wrong. It was obvious that something had been wrong for quite a while now, but no one had dared to say anything about it. The mood had been getting progressively worse and worse, but the tension in the room was now so tight that they could all feel it about to snap. Everyone noticed every twitch Tamaki made, constantly restless and flicking toward the empty spot at the table Kyoya usually sat. It wasn't the first time that they noticed Tamaki's mood affected everyone. Tamaki sunk his head in his hands.
It wasn't the first time that month that Tamaki's mood had gotten them all feeling down.
Frustrated, Tamaki got up and walked toward the door. With his hands in his pockets, he kicked open the door. The rest of the hosts flinched as he disappeared around the corner. Honey rushed after him, the twins and Mori following close behind.
Tamaki had sat himself at the end of the hall, tucking his knees to his chest and hiding his head. He slowly raised his head when he heard his friends stop in front of him.
"Tamaki, you're being ridiculous," Hikaru said.
Before Tamaki could even retaliate, Honey slapped him. Outraged, the short blond yelled, "I know you're mad, but you can't keep this up!"
"Honey," Tamaki whimpered.
"Ever since Kyo-chan left, you've been acting depressed. Your best friend is ignoring you, and you aren't doing anything to get him back! I know you are angry, but come on, you have to get over yourself."
Tamaki was shocked by Honey's words, and from the expressions everyone else had, they were too. When he finally understood what Honey had meant, he looked down slightly and smiled. "You know Honey, you're right. Maybe it's time I do something about it."
Honey grinned cutely, but then started to tear up. He crawled in Tamaki's lap and hugged him, sobbing. "I'm sorry for hitting you, Tama-chan!"
"Heh, it's alright," Tamaki chuckled, and everyone else looked a little happier that day.
"Kyoya, I know I've been terrible to you for so long now, but I want to apologize. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me," Tamaki said to his mirror, nervous about confronting his former friend later on that day. He didn't know when he'd be able to do it, but he told himself he had to do it today, or else he'd be too afraid to talk to Kyoya for a few more weeks. Mustering up the courage, he tried to appear confident and excited when he left his house, but on the drive to school, his mood only got worse.
"Uh, I'm starting to feel sick," Tamaki lied, hoping he could get the family driver to turn around and head home for the day.
"I'm sure you're fine Tamaki-san," the driver replied. "You were practically bouncing to the car when you emerged from your manor. Are you trying to get out of an exam or something?" he asked with a small chuckle.
"Or something," Tamaki mumbled, but when it was clear the driver had not heard him, he slumped back in his seat and said nothing for the rest of the ride to Ouran.
At school, he was so anxious that he couldn't even speak in homeroom, and had to excuse himself to go to the bathroom after attendance, and he did not return. His faux illness was slowly starting to become real, and the way he held his stomach when he left the room was not merely an act. He wouldn't see Kyoya for three more hours, when they had lunch, but for the rest of homeroom he spent leaning against the wall of the stall in the bathroom, trying to control his breathing. He didn't even know why he was so nervous. He wasn't the type to get nervous. Through each class, he could hardly focus on what was being said, and he was the first one to leave after the bell had rung.
At lunch, he realized his plan might not go over as well as he thought. He felt slightly better than he had earlier that day, but his stomach clenched with anxiety as he walked into the cafeteria. He didn't even know where to find Kyoya, for they had stopped sitting by each other, but Tamaki was determined to find his friend. He ducked behind someone or something every time he saw someone tall with dark hair, but it never turned out to be him.
Eventually, he saw him sitting next to the window, chatting with Haruhi and picking at his food. Tamaki was about to yell at him before he could lose his fleeting courage, but figured Kyoya wouldn't want all the attention, and decided to stall a few moments longer by shuffling up to the couple and thinking about what he was going to say, even though he'd been going over every option all day. There was no way Kyoya wouldn't forgive him, right? They'd been best friends since Tamaki first arrived at this school. Sure, he could be annoying, but never obnoxious enough to make Kyoya hate him forever. At least, that's what he hoped.
As he approached the duo, he stood up taller and put on his brave face, thinking that if he could pretend to be brave, he would actually have the confidence to say what he wanted. However, that plan fell apart as he took his final steps toward them.
"Kyoya, I have something I'd like to say to you," he said in a somewhat quiet, but rich voice, pleading with himself to appear less nervous than he actually felt. He realized after he said it he was probably interrupting the conversation occurring, but the ringing in his ears made it hard to tell.
Kyoya looked up slowly, and said in a monotone voice, "I'd prefer to not speak with you right now, so this had better be important."
The blond nodded, and took a deep breath before blurting, "KyoyaI'mreallyreallysorryIshouldn'thavebeenajerktoyouIshould'thavedonethatIregretitI'veregrettediteversincethatnightIreallywantyoutocomebackbecauseeverythingsuckswhenyouaren'taroundsopleaseforgiveme?"
With a confused look on his face, Kyoya tried to process what Tamaki had just said. For a minute, he couldn't, and the blond just stood next to him awkwardly, rocking from one foot to the other as he anxiously waited to hear what his friend said in response. "What?" was all Kyoya said after a minute of silence.
Haruhi giggled. "He just apologized to you, I think."
Slowly, Tamaki released the breath he realized he'd been holding, and said clearly, "Look, Kyoya. I'm really sorry about what I did before. I have regretted it ever since then, and I know I was a stupid jerk for doing that, but I was just jealous that you would pick a girl you barely knew over your friends. I realized that was irrational, but I just couldn't get the courage to apologize to you. You two are obviously happy, and I had no right to take that from you."
He didn't say nearly everything he wanted to say, but he felt a little lightheaded. Kyoya just stared at Tamaki for an uncomfortable amount of time, so Tamaki continued: "I know you're probably still a bit mad at me, and I apologize for being a terrible friend. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry, and I hope you can forgive me, and the others all really want you back, it's just not the same without-"
"That's enough Tamaki, I forgive you. I've been meaning to apologize to you too, actually, but you ran out during homeroom and I haven't seen you since. I'm sorry for reacting so poorly, but you did deserve it at first. But a month is just too long for this to go on, and I'm sick of ignoring each other like teenage girls. I hope you'll let me- and Haruhi- back into the club?"
"Really?" Tamaki's face lit up, and he grinned. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Kyoya, blabbering, "Of course Kyoya! Everyone will be so excited to have you back! It just hasn't been the same…" He trailed off when he realize that Kyoya was actually hugging him back. He had never physically shown any affection to anyone outside his own family, and Haruhi of course, but Kyoya was just so glad that he wasn't the one who had to say something first, he didn't care about what he was doing.
Soon after Tamaki let go, the bell to signify the end of the lunch period rang shrilly through the hall. Kyoya looked solemnly down at his mostly untouched plate.
"I don't know why I even got this," he said sourly. "I just wasn't in the mood for crab today, and I'm not ever hungry." Looking over at his once-again best friend, he held the platter up as Tamaki's stomach grumbled loudly. "Do you want this?" he asked with a small chuckle.
Tamaki quickly grabbed the tray and scarfed down whatever he could before the three reached the double doors out of the cafeteria. He dropped the empty tray on the shelf of dirty dishes and quickly followed his friends out into the hallway.
The rest of the day passed by smoothly, as Kyoya was in all of Tamaki's afternoon classes, and they once again sat next to each other and talked idly during their work time. The end of the day couldn't come fast enough, and Tamaki could hardly wait to escape to the music room where they would most likely throw a welcome back party for Kyoya that would leave everyone feeling much better than they had over the last month.
At 3 o'clock, Tamaki all but dragged Kyoya to the music room, where the rest of the hosts were already waiting. Bursting through the doors, Tamaki screamed, "IT'S PARTY TIME!" followed suit by cheering and clapping.
"Welcome back Kyoya! We missed you," Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed in unison, without the usual hint of deviousness in their voices, and Kyoya could tell they were being sincere.
"It's great to have you back Kyo-chan!" Honey said sweetly, holding up a large piece of cake (where did he suddenly get the cake?), which Kyoya politely declined, leaving Honey to run off to the nearest table to devour it himself. Mori stood silently at the back of the room, but he soon came up to Kyoya and said, "Yeah," as he patted his friend on the back and went off to supervise Honey.
Soon after, Haruhi appeared at the door, knocking quietly so only Kyoya could hear her, as he was leaning against the door and watching the madness ensue from afar. The place would need a thorough clean-up afterward, but that was simply a formality.
"Oh, Haruhi!" he said. "Come on in, the party is just getting started."
"They all seem really happy to have you back," Haruhi said with a smile.
Kyoya just laughed his reply. They chatted idly about the future of the club, but before long, Honey skidded to a stop in front of them, grabbed Kyoya's hand, and attempted to drag him into the food fight currently starting in front of him. Surprised, Kyoya tried to refrain from Honey's harsh pull, but Haruhi pushed him forward and laughed as he stumbled into the fray, shooting a regretful look over his shoulder at her just before a particularly large slice of cake splatted square in his face. Haruhi doubled over with laughter as she watched him smirk and pick up another large slice to hurl at the culprit, Hikaru.
"That's it! It's all over now Hikaru!" Kyoya cried before launching the dessert at Hikaru, who dodged it effortlessly, but revealing a disgruntled Tamaki behind him, who caught the cake with his stomach.
Haruhi grinned and watch the chaos, thinking, what have I gotten myself into?
EPILOGUE (YAY!)
One Month Later
"Where are we going?" Haruhi questioned as the Ootori family limo pulled across the bridge out of the town. She clutched the half-open window as she peered out into the night, looking back at the city they were currently deserting.
"You'll see when we get there," Kyoya replied simply, leaning back against the seat as he watched Haruhi's hair fly into her face. She tried and failed to brush it away, but the wind offered no help as she looked behind them. He chuckled as they pulled up to the spot where they were getting out.
It was nearing 10 at night when Kyoya showed up at Haruhi's front door, asking Ranka if he could borrow his daughter for an hour or two for a little surprise he had in mind. Ranka agreed immediately, and Haruhi was quickly ushered out the door as she pulled on a light sweater over her tanktop. She had asked where they were going, but Kyoya just winked and said nothing, dragging her to the car.
Now, the car pulled up to a small park about 10 miles outside of town, where the lights from the city could barely be seen on the horizon. Kyoya pulled a basket out from the front seat and held Haruhi's hand as they walked down a path to a small clearing with large sakura trees surrounding the area.
"Wow," was all Haruhi could say as Kyoya laid down a blanket and pulled out a cooler with tuna inside. He ushered for Haruhi to sit down beside him, and they talked and laughed and ate until nearly midnight, when they sat quietly and stared up at the millions of stars above them. The wind blew pink petals from the trees all around them, and Haruhi never felt more at peace in her life.
She laid her head down on Kyoya's chest, and he ran his fingers through her long, auburn hair. Slowly, she started to drift off to sleep, but before she could, she said, "You know, forget what I said before. Time was never wasted."
I am glad I finally finished this. This is my first chaptered story I've ever actually finished, even if it took over a year to do so.
Thanks to EVERYONE who stuck with me until the end, and I once again apologize for my terrible updating schedule. But this is one thing less I feel like I have to complete.
Please, leave a final review for me telling me how you liked it, what your favorite part was, what your least favorite part was, how much you hate me for making you wait, and whatever else you wanna say. I would really appreciate that.
THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN AND I LOVE EACH AND EVERYONE ONE OF YOU!