Bonjour! Chapter 18 for you! Thank you to all my reviewers, Square Root of Three, EvilVampireDucky, ERidg17, PridePrejudiceandCake, and Sinnel! You guys are amazing! Anyways, Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ouran High Host Club. I do, however, claim ownership of my OC(s) and plot.
Eyrie looked around with an unreadable expression. Zero and the hosts were sitting in the middle of her secret room looking at various pictures and photo albums. It was the day after the ball and the hosts had showed up at a ridiculously early hour to greet Zero, who was thrilled. For the first hour and a half, Kyoya and Eyrie had given everyone who approached them a scorching glare. Zero had started out suggesting things that he knew Eyrie enjoyed but had given up after continually glancing over to see her nothing expression. He started to feel anger welling up inside him as the day continued but successfully kept his feelings to himself.
"I wonder if there are any pictures of Eyrie at the ball." Tamaki mused aloud as they all stared at a picture of a 3 year old Eyrie dressed as a princess and grinning at the camera.
"Of course there are. There were professional photographers stationed all around the room the entire night. Only you are too much of an idiot to have spotted them." Kyoya stated and pushed up his glasses. Tamaki immediately went into a gloom as Eyrie nodded.
"We wanna see Eyrie in a dress!" The twins whined and shook their fists like petulant children.
Zero watched as Eyrie looked at them with amusement. She looked as if she were about to smile at their antics but quickly bit her lip and looked away.
"Hey where is Briar?" The twins asked. They ignored the frantic shaking of Eyrie's head. "I bet he would like to see these pictures as well. Actually we have been seeing less and less of him lately."
Suddenly a dark aura roared up around Zero and he gave a crazed smile. "Briar? Briar? I know of no such person! Because the only thing I know with that name isn't even worthy of being identified as a human being."
All the hosts sweat dropped as Eyrie went over to pat Zero on the back until he calmed down. After five minutes of awkward silence he turned to them with a bright smile.
"We should go back inside! I'm sure my parents aren't happy about me hogging Ire all day!"
He skipped out of the room, leaving the hosts to stare after him in confusion. Eyrie sighed.
"Briar is a sore spot for him. The first time we met, Briar didn't know who I was. So he made a pass at me." she shrugged and started walking out, the hosts on her heels.
"What did he do?" Tamaki asked.
"I'm not going to say. But as you can see, it was bad enough to make the easy-going Zero hate him. Briar is probably hiding in his room somewhere. My friends don't really like him anyway, because he's a spy. The fact that he's also an idiot doesn't help either, so he usually stays away from them."
The hosts seemed to accept this and they caught up with Zero as he reached the house. Eyrie immediately started throwing ingredients together when they stepped into the kitchen. Haruhi offered to help and the twins and Tamaki went starry eyed and started urging her to 'get in touch with your feminine side'. Just as Haruhi looked as if she would explode, Zero's parents walked in.
"Uncle. Aunty. Is there anything in particular you wanted to eat today?" Eyrie asked as they settled down at the table.
"Oh anything you make will be delicious." Mrs. Hemsworth beamed and her husband nodded. "You definitely didn't get those cooking skills from your mama! Hun, remember Bunny's fifth birthday?"
Hemsworth started shaking with laughter. "She managed to burn every single piece of food there. Even the corn!"
Zero was watching Eyrie carefully as the hosts sitting at the table leaned forward in fascination.
"We still don't know how she managed that! Nobody wanted to hurt her feelings by saying anything but then Bunny just stood up, got the phone, handed it to Willow, and said 'Pizza'. I thought that I'd just about die at the look on her face!"
The hosts started laughing as they pictured the ridiculous scene.
"Eyrie's mother sounds like she was a beautiful person. We learned a little about her from Grey and the others." Tamaki said with a sincere smile. Suddenly Zero's dad looked excited and started to say something when his wife clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Just to warn you, my husband likes to talk so just remember, you asked for it." She said in a mock whisper. It didn't even deter her husband, for as soon as she removed her hand he was off.
"I have decided to privilege you young'uns with the story of how Willow and I became 'official friends'. Are you ready?" He said dramatically. Tamaki, the twins, and Hunny leaned forward even farther and nodded hard. Eyrie rolled her eyes and silently ushered Haruhi to a seat the table with the rest of the hosts. Haruhi started to protest but stopped when she realized that learning more about the mysterious Eyrie's past was to tempting, even for her.
*FLASHBACK*
"What scum." I sneered over the top of my book at a group if delinquents who were shouting crude comments at their fellow middle school classmates. I'm J.R. Hemsworth. Good luck guessing what the J.R. stands for because I'll never tell. I started my third year of middle school in the town I had originally grown up in. When I was seven my parents moved us to the big city of New York where I pretty much forgot every aspect of my life here. My parents quickly came into their fortune and, in the years I was away, my family and I had gotten used to the idea that we were the cream of the crop. The only reason we came back was for a business venture of Father's; not that I would care about that sort of thing. I'm a busy person as well.
Almost as soon as I started at this tiny school, a strange girl with black clothes started pestering me. She was, without a doubt, the most annoying girl I had ever met. The only friend this girl seemed to have was a boy named Allistar, who was very tall and awkward, with surprisingly refined features. His entire face was angular. Straight nose, narrow blue eyes, sharply peaked lips. He didn't say much to anyone but the girl. Her name was Willow. The teacher had picked her to show me around my first day. Even though I made it clear that I wasn't here to make friends, there she was, everyday. In class she would try to start conversations with me. At lunch, she and her friend would invade my table, though the boy never talked directly to me. At the end of the day they would walk me home even though it was very out of the way.
"Alright JR, darling, ready to make like a tree and leave? Or would you rather build a love nest?"
I looked up into the beaming face of Willow, who had suddenly appeared above me. Allistar gave me a rickety smile that never failed to scared the beejeebles out of me. She spoke so loud that the people still lingering started to stare.
"Damn it! Why do you say such creepy stuff all the time?! Why don't you both just leave?" I snapped. It was the same argument I made everyday. "Why do you always walk me home? I can make it there by myself! I'm not a child! It isn't like we're friends!"
I glared at them and shoved my book into my messenger bag. Willow giggled as I stood up and glared at them before turning to walk through the thinning crowd; I could practically hear the creak of Allistar's facial muscles as he smiled at her. God, that guy was like Frankenstein.
"If you didn't want us to come with you why did you wait for us?" Willow skipped to catch up with me, Allister having an easier time with his long legs. "Sounds like we're friends to me. Or maybe it's that you want to be more than friends! Oh darling you had but to ask!"
I could feel my cheeks redden as more attention was drawn to us. Damn. I got so used to having them with me, I unconsciously waited until their teacher let them out. I can't let them know that I'm used to their presence though!
"Whatever! Freaking weirdos!" Was all I could think to say as I picked up the pace.
"It's been a half a year JR." I was surprised at the soft voice and exasperated tone. I turned to see Willow giving me a small smile. "Isn't it about time you were honest and admit you are a person just like the rest of us?"
Suddenly she giggled and gave a bright smile, skipping on ahead of me. Allistar nodded solemnly and followed, leaving me to stand in stunned silence. We reached my home quicker than usual that day, despite two delinquents who shouldered me as we were walking. Willow went to talk to them and I could have sworn I saw their faces pale. They left quickly after that.
"Oh you're home dear!" My mother stood and brushed herself off. She had been tending the flower beds in our front hard, this being one of the rare times she hadn't gone with Father for business. "Oh are these your friends? Haven't I seen you before? It's so nice to meet you! Dear, introduce us!"
I mumbled introductions reluctantly and my mother greeted them enthusiastically, asking if they had come over to play.
"Not today, ma'am, but don't be too disappointed! You'll be seeing us a lot over summer break!" Willow grinned at her and Allister nodded. Before I could make them take it back, they were off, heading for home. "See ya tomorrow JR!"
They ended up being true to their word, coming over everyday over summer. Mother and Willow bonded over fashion magazines while Father and Allistar found common ground discussing the medical field. Before I knew what was happening, those two were given all day access to our home and frequently visited with my parents on occasions that I was unavailable. Then, before we knew it, we were in our first year of high school. Even though I had grown comfortable with their presence, I was still too stubborn to admit it openly.
We generally avoided the various quarrels that the delinquents caused but I began to notice Willow having a hard time with that. Usually she would say something with the sharp edge of her tongue, sending them running...usually after her. It was after school one day when we got in an argument over it. It ended with me storming out. I ended up walking straight into the middle of a fight. I recognized the bullies from middle school. I seemed to vaguely remember seeing them during my first week of school and on my street.
"Damn it! What the hell? Oh it's you!" The big blonde one towered over him, completely forgetting about whoever they had been tormenting previously.
"Where are your guard dogs today?" The other one leered.
Guard dogs? I thought silently, trying to process why this was happening, why they were targeting me.
"We told you, ya little pretty boy. Calling us low life hicks wasn't very nice." The blonde boy sneered and they started closing in on me. Before I knew it I was receiving blows from all around. I ended up on the ground within seconds. "We tried to get you after school but you were always being guarded by the two freaks!"
Thats why they hung out with me. A part of my brain seemed to murmur, detaching itself from the situation.
"Um excuse you." The boys stopped briefly to look at the person standing ten feet away. I looked up to see Willow giving the two boys an icy glare. "What...exactly...do you think you're doing?"
She started stalking towards them, Allister behind her. The boys stayed where they were, despite being scared out of their wits at the small girl with the creepy expressions. Suddenly one of them swung. Willow immediately clocked him, sending him down with one hit. The blonde boy looked at his partner for a minute then back at her.
"I-I don't wanna hit no girl!" He said as she walked closer.
"You have atrocious grammar!" She yelled and kicked him in the stomach. He managed to grab her foot, pulling her off her feet. She hit the ground with a crack but immediately swung her other foot and connected with his knee. He finally went down, where he was immediately KO'd by Willow.
"What...what are you..." I stared, stunned at her ability to handle the situation. She smiled and held out a bloodied hand, pulling me to my feet.
"You insulted these guys pretty bad your first month here. I'm sort of surprised you don't remember. Anyway, they stalked you for awhile so we figured we'd hang out with you." She grinned and held up a peace sign. Allistar nodded. "I'm glad we became real friends though!"
She giggled like mad and Allistar gave me his strange smile. I opened my mouth to protest but it snapped shut. I started rubbing my cheek awkwardly.
"Yea...thanks." I mumbled into my palm then rushed back to class. Willow and Allistar looked at each other in surprise then rushed after me.
"So we're official now?! I'm so glad JR, baby!" Willow yelled as we came to a populated area. Everyone turned to look at us with raised brows.
"Don't say weird stuff like that!"
*END OF FLASHBACK*
The host laughed wildly as JR Hemsworth turned a bright shade of red while recounting Willow's very public exclamations. His wife was laughing so hard, tears were forming.
"The best part about that was, if I ever wanted to punish him, I called her over. Her teasing definitely didn't stop in highschool!" She dabbed at the corner of her eyes. Zero looked away from his parents to look at Eyrie. Her stance was tense, her movements jerky. She looked like she was trying desperately to hold something in.
"Dad. Will you tell us another story about Mama?" Zero asked, innocent expression in place. His father tapped his chin.
"Why does everyone call Eyrie Bunny?" The twins burst out, unable to wait.
"Oh that isn't a very long one! She insisted on being a bunny rabbit for Halloween five years in a row! She loved them so much; it was pretty much her answer to everything! Ask her what her favorite color is; she'd tell you Bunny. Best medicine? Bunnys. After awhile that was her pet name. Before Ire really stuck at least. Now only us adults call her that."
Hunny looked over at Eyrie with wide, disbelieving eyes. She was tensed up and standing at the counter, her face away from them. Everyone in the kitchen watched as Hunny walked up to her slowly and tugged on the edge of her shirt. She turned just barely, to look at him out of the corner of her eye. He looked at her wide wide eyes and slowly held up Usa-chan, like an offering. A hand slapped over her mouth and she turned away quickly. Everyone watched as her ears and neck reddened. Hunny nudged her with Usa-chan's nose repeatedly, his expression never changing. Eyrie seemed to tremble as she pressed her hand harder to her mouth.
"That's it! I'm done with this charade!" Zero roared and stormed over to her. Everyone jumped at the sudden noise; Hunny didn't move. Zero grabbed a stunned Eyrie and shoved her face in the direction of Hunny and his stuffed rabbit. "Stop trying to deny it! Say it! Now!"
Eyrie's face was red and her eyes got wide, her lower lip trembling. Suddenly her arms shot out and wrapped around Hunny, twirling around the kitchen.
"Hunnnyyyyy!" Her voice held a surprising amount of glee and the host just sat there in shock as they watched. "That was so cute! The rabbit! Then your face! Oh my word!"
Zero sat back with a self-satisfied grin. Suddenly she stopped and, after a moment, set Hunny down. She looked surprised and suddenly her face was a stony mask.
"No." JR said quietly.
"Just when we got you back." His wife stared at Eyrie with tears filling her eyes. She spoke in a low whisper, as if her voice couldn't go any higher. "Please Bunny. Smile. Please."
"Sorry Hunny. That was inappropriate." Eyrie turned away abruptly. All the host were looking from Mrs. Hemsworth, who was trying to compose herself, to Eyrie, who seemed to be in shock. She ran both hands through her hair, messing up her ponytail. After a moment she started working in the kitchen again, preparing the food.
"You're so stupid." Zero shook with anger as he watched her. She turned to glare at him but before she could say anything he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook gently, shouting in her face. "You are so stupid! Why don't you laugh like you used to? I see it sometimes you know! When you're with them! They make you smile! But you won't let them! Why Eyrie?!"
"Because if I smile and laugh that's the same as betraying her!" Eyrie screeched. She panted for a moment as Zero fell silent and stared at her with wide eyes. "She's dead! She is dead and that means she can't laugh anymore! What good is it to smile and have fun when I know that she won't be there when I turn around?!"
The hosts stared, not making a sound. Hunny was crying, as was Tamaki, the twins looking deflated. Even Mori and Kyoya looked stunned, while Haruhi covered her mouth. Zero stared at her in shock, then anger.
"What; is that your excuse? How can you be so backwards? Yes, she's dead. Yes, she won't be there when you want her to be. But the only thing stopping her from laughing right now is you! You sit down here, in the land of the living, and instead of causing her joy by enjoying every minute of your time here, you pout and make her worry! She's probably sitting up there, wringing her hands, hoping, more than anything, that you'll laugh for her. Why won't you let yourself be her laughter? I know it's hard Ire. It's harder than anything but you have to let her go. Let her go and live in a way that will make her sing with pride. Stop hiding behind your masks and friends. Because as soon as you can do that...I bet a tongue and belly ring that she'll be laughing right there with you."
"I don't know how to let go of her Zero." She looked at him with a lost expression. "It's like I've forgotten to do something but I can't figure out what."
Mister Hemsworth stood slowly and walked up to her. "If I remember correctly...this is what worked on your mom. When she forgot that is."
He reached out slowly and pinched her arm. Suddenly her eyes went wide and teared up.
"Wh-why would you d-do that?" Tears started spilling down her cheeks and JR pulled her close as she started to sob uncontrollably. He started talking to her in a soothing voice.
"Tears are like the rain. They wash away everything and give you a clean slate. Once you've shed them, everything seems more beautiful. So you see, you must cry before you can laugh."
The host sat back and tried not to stare at what they felt should be a private moment.
"This is the first time she has cried since she died." Misses Hemsworth smiled at them through tears. She didn't make any effort to hide them.
"But...her mother died." Haruhi started, confused by the woman's words.
"Yes. And many people counted on Eyrie to be strong. So it was like...she didn't have time to think about herself." Her smile turned sad as Eyrie was lead out of the room. "I feel so guilty. After Willow died, I leaned on her too much; we all did I supposed. They were so alike, we thought she could fill the whole her mother left."
"Hold on! That isn't fair!" Haruhi said indignantly. "You can't put all your problems on one person's shoulders! she might not act like it, but she's still a kid!"
Mrs. Hemsworth looked at her with shame written on her face.
"I know. In the end I think that is what drove Eyrie to believe,so fiercely, that she had to protect everyone, from everything. She tried to be so strong for us that she locked up all of her own emotions." Mrs. Hemsworth suddenly looked at them with horror. "Oh no but you must want to run away now don't you? Did this whole scene bother you? I'm so sorry! We should have gone into another room or something! It's just that you're family now. We didn't even think-"
"Well hold on a minute. Eye-chan is our family now too. We care about her so if we can help then we will." Hunny clutched Usa-chan.
"Yea that's kinda insulting." Hikaru said with an indignant expression.
"Being a family is a two sided coin ya know." Kaoru added.
All the hosts nodded in unison. Zero's mother looked at them in wonder.
"Thank you so much." She breathed. "I'm sure one of you will be an excellent husband for our Bunny."
"So Eyr-chan likes cute stuff?" Hunny asked, effectively changing the subject; whether that was his goal or not, the hosts couldn't tell.
"Oh yes. Loves them. She also loves small children. Thinks they're the cutest things ever." She grinned and shrugged.
"Just how different will Miss Eyrie be when she reverts back to her old self?" Kyoya asked coolly.
"Not very. She'll start to laugh and smile but the person she is now...well it's who she is. So the Eyrie you know won't really change." Mrs. Hemsworth waved a hand as if the question were nothing. Haruhi's eyes suddenly shot to Kyoya.
Was it just me or did he just sigh? She wondered.
"I appreciate your acceptance of her."
The hosts turned to see Zero standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, wearing a serene expression.
"Is she alright?" Kyoya asked in a casual voice, though the words came out too fast and made him sound more concerned. Zero looked at him in surprise and smiled.
"Yes she is..." Zero paused and went up to inspect Kyoya closely, moving to Mori next, then Hunny. "You know, maybe I've been fighting for too long. She wants to choose one of you and I will respect that decision. I'll back away now."
The hosts looked at each other in confusion then stared at Zero, who had a hand over his heart and was smiling at them through a pained expression.
"It was because of you guys that she tried to laugh. She never would have figured out she was missing something if she didn't try." He smiled at them. Suddenly the back door creaked. Everyone turned to see Briar standing there in shock. Zero immediately started after him, sending Briar running into the house. Right before he went through the kitchen door he looked back at the hosts with a considering gaze.
"Zero! Sit down! The last thing Bunny needs right now is you and Briar stampeding through the house!" Mrs. Hemsworth said, grabbing the back of her son's shirt. "Goodness. Set aside your quarrels for one day yes?"
"Oh that's right. What did he do to Eyrie that gets you so worked up?" The twins said bluntly. Zero was suddenly sitting in a dejected pose in a corner.
"He...we were at a restaurant. It was the day before he was set to pick her up for her father and he was there getting drunk. He went up and...slapped her butt!" Zero held his head and leaned from left to right. "How could he treat someone like that? Only the worse kind of scum do that sort of thing! Then he had the nerve to forget about it the next morning! I hate him! I hate him so much!"
The hosts sweat dropped as they watched him thrash around in anger. Kyoya look towards the door and pushed up his glasses.
I hope she is alright. What is wrong with me lately? Why am I so worried about this girl? The only thing she is to me is a way to better my standing in my father's eyes. So why was I so pleased when I was the first one to say her name at the ball last night?
Alright! So what did you guys think? Things got a little intense there for a minute! I want to give a special little thank you to my reviewer Sinnel for his/her private message! I enjoy hearing from my readers! Anyway, Thanks for reading!