Ch.8 (1/1)

(A/N): YO! YOU ALREADY READ THIS CHAPTER? WELL (pretty please) READ IT AGAIN. I EDITED IT TODAY, NOVEMBER 19. A FEW CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE.The video above is your homework to watch. Personally, I love both the sub and dub (I watched the dub first, fight me), but I decided to go with whatever Funimation's YouTube channel had to offer. I also recommend brushing up on episodes 1, 14, and 19 as well.Additional homework includes giving out a moment of silence for those lost in 9/11.In case you're confused, Kyouya is in English 3 because his English comprehension skills are advanced compared to other second years.Carry onV^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> <><Where are you?My screen didn't say anything different, even when I squinted. Did he not read what I said?My location isn't relevant. I'll get to class, I assure you. You'd best be on your way so at least one of us gets to class on time.I pressed send. Without missing a beat he had read it and was working on a reply. Hopefully a 'fine' or an 'okay'. I assumed that he was just trying to be nice here, but he didn't really seem like the Mother Teresa type.Cruelty, I know.I stood up straight so my weight was distributed evenly on both sides. I sniffled, still stuffy from crying.No. I'll ask you again: where are you?Excuse me, what? He was either a nicer guy than I thought, or he had a few friends, be they Host Club or not, on his heels. It was probably the latter. (Though I scolded myself for such quick judgments, as he could still be an entirely different person than I had guessed).If he was really set on finding me he would probably be moving around a lot. God forbid he was actually on my trail, I needed to take action quickly.I decided to call him. He picked up on the first ring."Hello?" I said. My voice was still nasally."Where are you right now?" he asked, voice devoid of any urgency."I'll tell you again, Kyouya-senpai, my location isn't important. I ask that you please stop asking and go to class already." His name and that honorific felt weird to say, but I said them thinking they would influence him the slightest bit. People tend to pay more attention when their name is said."Are you sick? You sound congested."Damnit. I didn't do a good enough job hiding that. I was about to say no when I heard a familiar voice in the background.Tamaki. It was vague, but I could just barely hear him saying, "go check on her."I furrowed my brow. Check on me? They knew where I was. Asking was just a formality. They knew exactly why I 'sounded congested.' I turned in a circle trying to spot them. "Who's with you right now?" I said, "Who else is listening?""Don't tell her-" Tamaki began."Tamaki and the rest of the Host Club," Kyouya said anyways. There came a collective groan from his end of the line. People muttered about his disobedience. He went on. "Just so you know, I'm not the one who came up with this little expedition. The Host Club simply wishes to ensure your well-being."Well, he was being honest. I was torn between allowing them to give me the comfort I wanted and shooing them away. Realistically speaking, education comes before any and all matters possible, so getting as many of those morons back to class as I could was best, for now. I headed for the front entrance, holding the phone away from myself to sniffle before replying. "Thank you for your honesty, Kyouya-senpai," I said in the most cordial tone possible, "however, I'd prefer that as many of you as possible would please go back to class. You're welcome to stick around, if you'd like, but it'd make my conscience much clearer to know that you all got to class on time. We can discuss my 'well-being' at lunch. I ask for directions from the front desk. What do you all say?"Kyoya spoke. "You're not on speakerphone. Tamaki says that that's fine. Unanimously, they're all still worried for you, but have agreed to meet you at lunch. Do you need help getting there too?""Most likely, thanks for asking. Kaoru and Hikaru will probably guide me there when classes are over."I turned around the corner, unable to see through the doors with the sun's glare."You guys are heading back now, right?" I asked."They left."What an idiot."But what about you?" I asked. "I stayed behind."He hung up.I opened the door to find him standing in the middle of the empty room, pocketing his cellphone. For a split second, he stiffened, eyes widening and brow furrowing. It was quickly masked with his usual calmness and steady voice. "Do you need a tissue or anything of that sort?"Even with that quick cover-up the look on his face made me painfully aware of how hard it was to even open my eyes. The puffiness had practically sealed them shut. They stung so much I could almost picture how red they were."No. Thank you." I crossed the floor and stood in front of him at a conversational distance. I bowed. This one was deeper and more respectful than the one in the office, which had sent unspoken messages of mutual distaste instead. "Thank you for your help." I said, righting myself.He stared at me before bowing in reply, probably assessing me in some way. "You're welcome. This way, please." Kyouya turned away and motioned for me to follow, which I did. The person working the front desk ignored us completely."Um, Kyouya-senpai?""Hm?""I apologize if this comes across as rude, but why did you stay behind?""I have my reasons.""Those being?" I pressed on, sniffling. "Isn't it obvious? I was assigned to be your guide by the Chairman. His orders are to be taken seriously." Briefly, I glanced at him as we turned a corner. Just doing his job, hm?He continued. "If I had accepted the extra minute you offered, then had you come in only a few minutes after me in the state that you're in, it would make me look rude." Kind of him to assume that I knew how to follow simple directions, but knowing me, I'd take at least fifteen minutes to find my way. If anything, the amount of time between his and my arrivals would've made it obvious that my tardiness was my fault. "Good point. Thanks for doing your job," I said instead, deciding to ask another question. "Aren't I making you late though?" He raised a brow when he replied. "You're welcome."He hastened his stride. "And no, you won't make me late. Not if you can keep up with me."I smiled for a moment. "Okay."Though we both faced ahead, I saw him glance at me sideways when I replied. Briefly, the corner of his mouth tugged into a satisfied half-smile. It made me feel a little warm and fuzzy to know that he cared. That him and his group of morons cared too.A minute passed before he struck more conversation, regarding me with an expectant look. "So," he began, "just how much of the truth are you planning to reveal at lunch?"My turn to raise a brow. "What do you mean?""The reason why you were crying.""Oh. That," I replied, "well. . .um. . .as much as I feel you need to know, I guess.""Right. I can respect that.""Again, thanks." I exhaled, audibly, then shoved my hands into my pockets. "I have a feeling I'll be saying 'thanks' a lot today."He gave me a 'what do you mean' sort of look."I mean there's a lot of people doing a lot of nice things for today. I have to express my gratitude, right?"He nodded in agreement and glanced at the silver watch on his wrist as we turned the (millionth) hallway. "We'll reach class in due time. There's less than a minute left, and Miss Takaoji's class is this way. Fourth door down.""Got it."He opened the door, held it open for me to enter, then followed me in. The class was abuzz with students rushing to get their early morning stories out before the bell rang. Some people instinctively looked our way, then back and minded their business. Most others eyed me with what was either concern or hunger for another conversation topic and then huddled in with their friends to chat more. (I was probably the topic, considering their lingering gazes and mouths obscured by hands). A handful stared at me with pure worry, said people being primarily female, and looked back between the floor and me as if wondering if they should approach me. It was sweet of them. Ms.Takaoji was at her desk on a phone call. She took one look at me, said something that looked like an abrupt goodbye and then hung up before pulling a dozen tissues from the box on her desk and marching over to me."I was wondering where you two were!" she chastised, looking at me with saucer eyes then looking behind me to give Kyouya an equally concerned look. I moved to the side so Kyouya could step in beside me."My sincerest apologies, Ms.Takaoji," he said with a light bow.She waved him off. "Sade, are you feeling alright? What happened? You're a complete mess!" She held the tissues out to me, not asking me to take them. She expected me to take them.I pushed up my glasses, accepting the tissues with a bow. "I'm sorry, but I don't really want to talk about it. Your concern is greatly appreciated though, so thank you for that. And these." Her expression softened, the slightest bit, though it still held a great deal of motherly concern. "Okay. Whatever you say. Are you completely sure you don't want to talk about it though?"I (for the thousandth mcfreaking time) sniffled."Yes ma'am. I'm sure."She nodded, "Well, just know that I'm always here to talk to, 'kay hon?"I nodded back.She addressed Kyouya. "Do you have anything to add?""No, ma'am," he said politely.Another nod. "Okay. Well, you two had better head to your seats now. Class begins in-" she looked at the clock hanging above her desk, "-a few seconds."We obeyed, pivoting for our seats near the window. The bell rang while I retrieved my homework and notebook from my bag."Good morning, everybody," Ms.Takaoji said, projecting her voice and standing tall (even though she was inches shorter than me), "I have an exciting announcement to make, and that'll come right after I mark today's attendance. Please wait patiently in your seats and take out last night's homework."Ms.Takaoji took to said task, eyes flicking between the class and the monitor. "Hideaki Ikeda is absent again?""Yes ma'am," said few class mates."Alright then. Let's get started!" she returned to the center of the room with her hands clasped together and an enthusiastic smile. "You all remember our collaboration with Mr.Daito's art class last semester, correct?""Yes," the class said."Then the announcement I have is simple. Very soon, we will be collaborating with Mr.Tatum's Theatre class to assist in the production of a play!"Cheers resounded all around me. I smiled at the thought of getting to act for two periods a day, but I was inwardly screaming at the thought of group work. Out of all the things I hated at schools, besides petty people and oral presentations, group work was at the top of the list.Why? Well, to put it simply, group work is ninety eight percent of the time "Sade doesn't communicate well so she's practically useless" or "we've decided Sade will take all of the load". Also, there's the subject of how-the-hell-do-I-hold-a-not-so-awkward-conversation-jesus-I'm-so-sorry.I was semi-hopeful though. Ouran had already provided me with a whole (Host) club of people to successfully socialize with. Mr.Tatum's Theatre class was my next period, so the chance to work with the twins (and hopefully not turn into a husk of myself in doing so) wasn't impossible.However. . .if I was in both classes, what role was I going to take? Writer? Actress?"Settle down, settle down please," Ms.Takaoji chuckled. "We will be working together for the next few weeks. The task for both classes as a whole is to produce an entire play, obviously. However there's a challenging twist to it."A few people groaned with loathing.She went on, "Small groups of actors, actresses, and you lot, the writers, will be assigned to translate an original play written by Ouran's very own Mr.Tatum from Japanese into English. Although individual groups will be interpreting scenes, you will all still be required to work together to make sure that your translations fit together seamlessly. The same will be expected of Mr.Tatum's students and their general portrayals of each character."Hm. I supposed that I could do both here. Translating would probably be easier because I wouldn't have to memorize any lines, but then again I'd probably butt heads with my team mates about interpretations. The role of an actor seemed more appealing to me rather than the very thought of translating and writing. I raised my hand."Yes, Sade?"I pushed up my glasses. "How will we be separated into groups? Are you going to choose for us or are we choosing ourselves?""Ah! Good question, Ms.Tanielu. We'll be allowing people to choose their own groups, and in return, we shall choose which scenes they are to deal with--" She paused, her polite expression quickly turning mischievous, "in the first round."More commotion."You heard me correctly, my dearest third years. I say first round because the first work loads you receive will not be the play itself, but a sample from William Shakespeare. Mr.Tatum and I will be lurking in the shadows, assessing your chemistry with your chosen partners and your working capabilities. Afterwards, we'll release the entire script to you and the Mr.Tatum's class only, just so you know where you'd like to head when requesting a scene to translate, and then what scene to audition for. Are we clear?"Words of affirmation came. I raised my hand again. "Which one of Mr.Tatum's periods will we be working with?""Second."Aw yisssss.A girl in front of me raised her hand. "How much of our grade will this count for?""It will count in every area. Participation, homework, classwork, tests, etcetera. As a whole, this will count as a very large unit, hence being fifteen to thirty percent of your grade. It is nearing the end of the year after all. I expect an awful lot from you all."People all around me were squirming in their seats with happiness (others put their heads in their arms in mourning for their grades' inevitable deaths). I faced Kyouya."Sounds fun to me," I said cheerily, "how do you feel about this?"He pushed up his glasses. "That depends on who I end up working with."I shrugged, noticing Ms.Takaoji quieting people. "I hope you get an agreeable group then."The rest of class, once again, passed by like grains of sand in an hourglass. Probably because of my fantasizing about being in the limelight. By the end of class, I had practically forgotten the feeling of dried tears on my cheeks, and the heaviness that lingered in my now dry eyes.I walked with Kyouya just outside the exit, then stationed myself against the outer wall of the classroom. The sting in my eyes remained. "Are my eyes still red?""Yes. Bloodshot, to say the least. I'll see you at lunch."I rolled my eyes and huffed, dissatisfied with my condition. It had been a while since I crying this hard. "Crap. It is what it is. Thanks anyways, Kyouya-senpai. See you at lunch."Some creeping entity suggested that I watch him as he left, but I refrained from doing so and looked away. I recognized said thought as what one would call 'the development of irrational crushes', also known as something that I didn't need. I imagined it as a person, used an imaginary boulder to crush (hehe, see what I did there?) it into a red stain, then neatly wiped away the mess and moved on to searching through the sea of students for the twins.As soon as I saw their copper tresses they made concerned faces and sped up. Apparently, Kaoru had gotten the faux cast that he mentioned yesterday. I sighed, strutting to meet them half way and resigning myself to the fact that I'd have to start from scratch to identify them."Sade," said the one with the softer voice and left part (as in his left), "you still look pretty bad. What happened to you?""Are you sure you don't want to talk about it right now instead of later?" said the deeper voiced one with the right part. My smile was one sided. "Sorry. I'll talk about later. And yeah, Kyouya-senpai told me the same thing. Do you mind going easy on me today, like, telling me which one of you is which?" The one with the left part, Kaoru I guessed, eyed me and disregarded my second question. "Are you sure you're okay?"Hikaru sighed at my secrecy. "What he said. And what about the trick you talked about yesterday?""Yeah, I'm okay," I said with smile, "and sorry, I'm not telling you what it was either. It'd make it harder for me to tell you guys apart."They looked at each other, silently agreeing to drop the subject. "Eh," they said to each other, "Fair enough."They turned around and spaced out, motioning for me to fill the middle space. I joined in and matched their stride. This tiny gesture of friendship pleased me. I beamed. "Before we start more conversation," said Kaoru."We want you to take a good guess at who's who," said Hikaru.Their mischievous selves had returned. I was grateful for the positive mood shift. "Uhh. . ." I chewed on my lower lip, hesitating to reveal my choice. Unfortunately, I had the memory span of Dory the fish, so I couldn't recall anything that would help me besides their general demeanors. "You're Hikaru," I said to the one on my right, "and you're Kaoru." I said to the one on my left."Hehehe! Wrong-o!" they said, poking my shoulders with their left hands."Hey!" I said brushing them off with mock offense, "I said go easy on me! Gimme some time, would you? Besides, it's better for me to identify you by personality and common gestures anyways, right? A lucky guess isn't all that special."They shrugged. "We guess not."Ha.The one on the left shrugged with both arms, the one on the right shrugged with one--his good arm. Kaoru was the twin on the left, since Hikaru was the one who actually had a broken arm. I acted as if I hadn't seen a thing. (Shameful, really. Trying to dupe a woman in tears). "Did you guys hear about the new project in Mr.Tatum's class?""A little bit," Kaoru said, "some third year students were talking about one. Must've been from another period.""Yeah," Hikaru said, "something about a group project.""Close enough," I remarked, "Those were kids from Ms.Takaoji's English class. They're collaborating with Mr.Tatum's Theatre!""Really?" Hikaru said."But what are the English students going to do? Direct?" Kaoru asked."Not quite. We're translating a play written by Mr.Tatum from Japanese into English," I said."We?" Kaoru asked, "what do you mean 'we?' You're in our class, not theirs.""I'm in their class too."Hikaru blinked firmly, a confused look on his face. "Wait, so you have Tatum twice a day?"I chuckled as we turned another corner. "No, silly. I'm in Ms.Takaoji's class too.""But she only teaches English for second and third years," Kaoru commented."I'm in her third year English class. I thought you guys would have figured that from where I'm standing when you come to get me."Their jaws dropped. I laughed again, spotting Haruhi approaching us. Hikaru saw him, then grabbed his arm and pulled him into our little line of friends."Ow!" he said, "Hikaru, would you watch-""Did you know that Sade is in third year English even though she's still a first year??" he interrupted.Haruhi glanced from me back to him. "Eh, no."Kaoru interrogated me, leaning further into my line of sight. "Did you get let into school late or something?""No. I got into school about the same time as you guys."Well, that was part of the truth. I went to school at an early age, but not that early. It was only by a few months, since the age restriction would've held me back by a full year because my birthday was in September. Luckily, my parents saw my potential and fought the school board on it.Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Impossible. Do you have any more third year classes?"I pushed up my glasses. "Well, I have Theatre, a mixed grade class with you guys.""That doesn't count," Kaoru said pointedly."Um, I have Art History. It's a mixed class too. . .but I guess it still counts.""Art History?" Haruhi said. "I heard that that one's really hard.""Yeah! I heard it was college level," Hikaru said. "Only the crazy smart kids take that one."My smile widened with pride. It was the only advanced level class I had taken at my old school too. This time, however, I knew how to handle it better. "Wow," Haruhi replied. He turned back to me. "How are you liking it?""Mm. . .the content itself isn't really that hard to understand, but the standards for the final exam are. Taxing, if you ask me. Plus sh--" I stopped myself, nearly saying 'a shit ton of memorizing'. God, I really had to work on that. "Plus a ton of memorizing""Are you feeling any better now?" Haruhi asked. I could see him eyeing his next classroom.I nodded. "Much better, thank you. I'll see you at lunch.""Yep. See you guys later!" Haruhi flashed an adorable smile and then left us."So, I'd like to know more about this collaboration, please," the Kaoru said.I filled them in on all the other details in class, while Mr.Tatum was readying his teacherly duties and such. We hyped over it together, spending the following classes talking a whole lot more. It occurred to me that in the span of merely twenty four hours my interaction with my new friends was already becoming more close.My red flags were already raising.If my parents were really that pissed about the Host Club, they might've been worked to reassign my guides and rearrange my seating charts with my teachers. But. . .how would they even do that? Realistically speaking it wasn't practical since: A) Tamaki and Kyouya's parents are both very important 'players' here and B) they couldn't really lie about anything either.No. No, that wasn't the real issue. I was. My parents raised me to be honest when it matters most, and apparently, this mattered a lot them. I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to go behind their backs and see the Host Club if they really disagreed all that much. The guilt would eat me alive.More importantly, how good of a friend would I really be to them? I wasn't even good at maintaining my current friendships. I was terrible at remembering things, and then there was that whole apathy thing.It was terribly easy for me to shrug people off even if they still wanted to talk to me. It wasn't the "I'm better than you" type of not caring. It was the loss of interest. Hell, that's not even apathy. The failure to be kind to those who were kind to me would be better described as a 'real-bitch-move'. The red flags were warning me not to grow too close before we could establish anything strong enough to be broken.Luckily, besides the revelations of growing closeness and warnings against that, I also remembered that I'm a master of suffocating my emotions. In these types of situations, at least. Stop being so damn overdramatic was the mantra I repeated to myself.We arrived in the cafeteria laughing about one of my own personal stories. I got confused when we went passed the lunch line without stopping."Uh, guys? What about your lunch?" I asked."Eh, don't worry about it," Hikaru said with a wink. "We ordered special bento boxes from our personal chefs. They should be at our usual table with the rest of the club. We didn't sit with them yesterday because the older members were doing other stuff.""Oh. Okay," I replied."Over there," Kaoru said, pointing. He and Hikaru took the lead, and I followed behind them."Sade!" Honey and Tamaki said. Haruhi, Mori, and Kyouya all acknowledged me with either a wave or a nod."Hi everybody," I said, plastering on a smile.Kyouya sat on the far, upper-right corner of the the table. Tamaki was sitting next to him, with Haruhi on his other side, leaving an empty seat at the end. I figured that the twins wanted to sit next to each other on the opposite side of the table with Mori and Honey, so I took the seat next to Haruhi."Are you feeling any better?" Honey said"Yes. Much better, thank you. A little dehydrated, but that's to be expected when one cries," I replied with a smile, thinking to myself that this was going to be much harder than I originally thought. I laid my bag beside me and folded my hands in my lap, referring to Step One: let them know they're appreciated.Why? Because, Step Two would be one hell of a band-aid to rip off."Again, before I say anything else, I just want to thank you all for being so concerned about me even though you've only known me for a day. I'm grateful for that.""It's no problem, really," Haruhi replied, swatting the air beside him."We like helping people!" Honey said."We care." Mori commented."Don't sweat it," Hikaru said, putting his good arm around Kaoru."Yeah, the Host Club's got your back," Kaoru said, giving me a thumbs up.Kyouya sat silently, watching. He nodded when we made eye contact."See!" Tamaki said gleefully, leaning forward to see me. "The Host Club is here for you, just like we are for the rest of our classmates. You can tell us anything, after all, it is a host's job to make every girl happy." He tugged the lapels of his blazer, clearly pleased with himself.I stiffened, just barely. Sorry Tamaki, but your plan kinda backfired because your marketing sucks.Still, seeing so much support made smile a lot. It almost brought tears to my eyes, but I chose skip the sad sack act and just smiled more.He blinked, a look of remembrance gracing his features. "Say, did you tell your parents about us yet? Surely they would trust us gentlemen to aid you with your sorrows."Crap.I coughed to clear the thickening dread in my voice. Step Two: Rip off the band-aid."Ahem. Um, actually, they don't."Every single member shifted uncomfortably. "When I told my mother about the Host Club, she approved whole heartedly. She was able to see kind of people you guys are. That changed this morning. I was in the car with my parents and ended up telling my father about you all. He approved. Begrudgingly, at that, but he approved."I took a breath."However, he and Mom did not approve of the Host Club website."The twins licked their lips and swallowed nervously. There was no change in Kyouya's general expression, per say, but I could almost see something change in his eyes when he pushed up his glasses. Haruhi, Mori, and Honey waited patiently.Tamaki was heart-breaking to see. His eyes were wide, his body was tensed, and he was biting his lip. For the most part, he looked like a frightened puppy.My gaze flitted to the side when I pushed up my glasses. "They disapproved of the Photo Gallery because they didn't think it was appropriate for people your ages to be 'acting like that'. As a result, they instructed me to refrain from associating with you guys.""Oh no!" Honey said, one arm tightening around his stuffed bunny and the other gripping Mori. He said nothing, just stared at me with jaw tensed."What?!" the twins said, pressing their mouths into straight lines."That's horrible," Haruhi remarked and put a hand over his mouth.Tamaki's mouth hung open, his face the embodiment of regret. Kyouya pushed up his glasses. "And that's what made you cry? Their prohibition?"I grazed my front teeth over my lower lip. "No. Not initially, at least.""Then what?" he asked.This was where I had to twist the truth. This was what made it hard. I didn't want them blaming themselves for me getting slapped and then weeping out the Pacific Ocean at the rose labyrinth. And I for damn sure was not about to tell them that I was slapped in the first place. My parents weren't abusive. This was just one bad day out of a one hundred and seventy five other good days. The last thing I needed was, in this conservative nation, for them to call child services over a single outburst and have my parents dragged away."The crying was my fault. Self-inflicted. I would've been fine if I hadn't insisted against their orders. I continued to talk back and ended up saying things that I shouldn't have. Because of that, they ended up saying things that they shouldn't have."Tamaki winced. "You got into an argument along with the scolding?!"Kyouya narrowed his eyes, unsatisfied with my response.I sighed. "Listen, Kyouya-senpai, if you want a more detailed response, that's fine. They wanted to switch out my guides and rearrange my seating near you guys. That's impractical, frankly, considering you haven't actually done anything wrong. It's not all that possible either because of plenty of personal reasons.""Those being?" he pressed on.I sighed once more. "Your father is my dad's client and my mother's boss. Tamaki's father is, for the most part, one of the only reasons why I'm here. Technically speaking, I'm not even supposed to be here. It's too late in the year for an honour student to accepted, especially if I'm an unprecedented second one. I got lucky. Do you see where I'm going here? Announcing problems with either of you is a big bowl of no.""Sade," Tamaki said shakily. He stood and came to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I am so sorry for the grief that I have caused you. As the leader, all blame should be put on me for this." He looked at his hand on my shoulder and abruptly removed it. He put his head down. "Sorry."Oh lord. I saw that. He remembered not to touch me, but this time it was because he thought he was making things worse."Tamaki-senpai, it's fine. Really. I told you, it's my fault. Not yours.""She's right boss. It's not your fault. It's ours," Hikaru said with the same downcast expression."He allowed us to manage part of the photo gallery. He wasn't the one choosing the photos, or editing them like that," said Kaoru.I looked at them incredulously. Were they deaf? I didn't need everybody falling to pieces here when the situation itself was hardly fixable. "Guys, I said that it's not your fault. It's mine.""And that explains why one side of your face was redder than the other this morning?" Kyouya interjected. Aside from Kyouya they all ogled at me again, eyes wide with the curiosity of whether I had been struck in the face or not. "You should never hit someone with glasses!" Honey cried out.I cut my eyes at Kyouya. "I don't have any fancy schmancy logic about why I don't cry symmetrically. If you're implying that I was physically disciplined then I can assure you that I wasn't. I grew out of that by age nine."We held a staring contest."Okay," Haruhi said, making eye contact with the most recent speakers, "before everybody falls apart I have two questions for you, Sade. One, are you really feeling okay? Two, after what's happened, do you still want to hang out with us? I know you didn't ask me, but I think that you should do whatever you feel is right. Parents aren't always right. Right guys?"Because of Haruhi, a beacon of light and the apparent mediator here, I watched as everyone (including myself) visibly relaxed ourselves and settled down. Kyouya nodded, and I heard the twins and Tamaki audibly agree with him."Great questions, Haruhi," I said to him, " And you're right. Parents, just like any other person, aren't always right. Yes, I really am feeling okay. And yes, hanging around you guys would be really cool. I'm not that worried about my parents now anyways."It was true. I knew they wouldn't beat me into compliance or anything else of that sort. The guilt was gone. If my parents asked about them, I would tell them. Simple."Although, I won't be around during hosting hours because that was the one thing they forbid before finding the website. Sound good?""Sure," Haruhi said firmly. "That sounds great." He put a hand out for me to shake, which I did.The others regarded me with reluctance that contrasted Haruhi's approval."But what about your parents?" Tamaki said."The worst thing they've done so far is cancel my haircut appointment. There's not much more they can do than tha--""Hey guys," said a male voice behind me.Attention shifted from me to him. I turned around to view the newcomer. For a nanosecond I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest because he startled me so badly.A tall, red haired boy approached us. His face was set with deep frown lines that contrasted the welcome look in his eyes and his gentle smile. His uniform was disheveled in a messy, yankee style that, usually, only yakuza wore. The blazer was unbuttoned to reveal a yellow sweater, and the collar was unfolded."I was just wondering if--whoa." He looked over at Tamaki, who (still) looked like dejected puppy. "Am I interrupting something, guys? I could come back later because it looks like you're kinda busy." He rubbed the back of his neck.Tamaki blinked a few times to clear his stupor, wearily replying with, "I'm sorry Casanova but you'll have to wait--"I got up and put a hand in front of Tamaki's mouth, looking back and forth pointedly between the new guy and the rest of the club. An act of mercy, really. I was thinking about shaking his shoulders instead. "Ehhh no you won't. You're fine where you are, man. The Host Club would love to help you. Right. Tamaki."It was less so a question than it was a shove to action. I wasn't doing this just to escape the conversation altogether. I did it because I could no longer stand the look Tamaki's face. His intentions were practically written on his forehead. I could tell that he was probably screaming inside that he had ruined my life and that he shouldn't interfere with anyone else's because of that.Well, I wasn't about to let him do that. The twins and dearest Haruhi already told me that the Host Club was known for its hospitality, not its tendency mind their own business. My hand moved from hovering in front of his mouth to behind him to pat him on the back. "Right, Tamaki?" I repeated and then looked back at the others, "Especially because they know that it makes so many people happy to see them help others." I (non-discreetly) pointed at myself when I said 'people'.The poor red-headed guy looked at me like I was a nutcase. Tamaki looked like he was still hesitant to comply, so Honey took the reigns. "Sure Casa-chan!"The rest of the members followed his lead."Great." I addressed red-headed guy with eye contact, a firm tone and an informal bow. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Sade Tanielu, first year.""Eh, Ritsu Kasanoda," he said, sounding a bit nervous and mirroring my bow. "Oh, and uh, I'm a first year too.""Well, nice to meet you first year buddy. Now, do you need privacy with the Host Club or are you okay with me sticking around?""Huh?" he said, scratching his head, "uh, no. It's fine, I guess. I just wanted to ask them for advice. I don't mind.""You sure?""No--er, I mean yeah. It's fine I'm sure.""Alright then," I nodded and retreated to my seat next to Haruhi. I turned my body away from him and pulled out my phone to look busy, even though I was still listening."Good to see you again, Kasanoda. What do you need help with?" Kyouya asked, turning himself around to face Kasanoda."It's Tetsuya, Kyouya-senpai." I heard him walk to the neighboring table and sit down.Ooh. Boy drama."He's been acting sorta weird lately, y'know? He hasn't been talking to me or anyone, and when he does, it's fast and. . .weird.""You mean he sounds forced? Awkward, maybe?" said Hikaru."Yeah. That. Plus, he won't eat much. He goes out a lot more than usual and doesn't arrive until later on. He always goes straight to his room when he comes home from those outings too.""Hmm. . ." Tamaki said, seeming to have finally regained his princely aura, "it's that bad?""Senpai, he won't even play kick the can with me and the guys anymore!"A collective gasp resounded among all but Kyouya and Mori, though Mori looked like he was mentally gasping."The progress we made is gone!" Kaoru cried, flopping on the tabletop. I exhaled through my nose in lieu of laughter. "Fear not, men!" Tamaki said, "We can still get to the bottom of this. Casanova-""Kasanoda," I corrected. He continued as if I hadn't said a thing."Bossanova you can--"And then the bell rang. When I looked up I saw Tamaki up standing in some weird power stance with a fist in the air, a fist on his hip, and one leg on his chair. "You can meet us after school because there is no time left! Right men?""Right!" the club replied, saluting him.Kasanoda shrugged. "Whatever you say. See you then." He melded with the other students around us who went to their own classes.They all dropped the act and gathered their own things for class. I hiked my backpack up my shoulder. Honey, Mori, and Kyouya went one way and the twins, Haruhi, and me went for another, since we all had classes together. Tamaki followed us, telling us to wait for him."But Tama-chan your classes are this way," Honey called out."It's fine! I have leeway as the Chairman's son! I'll catch up with you all!" He called out. He hurried to my side."Isn't that abuse of power?" Haruhi asked.He had a cheeky look about him. "No. It's appreciation of privilege.""So inform us why you're following us again, please?" said Hikaru, deadpanning."I wasn't finished talking to this lucky girl," he replied, nudging me with his elbow."What is it, Your Highness?" I said with an eyeroll and a wry smile.He chuckled. "I was wondering whatever possessed you to do what you did back there?""Do what?" I asked."Disregard your parents' orders despite their wrath? Urge me to assist Casanova?""Oh. That," I replied. "Forgive me, but I don't have the stomach to continue watching someone who, from the things I've heard, practically breathes teamwork and acts of kindness, regress into a saucer-eyed husk over a mistake that wasn't even his.""A saucer-eyed husk you say?" he squinted at me and pouted."Indeed," I replied."Pfft. And your mouth was wide open too," Haruhi added."Such cruelty from my fair mai-"Kaoru, for some reason, used his cast to strike Tamaki's side. Tamaki choked on his words and then revised them, saying "from my fairly high maintenance good man. Not very gentlemanly of you, eh?"Haruhi deadpanned. "No, not at all."He rolled his eyes at him. "Whatever. Anywho, Sade, will we be seeing you after school before club hours?""Eh, you might," I shrugged. "Depends on how early my mom gets here."My phone buzzed a few times. I retrieved it.From: Momur hair appointment is still onDad's picking u up after school to come with us to the hair salon after work bc he had a change in scheduleim using the 2nd car to pick up the other kidsur picking up sushi frm the restaurant Kyotama's Sushiu cn use the xtra yen in ur bag to xplore the plaza near ituse Google Maps n keep ur phone charged n stay n crowded areas w lots of pplluv u we'll talk in the carI sighed. "Nevermind. I have to run an errand after school. I'll see you tomorrow, Tamaki-senpai.""Aww," he said, disappointed, "was that your mother?""Yup. Sorry.""See you tomorrow," he said, looking to weave his way back from where we came. "Oh, and Sade?""Yes?"He set both hands on my shoulders, bending to my level. "I won't be letting you cry again anytime soon, 'kay? All smiles from here on out. I'll make sure of it."The feel of his hands on my shoulders and his glittering violet eyes looking into mine made me feel a rush of happiness and comfort. I grinned. "Thank you, senpai. I know you will."He dashed for his next class. The second I returned to walking with the everybody else, my mixed feelings about Mom's texts returned. Happiness that I could get my hair cut, of course, but also emptiness. I wasn't mad anymore. The feeling had just. . .seeped out and disappeared.The emptiness made me angry that I was no longer angry. Then I felt frustrated that I was angry about not being angry. Then I took a breath and chilled out, thumbs hovering over the screen to text back "'Kay thanks. Love you." Just like I usually would. Just to be the bigger person. Just in case something happened.Just because I hadn't said it this morning. . .but 'something' never happened, did it?I fell back on already repressed memories of this morning, where the only thing she was concerned about when Dad slapped me was the fact that other people would see me crying.I texted back.Thanks. See you after school.V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> <><(A/N):If you haven't noticed already, Sade's methods of regulating her thoughts can be odd. . . at times. A bit violent minded, if I do say so myself. Behind that poor baby's layers topical acne medicine, teen turmoil, and poufy pink pout (try saying that three times fast), she's often screaming.Random character facts:= Sade has beauty marks (or moles, whatever you call them) above her lip on the left side, another lower and further left than that one, and a third one on her right cheek.= Sade has eczema scars. Eczema, as defined by google, is "a medical condition in which patches of skin become rough and inflamed, with blisters that cause itching and bleeding, sometimes resulting from a reaction to irritation (eczematous dermatitis) but more typically having no obvious external cause." The scars are evident in discolored, darker spots on her wrists, forearms, in spots on her legs, and in larger patches behind her knees.= She is very careful about wearing her glasses at certain times, despite how shitty her eyesight is. Wearing glasses for too long can sometimes cause a tan line on her face, so she often puts them on her head when outside.= Her favorite accessory is her father's large diamond stud earrings. They're both flashy and simple, and, in her opinion, go with everything. Bonus: she likes the tougher, masculine feel that she gets from wearing them, as she sometimes imagines herself working with her father as a bouncer. (Such a Daddy's girl, tsk tsk).Stay hydrated. Fa'afetai. Peace out.~ NuaLast edited: 11/19/2016<>< <>< <><