Chapter 33 | Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date!

~Arabella's POV~

"H-Haruhi...? Haruhi Fujioka???" the mystery guy had said in surprise.

Haruhi's eyes had widened. "Arai-kun...!" she muttered, just as surprised as the mystery guy.

The Host Club, including me, looked back and forth between the two of them.

The mystery guy chuckled. "Uh... are these friends of yours...?" he asked awkwardly.

Haruhi stood there a second before nodding. "Mm hm, yes!" she said. Then, she gestured to me. "This is Arabella," The twins. "This is Hikaru and Kaoru," Tamaki. "And this is my sen--" Haruhi stopped herself.

Tamaki looked proud, awaiting Haruhi to introduce him.

Haruhi then continued. "This is an acquaintance of mine."

Tamaki froze.

And looked absolutely horrified.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It was at our graduating ceremony at middle school, the last time we saw each other, huh?" Haruhi said.

As I swept the floor, I listened to their conversation.

"You cut your hair, what a shame." the mystery guy (or, Arai, as Haruhi introduced him to us) said.

"You think so? Ever since I cut it, I found it's easier to manage this way." Haruhi said.

"How have you been settling in at Ouran?" Arai asked. "Do you ever see anyone from middle school?"

"Sort of. Kazumi calls me a lot, and such." Haruhi said.

"Hm, he's a friend of Haruhi's from middle school, is he?" Kyoya asked as he, Honey, and Mori sat a table some feet away from Haruhi's.

"I guess so." I said as I swept around their table.

Across from the table, sitting at the long island with Kaoru, Hikaru said, "Haruhi! Arabella! You're slacking off. Miszuru! Get them back to work, please!"

Haruhi huffed and glared at Hikaru. "Miszuru gave me a break."

"And, I am working. Miszuru didn't give me a break because my long-lost best friend didn't just show up out of the blue, that and I don't have a long-lost best friend." I grumbled as I kept sweeping.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, if they haven't been in contact since their middle school ceremony, that wouldn't mean he's a friend, it would mean he's just a classmate."

Kaoru nudged me. "Hey, did Haruhi ever mention Arai to you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"Are you friends with him too?

"Uh, no. I already said I didn't have a long-lost best friend." I said.

I legit had NO FRIENDS until I met the Host Club...

Sad, isn't it?

Kaoru nodded. "Oh, okay." That's all he said.

Hikaru glared at him.

Jeez... what's up with him...?

"So, you say they're all in the same club as you?" Arai asked Haruhi. "Even her?" He nodded his head at me.

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah."

"What club are you guys in?" Arai asked.

"The Host Club."

"Oh. That's interesting."

"Haruhi!" Hikaru suddenly called. "Can you refill my drink? Kaoru's too?"

"No. I already told you, Miszuru gave me a break. So, I'm on break right now." Haruhi replied, a little ticked.

Hikaru huffed again. "Fine. I'll just ask Arabella instead," he said before he turned to me. "Arabella! Get us some drinks."

I put my hands on my hips. "Oh, yeah, Hikaru. Of course. Thanks for asking nicely and everything. Really appreciate it." I said sarcastically.

Kaoru rolled his eyes at his twin. "Can you please get us drinks?" he asked politely.

I smiled. "Of course, Kaoru. Thanks for asking politely." I said before I grabbed both their cups and refilled them. Then, I gave them back.

"Thank you." Kaoru said before he took a sip.

"You're welcome." I said.

Hikaru didn't say anything.

Suddenly, I heard weeping and ripping.

I turned to see Tamaki huddled up in a corner, ripping up pieces of paper and throwing them in a pile all around him.

"Tamaki, can you not make a mess?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah, the more mess you make, the more mess I gotta clean up." I said.

"It's not a mess. I'm making a hamster home." Tamaki mumbled.

"Uh, Senpai? You don't have a hamster... do you?" Haruhi asked.

"I'm not your senpai. I'm merely just an acquaintance." Tamaki grumbled.

Arai suddenly laughed. "Ha! You Ouran folks are so funny...!" he chuckled. Then, he said, "It's such an elite school. I imagined it was like a whole different world."

"It's other-dimensional enough." Haruhi said. I chuckled at that.

She was right, after all!

"The truth is, Haruhi, I was worried if you went there, you'd have a hard time. I'm really glad to see that you're doing so well." Arai said.

Haruhi smiled at him.

At that, Arai seemed to tense up and his cheeks were tinted pink. "U-Uh... Er... I mean... I wasn't the only one who was worried...! The other guys were worried too!" he studdered.

Hm...

Hikaru's eyes seemed to narrow. "What's with this guy? He's using the refreshing-innocent lines now? We ended that whole refreshing contest thing yesterday!"

We all eyed him.

It was Kyoya who said something. "Well, you're being unusually critical, aren't you?"

He's right; Hikaru was being unusually critical... and kinda rude too.

Hikaru frowned. "I'm just saying! This guy is obviously interested in Haruhi! It's as plain as day, and kind of pathetic." he said.

Arai looked at down at his feet.

I stopped sweeping. "Hikaru, no offense, but shut the hell up, please. You're being rude to Haruhi's friend." I said simply.

Haruhi stood up out of her chair and glared at Hikaru. "Yeah! Hikaru, you're the one acting unpleasant, here!" she snapped.

"No! He's okay, he's right! Haruhi, I did actually have a thing for you." Arai said.

All our eyes widened.

"Well, it doesn't really matter... I mean, I was shot down by you, anyway..." Arai said.

Haruhi gasped.

"Why do you act so surprised?" Kyoya asked her.

"W-Well... I mean..." Haruhi studdered.

"Arai-kun! When was this?" Tamaki asked Arai. I noticed he was out of his corner and had stopped ripping paper.

"It was about a year ago... We were both third years in middle school. It was summer. We were talking about her entrance exam for Ouran, and I asked her to go out with me. She didn't say no, but she made it clear she didn't want to. She changed the subject." Arai explained.

Haruhi turned pale.

"Haruhi... you crushed this poor boy's heart...? Over something like that?" Kyoya asked.

"Uh, no, I didn't know that's what he meant at all...," Haruhi mumbled. Then she turned to Arai. "Arai, I'm really sorry..."

"Oh! Don't tell me you're shooting me down again...!" Arai frowned. Then, he laughed. "I'm kidding! It's okay, I'm over it! If you didn't realize what I meant, that meant you weren't interested. But, still, Haruhi, that gentle, faraway look in your eyes... and the way you look directly at someone when you're talking to them... I always thought those things were two of the many great things about you."

I wanted to gush. I mean, come on! This guy was good...

Tamaki immediately smiled. "You think that much of my little girl??? Don't you worry! I shall never forget your gallantry!" he gushed.

Arai smiled awkwardly.

Hikaru glared and kept drinking his drink.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Third Person POV~

"Hm? You went to Kyoto on your fieldtrip in middle school? It's so unusual that it would be in-country, huh?" Honey asked.

"Oh no, that's normal for us 'commoners'." Arai said.

"Hm. I like Kyoto too!" Tamaki said.

"I've actually been once. My family and I went together. It wasn't too enjoyable though..." Arabella said. Her mother had still been with Robert back then.

Arai frowned. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Arabella said.

"Okay." Arai smiled.

"Hikaru, what should we do?" Kaoru whispered across the room to Hikaru.

"Why do you care? I mean, he isn't flirting shamefully with Arabella!" Hikaru snapped.

Kaoru blushed. "Sh-Shut up about that already, will ya'???" he mumbled. Then, he said, "Uh, they all look like they're having a good time over there, Miszuru even let Arabella have a break. Should we join them?"

"Nah. He's annoying. Tono was easily impressed by him. What is he, stupid?" Hikaru grumbled, irritated.

"Hey! Hikaru, Kaoru! You guys, come over here! This is a rare chance to hear about some episodes from Haruhi and Arai-kun's middle school days!" Tamaki said, waving them over.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Hmph! No way! I especially don't want to hear about him. Seriously, how stupid are you? I don't understand how you get so excited hearing stories from the past! Plus, doesn't he get that Haruhi doesn't want anything to do with him? Haruhi doesn't have any room for him in her life! So, he should just buzz off and leave her alone!" he snapped.

Suddenly, Haruhi got up out of her chair and made her way over to Hikaru.

"Seriously! He's so ignorant! Haruhi has friends! Friends that aren't him!" Hikaru continued.

It was then it happened.

Haruhi raised her hand and slapped Hikaru across the face, swiftly.

Everyone was silent.

"That is NOT for you to decide, Hikaru! It's for me to decide! I get the say in who gets to be in my life or not! You don't have the right to go around, acting like you're better than everyone else, and you certainly don't have the right to treat my friend that way! If you say one more rude thing to him, you'll answer to me." Haruhi shouted angrily.

"What is this...? Why do other people even matter...?" Hikaru mumbled.

Then, he suddenly stood up violently in his chair. "Why does it matter?! Huh?! We're your friends, aren't we?!" he shouted.

Everyone stayed silent.

Hikaru glared one more time before he suddenly took off and ran upstairs.

"Hikaru, wait!" Kaoru called after him before he got up and followed him.

They all heard a door slam.

Tamaki sighed. "Their world is still so small, isn't it?" he mumbled.

Back upstairs, Kaoru knocked on their room's door and let himself in.

"Well, that was really hot-headed of you, huh?" he said.

Hikaru glared again. "Please, Kaoru. Don't lie. If Arabella were in Haruhi's place, you'd be disgusted too." he said.

"I still think I was more rational than you, Hikaru," Kaoru said. "The way you threw your selfish feelings around like that was pretty childish. Haruhi was stunned. We were all stunned. Stunned that you'd act that way." Kaoru said.

"What was I supposed to do? I was incredibly disgusted..." Hikaru mumbled.

Kaoru smiled. "For now, how about you go back down there and apologize to Arai-kun? Hm?" he suggested.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry, Arai." Haruhi apologized as Arai got on his bicycle. The Host Club stood around them.

"It's okay. I don't know what I did, but it seemed to set him off." Arai said.

Suddenly, a door knob turned and a door opened.

"Hika-chan..." Honey said.

They all turned to see the redhead walk towards Arai awkwardly before he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I was way out of line. I'm really sorry."

Arai smiled. "It's okay!" he said. "Bye, Haruhi! See you later, everyone!" Then, he rode away.

Everyone smiled and waved. "Bye!" they all said.

"Kaoru? Why are you pretending to be Hikaru?" Haruhi asked.

Arabella nodded. "Yeah, what's up with that?"

Kaoru's eyes widened.

"Hey, where's that scratch on your cheek?" Arabella asked him.

"I just covered it up with some concealer," Kaoru said before he held up concealer. "Thanks, Arabella."

Arabella frowned. "Hey! That was in my purse! You guys really gotta stop going through my things." she said.

Kaoru shrugged before he tossed the concealer to Arabella. "Sorry," he said. Then, he sighed. "Hikaru doesn't seem like he'll be cheering up any time soon. So, Haruhi, I have a small favor to ask you."

"Hm?" Haruhi asked.

"Tomorrow, would like to go on a date with me?" Kaoru asked.

Arabella froze at that.

"Tomorrow, would you like to go on a date with me?"

The sentence seemed to repeat inside her head like a broken record player.

Haruhi and Kaoru on a date... Why does that seem to bother me...? Arabella thought to herself. I hope Haruhi doesn't say yes...

"Sure, I guess I'd like that..." Haruhi said.

Arabella's eyes narrowed. Damn. It. All, she thought. But, why does it seem to bother me? If it bothers me, there's really only one explanation--I'm jealous.

But, why would I be jealous? I've got nothing to be jealous about...!

Unless.

Arabella gulped. Unless what they all say is true: I like Kaoru. As in, more than a friend.

Wait, do I like him more than a friend? Months ago, I would probably be able to answer that question easily... but NOW...

I don't know.

I just don't know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Kaoru's POV~

"Hey, Arabella, can you get me a drink?" I asked the next day as I sat down at the island.

Arabella jumped and turned around to face me.

She squinted. "Kaoru? Uh, what are you still doing here??? Aren't you supposed to be on your... Ahem... date with Haruhi...?"

"Nah. I faked sick and sent Hikaru in my place. So the two of them can make up, plus this'll show Hikaru to care about other people's feelings." I explained.

Arabella just stood there. "Uh, okay then... Oh, you said you wanted a drink?" she said.

I nodded. "Yeah."

I then told Arabella what drink I wanted and she got it for me.

I took it from her. "Thanks." I said before I drank it down.

"So... I haven't seen anyone else but you. Where's everyone else?" Arabella said.

"They all went to spy on Haruhi and Hikaru's date. By now, Haruhi probably realized Hikaru's there instead of me." I said.

Arabella nodded. "Yeah, probably."

Awkward silence.

"So," Arabella suddenly said. "what do ya' wanna do...? I'm not on duty for a few more hours..."

I smiled. "We could watch a movie or something... Would you want to?"

"Sure. I'd love to." Arabella said.

So, that's how Arabella and I ended up in the lounge watching TV.

We were about an hour into our movie when Arabella asked, "How do you think the date's going?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Pretty well, I guess." I replied.

Arabella looked out a window. "It looks pretty cloudy and dark out there... I hope it doesn't rain." she said.

"It's okay; they'll be able to handle it." I said.

Arabella nodded before she turned back to the TV.

I dug my hand around in the popcorn bowl that Arabella had popped for us when suddenly my hand touched something warm.

Well, warmer than the popcorn, anyway.

I looked down to see my hand was touching Arabella's.

We both looked up at each other, blushed, and immediately snatched our hands out of the bowl.

"S-Sorry...! I didn't realize you were getting some...!" Arabella studdered.

"N-No! It's okay...! I should've let you go first...! Your hand was probably there before mine...!" I studdered as well.

Just great, Kaoru, can you go through one afternoon with this girl and not completely end up a blushing fool in front of her??? Apparently not...

I thought back to when that vase fell from that second-story window and almost fell on Arabella and me.

What I had said before then...

"Arabella. You're beautiful."

I blushed at the memory.

I had called Arabella beautiful. To her face. What kind of guy says that to a girl who isn't his girlfriend? Huh?

Why had I said it? Why???

Arabella probably thinks I'm some sort of weirdo, now.

Then again, I did see her half naked before, and she told me she didn't think I was a weirdo then...

Of course, she could've been lying... but it didn't seem like she was...

Before Arabella could say anything else, the doors to the pension suddenly opened...

Revealing Tono, Kyoya, Honey, and Mori.

The second he saw us, Tono glared. "What do you think you're doing, shady twin?"

I smirked. "Oh, nothing. Just on a date with Arabella, here. In fact, while you were gone, we made out a bit. Also, you guys are killin' the mood; get out." I joked.

I knew that would drive Tono crazy.

Which, it did.

Arabella blushed intensely.

Honey-senpai cheered. "Finally! Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting for you two to get together??? A real long time. Isn't that right, Takashi?" he said.

Mori nodded. "Most definitely." he said.

"I can say with absolute certainty that this is very true." Kyoya said.

Tono glared harder. "NO, IT IS NOT! That is definitely NOT TRUE!!!" he screeched.

I rolled my eyes.

Honey suddenly looked out the window. "It's really dark out now... I saw lightening earlier on our way back... And now you can hear thunder... It's definitely going to storm. I hope they're staying out of the rain..." he said.

Suddenly, Tono was pacing nervously. "You know, maybe I should just go and pick them up...!" he said.

Suddenly, the pension's phone rang.

Arabella got up and answered it. "Hello? This is Miszuru's Pension, how can I help you?" she said. Then, she paused for a second. "Huh? Arai? Is that you? What's happening?" Another pause. "What? Haruhi and Hikaru...? Hm...? Okay. Well, Hikaru should have his phone with him... I'll try calling. Okay. Okay, bye," Then, she hung up and turned to us. "Arai just told me that he met up with Hikaru and Haruhi on their date in front of his uncle's shop. Hikaru got mad again and stormed off again, leaving Haruhi alone and out in a thunderstorm. And, ya' know what? Fun fact: Haruhi's terrified of thunder. It's her one fear!"

Oh no...

Tono had a determined look on his face before he grabbed his phone and called (I can assume) Hikaru.

His phone rang for a couple of seconds before Hikaru picked up.

Tono put his phone on speaker.

"Hello?" Hikaru. "Oh, hey, boss. Perfect timing. Could you send a limo around for me? I couldn't catch any cabs."

Seriously?

"YOU IDIOT!!! How could you just run away and bail on Haruhi like that?! Baka, baka, BAKA!!! I mean, what kind of guy leaves a girl out in a thunderstorm all by herself?! Listen to me and listen good--Haruhi is incredibly scared of thunder! It's her weakness! So, before you start being shamefully jealous and act like a child, think hard about the other person you're with! The freaking world doesn't revolve around you, Hikaru! Now, you better find Haruhi and bring her here or else I'll find her for you and I'll drag you by your ears all the way back to the pension! Got it?! So, stop acting like a complete ass and get it done!" Tono shouted all at once.

All our eyes widened as he hung up on Hikaru and put his phone away.

"Wow... nice job, Senpai..." Arabella said.

Tono nodded. "Thank you, my daughter. Just know, if Hikaru comes back without Haruhi, I will kill him."

Thus began our long wait for the return of my idiot brother and Haruhi, the girl he was supposed to be caring for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, everybody!" Arai said cheerfully as he walked into the pension with something in his arms.

It was the next day. Luckily, Hikaru and Haruhi had returned back to us safely, last night.

Of course, Tono had spent the entire rest of the night screaming his head off at Hikaru anyway.

"Come in, Arai!" Haruhi welcomed him in.

"I brought a watermelon!" Arai said as he held up the thing in his arms, which was, apparently a watermelon. "Ours are delicious, you know."

"That's a really big one!" Honey said.

"It's pretty impressive, for sure." Tono agreed.

I nudged Hikaru. "Ahem, don't you have something to say to a certain someone...?" I whispered.

Hikaru slowly approached Arai.

The two of them looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Hikaru said, "Look, I'm really sorry, seriously! I shouldn't have said what I said to you, and I'm sorry for it."

Arai smiled and handed the watermelon to Hikaru. "Here," he said. "Also, you're forgiven."

Hikaru smiled and took it. "Thanks." he said.

Arai nodded.

I smiled at the display.

So did Arabella. "It's really great they were able to make up. I'm glad." she said.

I nodded. "Me too."

"Even though the thunderstorm occurred, I think it was good of you to send them on a date with each other. You showed Hikaru it's okay to care about other people. You opened his eyes a bit wider. You're a really great brother," Arabella said. "And, a really great friend."

I blushed at that. "Th-Thanks... You are too--A great friend, I mean...!" I studdered.

Smooth, Kaoru. Real smooth...

Arabella looked at me. "Thanks. Oh, by the way, I was meaning to ask you... did you mean what you said the other day...? You know, when you said I was... beautiful...?" she said.

Oh, here we go... I knew this would be brought up one way or the next...

I turned pink and nodded. "O-Of course. You are beautiful... Of course!"

Arabella blushed. "No guy has ever told me that as sincerely as you did... Thank you. It means a lot." she said.

I probably blushed harder. "You're welcome. I'm glad you're happy." I said.

Then, Arabella smiled before she took my arm. "Seriously, thank you." she said.

Then, before anything else could happen, Arabella suddenly leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.

I'm one hundred percent sure I blushed fifty shades of red.

When she pulled away, I saw she was blushing harder as well.

Then, she said, "U-Uh, I'm gonna go whip up some drinks for everyone, alright?" She then walked away to prepare some drinks.

I just stood there, a grinning idiot.

It felt too good when she kissed me. In fact, I kinda wish she'd do it again...

No.

I REALLY WISH she'd do it again.

My eyes widened.

They were right.

They were all right.

I immediately approached Hikaru and dragged him to the side where no one could see or hear us.

"Kaoru? Are you okay? You look kinda red..." Hikaru said.

I swallowed. "Hikaru." I said.

Hikaru eyed me. "What?"

I looked down before I looked back up at him again. "I... I think I'm in love."

His eyes widened.