Silent Resilience

Memories of Home

Black shoes clacking down the hallway, Adriel continued to ignore the whispers he got as he walked by with a blank face.

"Is that a bruise?"

"Aren't piercings not allowed?"

"How'd they let a commoner in?"

"He's kind of cute"

"Don't say that! Look, he's coming!"

'They whisper really loudly' he thought, rounding a corner. Even with his earbuds in, he could still somehow hear them.

It was lunch time now. As promised, Adriel made his way over to music room three, where Honey and Mori were. Though there was a slight feeling of anxiety in his stomach, he simply brushed it off as not having enough sleep.

They were nice. They also had cake. That was enough of a reason to go.

"Riel-chan! Over here!" a voice called, making him turn off his music. Honey and Mori were waiting outside the music room, the blond on his companion's shoulders.

"We have cake"

"Yep! Here, come inside"

Adriel nodded as they opened the door for him, holding it as he walked in. With that, he looked around the club room.

The first thing he noticed was that it was big, although that could've been chalked up to the fact that it was basically empty too. Pink tables with fancy chairs and table-top flowers littered the room, along with some sofas and coffee tables. There were a few doors to the side of the room, leading who knows where.

The second thing he noticed was that they weren't alone. A pair of twins, who had been eerily silent, were staring him down the second he walked in. Adriel recognized them as the ones in his homeroom, who sat diagonally from him.

Tamaki and another glasses-wearing host sat on a sofa, talking about their most recent test together. They hadn't yet noticed his presence, which Adriel was somewhat grateful for.

Haruhi was there too, doing her homework on a stray table. She looked up when the door opened and smiled. "I didn't know you were coming, Adriel"

Just like that, all eyes were on him. He shrugged, the bag on his shoulder shifting from the weight. "I didn't either"

Tamaki jumped behind the girl, seemingly cowering in fear. Adriel wondered why, considering the blond had no problem kicking him yesterday.

"Haruhi, why is he here?!" Tamaki whisper-yelled, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it.

'Are all rich people this bad at whispering?' he thought. There was no malice behind it, just simple wonder.

"Riel-chan's going to eat lunch with us!" Honey chirped, shaking the bunny (That Adriel now knew was Usa-chan) around. Mori grunted in agreement.

"I thought we would be alone" Adriel commented, glancing at the third years.

"Don't worry, we'll be off to the side at our table" Honey responded. The small blond jumped off Mori's shoulders before skipping over to a small table. He set Usa-chan down at one of the four seats, turning back with a smile. "I'll go get the cake from the kitchen!"

With that, he ran off to one of the doors at the side of the room.

"Why does a music room have a kitchen?" Adriel mumbled, though he didn't bother to question it further. He and Mori took their respective seats at the table, seemingly tuning out all the other stares from the hosts. Though not before he offered a small wave to Haruhi, getting one back.