BLOOM [OHSHC]

Chapter 11 - Pizza and Pop Tarts

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Haruhi and I ate lunch together most days.

The garden and hedge maze were much more calm than the Host Club table in the busy cafeteria, and with summer approaching, everything was in full bloom. Fat little bumblebees ambled past us as we studied and ate, too full of nectar to bother anybody. Hummingbirds flit past, sipping on vibrant hibiscus flowers near the gazebo. It was the quietest place on campus to eat besides the library, except we could study and talk without getting in trouble or being overheard.

Plus, Haruhi and I had pre-calc together right after lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so it was easy to find each other, eat, then walk to class together.

One particular Friday in May, I plucked up the courage and blurted, "Haruhi, do you like pizza?"

She paused, and I face-palmed. That wasn't at all what I'd meant to ask, but my nerves and Haruhi's natural beauty distracted me hardcore, so the wrong thing slipped out. Like usual.

"Who doesn't like pizza?" she answered, digging into her bento box from home. "Why do you ask?"

Lifesaver. My favorite person on the planet. Literal goddess.

"Mei and I were wondering if you'd like to sleepover at our place tonight?" I asked, "It would be low-key, very chill. No caviar or champagne or ball gowns. Sweatpants, pizza, video games, probably ice cream. Have you ever tried pop tarts?"

"What's a pop tart?"

I feigned a mortal wound, and said, "Okay, well now you have to come over, at least to try pop tarts. They're our favorite snack from the States."

Haruhi shrugged and nodded. "I'll have to let my dad know, but I don't think it'll be a problem. What time?"

"Whenever works for you," I grinned. A sleepover. A real sleepover with a real friend. "If you text me your address, I can come and pick you up so you don't have to waste money on the bus or a taxi."

"Sure." Haruhi pulled her phone from her pocket and texted me right there and then, and glanced up at me, tucking some hair behind her ear. "You're sure I won't be a bother?"

Waving a nonchalant hand, I rolled my eyes. "Please, you'll be the most interesting thing to happen to our house since we got our dog. I wouldn't have asked if I thought you'd be a bother."

"I guess that's true," Haruhi mused. She beamed at me and plucked up her water bottle, holding out toward me across the table. "Well, I'm looking forward to our sleepover."

Restraining my glee, I tapped my water bottle against hers, and said, "Me too."

I didn't tell Haruhi that this would be my first sleepover ever.

I didn't want to scare her away.

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"KYOYA! HARUHI'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

Rolling his eyes, Kyoya scrolled his laptop and said tiredly, "What makes you think that, Tamaki?" He plopped his cheek into his palm, elbow resting on his desk, and turned down the volume on his speakerphone. Searching for a topic for his and Michiyo's Social Psych midterm was boring, to say the least.

"Her phone location puts her somewhere on the far side of town! And she's not answering when I call, or responding to my texts!" Tamaki cried, panicking. "What if she's hurt, or worse, what if she was tricked into someone's car? What if... she's being defiled right now?" He growled and began muttering to himself unintelligibly.