BLOOM [OHSHC]

Chapter 16 - Welcome Home

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The flight to the States was boring as shit.

Mei, Ellis, and I flew first class out of Tokyo International on a red eye that I knew I wouldn't sleep on. While Mei snoozed on Ellis's shoulder across the aisle, movie playing in her headphones, Ellis read a thick novel. He tried explaining the premise to me - something about politics and assassinations and undercover agents - but honestly, I zoned out part way through his summary. I read and reread my lines for the movie, making notes and highlighting important stage directions.

It kept me from thinking about Kyoya.

Since the fight at his house three days earlier, we hadn't spoken.

Total silence. And that was fine by me.

I mostly spent the time packing and re-dyeing my roots white for my role, anyway. I didn't have time to worry about Kyoya. Or think about what he'd said about Ellis.

It didn't seem like the twins knew what had happened, because they continued to send me memes when they weren't playing video games. In fact, it didn't sound like any of the other hosts knew. Honey texted me with a chipper 'good morning" text and cutesy gif every day, same as always. Mori was silent on all fronts unless absolutely necessary. Tamaki called once a day "just to check in", just like he usually did on our days off. Haruhi and I exchanged messages when we remembered, but she was heading off to the coast for a summer job, so I tried not to bother her.

Everything was normal. Except for the gaping void of Kyoya's absence, I hardly noticed a change in my life.

When we touched down at LAX, my phone flooded with good luck messages from the club, sans Kyoya, and a handful of texts from my parents, who claimed to be excited to see Mei and I. I'd believe that when I saw concrete evidence. Honestly, I didn't even expect to see them while we were in the States for a whole month. So any effort on their part at all would be miraculous and note-worthy.

Hooking a face mask over my nose and mouth to obscure my frown and dissipate my airplane breath, I helped Mei gather her things and deplane behind Ellis, wandering into the bustling airport.

Just as expected, our parents didn't come in person to retrieve us. They sent their driver, Hugo, to escort us to the car while Ellis waited for our suitcases at the baggage claim. Hugo, like the plethora of bodyguards before him, was massive - a mountain of a man, really - and able to mow down fans with a sweep of an arm or a single, piercing glare. And, lucky for Mei and I, he had a heart of gold. And a super-cool accent.

Hugo pushed through the endless ocean of fans that had gathered near the luggage carousels, protecting Mei and I with his massive chest and arms.

Pops of light pricked my vision, stinging my eyes. Paparazzi. I shielded our faces with my hands and bag as much as possible, hoping to avoid too many front pages during my short time in the states.

We made it to the white SUV unscathed. Ellis found our bags and chucked them in, fending off our trunk from a rabid fanboy who tried to climb inside. Hugo put the truck in gear, and the second Ellis was in the passenger seat he slammed on the gas, leaving the fans behind in a cloud of sand and smog.

"Welcome back to LA, Miss Mei. Miss Michiyo," Hugo grumbled from the front seat, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He cranked the air conditioning up to max, and relaxed into his driver's seat.

Mei squeezed my hand and we peered out the window at the towering buildings, the skyscraping palm trees, the fancy cars, the riotous billboards, the manicured hills that closed in on us like a suffocating straightjacket of earth.