BLOOM [OHSHC]

Chapter 33 - Famous People Problems

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Sneaking around was admittedly kinda fun.

Every day, things got a little more real and a little easier. Kyoya and I met in Music Room 3 every morning before class with coffee and breakfast, where we spent most of the time talking... and some of the time kissing. And I mean, do you blame me? Have you seen Kyoya Ootori before? How can one person be so stupidly perfect? How did I manage to convince him that I was cool enough to kiss when I obviously don't have my shit together?

Ahem. Anyway, I gladly got up earlier, and Ellis was happy to leave ten minutes before our usual departure time, probably glad to have more time to himself. Mei barely batted an eye when I told her why. She seemed to already know.

But our modified schedule and my lavender hair only held off my stalker for so long. Of course I knew he'd find me eventually... he always does.

Something was wrong with the car—something that Ellis insisted was beyond my pretty little female brain's comprehension, something so insignificant but somehow so complicated that he couldn't be bothered to explain, which only made me want to punch him in his stupid face—so Mei and I had to walk to school for the first time in a long time; lucky for us, October rolled in with full force, bringing cool-crisp weather in its autumnal embrace. Mei hung off of my arm as I carried the now-traditional morning coffees in my hands. We hadn't forgotten our anti-paparazzi headgear: sunglasses, hats, and wigs – the whole shebang. But I got a weird feeling a few blocks from Mei's school...

Like we were being watched.

"Head down," I mumbled, looping my arm through Mei's. As with most things, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Even if no one was following us, I'd rather Mei and I look like dorks than give ourselves away. I learned long ago not to be embarrassed about most things, thanks to acting classes and, well, Mei.

She listened, thankfully, training her eyes on the sidewalk. "Faster?" she asked quietly. Already on edge, she tugged at her wig, and I could practically hear her wishing that it was longer to hide her face.

"Yeah, but keep it natural," I said as the hair stood up on the back of my neck. Goosebumps crawled down my arms. Shit shit shit.

At the next streetlight, I peered up and down the road under the pretense of looking both ways before crossing. There, just a half-block away, stood a distinctly not-Asian man with a big camera slung over his shoulder, his baseball hat crooked from looking through the long telephoto lens... which was pointed straight at us.

I fucking knew it.

Stiffening and turning back to Mei, I squeezed her arm against my side. "I saw him," I said, "Keep going to school no matter what. Don't look."

Mei didn't even answer save for a little nod, keeping her eyes trained on the crosswalk signal, her jaw clenching.

The light changed and we would've sprinted across the street if it wouldn't have given us away. Instead, Mei and I kept our pace measured. We'd been dealing with paparazzi since childhood, and, unfortunately, our parents' methods of media avoidance worked: talk to no one, ignore everything except your destination, and blend in.

Mei's school wasn't far from that streetlight, and as soon as she was able, she gave me an encouraging smile before taking off through the main gate, sprinting to the safety of her well-beloved halls and indifferent peers.

...which left me alone. With him.

I didn't dare look back, and continued on my way. Unfortunately, I hadn't 'earned' my phone back yet, so I didn't have any way of calling Honey or Mori or Kyoya or anyone for help. I just had to keep focused and moving. Hopefully the paparazzo liked the back of my head.