The Broken Type (OHSHC fanfic)

Chapter 19: It's Time

The little white ferret that had been sent to her was her constant companion throughout the next few weeks as she met suitor after suitor. Camille had dubbed the creature Bell and was always feeding it treats during meetings as a way to keep herself entertained. Her parents thought it was disrespectful for her to be ignoring the suitors that had been selected for her, but she just shrugged off their lectures and went back to whatever she was doing.

Bell was not happy to be caged up all day while she attended school. He would usually gnaw at the cage or tear up his bedding in a stressed out manner until she came home to scold him about it. The scolding would not last long after he climbed up on her shoulder to nuzzle into her cheek, somehow knowing she had been having a rough time with school as well.

All of her old friends had taken to ignoring her because she had left them behind with no explanation as to where she was going or how long she would be gone. She had even ignored their emails when they sent them. She could not blame them and likely would do the same thing if she was in their shoes, but it was rough on her to be going through this alone.

The only thing that got her through the day, besides Bell of course, was the constant gifts she would get from this mystery suitor and emails from her friends back in Japan. The gifts had continued every couple of days and consisted of a ruby pendant necklace, a few stuffed animals that had taken up residence on her bed along with Maki-Chan, books from several of her favorite writers, and many others. Each came with a purple card that explained the gift and complimented her before promising to see her soon.

Each time she hoped that it would tell her when she was going to meet this suitor that showered her with gifts, but it never did. She was beginning to lose hope when a letter was sent to her house with no return address just like the gifts had been delivered. She tore it open to find a piece of lavender paper with a time and place put on it with no explanation at all.

Anxiety bubbled up in her stomach as she stared down at the card in her trembling hands. Her bottom connected with her bed as she raised one of those shaking hands to her mouth. This was it. She was going to meet him tomorrow after school at the park downtown.

Bell nudged at her cheek in question as she sat there frozen in shock for a few moments. He seemed to be confused as to why she had suddenly changed from being sad to completely frozen.

"This is it, Bell. I'm really going to meet him!!" She squealed the last part before flopping backward on the bed and holding Bell above her under his arms, making him dance. He became quickly annoyed by her movements, but allowed her to continue to do so for a few minutes because it made her happy. He liked to see her happy.

-----

The whole next day Camille was a mix of emotions. She kept switching between anxiety and happiness like someone kept flicking on and off a switch in her brain. Part of her was nervous because she was afraid to find out who it was. What if he was a jerk and was just fooling her? What if he was doing this as some elaborate joke? What if he turned out to be the most perfect person for her, but she ended up messing it up? The other part of her was happy to finally be finding out who it was. It was exhausting to constantly wonder who was sending her things.

As school ended, she walked her way toward the park. Instead of allowing herself to go home to change, she opted to wear her school uniform that consisted of a white long-sleeved shirt that she had rolled the sleeves up to just before her elbows that was adorned with blue accents and a red bow on the chest. Her skirt was the same blue that matched her shirt with a white border around the bottom, ending at the middle of her thighs. Black stockings encased her legs while her long, red hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. This uniform was much more favorable to the yellow dresses back at Ouran Academy, but she often found herself missing the banana suits.

Nearing the park, her stomach churned with anxiety once more while her heartbeat started to quicken. The letter, or rather note because of it's short contents, had said to go to the picnic tables past the playground and to wait there. This all felt like some sort of prank or dangerous scheme to get her alone, but she noted that the park was well populated in case she needed to scream for help.

Camille sighed as she plopped her bottom down on the first picnic table she found, the wood feeling coarse under her legs as she tried to find a comfortable position to sit in while worrying about flashing people. The one she had chosen was the cleaner of the four situated under the pavilion, but had the most writing on it. Some parts were even carved into by sharp knives by steady hands.

An hour passed as she waited for this mystery person to show up before she found herself leaning on the table in an obviously bored position. Maybe he was not going to show up? Then the joke would really be on her.

Another hour passed, making it an hour and a half past the meeting time. This was when she found herself tracing the carved design in front of her with one finger. The design happened to be a broken heart and it seemed to represent how she was starting to feel.

"Fine, if he isn't going to show up then I'm going home. Any more gifts I receive will be turned down and that will be the end of it. I'm not going to play the fool any longer." She huffed before standing up quickly and slamming her hands down on the table. She shouldered her bag and then turned to walk away, preparing to wash her hands of the whole ordeal.

As she turned around she walked right into something solid. Her body stopped it's movements as a deep blush rose up her face slowly, a hasty apology slipping from her lips. It died as soon as it was half-formed when she looked up to see who had been standing there.