Brilliant Red Love (An Ouran Highschool Host Club Fanfic)

Chapter Eighteen: Snowball Fights and Christmas Shopping

"Hiyah!" Akane shouted, hurling a snowball. Hikaru stuck out his tongue teasingly, then dove behind a pile of snow to avoid the snowball.

"Drat, I missed." Akane muttered, scooping up a handful of snow to make another snowball. "I won't miss a second time, though."

Meanwhile, Haruhi and the twins were laughing their heads off as Tamaki got hit full in the face with a snowball, and Akane couldn't help but snicker as well, before taking advantage of Hikaru's distraction and chucking her own snowball at him, smacking into his shoulder.

"Gotcha!" She cheered, laughing. She sighed, plopping down into the snow. How long had it been since the last time she had played with her friends in the snow? Five years? Maybe even more. Anyway, it had been much too long.

She tilted back her head, watching the soft white flakes float down from the sky. A snowflake landed right on the tip of her nose, and she couldn't help smile as she gently wiped it off with the tip of her finger.

"Hey, Akane! It's time for dinner!" Haruhi called.

"I'm coming!" Akane shouted back as she finished blow drying her hair, which was still damp from the snow that the twins had dumped on her head. She ran her fingers through her hair, then stepped outside, and her mouth fell open.

The music room looked completely different than usual. Streamers were strung on the ceiling and chandeliers, wreaths hung on the doors, and fake silver snowflakes dangled on thin strings all over the room, hanging over her head.

"Wha---what's all this?" Akane asked.

Haruhi grinned. "We though it'd be a good idea to get in the holiday mood, since Christmas is only four days away. Looks nice, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, absolutely. But who did all the decorating?"

Honey answered from his perch on the couch. "We all pitched in to help, Aka-chan. Can you help, too?" He gave her the 'puppy dog eyes'.

Akane sighed. "Geez, Honey-senpai. You didn't have to pull the 'puppy dog eyes' trick. All you had to do was ask. Anyway, what's left for me to do?"

Hikaru and Kaoru popped up behind her. "Why, the very best part."

"What's the best part?"

Their eyes popped open. "Are you dumb or what? The Christmas tree! With all the ornaments and everything!"

"Oh, right." She looked around the room. Sure enough, the familiar evergreen tree hadn't been put up yet, and boxes of ornaments were stacked by the fireplace. "Where are we going to get a tree? There aren't any in the courtyard."

Hikaru shook his head. "No, dummy."

"We're having a fake tree shipped in." Kaoru added.

"A fake? Well, yeah, I guess the real thing is a bit messy."

Akane walked over to the boxes of ornaments and peered inside. Inside were ornaments of all sizes, shapes, and colors, with intricate designs and glittering in the light. She gently ran a finger over the surface of one, feeling the bumps of the glitter and rhinestones.

 Suddenly, the phone rang. Kyoya answered, and after listening for a few seconds, looked up. "Akane, it's for you."

Akane frowned. "Me? Who'd call me?" She stood up, and Kyoya handed the phone to her. "Hello? This is Akane."

"Akane?" A voice said from the other end. "It's so good to hear from you again, after so long. Your father and I have been worried."

"Mom?" Her eyes widened. "Is that you? You sound a little different."