The Roses of Ouran High School

Chapter Sixteen: When Did Life Get So Hard?

-(Meara's POV)-
The rest of the weekend was a blur as Aunt Nina explained that Mom was getting better and that she would be returning to the hospital on Sunday night. Her departure came and went with little celebration as I made the lunches my sister and I would ate the next at school. I heard footsteps and guessed that Marie must have decided to come downstairs. "Hey sis, I forgot to ask you on Friday. What happened to you and that really tall guy after I left?" Marie asked, feigning innocence. My face heated up and I nearly dropped the knife I was holding. I heard her laughter and hid behind my hair. "N-nothing happened! Go to bed, you have school in the morning," I mumbled. I listened as she walked upstairs and closed her door then relaxed a little although I could feel that my cheeks were still warm. 'I nearly forgot about what happened between Takashi and I that night.' My blush darkened and I finished our lunches, almost completely prepared for what my dreams had in store for me this time. Unfortunately, sleep wouldn't come. So I laid in bed, thinking about what could happen tomorrow at school while I awaited sleep. After a few moments my eyelids grew heavier and my breathing more relaxed. Before I knew it I fell asleep.
-That Morning-
My eyes opened as my alarm clock went off. I sat up and turned it off before climbing down and getting dressed in my usual outfit of jeans and a baggy t-shirt along with a pair of sneakers. I dropped my sister of at her bus stop with little difficulty and was able to get to my first class. Sadly people are still looking at me funny for not wearing the uniform. But hey, not my fault I can't afford it. The teacher nodded to me and I sat in my usual seat in the back. I took out a book and as soon as I flipped to the page I left off- "Meara-chan!!!! Your back at school!!!!" Honey launched himself at me. I gave out a yelp and was grateful for the fact that I was sitting down. Honey climbed down and smiled brightly at me. I felt someone pat my head and turned around to face Takashi. He smiled down at me and my blush from last night came back. I nervously smiled at him and picked my book up from where I dropped it when Honey hugged me. "So did I miss anything of importance?" I asked. "Not really, we did take some notes though for math," Honey said. "Thank you Honey," I said before drawing my attention to the teacher who is now calling for everyone's attention.
-At Lunch-
I sat in the alcove again and listened to the sounds around me. In the midst of eating my sandwich, I heard someone muttering to themselves. I stepped out and found a little boy in a elementary school outfit wandering around. It seems like he's lost. "Um excuse me, but are you lost?" I asked nervously. The boy jumped around to face me. 'Uh-oh looks like I scared him.' "I'm looking for Music Room 3. Do you know where that is?" He asked. I gave him the directions and he ran off without giving me a thank you. I rolled my eyes and went to sit back down to eat my lunch. I walked back and immediately blushed. Takashi was now standing in the alcove. I waved to him and he smiled back. I sat down and began to eat my lunch again. He sat down next to me. "Feeling any better since Friday?" He asked. I nodded and held out a apple slice to him, noticing he didn't have any food with him. He smiled and took it. I finished my lunch and was packing it up when Takashi's hand found mine. I looked up at him confused about what he was doing. "It looked like something was wrong when we came over on Saturday, what happened?" I adverted my eyes from him. "It's n-nothing," I mumbled, not wanting him to worry about me. "Meara, look at me. Please," I looked up at him. "You can trust me." My eyes teared up and I started to tell him. "M-my parents were happy. They found me in a field and every year we would celebrate there for my birthday. One year, s-something b-ad happened. A-a man c-came and s-shot my f-father," I stuttered nervously, I took a big breath while looking at my feet and continued, "Th-the night before the club came over, I had a dream. More like a nightmare really about it and how my anxiety happened because of it." Takashi's grip on my hand tightened ever so slightly as he pulled me into his warm embrace.  He said nothing, just held me and tears started to leak out, horrible memories from that night and the past month started to surface again. I closed my eyes and Takashi just held me and said, "It's okay. It's all over now." My crying ceased after a while and my mind felt more jumbled up then when I first entered the school that day. I felt something warm on my forehead and opened my eyes. I found myself gazing into Takashi's as he leaned towards me. My face flushed and our lips found each other. We parted after a couple of seconds. Then the bell rang suddenly, making me jump in the process. My blush darkened and I gathered my things while saying a quick goodbye before running off to my next class, wondering what in the world just happened. 'When did life get so hard?'