Write Me a Love Story (OHSHC)

XXI: Long Past Overdue

February 23

The last two weeks had been awful.

Since the day Kyouya told me that I essentially didn't exist to him anymore, he'd kept his word and shut me completely out. Anything I wanted to say to him had to go through someone else. I couldn't even give the manuscript for the last book I wrote directly to him; I had to ask Haruhi to give it to him for me. Thankfully, I've had her by my side through all of this. Her and the rest of the club, actually. They knew about as much as I did regarding why he stopped talking to me (which was nothing. We knew nothing), but they've tried to help me as best they can. However, I was reaching the end of my fuse. If something didn't change soon, I'd snap. Something was going to have to give way.

"Good afternoon, Kyouya-senpai," I said tiredly. Knowing he wasn't going to respond, I didn't even look up as I saw his feet enter the music room through my periphery. As had been the norm for the last two weeks, he ignored me as he went to his table, opening up his laptop and beginning to type immediately. I couldn't help but look over at him for one fleeting moment, the same way I had done every day since the fair. Kyouya looked tired, like he'd been through eternity and back. I pulled my eyes away from him, not allowing myself to think about it for too long, and Tamaki-senpai entered the room as a perfect distraction.

"Good afternoon, Tamaki-senpai." He looked over at me, smiling lightly and approaching my desk.

"Hey, Kaiyoka." He sat down in the chair across from mine, sighing heavily. "Any luck with Kyouya?" He got straight to the point. I felt a pang in my chest but promptly squashed it.

"There is no luck regarding him. He still hasn't spoken to me, he's still ignoring me. What else is new?" I asked, aware of how much I sounded like I cared, despite trying my best not to. Tamaki curled his hand into a fist on the table, nodding slowly.

"Of course he hasn't." He pulled back the chair, getting up with a determined look in his eyes. "How long will it take him to realize that he doesn't have to..." I didn't catch the trail end of his sentence, because Tamaki-senpai had wandered away by then. Resisting the urge to look at Kyouya, I got back to writing.

I was on the final chapter of a book about him, ironically, and I was torn between wanting it to be done and never wanting to finish it. I felt like finishing the book about him would be symbolic of something else that I wasn't quite ready to accept. However, it happened. I dragged it out as much as I could, going back and editing my edits for the third time, reading through it for mistakes, reading through it just for 'fun'. I managed to wait until the last girl had walked bashfully out of the room to finally put my pen down. I had dotted the last i and crossed the last t, and that was that, the book was over. It was over, and I made my decision.

I sat in my chair, staring at the cover of my notebook as the hosts packed up around me. They were all laughing and talking, arguing with each other and having a good time as they gathered their things and left the room. And then there was Kyouya, the third to last person to leave, packing up his belongings silently and walking out of the room in the same manner. He'd said a lesser and lesser amount of words since the fair, so much so that I began to wonder if he remembered how to speak. I waited until Tamaki-senpai was the only other person in the room before packing up my own things and standing up.

"All done?" Tamaki asked, earning a nod from me. Without having to ask, I walked over to him, and he turned off the lights and closed the doors. We'd done this almost every day for about a week and a half. We stood in front of the doors for a moment, and without thinking, I spoke up.

"Tamaki-senpai." He looked over at me, and I took a deep breath before opening my mouth again.

"Tomorrow will be my last day as a member of the host club." I told him that surprisingly calmly. In a matter of minutes after finishing the book, I'd accepted it. The time I'd spent here had been incredible while it lasted, but it was long past overdue for me to take my leave.

"What?" He looked shocked. "Kaiyo, what are you talking about? Why do you want to leave?"

"I don't want to leave," I said, my voice becoming quieter. "But I have to. I was inducted as a member of the host club under the circumstances that I would write for you. If I can't speak to the person who is supposed to be the one who takes care of production, what sense does it make for me to be here? I'm just taking up space now." I explained, a heavy feeling in my heart at the bluntness of my confession meant to me. Tamaki was about to say something, but he seemed to rethink it before speaking.

"If that's how you feel, then I respect that. But promise me that you'll come back every now and again. I don't get to see you outside of this room, and I don't want to lose you, Kaiyo," He told me, causing me to smile sadly.

"I'll come back when I'm ready," I responded, and he nodded. "Until then... I guess this was the last full day." It hadn't quite hit me yet what I was actually doing. I'd probably feel it more tomorrow.

"I guess so," Tamaki replied. He and I began walking away from the doors in silence, steps mirroring one another. We were both thinking similar thoughts, I'm sure, our eyes trained straight ahead. The only difference is, he had the intent of coming back tomorrow. I would be returning for one reason only. After that, I'd be done.