October 11
"Come on lighten up, babes!" Mary yelled through the music as she tried her best to make Hanae take the drink she'd haphazardly made only minutes earlier in the back of the frat-house.
Hanae shook her head, "You know I don't like drinking."
Mary had been practically forcing Hanae out of the house to get her mind off the fact that her relationship with her fiance was doomed from the very beginning, and at this point in her life, she felt like choking Mary every time she got her out of the house.
"Oh, but you're totally cool with weed?" Mary countered, shoving the cup into her hands.
"I smoke because I'm anxious, you know that!"
Mary was about to retaliate but she was cut off when Kaoru Hiitachin came up behind her and pulled her towards his body, he planted kisses on her neck, making the pink-haired girl giggle.
It took him a solid five seconds before he realized Hanae was standing only a foot away from them, "Oh, hey Sasaki! Glad you could make it!"
"Thanks for inviting me." She practically yelled so he could hear her through the music, the bass making her head want to burst.
Kaoru smiled, "Yeah no problem, me and some of the guys are playing pool if you guys wanna join us."
"Oh my god, yes. Come on let's go Hanae!" Mary tried pulling Hanae towards her but she took a step away and accidentally bumped into some poor girl who happened to be behind her.
"I'll catch up with you guys later. I'm gonna take a look around, and see if I know anyone." She lied, and she could tell Mary didn't believe a word she said, but she couldn't do much about it before her boyfriend dragged her into the crowd.
Hanae let out a breath of relief as she pulled her jade-colored dress down to try and cover up more of her thighs. She scanned the room for a second, the party was definitely crowded, but since the Hitachiin twins' parties were invite-only, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
She'd been to places so packed, that every time she took a step, some stranger's sweat would rub against her skin... that summer after high school was insane to say the very least.
She shouldered past the people she didn't know to find somewhere where she could find peace of mind and at least feel like herself for a moment.
"You suck ass!" Hikaru slurred as Kyoya sunk two more of his balls on the green-felt table.
"It's not my fault you're a neanderthal that can't figure out how to play pool," Kyoya smirked as he saw his friend bend down slightly and try lining up his stick with a ball and missing the hole, again.
Hikaru scoffed as he tried to balance himself on the table, "Why can't we just play 8-ball, this game is stupid!"
Kyoya chuckled to himself and he was about to start getting settled before Kaoru pulled up next to them with his irritating pink-haired girlfriend locked around his arm, who only had one good thing going for her... having Hanae Sasaki as a friend.
And if Mary Sakuma was here, Hanae shouldn't be far behind.
Kyoya looked around the room carefully but didn't see her, and decided that she must've been somewhere else, but surely she was in the same building, either alone or with someone accompanying her.
"Mary," Kyoya greeted her.
"Hey, Kyoya!" Her teal eyes landed on the stick he was holding in his right hand. "Mind if I take over for a moment? And give Hikaru a chance."
He handed her the stick, "I guess it's only fair. I'm going to go get another drink,"
The small girl squealed and took over Kyoya's spot, instantly landing another one of Hikaru's balls, and Kyoya doubted Hikaru's luck would change much, but those were the least of his worries, right now he wanted to find Hanae.
She inexplicably kept circling around in his mind, sneaking around in places she shouldn't. Whenever he was forced to sit through board meetings, whenever he was hanging out with his friends, whenever he was showering, her small smile would come to his head and it would make him wonder why she still hadn't texted him.
She certainly wasn't shy.
Was she playing hard-to-get?
Or was she simply not interested?
And why did it bother him so much?
His thoughts cleared when he pushed himself into the backyard and saw her sitting outside in a large woven chair, her dainty fingers wrapped around a red solo cup, while some guy with a black wife-beater talked to her.
Kyoya cocked his head to the side, he'd be damned if that nobody took her home before he did. In almost an instant he'd walked over to the other side of the yard, and sat next to Hanae on the same chair, before snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her against his frame, and she instantly tensed up under his touch.
Before the other man even had the chance to speak Kyoya leaned over to her ear, "I was looking all over for you."
"Kyoya!"
"Uh, I–I'll see you later, Sasaki." The other man only blinked before practically running away from the odd scene.
She smacked him away, "What's wrong with you?"
"He was annoying you, I helped."
She scowled, "No, we were having a conversation and you came and scared him away! And you can't just touch me like that, we don't know each other!"
Kyoya smirked, he only kept getting more and more interested as the days passed.
"I gave you my number, you chose not to contact me, you chose to not get to know me." He said and she saw her face get red, as he inched closer to her.
That was the last straw before she stood up, she had tried to deny it, but this man, this infuriating man, made it clear that he wanted more than just her friendship.
"Listen, Kyoya–" She didn't even get to finish her sentence before he cut her off.
"We're on a first-name basis now?" He stood up.
"Shut up! Listen, I don't like you like that, I'm not interested!"
Kyoya's smile didn't waver as he leaned down towards her face. "So what I'm hearing is you're dating someone, and it's certainly not that idiot that ran the second I showed up."
She felt like a deer caught in headlights but she had to act quickly, only three people knew that Hideo existed and she certainly didn't want Kyoya Ootori to be the fourth.
"Just because I don't want to sleep with you, doesn't mean I have a boyfriend."
Kyoya tilted his head to the side and his arm went down to grab her own, his eyes landing on the signature silver piece of jewelry with the blue jewel that hung around it, which dangled around her wrist.
"This bracelet... you use it all the time no matter what. And whenever I get near you and your face goes red, you look down at it, almost as a reminder to not cheat on your boyfriend... no matter how much you want to."
If she felt cornered before, she practically felt like the bars were closing in around her now.
"You're wrong, my dad gave me this bracelet."
He smiled, "Then it's the charm, I presume... he loves the way blue looks on you, doesn't he?"
She felt her breath catch in her throat as she ripped his hand away from his grasp, the smell of his cologne surrounded her, and she felt her legs begin to grow weak.
"You're wrong, I'm leaving." She said and began walking away from him, her knees trembling slightly.
"Goodnight, Hanae."
And as the cold air hit her bare skin, she couldn't help but wonder if the odd feeling in her stomach was because her secret had been revealed by a practical stranger, or if it was for some other reason she couldn't pin down.