OHSHC: Mine - Chapter 1

Mine


Haruhi rolled her shoulders back before preparing to leave the lecture hall. Her legal studies were over for a few months due to upcoming holidays, and she had no assignment to take up her precious free time. Haruhi Fujioka had three months of complete freedom.

She picked up her backpack which was stuffed with law textbooks, nearly struggling under its weight. She made her way up the center row of the classroom and out into the hall. She had a hard time seeing her way out because of all the other students packed practically wall-to-wall. She hadn't been gifted with stature, and thus couldn't see over the heads of many of the people surrounding her.

When Haruhi finally spotted the door, she made a beeline for it, weaving adeptly through the throbbing masses of students. Despite the care and caution she took, she still bumped into someone. Her nose touched his shoulder and brushed against the soft cotton of his shirt, the smell of expensive cologne invading her nostrils. Though Haruhi was a frugal girl, she loved the way some of the fragrances she caught whiffs of throughout the day entertained her sense of smell.

"Oh, sorry!" she stuttered, looking down and habitually adjusting her glasses. She had seen that he had shaggy blond hair, but that was it. She glanced up at him only when he spoke to her.  "It's okay, don't worry about it." Haruhi studied his iris blue eyes for a moment before looking down again and going on her way.

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"Oh great. I forgot to buy groceries," Haruhi muttered, looking at the sparcely populated shelves of her refridgerator. Her stomach growled as if to insult her on her negligence. "I guess I'll just eat out tonight and go shopping tomorrow," she murmured, walking over to the chair her backpack rested on. She started pulling books out of it. Her stomach began complaining again.

"Oh fine, this can wait until later," she grumbled, walking to the bathroom and taking off her glasses. "These things are getting really irritating…" she said to herself, putting them back on so she could find her contact case. She washed her hands down in the solution and proceeded to replace her glasses with her contact lenses, then made her way back to the door to put her shoes on.

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'I don't really have much I can spend,' Haruhi reminded herself as she searched for a restaurant that would suit her tight budget. She spotted a western-style café and decided it was worth a try.

Upon walking in, she was met with the smell of foods she knew she'd never heard of before. The only table avaliable was a four-top right by the door, so she awkwardly seated herself at it, not sure what exactly she was to do. She looked at the arrangement of different flavors of jams and salt and pepper in the center of the table and saw what she assumed were menus sandwiched in the middle. She picked one up and leafed through it, noting the English and Japanese texts in it. She was still learning English and was finding herself struggling in it, but was able to read what was printed in the menu.

She heard whispered words to her left and looked over at a couple only slightly older than her. They were obviously having an argument, because both were leaning over the table a bit, their faces were distressed, and after a moment the woman put a hand to her forehead and looked down. Haruhi couldn't fight the memory of the arguments her parents used to have. One in particular tugged at the emotional stitches in her heart – the last argument her parents had before they divorced. It was the only argument she ever overheard that featured her as one of the issues being fought over.

"Can I help you, miss?" a masculine voice asked, triggering the memory of bumping into the guy at school. Haruhi looked up at him and couldn't equate the face with wherever she knew it from. His sapphire blue eyes brightened with recognition while a smile developed on his face. "Hey, didn't I bump into you earlier?" he asked, lowering the pen and paper in his hands. Haruhi remembered.

"Technically, I bumped into you," she replied quietly, examining his face again. Those features…she'd seen the likes of them before, but couldn't place what family they personified. Her memory was always keen, but for some reason, today it wasn't serving its purpose. She glanced at the nametag on his shirt, which read in stark black lettering 'Tamaki'.

"In any case, what can I get for you?"

Oh, crap… she hadn't even decided yet! Haruhi looked past him at a menu board by the cash register and saw the kanji for 'Special' printed across the top, but couldn't see what was written beneath it.
"Uh…um…I'll have the, uh, special," she stuttered, tripping over her words. Tamaki scribbled a single word onto the pad of paper he held and smiled at her, his eyes sparkling like those of an experienced host. Haruhi forced herself to relax while Tamaki walked back to the kitchen to give the order to the chef. She'd felt like her heart was skipping every other beat while she'd had his full attention, but couldn't think of an explanation why. There was something about him, but wasn't sure what it was.

You were in college
Workin' part time, waitin' tables.
You left a small town, never looked back.
I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling,
Wonderin' why we bother with love
When it never lasts…