Chapter 20 | The New Year

--five days later--

~Arabella's POV~

Five days ago we left Africa and flew back to Japan.

Even though we all had a blast at Africa, it was time come home. After all, our winter break wasn't over yet, we still had New Years coming up. In fact, it's two days from now.

Right now, the Host Club and I are at Tamaki's estate, watching that creepy-as-hell Christmas/horror movie, Krampus.

We were about halfway through, and Tamaki was shuddering and shaking. "W-Why did we agree to w-watch this???" he studdered.

Honey was shaking and hiding under a blanket. He had stopped watching when Krampus first came on screen. "S-Save me, Takashi...! Krampus is gonna EAT ME!!!" he squealed.

Mori held him closer.

"Come on, Honey-senpai, Krampus isn't even real." Hikaru and Kaoru said.

"Y-Yes he is!!!" Honey gulped.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Please, it's not even..."

"... that scary..."

"Sh-Shut up, you shady tw-twins...! It is VERY SCARY...! I can't believe this isn't rated R...!!!" Tamaki shouted.

I sighed. "Come on, Senpai. You know it's not real. It's just a mov--"

Suddenly, there was a jump-scare and Krampus popped on the screen.

Honey shuddered beneath his blanket, Tamaki screamed and hid his face, I gave an embarrassing squeal and crawled over to the person nearest to me.

It was Kaoru.

"Ya' know what?" I said as I clutched Kaoru tightly. "Maybe it is somewhat scary..."

Beside Kaoru, Hikaru smirked. "See, Kaoru? What did I tell you? This movie would have Arabella clinging to you in no time. Why do you think I sat you two next to each other?" he said.

Kaoru and I blushed. I immediately tried to let go of him, but he held me closer to him.

"It's okay. Don't listen to Hikaru. You don't have to let go." Kaoru said.

I blushed harder.

I didn't want to let go, I liked being close to Kaoru... Wait, is that a bad thing for a FRIEND to say?!

Suddenly, Hikaru held up a box. "Hey, Kaoru, I almost forgot... I got you a late Christmas present," he said as he handed it to Kaoru. "Go on, open it."

Kaoru smiled at Hikaru and opened the box.

All that was inside was a picture...

We all looked over Kaoru's shoulder to see it.

We all gasped at what we saw.

"Wh-What is THAT?! What is my little girl WEARING?!" Tamaki shouted.

Hikaru smirked. "It's Arabella in kitty cos-play. I knew Kaoru would like it."

Tamaki gasped. "WHEN DID YOU GET MY LITTLE GIRL INTO SOMETHING LIKE THAT JUST FOR KAORU'S DISGUSTING GUY-NEEDS?!?!?" he screamed.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Relax, Tono. It's photoshop, DUH," he said obviously. Then he pointed at the top of the picture. "See the company name?"

Tamaki relaxed a bit. "Oh...," he mumbled. "It's... it's really photoshop...?"

"Uh, yeah, it IS. I wouldn't let Hikaru put me in some costume if he told me it was for Kaoru or any other guy! We've been over this before, Tamaki! I wouldn't let them do that to me!" I said.

"I'm sorry, my little girl! It's just, daddy gets so worried! I should have known you have more class than that!" Tamaki said.

"Apology accepted." I smiled.

"I don't see what you people are freaking out about, it's not even immodest...!" Hikaru said.

Kaoru shoved the picture back at his brother. "Hikaru, God knows why you'd think I'd want this, but I don't. You're so immature, Hikaru. Seriously, grow up."

Hikaru snickered and pushed the picture back at Kaoru. "Oh, Kaoru, we all know why you'd want it... Just to satisfy your guy-needs... I mean, Arabella does look quite attractive in that kitty cos-play, doesn't she???"

Kaoru blushed furiously. "Well... she definitely doesn't look BAD..." he gulped. I blushed even harder.

Then, Kaoru groaned and said, "Fine. I'll keep it... But ONLY to humor you, Hikaru," Then he turned to Tamaki. "Besides, don't we have Tono's present to give?"

Hikaru smirked again. "Oh, yes, we do, don't we?"

Tamaki looked curious. "You two got me a present?" he asked suspiciously.

Hikaru and Kaoru smiled. "Of course, milord! We could never forget you!" they said together.

Tamaki smiled. "Well, of course no one could forget me..." he said smugly. Haruhi rolled her eyes.

Hikaru and Kaoru suddenly took out a box, the same size of the one Hikaru gave Kaoru. "Here, boss!"

Tamaki smiled and immediately ripped open his gift.

It was another picture.

Tamaki turned bright red. "H-Haruhi..." he mumbled.

Hikaru and Kaoru threw their arms up in the air. "Merry late Christmas, milord! And happy early new year!" they said. "We knew you'd like it!"

Haruhi shook her head and groaned. "These damn rich people..." she grumbled.

"How did you two even get that picture?" I asked.

"Easy; back when we went to Kyoya's jungle theme park, we secretly snapped a photo of Haruhi when you weren't looking." Hikaru said.

"Uh, why would you do that?" Haruhi asked.

"Uh, for Tono, of course." Kaoru said obviously.

Tamaki turned redder. "Sh-Shut up, the both of you!" he snapped.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I looked to see I had gotten a text from Mom.

Mom: Sweetie, it's getting dark out, you need to come home now

I texted back.

Arabella: ok, fine, I'm coming.

I put my phone back in my pocket. "Sorry guys, I gotta go home now." I said as I got up.

Hikaru and Kaoru nodded. "It's cool. Bye, Arabella."

I waved. "Bye."

"We'll see you tomorrow for New Years." Haruhi said.

I nodded. "Yeah, can't wait. Bye."

Then, I left and Tamaki's limo driver drove me home.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, hon, how was movie night with your friends?" Mom asked when I arrived home.

"It was great. I can't wait for tomorrow night, we'll be spending New Years together." I said.

Mom smiled. "That's great, sweetheart. I hope you have a good time."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mom. I will."

Daniel suddenly trailed into the hallway. "Hey, Arabella, so you're spending New Years with your boyfriend? I warned you, you shouldn't get too close to other people." he said.

I blushed. "Daniel! First off, Kaoru is NOT my boyfriend, for the millionth time! Second off, I'm NOT getting too close to anyone! It's fine!" I said.

Daniel shrugged. "Whatever." he said.

Mom glared at him. "Daniel! It's not your place to say who Arabella can or cannot hang out with. Besides, her friends seem like very nice people."

Daniel gave Mom a look. "Really, now? Well, Robert seemed like a very nice person as well! And look what happened there...!" he retorted.

Silence.

No one has so much as uttered Robert's name since the incident...

Until now.

Mom was instantly silenced and all the color drained from her face.

I just looked down at my feet and shuffled around.

"Daniel Lee Hashimoto, we don't speak his name, EVER. Not anymore. That name died the second after the incident. Am I clear, young man?" Mom said darkly.

She meant business.

Daniel immediately got the message. "Yes ma'am..." he mumbled.

Mom nodded firmly. "Good," she said. Then she turned to me. "Now, Arabella, why don't you and your brother go watch a movie together, hm? You haven't done that since last month." She immediately changed the subject.

"Okay... uh... sure..." I said. Then I led Daniel into the game room, where we usually watched TV.

"I don't get it; why won't you even mention his name? I mean, I get that what happened to us was really horrible and awful, but does that mean we don't ever get to talk about it anymore?" Daniel said.

I shrugged. "I guess so. But, frankly I don't want to talk about it... I don't ever want to remember the incident, I wish it never happened. Even though it was my fault..."

Daniel's eyes widened. "Don't say that! It wasn't your fault! It was his! And, I get why you did it. If we had been with him for anymore years, I probably would've done it too."

I gasped. "Daniel! Don't you ever talk like that! What I did was a mistake and I never what to hear that YOU did it too! In fact, I'm lucky I'm still here today!" I said seriously. Because I was serious. I mean, if Daniel were to ever... Oh God, I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself...

But he won't! Because that was then and this is now! And we're all doing much better now!

"It's okay! I would never in a million years do that EVER! I promise! Besides, I've got no reason to! We're doing just fine here, aren't we?" Daniel said.

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we are doing okay here." I said reassuringly.

We're never going back to the way we were, NEVER.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, Arabella! Have fun!" Mom said as she dropped me off at Tamaki's estate with my overnight bag the next day.

"I will! I love you!" I said before I kissed Mom goodbye and she left.

I stepped up to the doorstep rang the doorbell. Soon, someone answered.

It seemed it was one of Tamaki's maids. She smiled when she saw me. "Welcome, Miss Hashimoto! I presume you're here for the New Years Eve party?" she said.

I nodded. "Yep."

She smiled again. "Come in! Master Tamaki will be delighted to see you!" She opened the door and let me in.

"I have no doubt about that." I said before she closed the door.

When I entered the main hall, it was absolute chaos.

There was confetti everywhere, as well as streamers and other party accessories.

I was immediately greeted by Tamaki, who was wearing a party hat. "My little girl! I'm so happy you're here! Now we have everyone! Happy New Years Eve!" he said before he slapped a party hat on my head. I chuckled.

"We're all gonna have so much fun!" Tamaki said happily.

"I bet we are." I said.

Then, Kyoya approached us. "Welcome, Arabella. We're glad you're here. Now, if you're hungry or thirsty, food and refreshments are in the kitchen. In fact, Honey and Mori are making them right now." he said.

"Oh, Kyoya, she's thirsty alright..." said a familiar voice

Hikaru had entered the room. "She's thirsty for Kaoru! And she's not the only one, Kaoru's pretty thirsty for her too." he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Hush up, Hikaru." I said.

"Yes! Shut it, shady twin! My little girl is NOT thirsty for your perverted brother! And he will NEVER get to her! I WON'T ALLOW IT!!!" Tamaki shouted.

Hikaru shrugged. "Whatever. That's what you say now..." he smirked.

"Hey, Hikaru! Look what I found!"

We all looked up the grand stairs to see Kaoru at the top on top of a big mattress.

All our eyes widened.

"I got this from Tono's room! How about we go mattress surfing?" Kaoru said.

"Wait, IS THAT MY MATTRESS?! Get off of it right now!" Tamaki shouted to the top of the stairs.

Hikaru ignored Tamaki. "Aw yeah, Kaoru! Wait up! I'm coming up with you!" he said before he ran up the stairs to his brother, then climbed on top of the mattress.

"Uh, that looks pretty dangerous...!" I called up nervously. I mean, I didn't want my friends dead...

Hikaru smiled heartwarmingly. "Aw~! Isn't this sweet, Kaoru? Your girlfriend is worried about you! How sweet!" he cooed. Then, he shouted down at me, "Don't worry, Arabella! Your boyfriend and I will be fine!"

I blushed. "He's NOT my boyfriend...!" I shouted.

"Yet!" Hikaru shouted back. I rolled my eyes.

"You shady twins! Get off my mattress and put it back!!! Now!" Tamaki shouted up at the twins.

"Mm... nah!" they both said. Then, they pushed off...

And they, along with the mattress, went flying down the stairs.

"WOO HOO!!!" they both shouted as they slid.

Then, they got to the bottom of the stairs and slid across the room until they crashed into a wall.

They then stood up. "That was awesome!" they said.

Tamaki rushed over to them and yanked them off the mattress. "YOU IDIOTS!!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED YOURSELVES!!! What's wrong with you two?!" he shouted at them.

"Jeez... Chill out, Tono." they said together.

"CHILL OUT?! I don't need to 'chill out'! You two could've DIED." Tamaki shouted.

"He's right, though. You two should be more careful."

Haruhi had entered the room.

Hikaru and Kaoru suddenly smirked.

"What?" Haruhi asked.

Then, Hikaru and Kaoru grabbed both Haruhi and me.

"What are you two crazy twins doi--" I was cut off as Hikaru and Kaoru dragged the mattress back up the stairs along with Haruhi and me.

They then sat Haruhi and me down on it.

"Enjoy the ride, ladies~!" they sang.

Tamaki freaked out. "WHAT?! Let my little girls down, RIGHT NOW, YOU SHADY TWINS!!!"

Hikaru and Kaoru stuck their tongues out at Tamaki before they pushed the mattress, sending Haruhi and me soaring down the stairs.

Haruhi and I clutched each other for dear life.

"AHHHHHH!!!" we both screamed the entire way down.

When we slid across the floor and crashed into the wall, Tamaki immediately came to us.

"Oh, daddy's little girls!!! Are you two alright?!" he freaked out.

"Yeah... we're fine..." I mumbled as Tamaki pulled both Haruhi and me up to our feet.

"Hey, Senpai, would you possibly mind killing Hikaru and Kaoru for us, though?" Haruhi said.

Tamaki smiled. "It would be my pleasure!" He stomped over to the twins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Tamaki almost beat the living crap outta Hikaru and Kaoru, we were able to separate them and now we were watching the New Years Eve event on TV.

We were all snuggled up on one of Tamaki's large sofas, drinking hot chocolate that Kyoya made.

"Mm," I said as I took a sip of mine. "Kyoya, this is really good... How'd you make it taste this good?"

Kyoya smiled. "Family recipe." he simply said.

"Well, your family recipe kicks ass." Hikaru and Kaoru said as they drank.

"True that," Haruhi said as she finished her cup. "Mind if I have another?"

Kyoya nodded and took Haruhi's cup from her. "Of course." he replied before he went back into the kitchen.

I checked the clock on the wall.

11:59 P.M.

"Guys, it's officially a minute until the new year!" I announced.

They all pumped their fists in the air and cheered.

"Hooray for the new year!" Honey said as he held Usa-chan up.

"Yeah." Mori said.

I checked my watch. "Guys, twenty seconds until the new year!"

By now, the people on the TV were counting down.

Ten seconds until the new year.

We started to count down too.

"Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two... One..."

Everyone on the TV cheered as the new year was officially announced.

"Happy new year!" my friends and I all shouted. Then we cheered and high-fived each other.

"Woo hoo!" I shouted.

"2016! 2016!" Hikaru and Kaoru chanted.

"Happy 2016, my friends!" Tamaki said happily.

Kyoya came back from the kitchen with Haruhi's cup and handed it to her.

Hikaru and Kaoru lifted their cups up. "A toast..." Hikaru started.

"... to another wonderful year!" Kaoru finished. We all lifted our cups and toasted to 2016.

"The Ouran Host Club thrives for another year!" Tamaki shouted. We all cheered to that.

Honey yawned. "I'm tired... I think we should go to bed now." he murmured.

Tamaki nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, I am quite tired... Plus, good looks such as mine need their beauty sleep!" He pulled out his sleeping bag. "Let's go camping!"

"Senpai, it isn't camping if we're sleeping inside a mansion in a bunch of sleeping bags. That doesn't exactly qualify as camping..." Haruhi pointed out.

"Why are we even sleeping in sleeping bags..."

"... if we have plenty of comfy, specially made beds we can sleep in instead?"

"See our point? Why sleep in those when we can sleep in an actual bed? Besides, Kaoru and Arabella can bunk together."

Kaoru glared at Hikaru for him to shut up. I glared as well.

"Because, shady twins, I thought it'd be fun to do this!" Tamaki said. "And, Kaoru, stop being such a PERVERT towards my little girl!!!"

Kaoru turned pink. "I am NOT...!!! For the last time!"

I turned pink too. "Yeah! And, Hikaru, cut it out!" I snapped.

Hikaru smirked. "Now that wouldn't be very fun, would it?" he said innocently.

Both Kaoru and Tamaki looked about ready to punch Hikaru in the face.

"Hikaru, shut it." I said simply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon, we all decided to hit the hay. It was late and we were tired.

Everyone arranged their sleeping bags on the floor and got ready for bed.

It was then I realized I didn't have a sleeping bag.

Mainly because I forgot to bring one.

I mentally cursed myself.

"What's wrong?" Haruhi asked me.

"I forgot my sleeping bag." I grumbled.

"You can share mine with me." Haruhi suggested.

"Nah, I'm fine. I'll just sleep on the sofa or something." I said with a dismissal wave of my hand.

"If you're sure." Haruhi shrugged.

"I'm fine." I said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shivered on the sofa and desperately tried to keep warm.

God, who knew it'd be this cold???

It's winter, genius. Of course it's gonna be cold! All A's, honor roll student, Miss Honor Student Scholarship? Yeah, right.

I sighed and shifted to a different position to try and get warmer. No such luck.

No matter how many blankets I piled on top of myself, I was still freezing cold.

My teeth must've been chattering pretty loud, because Kaoru, whose sleeping bag was right next to the sofa, suddenly sat up and looked at me. "Hey, Arabella, what's wrong? You cold?" he asked.

I nodded.

Kaoru opened his sleeping bag. "Crawl in here with me, then you'll be plenty warm." He patted the spot in his sleeping bag next to him.

I shook my head. "Oh no, you don't have to do that...!" I said.

Kaoru smiled. "I know. I want to. Besides, you look cold."

I smiled back. "You sure...?" I asked.

"Be my guest." Kaoru said.

I leapt off the sofa and crawled into his sleeping bag next to him. He put his arm around me and I instantly felt warm.

Either that, or it's my heart beating out of control and my stomach practically erupting with several butterflies at how close we are... That and the fact I kinda liked it.

Wait, what?

I blushed.

Kaoru looked at me. "Why are your cheeks pink? Are you still cold?"

I looked away so he wouldn't be able to see me blushing harder. "Uh, n-no... I'm fine..." I said.

Kaoru smiled again and held me closer. I burrowed farther into his arms and relaxed.

Eventually, it was warm enough to the point that I finally fell asleep, right in Kaoru's arms.