Unlovable

Chapter Twenty-Nine

School was over. Kagami tried to remember to breath as she walked down the hallway. Hotaru was finally going to come over to her house, it was unavoidable now. And even though Kagami looked completely calm, she was secretly having a mini panic attack as she thought about it. Once Hotaru came to her house, Kagami knew that she was going to lose her forever, and she wasn't as prepared for that as she thought she would be. She couldn't imagine surviving high school without Hotaru by her side. She would be all alone again. Kagami's hands clenched into fists as she thought about it and she had to force herself not to let her panic show on her face. She seriously didn't know what she was going to do when Hotaru left.

"Ka-chan!" 

Startled, Kagami whirled around. Honey was bouncing towards her waving cheerily, and Mori was following close behind. She wondered what they wanted with her.

"Do you need something?" She asked as they came up to her.

"Well," Honey chirped, "Kyo-chan heard that you stopped Hika-chan and Kao-chan from fighting in class and he told us to bring you to the host club to keep them under control. He said if you did that, he would forget about the photo shoot, whatever that means."

Honey sure had a knack for coming up with weird nicknames for people. Normally, that thought would have made Kagami feel a little better, but she was too stressed out for that to work. And the fact that Kyoya was asking her for a favor, even if he hadn't put it that way, would normally make her want to gloat. He was too stuck up to ask for anything unless he was desperate. And the fact that he was even offering to forget about making "Mitsuki" do a photo shoot meant that he was in serious trouble. But after having to deal with Hikaru and Kaoru all day, Kagami completely understood why he would go to such desperate measures.

"So," Honey said, "will you come?"

"Sorry," Kagami said with a sigh, "but I actually have plans after school today, so I can't go."

Although, going to the host club to keep Hikaru and Kaoru in check would be the perfect excuse to keep Hotaru from going to her house. She could place the blame on the twins and she wouldn't loose Hotaru. But even though that thought was tempting, Kagami would never let herself be a coward about this. She was going to have to face this head on, no matter how hard that was.

"Are you okay Ka-chan? You look a little pale."

Blinking, Kagami saw Honey looking up at her with worried brown eyes. Mori was staring at her intensely as well. Apparently, he hadn't listened to her when she said he needed to stop.

"I . . . " Kagami hesitated for a moment. There was a small part of her that wanted to talk to somebody about how worried she was, but she ignored that part of her and hardened her expression. Now was not the time for her to indulge in her weakness. "I'm fine. You must be imagining things."

"Are you sure?" Honey pressed.

"Positive." Kagami replied. "I have to go now. See you around."

Kagami turned to go when she felt a weight settle on the top of her head. Startled, she  turned her head to see that the weight on her head was Mori's hand. He was gazing down at her with an undecipherable look in his gray eyes.

"Senpai?" She asked hesitantly.

Instead of answering her, Mori simply started patting her on the head. It was an oddly comforting gesture, and Kagami felt herself relaxing ever so slightly. After a few seconds he withdrew his hand and she looked at him questioningly.

"Takashi wants you to cheer up." Honey supplied. "And so do I!"

Kagami managed a small, but genuine, smile. "Thanks, but I really am fine."