Venom { Bitten Sequel }

Old Little Things

Alaria's POV

I'd been awake for at least an hour when Kyoya finally woke. My wonderful dream had turned into a twisted nightmare where Jace and Glitch had come back and killed Kyoya in front of me.

Not like I'd let Kyoya know that.

"Hey," He murmured groggily, sleep heavy in his voice. I looked up at him and smiled. "Good morning, Kyoya," He smiled warmly back at me, hugging me close to him.

Suddenly, with the thought of the boys, I jumped up and ran downstairs without a word to Kyoya, leaving him in bed alone and confused. I looked out the front door and gasped. "Kyoya!"

Kyoya made his way downstairs, with a quickness, and jumped to my side. "What is it?" I pointed outside, at the thick white layer all over everything outside. "It's snow!" I jumped up and down in excitement. "Koaru and the others..." He mumbled, and my heart stuttered. "Oh my God, are they okay?" Kyoya ran up the stairs as I asked, grabbing his phone and running back downstairs.

The reality of the situation stuck out at me. They could've been in a bad wreck, or they could just simply be stuck in bad traffic. I wanted to convince myself that they were fine, that I'd feel something if something were wrong, but, once I thought about a wreck, I couldn't get the thought from my mind.

"Hikaru!" Kyoya shouted as he got a hold of the twin. "Where are you?" I jumped, grabbing the phone, hearing shouting and whining. I couldn't understand anything Hikaru said. "H-Hikaru! Please tell me you're okay!" Suddenly, I heard, "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" And the background went silent. Hikaru sighed and finally spoke clearly, "What did you say?" I sighed, my heart beating in relief. "I said, are you okay?" With another sigh, Hikaru said, "Yeah. We're fine. Really bad traffic is all. The roads are icy, and there's been a huge wreck since late last night." He sighed again, "We should not have let Tamaki take us out last night." In the background, I heard Tamaki whine, "Hey! It's not my fault!" I just rolled my eyes. "Yeah, wow. It's snowing out here, is it still snowing over there?" Hikaru grunted in exhaustion, and I took that as a "yes".

After a few minutes of silence, I heard Hikaru moan sleepily, and I assumed he was asleep, as were the others from the sound of snoring in the background. I sighed and hung up. "They're fine. Really bad traffic, and they're exhausted." Kyoya nodded, putting his hands on my hips and pulling me close to him. "Well, now I just feel awful!" He kissed me gently and smiled. "No you don't," I said as we broke apart. He chuckled and told me he was going to get a shower, since he hadn't had one last night.

I waited until I heard the water running across the hall to open my closet and look at the boxes I hadn't opened since my last birthday. With a sigh, I sat down in the floor and grabbed the closest box to me; Tamaki's, with the note and picture. I took Hunni's locket next, and realized I'd never opened it. I opened it now, and smiled; there was a picture of all of the Hosts.

Including Haruhi.

With tears in my eyes, I turned to the next present; Kyoya's. I peeled the lid off of the box and rubbed down the purple violin. With a sigh, I grabbed the next one. Mori's blanket with my name on the corner. I smiled a bit and turned to the next present. Hikaru's drawing of Kaoru and my hands. It made me smile, and I immediately thought of Kyoya, but turned to the next present. Kaoru's ring was still as beautiful and clean as the day I'd gotten it. It brought back a lot of memories, some good and some bad, but the last present I would open would be the worst, I knew.

Haruhi's.

It felt like opened her casket and staring down at her corpse as I opened the box and took the stuffed bear in hand. It's fur was soft and purple, a white heart on its chest. I hugged it to my chest, and frowned as I heard, "Happy birthday, Lari! I never thought we'd reunite again, but we did. How nice is that? Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful seventeenth birthday, Lari, because you honestly deserve it. Happy birthday! Sisters forever!" I heard her familiar giggle at the end of the message, and it clicked off.

Silent tears streamed down my cheeks like rivers. "I'm connected to that, Alaria, that's why you can still see me." I heard Haruhi's voice behind me, and I sighed, shaking.

"Alaria?"

I jumped and turned to the door. Kyoya was standing there, a blue t-shirt and dark jeans on. His hair was wet, and I just smiled. "The bear Haruhi got for my birthday," I said, my voice shaking. Kyoya crouched by my side. "Just listen to this." I pressed the little white heart again, and the message played. He gaped for a moment, then gave a tiny smile. "Haruhi always knew what to say, didn't she?" I nodded, holding the bear close to me. Kyoya wrapped his arms around me protectively, and I leaned into him, unable to stop the flow of tears.

The front door opened downstairs, and Hikaru shouted, "We're home!" Kaoru muttered, "Thank God," My eyes widened and I shook my head, shoving everything back into the closet. "I-I don't want to face Mori-Senpai right now!" I whispered urgently. Kyoya sighed and looked at the door, where they were coming upstairs. "You're going to have to, now, won't you?" I gulped and stood, the painful memory of the last time Mori and I spoke hitting me like a punch in the gut.

It wasn't surprising to see that Mori was the first person in the door. My hand was on Kyoya's arm, and I was sure Tamaki must've said something due to the look in his eye. "Kyoya, can I talk to Alaria alone, please?" With a glance in my direction, Kyoya left and shut the door.

Mori immediately took a few steps forward, and I jumped back. "S-Stay away!" I cried, fighting tears. I was stronger than this, and I wasn't about to break down. It was about time I built up that wall that had protected me for so long before, unstead of shrinking behind anyone nearby. I blinked away the tears, and changed my posture from terrified to sure, my shoulders back. "Stay right there," I repeated, this time more calm. Mori watched me, confused. "Tamaki heard everything I said to you, Alaria. And I am so sorry. I was drunk, and--" I shook my head, "And that's just it, isn't it?" He stopped and listened to me, looking a bit scared as to what I was going to say next. "You got drunk, Mori. You, of all people, should know how much that hurts me! What with you reading my old diary and all." Mori cringed, and I shook my head in response. "You were right, before," Mori's expression changed to desperation, "No," Was all he could manage. "I'm weak. I'm pathetic. I was strong, had a good barrier. I'm gonna just build it back up now, Mori, because that's what's best for me. But you know what really, really hurt me the most, Mori?" He shook his head. "No, it's not true, Alaria. Don't say it." A single tear hit the floor beside my foot as I said, "Haruhi was better than me. That's the painful truth."

He turned to the wall and brought his fist on it with a curse. His head was hung low, and he was biting his lip. "I never meant to hurt you, Alaria. You've got to understand that." I nodded. "But you did, and everybody does eventually. Even Kyoya, even Kaoru," I paused, "Even you." He cursed again and left the room with a shake of his head. I crumbled in on myself, shaking, dizzy. I felt like I was in a different place, a different time. The room went from wood and wallpaper to cement, and I struggled to grab hold of reality, grabbing hold of the nearest object.

Which turned out to be a chair, the same metal chair I'd sat in for my own torture, the ropes in a mess on the floor. I shook my head, desperately telling myself this wasn't real, and it was all just a hallucination. But how do you change the image your brain is making you see? A door creaked open behind me and I spun on my heel, seeing a cross between Glitch and Kyoya. "Alaria?" The sound was echoed and muffled, like I was unconscious. "Are you alright?" I shook my head slowly, panting. "This isn't real..." I said breathlessly, my energy draining as I fought to control my reality. "Kyoya, tell me this isn't real..." Kyoya, putting his hands over mine, spoke, "You're hallucinating, Alaria, it's not real. Focus on my voice, I'm right here." I nodded, focusing mainly on his voice as the hallucination gradually fell away. "God, that's gotta stop," I whispered as I sat down on the bed, a headache pounding against my skull. Kyoya just hugged me and comforted me, and I didn't ever want it to end.