~I Still Hate Bandannas~Kaidoh Kaoru x OC

Chapter 11

This is going to be horrible. Absolutely awful. I'll have to move away, change my name, never let them find me after this-

"Fshuuu...you okay?"

I jumped about a mile out of my skin at the sound of Kaoru's voice interrupting my train of thought. We had just arrived at my house and were standing at the front door. I was trying to work up the nerve to actually go inside, my hand hovering over the knob that stood between me and my impending doom. The second my brothers saw Kaoru and I together, saw us holding hands, found out we were dating, that would be the end of it. The end of any existing shred of dignity I had left. I would need to run fast and run far, and never return if I had even the slightest chance of surviving this kind of humiliation.

Kaoru eyed me impatiently, knowing full well why I was stalling for as long as possible. Finally, he just sighed, nudging my sweaty hand out of the way and taking the door knob himself. He turned it, and it felt like the universe was moving in slow motion, making sure that each agonizing second heightened my anxiety to it's fullest potential.

God or Universe or whoever is in charge here, please, just strike me down now. End my suffering.

I heard the creaking of the door as Kaoru pushed it open, taking the first step inside and pulling my reluctant mortal body along behind him. I shut my eyes as the door shut behind us, awaiting the first of many jokes that would continue mocking me for an eternity, even in my dreams. Waited for Kai, or Adam, or Phil to see Kaoru and I and immediately make some wise ass crack about how we were obviously dating all along, only pretending to hate each other, and so on.

But nothing came.

The house was silent, so against my better judgment, I risked peeking out of one squinting eye. For a moment, I thought one of my brothers was standing in front of me, and I instantly wished for a portal to open beneath me and send me straight into the depths of the underworld. However, it was only Kaoru, who had already taken off his shoes and was walking ahead of me, on his way into the living room. Honestly, I hadn't even noticed him move at all, still thinking he was beside me, clasping my clammy hand. I looked down at my shoes, realizing the mortal sin of still having them on inside my own household. Stumbling to get them off, I finally freed my feet of my sneakers and awkwardly shuffled to the living room, peaking my head around the corner to see my living room, completely empty aside from Kaoru.

He turned and looked back at my still nervous form, saying, "I don't think anyone is here."

I paused for a moment, listening. I couldn't hear any creaking of the floorboards upstairs or any shuffling from the basement. Kaoru was right.

Nobody was home.

I let out a sigh of relief as I slid across the hardwood floor in my socks to the couch where Kaoru was. I sank into the couch like it was my grave, soaking in the sweet moment of relaxation I didn't think I would get upon coming home.

Kaoru raised his eyebrow at me, "Fshuuu, you're kind of pathetic. You know that?"

A tick mark appeared on my forehead, my eyes flying open to scowl at the hissing idiot in front of me.

"Um, excuse me? You don't get to judge, mister. Your brother is a literal angel, while my brothers are demon spawn cast unto the earth from the deepest pits of hell itself. So, bite me, Kaoru."

He merely scoffed, rolling his eyes so hard they may have gone into another dimension. My intelligent response was blowing a raspberry at him.

Very mature. Phil would be proud.

Rolling his eyes for a second time, Kaoru sat down on the couch beside me. My eyes scanned the room for the TV remote. Not seeing it, I dug in between the cushions of the couch, finally locating it and pulling it out in triumph, quite proud of myself for finding it so quickly. I looked over to Kaoru, who was obviously trying very hard to not judge how disastrous my household still was.