When I brought myself to wake up, the tight pain in my chest remained. I wiped my face and stood. Then, I began to pace.

This was not a game. There was no rescue. There was no re-do. There was no restart or backup or extra lives or any of that. It was I against only God knows how many armed men. I had no weapons or other resources. I still hadn't eaten in over a day. Yeah, I could totally do this.

Suddenly, screaming and loud noises erupted from outside my door. I backed away from the center of the room until I was once again against the wall. This was it; I was going to die. And it might just be from a heart attack.

Across the wooden frame that trapped me, orders were being given. Fists were being thrown. Chairs and crates were tossed mercilessly into opponents. And I could hear all of it. Then I heard pounding feet outside the door. The lights flickered to life, and I edged towards the corner. Oh my goodness, I'm not ready. I don't want to die!

A quiet form peeked into the room first before moving to the center and observing me silently. The person shifted uncomfortably, almost submissively. I roughly made out a small black box being fiddled with in their hands.

"Kyoya?" Their voice asked shyly. And I recognized it.

"Tamaki?" I questioned breathlessly. "How are you here?"

"I found you, Kyoya. When you were taken, I found your Snickers bar. It must have fallen out of your pocket in the hallway. So I followed as quickly as I could. I couldn't catch up with the car though. So we found that we could track your cell-phone. But they called your dad before we could trace it. The phone call was exactly what we needed to find you. So here I am," he explained quietly. Since when was Tamaki ever shy?

"Okay," I replied easing out of my tense position.

"A-and I'm sorry. I called the optician the day your glasses broke before I came to get you. They said that they didn't sell those types of frames a-anymore, and I know they're not black, b-but I got you new glasses. T-they're red, but-" he stuttered out. He slid the black case across to me, and I picked it up carefully. Indeed, new red frames rested inside.

It wasn't very often that I, Kyoya Ootori, moved quickly of aburptly. Nor was it very often that I was the first to make contact with another person's body. It also was not very likely for me to ever hug Tamaki Suoh. And lastly, it was highly unlikely for me to ever congratulate someone or thank then for anything. So for each of those things to happen at once would be extremely unlikely.

So it was all the stranger, when I lunged and wrapped my arms around Tamaki Suoh in a trembling hug. I squeezed him tightly and laughed, "Thank you." He was frozen in shock, or confusion, I don't know nor do I care. Tamaki was the best friend I could hope for. With shaking hands, he wrapped his arms around me also.

"How bad was the torture?" He questioned worriedly.

"Wonderful. Just what I needed," I beamed and pulled away with my hands on his shoulders. I hurried to put on the new frames and almost ripped my face in half with my smile. I could see, and the first thing I saw was my best friend, Tamaki Suoh.

"Okay, well, we're definitely getting you examined by a doctor, but for now, we really need to go! Your police task force was having a bit of trouble with the kidnappers," he fretted.

"Then let's go," I nodded. We rushed to get behind the police lines. Once we were in the clear, Tamaki and I made a wild dash for one of the police vans. The driver quickly sped us away from the seaside warehouse, and before long, we were in a city.

It took us three hours to arrive back at my mansion, and I told Tamaki to go home. He protested, but a quick glare sent him on his way.

I took a deep breath and marched angrily up the front steps of my house. My dad was not getting out of this Scott-free. I shoved opened both of the double doors and moved into the foyer. My dad appeared before me and shook ever so slightly at my furious glare.

"Kyoya, I was so worried, you have no idea-" I cut him off there.

"Do you know what you put me through? They threatened to kill me. Am I just not good enough for you? Where do I go wrong? What have I done? Is it the host club? Is that what you hate me for?" I questioned, angry tears welled in my eyes.

"Kyoya! I...I...I don't hate you," he declared eventually.

"Then why would you refuse to pay the ransom?! Why would you let them believe they could kill me?" I asked.

"Tamaki and the police force were all ready to go. I didn't think it necessary to-" he started. I took a deep breath and raised my hand to slap him. He stared up at my hand fearfully, and I froze. My angry tears bubbled down my cheeks.

"I-" I paused to take a breath, lowered my hand back down to my side, and forced myself to look away, "I am the better person." And with that, I stormed upstairs and took a shower to calm myself. With my new glasses, I was finally able to complete my homework, which helped to calm me further. My sister brought me soup, and I cleaned my room. By the time I was supposed to go to sleep, I was completely calm.

I brushed my hair and my teeth. I made sure my backpack was packed. I laid out my uniform for tomorrow. Then I moved to put on my pajamas. But they just felt so tight in all the wrong places. And I found myself, once again, sleeping in a t-shirt and boxers. But this time? This time my alarm was set correctly.

-{[(•)]}-

THE END

A/N: Was it terrible? You can brutally murder me if you need to... Oh, and way to go, Kyoya, for surviving and being the better man. Sorr for breaking you and making your father act like he hated you. *nods apologetically* *not actuually sorry*