II. Spider

There were strange things in life that you just don't hear every day. Like the sound of a dress ripping in the middle of the runway. Or the sound of scratching a word on glass. Or the sound of a violin string snapping in the midst of a song.

In this case, it was the sound of Senior Hani screaming in terror.

The adorable boy wouldn't stop squeaking in fear; his hands trembled, and small droplets of tears formed at the corner of his eyelids. He bit his pink lip, gripped Usa-chan tightly, and cowered in his favourite comfy armchair. All the while, he choked out sobs of horror and despair.

"Get Senior Mori! Where is he in a time like this!" Tamaki freaked in a frenzy.

"He had a meeting with his homeroom teacher, remember? He's on his way," Kyouya stated grimly, flipping his cellphone shut after making a call of distress to the usually stoic cousin of Hani.

"It'll be too late! Look, our customers are panicking already!" Tamaki cried. "Kaoru, Hikaru, do your job as men and do something!" He flailed his arms in front of the twins, who just stared back, their faces pale as sheets.

"Hell no, we're not stepping close to that thing. Did you see it; it's nasty," Hikaru held up his hands in protest, while his twin winced.

"Well, I'm not letting my precious daughter get hurt by that- that monstrosity!" Tamaki wrapped his arms protectively around Haruhi, who yelped in protest.

"Senior Tamaki! Let go of me, I can handle it, reall–"

At this point of time, Hani's cries became even more apparent, and he shrank even further into his armchair. He held up Usa-chan in front of his face, as though trying to shield his eyes from the source of his fear.

"It's crawling closer to Senior Hani!" one of the girls shrieked.

"Someone save him! Please!"

"I can't bear to watch!"

"Why must the cute die young!"

And then, swiftly, as though no one expected it, a black-haired female cupped up the eight-legged creature from the armrest of the armchair and nonchalantly approached the nearby window. Calmly, she opened it and gently placed the little creature onto the pane, where it scurried away, as though relieved to escape from the commotion.

As Reiko shut the window and turned towards her stunned schoolmates, a pair of short arms wrapped themselves around her waist. She blinked.

"Oh Reiko-chan! Thank you for saving me from the spider!" Hani exclaimed in glee, smiling in utmost relief and euphoria, while giving her a tight squeeze. He released her and tugged on her sleeve, motioning her to bend down.

"My heroine," he giggled, and kissed her cheek. Reiko blinked again.

The stunned silence subsided as the girls began their squealing.

"Oh Reiko, you were so brave!"

"She saved Senior Hani! Like in a fairytale! Awww!"

The door to the room slammed open, as a panting Mori (finally) arrived. Hani grinned in delight as he ran towards his cousin, and started to babble about how darling brave Reiko-chan rescued him from the vile spider.

All this while, Haruhi couldn't help but notice Reiko, whose cheeks were tinted pink after Hani had kissed her, looking out towards the window where she had released the spider earlier. 'What is she thinking...?' Haruhi wondered.

Little did she know that Reiko was reminding herself to pick up her eight-legged pet Lucretia later on, and hoping that it won't get lost in the meantime.

The author speaks: Well, that's certainly one way to attract the boy you like; play on his fears. *smirks*

Please R&R (: