HELLO EVERYONE!

Thank you so much for your patience with me on this! I changed my mind about rewriting and reposting the whole thing, I went back and forth on that idea with this story many times.

I also had written several different versions of this chapter in many different povs and different scenarios. I finally settled on writing in Kaoru's pov because I figured he was probably the most interesting to write!

I hope you like my little plot twists and writing in this chapter, I went back and reread from where Hikaru initially blew up in the café/bakery place because of Honey and Mori and will be re-reading the rest after posting this. I have changed the direction of this story and will probably be changing the rating and taking out all of the lemon/lime/smut content.

I hope that is okay with you all and that you will hang out with me to see the changes.

High school is approaching and that means we will be where the anime and manga take place.

I really want to hear your feedback on this chapter so please let me know what you think and even if it's just letting me know that you're still here reading! I am going to try to finish this story, and have rediscovered my inspiration for it!

So without further ado, I bring you the long overdue Chapter 33 of Experimentation Can Be Romantic!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran or any of it's characters in this case. I do own this plot however.

I felt like this was a trap, as I lay there in bed. I looked over at my sleeping twin brother and took in how calm he looked sleeping. Why would he suddenly just give me Haruhi after everything that just happened? It didn't make sense to me.

I didn't sleep at all that night, my brain was relentlessly thinking whether my eyes were opened or closed. I just felt like he was up to something. We were in this together I thought, and we had agreed to share. Then he goes crazy and suddenly he doesn't want her anymore? It just wasn't adding up…

My musings were finally interrupted by the loud alarm and my brother smacking me in the face with his arm as he reached to turn it off. "I could've gotten it, Hika."

He chuckled a bit, "I didn't know you were up."

I didn't respond at first, staring up at the ceiling. I felt him roll over and drape his arm across my chest. I looked over at him, "Woke up a few hours ago, just didn't want to disturb your peaceful snoring."

"Oh shut up, Kaoru! I do not snore," he stuck his tongue out at me with a playful sneer.

We laughed for a bit and soon relaxed in silence. Everything felt normal again…like before Haruhi even came into our lives. I looked back at Hikaru and noticed he was lost in thought which got me wondering what he was thinking about.

"Hikaru," I started hesitantly, "why have you decided we can't share Haruhi..?"

I didn't even have to look at him to know he had developed a frown. He sighed heavily and sat up, facing away from me. "You know why Kaoru…" he muttered.

I shook my head, despite him not being able to see, "I'm actually really confused Hika. She agreed to having us both, why are you unhappy about that?"

"Because she can't love us both equally." He deadpanned.

I blinked a few times, processing what he said and all the future scenarios that could occur depending on what I say now. "She was trying…it's certainly something knew. Don't you want to give her a fair shot..? She's different than most."

It took a few minutes for him to move, let alone say anything, "I'm fine with you having her Kaoru."

And with that he was up and heading towards the bathroom. I let him go, I was too confused by his behavior to try to follow him. He had just had a huge fight with her, one I'm still kind of confused about, and now he's just going to give her up? Is he going to say he doesn't even want to be here friend now too?

After nearly fifteen minutes of Hikaru stealing the bathroom I decided to head down to the kitchen, my stomach was grumbling pretty loudly. The chefs had already prepared breakfast and were waiting to serve it to us, I looked at the two plates on the large table and sighed quietly.

"Can I have some oatmeal?" I slid down into my chair and shoved the plate away.

I could tell the chef was irritated but it brought some joy into me, carrying on with the normal feeling of things. "Yes, sir," he grumbled before exiting the dining room to prepare some for me. I twirled my spoon in my hand as I continued to think. I hadn't heard from Haruhi in a few days, now that I thought about it. I knew she hadn't tried texting Hikaru, especially after all the crazy stuff he pulled. I thought back on it as I waited; it had all started because he saw Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai, but he got over that fast because he came to save us from my idiotic decision of losing track of where we were. Then he caught me in my coverup for why he left and started another fight. I'm still not really clear what had happened between him and Haruhi, she had told me bits and pieces but I knew she hadn't told me all of it. I wanted to ask Hikaru but we had a nice past three days together with just the two of us and no drama. Judging on how he reacted this morning to me asking back on his decision, I realized he wouldn't be too fond of me asking back on that now.

"There you are, I was wondering where you went," Hikaru dropped down in to the chair next to me.

"Sorry, I was dying for some oatmeal."

He chuckled and started eating whatever weird egg dish the cook had originally made for us. Soon my oatmeal arrived and I began eating it, casual light joking between the two of us here and there. Once we had finished eating we continued to sit at the table in silence.

"Mom asked me to come down to the offices today, I thought I could go and get back into the designing scene now that I've had my fill of socializing and fun," Hikaru stated abruptly, standing up from his chair, "So I'll see you tonight, okay?" I watched him leave before I could even answer him. He closed the door loudly and I heard him go upstairs, probably to get dressed. I sat and just listened to him and waited to hear him leave the house before I moved.

Once he left I ran up the stairs and picked up my cellphone, I dialed her number and held it up to my ear. The sounds of it ringing seemed so loud to me. After the sixth ring it stopped and I heard the voice come through the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hey…" I murmured, "Oh, uh, it's Kaoru."

"I know," she chuckled, "I have caller I.D. you know, I'm not that poor."

I missed her sense of humor. "Oh duh," I chuckled nervously, "hey do you maybe wanna hang out today?" I haven't seen you in forever…

"Oh today?" I heard the uncertainty in her voice.

"If you can't that's fine… Hika went in to work with Mom and I was just wondering if the two of us could do something together." I felt the redness rush my face and the tips of my ears were burning.

"I can't right now," she started, "but in an hour or so maybe?"

"Yeah? Okay! Just send me a text," I smiled brightly.

I pictured a smile on her face, "I will Kaoru."

I waited for her to hang up and then I fell back onto the bed, looking back up at the ceiling. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad. School is coming back soon, I totally had spaced that our spring break only lasted so long.

I cleaned up our room and got dressed next while I waited. I was curious what she was up to but wasn't going to pry, I didn't want to come off like Hikaru. I wanted, needed, to show her that we are different people. I can't slip up. I don't want to ruin this. I know Hikaru will come around soon enough and realize what he is doing. I still can't figure out what happened or what he's doing. I hated it, honestly, but we were going into high school soon. There was no place for his childish games.

"High school will be different," I muttered to myself, checking myself over in the mirror. I had pulled on a pair of faded black skinny jeans and one of Hikaru's blue tank tops with one of my scarves. I ran my hair through my bangs, looking at the bowl haircut. This will have to go before high school.

I continued to worry over my appearance for the next thirty minutes, going in and out with my thoughts. My phone beeped and the screen lit up, drawing my eyes over to it.

'HARUHI – 1' was on the screen and I scrambled over to get it. I opened the text anxiously.

'I'll be ready in 10 if you want to head over. Promise Hikaru isn't with you?'

I was a little confused by the last bit but responded with a simple 'yes' before rushing down the stairs. I checked my pockets for my wallet before hopping into the nearest limo.

"To Haruhi's!" I ordered, leaning back against the seat. I fidgeted with my hands in my lap, watching out the window as the driver took me to her apartment building. I didn't know why I was so nervous.

Something felt off about the last text she had sent and I was still curious about what she had been doing earlier, I tried to imagine just chores and shopping but I couldn't shake the feeling of it being something else. I had only ever met her father a couple of times when we had picked her up on the weekends, which wasn't as often as you'd think. We had only stepped in through the doorway of her apartment also, I hadn't ever actually been inside of it. That got me curious now too, wondering why she wouldn't let us inside her house. We had been inseparable for a while, it was kind of strange. But I didn't know how commoners worked, maybe it wasn't strange for them.

"Sir," the driver stated, looking back at me through the rearview mirror. I looked out of my window and saw the usual complex. I saw her apartment door and noticed she wasn't waiting outside like normal. I thanked the driver and climbed out.

One hand in my pocket, I started up the stairs to her door. I was waiting for her to hurry out to stop me from getting too close but she never did. Soon I was in front of her apartment and rose my hand to knock. I listened for a minute and heard nothing behind the door so I knocked twice and stepped back a bit.

I waited a few minutes before knocking again. I felt kind of out of place and anxious standing there on the walkway, staring at her door. I checked the number and verified it was the right one. I debated knocking again or calling for the limo to come back when I heard the door unlocking and watched it open.

There she stood in a yellow top and blue jean capris. There was a few bobby bins on the side of her hair and I acknowledged the drastic hair change. My face paled for a minute before I smiled. "Haruhi, you cut your hair."

She stepped out of the apartment and closed the door and faced me, "Yeah, is it okay?"

I didn't know what to say. It was very uneven but it didn't look awful, I had just grown attached to her long hair. "Ye- well- uh…" I stopped talking, mentally slapping myself. "You look amazing, Haru."

She gave me that charming smile and turned away from me, "So what're we doing today?"

I followed after her and shrugged, "Just thought we could have a calm, fun day before school starts back up? It's our last few months before we start high school, ya know."

"Oh. Right.." she stated uneasy, avoiding my gaze.

"What's up Haruhi?" I asked nervously.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to Ouran actually, for high school, I mean…" she nearly whispered it I could barely hear her. In fact I wish I hadn't heard her. I stopped moving and just stared at her in confusion.

"Wait… what do you mean?" My voice sounded so small.

She rubbed the back of her neck, "Well.. I have to start preparing for law school and becoming a lawyer now, Kaoru. Ouran was an amazing experience for the last two years of my middle school education. But I have to look at other options too, you know," she shrugged and turned away from me.

"I-I…" I stammered, feeling like I was falling apart inside, she refused to look at me now, "Haruhi…"

"Wanna go to the department store?" she asked, trying to change the subject. It was probably best for now, so I swallowed all the emotions I was feeling and nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

I followed next to her, trailing slightly behind her. I was beyond lost and confused now between her and Hikaru. I hoped he wasn't part of her deciding not to definitely carry over to Ouran with us. I looked down at her shaggy bob hair cut and felt my face burning. She looked so beautiful...

I felt her hand brush against mine and I couldn't help but wrap my arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to me as we walked. We didn't talk the rest of the way there but I doubted her mind was any calmer than mine.

So as I said in the intro, please review and let me know what you think! Please let me know how you feel about me taking out the smutty pieces and changing the rating, I want to hear your guys feelings on it all too.

Also, let me know if you would rather see Hikaru's day or Haruhi and Kaoru's outing in the next chapter, it's gonna be a one or the other so I'm sorry for that! But let me know which you'd be more excited in seeing!

And finally, let me know what you think about the little plot twist/bump (Haruhi's uncertainty of Ouran High & the situation between the three of them right now with Hikaru)

Thank you all once again for your patience and sticking out that super long wait! I appreciate every single one of you and I promise my goal is to finish this story for all of you and myself!

Hita

PS: Any of you that are Silent Dating fans- watch your inboxes closely for there may be an update over there as well sometime soon ;D