Why Me?

Chapter 19: Elegance and Engagements

Melanie's Point of View

"I can't believe my little girl is graduating!" Mom says while giving me one last hug.

"I know mom! You've already said it thirty billion times today." I reply while rolling my eyes.

"I can't help it! I'm just so excited! Especially since you finally agreed to dress up a bit!" She exclaims, pointing to the dress I had on. It was light blue and reached to my knees. It was one shouldered, but still allowed free motion on the covered up side. As for jewelry, I wore my bracelet that Hikaru gave me, and a simple necklace with a 'M' hanging off of it, I didn't allow much else since I didn't want to be walking around looking like somebody completely different.

"You look great Mel." Liam assures me as I started to fix a messed up curl. I smiled at him. Of all people, I was the happiest to see Liam come to my graduation from Ouran.

"The only thing that could have made this better is if the twins were here to see this," I start, but quickly stop when I feel two arms around my shoulder. Standing there are none other than Hikaru and Kaoru, with the host club in tow.

"We are here!" The twins chorus. I roll my eyes, but let a smile form on my face.

"You know who I mean." I reply.

"Yea, of course we do." Haruhi states while coming up and hugging me. Ever since coming out with her secret last year, Tamaki, who is now openly her boyfriend, has convinced her to wear girlier clothing and embrace her feminine side, which definitely seemed to have been the case. She was wearing a green dress, that was about the same length as mine, but was strapless. Every inch of it seemed to sparkle, and her hair, which has grown out a bit, had three barrettes going through it.

I notice Hikaru and Kaoru are dressed up in non matching dress shirts and blazers, but I don't say anything. Maybe they did it on purpose?

"Well, I can't believe it, but we're finally graduating!" I exclaim in glee. Everyone has a smile on their face, but I can see the group of girls behind them, crying as the last of the precious host club members went on to college. I remember last year when Tamaki and Kyoya graduated, they were literally holding on to their ankles as to not let them cross the stage and graduate. It took a team of Kyoya's private military to tackle them down, and even then, one or two managed to escape their grips. Since then, they have been warned about this years graduation and that Hikaru and Kaoru must live to see the end of it.

"Mel-chan! Haru-chan! You two have managed to leave quite the impression on the school! Haruhi's valedictorian, Melanie's salutatorian, and on top of that, you two single handedly turned around the view of commoner life!" Hunny chirps up, he's sitting on Mori's shoulders, something that hasn't changed since they graduated two years ago.

"I know! It's exciting, isn't it Haruhi?" I ask her, but she seemed to have disappeared, as has Tamaki. A smirk crawled on my face.

"What are you thinking about, Mel?" Hikaru asks me, putting his arm around my shoulder. I give him a smile in return.

"Oh nothing." I reply.

He shakes his head as if he was just seeing things.

"I heard that you're going to Ouran University instead of going back to America, is that true, Melanie?" Kyoya questions me. I nod my head, causing most everybody's jaws to drop.

"What?!" They all exclaim. My family and Kyoya were laughing at the display of affection that I was getting. I had told everybody that I was going to Princeton University to study psychology, which I was going to do, but I changed my mind after I realized how lost Hikaru was going to be without me.

"Well yea, I'm going to Ouran instead." I reply with a slight laugh at the end.

"But you told us that you were going back!?" Hikaru exclaims, he has taken his arm off my shoulder and joined the shocked crowd.

"Well, I changed my mind." I respond.

"What could have made you change your mind?" Kaoru questions.

"You guys." I answer after a moment.

"Umm, Mel-chan, can you say that again?" Hunny asks while hitting his ear, as if something would come out.

"I didn't want to leave you guys alone, so I switched." I say again.

This time I get a few more confused looks, but all that was interrupted as Haruhi and Tamaki came prancing back.

"Hey guys! What did we miss?" Tamaki asks while laughing, he had a tight hold of Haruhi's hand, and she didn't seem like she was going to let go either.

"Nothing big, only the fact that Mel's not going back to America." Kyoya states while writing in his infamous black notebook, which he still hasn't parted ways with.

"What?! My precious other daughter isn't moving away?!" Tamaki squeals in excitement.

"Well that is what Kyoya just said..." I start before being engulfed in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh I'm so happy!" Tamaki giddily exclaims. Hikaru didn't take kindly to that.

"Hands off." Liam and him said at the same time, Tamaki immediately removed himself from me.

"Reminds me of the first day we met, no?" I say while flattening out the ruffle of my dress.

"Yea, Tamaki hugged you and Liam scared the crap out of him, how can we forget?" Kaoru reminiscences.

"Speaking of memories, we gotta get going Mel!" Hikaru exclaims while grabbing hold of my hand.

"Wait, what?" I question. I didn't have a single clue as to what was going on, but from the looks of it, everyone else did.

"We got a plane to catch!" He explains while giving a quick hug to everyone.

"What? We can't do that! I don't have anything packed! And besides, where would we be going anyway?" I ask him, obviously confused.

Liam hands me a bag, which I can only guess is filled with my stuff, and then turns me so that I'm facing everyone.

"We're gonna miss you Mel!" They all exclaim in unison. I, being the hopelessly confused person I am, was about to ask what the hell is going on, but before I could say anything, Tamaki cuts me off.

"Don't ask questions, just take this as a graduation present, one that you get to celebrate with the one you love." He explains. Hikaru checks his watch, I look at everyone, who has started to wave at me, and the next thing I know, I am being dragged through the crowd. I barely got to scream out my goodbye.

Much Later That Day

"That flight seemed so long, Hikaru. I'm ready to go to sleep!" I announce, but my growling stomach quickly interrupts me.

"I think you may want some food first." Hikaru chuckles. I agree, the airplane food hadn't been all that great, even for first class.

We start to walk away from the house that Hikaru has rented, and make our way down the streets of Venice.

I can see all the shops that I vaguely remember from my childhood, but my reminiscing is shortened when I spot a restaurant. My stomach grumbled again.

"How about that one?" I ask, pointing my hand, which was intertwined with Hikaru's, towards the cafe.

We make our way there, and after we settle down and order, I start the interrogation.

"So Hikaru, you decided to drag me out here on my graduation day for what exactly?" I question him. He takes my palm and starts to draw on it using his finger.

"Don't worry about it." He reassures.

"But I am! I want to know why we're here." I tell him, moving a bit when his finger tickles my hand.

"Believe me, you will find out soon enough." He states again. I just stare at him questioningly, but allow myself to not dig any deeper into the mystery.

After the delicious food was served, we go deeper into the towns square, where there were plenty of things to buy, and performers to look at, but of all things, I stop at the edge of the sea. The beauty of it immersed me, and I was more than happy to stand there, hand in hand with Hikaru.

"It's beautiful." I say breathlessly. The sun seemed to have want to set, and all the gondola's were making their way back into port, but the most amazing thing seemed to be how the sky was reflecting off the water, seeming to give it a reddish hue.

"I know it is," Hikaru comments, looking at it beside me.

"Is this what you wanted to bring me here for? To try to replace old memories with new ones?" I ask, not moving my gaze from it's spot where I could see a pool of fish swim by.

"Yes, and no." He responds. I finally break contact and stare at Hikaru.

"No?" I ask. He looks back at me, his eyes were bright and his smile was radiating, in fact, it was contagious, for I could feel one slipping on my face too.

The next thing I know, Hikaru was kneeled before me, he was reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. As a subconscious reaction, my hands slipped to my face, and random bystanders were looking at us, but something told me they got the gist of what was happening.

"Last time we came to Venice, you said that it reminded you too much of how great your life was back then and how horrible it is now. I think I have made it very clear that I want to change that, and start a new life with you, one that starts the second that I get up from my one knee. I want to wake up next to you everyday, see your lovely face, and kiss you just because I can. I want to be the one to turn your life upside down, make it an adventure that you can never forget, but I don't want to do it by myself, I don't think I will be able to survive if I have to do it by myself. The number of reasons I ask this are endless, and I know that they may not be enough for you, but I want you to at least know how much you mean to me. That's why I'm asking this important question, the one to show the world that we are going through everything together, no matter how hard, obstructed, impossible the mission may be, for this one that I am completing right now will always be the hardest.

Melanie Suzuki, will you marry me?

I could feel the tears start to flow down my face as I just stared at Hikaru. My mind kept flashing back to all the times he's been there for me, and all the times he's gone out of his way to do something to make me happy, all of it only made the river run harder down my face as it just randomly decided to come back at that exact moment, but that didn't stop me from reacting.

"Yes."

Hikaru's face lights up again, and once he gets up, I jump into his embrace, giving him a long passionate kiss to top off the moment, well, what I thought would have topped it off, the random bystanders started clapping and cheering, much to my bewilderment. After a moment, I finally back up, and slowly, Hikaru slips the ring onto my left ring finger.

"Well congratulations, Mrs. Hitachiin." Hikaru calmly announces with a smile.

"Why thank you." I reply with an even bigger grin. I couldn't believe it, but I think it was safe to say that this was the best graduation present ever.

Two Years Later

"Are you ready, Mel?" I hear Kaoru ask me. I turn around and smile at him.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I reply. I started bouncing a bit in anticipation.

"Are you okay, Mel?" Kaoru questions while staring at me. I stopped bouncing and looked at him.

"Yea, I'm fine. Never been better actually." I respond, not even thinking about how hyper I seemed just a few seconds ago.

"Then c'mon, Tamaki's waiting for you." He tells me while I stare at him in confusion.

"Tamaki's waiting for me?" I ask.

"Yeah, he's gonna walk you down the aisle."

"But he's not my dad."

"But he sure called you his daughter in high school."

Suddenly, a distant memory clicked.

'Melanie, it will be a pleasure walking you down the aisle. Signed, Daddy.'

"Well we don't want to keep him waiting, do we?" I ask. Kaoru smiles back at me.

"No, no we don't." He answers while leading me out the door and down the hall to where Tamaki stands. When he sees me, his face lights up.

"You look beautiful, mademoiselle." He says with a smile. I take his arm and grin back at him.

"Thank you, daddy." I respond. I can see his face light up in happiness, but before he could say anything, I hear the march, and we go down the aisle. Before Tamaki let's me go though, he gives me a hug and looks me in the eyes for a second, almost as if saying 'Good luck'. I smile back at him, but then redirect my attention to Hikaru, who was standing there, just waiting for me, with a radiant smirk on his face.

I walked up to him, and he took my hand, while grasped his tight. I looked him right in the eyes, and they were as bright as ever, I never stopped looking at them actually, until it was time for the vows, and of course, I got to go first.

"I've loved you for a long time, even though I didn't know it or accept it for a while, but I did. If it wasn't for you, I probably would be single for the rest of my life, but I'm not. I'm standing here, by your side, ready to take on the worlds challenges with you, because I know that when we're together, we can do anything. And most importantly, as we exchanged that night, I promise I will never leave you." I say, making sure to take a breath or two somewhere in there. Hikaru smiles at me again, I can see him look over my head a bit to Haruhi, who was one of my bridesmaids. She must have gave him a reassuring look, because he automatically starts.

"I'm pretty sure when I proposed to you, that I said everything that was worth saying, but if saying it in front of all these people will prove how much I love you, then I will do it. I want to start a new life with you, one where we can grow old together, maybe have a kid or two, and explore the world, but I want to do it while wearing bands around our fingers. Walking around as husband and wife seems so much better than just a dating couple. And as I said that night, I will never hurt you." He finishes. I can hear our not-so-small audience aw a bit in adoration, but I don't give pay attention to them, my eyes are stuck on Hikaru.

Before I knew it, the moment came.

"Do you, Melanie Suzuki, promise to take Hikaru Hitachiin as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"And do you, Hikaru Hitachiin, promise to take Melanie Suzuki as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Then you may now kiss the bride."

Hikaru smirks a bit, but then cups my face in his hands, and slowly let's his soft lips touch mine. When we separated, I could hear the twins' fake gagging, and turned around, just to laugh when they put their hands around each others necks. They may be fourteen, but something tells me that they will never grow up.

"So Mel, how does it feel like to have a different surname?" Hikaru asks me while walking down the steps, stopping every few moments to accept congratulations.

"It feels great." I respond, also accepting congratulations from my side.

"So Hikaru, who would have known that you would be the first one to tie the knot!" Kaoru says while coming up from behind his brother and giving him a slap on the back.

"Me." He responds, giving his twin a annoyed look, which started a bit of a teasing session in between the two.

"Mel-chan!" I hear someone call from behind me. I turn around to see Hunny rushing towards me, engulfing me in a hug when he finally reaches me. "Mel-chan! You look so pretty!" He exclaims, hugging my waist tighter and tighter each passing second.

"Thanks Hunny, but can you do me a favor and stop suffocating me?" I ask, my sides starting to hurt a bit, Hunny releases me, only to have Tamaki start hugging me.

"Oh my little daughter finally got married!" He squeals.

"Tamaki, you do realize I'm only twenty right?" I question, raising my eyebrows at that 'finally' part.

"Of course, it's just that you and Hikaru have been together since high school, I've been waiting for this moment!" He exclaims. I roll my eyes but smile, leave it to Tamaki to be extravagant like that.

"Is that what you meant when you said 'It will be a pleasure to walk you down the aisle.'? Did you plan that all along?" I ask, he puts on a silly grin, and nods.

"Of course! You are my daughter after all, it's only natural that I walk you down the aisle on your wedding day!"

"Hold your breath Tamaki. The only reason you got to do it was because of bad relations with Mel's father." Kyoya states flatly, sending Tamaki to his depression corner.

"Wait, I seem to remember a certain girl screaming, 'You're not my father, my dad is a blonde idiot from Japan.'." Hikaru reminiscences. I give him one last look before I am glomped by Tamaki.

"You did?! I love you too Mel! You're my favorite daughter after all!" Tamaki exclaims, tears starting to come out of his eyes. I can see Hikaru start to regret saying anything as Tamaki practically squeezes the life out of me.

"Tamaki. Can't. Breathe." I barely manage to get out. He didn't let me go though, he didn't until Hikaru smacked him on the back, forcing him to let me go, and jump on Kyoya, who obviously wasn't happy about Tamaki wrinkling his suit.

"So Melanie," Haruhi starts. "When are you planning on having those kids?" She asks. My face goes beet red, and Hikaru just pretends he didn't hear it, well, he was until Kaoru slung his arm around him.

"Yea, Hikaru, when am I getting my niece or nephew?" He questions, heavy teasing making an appearance in his voice.

"Shut up Kaoru." Is Hikaru's only response.

I quickly feel two arms around my own shoulder as well. "We want nieces and nephews too!" Stacy and Mia squeal in delight.

"Well wait." I reply, still embarrassed by the question.

"But aren't you and Hikaru going on a honeymoon? Perfect time to get started on them babies!" They exclaim mischievously. Once again, my face goes firetruck red, and Hikaru's does too.

"Don't put such dirty thoughts in their heads!" Tamaki complains.

"Don't be fooled, Tamaki, Melanie likes it." Misa says sweetly. I can hear almost everybody snicker.

"Mom! No I don't!" I whine back at her, I could feel my face burning up still, and I knew most of the perverted guys in the host club were ready to take advantage of that.

"Melanie is a secret perv, huh?" Kaoru starts.

"Mel-chan! Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Hunny asks.

"Because I'm-" I get cut off quickly.

"Mel, you need to keep your hormones to a minimum, it's only helping us." Kyoya adds. I stare daggers at him.

Suddenly I feel the twins lifting their arms off my shoulders, and when I spin around to see what happened, I was face to face with none other than Hikaru.

"So, I just married someone who is just as dirty minded as me, huh?" He asks. I only keep my mouth shut, for I know that whatever I say will only be used against me.

"This is gonna be one fun relationship." He purrs as he lifts my head up, his lips about to meet mine. I quickly hop back, not to his surprise.

"Stop making it sound so dirty!" I wail, I know they aren't planning on stopping anytime soon, but I should at least resist now that my 'being quiet' theory is out the window.

"Don't you want kids? There's only one way to have them naturally." Tamaki teases. I put my hands over my ears, trying to block them out, but as usual, they were peeled off my head.

"Now now, I think Mel-chan has had enough of this," Hunny starts.

"Somebody understands." I release with a sigh of relief.

"But seriously, get started on those kids, chop chop." He finishes.

"That's it Hikaru, we're leaving." I say as I grab his hand and started walking towards the door.

"Without saying goodbye? Not even to your own mother?" Misa asks. I release a sigh of frustration, but then turn around. "Goodbye everybody! See you in two weeks!" I announce, giving a wave to signal that we're leaving.

"Bye! Don't break the bed, you two!" Kaoru calls out. Hikaru just laughs, but I drag him out the door, and into the car that was taking us to the airport.

"Did I ever mention that I hate our friends?" I ask once the car gets moving.

"Yes, but nobody believes it." He reassures. I give a slight groan at how I don't feel like people take me seriously.

"Mel, are you mad about just now?" He asks me.

"It's a bit too late to ask that now, isn't it?" I respond, not exactly annoyed, but I almost snap a bit. Hikaru just laughs.

"Well yea, it is, but still." He replies. I roll my eyes.

"A little bit." I answer. A huge smile spreads across his face.

"That's great to hear. Now I know the best way to tease you." He announces.

"You sneaky bastard." I snap.

"But you married me, didn't you?" He laughs. I stay silent for a second, but a grin starts to sneak up on me.

"Yes, yes I did." I reply, biting my lip a bit. Hikaru smirks a bit, obviously amused by the fact that I so easily responded to him.

"So, where are we going?" I ask, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Paris." He responds simply. I immediately start day dreaming about how fun it's going to be walking hand in hand with Hikaru through the city.

"Mel, you drifted off again." Hikaru snaps his fingers in my face.

"Sorry, just thinking."

"You were imagining walking down the streets like a loving couple, weren't you?"

"Yea, so what?"

He kisses me, and I kiss him back, giving in to that longing feeling that I've had all day. When we separate though, his eyes are bright and shining, and you could sense that he was excited.

"Well, it's going to be a lot of fun." He teases. I roll my eyes.

"If I go along with it, will you eventually stop?" I ask him.

"Not a chance."

"I didn't think so." I smirk, but then once again, kiss Hikaru.

The honeymoon went great, and it made me look back on some things as well, but overall, my life couldn't have been better. I was well into my third year of college, married, and even though I didn't end up pregnant after the trip, I could sense that I would be sometime in the near future. In the past, are my sorrows and spites, my hate and the weak person who I used to inhabit, but now, I feel free to do what I need, to love who I want, and most importantly, not have anything hold me back on that.

Everything was perfect. Absolutely perfect.