((Hello, hello! This is my first Ouran fanfic in quite some time, and I'm excited to be writing for this lovely fandom again! This story takes place after the manga, but Tamaki and Haruhi are not together yet, nor do they realize their feelings for each other. Some other details about the manga may be changed as well; creative liberties and all that! ;) With that being said, I will do my best to keep everyone in character and to make this a fitting AU ending to the Ouran saga. Please enjoy, read, and review!))

CHAPTER ONE: PERSUASION

By the end of my first week at Sinclair University in Boston, I can already tell a few key differences between this school and Ouran Academy:

1.) This school is big, as in 30,000 students big. I kind of like that about it; I figure there's less chance of gossip being a priority around here, since it'd be impossible to know or even care about all 30,000 students' secrets, right?

2.) This school has a lot of academic-minded people. I've already met five pre-law students like me. We're thinking about forming a study group.

3.) This school is very American. I guess that one is obvious, but I can tell it'll take some time to get adjusted to all the different customs here, and to being one of the few Japanese girls on campus.

Of course, I'm not entirely alone on the foreign front. When they heard I was going here, every member of the host club—including Renge—packed their bags and changed whatever college plans they may have already had, just to accompany me. I still think it's insane, but what's done is done.

I do hope they like it here. I wouldn't want them to regret their decision, even if it would mean they'd finally realize how crazy they are. So far, Tamaki seems to be having the most fun. No surprise there. He took a flier from almost every single booth during Welcome Week, even from the clubs that he was clearly never going to join.

"Archery Club, senpai? You can't shoot an arrow to save your life. It would more likely end your life, come to think of it," I reminded the blond after he talked for a good half hour to the representative of said club, charming her with his supposed enthusiastic interest in joining.

"Well, that's why I want to join! So I can learn!" he said. But I didn't buy it. Because two minutes later, he was obsessed with joining the golf team, and when I said that he probably couldn't make time to partake in two sports clubs, he said he could make it work…along with joining Student Chefs of Sinclair, Young Entrepreneurs Association, Future Farmers of America, and the Knitting Circle.

"Senpai, come on. You can't join the Knitting Circle."

"Says who?!"

"You can't knit, and you're not even interested in it."

"Says who?!" he repeated, sounding even more wounded. "You don't know everything there is to know about me, Haruhi! And besides, college is the time to expand one's horizons! Learn new skills, meet new people, experience things that you never dreamed of!"

Finally Hikaru piped up, but not to make a particularly helpful comment. "Oh, so are you thinking of finally experimenting with Kyoya-senpai, Boss?"

Kaoru finished, "Well, it has been a long time coming."

Of course this just led to the three of them going at each other for another half hour, and now that the last day of Welcome Week is over, I'm thoroughly exhausted. And glad that at the very least, I have my own dorm room away from the guys.

Well, it's mostly my own. I share it with Renge. Which, of course, brings its own unique set of headaches.

At the moment, I'm lying on the bottom bunk bed, and she's on the top. I was able to get my hands on copies of the syllabi from three out of the five classes I registered for, and I'm getting a head start by reading through them.

Renge, on the other hand, is reading some fashion magazine and listening to too-loud Britney Spears music. Or maybe it was Christina Aguilera. I still can't tell the difference. Renge says she plans to become perfectly fluent in English by listening to American pop songs rather than taking any actual courses. I advised her against it, but no one around here seems to really listen to me.

And every few minutes, she interrupts my train of thought with some vapid remark. "Don't you just love this song? It almost makes me want to change my name to Genie! It's just so romantic, don't you think?"

"…Uh…I guess so. I wasn't really listening to the lyrics because I'm trying to read my course syllabi."

I can almost hear Renge rolling her eyes at me. "Classes don't start until Monday! Why are you wasting your time reading those now? These are our last true nights of freedom!"

I sigh, but when I open my mouth to answer, I realize that I can't come up with any solid reason why I should be trying to get ahead in classes I haven't even started yet. Maybe I am wasting my time. But what else should I be doing instead?

After a few moments of silence, Renge fills the void like she usually does. "So listen, I was thinking…now that you're a girl, you should go to sorority rush with me!"

"Now that I'm a girl? I hate to break it to you, but I've always been a girl. And what's sorority rush anyway?"

Renge describes it to me in detail, far too much detail, and as she rambles on about "sisterhood" and "wearing the same tee-shirts to class" and "having the best parties on campus" and "mingling with hot frat guys", I already know it's not going to be my scene.

I let her talk, but as soon as I get a chance, I reply, "No thanks, Renge. I hope you have fun, but I doubt that I would. Thanks for the offer though."

I figure that will be the end of it, quick and painless. But then Renge says something I never saw coming. She says nothing. It might be the first time ever, and a fluttery feeling of worry makes its way to my stomach.

"Renge? Did you fall asleep or something?" I ask minutes later, when the lack of reply has made the room feel stifling.

"No, it's just…" She sighs and turns her music off. "Never mind."

"Never mind? Wait, Renge, what's the matter?" The girl gets on my nerves sometimes, true, but I still consider her my friend, and one of the few female ones I have left. Hearing her sound so uncertain, so defeated…it doesn't sit well with me at all.

"It's nothing. It's just…okay, fine!" She takes a breath and then starts speaking at the speed of light, all her sentences running into each other. "It's just that I was so popular at Ouran and I loved managing the host club and interacting with the fans and…well, now that I'm here, everything has changed, and it's a whole new beginning, and I don't know anyone except you and the guys, and my English isn't that great yet, and I don't know how Americans act or what they like, and I…I don't know, I don't want to go to rush alone! I'm…scared."

I blink. I definitely hadn't expected a heartfelt, fear-filled confession like that from Renge. She always seems so confident and nonplussed about everything. "Oh. Wow, Renge, I didn't know…I just thought you were inviting me along because you thought it'd be fun. I didn't know you wanted me there for moral support."

"Well, I do," she admits again with a small embarrassed huff.

Hesitating, I look back to my philosophy course syllabi, thinking over this recent development. From the way Renge described it, sorority life sounds like the polar opposite of how I would want to spend a single night, let alone four formative years at college.

But then I feel a stare on me, and I look up to see Renge gazing down from the top bunk with puppy dog eyes, and though they can't compete with the pitifulness of Tamaki's, they're still pretty convincing.

"…Fine. I guess I'll go with you," I finally say, though it's with the utmost reluctance, and she knows it.

That doesn't stop her from squealing with excitement as she climbs down the ladder that had kindly separated our beds, plopping herself down on the edge of mine, taking my hands in hers, eyes sparkling. "Oh, Haruhi, you really are the best friend a girl could ask for! We're going to have so much fun, I promise!"

I feel a sweat drop slide down the side of my head. "I'm only going with you for the first night though, okay? You can take it from there. I'm sure you'll do just fine anyway; you're probably worrying about nothing. You have a great personality, and it's likely that you won't even need me there after the first few minutes," I say, unable to hide the cautious hopefulness in my voice.

"Well, we'll see about that," she remarks, a mysterious glint of mischief in her eyes. A glint that I really don't like to see at the moment, a glint that makes me doubt the sincerity of anything she had just confessed.

But even worse is the look she gives me the next night, when we're supposed to be leaving for the first round of rush. She walks into our dorm room after a long day of classes and when she sees me, her jaw nearly drops to the floor, her eyes lit with astonishment and disapproval.

"Haruhi, what on earth are you wearing?!"

"Oh, this?" I turn toward the mirror, taking in my appearance. I'm wearing a white button-down shirt, a navy blue blazer, and a simple black tie with just-as-simple black slacks. I look for stains or wrinkles to explain Renge's reaction but find none. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"You can't wear that to rush! It's too plain and too manly! Didn't you bring any dresses with you from home?!"

"Uh…well, yeah, I have a couple casual dresses, but they're nothing fancy. This outfit was the nicest thing in my closet, Renge. And I really don't see what the big deal is."

Of course my protests fall on deaf ears, and before I can stop her, Renge is rummaging through my closet like a madwoman. Within moments, she pulls out a knee-length pink dress with obnoxious yellow daises printed on it. I groan. "No, Renge, that was just…my dad put that in my suitcase even after I told him not to, and I had nowhere to put it, but I'm not actually going to wear that thing."

"Oh, yes, you are! Yes, you are! Go get changed, and when you're done, I'll do your hair and makeup." She forces the dress into my hand and ushers me into the bathroom. I begin to wonder for the millionth time today why I agreed to this.

But then Tamaki's words suddenly and unexpectedly come flooding into my mind: "College is the time to expand one's horizons! Learn new skills, meet new people, experience things that you never dreamed of!"

"Fine," I mumble to myself, unbuttoning my blazer. "But only for tonight."

A half hour later, we arrive at rush. I'm now not only wearing the embarrassing dress but I also have my long hair curled in enormous ringlets and my face feels like a once pristine blank canvas that has now been tarnished with far too many brushstrokes of paint. Somehow, I feel more like a fraud right now than I ever did pretending to be a boy at the host club.

I look around the courtyard and see hordes of beautiful, finely-dressed, high-heeled girls. They're chattering amongst themselves, and there's a nervous excitement in the air. After a few moments pass, to my surprise, I'm starting to feel just a little bit nervous and excited too. But only a little, and I'm sure the feelings will pass.

We wait around for what seems like an eternity before a boisterous blonde girl steps into the gazebo and speaks into a jewel-encrusted microphone. "Ladies! Welcome, welcome, welcome! Tonight is the first night of the rest of your lives! Are you excited? You should be!" I never knew anyone could sound louder or more enthusiastic than Renge, but this girl just might have her beat. "Tonight is the night that you'll meet some of your future sisters for the very first time, and start making bonds that will last forever!" I stifle a snort. "Now when the clock strikes the hour, all of our houses' doors will open, and you'll have your first chance to meet the girls! Are you ready?"

The crowd roars "yes", but my lips are sealed. I can't say I'm ready, since I have no idea what I'm really getting myself into. But ready or not, I hear the clocktower strike 8, and as the girl promised, the doors to every sorority house fly open in perfect unison. Members of each house stand in the doorway, screaming and dancing.

Before I know it, I'm being dragged by my wrist into the house in the middle, and when I turn around, I see Renge being ushered into the furthest one on the right.

'What?! We're getting separated in the first minute? Then why am I here at all?' I can't help but wonder with annoyance. I could be back at the dorm, reading my course descriptions instead of wasting my time with this. So as soon as I enter the house, I do my best to ignore the elaborate decorations, the sugary sweet of freshly baked cookies, and the brightly smiling faces of the girls.

Instead, I start plotting my escape.