Aaaaaand it's back! So much for taking work off of my plate! HAHAHA! I'm excited for this!

As there are no reviewers to thank explicitly here, I'm just gonna do a blanket sweep and thank all the readers who have finished Dealing with the New Girl and came right back here to continue the story! Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I only own Jacklyn!

Starting Today, You are a Host!

Pushing the doors open with a bright smile, Jacklyn lifted a hand in greeting, "Hey, guys! Sorry for the wai-" She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening at the scene before her.

There were broken shards scattered across the floor to the left, all of them a beautiful blue color that she hoped wasn't what she thought it was.

The hosts were standing in a line next to the mess, staring up at her.

And lying down at the boy's feet was someone passed out on the floor.

"What… happened?"

Kyoya was the first to answer, tilting a head to acknowledge the mess around the room, "This young man came in here looking for a place to study, and in the process accidently shattered the vase we were contributing to the school auction."

Jacklyn winced, letting the doors finally shut behind her as the shock wore off. That vase was supposed to be their start-of-term fundraiser for the club, as they'd receive 50% of the selling price. That was a lot of money being flushed down the drain. "We probably should've kept it out of the main room until the day of the auction… this is partially on us."

"And so, as President," Tamaki continued, not listening, "I have decreed that Fujioka-san will be the Host Club's Dog until he pays off the starting price of the vase."

Jacklyn blinked, "Did… you just say his name was…"

At that exact moment, Haruhi seemed to come out of her stupor, groggily pushing herself up onto her arm. Shaking the bangs out of her eyes, she looked around the room. Jacklyn watched as her neighbor appeared to shrink before her eyes… until she was spotted.

Gasping, Haruhi scrambled to her feet and all but launched herself at Jacklyn, "Oh gosh! Jacklyn-senpai! Thank goodness!"

Jacklyn's arms automatically came up to hug the shorter girl, gently petting the back of Haruhi's head as she haphazardly told her the story. In honesty, Jacklyn couldn't blame the poor girl for reacting in such a way, considering she had done something similar the first time she met the boys...

Said boys that were staring at the two in confusion, most of them with a puppy head-tilt.

"Haruhi is my neighbor…" she glanced at Kyoya before offering a small smirk, "He's one of the first people I met in Japan."

Her crush seems to understand, because his returning smirk had an almost playful edge to it, "Well… that'll certainly make things a little more interesting."

*\/*

Jacklyn's well practiced fingers danced along the keys, the song floating pleasantly just below the conversations in the room. She didn't have any guests today, but that was just fine by her. She wasn't in the mood to host.

As the song came to a close, she quickly lowered the lid over the keys and glanced over her shoulder. Haruhi wasn't back yet.

Nibbling at her bottom lip, the brunette tried to focus on the homework she had laid out to the side, but not even math seemed all that appealing to her right now. She was worried for her neighbor… who knew how long it would take for her to repay an 8,000,000 yen debt! Jacklyn felt faint just thinking about it.

"Something on your mind?"

"You can say that. Have you finished calculating the loss yet?"

"Afraid not. I'd like to work on it with you sometime this week, when we both have the time."

"Well, let me know when you settle on a time."

Kyoya sat down on the other side of the piano bench, looking out at the room as a whole for a few moments before returning his attention to the girl. She hoped she wasn't blushing at the close proximity. Her body had a knack for betraying her like that. Jacklyn's left leg began bouncing like crazy.

"Jacklyn, please answer this next question honestly, but try to keep your voice down."

She swallowed, fingers now tangling together on her lap, "Um… go ahead."

"Is Haruhi female?"

Jacklyn blinked, then let out a long breath of air. That was not what she had been expecting, and for that she was glad, "Biologically speaking, yes. As well as in preferred pronouns. As far as I'm aware, Haruhi currently identifies as nonbinary, but prefers female pronouns because that's what she grew up with. But it would probably make her feel better if you asked once the truth comes out."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, you said that earlier." The two exchanged a smile before Jacklyn nodded towards the rest of the room as a whole, "Are you gonna tell anyone?"

Kyoya hesitated for a moment too long.

"You sadistic little-"

"Let's just see how this all plays out. It's bound to be entertaining, after all."

"Truth." Jacklyn watched their blond classmate for a few moments, "I bet you a school lunch from the cafeteria that he screams bloody murder when he finds out."

Kyoya hummed, "That's hardly fair… but very well. I'll raise you a homemade lunch that he's the last one in the club to discover the truth. And it won't be due to intuition."

"Ugh… Fine." They shook on it, and Jacklyn allowed herself one smile last at the boy before quickly letting go, "Now run along to your guests, Mr. Vice President. I've got homework to do."

Kyoya pretended to ponder the command before the front doors suddenly opened. The two watched as another wave of guests arrived for their hosting times. A familiar head of bright red hair was among them.

"Here comes more trouble."

"Be careful that no one else hears you say that… but you aren't wrong." And with that, Kyoya walked off towards his own guests. Jacklyn pretended not to notice how at least one of the new 1st year guests was glaring at her and turned back to her homework. Hopefully in a few days she'd win them over just like the other guests…

The doors opened again, and this time when Jacklyn looked up she was pleased to recognize the person walking in. Standing up, she made her way over to Haruhi, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. "Hey, Haruhi."

"Hi." The brunette sighed, looking around the room, "I did your guy's shopping. What now?"

Jacklyn eyed the brown bag, taking note of the many coffee tins inside. Something about them seemed… odd to her, but she wasn't going to call Haruhi out for it if she could help it. "If you could take those to the kitchen, that would be wonderful! I'll teach you how to make the tea the way these guys like it in a bit, alright?"

"Thanks." Despite the single-worded response, Jacklyn was happy to see her neighbor relaxing ever so slightly. "Which way?"

Jacklyn hummed, quickly slipping to Haruhi's side, "Come on, I'll walk you." That way you have some back up, she added silently. After all, they had to pass by Tamaki's table.

Sure enough, as soon as they got close enough-

"Ah! Speak of the devil! Thanks for doing the shopping, Little Piglet! Did you get everything on our list?"

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on the name calling. There were too many new guests staring at her to do so… Even still, she pressed her hand against Haruhi's back to continue steering them forward, "Yeah, we're just taking them to the kitchen now."

"Wait!" They stopped. Tamaki's eyes had widened as he stared intently at the bag in Haruhi's arms, "What's that?"

After a few seconds of trying to figure out what he meant, Jacklyn plucked one of the cans out of the bag and walked it over to her classmate. Tamaki intently twisted the canister around in his hands to look it over, asking again what it was.

"Just what it looks like… it's coffee."

"Instant coffee," Jacklyn corrected, taking one of the canisters out to look at herself. She finally realized what looked so strange about them. It wasn't the coffee they usually drank at the club. Jacklyn had always been instructed to buy the unground beans before. Oh no...

She looked up at the crowd that had grown around Tamaki's table, most all of them eyeing the container with curiosity.

"Whoa! I've heard of this stuff before! You just add hot water!"

"Poor people don't even have enough time to grind their own coffee beans?"

Jacklyn rolled her eyes at the ignorance, ready to just pluck the container out of Tamaki's hand and take everything back to the store and be done with it already. But then a hand touched the small of her back and she nearly jumped out of her skin, Kyoya pressing close as to read the container over her shoulder, "Commoners are pretty smart."

Jacklyn didn't know if she was supposed to respond, so she simply remained silent as the rest of the club made their own comments. Thankfully, Haruhi hadn't lost her ability to speak.

"Just give it back and I'll go buy something else. Excuse me for not buying you expensive coffee…"

"No. I… I want to try it."

Jacklyn blinked out of her stupor, her surprise at Tamaki's statement enough to momentarily forget how close she was standing next to her crush. "Tamaki, you don't have to-" She shifted backwards just as her friend stood up, finding herself pressed completely against Kyoya.

"I will drink this coffee!"

The crowd around them broke out into applause, which gave Jacklyn plenty of cover to hastily jump away from Kyoya, mutter an apology, then grab Haruhi's paper bag and run off to the kitchen with it. Haruhi tilted her head as her neighbor disappeared with the bag of groceries, save for the container still in Tamaki's hand. She looked between the closed kitchen doors and the back of the dark haired boy who was following after the rest of the group. Hmm…

"Haruhi! Make some of this commoner's coffee for us to try!"

Rolling her eyes, she went to go after them when another voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Oh, Tamaki, now you're taking the joke too far. Your pallett won't be able to stomach that crap he bought, there's no need to subject yourself to that because of a stupid mistake." Haruhi's stomach dropped to her toes, eyes wide as the girl suddenly looked up, "Oops, sorry! I was talking to myself."

"Haruhi?"

"Coming!" And with that she booked it over to the window. Better by the idiotic blond than this chick.

*\/*

The coffee making didn't take very long thankfully. Just long enough for Jacklyn to come back out of the kitchen and for Haruhi to realize how ridiculous the girls at the school were. Well… she'd had her doubts before, but now there was no argument.

Probably recognizing the look on her face, Jacklyn gave her an encouraging smile before jerking her head away from the crowd, "Do you want a little tour of the club?"

"Will my head explode from the stupidity?"

"It's possible, but unlikely."

Haruhi gave the blond another glance before shrugging, "Can't be worse than watching this."

"Uh… suuure." Jacklyn smiled as Haruhi gave a little laugh before the two walked away. "So I'm not sure what you've already figured out, but we as a club cater to the female population of Ouran Academy using conversation, flirtation, and other forms of entertainment. Most guests have a favorite host or host combination and see them regularly after school. With me so far?"

"Yeah."

"Any questions?"

Haruhi turned to look at her neighbor, eyes narrowing a little, "A few… do you have any guests?"

Jacklyn smiled, "Well, I'm not a host or hostess in the strictest sense. I'm just the musician… but sometimes I'll get some guests at my couch who like to talk or make song requests." She checked the clock tower just outside the window as Haruhi processed that information. I still have a good twenty minutes left before I have to play again. Plenty of time.

"Okay… is it normal for guests to develop romantic feelings for their host?"

"... Ayanokoji-senpai said something to you didn't she?" Spotting the way her neighbor winced, Jacklyn offered a consoling hand to the shoulder, "Don't take what she says to heart. I don't think she much likes anyone. As for your question, it really depends on the girl. A lot of the guests are certainly enamoured by the hosts and their aesthetic appearances, but as for true romantic feelings? Well, that's a little dangerous around here, considering how many guests the hosts have."

Haruhi tilted her head, glancing around them before leaning in closer, "Is that why you haven't told anyone that you like Kyoya-senpai?"

Jacklyn's heart stopped dead in her chest.

"What?"

"It's pretty obvious. No one else would've run away like that after physical contact with someone unless-"

"Okay! Okay, I get it!" Jacklyn's cheeks were aflame, and she hoped no one was watching them, "Look… yeah, I do. A couple of the hosts know, but other than that it's a secret! Don't you dare tell anyone!"

"Not even-"

"Especially not him."

Haruhi blinked before offering a shrug, "Fine. Let's continue with the tour."

Jacklyn was glad for the distraction, letting Haruhi watch the twins as they performed their "brotherly-love" act. Something about a nightmare Kaoru had? Jacklyn didn't quite understand why Hikaru had chosen that particular story, but didn't say anything. What's the saying? If it's not broken, don't fix it.

"What are they so excited about? I don't get it."

"I don't get it, either. Come on."

Next was Honey and Mori's table. Poor Honey had taken a quick nap after all the excitement from earlier and was struggling to wake up. Jacklyn smiled fondly at the boy before feeling a tug on her arm.

"Is… is Honey-senpai really a high school student?"

"Yeah. 3rd year." Haruhi's head jerked back a bit, "I know it seems a little weird, but it's the truth. He's pretty smart, too. See how he sat down between the pillows instead of on top of them? It makes him look even shorter than usual, which triggers the 'cute' factor."

"Precisely." Jacklyn's heart began jack-hammering in her chest, "And with Mori-senpai's strong and silent nature, Honey-senpai appears even more childish in comparison." The brunette desperately hoped that Haruhi would keep her mouth shut about what they had discussed earlier…

Thankfully, Honey had just spotted them and quickly launched himself across the room, squealing Haruhi's nickname before she even had a chance to address Kyoya. Jacklyn took a step back just as the small blond swung the two around, smiling at the cute scene.

"Jacklyn? You're still keeping an eye on time, yes?"

"Don't worry, Kyoya. I've got… fourteen minutes left. Besides, I don't have any guests, it being the first day of the new school year and all." She glanced around the ravenet, spotting yet another pair of glaring eyes, "How many new guests have asked why I'm here?"

"Only three, but it was the other guests who answered the questions. Don't forget how highly they think of you."

Jacklyn blushed just as Honey darted away, leaving his precious Usa-chan in Haruhi's arms. A quick nod from Kyoya reaffirmed that the short blond had figured it out. The brunette smiled. Her friend was really smart…

"You'll notice that our club utilizes each man's unique characteristics in order to cater to our clients."

"Yeah, Jacklyn-senpai already gave me the rundown."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "Oh, she did now?" Jacklyn gave the boy a cheeky smile. "Wonderful. Then I can move straight to the important information."

"Oh, real nice." the brunette stuck out her tongue before walking off, "I'll be getting ready for the next song if you need me."

Kyoya smirked as she went, unaware of how Haruhi was staring intently at him. She had only known the boy for an hour at most, but already she could tell that he did not usually tease like that. Which could only mean-

"In order to pay off your 8,000,000 yen debt with us," she gulped, finding herself pinned under the boy's icey gaze, "you will act as the Ouran Host Club's dog until you graduate. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant our errand boy."

Haruhi gaped at the boy as he continued on, "casually" mentioning his family's private police force and her lack of a passport. "How is that possible?"

"Hm? What's possible?"

"How could someone as cold as you have such strong feelings for Jacklyn-senpai?"

It was like she had hit the pause button on Kyoya's remote. The 2nd-year student's eyes had gone comically wide behind his glasses, and Haruhi would be hard pressed to find proof that he was still breathing. For a few moments nothing was said between the two.

"You're gonna have to work hard to pay off that debt, my little nerd~" Out of nowhere Haruhi felt a cold breeze on her bare neck. Jolting, she rushed to the side in an attempt to put some much needed distance between herself at the club's "President". When she finished freaking out, she looked over to find that Kyoya had disappeared into thin air. Where did he go?

Tamaki interrupted her thoughts, "You know what you need? A makeover."

"A what?"

"Well, come on! How else are you going to get girls to look at you?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "And who said anything about wanting girls to look at me? You live in your world, and I'll stay in mine."

"What? That won't do! In order to learn to be a gentleman, the first order of business is to please the ladies. And that starts with appearance."

"Says who? I don't care what people think when they look at me, or about how other people look. I'm no saint, but I don't actively try to stereotype people either based on appearance. What matters is what's on the inside."

There's a brief silence from the boy that gives Haruhi a chance to look around the room. She was still a little curious as to where the other boy had- "It's a cruel reality, isn't it? It's not often that God creates a perfect person such as myself, beautiful both inside and out!"

Haruhi watched as the blond continued on his tirade about beauty for another three seconds before walking away, quickly finding herself sitting on the piano bench next to her neighbor. Jacklyn gave her a glance before smiling, going back to rearranging her music sheets, "Tamaki's monologue getting boring?"

"There's a word for people like him… I just can't put my finger on it."

"Hey! Don't run away! How else will you learn?" Haruhi narrowed her eyes, glaring at the boy over Usa-chan's head. I wish I could remember that word…

Jacklyn did her best to ignore the beginnings of drama unfolding around her. It wasn't uncommon for Tamaki to succumb to dumb ideas, of course, but she didn't want to start taking bets on who would crack whom first between her classmate and her neighbor.

"Aha! Got it! You're obnoxious!" The brunette snorted, pressing a fist against her mouth to hold the laughter back. Not risking looking around at the blond's face, she merely patted Haruhi on the head. "I'm… sorry? Tamaki-senpai?"

Don't be, Haruhi. That was the funniest thing I've heard all day. The twins seemed to agree, quickly coming over to offer their own congratulations to the newby.

Shifting a little, Jacklyn watched out of the corner of her eye as Haruhi stood up, slowly inching closer to the blond to apologize for the harsh words. She wasn't worried about her friend taking it to heart. Tamaki shedded criticism like a duck shedded water.

"Hey! I need those! Give them back!" At Haruhi's outburst Jacklyn turned around, ready to reprimand the boys and send them off before she had to play her next piece. She wasn't all that surprised to find that Hikaru had removed the girl's glasses, but what she hadn't expected was for all the host club boys to be staring at Haruhi's face. What were they looking at?

"Hikaru. Kaoru."

"Right, Sir!"

Jacklyn reached out a hand, "Hey, what's going- Guys!" She watched as Haruhi was dragged out of the music room. With two more snaps of his fingers, Tamaki was ordering Kyoya to call for a hair stylist and Mori to make a run for some contact lenses with Haruhi's prescription.

"Tamaki, what is going on?"

"Jacklyn and Honey-senpai! You… stay here."

"Tamaki-"

A hand gently touched her shoulder. "Just stay here for now, Jacklyn. We need you to play for the guests while the twins and Mori-senpai are gone. I promise everything will be explained once club activities are over with."

The brunette pouted a bit, then threw her hands in the air, shaking Kyoya's hand off her shoulder, "Fine! Don't tell me anything!" And with that, she sat down next to Honey on the piano bench and started playing her next piece. Thankfully she had picked a rather fast one.

*\/*

It wasn't until hosting hours had ended and all the guests went home that Tamaki called everyone to the changing rooms. He was acting oddly… cryptic whenever she tried to ask questions. The seven of them stood in a semi-circle around a particular room, from which Jacklyn heard someone shuffling around.

"Haruhi~ Are you dressed yet?"

"Um… Senpai? Are you really giving me this uniform?" Jacklyn blinked as her neighbor pulled the curtain aside, revealing a brand new look.

Tamaki practically fell over, "How cute! You're a pretty as a girl!" Jacklyn spotted the twins trying not to laugh just behind the 2nd year. Huh, so they figured it out, too. That leaves two to go.

"Haru-chan, you look so good!"

"Yeah, you clean up nice."

"Without those glasses and grubby clothes-"

"-you might stand a chance with the ladies."

"Who knows, perhaps he'll draw in some customers?"

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly what Kyoya was trying to do just before it happened. Sure enough, once Tamaki heard the idea of Haruhi being a host, he made the announcement to train the brunette on how to "make it with the ladies".

Haruhi looked ready to fall over, "A host?"

"Absolutely! And your training begins-"

"Tomorrow." Jacklyn smiled as she pointed towards the exit, "You all have homework to do, and I think poor Haruhi needs some time to process this new information. Go on!"

With an exaggerated amount of groans and complaints, eventually the boys made their way out of the room, a fair number of them calling out goodbyes to Haruhi as well as the others before leaving.

After waving Kyoya out the door with a promise to work on the financials the next day, Jacklyn finally turned to her neighbor. The shorter brunette was slumped against the wall in defeat, tugging at the shirt sleeves of her new school uniform. "You alright?"

"Define alright. Jacklyn-senpai, how am I supposed to survive this club?"

A faint smile plays over the brunette's lips as she gathers up her school bag, "I dunno, Haruhi... you might just find yourself enjoying your time here."

"Doubt it."

"I suppose that's fair… I did too, my first day."

*\/*

Jacklyn peeked over her piano the next day, watching in silence as Haruhi sat with her first guests. A smile full of pride overcame the American as she watched the three girls request Haruhi after only a few minutes sitting with her. Looks like her neighbor was a natural at this hosting business.

Unfortunately…

Her eyes narrowed a bit when Tamaki made to introduce Haruhi and Ayanokoji. The blond didn't seem to be able to find the bad in people. And that did not bode well for Haruhi- There he goes.

Jacklyn quickly got to her feet and ran towards the commotion, "Tamaki! Put h- put him down!" The blond didn't listen, still overcome with joy from watching Haruhi say 'hello'. Goodness, what had gotten into the boy?

"Mori-senpai!" The ravenet looked up as Jacklyn frantically gestured at the Tamaki-death-hug, "Help!"

Without a word, the tall boy ran over and lifted the brunette straight out of Tamaki's arms, accidentally knocking the other boy back. Jacklyn sighed in relief. Haruhi had expressed a number of times how much she disliked overly-familiar touches from strangers. Thankfully Mori was holding her at arm's length… was still holding her, actually.

She gave the older boy's face a good long stare before nodding slightly. Knowing her friend was in good hands, the brunette happily made her way over to where Kyoya was sitting. She placed her hands over the journal pages, forcing the other boy to look up at her, "Well, it looks like part of your prediction came true. Nice job."

Kyoya glanced over at the other hosts for a moment before smirking, "It would appear so. We'll have to see how the rest of our predictions go in the future, but for now would you mind assisting me?"

"No problem."

From across the room Haruhi watched in disbelief as her neighbor sat down beside the VP, leaning over the armrest in order to read the journal before them, "How… does that even work?"

"What?" Tamaki had finally stopped trying to kill her via hug, but the commotion had attracted the other hosts. They were looking between Haruhi and the two she was staring at.

Like light bulbs going off above their heads, the twins exclaimed in unison, "Oh! You mean those two."

"Yeah, we're not sure how that happened either…"

"... but at this point we're more interested in pushing them into it than figuring it out."

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, not quite trusting their words, "So… you all know about it? And you're supportive?" All five of them nodded their heads, for once looking completely serious. As one, they looked at the two again. They had yet to notice their audience and were practically leaning against each other as they poured over the numbers before them.

"Hm. Well, that's enough of that." Tamaki clapped his hands together, "Back to your guests, everyone!"

*\/*

Fifteen minutes passed before Jacklyn and Kyoya resurfaced from the world of numbers, the American leaning backwards in her seat and rubbing at her forehead, "Damn… next time, let's just keep the priceless antiques in a padded locker until they need to go somewhere, alright?"

"You might be onto something there." Kyoya gave his friend a small smile before stretching out his back. His eyes gazed around the room, making sure everything was still in order when he suddenly paused, "Hang on… we're missing some people. Where are Tamaki and Haruhi?"

Jacklyn straightened up in her chair as well, looking around the room. Sure enough, the two were missing.

"Huh… that's weird. You go keep Tamaki's guests happy until he comes back and I'll go look for them." The two exchanged a nod before walking off.

Jacklyn pulled her phone out of the dress pocket she'd bribed the twins into sewing for her and started scrolling through her contacts. Haruhi might not have a cell phone yet, but Tamaki did. Just as she was about to press the call button, she spotted both missing members. They were out in the courtyard! Standing… in the fountain?

Squinting, pressing her forehead against the glass, Jacklyn's eyes drifted over the wet books and school bag. Most likely Haruhi's. Her eyes remained narrowed even as she pulled away from the window.

When the doors opened a few seconds later, Ayanokoji stopped just short of walking inside. She and Jacklyn stared at each other through the open doorway, faces blank of emotion.

"Is there something the matter, Prout-san?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. I was just on my way to go help Haruhi. All of her possessions fell into one of the school ponds." She curled her lips into a semblance of a smile, "Imagine that."

Ayanokoji wasn't meeting her eyes, but her voice was steady as she replied, "Is that so? How unfortunate. Well hopefully I can help cheer him up when he comes back. I'd like to request some time with him before hosting activities are over with."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it. That'll help cut down some of his debt. You're being such a good help."

"Hm. Well, make sure his things are okay. As the only other… middle class student here, you're the only one who will be able to empathize with such a loss."

Jacklyn didn't speak for a moment, waiting until Ayanokoji had just barely passed by her before answering, "You're right. Just as you, another rich student, will be able to empathize with Tamaki about how valuable your time and public image is, and just how kind it was of Tamaki to use it helping Haruhi out with his misfortune."

And with that, she walked off. She wasn't surprised in the slightest to find that the remaining Host Club was watching her. She rubbed at her chest, which felt tight in an uncomfortable, yet familiar way. Mori and Honey reached her first, the taller handing her a cup of tea and the other hugging her waist tightly.

"Wow. Whatever you said to Princess Ayanokoji must've been good, Jacklyn-senpai…"

"I've never seen her look that thunderstruck before."

"She had it coming, and more." The brunette lowered her teacup, meeting everyone's gaze with as much seriousness as she could muster, "She threw Haruhi's belongings into the pond, probably out of jealousy. Tamaki and Haruhi are pulling them out as we speak and are probably on their way up. Ayanokoji-senpai also wants Haruhi to host her when she gets back up. You all know she's going to try something."

Kyoya hummed, "Indeed. I think… that the Princess has exhausted her welcome here."

*12 minutes later*

Jacklyn wrung her hands together with nervous energy as she watched the two interact. In all her time at the Host Club, she had never seen such tense body language between a host and their guest before. She could only imagine what Ayanokoji was saying...

Oh no.

It was like watching a train wreck. Jacklyn's eyes widened as she saw the 3rd year go entirely stiff before reaching across the table. With a mighty jerk, she grabbed Haruhi's school jacket in a tight fist and pulled her forwards. Haruhi's body slammed into the table between them before it clattered to the side, all the glass breaking into a thousand pieces across the floor. Ayanokoji slid sideways out of her chair as she screamed, letting go of Haruhi just before the brunette could squish her.

"No, Haruhi, leave me alone! Somebody help he just attacked me!"

As one, every member of the host club stood up from their chairs, running towards the scene. For once Jacklyn found herself not able to really think the situation through, just knowing she needed to help.

"Someone do something! Teach this commoner a lesso-" The girl was cut off by her own gasp as water was dumped over the both of them. She tilted her head back in shock, staring at the Hitachiin twins now standing over them. Jacklyn quickly grabbed Haruhi by her shoulders and pulled her back so she was no longer hovering over the other girl.

Ayanokoji stared up at the musician, "Finally you see sense-"

"Don't even."

She stopped again, this time confused as Jacklyn planted herself between the two girls on the floor. Crossing her arms, she glared down at the older student. Too upset to even speak. But she was able to notice something she hadn't before… Ayanokoji was meeting her eyes. And she looked nervous.

That made her feel a little better.

Tamaki slowly walked over and pulled Ayanokoji off the floor, breaking the eye contact. Instantly the girl was groaning, pretending to be actually hurt.

"Oh, Tamaki… please, do something. Haruhi just assaulted me."

"I do believe my friend just warned you about lying to us." The blond's eyes held no warmth as he regarded the soaking wet girl before him. "We know everything. How you threw Haruhi's bag into the pond, and just now attempted to fake an assault. By doing so, you not only attempted to smear his own name, but the names of every host in this club."

The red head looked distraught, "N-no! I would do no such thing! And besides, there's no proof… did the American tell you I did it? Of course she would defend a member of her own kind-"

"I would trust Jacklyn with my life, Princess, a type of trust you clearly don't understand. And even though I would believe her even if she were the only witness, it was an obvious conclusion in an of itself. You simply aren't classy enough to be our guest. And we will not tolerate such distastefulness here. You may take your leave."

Jacklyn resisted the urge to smile and wave as the girl ran crying from the room. Despite everything the girl had done… being embarrassed in front of your crush and peers was something she still found herself understanding.

"Hm, now how are we to punish you, Haruhi, since it is your fault?"

Haruhi peeked out from behind Jacklyn's legs, "Fault? Of what?"

"Your quota is now 1,000 guests!"

Jacklyn abruptly held her hands out in front of her, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, pump the brakes there, Tamaki. Doesn't that punishment seem a little too much considering the crime? An extra 900 guests?"

"He lost us a guest, Jacklyn."

"One guest. And a rather rude and selfish one at that."

"There still remains the principle of making every girl happy. And if Haruhi wasn't here, then she wouldn't have left."

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow, pretty sure than once Ayanokoji learned Tamaki wasn't meant to be hers and hers alone she would've run off regardless… but decided some battles weren't worth it. Besides, this way Haruhi would spend more time with her at the club. Which couldn't be all bad…

She lifted her hands, "Fine, do whatever you want, Mr. President." So much for trusting me with his life. Going to stand by Kyoya while Tamaki pulled Haruhi off the floor, she glanced down at the little bag he was now holding. Using a single finger she pulled it closer and peered inside. Kyoya's expression was one of amusement when she looked back up. "I take it the bet is still on?"

"It is."

"This technically qualifies as cheating, you do realize that?"

"You say that as if you're not about to win your own bet at the same time."

Jacklyn cracked a smile and moved to let Kyoya hand the bag off to a very wet Haruhi. Most of the other club members were exchanging glances… all except for Tamaki. She watched as the twins grew a matching pair of crooked smiles as Haruhi walked off to change.

Adopting similar pondering expressions, they wondered, "Does Haruhi know we have some towels he can dry off with?"

"Someone ought to go-"

"I'll get them."

The remaining hosts stood in their little circle as their guests trickled out of the room around them. The six of them didn't say a word, looking around the empty room and giving each other smiles as they waited.

And waited.

Aaaaand…

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

With a nod from Kyoya everyone made their way to the changing rooms in the back. They got there just in time for Haruhi to step out of the same stall she had used earlier, only this time she was wearing the same dress Jacklyn had on. The Ouran uniform for girls.

Tamaki was gaping in shock at the girl as the others gathered around. Kyoya readjusted his glasses to hide his smile, "Well, isn't this an interesting development."

"Oh, yeah."

"Totally."

"Complete surprise."

"Absolutely flabbergasted."

Jacklyn glanced at the boy on her left, "So, just text me what you want in your lunch for tomorrow."

"I'll walk with you through the line tomorrow to pay for your lunch as well."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at her neighbor, already making plans to interrogate her about that later on before smiling at the boy in front of her, "You know, it must be said… even though I thought you were kinda stuck-up earlier, you turned out to be a pretty cool guy, Senpai. Not many people at this school would've helped me at the pond. So, thanks."

Tamaki's face went redder than a stop sign. Kyoya leaned down and whispered, "Now I could be wrong, but I think we may be witnessing the beginnings of love, here."

"We'll see, Kyoya. We'll see." The two made eye contact for a split second before looking away again, both slightly red in the face as well. Across the way, the four other hosts were shaking their heads.

Of course they'd be blind to it. The rest of the club was comprised of idiots. Why should they be any different?

"Y'know, being a host and getting fussed over by a bunch of girls doesn't sound all the awful if you think about it. Most people would kill for a setup like that. And there are plenty worse ways to repay a debt." She paused and glanced at her neighbor, "Well, Jacklyn-senpai? Think I can pull it off?"

She received a bright grin in return, "Yeah… I think you've got it pretty well handled." At that, Haruhi began to laugh, the craziness of the day finally settling in. Jacklyn leaned against her classmate, "This is going to be… interesting."

Kyoya hummed, "I couldn't agree more."

AND IT'S DONE! First chapter! There's only gonna be 27 of these, so 26 to go and it'll be my first completed Ouran series! Holy cow am I excited for this book! I hope you are too!

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See you next chapter!