Episode 1: Haruhi Was a Host Girl.

A lot has happened since I first walked these halls, mom. Haruhi thought as she wandered up the steps leading to the third floor of the elite academy. It was my first day of school, my first year, and I was looking for a quiet place to study. Somehow I ended up in an abandoned music room. She smiled dimly as she passed it now. It wasn't abandoned though.

She tried now to remember the bizarre beauty behind that door, six very handsome boys welcomed her with bright smiles and even brighter red roses. Two of them had been in her first class, a pair of mischievous red-headed twins who invited her to sit with them earlier in the day. They mistook her for a male, not that she blamed them, but then it inspired the blonde princely idiot to flirt with her, thinking he was making a gay boy blush, he got carried away. In her haste to escape him, she backed right into a pedestal that held a vase, after the ceramic dust cleared, the redheaded twins told her it was worth eight million yen, a price she couldn't begin to fathom.

And that's when it began. She thought to herself. She'd spent the rest of the school year dressed in a men's uniform, being fawned over by the school's young women, and served in the host club to pay off the debt.

And now it's over. She realized as she walked past the large windows that her feet carried her to Music Room 3, she hadn't been here since the second term started months ago, but it was as if on instinct that she showed up at precisely 1:40, her free time.

Maybe I should go inside. The golden door handle was cool against her skin. She knew no one would request her. In fact if she were to go in, she'd have to request one of them. She still wore the pale blue suit, the men's uniform, only owing two sets, and not being able to afford the dress with its bows and stockings and shoes for the female uniform.

At this point, would I even be allowed in?

There wasn't much she wanted to say to any of the hosts. After everyone realized the truth about her, girls were quick to lose interest in the shy bookish host type. Her three biggest fans had requested her one last time, and instead of the usual heart eyes and blushing, they had straight faces, telling her the jig was up, everyone knew, and then asked her why she convinced everyone for so long that she was a male. She had finally come clean about the debt, before explaining that she didn't care what others saw her as; she was too busy with academics to worry about appearances.

"I did mean everything I said though," She had said. "I wasn't lying about you guys being pretty." The girls once again fawned over her, singing her praises and asking to keep up friendships with them, inviting her to lunch, while from a distance, her male friends looked on.

She had secured friendships with more people at Ouran, outside of the host club. Now that the semester was going to wind down soon, she barely saw the men in between classes, spending most of her time in class with the twins, but not paying them much mind outside of the classroom.

Why not? She had thought then. My debt is paid off, I can finally go to high school normally.

That was the last time she had stepped foot into music room three, she still passed Tamaki and Kyoya in the halls, and she would smile and wave, Tamaki would do the same, Kyoya was more calculated than that, he would acknowledge her, at the very least.

She would see Mori and Honi in the library right outside recreation hall A. She would often try to secretly watch the two study, it seemed that Honi often quizzed his cousin in science, something Haruhi would never have guessed was his strength.

At least she still saw the twins every day, for better or worse, they were her reminder of the last few months.

Now that she was having lunch intermittently with the twins, and with the new friends she made as a girl, she realized how nice it felt to have balance, and it didn't take long for her father to notice her change in attitude.

Which is why he was excited when he returned home on a Friday evening, while Haruhi was setting the table for their dinner, and he placed a long white box on the table.

"What's that, dad?" She asked.

"It's a gift for you," he said. "Open it, sweetie."

As she placed the box onto the living room floor to make room for the plates and silver, she knelt beside it, untying the white ribbon. As she raised the lid, she was met with pale yellow fabric, soft to the touch, and the lace of the top bodice.

"Dad, how did you afford this?" She asked. It was a whole uniform, befitting the female standard for Ouran Academy.

"I've been putting away money since you got accepted," he said. "I can't believe it took the entire first year and into the second. Now, I know you prefer the uniform you already have, but it would just make my life to see you in your school uniform, and one as pretty as this one."

As she lifted the dress, perfectly sized for her height and weight, she found two pairs of white stockings and the patent leather mary jane shoes.

"Dad, this is too much," she said. "I mean, I'm grateful to finally own a uniform, I'm thinking the hosts want the extras back…" She touched the soft fabric one more time, feeling the crisp lace at the top, and the cranberry colored velvet ribbons.

"I'll wear it tomorrow." She smiled. With everything that was happening lately, she would do anything to make her father happy.

"Oh, that makes me so happy, Haruhi darling." He said. "Now how about some dinner, it smells delicious in here."

As Haruhi slept that night, the yellow academy dress hanging on the closet door, Mary Jane shoes sitting next to her black oxfords, she couldn't help her dreams as they drifted from one topic to another. One second she was outside with her mother, another she was in Karuizawa, and another she was falling fast down a black hole, wearing her yellow academy dress. In her dreams, she was often hindered by her old long brown hair, it had grown out a bit since the start of her school year, but as she tossed and turned in the real world, her dream self betrayed her own feelings and everything she thought she knew. In the dream she couldn't free herself from, she smiled before standing on her tiptoes, as her arms raised to wrap delicately around shoulders dressed in the velvet blue suit jacket, even in her dream she recognized the figure, the way the heat radiated off of him, the slight scent that came from his hair. There were only two people she knew who gave off a sweet and spicy scent of orange blossoms. And as her own mind betrayed her, she was kissing her classmate, one half of a strange duo, but with his fiery hair slicked back, his eyes lowered to meet hers, and not a word spoken between them, she finally couldn't tell which one it was.

Haruhi woke up in a cold, confused, and guilty sweat.

"No." She cried out loud. "No, no, no!" She tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, and the memory from her mind.

"Haruhi?" She jumped at the soft voice, looking up and seeing her dad, his bottle red hair tied into a ponytail, scruff making its way onto his face in the early hours of the morning, his eyes half closed from the abrupt awakening.

"Sorry dad," She said. "I'm fine, it was just a dream."

"Are you sure, honey?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She said. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's okay, sweetie. Good night."

"Night dad." She said. After he was gone, she looked down at the thin blanket that covered her.

Just a dream. She thought. Just a weird dream, some stress related hallucination. As she rested her head back down onto the pillow, she tried to get her mind off of it. The hosts were her friends, she had seen enough of them, the good and the bad, to realize she didn't feel that way for any of them. She just couldn't find it in her to be attracted to the boys she had come to see as brothers. Then why was her subconscious betraying her, and why couldn't she shake the idea that now she wanted to kiss both of the twin classmates, if anything, to get it out of her system.

Gross. She told herself. The last thing she was aware of, was the ticking of the living room clock, the crickets outside her window, and her dad's snores resuming as he managed to return to sleep, unaware of the emotional battle going on his daughter's heart.

As the morning bell chimed, Haruhi kept her head down, listening to the delicate shoes tap on the marble floor as she made her way to her first class. She had been in a good mood last night when she agreed to wear the dress to school, after her dream, and now as she watched students glance at her, whispering about the "new girl", she'd give anything to hide in her suit jacket.

I guess it's not just the host club. She thought to herself as she ducked into the classroom. No one even knows who I am.

"Haruhi?" Someone asked. She looked up finally, seeing Kaoru and Hikaru looking at her intensely. Their hazel eyes were wide in disbelief. As she took her seat in between them.

"When did you get a new uniform?" Kaoru asked.

"My dad bought it," she said. "I didn't know he was saving up the money."

"Hikaru…" Kaoru said quickly, surprising both of them. "What are you looking at?" When Haruhi looked up, craning her neck to look where he was. It was just the corner of the room, the ceiling, there was nothing special about it, but it wasn't what he was looking at, it's what he was thinking about, while his brother could tell his emotions from the other, and Haruhi was good at reading the both of them, his most private thoughts were his own. And now he too was trying to get a thought, a memory out of his head.

It was the last day of the Ouran Fair, Tamaki was in a car with that girl, the one who had all the power to destroy the family they had all made. They were going to the airport, to leave forever.

Kyoya tried to get them all to his car, but the driver wouldn't let them in. The Ootori family police, who Kyoya put so much pride in, had turned on him. As they drew near, their postures were threatening, they said they would protect the lady Eclair in any way. Kyoya stood shocked, the twins stood closer together than ever, Haruhi stood just in front of them. That was the second time Hikaru's heart beat not for him or Kaoru, but for someone outside of their own little world. It was the second time his heart struck for Haruhi. In a moment of haste, he grabbed her arm without a second thought, and pulled Haruhi behind himself, standing in her place. No one had said a word, no one even glanced at them. But as soon as he let go, he wished he hadn't. He could still feel her slender arm in his hand, the tremble she wouldn't let anyone see.

Now he doesn't meet their questioning glances.

"It's nothing." He said. "Just got lost in thought."

As class began, Haruhi never looked their ways. It's for the better, Hikaru told himself. It was time to tone down the way he saw her. She couldn't stay his toy forever.

"Hey Haruhi," Kaoru leaned back in his chair, turning to his left and he noticed both his friend and his brother looking at him with owlish eyes. "Are you going to be having lunch with those girls again?"

"I don't know." She said. "I figured I'd spend lunch in the library."

"Why don't you sit with us?" he asked, as Hikaru looked over in surprise. "It feels like we haven't seen you in ages." It was only half true, they saw her in class, but during normal social hours, she often vanished.

"I've got to study," She said. "Exams are on Monday, remember?"

"Want to study with us?" Hikaru asked. "It would make conversational french easier."

"Maybe." She said. "I'm working on history first."

Kaoru gave her a thumbs up, a positive response despite the hollow look in his eyes. Haruhi couldn't help but recognize the new shift in attitude from the twins. They no longer seemed eager to attach themselves to her, no longer nuzzling their foreheads into her hair. She wouldn't complain, but she also couldn't deny she was starting to miss it. Maybe now that she wasn't in the club, they didn't feel as attracted to her, the way they were.

"You know, Haruhi," Hikaru said as they stood up from their desks. "You should really come by the club sometime, the boss is going nuts without you there."

At least Tamaki-senpai hasn't changed. Haruhi thought.

"Do you guys want...me...there?" She asked carefully. "I mean I'm not a host, wouldn't it drive away business if i show up, given everything?"

"Aw, Haruhi," Kaoru squeaked. "You're blushing." She looked over to face him as they walked the hall, only to notice he was too, just a little bit. "Of course we want you to stop by now and then. You may not be a host, but you're still our friend."

"Besides," Hikaru said, slinging his arm across her shoulders. "Now that you're going to Ouran as a girl, you could be our guest…" His whisper was suggestive, one she was used to hearing from him in the club, mostly when there were others around. Now that it was just the two of them, it rattled her a little, and Kaoru lowering his head to whisper into her ear that they missed her "so much", made her blush and jump away from them.

"What's up with you two?" She asked. "You're acting more weird than normal."

"It's not the same without our toy around anymore." They said in unison. Hikaru's chuckle and Kaoru's wink toward her broke any sort of weird spell they could have put on her. They were still the twins as funny and weird as usual. However, Haruhi couldn't stop the intrusive thoughts that entered her head, while the idea of the twins flirting with her made her blush, the thoughts of them acting on their words made her shiver, but for once, it wasn't unwelcome.

"I'm gonna go now," She muttered, leaving them in the dust of her quick steps as the breeze fluttered the hem of her dress.

"Did we do something?" Hikaru asked.

"Who knows?" Kaoru replied.

It was the following afternoon, as class let out, Haruhi watched her exuberant friends bound off to the music room as she parted ways to the library. The doors were locked. The sign hung from the golden handle, stating that it was being cleaned. As she raced to the next one, the sound of her shoes delicately clicking on the pale pink marble floors, she could already see the sign on the handle for the next library. AT CAPACITY it seemed to shout. She slumped down by the door, breathless from running to the next floor.

I could just study with the class rep. She thought, remembering the timid student who offered to help her with the history exam. I just really want a break today. She sighed as she stood up, ready to walk back to the second floor where she knew he'd be, but when the handle didn't budge, she leaned against the locked classroom door where she would have gone to study,. Even he needed a break too.

I could just go home. Almost everything in her told her to just walk out the doors and go home, but something else, a small voice way in the back of her head reached her.

Stay. The voice said. You know where to go.

Her heart raced so fast, she could almost hear it even with a crowded hallway. She stood just outside the door, knowing that the hosts were setting themselves up for the afternoon. She remembered all the sunny afternoons she spent changing into whatever crazy costume Tamaki and Kyoya had decided on. On days there was no theme, she could arrive precisely at three pm when the first few girls were arriving, she'd bow her head and address them as princess, or miss, and let them enter before her, the girls loved that, and it made her feel a little more realistic and gentlemanly. Now she wore her academy dress and when she watched some girls head her way, she realized they were surprised to see her there.

"Haruhi?" One of them said. "My how the tables have turned."

It was Kanako, the girl once known for host hopping, who declared Haruhi her favorite. She thought it would be awkward between her and the girls she hosted, but so far they all seemed more friendly now than ever.

"Are you going inside?" Haruhi asked.

"No," Kanako replied. "I'm finished with the host club, now that Suzushima and I have a date picked out for our wedding."

"That's great news," Haruhi said. "Congratulations."

"Are you going in, Haruhi?" She asked, getting close enough that no one else would hear. "It must be scary going in there to be fawned over by them when you were once a part of the club."

"It's no different from the doting I received before." She replied. "The twins suggested it."

"Well then, princess Haruhi…" She giggled. "Go be fawned over, let's see if they can be half as charming as you."

Kanako left right after giving Haruhi a friendly wink. Leaving her alone with her thoughts, and if she would enter.

She sighed out of frustration for herself and her fear. As the twins said, she wasn't a host anymore, but she was still their friend, and she missed them, as much as she wasn't keen to admit it. She may have been happier at first, but now she was losing ideas on what to do with herself.

They may be a bunch of fools, but at least I was entertained. She reminisced. Her moment of courage had seized her, With one more intake of breath, she felt her hand on the cool metal handle, as it moved with the slightest effort, she felt it give way before her, she couldn't even see anything right away, not realizing she had closed her eyes. Until she heard them.

"Welcome, princess...Haruhi?" Tamaki had broken his sweet exterior in surprise, his demeanor changed from that of the host king to a lost boy, confused and surprised.

"Hi, Tamaki-senpai," she said. "I'd like to make a request."

So yeah...Chapter one of not quite sure how many yet; but hope you enjoyed. A review or two would be appreciated.