"Thank you, goodnight!" Dai said into the microphone. She disappeared behind the curtain, leaving the enthusiastic but politely restrained applause of the crowd. The adrenaline was still rushing through her veins and her heart was pounding in her ears. She stumbled into her dressing room and fell unceremoniously onto the couch, willing her heart to slow down.

"Good evening, Mackenzie-san," a smooth male voice sounded from the dressing table. Dai jumped and sat up, straightening her dress (it was starting to display a little too much "somethin'-somethin'" than she was quite ready to give away).

"Oh, hello," Dai fought to keep her surprise out of her voice. "Didn't see you the-"

A gorgeous young man was casually leaning against her dressing table, his black eyes dancing with enchanting self-assurance behind his glasses. His black jacket and trousers accentuated the pale translucency of his skin, making it almost glow in the light of the bulbs lining the floor length mirror.

"I'm Kyouya Ootori," he smiled.

"Oh! Ootori-san!" Dai said, standing up then dipping into a bow. "Thank you very much for allowing me to perform at your event."

"There's no need to be so formal," he smiled. "We are in the same school."

"Kyouya-sempai," Dai corrected herself. "Thank you."

Kyouya laughed. "Are you sure I've done you a service? You look exhausted."

"I am," Dai replied. "But it's part of the job description. I'll be fine."

"I have a seat for you outside if you would like to join the other gests," Kyouya gestured in the general direction of the hall.

"I'd love to," Dai smiled. Food fear of crowds any day. "I'm ravenous."

"Wonderful, would you like me to escort you there?" His voice made Dai's stomach flutter.

"Actually, I was planning on having a shower first. It's probably best if I don't keep you waiting. I'm sure there are other guests to attend to."

"Yes," Kyouya smiled. "But none as important as you." He paused then moved forward and held her hand. "Duty does call, though, and I have to attend to the masses."

"I understand," Dai fought to keep her voice steady. "Should I look out for you later?"

"Of course," Kyouya replied, his eyes dancing with an entirely different kind of light. He gently kissed her hand before releasing it. "Please, do not hesitate to engage me if anything is not to your liking."

"Oh, no no no," Dai blushed beet red. "Everything has been wonderful."

"Then please excuse me," Kyouya bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Well, hummana, hummana, hummana," Dai said to herself, sink back onto the couch. Who'd have thunk she'd be having heart palpitations over a member of that stupid Host Club – and the vice president, at that! She sighed. He was gorgeous, though she decided. And incredibly cool, polite and absolutely charming.

Dai ran a frustrated hand through her hair then started to gather the things she needed for her shower. Everything was changing in ways that she didn't know she liked.

Kaoru finally made it to the backstage entrance, mentally cursing every single person who had stopped him in his tracks to chat. He had kept conversations to a bare minimum and it had still taken him half an hour to cross the hall.

Damn them, he thought as he pushed open the backstage door. He had to act on the impulse he had now or he'd just go back to his mental drawing board of conversations. He'd never been shy about a girl before but this left him completely stumped. What do you say to your idol/celebrity crush who also happened to be your gorgeous new classmate?

Kaoru turned a corner and strode head-long into Kyouya.

"Kyouya-sempai," Kaoru gasped, his resolve wavering. "Is Dai Mckenzie – I mean is she…"

"Mckenzie-san is taking a shower before she joins the other guests," Kyouya pushed his glasses back into place. "She will join us shortly. I would like to introduce her to the Host Club."

"Oh," Kaoru said. "Umm, would it be okay if I went to meet her first?"

"Hmm," Kyouya didn't see how it could hurt his plans. "I don't see why not. Her door has a name plaque."

"Thank you so much, Kyouya-sempai," Kaoru's eyes lit up again. He slipped past Kyouya and disappeared down the corridor.

Kyouya stared after him. That funny sensation of forgetting something now mixed in with the growing suspicion that he had made a big mistake.

­­­­Dai stretched and fninshed toweling the ends of her hair. She hasn't expected the bathroom adjoining her dressing room to have a bathtub, let alone a whirlpool Jacuzzi complete with an array of aromatherapy oils. She was glad that she'd had the good sense to use her cell phone to put a half an hour limit to her time in the bathroom. She could've gladly spent all night.

She sped through her make up and pulled on a long black dress before re-doing her hair. She pulled the door open and almost tripped on something in the hallway.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she said, catching herself on the door frame.

"No, it's- uh- my fault, I mean- I'm sorry," a blushing red-haired young man jumped to his feet from his seat outside her door and nervously kept his eyes on his shoes.

"Hitachiin-san?" Dai's eyes widened in shock. "Hajimemashite."

"Hajimemashite," Kaoru replied. He hesitated for a moment then sank into a bow. "I'm a-a huge fan," he stammered to the floor. "I-I love y-your music." He stood up and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh... I just wanted to tell you that."

Dai blushed under his wide emerald eyes. "I… wow, thanks," she said. "I'm sorry, I just don't know what to say." She stared at the floor in turn.

"Yeah…" Kaoru trailed off, suddenly frustrated that his preparations and plans hadn't included what to say to her after he told her he loved her work. "Seriusly, I'm your biggest fan."

"Well, you might have some competition," Dai laughed suddenly. "There's this person who's loved my music since I first started posting my music on the web." Dai didn't know why she suddenly felt so relaxed. He was just easy to talk to, she guessed.

"Gemini11?" Kaoru asked sheepishly

"THAT WAS YOU?" Dai shrieked then covered her mouth. Kaoru had flinched, she was a lot louder than she'd intended. "Uh… sorry, but-wow."

"Yeah," Kaoru answered, smiling shyly. "I can't believe you're in Ouran though."

"Haha, yeah," Dai tried her best to sound genuine. So he was one of them: the people who hadn't noticed her without the singles and the make up. But then again, everyone was one of "them".

"Um, Mackenzie-san, do you want me to show you the way out to the party?" Kaoru asked, offering her his arm.

"Yes, thank you," Dai smiled, taking the offered limb. "And it's just Dai."

"Dai-chan," Kaoru smiled.

"Kaoru-kun," Dai smiled back.

Their smiles stayed fixed all the way out into the ballroom.

Kyouya tapped his foot impatiently on the carpeted floor, pointedly ignoring Honey-sempai's ceaseless chatter to Tamaki and Haruhi's blushing replies to Hikaru's awkward sentences. Where was Dai? He had left her half an hour ago and he had passed Kaoru at least ten minutes ago.

Dai… he thought to himself. She had been almost too easy. She was already at least partially under his spell and he had most certainly left her with a good impression. He found himself eagerly awaiting the challenge of luring her into his clutches with such permanence as to allow him to inherit his father's empire. And with his skills, she wouldn't ever fade into obscurity, ensuring their perpetual popularity. And it wasn't as if she was absolutely revolting. She was actually quite attractive…

And he still couldn't quite remember what it was that he had forgotten.

"Kyouya-chan?" Honey-sempai broke into his thought process. "Why did you put out an extra seat in our table?"

"That's for-"

"Everyone," Kaoru's voice sounded from across the table. He had a blushing Dai Mackenzie on his arm. "Meet Dai-chan."

"Hello," Dai said softly, shyly taking in everyone's faces. Tamaki was the quickest to recover.

"Ooyasuminasai, hime" he said, taking her other hand and placing a soft kiss across her fingers. "I'm Tamaki Suoh. I hope Kaoru has been a pleasant escort."

"Oh, he's been wonderful," Dai smiled at Kaoru's blush. "It's nice to meet you, Suoh-sempai."

At that, the rest of the Host Club rushed over to welcome Dai. Something seemed odd in her expression, though, Kyouya noticed.

"Dai-chan, meet Usa-chan!" Honey-sempai shoved the bunny at her.

"Wow, Kaoru hasn't stopped talking about you," Hikaru and Haruhi said at the same time. They both blushed and looked everywhere but at each other. It was then that Dai seemed to realize something.

"Umm, Haruhi-san," Dai said hesitantly. "If you don't mind me asking, are you into cross-dressing or is this supposed to be a cos-play party that nobody told me about?"

The Host Club collectively paled, even Mori-sempai.

"Uhm…" Hikaru and Kaoru chorused, exchanging terrified glances.

"Well…" Tamaki trailed off.

"You see…" Honey-sempai began.

"I'm a girl," Haruhi stated.

The rest of the Host Club gaped in shock.

"Ah, I thought so," Dai said quietly.

"Really?" Haruhi frowned. "What made you guess?"

"Well…" Dai beckoned Haruhi to the side as the boys attempted to keep Tamaki from disintegrating. "If you were cross-dressing, I doubt they would have left you with A-cups."

"Oh!" Haruhi blinked. "Very good point."

"Yeah," Dai smiled sheepishly. "If it's not too private, why do you dress up as a guy at school?"

"Actually, it was-"

"A tragic tale of lost love," Tamaki interrupted, clutching Haruhi's hand to his heart.

"No, it wasn't," Hikaru and Kaoru placed their hands on their hips.

"Are you sure you want to listen?" Kyouya smiled at Dai as he pulled her a chair. "It could get pretty boring."

"Boring?!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"Who do you think we are-" Hikaru grinned.

"A bunch of bowling balls?" Kaoru finished. "It's a great story."

"With lots of cake!" Honey-sempai chimed in.

"Cake?" Dai grinned. "Then I'll have to hear it," she said, sitting down.

Kyouya took the seat next to her and watched Kaoru's every move as he sat a few seats to her left. His eyes were locked on her but he seemed crestfallen. A strange jolt of anger sped through Kyouya's veins and he almost bent the spoon he was holding. The idiot had fallen for her, but that wasn't going to stop him. So why was he angry?

Dai laughed at something Tamaki had said and Kyouya felt a smaller jolt of the same anger wash through him. It's because all of them are taking up your potential alone-time with her, he told himself. It doesn't mean anything…

­­­­­­­­­­Kaoru smiled to himself as he watched Dai politely and almost imperceptibly evade all of Tamaki's come-ons. He wished he could be as relaxed as the rest of them were. His heart felt like it was going to burst.

He could hardly believe that he had talked to her and that she didn't think he was a completely idiot. Hikaru looked at him and smiled, seeming to read his mind, as always. For the first time that night, Kaoru smiled right back at him.